Systematic Theology The Historical Adam #2

Welcome to The Truth Pulpit with Don Green, Founding Pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Hello again, I'm Bill Wright. It is our joy to continue our commitment to teaching God's people God's Word. Today Don is continuing with the second part of a message we started last time.

So let's get right to it. Open your Bible as we join Don now in The Truth Pulpit. And that brings us to point number three, the teaching of the apostles. The teaching of the apostles. And let me just remind you of some things we've said about the apostles in the past.

Those of you that weren't with us at the time maybe haven't heard this. The nature of the apostolic office, the nature of the twelve plus Paul is really, really crucial for us to understand. Because the apostles were Jesus's personally appointed representatives to reveal his truth to the first generation of believers. Jesus personally appointed the apostles to be his authorized representatives. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower them, to guard them, to guide them in the truth.

And so when we read, here's the key beloved, and I'm not repeating all that I said in those two messages that you can find also online. When you read the teaching of the apostles, when you read the letters of the New Testament, Jesus Christ himself is the guarantee that the apostles were trustworthy. Because he is the one who designated them as his authorized representatives in a unique way that has not been repeated since the first century and never will be. One of the qualifications to be an apostle was that they had to be an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. Martin Lloyd-Jones talking about the apostles said this, he said, Christ enlightens and reveals his will and teaching to these apostles, endows them with a unique authority, fills them with the needed ability and power, and gives them the teaching that is essential to the well-being of the church and God's people, end quote.

Let me say that again. Christ in appointing the apostles gave them the ability, the authority, and the power to provide for the people of Christ, to provide for the sheep of the shepherd, the teaching that was essential for the well-being of the people for whom he died. And so the apostles were a great gift from Christ. They are the foundation upon which the church is built according to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 20, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. And so when we read the teaching of the apostles, when we read the New Testament, we are reading the very word of God himself.

We are reading precisely what Christ has for his church to know, understand, believe, teach, defend, and obey. There is no separation between Christ and his apostles. Their teaching is one and the same as it is recorded in Scripture because they spoke as his authorized representatives. And so with that in mind, when it comes to the issue of the evening, it's right and proper for us to say, what do the apostles say about Adam? What do the apostles say about Adam? Well, what we're going to see is, is that the apostles agree completely with the recorded words of Christ in the gospels. The apostles agree with the teaching of Genesis and the genealogies.

They assume Adam's literal existence as it is recorded in the book of Genesis. Let's look at Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. In Romans chapter 5, the apostle Paul is addressing the matter of Christ's redemption of humanity.

And he is going to make a comparison between Christ and Adam to make his point. In Romans chapter 5 verse 12, look at it with me. He says, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come.

Now, this text is very involved and very complex. For tonight, all we need to see is this, is that the apostle Paul is speaking about Adam as a literal man. He speaks about Adam in the same breath, in the same clause as he does Moses. You can't say Moses was real and literal and then turn Adam into a symbol without destroying the entire point that Paul is making here. One writer said this, Adam is a real person of history and therefore the events of his life are causes that produce genuine effects in the world. Adam's story explains what happens because it tells us what happened.

And the point that Paul is making is a historical point here in chapter 5. Adam was a real historical person who did real historical things. And because Adam did those things, because Adam fell, because Adam disobeyed, there were consequences for all of humanity. As the head of the human race, when Adam sinned, it had an effect on every other man in the human race who would ever live.

That's his point there. Now, Paul goes further and makes a critical comparison to Christ Jesus. Look at verse 15. The free gift is not like the transgression. In other words, the free gift of salvation available in Christ is not like the transgression that Adam committed. I just want you to see as we go through here the comparison and the analogy between Christ and Adam.

That's all we're looking for here tonight. We'll deal with this text in the future. For if by the transgression, verse 15, of the one, the many died, Adam sinned and therefore many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For on the one hand, the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation. Adam's sin resulted in the condemnation of the entire race. But on the other hand, the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Verse 17. For if by the transgression of the one, that is Adam, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. So one man, Adam sinned and it had consequences for the whole human race. Jesus Christ, one man did one thing in his life, his death, his resurrection. The actions of one man in Christ also had implications for all.

That's the comparison that he's making. Adam did one thing and everyone was affected. Christ did one thing and everyone was affected.

That's the basic gist of his argument here. Verse 19. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous. The law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

That's a lot. But grab the main point here. One man, namely Adam, did had consequences for the entire human race. What another one man, Christ, did had consequences for the entire human race. And what Paul leads up to, what the climax of his point is, is found in verse 21. You find that it leads into a declaration of the grace that reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so he is built up to this great conclusion that shows us something about the reality of salvation in Christ.

Here's the thing, beloved. Paul's entire explanation of salvation falls apart, becomes meaningless if Adam is not a historical person. If you take away Adam and the explanation that Adam gives for human race, of humanity being in sin, if you take that away, then you take away the entire premise of salvation. You take away Adam, sin and salvation fall apart, because through the first Adam we became sinful, through the second Adam, namely Christ, we are redeemed.

And if you take away the first, you lose the second as well. Again, Anthony Hoekme pointedly asks in this context, he says, If Paul thought of Jesus Christ here as a historical person, what right has anyone to suggest that he thought of Adam, whom he describes in each of those verses with an expression identical to the one used for Christ, as not a historical person? In other words, Paul uses the same language to describe Christ and to describe Adam. How can you possibly hold to Christ as historical and reject Adam as historical? Now I realize, I realize that those who want to be friends with our evolutionary philosophy of our age, I realize that that puts them in an embarrassing position.

