Two Adams

Introduction

This has been an interesting study, to say the least, and I emphasize the word study. As is true of all the eBooks I have published through Smashwords, they are true studies, for as I write, I remain open and seek to learn and better understand those things I attempt to write about.

I have touched on many things in this work, some of which I don’t get into much detail. As a result, these things are left for your study and consideration.

There are mistakes in this presentation, not by intention, but out of ignorance. I am still and always will be learning. It has been difficult to put aside what I have inherited in order to see from a fresh perspective.

In His Grace,

Jack Marshall

1 Corinthians 15:45 (KJV)

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul;

the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Chapter One

THE GENESIS PARABLE

For a long time now, I have believed that the story of Adam and Eve is a parable, i.e. a story within a story, or to say it better, a natural presentation where we find spiritual parallels that are relevant even today. In agreement with this perspective, the apostle Paul wrote the following.

Romans 1:20 (NASB95)

²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made…

Here’s my thinking. I don’t believe that Adam and Eve were the parents of the human race as many suppose. Rather, I believe they were representatives of the first generation of humankind. Just as one police officer represents the entire police force with which they are associated, so too Adam and Eve signify the beginning of the human race. Their story is your story and my story and pictures every soul ever born on this planet.

Everything has a beginning somewhere and we are no exception. Although our beginning is cloaked in divine mystery, nonetheless, it is a beginning. And since our Creator not only created this universe and everything in it, it is certainly not a stretch to think that He could create the first generation of humankind just as easily as He could two people. The cosmos proves that God’s power is limitless, so why would we seek to constrain His divine power in such a fashion as to charge Him with the foolish idea of using incest to build the human race?

When viewed in this fashion, it does away with the confusion about Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, who found a wife, had a son named Enoch, and built a city and named it after him (Gen. 4:16-17). No, Cain did not marry his sister, and though there was no external law at the time (Rom. 5:13), I repeat, our Creator did not use incest to propagate the human race. It makes no sense at all to think our Maker would approve and use such actions and then later condemn it in His law (Lev. 18:6-18), especially when we understand that the law is a reflection of our Creator’s nature.

I have studied the scriptures for countless hours. I don’t say this to toot my own horn, but to point out what I believe to be one of the most fascinating aspects of the Bible. What is it? It lies in the fact that due to how things are written and presented, our heavenly Father can hide His truth in plain sight. How does He do this? By presenting it in parabolic form. Consider what Jesus said in the following.

Matthew 13:34-35 (ESV)

³⁴ All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.

Matthew 13:11-13 (ESV)

¹¹ And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

First, we read that Jesus said nothing to the crowds without a parable. Why? We’re told it "was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet" (Psalm 78:2). This certainly seems reasonable when we understand that everything Christ did was in perfect obedience to our heavenly Father and His predetermined will and purpose (Luke 2:49; John 4:34; 8:29).

His disciples then asked Him why He spoke in parables. How does Jesus reply? "This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Rather curious, wouldn’t you say? Does this suggest that the Lord intended to keep the crowd ignorant of the secrets of the kingdom"? No, that is not the case, my friend, for look what follows.

Matthew 13:14-15 (ESV)

¹⁴ Indeed, in their case (the crowd) the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. ¹⁵ For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.'

First of all, the idea of hearing and seeing is by no means literal but speaks of perceiving and understanding those things which Jesus taught in His parables. Secondly, Jesus declares the reason why the crowd was unable to perceive or understand, which was that their hearts had grown dull. In other words, their inward condition was already fixed, making them unable to recognize the spiritual realities which Jesus wished to convey. At the same time, Jesus remarked that this fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (See Isa. 6:9-10), so Jesus was simply telling His disciples that most in the crowd had reached this calloused position on their own and that the Word and wisdom of God predicted this long before it was true. Does the Creator not know when our hearts are no longer in a receptive state?

When I read, You will indeed hear but never understand and indeed see but never perceive, I think of how all of us are quick to agree with the good things we hear, but as soon as we walk away from it, we manifest actions in resistance to the very thing we agreed with! James describes this behavior in the following.

