Three of a Kind

by Ivan Maddox

West End Bible Fellowship

Atlanta, Georgia

Most of us are quite familiar with the Biblical account of Adam and Eve and their fall.   In addition to this, many of us are aware of the significance of the fall, and its effects on our lives.

Because we are so familiar with them, it is easy to satisfy ourselves with a surface knowledge of them, and a surface understanding of their fall.  As a result, we may fail to ask many questions that be asked asked, and we may fail to find much of the gold that lies hidden beneath the surface in the Biblical account of the fall.

It is not easy for us to recognize Adam and Eve for who they are.  We tend to look at them through the eyes of our own corruption, forgetting that we ourselves, as well as our "human nature,” are a product of their disobedience toward God.  We see their fall as perfectly natural and almost inevitable, understanding that we would most certainly have fallen if we were in their place.  We forget that while we were born with a sin nature, a natural bent toward sin, Adam and Eve did not have this.  When they disobeyed God, they were acting contrary to their nature, their habits and their experience.

Not recognizing Adam and Eve for who they were can cause us to underestimate the magnitude of their fall, as well as the deadly subtlety of the enemy who engineered their fall.

Who were Adam and Eve?

The one individual in human history who was most like Adam and Eve before their fall was Jesus Christ.  To truly understand Adam and Eve, we must look at them in light of what we know about Jesus Christ.  And to truly understand Jesus Christ, we must look at him in light of what we know about Adam and Eve.   Adam, Eve and Jesus Christ were three of a kind.  They had certain characteristics in common that set them apart from the rest of humanity, and put them in a category all their own. 

Twice in the scriptures – once in Romans 5:12-19, and once in I Corinthians 15:42-49 – contrasts are made between what Adam accomplished for us, and what Christ accomplished for us.  These alone would be enough to encourage us to look at these two men together.

The first of these is found in Romans.

Romans 5:12-19.

12  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

13  (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

15  But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

16  And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

17  For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

18  Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

19  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

In verse 14 we are told that Adam is  “…the figure of him that was to come”, that is, Jesus Christ.

This passage makes the point that since all men became sinners as a result of the disobedience of one man, it is right that righteousness be made available to all men through the obedience of one man.

It is especially important to understand that the logic of our redemption as described here does not depend even minutely on the deity of Christ.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Just as sin was introduced into the world by one man, so also righteousness was introduced into the world by one man.  It was because he was a man that Jesus Christ was qualified to be our redeemer.

The second passage is found in I Corinthians.

I Corinthians 15:42-49

42  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47  The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

In this passage, the contrast is between the types of body and life possessed by Adam and the resurrected Christ.  Adam possessed a natural body; the risen Christ has a spiritual body.  God made Adam a living soul; God made the risen Christ a life-giving spirit.  And while we now bear the image of Adam, we have been promised that we will one day bear the image of the risen Christ.

We should also note that some of the titles applied to Christ point us to Adam.  In several places in the gospels, Jesus refers to himself as “the son of man.”  Even though he was the son of God by birth, legally he was the son, or descendent, of the man Adam, and the rightful heir of the dominion once given to Adam by God.  In I Corinthians 15:47 Jesus Christ is called “the second man,” who is “the lord from heaven,” in contrast with “the first man” who is “of the earth.”  This title, “the last Adam,” is especially interesting to us for the purposes of this study.  In Genesis 5:1-2 both the man and his wife are called “Adam.”  This means that all three of these very special individuals are referred to by this one name in the scriptures.

What characteristics did these three individuals have that set them apart from the rest of humanity?

First, all three were brought into being supernaturally.  All three received their life from God, rather than from the seed of a man.  In a very real sense, God fathered all three.  In Luke 3:38, Adam is called “the son of God.”  But since Jesus was the only one of the three born of a woman, he is called the only begotten son of God.  We should note that he is called this only in the days of his flesh.  When he was raised from the dead, he became “the firstborn among many brethren.”

Romans 8:29.

29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Second, all three were body and soul persons who received the spirit of God upon them conditionally.

Adam and Eve were originally body and soul beings who were given the spirit of God conditionally.  Once they fell, they were no longer guaranteed holy spirit.  Instead, God gave His spirit to those to whom He chose to give it.  He retained the right to take it back if and when He chose.

Jesus Christ, on the other hand, spent almost thirty years living as a body and soul man.  His only means of hearing from God during that time was through God’s written word.  Only when he was baptized by John and ready to begin his ministry did he receive holy spirit.  He, too, received the spirit conditionally.  Had he disobeyed God, God could have taken it back from him.

Throughout the Old Testament and the Gospels, God put His spirit on particular men and women whom He had singled out to do a special work.  In contrast, when we are born again, we receive holy spirit unconditionally, as seed.

