IS JESUS THE "SECOND
ADAM"? TOP
PURPOSE FOR THIS STUDY
This study is solely for those who have made Jesus Christ the Lord of
their life. It is provided in order to comfort, edify and exhort those
who make up the existing "Body of Christ"- - to enlighten the child of
God and to bring about a better understanding of the unique relationship
between Adam, Eve, and Jesus Christ. It is also presented in order to
prevent believers from making statements about Jesus which are not
Biblically true. It is my prayer that you will read this with an "open
and teachable mind".
Have you ever heard someone label Jesus Christ as "the Second Adam".
Maybe you have referred to Him like that in times past. I have heard
numerous preachers refer to Jesus as "the second Adam". But when we do,
are we speaking truth? Are we correctly quoting the Holy Word of God?
That's the question I would like for us to consider because we believers
don't want to be saying something that's not true. But how can we
determine the truth about this subject? Well, since the Bible is the
source of all Truth then probably we should look for the answer to our
question there. After all, the Holy Bible contains all of the answers
to our questions. It actually contains more answers than the total sum
of all the questions we could ever think to ask!
WHO NAMED THE FIRST WOMAN?
So consider this: If you were to ask your Christian brothers
and/or sisters where you worship what name God applied to the first
woman (Adam's wife), how do you think they would respond? Sure!
Nine-nine out of a hundred would most likely say, "Eve". Now how would
you answer that question? If your reply is also "Eve" then you would
not be Biblically correct!! You would not be speaking the truth!
Right about now some of readers are probably saying, "Aha! I know the
answer. God named her ‘woman'." Then someone else would probably
respond with, "Oh, I bet I know. God named her ‘helpmate', right?"
No - - wrong on both accounts. Well, let's quit guessing and go to the
Manufacturer's Handbook and see what we can learn from God Himself.
Let's begin in Genesis chapter three:
Genesis 3:20 - "And Adam called his wife's name
Eve; because she was the mother of all living."
So it was Adam who named his wife,
"Eve", not God!! Also you should be aware that Hebrew names have
special meanings. In other words, Hebrew names stand for something.
For example, the name "Eve" means "mother of all
living". Why? Because Eve was the mother of the entire
human race, with the exception of the first man, Adam.
WHAT GOD NAMED THE FIRST WOMAN
But since we still don't know what God called the first woman, let's
continue by going forward to the fifth chapter of Genesis.
Genesis 5:1-2 - "This is the book of the
generations of Adam. In the day that God created man , in the likeness
of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them,
and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created."
I wonder how many times we've read verse two and
yet never really comprehended what it said and the significance of it!!
This verse very plainly tells us that God named both the man
and the woman, "Adam" (ie. "called their name Adam").
So now you know! It's right there in black and white. God called both
of them "Adam"!! Now we need to determine the meaning of the name,
"Adam". We've already talked about what the name "Eve" means, but
what does the name "Adam" mean?
THE BLOOD THING
Before we attempt to answer that question, however, it's imperative that
we get some insight into the makeup of the blood of mankind. Then
we'll come back to the meaning of "Adam". We must understand that the
importance of this study is not based on a "he thing" or a "she
thing". It's a "blood thing"!!! Blood, not
gender, is what makes it important.
Medical science tells us that the blood in our veins came from our
earthly fathers and not our mothers. While we were being formed within
our mother's womb, we were supplied with oxygen and food particles.
Most of us understand that those physical things which are needed to
sustain the beginnings of our life were transmitted through a canal
which we refer to as the umbilical cord.
But, in addition to nourishing the unborn child,
that same life support system also keeps the mother's blood separate
from the baby's so that the two never become mixed. Now here's the
point I'm trying to make: The blood in every person's body
comes from their earthly male parent. You say, "But what does that
have to do with the meaning of the name, Adam"?
THE MEANING OF THE NAME "ADAM"
I would like to answer that question by asking another question. Here's
the question: Since the first man, Adam, didn't have an earthly male
parent, then whose blood did he have in his veins? First of all, did
Adam have blood in his body? Yes - - Certainly! Leviticus 17:14 tells
us, "For the life of all flesh is the blood thereof," and Adam's body
consisted of flesh and he was absolutely alive. A person's blood
condition controls the flesh condition. And yes, Adam was a human being
just like you and me, and we are both related to him! Today, medical
science can find out numerous things about us simply by analyzing our
blood. So the answer to the question as to whose blood Adam had in his
body is fairly obvious, isn't it? He had the blood of Almighty God
in his body!!!
