God doesn’t just forgive, He elevates and upgrades! Totally transforms. This produces the two races. Fake, broken, out of warranty humans with their original fallen bloodline of the first Adam and real, glorious, eternal humans with the bloodline of the Original, the second Adam.
Wait… So how can a God of love be racist?!
Well when God uses the word “race” in His word he isn’t talking skin deep. God means there are two races. One will have a human life span. The other will have the lifespan of Christ. One thinks they’re human. The other IS human. The original version.
Whats this theological gymnastics based on?
The two Adams is one of the most neglected and misunderstood doctrines of the bible. People don’t teach it much. But it’s so important, you wouldn’t believe it! The eternal destiny of everyone ever born, every last one, is connected to these two men — Adam and Christ, who is the “second Adam.”
Lemme say that again- the eternal, permanent, universal destiny of everyone in human history is determined by who your “Daddy” is.
How? Well in the beginning, God created all mankind in one man (yes, God does know what He’s doing), Adam [Genesis 1:27-28; Acts 17:26]. That’s why Adham in in Hebrew is a play on the words which mean, “man/humanity”, “red clay” and “the whole planet”. Its all the same word. Bad news is, Satan messed up all mankind in that one man, Adam (planet/humanity) and he thought he’d won [Romans 5:12, 18; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22], but he was mistaken.
See God saw the Fall coming so He made some insurance. If Satan could corrupt us all by crippling, bending, breaking and poisoning one man. God could save us all by putting us all back into a whole, straight, unbreakable and pure man. God redeemed all mankind in one Man, Christ Jesus the second Adam (see why God created Adam the way He did?). Yes, despite popular opinion God does indeed know what He’s doing, sin wasn’t a surprise for God [1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:3, 2:5-6]. The Bible is really clear on the amazing stuff it expects you believe!
For example the Bible says, “in Adam all die” and that “in Christ all will be made alive” [1 Corinthians 15:22].
Okay now, we’re gonna go even deeper. Brace yourself!
In Romans 5:11, Paul talks about a glorious truth in the gospel. He says that we Christians can rejoice because we have already received atonement. God is already satisfied with where we stand with Him. Paul then goes on to explain in Romans 5:12-21 how this happened! He does it by using Adam as a type, or pattern, of Christ [see verse 14].
He argues that we’re redeemed/changed/transformed “in Christ” in the same way that we are lost/twisted/condemned “in Adam.” The history of these two men ,Adam and Christ, has affected the eternal destiny of all mankind.
In order to use Adam as a pattern of Christ, Paul explains and breaks down how our situation is “in Adam.”(Romans 5:12-14). Its almost like watching Xmen:Days of Future Past – but way, way, way better
TIME FOR A PAUSE…
BRAIN TEASER QUESTIONS!
Am I condemned because of the things I do or because of who I am? If my dad does something wrong, like corruption, or rob a bank, and it comes out in public, does it affect the whole family? Do people look at our family badly from that point onwards or just him? Do we, as his family, also become criminal or tainted or dirty in the eyes of everyone else? Is it an “apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” type of thing? See [Rom ans 5:12].
MIND BLOWING FACTS!
In that verse, Paul makes three statements about the sin problem. He says that sin entered the world (that is, human history) through one man, Adam. Second, he says that this sin
condemned Adam to death. Third, Paul says that this death spread to all humanity “because all sinned.”
Paul is saying here in Romans 5:12 that death spread to all mankind “because all sinned” in Adam. Paul’s logic is that all humanity was “in Adam” when he sinned so, the whole human race was affected, tainted, contaminated, or participated, in Adam’s act of disobedience.
Okay lets continue…
Now what are the implications? If you’re brave enough, you have to believe that when God gave the command, the death sentence pronounced on Adam when he sinned was the second
death — eternal death. It was good-bye to life forever.
Put yourself in his shoes. Not ours. Today we think of death like your heart stopping. But when God gave the commandment of not eating the forbidden fruit, He was talking to a being whose heart would NEVER stop. It WASN’T DESIGNED TO EVER STOP. Do you get it?
When you say the word “death” to a being with an endless life span how would they understand you? Not rotting in a grave? Oh no, they would understand you as meaning goodbye. Kaput. Unmake. Disassemble. Deconstruct.
Remember Adam had seen God’s power. Death meant The All Powerful would powerfully reduce Adam to un-being.
