“As Adam had a world made for him, so shall Jesus Christ, the second Adam have a world made for Him.”
Thomas Goodwin
The Bible compares Adam and Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul calls Adam “a type of the one who was to come.” (Romans 5:14) What is a type? A type is when “an element found in the Old Testament prefigures one found in the New Testament. The initial one is called the “type” and the fulfillment is designated the “antetype.”” [Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible] Examples may serve to identify some biblical types and antetypes: Jesus said to Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (Jn 3:14; cf. Nm 21:9). The Passover lamb (Ex 12:1–13, 49) is a type of Christ (1 Cor 5:7) The rock from which Israel drank in the wilderness (Ex 17:6) prefigures Christ (1 Cor 10:3, 4). [Baker Enc.]
The redemption story includes many, many types. One of the most powerful types is Adam. Adam in some ways prefigures Jesus Christ. And Jesus is the antetype. Bible scholars caution us not to go crazy searching for types in the Bible but to try and stick to the ones explicitly mention in the Scriptures. Adam is such a type being mentioned in Romans 5:14 and 1 Corinthians 15:45. I am going to close with A. W. Pink’s meditation on Adam and Christ and on the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane:
In Eden, Adam sinned; in Gethsemane, the Savior suffered. In Eden, Adam fell; in Gethsemane, the Redeemer conquered. The conflict in Eden took place by day; the conflict in Gethsemane was waged at night. In the one Adam fell before Satan; in the other, the soldiers fell before Christ. In Eden the race was lost; in Gethsemane Christ announced, “Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none” (John 18:9). In Eden, Adam took the fruit from Eve’s hand; in Gethsemane, Christ received the cup from His Father’s hand. In Eden, Adam hid himself; in Gethsemane, Christ boldly showed Himself. In Eden, God sought Adam; in Gethsemane, the last Adam sought God! From Eden Adam was “driven”; from Gethsemane Christ was “led.” In Eden the “sword” was drawn (Gen. 3:24); in Gethsemane the “sword” was sheathed (John 18:11). [A. W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 971]
If you found his meditation on these things profitable, then let me challenge you to mediate on the temptation that Adam faced in the garden with the temptation Jesus faced in the wilderness. It will be very fruitful! Have a blessed week and we will see many of you on Sunday.
Privileged to serve,
Pastor Dale
