James McCann - Class 5: Adam and Christ as by one Man

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

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   The most important legacy of all time. We want to come to focus on the amazing work that God accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ and the legacy of hope and life that he gave us. But to appreciate the power, brothers and sisters, of Christ's work, we need to understand that he came to reverse the effects of another legacy, and that is of Adam's. And our brother Pete took us at the end of his study yesterday to 1 Corinthians 1, where Christ and him crucified is put forward as being the power of God and the wisdom of God. And I hope this morning, brothers and sisters, we're going to see how wonderful the power demonstrated in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also the wisdom in bringing about a plan of salvation so grand as this. But when we come to look at scripture, we see that a key connection is made for us. For instance, in Romans chapter 5, as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man shall many be made righteous.

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   And that connection is also in 1 Corinthians 15. So it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the earth, earthly. The second man is the Lord from heaven. So we need to understand this connection, brothers and sisters, because the two are compared and contrasted in scripture. Now, if you were to just sort of think about the way that Adam and Christ are described in scripture and who they are, just look at the detail.

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   We know that Adam is called the first man. It tells us that he is the beginning in Matthew 19 of Christ's words. We know that he is a special creation from the dust of the ground. We know that he was made a living being and made in God's image, where he is described as being a son of God.

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   And he is the father and head of the entire human race. And we know that to be the case also because Eve is called the mother of all living. So there's a description of the way Adam is described in the Bible. Now look at the way Christ is introduced. He is the firstborn from the dead. He is the beginning, Colossians 1 says. We know he is also a special creation from Luke 1 and also Psalm 139.

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   We know that he is a life-giving spirit and he is the image of the invisible God. And he is God's beloved son. And we know also that he is the head and the father of God's new spiritual creation. And we'll have a look at that idea of the father towards the end. But see, brothers and sisters, straight away we have two family heads being presented to us in scripture. That as Adam was a father of the natural human creation, so we have Christ as being the head or father of a spiritual creation that God is going to bring about in him. And these key doctrinal passages, brothers and sisters, draw these vital parallels between them. And it's not just here in Matthew 5, sorry, in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15.

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   Scripture abounds in these links between Adam and Christ. And there's a series of antitheses that are put one beside the other. And brothers and sisters, we need to ask ourselves the question, why is that the case? And I think the reason is twofold, primarily. The first thing is that Christ has to be seen as coming to reverse the effects of the legacy that Adam's actions brought upon the world. They're connected and scripture connects them so. But more than that is that it tells us that a correct understanding of one is vital for a correct understanding of the other. So if we misunderstand what happens in Eden, we're going to misunderstand the importance of what Christ was doing and how the wisdom and power of God was demonstrated. And we're going to see that what Christ came to do, he had to go through and bear the consequences of the first man in order that he might find a legacy for us of life and eternity. So we're going to do a little bit of first principles for the moment, brothers and sisters. So please forgive me for this, but I think that it's vital that we get the foundation in Genesis. And we need to go back in a sense into the Genesis record to see how the scripture details the creation and the entrance of sin and death into the world.

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   It starts the entire scriptures like that, brothers and sisters, because it's vital for us to understand the truths concerning God and his actions with mankind. Now, I like to do diagrams because they help my single core brain process things. So here, if we look at the way that God out of love creates a race of people to reflect his glory, we can see that man being created for that purpose, being created to have dominion, was at this stage very good to the purpose of which God had created him. And he was in harmony with his creator. But unfortunately, as we know from the events of Genesis 3, that by man came sin and death. And God, who is righteous and holy, he does not dwell in darkness, he is light. And when man who has wronged God can see those actions that he has done, then God's just sentence of sin subjects man to death. And there is, of course, this division now. And of course, there needs to be a way in which man who has been alienated by these actions can come back to God. And so we can see in Genesis that sin's consequences were right there. It says that they were naked and they went and they hid themselves.

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   And this is telling us, brothers and sisters, that there is like this external flag of an inward effect of sin, because sin had brought about a change. It tells us that their eyes were opened and they sewed fig leaves together. And it's as if that they had adopted the carnal logic of the serpent. And from that moment on, it had aroused in them a desire and a lust towards that which God had forbidden.

