Last Adam

In this verse the Lord Jesus is described as “the last Adam” in contrast to the first created man Adam. The latter was the head of the human race, created from the dust of the earth, breathed into by the Spirit of God and became a living soul (Gen 2:7), but failed! Here the Lord Jesus as “the last Adam” (rather than the second which might imply there could be a third) is said to be a life-giving spirit.

We trace back our human nature to the first Adam, but believers derive their spiritual nature, immortal life, and spiritual body from the last Adam. It is the first Adam who became the father of the human race. The last Adam is the father (c.f. Isa 9:6) of all those who shall have a spiritual body in heaven. Adam and Christ (the last Adam) therefore are the heads of two families. In Adam all die, in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Cor 15:22).

As surely therefore as we have natural bodies, we shall have spiritual ones. The dead in Christ shall not only rise, but shall rise gloriously changed.

The first Adam was simply a man. However, Christ Himself could not be the last Adam without also being a man, being a partaker of the same flesh and blood as the rest of mankind, but He was from heaven rather than from the earth (1 Cor 15:47). Christ had not only life as a living soul, but also as a life giving Spirit, which He could impart to others. He Himself said that He is the resurrection and the life, John 11:25. He hath life in Himself, and “makes alive” whom He will, John 5:20-21.

The name “Adam” is not given to the Messiah anywhere else in Scripture, though a comparison is made in other Scriptures between Him and Adam, e.g. 1 Cor 15:22; Rom 5:12.