Dead in Adam or Alive in Christ, Part 2
Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
Dead in Adam
When Adam sinned, according to God’s warning, he entered into death. As head of the human race, Adam brought sin and death to all mankind. Death came upon all humanity as a result of the Fall of Adam, the first man, in the Garden of Eden.
The Biblical account of the fall of Adam is well-known. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and instructed them that they could partake of the fruits of all the trees in the garden, except the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. He warned them that if ever they would partake of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil they would die. Deceived by the devil to believe that the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil would make them god-like they disobeyed God and partook of the fruit and died spiritually.
It is interesting to note that the Tree of Life was also in the Garden and, unlike the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, its fruit was made accessible to Adam and Eve. The fruit of the Tree of Life would have been a sure way of partaking of life and being like God. But man was deceived into thinking that he could become like God in total independence and even defiance of God by knowing good and evil. The consequence of that deception was death upon Adam and the entire human race descending from Adam.
Yet, although Adam’s deceit by the devil lead to his downfall into sin and death which were passed on to the entire human race, many people continue to be deceived by similar ideas of becoming God-like by means of education, civilization, religion, and the knowledge of the Law, without partaking of Life. But the truth remains that every human being inherits at birth from Adam a fallen sinful nature of death, from which he can be delivered only by receiving supernatural Life in Christ. In other words, it is not knowing that makes us God-like or godly, it is being, which comes from Life.
Spiritual Death
To me, it is the lack of knowledge or acceptance of the reality that spiritual death is the original condition of every human being born into this world that gives rise to the type of Gospel which does not emphasize the power of Life in Christ as the only means of salvation and godliness. We must face the Scriptural truth that spiritual death in sin is humanity's basic problem. We need to understand what the Bible means by spiritual death.
Paul describes the condition of spiritual death which we all inherit from Adam in Ephesians 2:1-3: “And you ... who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”
Spiritual death is the natural state of humanity which is void of the life of God. To be spiritually dead is being in a sinful nature that follows the evil desires of our corrupt bodies and minds, is under the total influence of the world's evil way, and is controlled by a dominating spirit of rebellion against God. In other words, the enemies of God – the world, the flesh, and the devil – take advantage of the spiritual deadness of humanity to drive man in an existence of ungodliness.
Therefore, to be spiritually dead is to be in a state of total helplessness and inability to turn to God and save one's self. People sin not because they do not want to exercise their will-power not to sin. They sin not because their social environment influences them to sin. They sin not because of some abusive experience in their upbringing. These factors may facilitate the sinful life-style of a sinner. But the basic cause of sinning is spiritual death. One who is spiritually dead is separated from God (who gives us the life and power to be holy) and has no desire or ability to obey God. We are told in Romans 8:7-8: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
All of humanity, the noble and the common, the pauper and the prince, the educated and uneducated, the rich and the poor, are born with the sinful nature of death inherited from Adam. They exist under the tyrant dictatorship of spiritual death. At best, in their efforts at godliness and self-righteousness, they can only draw from the sinful and corrupt resources of Adam's fallen human nature. These human resources are education, moral or otherwise, psychological motivation, a change of one’s social environment, rehabilitation, and other human means of human improvement but the truth is they cannot deliver anyone from the bondage of spiritual death.
Another way the Bible describes our original state of spiritual death in the old Adamic nature is being in the flesh. To be in the flesh is to be spiritually dead. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” We are born spiritually dead because we are born in the flesh. When Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus the necessity of being born again in order to be spiritual, He stated plainly, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). He also explained in John 6:63: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.”
And so when we understand the Scriptural concept of spiritual death and accept the fact that it is the original basic nature of every one born into this world, we will be ready to appreciate the exceeding greatness of the power of God in thoroughly and effectively saving us by bringing us from death into life in Christ Jesus. The Gospel we preach and believe will reflect this and the Christian life we live through the life of Christ in us will demonstrate the glory of this great salvation.
