(It is suggested that this lesson, which is lengthy and deep, be read at two different times, the second beginning from the section on “Transferred into Christ” on page 10.)
The twenty-four lessons of the previous two volumes were an overview of the different matters between us and God which we, the sinners, should realize, know, and practice after we have believed in the Lord to be saved and have become a saint of God and of the Lord. Beginning with this volume, we will go further to look into the salvation which God prepared for us in Christ. We will also look into the riches we have obtained, the experiences we should have, the things we should accomplish, and the goal we should attain in Christ.
1) “The first man is out of the earth” (1 Cor. 15:47); “The first...Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45).
Though there are millions of people on the earth, there are only two men in the eyes of God. The first one is Adam. The Bible calls him the first man and also the first Adam. He is out of the earth; therefore, he is earthy. He is the beginning of man, and there is no man before him. Thus, he is the first man, the initial man. We people in the world are all his descendants, who are out of him and who are in him to be one man with him.
1) “The second Man is out of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47); “The last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45).
These verses refer to Christ. Here the Bible calls Christ the second Man. In our eyes, since the first man is Adam, the second man should be his firstborn son, Cain, as the second generation of mankind. However, the Bible, bypassing Cain and millions of his descendants, says that the second Man is Christ. This is God’s view! In God’s eyes, the first man after Adam is Christ. Before Christ, there was only one man, Adam, and there was not another man besides him. Thus, Adam is the first man, and Christ is the second Man. The Scriptures here not only call Christ the second Man, but also the last Adam, that is, the last Man. This tells us that God views Christ not only as the second Man but also as the last Man, and there is not another man after Him. Though there is a first man before Christ, there is not a third man after Him. Adam is the first man, and Christ is the second Man. Therefore, in God’s view there are only two men in the universe—Adam and Christ. All the other millions of people are either in Adam, of Adam, and one man with Adam, or in Christ, of Christ, and one man with Christ.
1) “And He made from one every nation of men” (Acts 17:26).
In some manuscripts, the word “one” in this verse is rendered “one blood,” referring to one man. This one man is Adam. From this one man Adam, or from this “one,” God made every nation of men in the world. Every nation of men in the world is out of Adam and in Adam. Actually, before we were born, we were already in Adam. Because we were originally in Adam, it was possible for us to be born of Adam and be those who are of Adam.
1) “For as through the disobedience of one man [Adam] the many were constituted sinners” (Rom. 5:19).
Of all the things which we have in Adam, the first is sin. The first thing Adam passed on to us was sin. To be sinful and to be sinners, we do not need to commit sins. Through the disobedience of the one man, Adam, we are already sinful and are constituted sinners. Adam was sinful and was a sinner through disobedience. We also are sinful and are sinners as long as we are in him.
2) “So then, as it was through one offense [the one in Eden] unto condemnation to all men” (Rom. 5:18).
Since we are sinners and are sinful in Adam, we are under condemnation. Since Adam caused us to be sinners, he also caused us to be condemned. We all participated in his one offense in the garden of Eden because we were all in him. While he was sinning, we were all in him, sinning with him. He included us and brought us with him when he sinned.
3) “For as in Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22).
Of all the items that we have obtained and now possess in Adam, the first is sin, the second is condemnation, and the third is death. Since we have sin, we are condemned; since we have condemnation, we will surely die. The result of sin and condemnation is death. This death is in Adam and includes several levels of meaning. First, it is the death of the spirit, that is, the human spirit losing its function because of the break in its fellowship with God. Second, it is the death of the body, that is, the human body losing its life and returning to dust. Third, it is the death of the soul, that is, the human soul going to Hades to be tormented (Luke 16:22-25). Fourth, it is the second death, that is, the human spirit, soul, and body being cast into the lake of fire to suffer the eternal torment (Rev. 20:15; 21:8). Today the spirits of the people of the world are dead to God. One day their bodies will die and their souls will go to Hades to be tormented. In the last day, their spirit, soul, and body will be resurrected and will come together to be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented eternally, which is the final and eternal death. These are the significances included in death, the common portion in Adam of the entire world.