He Gained More for Us than Adam Lost for Us

Guest article from The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament

Adam lived in the Garden, where God walked with him, provided for him, and infused his life with purpose and satisfaction. When Adam sinned, he lost his perfect intimacy with God and his enjoyment of a perfect world. He became estranged from God and at odds with the wife God had given him. His meaningful work became burdensome toil. His unfettered innocence transformed into a deep sense of shame he tried to hide. Adam not only lost all of this for himself, he lost it for us, too.

That is why the coming of Christ is such good news. By his perfect life and sacrificial death, Christ has restored for us what Adam lost for us. But Christ not only reversed the effects of the Fall, he brought us into a reality far better than even Adam enjoyed. All who have been redeemed by Christ have gained more through the last Adam than we lost through the first Adam.

We hold a more exalted position.
Before the Fall, Adam lived in an earthly paradise, but we are seated “with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6).

We have been given a nobler nature.
Before the Fall, Adam possessed a natural life, but in Christ, we “share his divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).

We have a new standing before God.
Before the Fall, Adam was innocent, but Christ goes beyond restoring innocence to giving us his own merit so that we “become righteous through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9).

We share a better inheritance.
Before the Fall, Adam was in charge of Eden, but “because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God” (Ephesians 1:11).

We are capable of a deeper joy.
Before the Fall, Adam could not experience the bliss of pardoned sin and divine mercy.

We also enjoy a closer relationship with God.
Before the Fall, Adam was merely a created being in the image of God, but we are “members of his body” (Ephesians 5:30).

Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11). Through the redeeming work of the Cross, we as believers have been given far more than Adam ever enjoyed. This is how Adam’s sin leads to the exaltation of Christ: “So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

Gracious Christ, you have gained for me so much more than Adam lost for me. My joy is in knowing that throughout the ages to come, I will still be enjoying new waves of your goodness and grace.

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Taken from The One Year Book of Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament (Jan. 19 reading) by Nancy Guthrie. Copyright © 2010 by Nancy Guthrie. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.