Christ and Adam

la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

Scripture:

Rom. 5:12   Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— ¹³ sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

Rom. 5:15   But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. ¹⁷ If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Rom. 5:18   Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. ¹⁹ For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Observation:

For Augustine this passage provided a foundation for his understanding of original sin. The title is intentional, Christ first, and then Adam, for many would say that Paul did not have an interest in developing a doctrine of original sin, but “his main concern is to show the all-encompassing and surpassingly glorious effect of Christ on those who belong to him” (Jewett 2007, 380). Pelagius would refer to this as “the reign of grace” (Pelagius’ Commentary on Romans). While we recognize the role of Adam, we emphasize the work of Christ. 

The free gift of Jesus Christ is grace, which abounds to many. This is a resurrection story, humanity being brought from death to life. It is the corruption of sin which leads to decay and death, but the justification found in Christ that brings about newness of life. Some of the early church scholars made it clear that they did not blame Eve for the presence of sin, but Adam — but also recognizing that the word “Adam” also meant the human, encompassing all of humankind, male and female. It was the humans who sinned and this brought about corruption on the earth. 

Note Paul’s clear language regarding “sinners.” We have all been made sinners through the acts of the “Adam.” He doesn’t beleaguer this point because sin is not his emphasis. Then came the law of Moses, which revealed the depths of sin — in comparison to the law. Sin increased, but so did grace. The “reign of grace” is more than sufficient to meet the need of those who are under the control of sin. Grace has the power to exercise dominion in our lives. 

Application:

In theology we often talk about Christ being the second Adam — setting aright that which went wrong with the first Adam. We put the first Adam in that “first” place and we can certainly examine our world and see what has gone wrong. The corruption of this world is on a sad trajectory because of the sin of humanity, found in Adam. However, if we switch these positions and we don’t focus so much on “original sin” but rather, on the “reign of grace” we just might have a different perspective on the presence of God’s kingdom here on earth. 

The “reign of grace” is not sometime in the future, but is a present reality. It is not the Holy Roman Empire, nor the Christendom that humans built with their own hands. Recently I was in Barcelona and went to see the la Sagrada Familia — a massive church near the city center. The work on this church began 140 years ago but as yet, it remains unfinished. There is still a crane alongside the Cathedral working on yet another spire that will reach up to the sky. The building is massive and dwarfs everything in the surrounding area. The sad truth is that no matter how hard humanity works to build these types of edifices, they do not reflect the “reign of grace.” God doesn’t need us to build cathedrals to touch the sky to remind the world about him. What the world needs is a people who are surrendered to doing life in God’s kingdom, entirely enthralled by the reign of grace. 

Each one of us is called to be an instrument of grace within the kingdom of God. We don’t need to spend all of our time worrying on all the sinful things that we see in the world. Those things have always been around — and if we do, then we are focusing on Adam. It’s so easy to become consumed with pointing out the presence of sin in this world, but when we do, we miss out on what God is really wanting us to experience. When Christ comes first, our eyes are not on the results of Adam, but on Christ alone. As we look to Christ, our concern is about how we can better reflect the kingdom of grace in this world. The daily journey is one in which opportunities abound to be active agents of grace. 

The other day we stopped at a bakery in the afternoon for a cup of tea. The young lady waiting on us had a very familiar accent and Chuck and I tried out speaking Russian with her. Russians abroad are very leery of letting people know that they are Russians these days because of the war. They are afraid of people lashing out at them because of the actions of their leaders. However, when we spoke to her she nearly broke out in tears. She said she hadn’t heard her language for so long and she was very homesick. We compared notes as to where in Moscow we had lived — and she simply beamed. When we left that day we overtipped and said a blessing over her as we walked out. We will probably never meet Valerie again, but it felt like we had been given the gift of participating in the reign of grace, and we rejoiced. 

How we choose to respond in life is up to us. Either we allow Adam to maintain a foothold, or we embrace Christ and allow grace to to have dominion. 

Prayer:

Lord, I pray for opportunities to participate in your reign of grace on a daily basis. Amen.