“Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”
Romans 5:14 (ESV)
Sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death came through his sin. Before the Law of Moses, people everywhere had sinned and broken God’s way. Their sin had not been measured or counted against them, but death still reigned from Adam to Moses through sin. God clarified His standards through the Law and made clear what He wanted. Adam’s transgression against God was not like any other man’s though. He had full access to God, yet rejected a divine command and chose sin over God.
Adam was a type, a picture of the one who was to come. Adam brought death into the world, but Jesus brought resurrection. We bear the image of both men as believers: the earthly man, Adam, and the heavenly man, Jesus. Adam is the source of sin, but Jesus is the source of life.
Adam had everything he could ever need, yet abandoned life with God. We were brought into a world of sin, yet through Jesus we can choose God’s way and receive life. This is the inverse of Adam’s choice: he had all of God but chose sin; we had all that sin offered but chose to reject it and receive all of God through Jesus, who has overwhelming victory over sin and death.
We’re still here, but through Jesus we’ve been given freedom from this life of sin and are restored to the presence of God that Adam rejected. By the Holy Spirit, we’re reconciled to God and can draw near to Him like a friend. That is the reconciliation Jesus paid for. The eternal life promised is both now and not yet. So which man are you going to follow today? Adam or Jesus? One brings death, and one brings life.