Sounds harsh but in essence God said, “My son, I love you, everything in this world I made is yours, BUT if you eat any apples off this tree without My express permission, I will end you”. And then Eve, ironically before she sinned, understood God so deep in her gut, so intuitively (women are naturally intuitive because God made them that way) that she told the snake (that serpent of old, called Satan and the devil, father of lies and a murderer from the beginning John 8:44), “Forget eating it! I can’t even touch it! If I do that its, its over! End of story. Total destruction” (I am paraphrasing).
Now knowing what she had just said, and knowing that Adam and Eve understood God right (that it was not about the first death, but the destruction of the soul), do you see the devil wanting Adam and Eve to disobey so that they sleep or rot in a grave as a result or did Satan actually want God to totally destroy them? Remember Jesus said in John that the devil has been a murderer from the beginning.
Can you see how deep Satan’s hatred was for these beings that looked like and reminded him of Christ? Satan wanted God to end them, especially after he heard God’s commandment to Adam about the tree!
Think about it.
Whether you’re Christian or not, you are alive right now because your heart is beating, because Jesus was the lamb appointed to death before the first human was ever created? Is that air you’re breathing?
In Adam, the whole human race belongs on death row as a legal matter of fact. It is only in Christ that we can pass from eternal death to eternal life toshare Christ’s throne (John 5:24; Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; 2 Timothy 1:10; Revelation 1:5; Revelation 20:6).
Once Paul breaks down our situation in Adam [Romans 5:12-14], he argues that, just as Adam’s sin affected all humanity for death, likewise, what Christ did as the second Adam also affected all humanity for life.
More racism!
When Adam sinned, he brought the judgment of condemnation to “all men” (meaning mankind). In the same way, when Christ obeyed, He not only redeemed humanity from the results of
Adam’s sin, but He canceled all our personal sins (“many trespasses”) and gave us the “justification that brings life” to all men [verses 16, 18]. This is the unconditional good news that the gospel proclaims.
Wait. We’re not done yet! There’s more.
In verse 19, Paul adds another dimension to the problem. It “made” all men into sinners. This means that we are also born slaves to sin and are, therefore, incapable, in ourselves, of producing genuine, fully committed or perfect righteousness [see Romans 3:9-12; 7:14-25].
Here comes the law: another divine setup, a beautiful trap, a wonderful ‘spanner in the works’. To demonstrate that the chains of Adam’s sin has made us slaves, God gave His law.
Romans 5:20: did you see how the Bible uses the word ‘but’ there? Meaning- yes Jesus covered us, BUT, to get us to the point where we would see we need Jesus, God gave the Law. [see also Romans 7:7-13].
In other words, Paul is explaining God’s MOTIVES in giving us His law: it was NOT to solve the sin problem but to expose it. Now, knowing that the Law can’t help but rather just expose your nakedness (and lets also pretend that you love) God can you see why David writes what he writes in Psalms 19:7?
God gave the Law, to show us how much we need Him, knowing we’d fail. We’ve just been too stubborn to admit it. Keeping the letter but failing the spirit of the law. Producing SADventism o for those of who focus more heavily on grace, we’re trying to be good people instead of accepting that we have to be perfect people. Good just ain’t good enough.
For example, the difference in divine standard between a man who only lusts after a woman but doesn’t sleep with her. God calls that man an adulterer. See where this is headed?
Conclusion
Paul refers to what God has done “in Christ” (did you catch it again?) for us all as a “gift” [verse 16], and its free. Mahala.
This means that justification, being right with God, purity and perfection is still a gift. Like any gift, it belongs only to those who accept it. Only those who want it by faith, receive it. Only receivers of God’s gift enjoy the benefits of Christ’s obedience.
Second, Paul repeatedly uses the expression “much more” when pointing to the blessings. In Christ, much more has been done than simply undoing the damage Adam did. God isn’t in the business of panel beating your soul after we’ve had a spiritual car accident. In Christ, not only do we get eternal life, but much more, we shall “reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” [verse 17].
This is superabundant grace. This is the real stuff.
When this stuff sinks, it changes you. Its revival or riot! Do or die. To live is Christ, to die is gain kinda stuff!
God doesn’t just forgive, He elevates and upgrades! Totally transforms. This produces the two races. Fake, broken, out of warranty humans with their original fallen bloodline of the first Adam and real, glorious, eternal humans with the bloodline of the Original, the second Adam.
One day there will only be One. It don’t matter if you’re black or white. Male or female. Jew or Greek. All are one in Christ.
1 comment
Beautiful!