Before I start my blog, I remember in Ankara a bus conductor in the 1990s hand me a coin and it had this picture of Jesus on it. I was visiting the Theological faculty in Ankara in the 1990s to see a certain Religious Studies expert on my MA thesis… Obviously I handed the coin to a lecturer there.
When God created Adam, He went to a lot of trouble. God took the soil, formed him and then breathed into Adam the breath of life. Adam (and Eve) were created in the image of God. All the elements of a covenant were in place. Paul even calls Adam a type (figure) of Christ. The Greek word tupos is literally the mark left by the seal in the clay (Vine’s Greek dictionary). Adam had all the faculties for making a rational decision. God’s test was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was made of the earth and yet there was the possibility of eternal life through obedience. If he had obeyed God, he would have passed into the joy of the Lord without tasting death. Some theologians say that God knew the outcome of this test of the covenant of works. Yet this was not the end for mankind but only the beginning. The very fact of Adam’s existence pointed beyond itself to the Messiah. Adam in the Hebrew makes an acrostic:
Aleph, Daleth, Mem
• Abraham
• David
• Messiah
(ADaM= A, D and M; the first letters of Abraham, David and Messiah)
I read this online, but I don’t know how Judaism came up with the above acrostic, but I do find it interesting that in the Hebrew Adam’s name works as an acrostic and a road map for the Second Adam Christ. In the same line of thought I found Karl Barth’s view of Adam in relation to Christ interesting too from his Roman’s commentary:
“As a sinner in the invisible and non-historical meaning of the “word; Adam is—the figure of him that was to come. The shadow in which he stands bears witness to the light of Christ. Were this not so the shadow would be invisible to us. The shadow also provides us with a standard by which we may measure the light and perceive its nature. The invisible constitution of this world is, if the minus sign outside the bracket be changed into plus, the constitution of the new world which is to come. ‘The secret of Adam is the secret of the Messiah’ (a Rabbinic saying).” (From Karl Barth’s early Roman’s commentary; Oxford university press page 175)
When I look into the mirror, I can see my image, but it is only an image of me, but it is still a true image of my likeness. When I am walking, and the sun is shining behind me I can see my shadow, but the shadow is still real, and it still shows my silhouette. In the same way Adam is in the image of God, Christ is the original prototype. From what I have read Adam was in the garden and probation through the covenant of works. He had all the capacity to make rational decisions of whether to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Although Satan deceived Adam and Eve this was no excuse. The moment that the fruit was eaten Humankind became separated from their Creator. God however did not give up on Humankind and thus the road of redemption had already begun with the naming of Adam, the reflection of Christ somehow. From my point of view, it was inevitable for Adam to sin. Adam was special he was of heaven and earth. Although he was made with soil, he had a living soul that could have continued the walk to heaven. This is what happened to Enoch, when God took him and he did not taste death.
But this is where the comparison of Adam to Christ must end. Having said that; Will Adam be in heaven? I don’t know but it isn’t impossible. This verse at the end of Hebrews 11 is interesting:
“39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.” Hebrews 11:39-40
God also spoke with the Messianic prophecy:
“And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15
Later when Eve got a child she said:
“Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a man child with the help of the LORD.” Genesis 4:1
Eve talks about with the ‘help of the Lord’. This is putting her trust in God.
I’m just raising possibilities:
- Was it common grace that God made clothes for Adam and Eve?
- Was it common grace that God helped Eve with childbirth?
- Are there other indicators?
Anyhow this is where the similarities of the First Adam and the Second Adam end. Jesus and Adam had the same nature, and they were both true human beings but through obedience or disobedience we see their roads diverge. For salvation to come to humankind Jesus had to be of the same nature as Adam… This is the reason I believe Paul does not Call Adam an ‘anti-type’ but a ‘type’ or ‘figure’ of Christ. If Jesus was an anti-type then this would mean Jesus was not truly human. Lets consider this from Hebrews:
“Therefore, He (Jesus) had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Hebrews 2:17-18
God knew from the beginning of creation that humans cannot get to heaven on their own. Adam was tempted but so was Jesus. Our Lord overcame the temptation that Adam was unable to. As human beings we are not any different to Adam, we have all sinned and turned our back on God. It is only through God’s gift of grace that we can even have faith.