Now let's go back to the first question concerning
the meaning of the name, "Adam". This is important because an
understanding here will determine how well we understand our main
subject question, "Is Jesus The "Second Adam"? The
name, "Adam", comes from two parts, "A" and "dam".
According to the Strongs Concordance the Hebrew word "dam" means "blood".
That was easy enough, but what about the meaning of "A"? Find the Book
of Revelation and go to Chapter one:
Revelation 1:11a - "(Jesus) Saying, ‘I am
Alpha and Omega, the first and the last:........."
Primarily what we're dealing with here is
first things - - such as the "first man". Alpha is the "first
letter" in the Hebrew alphabet. Jesus is the "first-born"
from the dead, etc. Jesus existed before anything or anyone else
existed. In John 8:58 Jesus told some of the non-believing Jews,
"Before Abraham was, I am" So He's informing us here in Rev. 1:11a
that He's the first - - -He's the Alpha - - - He's the "A". Therefore
the "A" in Adam stands for "God". Therefore, the true meaning of the
name of "A-dam" is "GOD'S BLOOD". When you see it,
it's simple.
In the Strongs Concordance you will also read that
the name "Adam" means, "ruddy, ie. a human being; to show blood,
ie. flush or turn rosy: - - be red." However, the color "red" is
only the manifestation of the true meaning which is "blood".
And even though Strongs doesn't mention "God", Adam's blood had to come
from God. There is absolutely no other source from whence it could have
come!
THE FIRST WOMAN'S BLOOD
Now what about Adam's wife, "Eve", the first woman? Whose blood did she
have coursing in her veins? For the answer we must once again go to the
best reliable source of Truth - - the Word of God. So let's go
backward now to Chapter Two of Genesis:
Genesis 2:21-23 - "And the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He (God) took one of his
(man's) ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib,
which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her
unto the man. And Adam said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh
of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
Man'."
From these scriptures we understand that the woman
was made from the man, Adam. But let's not misunderstand what actually
took place here. Adam was not her earthly male parent. No! Adam was
her husband. Notice that Adam didn't say one thing about Eve being a
part of his blood. No. He said, she is "bone of my bones, and flesh of
my flesh:". But he did not say that she was "blood of his blood"!
Amen?
Therefore, we can conclude that neither the first man nor the first
woman had a male parent. It should now begin to become clear to us as
to why God named them both "Adam"! He did so because they both had His
blood flowing through their veins. And since the name "A-dam" means
"God's blood", He appropriately named them both "Adam"!!
THE SECOND MAN AND THE LAST ADAM
Now that we've established that, it should also be clear to us that the
"first man" was the "First A-dam". Likewise, the "first woman" was the
"Second A-dam". That being so, then Jesus Christ would have to have
been the "Third A-dam". Let's see now if the Scriptures support that.
Let's go back to the New Testament to the Book of 1 Corinthians and the
fifteenth chapter:
1 Corinthians 15:45-47 - "And so it is written,
‘The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was
made a quickening spirit'. Howbeit that was not first which is
spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is
spiritual. The first man (Adam #1) is of the Earth, earthy: the second
man (Adam #3) is the Lord from
Heaven."
A close look at these verses reveals that Jesus
wasn't given an Adamic number. It refers to Him as the "last Adam",
and also as the "Second Man". Being the "Last A-dam",
means there won't ever be any more Adams. If the Bible had referred to
Him as the "third Adam", (which it didn't) that would have indicated
that there could possibly be a fourth or a fifth or even more "Adams" to
come in the future. But here's the main point: If we must give Him an
Adamic number, is we want to be correct, the number would have to be
"three"!
