The Life

“LIFE AND DEATH”

In the Bible, there are two people whose existence represents life and death. Christ represents life and is life, while Adam represents death and is death as it relates to his seed. Let us deal with Adam first since he was mentioned first in the scriptures.

Genesis 2:16-17

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: (This was God’s first commandment) for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (first consequence).

Now we know that in Genesis 3 Adam disobeyed God and ate of the tree, which God had forbid him to eat. There are many speculations as to why Adam ate of the tree, but in fairness to Adam, he never said what was really going on in his mind. He only made reference to the fact that Eve gave him the fruit. Why was the reason for Adam’s disobedience not really shown in the scripture?

The reasons for disobedience has and will always be insignificant to God. The reason does not justify the act of disobedience. This is why Adam’s reason was not greatly explained in the Bible. If Adam would have been the one writing Genesis, he may have written three or four chapters explaining the motive behind his action. If this were done, it still would not have changed the breaking of a commandment. The reason does not change the consequence. Adam was not deceived. Allow me to sum up Adam’s mind. “I know what you have said, Lord. I know that the consequence for disobeying is death, but I am still going to do what I want.” In other words, Adam told God he was going to make his own decisions even if it meant death. This is the arrogance of Adam.

Proverbs 16:18

18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride caused the fall of mankind, not love for Eve. So now Adam who was the beginning of natural life has become the beginning of death for mankind because of his arrogance which led to disobedience. Now that which is natural is actually a presentation of death. Adam was a walking dead man though he physically died at 930 years. The offspring of Adam were all afflicted with the disease of death as it is shown in the book of Romans 5 and 6. Man was born under the Law of Sin and Death and would eventually succumb to that law physically. Death was now in man’s DNA. Genetically, man began to die. This is what he inherited from Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:22

22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Man inherited more than death in the body. He also inherited a carnal mind from Adam; the same arrogance that caused Adam to disobey God.

Romans 8:6-7

6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

This is the same mind Adam displayed in the Garden. What we must realize as saints is that when we walk outside of the mind of Christ and refuse to deny self, we walk as Adam did. This mind wars against God and has no regard for the consequences of death. Let us not walk in this mind but remain in submission to Christ.