Searching for grace

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Romans 5:15

The bible records the history of two men. The Apostle Paul calls them “the first man”, and “the last man”. It’s the story of Adam and Jesus.

The first man’s story is one of disgrace, a testimony of his fall and an account of his shame. The last man story is one of grace, a testimony of His rise (and he truly has risen!) and an account of his glory!

The first man was brought into the world with his entire surrounding environment, the Garden of Eden, encouraging him to be obedient; but he still rebelled and was disobedient to God. The last man was brought into the world with all the forces of his environment, due to the Roman occupation, pressing him to conform in disobedience; yet triumphantly he remained obedient to God.

The first man opened the way for all men to be disobedient to the will of God. The last man opened the way for all man to be obedient to the will of God!

Through the first man, the understanding of disgrace before the eyes of God was introduced; through the last man, the knowledge of grace before the eyes of God was introduced.

What the first man instituted, by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the last man cancelled, by dying on the tree of life.

The first man brought disgrace on himself, and cursed all of mankind who would follow him. The last man poured grace out of himself, and cancelled the curse of the first man, bringing blessing to the whole world!

The first man’s life caused many to die. The last man’s life caused many more to live!

We were born into the family of the first man by our natural birth, but glory to God, we were born again into the last man’s family by the power of the Spirit of God.

We were once part of Adam’s family line, but we chose to die with Jesus, and in doing so we left our history that was connected to the first man in the grave, and we were born-again and raised with the last man, Jesus Christ! In doing so we have entered into His life, His love, His blessings and His inheritance!

We now belong completely to the last man, Jesus Christ! The old, that connected us with Adam, has gone, and the new, that connects us eternally with Jesus, has come, and all this is to the glory of God!

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

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