Do we inherit Spiritual Death from Adam?

[Heather Cummings]

This is a topic I have been studying for some time. I want to ask for input, because it seems so clear to me, but I may be seeing things that aren't there.

Quote:

1 Corinthians 15:21 and 22

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Some people read this and think it means that because Adam sinned we are born spiritually dead. I have heard this text misquoted multiple times as, "For as in Adam all died," meaning Adam died spiritually when he sinned and we inherit that spiritually dead nature from him.

But, I think its clear that this whole chapter is talking about physical death and resurection. Because Adam sinned we die physically, but because of Christ's resurection we will be resurected physically.

Simply from this passage, what are your thoughts as to what Paul meant by "For as in Adam all die." Physical death of spiritual death?

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Hi Heather,

We are born spiritually dead and self centered unlike Christ who was born spirtually alive and other centered. I don't have time to expound now but will tonight if time permits.

If we are born spiritually alive then what's the point of being born again. We are born spiritually dead and dying physically.

must go,

Norman

[Heather Cummings]

Norman,

I'm glad to hear from you. I didn't say that we weren't spiritually dead, I just am questioning if 1 Cor 15 is teaching that we are BORN spiritually dead. Do you think 1 Cor 15 is talking about spiritual death or physical death, and why? Clearly we were all "dead in tresspasses and sins" (Eph 2:1) but show me that we were born that way because of Adam's sin. By the way, I am in no way claiming that we aren't born sinful in the sense that we are all prone to sin. That is taught elsewhere in the Bible and can't be argued with. I am concerned with whether 1 Cor 15 is talking about us inheriting physical death or spiritual death from Adam.

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Hi Heather,

Sorry for the misunderssanding.

1 Cor 15 is speaking of physical death and resurrection. "In Adam all die" means that the descendants of Adam, those who are linked to him by the flesh (which is everyone) will die.

As Jesus said,That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6 We are born like Adam after the fall with out the Spirit from two parents who are of Adam. Jesus was born of a woman and of the Spirit. So in Him was life; as the Spirit is life. His humanity was able to be tempted like ours but He was not dead in trespasses and sins.

The reason Jesus is called the last Adam is because He was born as Adam was created in a sense. That would be of flesh and of the Spirit; except Jesus flesh never experienced sin

Since Adam has no life giving Spirit in himself and is dead and we are joined to him we also will die. Jesus the last Adam does have the Spirit and is alive so as we join ourselves with him by faith we become like Him and will be resurrected. The difference is that our flesh has experienced sin.

1Co 6:16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. 17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

The union with Christ over rides the union with the flesh and that is revealed by the fact that we will be resurrected. It is not the union with the flesh of Christ that does anything for us but the union with His Spirit by faith in Him that will enable us to be resurrected.

Good question

Norman

[Robert]

"In Adam all die"

Here's a better, clearer verse:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned....

Now Paul is saying three things in this one verse:

1. He is saying that sin entered the world through one man. Now the word “world” — the Greek word is “kosmos“ — has more than one meaning. I have discovered at least six meanings for that one word. The context tells you what is the meaning of the word and here the word “world” has the same meaning as it has in John 3:16:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Here the word “world” means the human race, or mankind, or humanity, to which all of us belong. What Paul is saying in the first statement is that sin became our heritage! It became part of us through one man.

2. He is saying that this sin that this one man committed brought death to him. The reason for this is obvious because God said to our first parents that the day they eat of the forbidden fruit, the day they sin, they will surely — or as the Hebrew word puts it, they will “certainly” — die. So that is no problem. The problem is in the third statement.

3. This death did not only come to Adam, but it spread to the whole human race, which is you and me, all of us. This death spread; it became universal.

Now Paul was an ex-Pharisee. He was an expert on the law. He knew what Deuteronomy 24:16 said:

Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.

He knew what Ezekiel 18 said. [Read the entire chapter, but here is Ezekiel 18:20:]

The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

He knew that, legally, you cannot transfer guilt and punishment. You can’t transfer. No law allows that. And so, because he knows that, he makes a statement. He says, [size:14pt]“This death spread to all men because all sinned.”

It is that last phrase which is an incomplete statement that is the cause of the problem. I can imagine in heaven, some of those great scholars who wrestled with this through the ages of the Christian church will go to Paul and they will shake their heads at him and they will say, “Paul, why didn’t you finish the sentence! Don’t you know what headaches you caused us?!” I know what he will say. “Why didn’t you read the context?”