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   And it was this tendency that from that moment on became inflamed and remained so. And so we are told in verse 17 and 19 of Genesis 3, that dying thou shalt die. Here was the direct consequence. The curses were to enforce the very things that God's law had previously said. And so by divine judgment, they were made subject to death or mortal using the scriptal definition of mortality.

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    Now, Brother Roberts beautifully says that humanly speaking, there are these three choices. So we could talk about the idea that God could have immediately said, right, you've sinned, immediate execution would have been just and right. What hope would that have left mankind? The other option is he could have just pretended that he lift the carpet up, sweep the sin under the carpet, lay it back down and pretend that nothing ever happened. But brothers and sisters, how could a righteous and holy God abdicate his righteousness so? So he says beautifully that God's method, and this is the wisdom and the power of God, isn't it? God's method was to enforce his just and necessary law, yet at the same time provide a way of rescue. And we're going to see that that way of rescue is going to come through the upholding of that righteous and just sentence. But there needed to be one who could perfectly balance those two characteristics. Because all of us, brothers and sisters, for God to enforce his just and necessary law would leave us in the grave. Because that's just.

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    But there needs to be one who can break that power. So when we come to Romans 5, and we'd like to spend a little bit of time in Romans 5 this morning as the basis of these remarks, we're going to see that Paul picks this aspect up. And here in Romans chapter 5, he gives us the amazing beauty of the things that have occurred in the wisdom and power of God, that we have been justified by faith, and we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And in telling us about how we've been justified by his blood in verse 9, he tells us that if we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And in order to tell us how we have received the atonement, brothers and sisters, he's going to start in verse 12 and give us the facts of the case. Because these are the truths that Christ came to uphold, and these are the truths that we ought to understand and believe. So he says in verse 12, that wherefore, as by one man sin entered in the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.

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    Now, brother Carter beautifully brings out that there are four aspects here in this verse. But by man came this reign of sin and death that was not by God's creation. It was man. God didn't create us this way under the dominion of sin and death. Because we know that it was by sin and God's just judgment upon that in Genesis, dying thou shalt die, that a righteous God sentenced upon man to die. Death was a consequence, brothers and sisters, of the events of the first men.

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    And so he goes on to show that all who come from Adam, which is the entire human race, because he is the head, all innocently inherit this mortality. This reign of death, the law of sin and death, was put into effect by the events of the first man. And so strong is this that all of us individually will ourselves become sinners, if given the opportunity. And of course, the only exception to that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're going to see that that is where the power of God and the wisdom of God is most demonstrated.

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    So Brother Carter puts forward his little summary of this. And I think it's beautiful for us to look at. He says, Adam sinned and was punished with death. And his children inherit mortality and also a tendency to sin so inevitable in its sin-producing power that Paul can say that through Adam's sin, all sinned, and therefore all die through him, e.g. as a consequence. We're not guilty, brothers and sisters, for Adam's sin, but the consequences of Adam's sin affect all of us.

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    It is that legacy that comes through from him that all of us have the misfortune of having. And so therefore, we see that this legacy is the content of Romans chapter 5, because he's going to go through and show us how the events of the first man are connected to all of us.

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    So this became a physical law of his being. And all of us, therefore, from this point in time, we can see that as death passed through to all, we can see that this reign of death is the theme through which Paul is commenting on here in Romans chapter 5. Nevertheless, death reigned. We're emphasizing this point so that we can understand that the events of the first man and their effect on us are important that we get and understand.

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    And so we ask the question, why is this legacy being emphasized over and over and over again? Well, it's because, brothers and sisters, in Romans 5, as the legacy of Adam is continually mentioned, so too we have the events of another man and what he did and the effects, of course, of his legacy.

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    Because Romans 8 says that the creation was subjected to futility, to vanity, not of its own will, but of the will of him who subjected it in hope. And we're going to see, brothers and sisters, that that beautiful expression of brother Roberts, in that he enforces his just and necessary law, is going to be the means by which hope is brought out of that.

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    He subjected it in hope. It's beautiful, isn't it? From Romans 8. So when we see here in Romans 5, these two placed side by side, we can see that the legacy of Adam bringing sin and death into the world is going to be paralleled to how Christ and his obedience brings life to us, to the many.

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    Because we are going to share in their legacy. They become, in a sense, the channels through which the work of God is going to be funneled. And if you want, like, a little activity to go through Romans 5 and colour some of these words in, you can see that he's again emphasising the events of the one man, the family head, the federal head, and showing how that then comes across to the many.