So How does Christ fit into all of this and how does this affect our salvation?
Christ in relation to the resurrection order and our future lives as believers.
1 Corinthians 15 and the first section had a lot of ifs. In this next section I only see our future life in Christ with a resurrected body. This is a very important subject for all times and Paul does not hold back but shows us that in Christ we are going to have a real resurrected body. After we die, if we stay in spirit form, how will someone know us?
On the other hand, if we have a real body then we can be recognized immediately. It is through our speech, the way we look, the gestures we show that people know who we are. This is the inheritance we have in Christ. In Christ we will be made perfect even as he is perfect.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 NASB
20 Νυνὶ δὲ Χριστὸς ἐγήγερται ἐκ νεκρῶν, ἀπαρχὴ τῶν κεκοιμημένων.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.
This is very straight forward. There are no ‘ifs’ here but certainty. The phrase’ has been raised from the dead’ this is in the perfect tense. The perfect tense an action that has happened in the past but has continual effect for all time. Here Jesus is ‘the first fruits’. He is the first man to be raised from the dead. The first fruits are the first agricultural offering to God, but I think it can also be used of the first person in a family to be born (especially in Jewish thought). The equivalent to first fruit is Bikkurim meaning ‘promise to come’ (https://get.tithe.ly/blog/first-fruit)
With reference to the firstborn person, the Hebrew word is bekor. A Jewish use of the term I find helpful to give us a deeper understanding of it being used for Christ;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firstborn_(Judaism)
Where it says first fruits(plural) I don’t know if I agree with the NASB here. First fruit is in the feminine singular. I would translate the verse as and now Christ has been raised from the dead who is the first fruit from those who are asleep. Before being conclusive I think one needs to read and compare other translations and commentaries on this text. This is my interpretation for what it is trying to say. It may be that the translators wanted to somehow follow the Hebrew Bekkorim (plural)
There are other reasons why I would translate it as this. If one reads all the verses up to verse 28 one can see that Christ is the subject not the church or the dead believers.
When we look at the section of ‘those who have fallen asleep’ this is a verbal noun or participle in Greek, and it is in the perfect! I find this encouraging because the sleep is in Christ the first fruit from the dead. When we die, we will also sleep in Christ and we will rise with Christ. This is our hope. All the mystery religions found it Corinth could not give this promise;
In relation to the mystery religions I found Terri D. Moore’s paper from Dallas theological seminary College very interesting; http://tdarbymoore.com/
Her dissertation on the mystery religions I think may have a lot more bearing on how we understand parts of 1 Corinthians.
I will continue to publish on this page until I hit verse 28 so if you are a subscriber you might not see this new add ons so please every few day have a look. It takes time to write this blog especially as I need to check my facts and make correct judgements. As I see the Bible as sacred scripture I feel it important to comment in a reverential way and give God the glory.
Added 04.01.2021
Verse 21
21 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι’ ἀνθρώπου θάνατος, καὶ δι’ ἀνθρώπου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν·
. 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
Here is a woody translation for you without verbs; ‘For since by a man death and by a man resurrection from the dead.’
The verb in the English translation was added to get the sense of the meaning! Translators do these types of things to make it easier for us to understand the actual text.
