04.02. SHADOW: Adam a Type of Christ

SHADOW: Adam a Type of Christ

Romans 5:14 AUDIO http://www.exposingtheword.com/SHADOWS/MP3s%20Shadows/2%20Shadow-%20Adam.mp3

    We began our journey into the Word of God last week in a new and I trust a fresh way. A series of messages called, "Finding Christ in the Shadows." Today we get our first look at what is clearly and undeniable a type or shadow of Christ. We begin with the beginning of man, Adam.

    Romans 5:14 "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." NJKV says, "… who is a type of Him who was to come."

    I wish to quickly point out again that no shadow will give us a complete picture. No man who is a sinner can picture Christ who was sinless. So Adam is not a perfect picture but an important one.

I- Contrasts:

Let us first begin with looking at ways that Adam and Christ differ or contrast before we explore the things that make Adam a type. The story of Adam is found in the book of Genesis chapters two through five. We will explore part of this as we progress. First we know that Adam was from the earth while Christ was from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:47 "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."

    Adam was created in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." The image of God that Adam had was marred by sin. The restoration is in Christ.

    The first Adam brought sin and death while Christ brought salvation and life. 1 Corinthians 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Notice the account in Genesis. Genesis 2:17 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

    We also see a contrast between Adam and Christ in the simple fact that the perfect paradise that Adam and Eve enjoyed before sinning was lost and it will be restored in Christ. Genesis 3:24 "So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Now notice Isaiah 11:6-9 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. ⁹ They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

    Isaiah 65:25 "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."

    Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

    The first man Adam brought the curse upon creation but the second Adam, Christ, will bring redemption from the curse. Genesis 3:17 "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."

    Revelation 22:1-3 "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him."

II- What Makes Him Adam A Type?

Both Had a Perfect Nature: Let me quickly put a note here. Adam was created without sin. So in one sense when we talk about Adam being a type of Christ we sometimes forget that there was a time when he had a perfect nature. Sinless and holy. Genesis 2:25 "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

    Hebrews 4:15 says about Christ, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

Both Passed Their Image to Men: All men have descended from Adam. No one alive today nor anyone who has ever lived did not descend from Adam. Adam passed his image and his character onto men. Adam was in one sense the father of all men. We who name the name of Christ as Savior have been given the nature of Christ. He has passed Hs image onto us now but not in its fullest sense until we get to heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:49 "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."

Both Had Eternity in Them: In the book, Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says, " You have an inborn instinct that longs for immortality. This is because God designed you, in his image, to live for eternity. Even thought we know everyone eventually dies, death always seems unnatural and unfair. The reason we feel we should live forever is that God wired our brains with that desire!" (p 36)

    Both Adam and Christ had eternity in them. Adam had it placed there by God and Christ had it by the fact that He was God from eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 in the NKJV says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

Both Became Sin: 1 Timothy 2:13-14 "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. ¹⁴ And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

After the fall of Eve Adam still was in a sinless estate. Can you imagine for a moment the conversation between them? Sorry, Eve you blew it and now I guess you and I will not spend eternity together. Then he realized that this will mean eternal separation from the one he loves. So Adam willingly eats. It says that Adam was not deceived. May I suggest that Adam made the decision to eat of the fruit so he would not be separated from Eve. In one sense he became sin for her. Not as her redeemer but as her companion.

    Christ became sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

What Adam messed up Christ fixed. What Adam lost Christ restored. Where Adam failed Christ succeeded. Adam gives us a partial glimpse of what Christ was. We must run to Christ for all that Adam nor we ourselves cannot do.