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    Sorry, I'll go back. We can see here the one man is mentioned both of Adam and of Christ all the way through. The events of that family head will have consequences to the many, or those who are in Adam and in Christ. And that's why we saw when we started our slides that this idea of a family head is really important because God is going to deal with us through that means.

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    If we can understand how death has come into the world and sin, we're going to see how righteousness and life will come through Christ. Because the point of comparison that he's making here, brothers and sisters, is in Adam, we all share the disabilities that came upon the world by his sin. We innocently inherit Adam's mortality without having committed or are guilty of his crime.

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    And if we can understand that idea, brothers and sisters, then the next point becomes so valuable. Because in Christ, we share the blessings that come by his righteousness, having not done or are able to do his righteousness. Because, brothers and sisters, if our eternal life is bound up in our ability to be righteous, then none of us will ever be able to achieve that.

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    And so our brother Roger mentioned this morning that when we talk about the righteousness that we have, it is not our righteousness, brothers and sisters. It is his righteousness imputed to us. It's our family head's work that is shared with us if we are in him. That's the point that Paul wants to make.

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    If we understand the origins of sin and death in the world and how we become a partaker of that, then God is going to use in his wisdom the one man who he made strong, the warrior. He's going to make him able to share with his brethren the consequences of his work, even though you and I ourselves are not able to be righteous like him.

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    That's beautiful to see the effect of how one has been able to bring about life and peace for us. Now, the Waymount translation, brothers and sisters, I believe is beautiful in Romans. It really just brings out some of these themes so beautifully. And I've got it up here. I know there's a lot to read, but I hope I've tried to color code it so we can see the connections really well.

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    But just look at the way that the translation here describes this reign. Death has reigned as a king, but God's free gift immeasurably outweighs the transgression. So here's now the parallels being made. For if through the transgression of the one individual, the mass of mankind have died, then infinitely greater is the generosity of which God's grace and the gift given in his grace, which found expression in one man.

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    I love that. That's just beautiful. Have been bestowed on the mass of mankind. You can understand how we have come to innocently be a partaker of the things that have taken place in Adam. Then, brothers and sisters, we can see how that has been bestowed upon us who are not able to be righteous like our Lord.

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    So death made use of the one individual to seize the sovereignty. All the more shall those who receive God's overflowing grace and the gift of righteousness reign as kings in life through the one individual, Jesus Christ. It follows then. You see, there's this flow on effect that we can see. The events of the head of one family and the consequences therefore going through are paralleled.

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    Just as the result of a single transgression is a condemnation which extends to the whole race, so also the result of a single decree of righteousness is a life-giving acquittal which extends to the whole race in Christ. For as through the disobedience of one individual the mass of mankind were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of one the mass of mankind will be constituted righteous.

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    We will be given that righteousness. We don't achieve that. It is ours by it being shared by our family head. So brothers and sisters, this connection between sin and the dominion it came to have on mankind is really important because we need one man who will come under its dominion to save us from it.

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    So when we go back to Genesis, we can see that God did create man to have dominion over creation. We know that's the case right back in Genesis 1 verse 27. But sin seized the dominion through that one man and reigned as a king. Well, brothers and sisters, when we see that, we ask the question, how then could this dominion be destroyed?

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    How could sin as a king be dethroned? And therefore those who have been under its power and captive be saved? Paul uses this beautiful little phrase in Romans 6. I think it's so very important to colour in in Romans 6 because it tells us that we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again.

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    Now notice this. Death no longer has dominion over him. Now that tells us something, brothers and sisters, very, very important. That death did have dominion over Christ. In other words, he came under the dominion of death as a result of the legacy that came in by Adam. And it was vital that he do that, brothers and sisters, because in the death that he died, he died under sin.

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    His death has to be connected with the problem that he came to save us from. And therefore, there is a moral imperative, as we're going to see at the end of today. The legacy of Christ has to live on in us, brothers and sisters, because we ought in our life, if we are part of his legacy, to strive to emulate those principles.

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    However imperfectly, it must be our desire every day to strive to do that the best that we can day by day. And to build up the spiritual warrior, that our brother Roger was talking this morning, to arm him day after day to the battle, that slowly we might start to see that the little battles that we face day by day is fought for us by the one who has conquered the battle.