For ‘by a man’ or ‘though a man’. This man, human being is not mentioned yet but we know who he is talking about; Adam from the garden. It is through this man that death came into the world, but we also know that it was by a man, a human being namely Christ that there would be a resurrection from the dead. This is a very important verse because it compares Adam and Christ. They were both the same in that they were human beings, but they had different functions namely;
Through Adam came death
Through Christ came eternal life in a physical body
One man brought death to the human race and the other man eternal life. I know who I want to follow! We don’t have any serious verbs in the comparison here, but we certainly get the meaning
Feel free to visit my other blog https://hasan-godtalk.blogspot.com/
09.01.2021
22 ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες ἀποθνῄσκουσιν, οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντες ζῳοποιηθήσονται.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
In this verse we now have the actual names of those who are responsible for life and death. Adam and Christ are mentioned. Hosper gar is best translated as ‘For as’; The word ‘for’ is important because it points to what preceded it. The important point we learned is that both Adam and Christ were fully human.
A theological digression
At the creation as Bavinck would say humanity did not lose their humanity until after the fall but sin changed their humanity somehow. When we think of death it can mean for some non-being but as Bavinck says spiritual death is never non-being but rather a state. He says on page 93, Reformed Ethics, Herman Bavinck. The state of natural humanity is generally called death. This death means a life that is lived in opposition to God. In this natural state we stand corrupted, and we need Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit to bring new life into us.
To put it bluntly.
Jesus Christ died on the cross so that we may have eternal life, in the future, a new physical eternal life! Looking at the verse again we have two verbs to die and to live. The first verb in regard to Adam is in the present and now, but the second verb that relates to Christ, and us, is in the future! Paul makes sure that we understand our future hope…
10.01.2021
The resurrection and the events around it will follow a particular order;
Christ the First Fruit verse 23
Those who belong to Christ at his second coming verse 23
‘The end’ When Christ hands over the Church (Kingdom) to the Father verse 24
This includes ‘death’ verse 26
When all things have been subjected to the Father
Then the Son will also subject himself to the Father.
Then there is ‘completion’ verse 28 all in all
From my reading of this text we are brought into to be sharers of this divine Trinitarian life of God
So let us recap what we have learned.
Verse 20; Christ has been raised from the dead intro…
Verse 21; through an ordinary person death came into the world so to through an ordinary person life would enter the world once again.
Verse 22; Namely through Adam’s disobedience death came into the world but through the work of Christ all could be brought to life
Verse 23; The order of the resurrection and allied activities start; Christ the first fruit; His Church at his second coming
Verses 24- 26; At the end Christ will reign until all enemies including death are subjected to Christ.
Verses 27 -28; At the end when Christ is in complete control of everything good and bad, he will subject himself to the Father. In Christ we are brought into the Divine Life of the Trinity in the ‘all in all’ perfection.
Let us now look at some background stuff. Psalm 8 is not any ordinary Psalm; For Christians it is a Messianic Psalm and it is about the Son of Man; one of the titles of Jesus Christ the anointed one. This Psalm is seen as a reference to the Kingship of Christ in relationship to YHWH (Tetragrammaton).
Reflection
God’s grace is amazing. Even though Adam fell into sin God still took care of him. We see this through God clothing Adam and Eve and helping Eve with childbirth. God even gave advice to Caine not to murder his brother. Even in the fallen state the Gifts God gave to us through Adam are still with us. Even in the fallen state humanity is still the ‘image of God’. Humanity did not lose their sovereignty over the earth. Although my opinion is perhaps it would have been better for the world and God’s creation that we were not given such a responsibility as we seem to be destroying this beautiful creation. We can clearly see that in the covenant of Work it was impossible for humans to even keep the simplest commands.
Into this situation God had a remedy. God would become a man and be sacrificed so that a way could be opened up for us to gain eternal life through the covenant of faith:
“42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.” 1 Corinthians 15:42-49
Adam Christ
A living soul A life giving Spirit
Perishable body imperishable body
Sown in dishonour raised in glory
Sown in weakness raised in power
Sown a natural body raised a spiritual body
We deserved to die but God did not give up on us. St Paul gives us a list of what we have gained!
Weaver1has's Blog 
Leave a comment