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“The First Adam or the Power of the Last?”

Thoughts for Today:

Genesis 2:7 tells us: "Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." When God created human beings (Adam), the body was created first, and then God breathed His Spirit into us which gave us life. In the first part of our passage today, Paul uses this same phrase from Genesis: "living being". It tells us that humanity's power (or life), is derived from the spirit God gave us. Without it, our physical bodies die. (James 2:26: "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.)

In the second part, Paul says, "the last Adam, a life-giving spirit." This contrasts the resurrected Jesus with how Adam was created. At His physical birth, Jesus was incarnated as a living and breathing human being -- just like Adam. However, upon His resurrection He returned to Spirit, as He had always existed. (John 4:23-24: "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.")

The resurrected Jesus, and our future eternal status with glorified bodies, is different than Adam's. How so? Because it will be the spirit that dominates instead of the soul. We will no longer be "living beings" but a spirit like Jesus. (1 John 3:2: "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.")

Questions to Ponder:

Scripture often calls the mortal combination of spirit and soul -- "the heart". (Matthew 12:34: "[Jesus speaking] You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.") What is your heart full of? Is it the resurrected Lord, or the cares, concerns, and worries of this world? Are you living as the "first Adam" or with the hope and power of the "last Adam"? How does this perspective influence your attitude and activities? Is an adjustment necessary?

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.