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    And these connections to Psalm 8 have been already brought out this week, brothers and sisters, because here prophetically is being placed before us that the Son of Man would come. And the Son of Man would come a little lower than the angels. Not in their nature. In our nature. Sharing with us all the misfortunes that came upon us from Adam.

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    So, brothers and sisters, he might take back and destroy. And here we have that he would be the one through whom the dominion of creation would be restored. And we look for that day where all things will be under his feet, which is a connection back to 1 Corinthians 15. So, what's the point, brothers and sisters?

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    The point is that Jesus had to come under the dominion of death to be able to battle it and defeat it and to be able to lead us out of it. And that's the point of Hebrews chapter 2. I'd like you to come with me across now to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2.

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    Our brother Peter was taking us yesterday to Romans chapter 8 where it actually shows that Jesus actually had to come in the very likeness of sinful flesh. That he might condemn sin. Where was it going to be condemned? In the flesh, brothers and sisters. In the very place that sin had come to reign.

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    That's why it was important that he come connected to the problem. And here in Hebrews 2 is exact the same point here that Paul is bringing out. This is the quotation, isn't it, from Psalm 8. We see Jesus in verse 9 who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death.

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    crowned with glory and honour that he by the grace of God should face death for every man. Here is our representative, brothers and sisters. Our family head who's going to do these things on our behalf. And notice the word here in verse 10. He's a captain of our salvation. He's a captain because he's going through the process.

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    And that same process that he goes through is to lead us out of it. And that's why he said to John as he was being baptised that thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. It's important that I go through this process too because although I have no sins myself to ask forgiveness for, I am the leader of a group of people who will, and on the basis of my work, will find forgiveness for their sins.

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    So both he who is sanctified and they who are sanctified are all of one Father. For which cause he is not ashamed to call us brethren. The connection, brothers and sisters, between him and us and the nature we share is so very important because he's going to declare the Father's name to his brethren.

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    And therefore, brothers and sisters, here we have, in verse 13, the legacy of Christ. He says, Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me. The children is the legacy of those who come from him. And here's the crux. Verse 14, For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also, himself, likewise, took part of the same.

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    It's emphasized, brothers and sisters, over and over again. He had to come in our nature. He had to come like us. Why? That through death he might destroy him that hath the power of death. That is, the devil. He had to go through the very death that came into the world. He was under the dominion of death so that he might destroy the power of sin in that process.

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    There's the connection of linking of what happened to Adam and his legacy of sin and death with Christ because he is going to go through it and deliver them who through fear of death and all their lifetime, notice this, are subject to its bondage. And that's why he tells us again that he did not take upon him the nature of angels but in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren that he might be a merciful and a faithful high priest in things pertaining to God there's the first important principle a high priest has to show the truths concerning God and uphold his righteousness as we know from Romans 3 and to make reconciliation for the sins of the people for in that he himself has suffered being tempted he is able to succor them who are tempted and having been through all that we go through brothers and sisters and all the misfortunes of the sorrow and pain that come upon Adam brothers and sisters he knows what it's like and we have someone who has been touched with the feelings of our infirmities so this is how sin and death was going to be defeated now I told you I like my little diagrams so this is how my brain works so in Christ's death Jesus was in Adam sharing the nature that comes upon all of us from him and so inheriting our mortal nature that came by Adam's sin there's a connection there that has to be made he is under death's dominion and therefore brothers and sisters it is right he submit to death that's what it

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    means brothers and sisters about him being our representative and why our doctrines separate us from the churches around because if he was a substitute it wasn't right that he died and in that process he destroyed the body of sin so through death that he might destroy the devil so here we have all the truths demonstrated in the death of Christ but the amazing thing is brothers and sisters his resurrection plays an equally important role because Jesus was sinless sin's dominion was broken he never practiced sin that's why Romans 8 says in the likeness of sinful flesh yes in us he was the same he also himself likewise but sin never owned him he never allowed sin to have dominion over him and in doing so he broke it power by always doing those things which pleased the father it was his obedience to the things of the truth and therefore God raised him up because death's hold was finally broken the only one through whom that could take place and so now as an immortal being he walks in newness of life in a sense as the the line that's used because it has relationship to us his legacy we brothers and sisters ought to walk a resurrected life we are dead and therefore the principles of our life should be raised above and so brothers and sisters we see why scripture records that he is the last adam because having started in adam he finally puts as an end the legacy of what sin and death brought into the world by adam but the beautiful thing is he becomes the beginning of a new legacy that

