In Adam / In Christ: I recently came across a question and answer that was trying to deal with a real difficulty: How those who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world could be said to have fallen in Adam? The answer given was direct: “The bride of Christ could not have fallen in Adam, because she was never in Adam.” The brief reply leaned heavily on eternal union with Christ, and in that respect, it carried a certain appeal at first glance. After giving it some thought, however, it seems that in emphasizing one truth, it has come at the expense of another that Scripture speaks just as clearly.
While we may wrestle with how these things fit together, and though various thoughts are brought forward on either side, and I can appreciate the care with which some have approached it differently, the Word of God sets before us this consistent testimony: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12. “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one.” Romans 5:17. And again, “In Adam all die…” I Corinthians 15:22. These are not statements about some, but about man as man. Whatever is true of God’s people in Christ does not set this aside; in our natural standing, we are brought forth under Adam, and under the death that came by him. I Corinthians 15:47-49.
At the same time, the Scriptures are just as clear that the church was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:4. This is not something that begins in time, nor does it rest upon anything found in us. II Timothy 1:9. It is an eternal reality, grounded in Christ Himself, and not subject to change. Romans 8:29-30. So then we are faced, not with a contradiction, but with two things that may simply have to be held as they are given.
The Scriptures do not lead us to resolve this by setting one aside, but by holding both in their proper place. The same people who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world are, in time, brought forth from the stock of Adam, and thus come under that sin and death which passed upon all his posterity. God has so ordered it that those whom He purposed to redeem in Christ should spring from the very root in which ruin entered, so that the need for redemption is not assumed, but real. This is why the apostle speaks of them as having been “dead in trespasses and sins… and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:1,3. It is not a mere appearance, but the true condition of man as he stands in Adam. And apart from this, some of the language of Scripture loses its force; for if sin did not truly pass to all in Adam, then the imputation of his offence is set aside, and with it the very pattern by which the righteousness of Christ is understood. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19. The glory of Christ’s work is seen here, not in passing by the condition under sin and death that came through Adam, but in meeting it, taking part of flesh and blood, that through death He might deliver those who were subject to it. Hebrews 2:14-15.
This is exactly how the apostle speaks in another place: “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins… and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2:1,3. He does not present this as an appearance, nor as something to be set aside, but as the true condition in which they stood. And yet, in the same breath, he traces everything back to God’s mercy, love, and purpose in Christ. If we say that the elect were never in Adam at all, we may think we are honoring grace, yet we remove the very ground upon which the grace of Christ is displayed. For what is redemption, if not deliverance? And what is deliverance, if there was nothing to be delivered from?
It is important that we do not allow eternal truths to swallow up temporal realities, nor let what is true in time be explained away in an effort to guard what is true in Christ. The Scriptures speak of both and leave them with us as they are given. In Adam, we are brought forth under sin and death. In Christ, we are chosen and given life before the world began. These are not at odds, but each serves to magnify the other, showing both the depth of our condition and the sufficiency of His work.
So the question is not whether one of these must give way to the other, but how both are set forth in the Scriptures. And in that testimony, we are brought, not to reconcile them by our own reasoning, but to Christ Himself, who has met us in our condition under Adam, and by His work has brought us into what was purposed in Him from the beginning. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” I Peter 3:18. Never a greater contrast than the reign of sin unto death and the reign of Grace unto ETERNAL LIFE by CHRIST our LORD. MPJ
Postscript #1: Question – Hey brother, do you take Ephesians 2:3 to mean the elect are under the wrath of God before quickening, or that they are wrathful toward God before quickening? Answer: That’s a good question, and I appreciate the care you’re taking to keep everything grounded in Christ. On Ephesians 2:3, I think it’s important to let the wording stand as it is. I don’t take “children of wrath” to mean that we were merely “wrathful” toward God, but that it describes what we are by nature in Adam, under sin, death, and the course of this world, “even as others.” That seems to be Paul’s point, especially since he immediately goes on to say, “but God, who is rich in mercy…” bringing in what is true of them in Christ.
