“And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

First man

Genesis 2:7, “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 being.“
The background here is that Adam, created in the image of God, was able to choose between good and evil, and chose to sin, thereby bringing mankind and all of creation into death and decay.

Last Adam

Life-giving – John 3:16 (in answer to Nicodemus) “… His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
This simple fact cannot be repeated too many times, it is too wonderful to ever be fully understood. That through his sacrificial death on the cross in our place, Jesus took the penalty of our death upon himself, that we may be forgiven, and judged as righteous and restored to him in a new relationship. And Jesus in rising from the dead won victory over the power of death over us.

Spirit – John 4:24 (to the Samaritan woman) “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Jesus is the divine Son of God, and as spirit He desires to live in each one of us, and transform us in his image. And the new life he lives in us is a life that will never end.
Jesus stated the need for him as spirit living within us to Nicodemus in John 3:5, “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

Personal Application

I am all too keenly aware of the fallen nature of the first man Adam in my life. Even while I believe and trust, each day I fail and fall short of the standard Jesus has for me in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

But I am encouraged by two things:

1) We can see Jesus’ statement, “you shall be perfect”, as implying a promise of what Jesus will give, not what fallen man can achieve by his own efforts;

2) an awareness of some small but precious things in my life that are not from me as the fallen Adam:

• perhaps most importantly, a discontent with what I see in myself as the fallen Adam;
• but also a recognition and delight in seeing God’s grace, love, and mercy in others;
• those times when I find joy in helping others, rather than helping myself;
• and when I find contentment in waiting and listening rather than blowing my own trumpet.

Like faith itself, even these are gifts from God. Paul describes this in-between state of being transformed by Jesus as spirit a few verses later in 1 Corinthians 15:49, “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.“

Praise God!