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    is begun in his resurrection and that's why isaiah 45 beautifully puts the phrase he's a just god and a savior there's the power brothers and sisters and the wisdom of god only by the wisdom of god could a plan be brought about where god's righteousness is upheld and yet at the same time he provides a way in which mankind can be saved and rescued that's magnificent when you see it like that no humans can come up with a logic like that and therefore brothers and sisters i'd like to show you again this little diagram that to me portrays the aspects of all of these principles i'm really sorry even with binoculars you probably won't be able to read that but if you'd like a copy of it later happy to give it to you but just going through how it summarizes the principles the first man adam we have up the top here he is the head of the entire human race being created but from the moment when they fell sin entered into the world and god's righteous sentence subjected adam to death which becomes a physical law of his being and now we have this blue box in which all in adam will share his dying subject to death mortal nature and a sin proneness and that little man down the bottom here is christ because he comes in that process involved connected in that legacy so death comes upon the world and passes through and reigns from adam to moses and we have this idea that all in adam died even christ because he's under the dominion of death he has born our griefs

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    isaiah 53 says and therefore jesus declares god's righteousness in upholding that sentence and there publicly demonstrates that god you are right in condemning this nature to death and so brothers and sisters first corinthians 15 tells us that the end of this process the resurrection he uses these words when this mortal has put on immortality then death will be swallowed up see the connection between mortality and death the scripture is painting to us the resurrection must be the antithesis of the death that came into the world and brothers and sisters what i've got down through here on the right hand side is all the statement of faith clauses that beautifully show those principles they are the things that bind us together well we've been talking a lot this week too about theistic evolution and some of the errors that go in i'd like to show you brothers and sisters why that's such a problem not because you just have to you know rip genesis 1 to 3 out of the bible that's you know an issue as well but if you have a look at this little diagram it demonstrates the importance of how the atonement breaks down if we do not have a correct understanding of the sin and death that ended into the world so on the right hand side if death was already in the world if mortality if man was already subject to death we can see that this big arrow on the right hand side is already there then adam when he was given the law and told well if you do that you'll die it was a redundant law they were already

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    dying if that was the case but more than that brothers and sisters death if it was already in the world was not an enemy because if death was already an enemy before adam's sin then he would have needed redemption and christ before even sin entered the world but if we keep following that down we can see that when christ comes over here on the right hand side he's not connected to the problem of sin and death he's all the way over here because adam's sin must have therefore just brought about a legal sentence and the wages of sin we therefore have to introduce a new unbiblical term called eternal death and therefore when christ came to you know taste death for every man he must have come to taste eternal death which means it's not right that he rise again and therefore it's unrighteous that he die because he's not connected to the problem and ultimately if we then try to take christ from over here and put him over there to solve adam's problem we ultimately make him a substitute and just pull him over there to solve a problem to which he's not connected you see brothers and sisters it all starts to break down but our brother carter mentioned in his book again these beautiful words it is by man in both cases the second man must be a descendant of the first man he must work his way out of the evil into which the first brought all only by being in the evil subject to its effects of sin can he come out of it death can be overcome only by one coming

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    under its dominion so mankind is involved in the consequences of the fall of the man and of the rise of the man for as in adam all die so in christ all made alive in adam by physical descent from him by generation all die in christ by union with him be regeneration shall all be made alive do you know brothers and sisters we don't have a choice to be in adam but we do have a choice to be in christ to be a partaker of that legacy and if we refuse that choice we can be guaranteed that adam's legacy will stay with us and when we look at it like that as moses said i have placed before you life and death blessing and cursing choose life is what he's saying it's as easy as that when you look at the two side by side and so christ brothers and sisters comes to be the last adam this is significant that paul draws these parallels this way it's significant brothers and sisters that christ come bearing the consequences that came upon the first man and that's why in scripture both the old and the new testament go to great lengths to tell us the genealogies because it's trying to show how this man christ is going to come bearing all the consequences that came upon the first man he is a sharer of these things and isaiah 53 and hebrews 2 verse 14 which is what we've just taken what we've just been at show us again the connection is very important and what's beautiful is our brother peter yesterday in his studies took us

