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the tree.
The Last Adam is also linked with a tree, namely the cross upon which He died. "And He bearing His cross went forth ... [to] a place called the place of a skull ... Golgotha" - John 19:17. "Jesus, Whom ye slew and hanged on a tree" - Acts 5:30. The First Adam couldn't even glorify God in a paradise. In sharp contrast to this disobedience, we see the Last Adam glorifying God in a creation that was groaning, having been marred by sin. We are told that the Last Adam was "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" - Philippians 2:8.
4. Both Adams died. The First Adam as a result of his sin - "In the day that you eat from it you shall surely die" - Genesis 2:17 NASV. Some might say Adam didn't die that very day; he lived to a ripe old age. He did not die physically that day, but in the eyes of God, he was SPIRITUALLY dead. This is our present condition in the sight of God. "Dead in trespasses and sins" - Ephesians 2:1.
The Last Adam died because He chose to die! "No man taketh it [my life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself" - John 10:18. "Christ died for our sins" - I Corinthians 15:3. My sins were placed upon the Son of God as He hung upon that cross. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" - Isaiah 5 3:6. What love! What grace!
5. Both Adams are associated with a garden. The First Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, a paradise, but even in such congenial surroundings he failed when he disobeyed God. He'd be able to tell his children of a 'Paradise Lost'.
The Last Adam, coming into a sinful and hostile environment, lived a life that brought absolute delight to His Father, from beginning to end, and following His death for the sinner, He was buried. "Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre .... there laid they Jesus" - John 19:42. It was in this garden that He rose from among the dead and first appeared to a weeping Mary Magdalene to declare to her and to the world, "Behold I am alive for evermore." One of the two thieves who were crucified alongside Him, repented and called upon the Lord to remember him. He received a wonderful promise from the Saviour when He replied, "Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise" - Luke 23:43. A 'Paradise Gained'.
6. The two Adams both. have followers. As God looks down on mankind today, He sees every one of us standing, as it were, behind one of these two men. The moment we were conceived, we took our place behind the the First Adam. Our association with this Adam leads to death and eternal judgment. "In Adam all die" - 1 Corinthians 15:22.
God appeals to all today to flee from the coming wrath, but to do so we must identify ourselves with His Son, the Last Adam. We can do this by believing that He died for our sins, was raised for our justification, and if we accept Him as Saviour, we will become 'children of God', receive eternal life, have heaven as our final home, and the Holy Spirit of God will come and dwell in our hearts!!
WHICH ADAM DO YOU CHOOSE?
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