There are only two ways you and I can finish the sentence. Did Paul mean that all die because all sinned IN Adam? Or did he mean all die because all sinned LIKE Adam? Which one? That is the big issue. I don’t know if you wrestled with the problem, but those who have belong to one of these two camps.

Now we can’t get the answer to the problem in verse 12. We have to look at the context, we have to approach it from every angle. I want to tell you the position I have taken:

I am convinced that what Paul is saying here is that we all die because we all sinned IN Adam and not LIKE Adam. I’m going to give you five reasons....

Four of them are Biblical reasons. One is an historical reason because you have to take history into account, too. Let’s go through these five reasons so that after we do that we can go to the passage and understand what Paul is saying.

Argument #1. Historically, it is not true that all die because all sinned LIKE Adam. Take babies, for example. Do babies die? Yes. Yet they don’t have personal sin. A baby of three months doesn’t have personal sin. It has not sinned like Adam, yet it dies. Therefore, it’s contradicting what Paul says. Because Paul says that death spread to all men. No exception.

Argument #2. This is a grammatical reason, in that Paul uses the aorist tense. That’s a tense we don’t have in the English language, but it’s a past historical tense. Therefore, it implies a once-and-for-all act that took place in the past. If Paul had in mind that it is our personal sins that bring death to us, then he would use the present continuous tense. He doesn’t. I say this because, in chapter 3 of Romans, Paul makes a similar statement in verse 23, except there he adds something else.

Argument #3. Let’s go back to chapter 5. In verses 13 and 14 of Romans 5, which is an explanation of verse 12, which we will come to in a moment, Paul makes it clear that the people who live from Adam to Moses were dying even though their sins were not identical or like Adam’s transgression. In other words, they were dying even though their personal sins were unlike Adams’ sin, which is a contradiction of the idea that we all die because we all sinned like Adam. Paul is saying the very opposite. They were dying even though they did not sin LIKE Adam’s transgression.

Argument #4. In part of the context, verses 15 to 18, not once, not twice, but, you will discover, four times, Paul makes it very clear that we are judged, we are condemned, and we MUST die BECAUSE OF ADAM’S SIN and NOT our personal sins! Therefore, the context tells me that Paul says Adam’s death spread to all men because ALL SINNED IN ADAM! Or, to be more accurate with the Greek, “in as much as all sinned,” and we finish the sentence by the context, “in Adam.”

Argument #5. But now I want to give you the fifth reason, which to me is the most important argument. If you forget the first four, I don’t mind. But this fifth argument is so crucial that it is important that you clearly understand what Paul is doing here. In Romans 5, verses 12 to 21, Paul is comparing Adam with Christ. The reason why he is discussing Adam and our situation in Adam in verses 12 to 14 is because he wants to use Adam as a type or as a pattern of Christ. In other words, he is saying: “What happens to us because of Adam in the same way happens to us because of Christ.”

There is a parallel. I want you to notice something here. After discussing our situation in Adam, how does he end up in verse 14? Because that’s why he’s discussing Adam. He says:

...Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

He’s a pattern or type. He’s a figure of the One to come. If you keep this in mind, then listen to this very carefully: what is true of us in Adam must also be true of us in Christ! That’s the pattern! That’s the parallel.

Therefore, if you insist that we all die because we sinned LIKE Adam, to be honest with this passage, you have to teach that we are saved, we are justified because we have obeyed LIKE Christ. And I’ll ask you one question: how many of you have obeyed like Christ? None. Therefore, none of us are saved. And this text is no longer good news; it’s bad news.

If you insist that we are lost because we sinned LIKE Adam, then you must insist, to be fair with Paul’s writings, that we are saved because we obeyed LIKE Christ. Not only is this a contradiction of Paul’s thought here and in the rest of Romans, but we would be guilty of teaching legalism, which is a far cry from the message of salvation in Christ.

This is not the end of the problem, so I’m going to give you two more facts, two more things that I hope will help you. When I preach this to Adventist congregations, I know there is a question that rises up. What about Ellen G. White? I have no problem. I believe Ellen G. White and Paul were in perfect harmony. So I’m going to read you three quotations from Ellen G. White, and you will see that she takes the position that in Adam we are lost! It is his sin that brings condemnation. End part I

[Robert]

The first one is from Bible Commentary, vol.6, page 1,074:

“As related to the first Adam, men [it includes women, because that’s a generic term] receive from him [that is, from Adam] nothing but guilt and the sentence of death.”