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    to the serpent in the wilderness why did a serpent have to be lifted up because their brothers and sisters was a symbol of that lifeless serpent hung on a pole that people could believe that the power of the serpent had been finally put to death people had to see the connection and that's why the lord jesus christ brings that up as the as the vital principle in john chapter 3 to tell nicodemus about that as the the serpent in the wilderness was lifted up so must the son of man and it's just as if this little numbers 21 passage it's just seemingly insignificant is massively emphasized by christ because of the connection here he had to come in that same nature because brothers and sisters there he was going to battle and defeat sin in the very place that came to reign genesis 3 15 means that when christ was the seed of the woman he would not be the seed of the man he would come bearing our nature yes but he would come as the father's son to crush sin in the very place it came to reign he had to be god's son because in him would come to meet those two opposing principles and truly the word of god would live forever and so he becomes the last adam to gain dominion and then share it with his brethren and we brothers and sisters are a partaker of that legacy if we are in him he is the head of this new creation and so the last adam becomes a life giving spirit eternal life and isn't that amazing brothers and

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    sisters when we see that he is the end of that legacy we see christ and these beautiful words expressed in first corinthians 15 that death will be swallowed up in victory now these words are taken aren't they from isaiah chapter 25 and just think of what is isaiah 25 is telling us that he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people this is the legacy of sin and death upon the world the veil that is spread over all nations he will swallow it up in victory he will overcome it and yahweh will wipe away all tears from off all faces and the rebuke of his people shall he take away off all the earth for god has spoken there's the power of god to bring about the things that he has promised this is the new legacy see how they're even in the old testament connected the veil that has been spread over all nations is going to be lifted by one who will gain the victory over it and provide a way in which all the grief and the pain and the struggle that has come about mankind brothers and sisters will be finally lifted truly he has borne our griefs and carried away our sorrows and in first corinthians 15 again this beautiful phrase is used oh death where is your sting oh grave where's your victory and we know that those words are taken to aren't they from hosea chapter 13 but have you ever wondered brothers and sisters why paul uses the word sting doesn't it go back to the theme that we were talking about with

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    the serpent the stinger serpent was there in a sense from that moment on surging through all of mankind but for those who believe and look up there's going to be a removal of that curse because one has gained the victory and that victory is only through christ there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved and it's because brothers and sisters that christ went through that death and so therefore he has destroyed sin and death in such a process and that's why brothers and sisters in christ all will be made alive and we have the chance to to be baptized into christ that's what makes us part of that legacy we actually say to the old man we don't want to be part of that legacy anymore we want to be with him together planted with him that we might live and you know brothers and sisters when we talk about being baptized into christ having our studies in ephesians and colossians this week shown us that being baptized into christ is not just an event by which our life in christ starts it's a continual putting on of christ and it's a continual putting off of the things of the flesh until that day of redemption yes the legacy of adam will be with us for some time in the misfortunes that we will go through until the day where our redemption and this mortal body will be removed but brothers and sisters until that day we can be confident that now is christ risen and he has become the first fruits he has started a new legacy and that legacy brothers and

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    sisters means that there's going to be many more fruits afterwards there's going to be many more who are partaker of that wonderful sharing of the glory that will take place and so we said at the start that that christ is actually called in scripture a father because he is the head of a new family a new legacy will begin isaiah 9 for unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful wonderful counselor the mighty god the father of eternity the prince of peace that mighty god there is the is a mighty warrior the strong warrior who would come and be able to defeat sin in its own home territory we mentioned before from hebrews chapter 2 i and the children whom you have given me this is a quotation from the old testament that is picked up in the new testament because as if in the mind of christ these are the things that he would have been thinking about and we know that he was thinking about those things as he went to the cross because osiah 53 tells us he shall see his seed there was the joy that was put before him brothers and sisters not only in being elevated to the father's presence but also seeing the fact that he would declare his name the father's name to his brethren in the great congregation that that is yet still future in the kingdom and you know the part that i find absolutely amazing is if we go back into genesis where it all begins with adam do you