James 1:23-24 (ESV)

²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face (or nature; see 1st Cor. 2:14) in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

So why is it important to recognize that the story of Adam and Eve is a parable? Because, my friend, once we understand this, we can examine this story, not in a literal sense, but a spiritual one, and recognize that there truly is a story within a story, a spiritual application that hides beneath the surface of its presentation. There’s much to think about so let’s begin.

Chapter Two

TWO ADAMS

1 Corinthians 15:45 (KJV)

⁴⁵ And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Since this is a study on Two Adams, let’s take a moment to consider the definitions for the word Adam. The first appearance of this word in the Old Testament is found in Genesis 1:26 where we read, "Let us make man in our image, translated as man. It remains as such until Genesis 2:19 where it is changed to Adam."

The Strong’s Concordance defines our word rendered man and Adam as, "Ruddy, i.e. a human being (an individual or the species, mankind, etc.). This definition alone lends itself to the fact that Adam (and Eve) are representative of all humankind (the species, mankind").

Our word Adam is taken from the root which means, "To show blood (in the face), i.e. flush or turn rosy. This definition also suggests that our word Adam speaks collectively, for everyone, regardless of culture and creed, shows blood in the face. According to the Englishman’s Concordance, this root word is used just 10 times in the King James Old Testament, however, our first word is used 552 times, most often translated as man, men, and in a few cases, persons."

The King James New Testament definition of Adam reads, "Adam, the first man; typical (of Jesus) man (as his representative), and tells us it is of Hebrew origin," pointing to another Hebrew word used just 10 times in the Old Testament, but states that this word is the same as the first definition we considered.

What is quite interesting is that our word Adam is found just nine times in the King James New Testament. In his book, The Biblical Meaning of Numbers from One to Forty, Dr. Stephen Jones states that the spiritual meaning of nine speaks of God’s ‘visitation,’ which is a Hebraism that pictures God as an Investigator ‘visiting’ a person, city, or nation to expose the hearts, gather evidence, and ‘see’ firsthand, as it were, the truth of a matter. It is much like a divine court case where the evidence is uncovered and presented to the judge for judgment. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I find it interesting that our word Adam is used nine times and scripture records the following (See also Acts 17:28).

Hebrews 2:6 (KJV)

⁶ But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man (collectively speaking), that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man (collectively speaking), that thou visitest him?

As our definitions show, the idea of Adam in both the Old and New Testaments not only speaks of an individual human being but humankind as a collective whole. So, could we not say that what is true of the one is true of the many? Would it not make perfect sense that all of us are the same as far as our spiritual, psychological, emotional, and physical make-up is concerned? Of course, there are variations between us, but at our core, we are all spiritual beings going through a human experience, consisting primarily of spirit, soul, and body (1st Thess. 5:23). Throughout our lifetime, all of us experience both love and hate, joy and disappointment, happy and difficult times, and so on. Now, look once more at our passage from 1st Corinthians 15.

1 Corinthians 15:45 (KJV)

⁴⁵ And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Though brief, this passage challenges us with a perspective that many fail to consider. "The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Consider this treatment of the phrase quickening spirit" from Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament.

Quickening spirit (πνεῦμα ζωοποιοῦν)

Rev., life-giving. Not merely living, but imparting life. Compare John 1:4; 3:36; 5:26, 40; 6:33, 35; 10:10; 11:25; 14:6.

The context of the passages which surround 1st Corinthians 15:45 shows us that Paul gives a contrast between man or Adam in our Genesis parable and man or Jesus Christ in the gospels. Further confirmation is found in the following.

1 Corinthians 15:46-47 (ESV)

⁴⁶ But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural (psychikos), and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.

Paul was clear. The "first man (Adam) was from the earth, a man of dust. This agrees with Genesis 2:7 where we read, And 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 soul" (KJV). And the second man? John recorded, "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven" (John 3:13; NKJV). Based on what Jesus told the religious ruler Nicodemus (John 3:1), what made Jesus different was the fact that He dwelled in two realms at the same time; the natural and the spiritual.