Dead in Adam
When Adam sinned, according to God’s warning, he entered into death. As head of the human race, Adam brought sin and death to all mankind. Death came upon all humanity as a result of the Fall of Adam, the first man, in the Garden of Eden.
The Biblical account of the fall of Adam is well-known. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and instructed them that they could partake of the fruits of all the trees in the garden, except the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. He warned them that if ever they would partake of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil they would die. Deceived by the devil to believe that the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil would make them god-like they disobeyed God and partook of the fruit and died spiritually.
It is interesting to note that the Tree of Life was also in the Garden and, unlike the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, its fruit was made accessible to Adam and Eve. The fruit of the Tree of Life would have been a sure way of partaking of life and being like God. But man was deceived into thinking that he could become like God in total independence and even defiance of God by knowing good and evil. The consequence of that deception was death upon Adam and the entire human race descending from Adam.
Yet, although Adam’s deceit by the devil lead to his downfall into sin and death which were passed on to the entire human race, many people continue to be deceived by similar ideas of becoming God-like by means of education, civilization, religion, and the knowledge of the Law, without partaking of Life. But the truth remains that every human being inherits at birth from Adam a fallen sinful nature of death, from which he can be delivered only by receiving supernatural Life in Christ. In other words, it is not knowing that makes us God-like or godly, it is being, which comes from Life.
Spiritual Death
To me, it is the lack of knowledge or acceptance of the reality that spiritual death is the original condition of every human being born into this world that gives rise to the type of Gospel which does not emphasize the power of Life in Christ as the only means of salvation and godliness. We must face the Scriptural truth that spiritual death in sin is humanity's basic problem. We need to understand what the Bible means by spiritual death.
Paul describes the condition of spiritual death which we all inherit from Adam in Ephesians 2:1-3: “And you ... who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”
Spiritual death is the natural state of humanity which is void of the life of God. To be spiritually dead is being in a sinful nature that follows the evil desires of our corrupt bodies and minds, is under the total influence of the world's evil way, and is controlled by a dominating spirit of rebellion against God. In other words, the enemies of God – the world, the flesh, and the devil – take advantage of the spiritual deadness of humanity to drive man in an existence of ungodliness.
Therefore, to be spiritually dead is to be in a state of total helplessness and inability to turn to God and save one's self. People sin not because they do not want to exercise their will-power not to sin. They sin not because their social environment influences them to sin. They sin not because of some abusive experience in their upbringing. These factors may facilitate the sinful life-style of a sinner. But the basic cause of sinning is spiritual death. One who is spiritually dead is separated from God (who gives us the life and power to be holy) and has no desire or ability to obey God. We are told in Romans 8:7-8: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
All of humanity, the noble and the common, the pauper and the prince, the educated and uneducated, the rich and the poor, are born with the sinful nature of death inherited from Adam. They exist under the tyrant dictatorship of spiritual death. At best, in their efforts at godliness and self-righteousness, they can only draw from the sinful and corrupt resources of Adam's fallen human nature. These human resources are education, moral or otherwise, psychological motivation, a change of one’s social environment, rehabilitation, and other human means of human improvement but the truth is they cannot deliver anyone from the bondage of spiritual death.
Another way the Bible describes our original state of spiritual death in the old Adamic nature is being in the flesh. To be in the flesh is to be spiritually dead. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” We are born spiritually dead because we are born in the flesh. When Jesus pointed out to Nicodemus the necessity of being born again in order to be spiritual, He stated plainly, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). He also explained in John 6:63: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.”
And so when we understand the Scriptural concept of spiritual death and accept the fact that it is the original basic nature of every one born into this world, we will be ready to appreciate the exceeding greatness of the power of God in thoroughly and effectively saving us by bringing us from death into life in Christ Jesus. The Gospel we preach and believe will reflect this and the Christian life we live through the life of Christ in us will demonstrate the glory of this great salvation.
Comment
© 2024 Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..
Powered by
You need to be a member of Black Preaching Network to add comments!
Join Black Preaching Network