Third, Adam, Eve and Jesus were the only three people in the history of the world to have begun life without a sin nature.  There was not a part of their inner being that was at war with God, trying to get its own way.  All three were created in perfect harmony with God.  Adam and Eve lost this when they fell.  Jesus Christ never fell, and never lost this.

Fourth, Adam, Eve and Jesus Christ originally were able to stand before God righteous by their own works, with no sense of sin, guilt or shame.  Adam and Eve lost this when they fell.  Jesus Christ never fell, and never lost this until our sins were laid upon him and he was counted as a sinner on our behalf on the cross.

Fifth, Adam, Eve and Jesus Christ were the only human beings in history who were not doomed to die from their beginning. 

As one writer put it, Adam and Eve were neither mortal nor immortal.  They were not impervious to death.  They could be killed.  But death was not built into them.  Had they not fallen, they could have lived on indefinitely.  Even after their fall, Adam and Eve lived on for almost a thousand years.

As for Jesus, he, too, was not impervious to death.  Had he obeyed the tempter and jumped off the pinnacle of the temple, he would have been killed if no angel had caught him.  But had he not fallen, and had he not gone to the cross, he could have lived on indefinitely.  Death, like sin, was not built into him.

But it is not with Eve that Christ is compared and contrasted, but Adam.  This is not sexism, but points rather to how we fell and how we were redeemed. 

We are counted as having fallen with Adam because we were counted as being in his loins when he disobeyed God, and as participating with him in his disobedience.

There is a record in Hebrews 7 that details the logic behind this.  In this record the argument is being made that the priesthood of Jesus Christ, who was made a priest after the order of Melchisedec, is greater than the priesthood of the sons of Levi.

Hebrews 7:1-10.

1  For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

2  To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

3  Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

4  Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

5  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:

6  But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.

7  And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

8  And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

9  And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.

10  For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.

The point being made here is that Abraham, the ancestor of Levi, and Melchisedec actually met.  During this meeting, Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils from his battle to Melchisedec.   The writer of Hebrews uses this point to make another point:  since he who receives tithes is greater than he who pays tithes, Abraham was acknowledging the superiority of Melchisedec’s ministry over his when he paid tithes to him.

But the writer goes even farther with this.  He makes the argument that when Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec, all of his children are counted as being in his loins, since all of Abraham’s children were born subsequent to this event.  In fact, all of Abraham’s descendents are counted as being in his loins at the time.  Moreover, they are all counted as participating with Abraham when he paid tithes to Melchisedec.  The conclusion is that since Levi, a descendent of Abraham, and the father of the priests and Levites, paid tithes to Melchisedec in the person of Abraham, the priesthood of Melchisedec is greater than the priesthood of the sons of Levi.

This is an ingenious argument.  If it is merely the brainchild of the writer of Hebrews, then that’s all it is:  a clever way to make his point.  But if the Epistle to the Hebrews is part of the revealed word of God, then this is not merely the author’s argument, but the way God actually looks at things.  If that is the case – and I believe that it is – then this argument is far more significant and carries far more weight than it might at first appear.

If this is indeed the way God looks at things, then this explains the logic behind the fall of man through the sin of one man, and the need for the virgin birth.

Eve sinned first, then Adam.  Yet the fall of man is attributed to Adam, not Eve.  Why is this?

When Eve sinned, she corrupted only herself.  But when Adam sinned, all of his descendents are counted as being in him, and as participating with him in his sin.  Therefore when Adam sinned, he corrupted not only himself, but all of his descendents as well.

This means that anybody who had a human father is counted as having sinned in the person of Adam.  That means that those of us who are descended from Adam are counted as sinners even before we commit our first sin.  For that reason, no descendent of Adam could ever be qualified to redeem man.

What was necessary was a child who was not descended on his father’s side from Adam.  God solved this problem by creating in Mary’s body that which would normally have been supplied by a human father.  The result was the conception in Mary’s womb of a “second Adam,” a child not contaminated by Adam’s sin, because he was not counted as being in Adam when Adam  sinned. 

In every respect Jesus was a normal human child, except one:  he did not have a human father.  Like Adam, Jesus was able to point to God as his Father (Luke 3:38).  Unlike Adam, Jesus was not formed out of the dust and made a living soul by God.  Instead, he was the result of  a divinely produced conception within the womb of Mary.  It is in this sense that he was begotten by God at his birth.

We were all made sinners by the disobedience of Adam, because we were counted as being in his loins and participating with him in his sin.  When we confess Christ as our Lord in accordance with Romans 10:9-10, we are redeemed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ because we are so identified with him in his perfect obedience toward God and his death that his obedience counts in place of our disobedience, and his death counts in place of the death we owe God for our sins.