- Amy MacKinnon
Jesus and Adam
Updated: Oct 6, 2019
When We Say that Jesus is the “New Adam,” What Does That Mean?
I mentioned this in a talk I gave a few years ago, and a woman asked me if we should say that when Jesus returns at the end of the world, it will really be the Third Coming of Christ? He already came twice, so we shouldn’t be talking about the “Second Coming.”
She listed each of the three times:
When Adam was created
The birth of Jesus, the new Adam
The End of the World
I was stunned
And then I immediately let her know that this was NOT what I meant when I said that Jesus was the “new Adam,” and that Jesus is definitely not the reincarnation of Adam!
I’m writing this post based on the explanation that I gave her, but with a little more detail.
In the first post in this series, I mentioned that the entire Old Testament could be seen as God showing us why we need a savior, how to recognize that savior, and some of what that savior would do.
The Pharisees studied the law and the Scriptures, so they knew at least some of this, which is why they were watching for the savior that was expected. This is also part of the reason why they were testing Jesus so often, especially after He showed the people that He was acting as a prophet.
When the Son became Incarnate as Jesus, He fulfilled all of the prophesies that He gave to His people.
So What Were They Looking For?
A prophet to announce the king, or the new king himself
But there was a lot about this savior that wasn’t revealed until He actually came, and then revealed it to us. One of the things that this savior revealed was that He wasn’t just restoring a nation that had fallen from power…
He was restoring the relationship between God and His people—all of humanity—that had been injured at the Fall.
This is why Jesus is the New Adam.
What Did He Do to Show This?
One of the things He did was to take on the curses given to Adam as a result of his Original Sin and the Fall, to provide satisfaction to the Father, and offer us redemption.
Those curses, and that separation between God and Man, were not part of God’s original plan for us.
We were created to be in union with Him, and to live forever in happiness, united with Him.
How Do We Know This?
Luke’s Gospel
Luke, who was said to have accompanied the Apostle Paul, traces the lineage of Jesus back to Adam and to God in Luke 3:23-38. Luke was a Gentile, not a Jew, so his emphasis on Jesus as a descendant of Adam—but originally from God—is to show first that the Savior came to offer salvation to all.
The Apostle Paul
In 1 Corinthians 15:21-23, after reminding us that death is the result of the Fall and that it affects all mankind, the Apostle Paul also reminds us of the reason for our hope: all who belong to Christ will have eternal life.
He emphasizes it by repeating it in the same letter (1 Corinthians 15:45-49) and again in Romans 5:12-14.
Just as sin and death entered the world through one man (Adam), salvation also comes through one man: Jesus Christ.
This is why Jesus is the “New Adam”
It’s through the first Adam that, as his offspring, we receive life as human beings, and through the second Adam that we receive eternal life as children of God.
Posts in the Series: Jesus and the Old Testament
Jesus and Adam (this post)
Next Posts in the Series:
Jesus and Abraham
Jesus and Moses
Jesus and Joshua
Jesus and David
Jesus and Jeremiah
Jesus and Elisha