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    know what's beautiful is that the legacy of christ is already there it's already placed for us so that we can see the wonder of the father's plan even before sin entered the world now that's very hard for us to get our heads around brothers and sisters but let us just be absolutely moved by the foreknowledge of the father and how christ was from the very beginning even before creation he was the center and focus of our father's plan but when we go back to genesis 2 we can we can see that god caused a deep sleep to come upon adam in the creation of eve and we know in scripture from first corinthians 15 that sleep is a symbol of death but now is christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept so adam had to go through this process in which there would be the birth of his bride and so we're told that it was god that caused this to take place because it is not my will but thine be done was the victory and that's why in first corinthians 15 we have it finish off so beautifully but thanks be to god who gives us the victory through our lord jesus christ and so this new legacy brothers and sisters that christ is going to bring in is bound up for us here in genesis chapter 2 it says that he took one of the ribs or he took out of the side of adam and there he built eve and you know in john chapter 19 it's john who is looking on at the cross and he sees the spear go

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    into the side of christ and out come blood and water as if he stops his entire record and he says i'm bearing record that what i saw is true why does he make such a deal about that brothers and sisters because here is the very means by which the legacy of this man would bring about the birth of his bride and we know that when god created adam and eve he breathed into them the breath of life and all this week brothers and sisters we have been encouraged to focus on the word of god because the word of god is god's breath of inspiration to us and if we are going to be the bride of christ if we're going to be animated people if we're going to live on the legacy of the lord jesus we need to understand that if he is dead and risen up into into heaven then ought to so in our lives we ought to put to death the things of the flesh and and raise our minds above and we've already been through first corinthians 3 and i've already been given the five minute sign so we don't have time to turn there but when we go through that chapter brothers and sisters it's emphasizing again and again the things that we should set our minds on above because if we are christ's then they're the things that we should be talking about we should be co-crucified with him and he living in us and the things that we love and the things that we look for the things of our life should be as if they are christ living in us

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    that is the legacy if we are his children brothers and sisters then we will be like him and that's why this beautiful little passage in romans 5 that we started on it talks about the joys and the gladness that that has been brought about because of the work of christ you know i don't know how you imagine how the apostle paul would have written these letters but when i get to romans and i see particularly some of the the the parts where he would have been out of detail the the doctrinal significance of things you can imagine that he's sort of writing very carefully and thinking about what he's you know having to put down because he wants to clarify it carefully and of course under inspiration he would be guided as to the things to write perfectly but i think when he gets to romans 5 brothers and sisters the pen just goes wild he's writing to tell us of all the wonderful things that have happened therefore we're justified by faith we have peace with god we have access by faith into his grace where we stand we rejoice in the hope of the glory of god and the pen's just going wild brothers and sisters because here are all the effects of sharing the legacy of christ that we have we can glory in tribulation because we know that that tribulation will work in us patience and patience experience and experience hope and that hope doesn't isn't going to make us ashamed brothers and sisters because the love of god is shed abroad in our hearts they're the things that a correct understanding of all the wonderful

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    things that have been brought about by the work of christ should draw our minds to so as we find in genesis this beautiful marriage taking place let us brothers and sisters look forward to that wonderful time of the marriage that lies before us let's finish brothers and sisters in revelation 21 because here is the hope of our legacy these are the things that we want to leave our thoughts and all of this week around because brothers and sisters all the legacies that we've looked at will channel in here on this age revelation 21 and i saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away there was no more sea or no more nations and i john saw the holy city the new jerusalem coming down from god out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband and i heard a great voice out of heaven saying behold the tabernacle of god is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and god himself shall be with them and be their god and god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there'll be no more death nor sorrow or crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away the legacy of adam done and dusted forever and he that sat upon the throne said behold i make all things new and he said unto me right for these words are true and faithful and he said unto me it is done i am alpha and omega the beginning and the end

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    i will give to unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely he that overcometh shall inherit all things there's psalm 8 again and i will be his god and he shall be my son we'll be part of the family of god because we are part of the legacy of the son of god so our take home messages brothers and sisters from this morning is it is man that brought about sin and death into god's creation that's the legacy of adam and christ came to share the mortality that came by sin it is vital that he do this because he came to be the end of that cycle but we can partake of a new legacy that his resurrection has given us through baptism and a life of joy and peace but our life brothers and sisters must reflect christ it must be a resurrected life because this is an amazing and a sure hope life because he meets the life of life and life he meets the life of life he meets the life of life he meets the life of Thank you.