Promises Kept: A 6 Day Devotional From the Old Testament CovenantsSample

Day 2: The Better Adam – Where is Christ in the Covenant with Creation?

One of my favorite modern hymns is “Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery” by Matt Boswell. In the song, Boswell writes about the first Adam and how his sin led to death. But he does not leave us there. He then points us to who Paul calls the “second Adam.” He does what the first Adam could not do. He succeeds where the first Adam failed. He is the better Adam.

God’s original intent was to dwell among His people (Genesis 3:8). But God is also holy, so He cannot dwell in the presence of sinful people. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden, clouded by grief and shame. But the Bible keeps going. The story continues. Bad news is not the final news.

Within this sad ending lives a promise. Genesis 3:15 is what many scholars believe to be the first gospel proclamation.

“I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

The New International Version packs an even more potent punch: “he [Eve’s offspring] will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

At first glance, Satan has won. He convinced Adam and Eve that following their own path was preferable to following God’s. Their sinful choices led to tragic consequences for themselves and all who came after them. The world was never to be the same.

But God is rich in mercy.

In all of this, God the creator acts on their behalf. He will not leave His creation to their own destructive devices. He cares too much. He loves too much. He’s invested so much.

This “offspring” will come. But He’s not just any offspring. He’s the very son of God (John 20:31). You see, it takes more than just a human to deal with the problem of sin. He had to be human, but He also had to be perfect. Adam was our representative as the first human. But He also was our representative as a sinner.

The covering that God provided for Adam and Eve as they fled the garden was a foretaste of the covering all who trust in Jesus Christ receive by his perfect record in our place. The work Christ accomplished on the cross is the “head crushing” work needed to bring us back into fellowship with God. Like Adam, we respond in faith, believing that what God says He will accomplish He will do.

Christ is the perfect and better Adam. He is the man who followed God’s word without fail. He is the God-man who can deal with our sin once and for all. The story ends with tragedy, but hope breaks through. Redemption is on the horizon.

Read: Romans 5:12-14
1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Pause and Reflect: All are descended from one man–Adam. What does this Romans verse say about how Adam’s sin impacted us? How is Christ able to do what Adam could not do?

Pray: Dear Lord, what hope we have in Christ! You have not left us alone in our sin, but sent Christ to do what Adam failed to do. You have not condemned us to die, but redeemed us by the Second Adam’s perfect obedience, sacrifice, and resurrection to new life. Give us continued faith to trust in your good purposes that you have come to redeem what was lost. You will not leave your creation in their sin. You have come to us and will come again. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.