A Better Adam
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” 1 Corinthians 15:22
One simple, impulsive, ill-advised act of disobedience ruined everything in the garden of Eden. One moment where both woman and man chose instant gratification over faithful obedience. In an instant what was perfect, whole, and blessed became shameful, broken, and cursed. This one sin severed Adam and Eve’s intimate connection with God and brought death to a world that had only known life, a consequence that has been passed on from generation to generation ever since. There is no escaping it, we are born into sin and we will all at some point breath our last breath on this earth. There are not enough good deeds to be done to balance out the weight of our sin. There are not enough medical advancements to eradicate the many diseases and injuries our frail bodies succumb to. Our connection to God has been lost, our physical bodies will die, and all that awaits us on the other side of this life is judgement.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12)
This paints a very bleak picture for us, a hard reality that we all must face. But God has not left us without hope. Even in the midst of the consequences He provided a promise of salvation. To Satan He said, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel”. (Genesis 3:14-15). And the Lord made the first sacrifice that day, covering the shame of Adam and Eve with animal skin. Notice that God didn’t direct them to make the garments for themselves, Adam and Eve had already shown themselves to be incapable of covering their sin and shame with the silly leaves they tried to use. No, it is only God who can adequately and completely cover us and the sacrifice has to come from Himself.
God was promising us a Better Adam. It’s fitting that our hope and salvation came in the middle of the night and was announced with a star. Just as the light of the star broke through the dark Bethlehem sky, the Light of World was born to break through the darkness of our souls. Jesus was coming to repair everything that had been broken by Adam.
Jesus would face all of the same temptations Adam faced, yet where Adam failed, Jesus triumphed. The Father of Lies was no match for the Word become Flesh (John 1:14). Jesus chose to be obedient to the cross, and where Adam’s death brought death to us all, Jesus’ death gave us life.
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19).
This is what Christmas is all about. From the very beginning of human existence, God has loved us, provided for us, and made a way to redeem us. While we humans have failed time and again to obey and have never been able to cover our sin on our own, failure was never an option for God. Jesus, the Better Adam, came to set us free.
