the last Adam

Got this terrific question from one of our thinking high school students after Sunday's message entitled, Blessings & A Boundary from Genesis 2:4-17 . . .

Hi Pastor Tim,

So, i was thinking about the sermon today and i had a question: I get that we all are Adam, Adam is every man, but what I don't understand is Jesus being the second Adam because we aren't all Jesus. does that make sense?

Here's my response, which might provide some clarification for others . . .

Dear ___________,

I love it that you were thinking about the sermon after it was over. . . . that encourages me heart!

Great question about Christ and His role as the second/better/last Adam. How does Jesus serve as the second Adam if we aren't all Jesus?

Answer: Its not that we are all Jesus, but He is all of us (those who put their faith in Him). Adam was our representative head. . . . we were somehow in Him. . . . Jesus comes to serve as a second representative head for all those who will trust Him. When we put our trust in Jesus, we become "in Him,' His righteous life and substitutionary death become mine. His choices and actions are credited (imputed) to my account. Again, its not that I become Him, but that He becomes me. . . . He stands in for me. This is what it means to say that He is the second/last Adam. We go back to the garden and the tree of life on His back. We can't get there by ourselves, but He can take us there.

Is that helpful? Does it make sense?

For more on Christ as the better Adam, check out Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15!