So, it appears that the verse is speaking to our natural condition in Adam, while other passages speak to God’s purpose toward His people in Christ. And in that sense, while we are said to be “children of wrath” by nature, I don’t understand that to mean that the elect are appointed to wrath, since Scripture also says we are “not appointed to wrath,” but are the recipients of mercy.
Scripture does speak of a real condition in Adam, guilty, under sin and death, and that’s part of what makes the grace of Christ so meaningful. Romans 5 seems to hold this together: that we were made sinners by one man’s disobedience, just as we are made righteous by Christ. If we remove the imputation of Adam’s offense, I think it weakens the very pattern Paul uses to set forth the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. So, the way I’m understanding it is this: in Adam, we truly stand as sinners, guilty and under sin and death, even as others. And yet in Christ, that sin is not imputed to us, because it has been laid on Him, and His righteousness is freely given to us. Marc
Postscript #2: I appreciate you taking the time to write all of that out. It’s evident you’ve spent real thought on these things, and those are thoughtful observations. In reference to Romans 5, I know exactly what you mean, and I can relate to how you understand that, having felt the same force of the argument myself for a time and then having to revisit it. It does seem at first glance that “all” must carry the exact same extent both times. But I’ve come to think the key in Romans 5 is not the word “all” by itself, but the two heads Paul is setting forth – Adam and Christ. The chapter seems more concerned with what comes through each than with the bare term alone. Thus “all” is understood in relation to each head, all in Adam under condemnation, and all in Christ unto justification of life. On Ephesians 2, I do agree entirely that verses 4-5 are precious beyond words. Whatever is said of our condition by nature, the great emphasis of the passage is surely this: that “God, who is rich in mercy, loved us” and “hath quickened us together with Christ.” As to the elect being under the wrath of God until believing, that would indeed be a good thing to be brought to repentance of, if it makes faith itself the turning point. Yet I do not see Paul’s language of “children of wrath, even as others” as being cancelled by what follows but rather set in contrast to it. He shows what we were by nature, and then what God has done by mercy. The one magnifies the other. — On imputation, I think we are both trying to honor the same glory: that Christ alone is our righteousness, and that salvation stands wholly in Him. Whatever distinctions we make, I never want to lose sight of the blessed reality that our sins were laid on Him, and His righteousness is the only standing of His people before God. So while I may not land in the same place on each point, I do rejoice that we meet where it matters most: salvation by grace in Christ. Marc
PostScript#3. Those are good questions. I would say first that those passages are precious because they set forth how God views His people in Christ, in the blessedness of forgiveness and justification. “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,” and “blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity,” do not strike me as statements denying that sin ever truly belonged to them in Adam or by nature, but declarations of how sin is no longer charged against them because of the work of their Substitute. In other words, I do not take those verses as teaching that there was never guilt to be answered for, but that there is now no guilt laid to their account in Christ. The very blessedness of Psalm 32 seems to rest in that contrast, not that sin never existed, but that the Lord does not impute it. Paul uses that same passage in Romans 4 to speak of justification through righteousness imputed apart from works. — As to whether God sees one thing and then another, I would say not in the sense of change or uncertainty in Him. Rather, Scripture speaks of God’s people under different relations. In Adam, as to their natural standing, guilty and fallen. In Christ, as to grace and redemption, forgiven, justified, and accepted. The change is not in God, but in the manifestation in time of that standing through the finished work of Christ.
Much like Romans 5 holds both heads before us – Adam and Christ – so these passages seem to me to speak from the standpoint of the latter. God beholds His people in His Son and therefore does not impute iniquity to them. That only magnifies the glory of Christ, who answered for all that was truly theirs. Brother, I’m not out to change anyone’s mind on this. There are excellent considerations that support your way of thinking as well. It’s just where I’m landing for now. —- For me, the heart of it really isn’t Augustine or Calvinism or any system. Those labels can cloud more than clarify at times. My thoughts are a bit simpler than that, how passages like Romans 5, Ephesians 2, and I Corinthians 15 are to be understood in their plain force. Men may attach systems and labels afterward, but those verses were there long before Augustine arrived. Marc