From what we've just learned, we should now begin
to have a better appreciation of the importance and significance of the
virgin birth of Jesus. You see, when the first man and the first woman
were created, they were sinless and perfect. We know
that God always does things correctly and He does it correctly the first
time. Most of us also know how Satan, using the earthly body of a
serpent, deceived the woman and brought about Adam's terrible decision
to join the woman in partaking of the forbidden fruit of the Tree Of The
Knowledge Of Good And Evil. What was the real consequence to their acts
of disobedience?
THE FALL OF MANKIND
The first man and woman's actions of disobedience actually resulted in
the corruption of their blood when they changed gods. Their blood
became corrupted with "the sin nature". This was the
beginning of a chain reaction of contaminated blood in all of their
descendants down through the years, even as far down to you and me and
our off-spring . That corruption is still active today and is commonly
referred to as "The Adamic Fallen Nature". Adam's children
were born into this World having contaminated blood and so did their
children, and so did their children, and so on and so on, all the was
down to you and me and beyond!
Not only did mankind's blood become corrupted, it
also opened the door for sin to enter into this planet where we live.
Sin also opened the door to sickness and disease, and to death as well!
You see, God never intended for mankind to die spiritually or
physically. Before Eve was created He told Adam, "Of every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:16-17). What God told him was,
"if you eat the fruit of the wrong tree, when you do, in dying you
shall surely die." In other words, if you willingly disobey
Me then you will be creating spiritual death which will
manifest itself in your blood, and that will eventually bring
about physical death to your body. Like I said, "It's a blood
thing"!!! Can you see that?
Well, in order to get out of this "satanic mess", which the first man
and first woman created, we desperately needed another A-dam - - a third
"Adam" - - another man with the pure blood of God in his veins - - an
"Adam" who, this time, would not falter - - an Adam who would willingly
remain obedient, even unto the shedding of His blood which would lead to
His physical death. The shedding of blood was God's requirement for the
payment of that first mistake made in the Garden of Eden.
However, because Almighty God is both fair and just, this "Third and
Last Adam" would also have to be another man. God Himself wouldn't just
come to Earth and defeat the Devil. He could, be He wouldn't. Why?
Because it was a being of the "human category" who lost the dominion of
Earth. And in order to be fair, just, and legal, another being of the
"human category" must be the one to recapture the control and dominion
of the planet, Earth. To go about it in any other way would not be
fair, just, or legal. God gave the dominion of Earth to man, and man
willingly turned it over to the Devil, therefore it would require a man
to repossess it.
So you see, if you've been thinking like most
Christians do, that God was the One who came to Earth and whipped up on
the Devil for us, then you're mistaken! Yes, Jesus is God, and He
always has been God. He is, and has always been, one part of the
Trinity God-Head.
THE SON OF MAN
But from the moment that the Word of God became flesh in the womb of the
virgin, Mary, until He physically died on that cross at 3 PM on
Thursday, April 6th, in the year of 30 A.D., Jesus lived His entire
physical life on Earth as 100% man. ( For details and proof concerning
the time and date of the crucifixion of Jesus, see my booklet entitled,
"As Jonah Was"). Even though Jesus was God during the time he lived
here on Earth, He laid all of His deity aside and lived out His entire
physical life as a pure 100% man would do, and not as God. Now find
Philippians chapter two:
Philippians 2:6-8 "Who (Christ Jesus), being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made
Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him (Himself) the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion
as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross."
You see, Jesus came to us as man, not as God. He
ate, He slept, He got tired, He showed emotions, He cried, He became
angry, etc. He was only in the form of God (Vs. 6). And if
you search the scriptures, you will find that He never performed any
miracles until after He had been baptized and filled with the Holy
Ghost, which is a requirement for man, not God. For the first
twenty-nine years of His life He performed no miracles. Why? Because
He was a human being and human beings do not perform miracles. Only God
Himself or the Spirit of God operating from within and through a yielded
human being perform miracles. So we believers must first be filled with
the Spirit of God before God will perform any miracles through us.
One of the Church's failures today is its
inability to see the humanity of Jesus. The truth of the
matter is, for the first twenty-nine years of His life, Jesus had not
yet been filled with the Spirit of God. If He had been living here on
Earth as God, then He would have no need to be filled with
God's Spirit. If He had come to us as God, He would already be full of
God's Spirit.