Statement #2 is from Faith and Works, page 88:

“We have reason for ceaseless gratitude to God that Christ, by His perfect obedience [not by you obeying like Him, but by His perfect obedience] has won back the heaven that Adam lost through disobedience. Adam sinned and the children of Adam [which is all of us] share his guilt and it’s consequences. But Jesus bore the guilt of Adam, and all the children of Adam that will flee to Christ, the second Adam, may escape the penalty of transgression.”

One more quote, from Sons and Daughters, page 120 [notice the last one in particular]:

“Blessed is the soul who can say I am guilty before God, but Jesus is my advocate. I have transgressed His law, I cannot save myself, but I make the precious blood that was shed on Calvary all my plea. I am lost in Adam, but restored in Christ.”

So I have the Spirit of Prophecy to back me up.

But our final argument must be from scripture. We have a message for the world. But now let me bring you to another problem.

Some will say (and I’m not making this up), “Yes, it is true. We all die because of Adam’s sin.” Now this is a typical Adventist argument. “But,” they say, “we die because of Adam’s sin, but this is only the first death. The second death is because of our personal sins.”

That may sound like good Adventist theology, but it does not stand up to the scrutiny of scripture, because the word “death” appears twice in verse 12 and I want you to look at it. Twice, not once. If you analyze the text, if you use exegesis [“an explanation or critical interpretation of a text”], look at the grammar, and the verbs and everything from the original, you will discover that the death that came to Adam, the same death spread to all men.

Therefore, if you say that the death we receive from Adam was only the first death, then we must also teach that all that Adam received when he sinned, when he ate the forbidden fruit, was the first death. And the question I will ask you, “When did the second death come in?” What did God mean when He said to Adam and Eve, “The day that you eat of this forbidden fruit you shall surely die!” Did He mean the first death, or did He mean the second death?

Well, you all know He meant good-bye to life forever. In fact, that is the official position of our church, and a correct position, too. I would say that the first death was a requirement, a necessity because of the gospel. I compare the first death to a doctor’s waiting room. I have yet to go to a doctor’s appointment where the appointment is on time. I don’t blame the doctor, because he’s human. He cannot predict, he does not have foreknowledge that this will take him exactly 20 minutes for his previous patient. So if the previous patient is 25 minutes, I am to sit down in his waiting room for five minutes. Often it is more that that.

But the thing is this: if this world, because of the gospel, would continue for six thousand years, then what happens to the people who die? They have to wait for the judgment. Judgment is at the end of time. So the first death is a waiting room until the judgment.

But if there was no gospel, Adam legally should have died the very day he sinned because the Hebrew text says that in the same day that you sin, you shall certainly die. That very same day. So the moment Adam sinned, he actually belonged to death row. And if he had died that same day, where would you be? In the grave with him, being eaten by worms! That’s all. So the death that comes to us through Adam’s sin is not just the first death. It includes the second death. We are born to a lost race because of Adam.

The whole force of the parallel in Romans 5:12-21 between Adam and Christ depends on the idea of the solidarity of mankind in Adam and in Christ. In the great majority of the 510 times the word “Adam” is used in the Old Testament (i.e., in the Hebrew language), with only rare exception, it possesses a collective significance. When you read the word “Adam” in the Old Testament, it is not referring to an individual. It is referring to all men in one man. It’s a solidarity statement. The word “Adam” means “mankind,” not just singular “man.”

In the same sense, Christ is referred to as the last or “second Adam” in the New Testament. (Actually, the New Testament only calls Him the last Adam, but Sister White calls Him the second Adam and there’s nothing wrong with that as long as we don’t have a third Adam; there’re only two. The second is also the last.) So when the New Testament calls Christ the second or the last Adam, it is not referring to one man among many men. It’s referring to a corporate man, Jesus Christ. Because the reason why God condemned us to death, because of Adam’s sin, is not because He’s transferring guilt. It’s because we participated in Adam’s sin. We were implicated, or, to use the language of Hebrews, we were “in the loins of Adam” when he sinned. [JS]

[End part 2]

[Heather Cummings]

Robert,

I am with you all the way. I have studied Romans 5 and have come to precisely the same conclusion as you have in every point. I’m am so grateful to have you to discuss this topic with, because you have a thorough and biblical understanding of our inheritance in Adam. I started this post discussing 1 Corinthians 15, because it seemed clear that it was talking about physical death and resurrection. My intention was to move on to Romans 5 to see if it also was clearly physical death inherited from Adam, and physical life gained through Christ.

