A brief section from my book
From chapter 3 WHAT IF IT REALLY IS GOOD NEWS?
“But Scripture also speaks of the last Adam. We were all in the first Adam, yes. But the first Adam has been put to death, and just as truly, we are included in the last Adam. He came as the second Man—the head of a new humanity.
“The first man was from the dust of the earth; the second Man is YAHWEH, from the realm of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47, TPT).
“He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record and the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—he deleted it all and they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto his cross and nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation.” (Colossians 2:14, TPT).
See, the gospel I’m coming to know is the good news of a triune God—a God who is love, a Father who has always known us as His children. He did not create us for separation. He created us for union.
If Adam’s disobedience affected all of humanity, “why wouldn’t Christ’s obedience do the same? Adam was a type, a foreshadowing, of the One to come. His choice affected everyone born of him. Why would the last Adam affect less than the first?
According to Ephesians 2, there’s a new humanity in Christ. He put to death the old man—the old order, the old human story. He took the law, with all its condemnation and dividing lines, and nailed it to the cross. He abolished the system that stood against us.
And when He rose, He brought something entirely new with Him: a humanity without walls of division, racial lines, judgment, and separation.”
The book of Ephesians talks about this:
“Our reconciling “Peace” is Jesus! He has made Jew and non-Jew one in Christ. By dying as our sacrifice, he has broken down every wall of prejudice that separated us and has now made us equal through our union with Christ. Ethnic hatred has been dissolved by the crucifixion of his precious body on the cross. The legal code that stood condemning every one of us has now been repealed by his command. His triune essence has made peace between us by starting over forming one new race of humanity, Jews and non-Jews fused together in himself. Two have now become one, and we live restored to God and reconciled in the body of Christ. Through his crucifixion, hatred died” (Ephesians 2:14-16, TPT).
Click the link below to purchase...
One new humanity in Christ. That’s the good news I’m beginning to see. Romans 5:12 (TPT) becomes very important here:”
“When Adam sinned, the entire world was affected. Sin entered the human race and human experience, and death was the result. And so death followed this sin, casting its shadow over all humanity, because all have sinned.”
Most of us do not struggle with that verse. We have heard it, accepted it, and understood what Adam did. But as I read it again, I began to see the contrast Paul is making between Adam and Christ more clearly.
We understand what Adam did, and we also understand that Jesus undid it. What Adam brought in, Jesus undid.
So as I sat with Romans 5:12, I wrote out the contrast in my own words:
“When Jesus came, the entire world was affected. Righteousness entered human experience, and life was the result. And so life followed righteousness, giving His life to all humanity, because all were included in His life.” (JEA, author’s paraphrased contrast)
Excerpt From
The “Gospel” I Grew Up On: And the Gospel I’m Beginning to See
James E. Alderman
This material may be protected by copyright.
Comments