Have you noticed in the Scriptures that all during
the time He walked here among us that He consistently referred to
Himself as the "Son of Man"? Also notice that it wasn't until
after His resurrection that the Scriptures refer to Him as the "Son
of God". In other words, every miracle Jesus Christ ever performed
during His physical lifetime, He did so as mere man - - not as
God. You say you're having difficulty accepting that? Well, let's go
to the Scriptures again, and keep in mind that these Scriptures we're
about to read are referring to events which happened on the other
side of the cross from where we are today - - - ie. prior to His
crucifixion :
John 5:19-20 - "Then answered Jesus and said unto
them (the Jews), ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do
nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what
things soever He (the Father) doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise.'"
John 8:28-29 - "Then said Jesus unto them (the Jews), ‘When ye have
lifted up (crucified) the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am He
(the Messiah), and that I do nothing of Myself; but as my
Father hath taught Me, I speak these things. And He (the Father)
that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do
always those things that please Him.'"
Now when Jesus says that He can do nothing of Himself, does that sound
like something Almighty God would say? No! Certainly not! He was
speaking as the "Son of Man"- - as a flesh and blood male human being!
And He was also demonstrating to us how we are to listen to the Father
for our instructions on a daily basis. Today, on this side of the
cross, two thousand or so years after Jesus completed His sacrificial
assignment, was resurrected, and sat down at the right hand of God the
Father, He says this:
John 15:5 - "I am the vine; ye are the branches: He that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without (apart
from) me you can do nothing".
WHAT ABOUT THE CHURCH ?
Today, as 100% mankind, you and I, the church, find ourselves
here on Planet Earth just like Jesus was before He was crucified. And
just like Jesus, the Son of man, we can also do nothing of ourselves.
Just as the Father was in Jesus, we too must be "in Him" - - "in
Christ", washed in His perfect sinless blood. And, just as His physical
body was present on Planet Earth before He acquired His glorified
spiritual body of flesh and bone when He was resurrected, (see Luke
24:39), we also now find ourselves on Planet Earth prior to receiving
our glorified spiritual bodies of flesh and bone when the resurrection
of the Church occurs (see 1 John 3:2).
We must also understand that, although Jesus is now seated at the right
hand of God, He is also still on the Earth today! What? You didn't
know that? Please understand that today, we believers, the Church, are
His Body on Earth. Today we are like gloves on the hands of God.
Through us, He can work miracles and many other wonderful works. He
even imparts to us His very mind. His Love has also been shed abroad in
our hearts! And our physical bodies are the Temples of His Spirit.
JESUS CALLS
Today He's still in the business of calling people who will let Him
deliver them out of their "Adamic Nature". He's not calling the
equipped, He's equipping the called in order to bring it to pass.
Through His gift of faith we even have the ability to partake of His
divine nature. Just listen to the words of the apostle Peter as the
Holy Spirit inspired him to write the following:
2 Peter 1: 3-4: "His divine power hath given unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath
called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises: that by these (great and precious promises) ye
might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped
the corruption (degeneration caused by the Adamic nature) that is in the
World through lust."
My friend, no doubt Jesus really is the Messiah , the Christ, the Son of
the living God and it's a blood thing. Through His blood we can now
have freedom from sin, sickness, and death. Jesus is the only Truth,
the only Life, and the only Way to the Father.
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as the manifestation of what
God has already done for you, then please do so before it's too late!
Very soon He's going to appear in the clouds when He returns for His
body, the Church. Don't get left behind. If you wait until He appears,
it's going to be too late! He's waiting to hear from you right now.
If you have already accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, then take the
time to realize how blessed you are that He has washed you clean with
His pure sinless blood. Also realize how blessed you are that He has
already cleansed you from that "Adamic Nature" and everything else that
pertains to darkness, death, and eternal separation from Him?
And if you have already realize all He's done for you
then, by all means, don't forget to thank Him and praise Him for it.
Jesus actually felt every pain on that cross just like you and I would
have felt had we been there instead of Him! He died a terrible death
and the blood that drained out of His Body - - - God's blood, was just
for you and me because He loves us that much! He's also listening and
waiting to hear from YOU and ME right now!!
By Gerald D. Benbow
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Bible Truths
Revealed