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ND 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. (1 Corinthians 15:45-47)
Though Eve was the mother of all living, Adam was the father and federal head of the human race. We all bear his sinful nature from the moment of conception. We are joint heirs of the death sentence brought upon all humanity by Adam’s disobedience at Eden. 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. (Romans 5:12)
Adam became spiritually dead in soul the moment he partook of the forbidden fruit of the ill-winded tree, and all of his progeny also share in that spiritual death as sinners unless made alive by the Holy Spirit of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-6)
Adam was the first man of Creation. He is called the son of God in the genealogical table of the Gospel of Saint Luke: 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) But Adam failed in keeping the only one Commandment of the Lord. By Adam’s disobedience, the stain of death passed upon all Creation – humankind, animals, plant life, sea life, and even the birds of the air. All illness, disease, famine, pain, wars, and death are the result of Adam’s sin and not in the favor of God. We need not blame God for every hurt we experience for He is not the author of pain and death, but of life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Pain, disease and dying came by the first Adam.
Since death was the curse brought about by Adam, sin has reigned in the world since. But God had already, before the Creation of the worlds, had made provision for the remedy of sin whereby the sin-debt could be satisfied in the economy of God. This provision came in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ – the only Begotten Son of the Father – whereby we could become joint-heirs of God by way of adoption into His family through the sacrifice of that Lamb of God. 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. (Romans 5:15) Since death came by the first Adam, life everlasting was made possible by the second Adam: 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 5:17)
By the way, do not be deceived, God was not by any means surprised at the disobedience of Adam since He had already made that provision for the redemption of man through His Son.
Eve was the bride of Adam just as the Church (for whom our Lord died) is the Bride of Christ. Just as Adam was made to sleep a deep sleep, so was Christ in the deep sleep of death on the cross. Adam’s side was opened to create his bride from a rib taken from the womb. So was the side of Christ wounded in His deep sleep of death to seal the Creation of His own Bride, the Church.
Just as Adam was awakened from his deep sleep at the creation of Eve, so was Christ awakened from the deep sleep of death at the creation of His Bride. The awakening resurrection of our Lord opened the way for all saints who die in the faith to enjoy that same resurrection into eternal life, not the physical and temporary life of Adam, but ETERNAL life with our Lord in Heaven wherein is the Tree of Life taken from the Garden at Eden. That Tree of Life was not chosen by Adam or Eve, but it represented the Lord Jesus Christ as the Author and Giver of Life.
All of us are partaking of one or the other of those two Trees in the midst of the Garden – either the Tree of Life, or the Tree of the Serpent (Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil). In our day, there is quite a multitude gathered around that latter Tree. But the wise and righteous will shun the multitudes and gather before the better Tree.
