Christ as the last Adam
Christ is not only the perfect descendant of Abraham, but, before that, the descendant of the woman (Genesis 3:15). Victory over the serpent and evil and the reversal of its effects is rooted in the offspring of women. , passing through Eve, Seven, Noah, etc. (Luke 3:23-38). Thus, Christ is also the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-49) and, as Adam was, Christ represents all who have descended from him, by faith.
- The NT constantly speaks of Christ and salvation.
- What is not so obvious to people is that the same is true of the Old Testament.
- But there.
- This happens in advance.
- With shadows and types of things to come (1 Corinthians 10:6.
- 11; Heb 8: 5).
For example, 1 Corinthians 10:6 says that the events that happened to the Israelites in the wilderness were examples to us; and 1 Corinthians 10:11 says, These things happened as an example to us, for our instruction. In 1 Corinthians 10 : 6 and 11, the Greek word, for example, is typographical errors, the type of which is derived (see Romans 5:14).
A type, in theological language, is an example, a symbol, or a special figure that God has planned for the future; animal sacrifices were types, of Christ; the temple was the presence of God; and Christ is the total realization of this kind. (Matthew 1:23; John 2:21) Old Testament priests were types of Christ, the high priest (Hebrews 7:11?8: 7).
Perfect fulness has its place in Christ (Ephesians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 1:20). But the NT also says that those who are in Christ, who place their faith in him, receive the benefits of what he has consumed, so we can find in the Old Testament types that refer to the church, for example, the temple foreshadows Christ, whose body is the temple (John 2:21), but also foreshadows the church, which is called a temple (1 Corinthians 3 : 16-17).
Some symbols of the Old Testament speak of the final consumption that will take place in the new heavens and the new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21: 1?22: 5). Old Testament Jerusalem foreshadows the new Jerusalem that comes from God (Apoc. 21: 2).
The Bible clearly states that since Adam fell into sin, sin and its consequences have been the greatest problem for the human race. Sin is a rebellion against God and your wage is death (Romans 6:23). God is holy and no one can be in his presence without dying (Exodus 33:20). Therefore, man needs Christ as a mediator to answer for him before God (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Christ is God and man, but without sin, and he is the only one sufficient to perform this mediation.
Although in the latter case there is only one mediator, in the Old Testament there are several representative mediators: Moses, for example (Ex 19). When the people were terrified of God’s presence, Moses interceded for him (Exodus 20:18-21, Deuteronomy 5:28-33).
But if the mediator is one, how could Moses be?Moses foreshadowed the mediation of Christ, who is the true mediator. Because Moses was a sinner, he could not be in God’s presence without forgiveness, that is, without having a mediator by his side. Moses could therefore be there in God’s presence only because, according to God’s plan, Christ’s work would make atonement for Moses’ sins. The blessings of Christ’s redemption were for Moses, like all saints. How could they be saved if God demanded perfection?God is perfectly holy. Christ, who was to come, applied perfection to them with grace.
This means that there is only one means of salvation in the Old and New Testaments: only Christ can save us (Acts 4:12) and in the Old Testament salvation is often represented by a mediator, who can be a lying person or institution. between God and man.
Then the unity of the Bible increases when we see the cases in which God saves his people and the cases in which a mediator in the Old Testament stands between God and man God brings spiritual salvation in the form of personal communion, spiritual intimacy, and promise of eternal life with God. Not only cases of spiritual salvation, but of temporal salvation, in the physical sense, which foreshadows salvation in the spiritual sense. In fact, salvation is not simply spiritual. We look at the resurrection of the new body and heavens and the new earth on which justice dwells (2 Peter 3:13) Personal salvation begins with the renewal of the heart, but in its consumption it will reach cosmic dimensions. , with regard to physical earth, material prosperity and physical health, anticipates the prosperity of believers in the new heavens and the new earth from a physical point of view.
Cases of mediators in the Old Testament include prophets, kings, and priests; the prophets bring the word of God to the people; kings, when they submit to God, bring the kingdom of God to the people; the priests represent the people in the presence of God. Christ is the Prophet, King, and Priest who performs these three functions in the ultimate sense (Hebrews 1: 1-3). We can also observe the wise, who bring the wisdom of God to the people; and the warriors, who bring liberation from the enemies; and musicians, who praise God among the people, showing God’s character with music.
Mediation involves not only human figures, but also institutions. Covenants play a mediation role in bringing the word of God to the people; The temple brings the presence of God. Animal sacrifice brings God’s forgiveness. As we read the Bible, we see all these means of mediation established by God. And because there is only one mediator, it means that everyone points to Christ.
In the eBook, Poythress provides a historical and redeeming sketch of the Old Testament, book by book, showing in specific verses how God worked on the history of salvation and how everything points to Christ.
My recommendation is this: download the eBook and use it with your annual Bible reading.