You see, I had a study with a Calvinist pastor about this topic, and he said that Romans 5 is talking about spiritual death. He says, along with many theologians, that because Adam didn’t die physically on that day he ate of the fruit, God must have meant spiritual death, which they describe as a separation of the spirit from God, which results in spiritual unresponsiveness. It is true that Adam and Eve’s relationship with God changed, evidenced by the fact that they ran and hid from God, due to the guilt from their sin. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” When we sin, we are separated from God. But I don’t believe it is Biblical to say that that change in Adam’s personal relationship with God was passed on to every human.

When I read Romans 5, I saw that we clearly inherit physical death from Adam, because we were “in Adam” when he sinned. It is because they sinned in Adam that everyone through history has died. And I agree with you that the result of sin wasn’t supposed to be eventual physical death, but immediate and permanent physical death (the second death).

So the question remains, why didn’t Adam die immediately as God said he would?

Ellen White said:

Quote:

RH, April 23, 1901 par. 9

Adam listened to the words of the tempter, and yielding to his insinuations, fell into sin. Why was not the death penalty at once enforced in his case?--Because a ransom was found. God's only begotten Son volunteered to take the sin of man upon himself, and to make an atonement for the fallen race.

In Genesis 3:15, we see the first prophecy about the Messiah. As a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice, an animal died that day in their place, evidenced by the fact that God made coats of skin for Adam and Eve (verse 21). Adam and Eve, long before Christ was sacrificed, experienced part of the benefit of that sacrifice, a second chance at life. They should have both died that very day, but by God’s grace the human race got a reprieve.

If Adam had died, the entire future human race would have died with him. Christ’s sacrifice that took affect on the day sin entered the world, saved mankind from immediate extinction. This is how 1 Timothy 4:10 can say that Jesus “is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” The salvation of “all men” referred to here is clearly not the same type or quality as that of believers. Don’t misunderstand me. It is not eternal life. But, all men experience a type of salvation in that they are allowed to live at all. Without Jesus, the entire human race would have died in Adam on the same day that he sinned.

Despite the fact that we sinned in Adam, and deserved to die along with Adam on the day he sinned, God allowed the human race to exist. However, Adam was not immortal. Genesis 3:22 reveals that in order for Adam to live forever, he needed to eat from the Tree of Life. “Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.’ In order to prevent this verse 24 says, “He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” As a direct result of Adam’s sin, he and Eve and their future offspring lost access to the source of eternal life that God had given them. Romans 5:12 sums up the results of Adams sin. “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.”

As a result of Adam’s sin, Adam and the entire future human race with him were barred from the tree of life, and to their access to eternal life. Therefore, death spread to every man. Verse 17 has good news; God provided a new source of eternal life through Jesus for those who believe. “For if by the transgression of the one, 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.” Those who receive grace and the gift of righteousness through Jesus will receive eternal life. Just as Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When I shared this with him, this Calvinist pastor did not like where this reasoning was headed. So, he claims that Romans 5 is talking about spiritual death, and because Adam didn’t die physically on the day that he ate the fruit, the result must have been spiritual death. He thinks my explanation of Genesis 2 & 3, regarding the idea that there was a sacrifice that represented Christ’s substitutionary death, cannot be seen with a “simple reading of the passage,” and therefore must be wrong. But, when you consider that Genesis is a very brief description of the fall, every detail has a deep meaning. I believe the fact that God gave them skins to replace their fig leaves has a spiritual meaning. I also believe that, as no other meaning of the word death is used until Paul’s epistles (which is death by union with Adam on one hand, and Christ on the other) it is much more likely that Moses had physical death in mind when he wrote that Adam would surely die when he ate the fruit. Also, it is fitting that the animal skins given to Adam and Eve to wear were the result of a sacrifice, which would automatically have profound meaning to Moses and the people of Israel when the book of Genesis was written, most likely in the wilderness.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Genesis 2 & 3 and spiritual death.

