From Adam to Jesus

October 28, 2021

God made us to be His own, and is gently calling each and every person, despite our failures, to Himself. We are intrinsically valuable because we are made in His image. Although we are intrinsically valuable, that doesn’t mean we are intrinsically good. Quite the opposite, in fact.

We learned about the Imago Dei - man is made in the image of God and therefore valuable. Such good news, right? Well, I have a fancy new term to teach you today. It’s called Federal Headship. It’s basically the notion of, “I got it from my mama, who got it from her mama.. who got it from.. Adam.” If sin entered the world through Adam, and Adam was the “father” of all mankind (aka, we are all from the line of Adam since he was the OG), Adam is our Federal Head. Every person is born into his sin nature, no ifs, ands, or buts. Though we have value, none of us are good. If none are good, none can be in the presence of a holy (perfect) God. I know, that’s the most depressing news you will hear today. You’re welcome.

Now, let’s all bow our heads and close in prayer.

Just kidding, there’s more! Jesus has a conversation in John 3 with a man named Nicodemus (anyone else curious why we don’t see that name in baby books?). In verse 3 Jesus tells Nic, “Truly, I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” AKA, you can’t be with God, in his presence, in the new restored kingdom if you remain under Adam’s Federal Headship.

Ok, if you have a logical mind, that line of thought makes sense.

1. God is holy (without sin).

2. Humanity is sinful since we are all born from (or descendants of) Adam.

3. We know God will restore the world and create a new heaven and new earth eventually, and evil cannot exist there.

4. Man who remains under Adam’s federal headship cannot gain access to the restored kingdom.

Humanity is stuck in Adam’s failures. 

Let’s exercise our muscle for determining “truth” versus “truth-adjacent” for just a moment. The world tells you that you are good. You are enough. Be true to yourself. You are the hero of your own story. You deserve happiness, so chase power, money and fame. Prioritize self-help, self-love, and self-care because you have earned it. Get up, wash your face, and live your best life. 

Does that sound like what Jesus is saying to Nicodemus in the passage above? I would say no. 

Do not let the truth of being valuable as an image bearer cross over into: “You are good.” “You are enough.” And “Be true to yourself.” These are the messages the world feeds us because the world is under the sway of the Deceiver who doesn’t want us to notice our need for a Savior. But this feel-good message is antithetical to Scripture. Here’s the truth. We are deeply entrenched in sin beginning at the moment of our birth - every part of us. And it runs bone-deep. We will never be enough without the blood of Jesus.

At face value, this message seems hopeless. It certainly wouldn’t sell as an inspirational quote cross-stitched onto a pillow. But here is the good news: we don’t have to stay stuck. Jesus explicitly tells Nic that there is hope: there is a way! That way is as simple as being born again under a new Federal Headship.

I love Nic’s response.. He’s just so genuinely confused. He says in John 3:4, “How can anyone be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” Ain’t a soul alive who would want to do that, ammiright? 

No, friend, the obvious answer is that being born again isn’t a physical re-birth. It’s a spiritual re-birth. It’s an accepting of Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. It’s the understanding that we are cursed if we don’t follow the law perfectly, but Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:10-13). It’s a laying down of self, repentance, and accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on your behalf. 

When you make Jesus the King of your life, He becomes your federal head. Bye-bye, Adam.

“So then, as through one trespass (Adam and Eve eating from the tree they were commanded not to eat from), there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act (Jesus’ death and resurrection on your behalf) there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s (Jesus’) obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:18-19 (Parenthetical thoughts added)

The world is shouting very loudly at us what we are supposed to identify as: putting us in categories; pitting us against one another. Democrats vs Republicans. Vaxxers vs Anti-vaxxers. Black vs White. Oppressors vs Oppressed. The categories scripture give us are “In Adam” and “In Christ.” The world doesn’t realize that we were all born into the same condition: sin. All of us. No matter our politics. No matter our race. We all have the same starting point. And we all have the same desperate need for redemption. 

Let me just say that I’m grateful for Jesus. I’m grateful he has given me a way to escape my natural patterns under Adam. I’m grateful that He has credited His righteousness to me as a result of my faith in Him. I do not want to stay stuck where I am, and I hope you feel the same.

At the moment of conversion, you are justified, meaning that God looks down at you from heaven through the lens of Jesus’ finished work on the cross, and he sees you as without sin (can I get an amen!). At our moment of justification, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. He lives within each believer as our Helper. Jesus told his disciples, “it is better for you that I go away, because if I do not go, the Helper will not come to you. But if I do go away, then I will send Him to you.”

With the help of the Helper, we should be moving toward sanctificationnctification is a fancy word meaning that we become less like our old self, and more like Jesus. That’s what I will be working on this week. Releasing my inherent feeling of pride and self-sufficiency, and leaning into the One who made salvation possible.