Originally published 10 August 2012, Anno Domini
The
Ninth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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RANT to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do
always such things as are right; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good
without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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. (Romans 5:12-17)
There are many who take the Bible without the seriousness of discovering that
the whole of the Word is of Christ and not just those words of the New
Testament. It would be quite impossible to realize the full import of
that first Easter (Paschal Feast) without knowing of that earthly Passover
given in Goshen wherein the Angel of Death passed over all who were under the
blood of the lamb, smeared over the lintels and upon the door posts. That
innocent little lamb of Egypt was a type and figure of the true Lamb of God who
was prophesied in that first Passover. All who are sealed under the Blood of
the Lamb of God shall be passed over by that second death of the Judgment. As
the beloved Matthew Henry (a true hero of the Word) has said: “ Let us
beware that we do not forget that the Old Testament and New Testament alike
tell of Jesus. It can be truly said of the Bible: ‘The glory of God did lighten
it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof. The name of Jesus, the supreme
personality, the center of the world’s hope, is on every page. ‘”
The TYPES that we are studying in no way measure up to that great Savior whom
they represent in figure and example. They are given as lesser lights for us to
understand that Greater Light that was to come in the process of time. If we
are able to understand the brilliance of the sun, we may know that our God is
comparable in extremity of light therewith. As Confucius once said, “Do you
need proof of God? Does one light a candle to see the sun?”
We will turn our attention to the very first Type given of Christ in Scripture –
the first man, Adam. Adam is almost a negative type of that which is
represented in the Holy Jesus – but there are a number of overlapping
characteristics in which they are the same.
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. Condemnation
came upon the entire human race as a result of the sin of the first man, Adam,
our Grand Patriarch of the Race, and federal head of it. We, all being
descended from Adam, inherit the DNA chromosome of sin we received from him. We
are guilty for the blood in our veins for it is poisoned with sin. If our blood
is poisoned to death, there is only one hope – a complete blood transfusion
which is available only through Jesus Christ. We are told in the above passage
that Adam is the FIGURE of Him who was to come. That One
to come was Christ – the sinless One who was obedient unto the death of the
Cross.
In what points does Adam prefigure our Lord Jesus Christ?
1.
Adam had
no Father but God. There are two only genealogies of Christ given in Holy
Scripture by detail. The first is found in Matthew 1 which begins at our Type for
God in Abraham and descends DOWN to Christ. This signals that
Christ is the Promised Seed who CAME DOWN. The second genealogy
is found in Luke 3. In this genealogy, the author begins with Christ and goes
through all of his progeny all the way back UP TO GOD. Christ is
the only One who came DOWN from the Father and He is the only One
who has ascended UP to the Father as clearly presented in these
two genealogies. Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth,
which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
(Luke 3:38) Adam, though the son of God, fell from that privileged place
through willful sin. Adam was a son by creation – Christ by eternal generation.
2.
Adam was
given dominion over the created world while Christ is given all power both in
Heaven and in earth. Adam is the natural father of all humankind, lost in sin.
The sin of Adam has been charged to all of his children born of woman. “….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.”Christ is the spiritual
Father of all who have believed to the salvation of their souls. These are the
children of the Promised Seed (Christ) whose righteousness is an “IMPUTED”
righteousness belonging to Christ. 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.) I only
desire that ministers would have revealed these mysteries to my young mind
while I was a lad. I was eager to know but was a victim of the adult mentality
that believes such matters are beneath the understanding of children. We often
sell our children short in failing to teach them at a challenging level.
3.
The
first man, Adam, earned death for all mankind. Disease, death and sin
came upon our race through Adam. For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Cor
15:22-23) Though Adam did not fall down dead before the wretched Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil, his death was sealed at the moment he partook of
the forbidden fruit (whatever it was). Though not physically, Adam was the
first man to die spiritually. The second man, Christ, who died the same death
for us (for He tasted death that we might live), is the first to arise, and He
made it possible for all who believed to live eternally. This makes it possible
for each believer to rise in Christ at the last trump.
4.
This
fourth characteristic of Adam, in common with Christ, may set some aback. And
Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
(1 Tim 2:14) I am sure we have all read this verse before, but have we
considered the ramifications? ADAM WAS NOT DECEIVED! So
why did Adam partake of the forbidden fruit if he was not deceived? Could
it be that Adam, like Christ, loved his bride so much that he was willing to
share her fate and die the same death he knew she would suffer? Eve was the
ONLY darling of Adam’s heart. Life in the Garden would have seemed near to
meaningless without this precious gift that God had given. So Adam partook of
the same deadly fruit as Eve, and perished with her! Adam sinned to join his
bride in death. Christ, the all-righteous, was the sinless One who died in our
stead to purchase an eternal life for His Bride, the Church.
God,
through His foreknowledge and perfect prerogative of predestination of
all things, has brought to pass wonderful and true pictures that point us to
His spotless, sinless, and glorious Son through the lives of those who have
preceded Him. He has done so through the medium of types, figures, metaphors
and allegories. Do you see the unsurpassed beauty of Christ in comparison with
the desperate fall of Adam? To which family do you now belong, Reader (for we
must all belong to one or the other of these two) – Adam or Christ?
