“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive,” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
It was a dark day when Satan took the form of a serpent in the Garden and successfully persuaded Eve to first doubt, and then disobey the God whose breath gave her life. Adam soon followed suit, sealing their fate (and ours) – falling from a state of innocence to guilt, from a place of divine fellowship to exile, and from life in a garden of bounty to sure and certain death in the desert dust. Matthew Newcomen said, “We, like foolish and unthankful wretches, gave away the honor of acquaintance and communion with God for an apple.”
But thanks be to God for His unspeakable grace, for in the midst of this tragic scene there remained a single, yet well sufficient glimmer of hope – the promise of a Savior whose eventual death and resurrection would deal the fatal blow to the head of that serpent, the devil (Gen. 3:15). As a result, we can experience a full and complete pardon from guilt unto death to freedom and life everlasting in Christ.
The full benefits of being made alive in Christ are beyond measure. But what we can clearly see from God’s Word is the decided difference in our relationship to God before – and after – salvation.
In Adam we are sinners, guilty before a holy and just God with nowhere to hide. But in Christ we are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1). God absolves our guilt and removes the penalty of death that sinners are so deserving of and in its place adorn believers with the very righteousness of Christ.
In Adam, we are at enmity with God, exiled from His presence (Rom. 8:7, Gen. 3:23-24). But in Christ and through His work on the cross believers have been reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18-20). This is possible only because of Christ as Savior and Mediator healed the severed relationship, securing peace between believers and their Creator (Col. 1:20).
In Adam we are slaves to sin and by nature choose evil over good. Once we are made alive in Christ through believing the Gospel, however, God’s Spirit takes up residence in us, setting us free from the bondage of sin and sanctifying us to a life of holiness (Rom. 8:2, 1 John 4:4).
In Adam, we accrued a sin debt we could not repay. But Christ paid our debt in full at Calvary (Col. 2:13-14). Because the Son was obedient to God’s foreordained plan of redemption – even to the death of the cross – God cancelled the ledger of sin that was dead against us and in its place offered His full and complete forgiveness for those who would believe.
In Adam we are estranged from God. In Christ we are made heirs of God, and joint-heirs with the Son In other words, once we are made alive in Christ we are adopted into God’s family and as His children will eventually go home to live with Him for all eternity (John 1:12, Rom. 8:14-17).
Let us be found praising and adoring God our Father, His Son our Savior, and His life-giving Spirit for making us alive in Christ!
“The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life,” (John 6:63).
- I know, Lord, that all the children of Adam, from the least to the greatest, are born in sin and condemnation. My Bible teaches this very clearly. Yet it is sobering to consider that the saints in heaven sing glory to You who washed them from sin in Your own blood, while those who reject You are damned to hell to be tormented there forever.
- Lord, what a strict covenant Adam was under. One sin, and he was liable to its whole punishment. One sin. I know that Adam’s human nature was adorned with Your glorious image, but it is phenomenal to consider how one sin, one evil thought, one evil action… one – not two or three or a hundred – but one sin brought us so low in Adam. He was bound to that covenant with the threat of death. And still he fell to Satan’s lies. What sorrow, bitter repentance, shame, and self-loathing did he experience for eating that forbidden fruit in exchange for such godless pursuits as horrid unbelief, pride, ambition, presumption, bold curiosity, monstrous ingratitude, etc. I am so grateful to Christ, the Head of the second covenant, for my pardon, peace and reconciliation with You. How blessed I am to be rescued by such a worthy Redeemer and Savior!
- It is a mind-bending thought, Lord Jesus, that You came for me; for me in particular among all people, for I have no merit of my own to claim. I know that not everyone was given to Christ by the Father. This is stated clearly in many texts of Scripture, where those who are given to Him are distinguished from others. “You have given Him power over all flesh, that He might give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world, they were Yours, and You gave them Me” (John 17:2, 6).
- On account of Your grace and Christ’s work on the cross, I am blessed to be among Your people, for I believe by faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am an heir and child of promise (Romans 9:8), the spiritual seed of Abraham (Romans 4:13; Galatians 3:18; Hebrews 2:16), a vessel of mercy prepared to glory (Romans 9:24), chosen in You, predestined to the adoption of sons and conformity to Your image (Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:4, 6), and made alive by Your Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:22-23). I will praise You all the days of my life and adore You for all eternity.
Further References for 1 Cor. 15:22
Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:45; Gen. 3:19; Rom. 5:12; Gen. 2:17; Job 31:33
