Christ our Representative

The last time we saw that Adam was our representative when he sinned and therefore his sin is our sin and we became guilty in him. The great news in the gospel is that Jesus Christ is the second Adam. In other words, He also is the representative for the people who are in Him. Romans 5:15 and following says, “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.”

Verse 18 goes on, “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”

The thing I see happening all the time is that Christians rightly recognize their status as sinners because of Adam, but they’ve somehow missed the point of this chapter which is that in the same way that Adam made us sinners, Jesus Christ made us righteous. One is as equally true as the other.

As we continue our study in the book of Joshua and the associated lessons, we are going to see over and over how Christ is the representative for His people and what He has done, we have done in Him.