The Last Adam — TDW Kids

Two Men, Two Families

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Paul tells the story of the whole human race with just two people: Adam and Jesus. Every person belongs to one family or the other, and that makes all the difference.

Made by God. “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Adam's life was a gift from God.

Made in God's image. “So God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). Adam was made to know God, to love Him and to show what God is like.

One command. God gave Adam a good garden and one rule. He warned, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

One wrong choice. Adam disobeyed. God told him, “For dust you are, And to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

Sin spread. “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Like father, like son. Adam “begot a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Genesis 5:3). Every child of Adam is born with a heart that turns away from God.

Why people die. “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:21). Sickness and death were not part of God's good world at the start.

A second Man. God sent His Son to begin a new family. “The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47).

One right act. “Through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men” (Romans 5:18). Jesus obeyed His Father all the way to the cross.

Two results. “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). Righteous means right with God.

Grace is bigger. “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Romans 5:20). Grace is God's kindness we do not deserve. Adam's sin is big, but God's grace is bigger.

The Life-giver. “The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). Jesus said, “the Son gives life to whom He will” (John 5:21).

Changing families. We are born into Adam's family. We enter Jesus' family by believing in Him. Jesus said, “he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (John 5:24).

What to do. Thank Jesus that He obeyed where Adam failed. If you have never trusted Him, you can ask Him today to make you part of His family.

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul compares two men: Adam, the first man, and Jesus, the last Adam. Each stands at the head of a whole people, and what each one did reaches everyone joined to him.

Genesis 2:7. Adam was formed from dust and given breath. The Hebrew word adamah (say: ah-dah-MAH) means ground, so even Adam's name ties him to the soil.

The command (Genesis 2:17). God gave Adam freedom in the garden with one limit, and He named the penalty: “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” When Adam disobeyed, death began its work: “to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19).

Romans 5:12. Sin entered “through one man,” and death followed sin. Death then “spread to all men, because all sinned.” Adam's choice did not stay inside Eden.

Death reigned (Romans 5:14). Paul says “death reigned from Adam to Moses,” even before the law was given. Death ruled every generation like a king.

A preview (Romans 5:14). Paul calls Adam “a type of Him who was to come.” A type is a pattern or preview. Adam's place as the head of his family pointed ahead to Christ.

Not like the offense (Romans 5:15). “But the free gift is not like the offense.” The two men reach many people, but they are not equal in power. Adam brought ruin; Christ brings more grace than Adam brought harm.

Obedience (Romans 5:19). Jesus succeeded where Adam failed. Adam took what God had forbidden in a garden. In another garden, Gethsemane, Jesus said yes to the Father, and He obeyed all the way to the cross (Philippians 2:8).

Justification of life (Romans 5:18). Through Christ's righteous act the free gift came, “resulting in justification of life.” Justification means God declares a person right with Him.

Two kings (Romans 5:21). “As sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Every person lives under one of two rulers: sin with death, or grace with life.

Life-giving (1 Corinthians 15:45). Adam “became a living being”; the last Adam “became a life-giving spirit.” Adam received life. Christ, raised from the dead, gives it (John 5:21, 26).

From below, from above (15:47). Adam was formed from the ground; Jesus came from heaven. He is not simply a better copy of Adam but the eternal Son who became a man to start a new humanity.

How you change families. No one joins Christ's family by birth or effort. Jesus said the one who believes “has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

Application. When you feel the weight of sin and failure, remember which family you belong to. In Adam the story ends in dust; in Christ it ends in resurrection.

Made Like Jesus

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Children often look like their parents. They may have the same eyes, the same smile or the same laugh. The Bible says God's children are going to look like Jesus.

The man of dust. “As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust” (1 Corinthians 15:48). Right now our bodies are like Adam's. They get tired, sick and old.

The heavenly Man. “As is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly” (15:48). People who belong to Jesus already belong to heaven.

Citizens of heaven. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). A citizen belongs to a country.

A promise. “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man” (15:49). To bear an image means to look like someone.

God's plan. God planned for His children “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Conformed means shaped to match.

A big family. Romans 8:29 says Jesus is “the firstborn among many brethren.” Brethren means brothers and sisters. Jesus is the oldest Brother in a huge family.

The image of God. “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). When we look at Jesus, we see what God is like.

Firstborn from the dead. Jesus is “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18). He was the first to rise with a body that will never die.

It has already started. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Little by little. As you spend time with Jesus, the Holy Spirit makes your heart more like His: more loving, more honest and more kind.

All at once. When Jesus comes, the change will be finished, body and all. Our bodies will be like His risen body (Philippians 3:21).

Loved as children. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).

What to do. Spend time looking at Jesus this week. Read about Him in one of the Gospels, and ask the Holy Spirit to make one part of your life more like His.

Genesis begins with people made in God's image. After the fall, Adam's children are born in Adam's image. The New Testament shows God restoring His image in people through Jesus.

Image (Genesis 1:26-27). “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” People were made to reflect God, the way a mirror reflects light.

Genesis 5:1-3. Adam was made “in the likeness of God,” but his son Seth was born “in his own likeness, after his image.” After the fall, Adam passed on his own broken, dying likeness.

Eikon (15:49). The Greek eikon (say: eye-KOHN) means image or likeness. Our word icon comes from it. We have borne Adam's image; we shall bear Christ's.

The true image (Colossians 1:15). Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” He is not a copy like Adam was; He is God the Son, showing the Father perfectly.

Conformed (Romans 8:29). God's purpose is for believers “to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Salvation is more than forgiveness. It brings a family likeness.

Being transformed (2 Corinthians 3:18). Believers “are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.” It happens “by the Spirit of the Lord,” as we look at Christ.

One Spirit, one work (Romans 8:11). The Spirit who raised Jesus will “give life to your mortal bodies.” The inner change now and the bodily change later are one work of one Spirit.

Already and not yet (Romans 8:23). Believers wait for “the redemption of our body.” Redemption means being bought back and set free. Our hearts are being renewed now; our bodies will be renewed at the resurrection.

Glory compared (Romans 8:18). “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Present weakness is real, but it is small next to the glory to come.

A new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” The last Adam starts a new humanity, and every believer already belongs to it.

Firstborn (Colossians 1:18). Christ is “the firstborn from the dead.” Firstborn means first in rank as well as first in time. His risen body is the model for ours.

Why it matters. Your identity is not fixed by your past, your family or your failures. If you are in Christ, God is shaping you into the likeness of His Son.

Application. The change happens as we look at Christ. Make room this week to read a Gospel and pray, and ask the Spirit to make one part of your character more like Jesus.

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