I'm not sympathetic. You have to choose what it is that you're going to be loyal to. Are you going to be loyal to Christ and to his word and stand apart from the philosophies of a world that would undermine the clear teaching of God's word? Or will you come out from the camp and stand with Christ and stand with his word and stand with that which gives the word internal consistency and clarity as it speaks about the only way of salvation for men? I tell you, to me, that's not a hard question to answer.

This is not a difficult choice. In part, it's not a difficult choice because of the work of the Spirit of God in my heart that has opened my eyes to see that these things are actually true. But what I want you to see here, beloved, and I think I used this pun last time, when people start to monkey around with Adam, the consequences of that go throughout the Bible. The principle that would make you monkey with Adam eventually undermines the only hope of your soul. And you can see that as you see other apostolic teaching. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. In 1 Corinthians 15, when he's talking about our resurrection hope, in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 21, he ties it into Adam.

He ties it into Adam, 1 Corinthians 15, verse 21. He says, For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. And then in verse 45 of 1 Corinthians 15, he says, So also it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam, referring to Christ, became a life-giving spirit.

And so what you see, beloved, is this. We bear the image of Adam now as physical beings here on the earth. One day we are going to bear the image of Christ in glory, those of us that belong to him. And so when we step back as Christians and say, What is the most precious thing that we have? The most precious thing that we have is the certain hope of eternal life, seeing Christ face to face, and one day being like him. We will be like him because we will see him as he is, 1 John 3, verse 2. Well, what I want you to see is, is that according to Scripture, that the great, eternal, infinite value of that hope is tied to, compared to, related to the historicity of Adam. Lastly, Paul addresses male leadership in the church in 1 Timothy chapter 2.

Turn over there with me. 1 Timothy chapter 2. Paul is dealing with the issue of male leadership in the church. He says in chapter 2, verse 13, It was Adam who was first created and then Eve.

And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Beloved, Paul's solution to a real problem in the church, in real time and space, in his day, was a real appeal to a real person who settled the argument, who made his case, who illustrated his point. And so you have Genesis, you have the genealogies, you have Jesus, you have the apostles in multiple places for each one. The testimony of Scripture here is abundant. On the positive side, the Bible affirms a real Adam. On the negative side, biblical theology collapses without him. And when biblical theology collapses, the reality of salvation collapses as well. Beloved, market.

Market. It's not long in time, chronology. It's not long in logic. It's not a far leap that those who would take a historical Adam away from you, market eventually they will take your salvation away from you as well. And what I mean by that is that they will end up denying, since Adam is the premise of the things that lead to Christ and the salvation that Christ wrought, when you kick out the slats of the foundation, the rest of it's going to fall eventually as well. Leland Reichen says this, and I quote, Our salvation connection to Christ is grounded in our human connection to Adam. If we remain in Adam, then the guilt of his sin and our sin will bring us under the wrath of God. But if we come to Christ, we will be rescued by his atoning work. Both men are real representatives which makes our salvation as real as our sin. Beloved, we have not followed cleverly devised fables when we believed in Christ.

We have not believed in myths and fancy stories when we've committed ourselves to the truth of Scripture. We have committed ourselves to that which is true, that which is right, and that which God will vindicate in the end. And may God bless our efforts individually and collectively as a body of believers here at Truth Community Church to be faithful to his precious word in every respect.

Yes, Father, thus may it be. Thus may it be that we would be true to Christ and true to your word. That we would be true, Father, even when it is unpopular. That we would be true even when it costs us in our personal lives. That it would be true and our commitment and our faithfulness would be real and proven even when we are insulted, even when we suffer, even when we are mocked, even when we are misrepresented. Because, Father, that's what Christ is worthy of and so much more.

He is worthy of that heart commitment, that intellectual commitment, that effort of life. And, Lord, we could give all of ourselves in perfection back to you if that were even possible, and it wouldn't be enough. It wouldn't be enough to pay for the nail-scarred hands.

It wouldn't be enough to pay for the shed blood. No, we have been on the receiving end of such marvelous, infinite, matchless grace that there's no repaying. We receive it as a gift. We give ourselves over to it gladly. We ask you to help us be faithful until the end. And then when the end comes and they pull down our eyelids in death, Father, may our eyes then open to the wondrous glories of Christ, the wondrous glories of that which you have promised to all who love you. And in a fleeting glance back, we would look back and say it was worth it all. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. Well, friend, thank you for joining us today on The Truth Pulpit. And I just want to let you know of a companion resource that is available to add to this series. The book is titled Foundations in the Book of Genesis, a Geologist's Perspective. It's by Dr. Andrew Snelling. And you can find that book at our website, thetruthpulpit.com.

Again, the book is Foundations in the Book of Genesis, a Geologist's Perspective, available on our website, thetruthpulpit.com. I highly commend it to you. Thank you for being with us. Join us next time as we continue teaching God's people God's word right here on The Truth Pulpit. That's Don Green, founding pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thank you so much for listening to The Truth Pulpit. Join us next time for more as we continue teaching God's people God's word.