[Woody]

Quote:

Robert,

I am with you all the way. I have studied Romans 5 and have come to precisely the same conclusion as you have in every point. I’m am so grateful to have you to discuss this topic with, because you have a thorough and biblical understanding of our inheritance in Adam.

Yes Heather ... you will find Robert a great one to discuss things with. He has helped me a lot also.

[Robert]

Quote:

Robert,

I am with you all the way. I have studied Romans 5 and have come to precisely the same conclusion as you have in every point. I’m am so grateful to have you to discuss this topic with, because you have a thorough and biblical understanding of our inheritance in Adam.

Yes Heather ... you will find Robert a great one to discuss things with. He has helped me a lot also.

I believe that Romans chapter 5 is the most important chapter in the whole Bible. Sorry...I believe that! Why?

1] It clearly states that we stand condemned "in Adam" because we were "in him" when he fell. Hence we were conceived in "iniquity" and because we were by nature self-seeking and without the Holy Spirit we automatically lived for the desires of our flesh.

2] It also clearly states that what happened "in Adam" has been reversed "in Christ". We are lost "in Adam" and justified unto life "in Christ"

3] Because of this truth many who never heard the name of Christ will be saved. Also, EGW states that babies will be in heaven. When did they believe?

4] Nevertheless, for those confronted with the good news, acceptance of it is required. Faith doesn't save us, Christ saved us! However faith is the tool that makes salvation real in the life of the believer.

Rob

[Norman Byers, N.D.]

Rob you said

Quote:

Originally Posted By: Norman

"In Adam all die"

Here's a better, clearer verse:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned....

I already said the same thing. The focus of the conversation was wheather 1 Cor 15 was referring to being born sinful or physical resurrection. So it was not my intent to use that verse.

I have not read the rest of your posts so I will not comment and will excuse myself from this thread.

Norman

Quote:

Since Adam has no life giving Spirit in himself and is dead and we are joined to him we also will die. Jesus the last Adam does have the Spirit and is alive so as we join ourselves with him by faith we become like Him and will be resurrected. The difference is that our flesh has experienced sin.

[Heather Cummings]

Robert,

I appreciate your thoughts, and I don't disagree with you regarding your understanding of Romans 5. However,I'm hoping you can address the following questions. Are 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5 both talking about inheriting physical death from Adam? I'm asking this as opposed to the idea that we inherit spiritual death from Adam. If they are both talking about physical death, what do you think about my understanding of Genesis 3 that I outlined in my previous post? I would really like to get this thread back on topic so I can get some feedback about what I have been studying.

Thanks!

Heather

[Robert]

Robert,

I appreciate your thoughts, and I don't disagree with you regarding your understanding of Romans 5. However,I'm hoping you can address the following questions. Are 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5 both talking about inheriting physical death from Adam? I'm asking this as opposed to the idea that we inherit spiritual death from Adam. If they are both talking about physical death, what do you think about my understanding of Genesis 3 that I outlined in my previous post? I would really like to get this thread back on topic so I can get some feedback about what I have been studying. Thanks!Heather

Remember that the 2nd death is goodbye to life forever. No resurrection. So Adam's death would have been his final death...the 2nd death...had Jesus not stepped in.

The first death is the result of sin. Mortality, pollution, sin, bad habits, all these bring on the first death.

The 2nd death is the "curse of the law" death. Because we were born in iniquity (meaning we were born & controlled by the principle of self-seeking) the law justly condemns us. And why not for to allow iniquity to enter heaven would reduce it to the likes of this planet.

Remember that the law doesn't only condemn our actions, but our very nature. The problem is iniquity...our bent towards self. Lucifer, the Bible says, was perfect until iniquity was found in him.

So in summary, we are born loving self and if God didn't place check and balances on us (E.G., read Romans chapter 13) we wouldn't be here now. Because of this the law says we must die...not the first death, but the 2nd.

Jesus, by assuming us, took the curse of the law. He delivered us from the demands of the law, "obey and live, disobey and die". But before we can enter heaven, we must be changed...at the last trumpet...for it will sound and we shall be changed. The vile nature will remain in the grave....

[Heather Cummings]

Remember that the 2nd death is goodbye to life forever. No resurrection. So Adam's death would have been his final death...the 2nd death...had Jesus not stepped in.