According to Paul, the first man or living soul is natural, not spiritual. Our word natural is the Greek transliteration psychikos, taken from the root word psyche, translated as soul or life 103 times in the New Testament. Our word psychikos (1st Cor. 15:46) takes us to the following.

1 Corinthians 2:14-15 (KJV)

¹⁴ But the natural (psychikos) man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

Who is the natural man? Based on Paul’s discourse in 1st Corinthians 15, is it not Adam in Genesis, i.e. the first or living soul? And just as Paul said the natural is first, so too he makes the same contrast in 1st Corinthians 2 between one who is natural as opposed to one that is spiritual.

What is fascinating about all of this is that Paul speaks of just two men, two Adams, the first and the second, who is also the last. Is there a mystery here? There certainly is, and Paul does not leave us wondering about their differences. The first or natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because he considers them foolishness. He cannot know the things of the Spirit of God "because they are spiritually discerned. Ah, but he who is spiritual judges (scrutinizes, investigates, interrogates, determines) all things" (NKJV).

So here’s the kicker. Is there but one natural man? Yes, but the one speaks collectively of an essence that abides in all of us! Remember, the first man Adam represents every soul who has entered this earthly realm since our beginning long ago, and though Paul refers to just one man, i.e. the natural man, he is clear about the fact that this applies to all of us. Here’s further confirmation.

1 Corinthians 15:48-49 (KJV)

⁴⁸ As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. ⁴⁹ And as we (all) have borne the image of the earthy, we (all) shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

See our words they and we? Doesn’t this confirm our perspective that Paul speaks corporately and not individually? So again, just two men, two Adams, the first and the last, and there should be no doubt that both are representations that serve to open our understanding. There are no men in-between, no other representations but these two. Adam in the Genesis parable represents the first while Jesus Christ in the gospels represents the second or last. The first is earthy or natural while the second is heavenly or spiritual. And Paul makes it clear that all of us have borne the image of the earthy but that all of us will also bear the image of the heavenly. The idea of image brings us to our next chapter.

Chapter Three

THE IMAGE OF GOD

1 Corinthians 15:49 (KJV)

⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Our word image is defined by Strong’s as, "A likeness, i.e. (literal) statue, profile, or (figurative) representation, resemblance." Simple enough, but what exactly does this mean?

Genesis 1:26-27 (KJV)

²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Here the Strong’s Concordance defines image as, "To shade; a phantom, i.e. (figurative) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol. Likeness is defined as, Resemblance; concrete model, shape; adverb like. As we see, our definitions of image and likeness agree with our definition for image" in 1st Corinthians 15:49.

If my understanding of Genesis 1:26 and 27 is correct, then man or humankind, i.e. everyone ever born into this world, enters in God’s image. If this is true, then what does this mean? I believe our answer is found in the following.

John 4:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (word)."

John 1:1 (KJV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Jesus said, "God is Spirit, while John wrote, In the beginning was the Word which was with God and was God, so, brought together, God’s image can be described as Spirit" and Word. Hebrews 12:9 correlates, calling our Creator the "Father of spirits," i.e. you and me (KJV). As sentient beings, does this agree with us being in His image? It does, for everyone, regardless of culture or creed, consists of spirit and word (Job 32:8; Eccl. 12:7; 1st Cor. 11:7; Col. 1:15). As stated, we are all spiritual beings going through a human experience, and is it not true that our existence is dependent upon word, i.e. upon the collective wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in which all participate? Of course, so, just as God’s image is Spirit and Word, we are as well. Of course, this points to what’s inward, not outward, however, what’s inward always manifests outwardly in this world of form.

Now, there is one other point to consider which is our in "our image and male and female created he them." Please note the following.

Genesis 5:1-2 (KJV)

¹ This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness (resemblance) of God made he him; ² Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Do you see it? When God created male and