All in Adam made Alive?

1Corinthians 15:22

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  Of course the heathen believed and still believe that all in Adam shall be made alive. They believe that Adam had immortality, an immortal soul, and therefore will be made alive. Many believed this so strongly that they would bury the dead with all kinds of utensils and money so they could carry on when they arrived at the "happy hunting grounds." Yes, some were buried with their favourite horses, some with their favourite wives (killed for the occasion). All possible preparations were made for the comfort and convenience of the departed loved ones.

Variations of this belief caused the invention of embalming and attempts to keep the bodies of the dead preserved in some way, even in salt. The effects of this widespread belief are to be seen today in the booming funeral business on every hand. It costs more to die than to live in some localities.  Then there are some modern thoughts going the round that the above quoted verse means that all in Adam will be made alive some day. But equating the 2 alls leads to real confusion, for not all in Christ die (John 11:26).

So the 2 alls cannot possibly be the same ones. Neither in Romans 5:19 are the sinners and the righteous the same ones. Likewise in John 3:16 by no stretch of the imagination can the ones that perish be the same ones who have everlasting life.  The one great comfort for the believer today is the fact that someday all that he has from Adam will perish and be gone forever.

Paul realized this great truth at the end of Romans 7:1. The old nature, this body of death, will someday die and stay dead. The same is true of the man who has nothing but this old nature.  He will die and stay dead, for there is no new nature to be made alive.  If it could possibly be true that all who are in Adam should someday be made alive, then there is the danger that all that I have of Adam will be made alive too. What a terrible and horrid thought! Think what it would be to live thru all eternity with this old nature clinging to us and torturing us from day to day even as it does now in this life! If all that is in Adam is made alive, then that must be the prospect.

This is the heathen version of resurrection which is called reincarnation. Some go so far as to make a whole series of these reincarnations necessary in order to arrive at perfection. And some of these incarnations are supposed to be in some animal form, as well as human. There is practically no end to the ramifications of this heathen philosophy.  How much more comforting it is to believe that all, everything, in and of Adam must die in finality, and that nothing will be left but a new creation, and that Christ will be the Head of this new creation, not Adam. And of course that is exactly what this verse in 1 Corinthians 15 is trying to tell us.

Adam is the head of the old creation which must perish, pass away, cease to be.  Christ is Head of the new creation (not a reformation) and in Him only is life age-abiding. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life (John 3:36).  Adam was told that if he ate of the forbidden fruit, he would die. There is no evidence that Adam understood this to mean that he would have to die twice. As to the law, the soul that sinned was to die; not twice, but once. The wages of sin is death; one, not two deaths. Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. And of the high priests it was said that it was appointed unto them once to die.

Now if the above statements are true, then the sacrifice once made was sufficient. But if, according to some modern theology, men have to die twice, then Christ should also have died twice if He were the substitute. He died for the ungodly, in their place.

In the beginning, it was true that a man died because death was the result of sin. He perished. And because the whole world was threatened with this perishing, God gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish. Those that believe receive everlasting life the result of which is resurrection, the opposite of perish. Since this perishing is the ultimate of destruction, it is hard to understand how that the unbelievers will have to perish twice. But this has not been explained.

Also the resurrection of Christ which is good news to the believer is held in certain quarters to also bring unbelievers back to life. Although they have paid the penalty of sin and all the requirements of the law of sin and death, the supposition is that they are brought back to life and put under the dominion of sin again. God says that he that is dead is freed from sin. But many of the orthodox say that the unbelieving dead are resurrected. Does that put them under the dominion of sin and bring them under condemnation again? Is not this double jeopardy, which the constitution of the United States forbids, as well as the laws of most civilized countries?

This is a very severe charge against God. And if the unbeliever is brought to life again and charged with sin again, what is to prevent this happening many times for some individuals? This would be a series of incarnations, the belief of many heathen.

Many years ago a Catholic school teacher asked the writer a question that was bothering her. Why was it that a person, an unbeliever, goes to hell at death and after suffering there for a long time, has a resurrection and a judgment and cast back into hell again? This reflects the teaching of a great segment of Christendom today, both Catholic and Protestant. But God has never told us anything like that.

Adam was not told that he would be punished, but that he would die. The soul that sinned against the law was not punished, but put to death. The wages of sin is not punishment and torture, but death. And Christ died for us so that we would not have to stay dead, perish. The Lord said that if one kept His words, that person would not stay dead. He would have a resurrection.  There is a first death and a second death. No one person dies both of these.  There is a first resurrection and a second resurrection. No one has to go thru both these to have life. And if any man has to die twice, then Christ should have done the same.

Adam was created a living soul (Genesis 2:7). He was a mortal soul and was told that if...he would surely die (Genesis 2:17). And the fact that Adam never had immortality was proven by the fact that he died (Genesis 5: 5). Immortals never die. It is impossible.

But one came into the garden and whispered to the mother of the human race that man does not surely die (Genesis 3:4). This lie, this bit of malicious gossip soon spread over the whole world. In the world of today, this lie is believed in the farthest corners. The heathen believe that man has an immortal soul and that after death some will go to a happy hunting ground and others to an everlasting torment. So their gods are fearful things and have to be appeased so that man can escape the punishment of the underworld after death.  Even some who claim to be Christians fear that this lie might be the truth. They have an idea of God that is not in keeping with His true character at all. He is of times made the author of sin. He is thought of as one who would glory in the death and punishment of the wicked.

But God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them (2 Corinthians 5:19). This, the heathen do not know. They have never found out yet that Christ died for the ungodly, and Christendom dares not to believe the truth of it. The heathen do not know that the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world. Christians often cannot believe it and so they are still in their fears and superstitions.

Man is far from being immortal, and any that do not believe the Son shall not see life ( John 3:36). In Christ is life. He is the only life giver. He is the true and living way unto the Father. No one can ever come to the Father except by Him.

Centuries ago the heathen believed that all men would be resurrected or in some body have to enjoy the future or suffer, whichever they deserved. For the wicked, this was a revival of sin. Sin after all did not end in death for them.  But the Jews who were under the law knew that when a man died, the law had no more dominion over him (Romans 6:7). He that is dead is freed from sin. How can it be then that he is frying somewhere for his sins? How could it even be that he should be raised and made subject to sin again? We do not find such a thing in the Word.

Man's logic is very faulty. His philosophies are vain, or empty. Man's wisdom, at its very best, is only foolishness in the sight of God. In man's eyes the heathen philosophers were great men and they are remembered and revered. But much of their utmost wisdom was only the propaganda of the devil and in the light of the Word it crumbles away.

It is smart today to question the Word of God. A popular philosophy is that man never dies. And from this has grown the idea that men are as gods, or rather as Elohim, the Creator.

Man reasons that if he can destroy and take apart that which God has put together, that makes him equal with God. It is too bad that monkeys cannot laugh!

He that hath not the Son...hath not life.

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