Adam – The First Man Who Pointed to the Last Adam
He was formed from dust and animated by divine breath—the first human being, made in God’s image, given dominion over creation. Adam’s story begins in paradise and ends in exile, his single act of disobedience plunging the entire human race into sin and death. Yet Paul reveals that Adam was “the figure of him that was to come.” The first man’s fall created the need that the last Adam—Jesus Christ—would meet. Understanding Adam is essential to understanding Christ, for what Adam lost, Christ restored.
Created in Glory
Genesis 2 records Adam’s unique creation. Unlike animals made by divine word, Adam was formed from the ground (adamah) by God’s own hands, then animated when God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). The name Adam connects him to the earth from which he came, yet he bore the image of heaven.
God placed Adam in Eden—a garden of delight—and gave him meaningful work: “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). He was not merely to enjoy the garden but to cultivate and guard it. Dominion involved responsibility. The garden was his to tend, not merely to consume.
Adam received one prohibition: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Amid abundant permission stood one restriction. Obedience was possible; the test was real. Adam’s faithfulness would determine whether humanity would remain in blessed communion with God.
God created Eve from Adam’s rib—”bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). The man was not complete alone; he needed a helper suitable for him. Together they bore God’s image; together they received dominion; together they would face the test. Marriage originated in Eden, instituted by God before sin entered the world.
The Fall and Its Consequences
The serpent approached Eve with subtle questions, twisting God’s word, promising godlike knowledge. Eve saw that the tree was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). She ate and gave to Adam, who was with her. He ate. In that moment, everything changed.
Adam’s sin was not merely personal; it was representative. He stood as the head of the human race, and his action implicated all his descendants. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Adam’s disobedience became humanity’s disobedience. His guilt became our guilt.
The consequences were comprehensive. Death entered—spiritual separation from God immediately, physical death eventually. The ground was cursed, producing thorns and thistles. Work became toilsome. Childbirth became painful. The serpent was cursed. And Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, barred from the tree of life by cherubim with flaming sword.
Yet in the midst of judgment came promise. To the serpent, God declared: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). The woman’s seed would crush the serpent—the first gospel promise, embedded in the curse’s pronouncement.
Adam as Type of Christ
Paul explicitly identifies Adam as typological: “Adam, who is the figure of him that was to come” (Romans 5:14). The Greek word is typos—a pattern, a preview, a person whose shape anticipates another. Adam was designed to point forward to Christ. The similarities illuminate the gospel; the contrasts magnify it.
Both Adam and Christ are called “the first man” in their respective spheres. Adam is “the first man Adam”; Christ is “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). Adam headed the old humanity; Christ heads the new humanity. Adam was “of the earth, earthy”; Christ is “the Lord from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47). What Adam began, Christ completed.
Both Adam and Christ act representatively. Adam’s sin was imputed to all in him; Christ’s righteousness is imputed to all in Him. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). You are in one or the other—there is no third category. Either Adam’s guilt condemns you, or Christ’s righteousness justifies you.
The contrast between the two Adams dominates Romans 5: “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). Adam brought death; Christ brings life. Adam’s offense brought condemnation; Christ’s obedience brings justification. The parallel heightens the glory of redemption.
What Adam Lost, Christ Restored
Adam lost dominion over creation; Christ reclaims it. “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet” (Hebrews 2:8). Adam forfeited the garden; Christ opens paradise. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). Adam brought the curse; Christ became a curse for us and removes it. “And there shall be no more curse” (Revelation 22:3).
Adam was tested in a garden of abundance and failed. Christ was tested in a wilderness of scarcity and succeeded. Adam faced the serpent’s temptation with every advantage and fell. Christ faced Satan’s temptation with every disadvantage and triumphed. Where the first Adam failed, the last Adam prevailed.
Adam’s bride was formed from his wounded side. Christ’s bride—the church—comes from His wounded side, from which blood and water flowed. Adam received Eve with joy; Christ presents the church to Himself “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle” (Ephesians 5:27). The marriage in Eden pictures the marriage of the Lamb.
Adam was made in God’s image, marred by sin. Christ is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), unmarred, perfect. Through union with Christ, believers are being conformed to His image—the image Adam bore and lost is being restored in us. “As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
From Adam to Christ
Every human being is born in Adam—inheriting his guilt, sharing his nature, destined for his death. You did not choose this; you inherited it. Adam’s sin is yours by virtue of being human. The entire race fell in the garden, and you are part of the race.
But you can transfer from Adam to Christ through faith. What you inherited by birth, you can escape by new birth. “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17). Grace abounds more than sin abounded. Life in Christ exceeds death in Adam.
The choice confronting every person is between two representatives, two humanities, two destinies. Remain in Adam and you remain under condemnation. Come to Christ and you receive justification. Adam’s failure cannot be undone, but it can be overcome. The last Adam has succeeded where the first Adam failed.
Which Adam defines you? Are you still in the first man, bearing his image, inheriting his death? Or have you come to the last Adam, receiving His righteousness, sharing His life? The story that began in Eden’s garden finds its resolution in Christ. The fall that wrecked everything is overcome by the One who restores everything. Come to Christ—the last Adam—and live.