The first death is the result of sin. Mortality, pollution, sin, bad habits, all these bring on the first death.

[Robert]

I'll get back with you....Busy now.

[Robert]

The two Adams by Jack Sequeira

[Heather Cummings]

I read that article by Jack Sequeira, and I don't think it directly answers my question.

[Robert]

I believe Paul is saying that until Sinai, when the law was given, people sinned, but because there was no law, sin was not imputed. But, they died despite that fact. So, it follows that they died as a direct result of Adam's sin. Am I right?

Yes!

[Heather Cummings]

Then, if you agree that it is because of Adam's sin that humans die, how did Christ's death undo for the entire human race what Adam's sin did? We still die. Can you explain this to me?

[Robert]

how did Christ's death undo for the entire human race what Adam's sin did?

Romans 5:18 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.

All men have been justified unto life. That is, all men are living (even though they are sinful) because Christ died the 2nd death.

How did Christ die the 2nd death? Read!

Here's the thing, Paul tells us that "when One died, all died". Paul also tells us that "we died to the law in the body of Christ". How is that possible?

God created the entire human race "in Adam". Even Eve was taken from Adam's side.

Adam sinned and the Holy Spirit exited his inner self (spirit). Lucifer filled this vacuum with iniquity (which simply means a bent towards self). No longer was Adam in the image and likeness of God. This is before Adam had children.

Adam's sin was that he choose Eve over God. Since God will not force Himself, He exited Adam through the Holy Spirit and Adam immediately became spiritually dead.

But the Trinity had already come up with a plan to deal with the fall of mankind. Jesus, the 2nd Adam, would take the 1st Adam's place and redeem mankind from the curse of the law. So the death Adam died was a spiritual death. No longer was He in the likeness of God. No longer did Adam project agape. If it wasn't for the Trinity Adam would have immediately died the 2nd death (and Eve also).

The reason we die the first death is the result of sin. All die because all receive from Adam a life that has sinned and is indwelt by iniquity. (I might have contradicted myself here, but now is the time to clarify).

Yes, all men stood condemned "in Adam" the moment he sinned, yet as I said Christ stepped in. Hence all men only died spiritually "in Adam". So again, our first death is the wages of sin, not the curse of the law.

Now, how did Christ remove the 2nd death? Remember when Adam sinned he ruined the humanity that was in him. It became spiritually dead. Since we all came from one man, Adam, the life he passed on to us was a life that already had sinned and a life that was sinful both by performance and by nature.

At the incarnation God the Father united the Deity of Christ with our corporate fallen humanity in the womb of Mary. By corporate humanity I mean the life we all share - i.e., Adam's life after the fall. We are simply the multiplication of Adam's life. We are bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. We all share his life!

So the humanity Christ assumed, as God, was our humanity. Hence He is the 2nd Adam. And He passed over where the 1st Adam fell. Since we were in Him our humanity was delivered from the curse of the law. When did this happen? 2000 years ago.

Now if you reject what the 2nd Adam has legally accomplished, then you as an individual will experience the 2nd death. You will come back under the curse.

[John317]

Then, if you agree that it is because of Adam's sin that humans die, how did Christ's death undo for the entire human race what Adam's sin did? We still die. Can you explain this to me?

Check out a good book by Dennis E. Priebe, titled, Face to Face With the Real Gospel.

We die because of the result of sin. Dying the first death-- a sleep--is not due to the penalty of sin. The second death-- no sleep, but an eternal death-- is the penalty.

The result of sin and the penalty of sin are two different things.

Suffering and the first death is an evil result and are natural consequences of the fall. This comes to all because of our relationship to Adam.

Endless death, on the other hand, is the penalty of sin. Only those who don't accept Christ will have to experience the penalty of sin.

[Robert]

We die because of the result of sin. Dying the first death-- a sleep--is not due to the penalty of sin. The second death-- no sleep, but an eternal death-- is the penalty.

The result of sin and the penalty of sin are two different things.

Suffering and the first death is an evil result and are natural consequences of the fall. This comes to all because of our relationship to Adam.

Endless death, on the other hand, is the penalty of sin. Only those who don't accept Christ will have to experience the penalty of sin.

That's what I said....

[John317]

I know, but I wrote my post before I saw yours. Hey we agree!