◄ Eternal Son and Unique Man - Perfect MAN Eternal SON (16) ►

Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.
Romans 5:13

Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:47

Perfect Sacrifice

Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of the Father and the unique Son of Man. His deity equipped the Son of God to be good enough to pay the ransom price for the sin of world – but only His humanity qualified the Son of Man to become our kinsman-Redeemer, so that He could pour out His life-blood at Calvary, as the one and only perfect human Sacrifice for sin – the Sin Offering. Not only was He the perfect sacrifice that went to the cross as an obedient Son in submission to His Father – but He willingly walked the way of the cross for the depth of love He had for His Father. He walked the way of the cross in willing, humble obedience. He suffered and died as a sweet smelling savour to the Lord. His life was a living sacrifice that was pleasing to the Father – and so He was raised up to become our perfect High Priest, Who ever lives to make intercession for us all.

Adam’s Sin

It was the humanity of Christ that equipped Him to become our Saviour. The first man, Adam, who had been made in the image and likeness of God was the physical head of the human race – the progenitor of humanity – the original ancestor of all mankind, through whom have sprung all the nations upon earth. The sin in the garden of Eden was Adam’s responsibility for he was the man, created in the image and likeness of God, to be His son and to become the governor of the whole earth. It was through his disobedience to the Father that the entire race of man fell – and inherent sin was the shocking outcome that was to separate his sinful race forever, from a holy God.

Adam’s Disobedience

Every man was rendered a sinner through this one man’s disobedience. The federal head of mankind was a body of clay that had been fashioned out of the dust of the earth by the hand of God – into which the Spirit of God had breathed the life-breath of God.. and the first man, Adam became a living being. The first man was a natural man – an unsaved man – a man condemned to be separated from God forever, for the wages of sin is death; spiritual death – spiritual separation from the Father. And all who are born of the seed of Adam are of the earth, and each one bears the image of that earthly man – a disobedient man – a race in rebellion against their Creator God.

Christ’s Obedience

But just as mankind was judged a race of sinners through the disobedience of Adam – so also those that are saved by the blood of the Lamb have been made judicially righteous through the obedience of Jesus Christ our Lord. Just as the whole human race was imputed with the sin of the first man Adam – so also those that have trusted Jesus as Saviour have the new-life of Christ breathed into them by the Spirit of God – and they are imputed with His righteousness.

Old Creation

The sin of the first man, Adam, rendered the entire race of mankind : CONDEMNED sinners. There was no way that man could reconcile himself to God and so God purposed that He would reconcile Himself back to man – but it required the appointment of a new federal head of the human race – it necessitated a Second Man – One who would become The Last Adam.

First Man

The first man (the first Adam) was the federal head of the human race. The first man was of the old creation in Adam, who was a man of the earth. He was given volition and so Adam could freely choose to obey or to disobey his Father. He chose rebellion and the moment he disobeyed and sinned against the Lord, the spirit of Adam died – and from that time forward the children of men were eternally separated from their Creator God – they were dead in their trespasses and sins from birth. But the Lord knows the end from the beginning and He had already conceived of a plan to save the human race, by means of a second Man – a second federal Head.

New Creation

The second Man (the last Adam)  was to become the federal Head of a new creation of man… the new creation in Christ, Who was a Man from heaven. Just as God prepared a body for the first Adam so He also prepared a body for the last Adam  – a living, breathing human body, that was free from the inherent sin nature of fallen man – but a body of flesh and blood, in which would dwell the incarnate Son of God – the Word made flesh.

Second Man

 Just as sin entered the world through the disobedience of one man, and death came through sin, causing condemnation and separation from God to be the inherited status of all people – so also redemption came to the world through the obedience of one Man, resulting in the forgiveness of sins for all humanity – and light and life and hope and peace and renewed fellowship with the Father – to ALL who would believe on His name. It was divine grace that provided a second Adam to redeem the fallen race of man. It was the eternal Son of God Who laid aside His glory to become the second Man Who would redeem the family of man from their sins, by becoming their substitute Sacrifice. It was our kinsman-Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who by His death and resurrection was qualified to become the Last Adam – the final federal head of God’s new and perfect creation in Christ.

Last Adam

It was Vine who rightly wrote the following: Without becoming man none of this would have been possible. He is now the head of a race of redeemed sinners (the last Adam) and He is the ‘second man’ whose heavenly origin sets Him apart from all the men who went before Him – for the first man Adam became a living being – but the last Adam – a Life-giving Spirit. 

Heavenly Man

The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. And just as we have been born in the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the Lord Jesus Christ – Who is our heavenly Man.