FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE; EVENE SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE 1 Corinthians 15:22. Elder Stanley Phillips

[HOYT D. F. SPARKS]

Greetings All:  First Corinthians 15:22 is used by those who go by the name of Univeralists (No Hellers) Primitive Baptist.  They believe that in the end of time EVERYONE will rest in heaven and immortal glory.

God bless,   Hoyt Sparks

“FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE;

EVEN SO IN CHRIST SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE.”

1 Corinthians 15:22

 

         We would like to examine the most fundamental, or bedrock foundation, of all Christian doctrine. There are but two original families recorded in the Scripture: one the “family of man,” and the other “the family of God.” Obviously then, there are but two heads of families on earth. The head of the family of man is Adam the first; and the head of the family of God is Christ, the last Adam. There are therefore, but two kinds of family life. One is natural: created, mortal and derived through Adam; the other is Spiritual: uncreated, immortal and derived through Christ. The natural created life commenced when the Lord God created Adam with his wife and offspring in him, and one with him. The spiritual uncreated life has its foundation in eternity in Christ, with His bride and children chosen IN and one with Him.

         In both families, the germ of life was in the first, or head of the family. Due to the mortality of natural, created life, the perpetuity of that life must be passed from one generation to the next, down through the ages. Due to the immortality of Spiritual life, there is but one generation, seeing that all the offspring is begotten of the same Father. The two families are totally distinct and different from each other.

         In the family of man, Adam’s offspring are all “of the earth earthy.” That family derives its composition from the earth, and feeds totally upon earthly elements. The food he eats is of the earth, either directly or indirectly. Their composition is mostly liquid, and hence derives that moisture from the earth’s elements. Their total dependence is upon God and His created elements. The mother of the family of man was Eve, “because she is the mother of all living”- Genesis 3:20.

         In the family of God, Christ’s offspring are Spiritual, and derives nothing from the earthly elements. All its blessings are “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” The mother of the Spiritual family of God is the Spiritual or new Jerusalem: “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” – Galatians 4:26. A full discussion of these two families is found in 1 Corinthians 15, particularly from verse 44 through 58.

         The most stark contrast between the two families is given by Paul in Romans 9:22-24. “What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath FITTED to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom He hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.”

         Here, the two families are categorized as “vessels of wrath,” and “vessels of mercy.” The vessels of wrath are said to have been “fitted” to destruction. “Fitted” is an active process. It suggests something “made fit” for some end – and here, they are made fit for destruction. One may ask, How are they “made fit” for destruction? In one significant way, they are passed over in the selection of “earthen vessels” in which the treasure of the riches of His grace are housed. It is recorded that “. . . God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believe not the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”- II Thessalonians 2:11-12.

         Before approaching blasphemy, by questioning God in this making the vessels of wrath fit for destruction, it should first be considered the cause created by these ingrates for such harsh judgment. Paul opened his letter to the Romans, which was the capitol of the most lascivious conduct of depravity in the known world of his day, saying, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:” (reference to lesbians) “and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,” (reference to homosexuals, or Sodomites) “and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventor of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” –Romans 1:26-32. What a list of reasons for God to condemn the natural family of man to eternal judgment! And in our age, it is evident that Paul was not exaggerating in the least! He has described every generation of the family of Adam. Surely the righteous will agree with Paul’s conclusion when he wrote, “But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to Truth against them which commit such things.”- Romans 2: 2.

         Addressing the family of man, Paul is equally as blunt: “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God: who will render to every man according to his deeds.” – Romans 2:1-6. [We live in a day that even many Old School Baptists deny such a day of wrath shall come,” but “Let God be true, and every man a liar.”- Justice demands it, God has promised it, the family of man deserves it, and the veracity of God will fulfill it.] “For as in Adam all die.” And the above is reason sufficient for the justification of God in so executing it. The natural family of man is referred to in the New Testament as the “flesh,” “old man,” and “outward man,” which clearly implies that there is an “inward man,” and these together, for the elect, indicate two separate and distinct men in one fleshly tabernacle or house. The character traits of this “old man,” are indicated in Ephesians 4:22, where the apostle write: “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. . .” Taken altogether, every offspring of the generations of Adam are fully capable of committing every sin committed by any other of that family. The potential for all to manifest their true fallen nature is always present; but for the preventive providence of God, all would be worse than devils. How thankful all men ought to be that they are restrained from manifesting their corrupt impulses and inclinations.

         If that was the end of the record God has given of the family of fallen man, what hope remains at all? The riches of the mercies that the family of God despise, however, is the very thing that the “vessels of mercy” expects from their heavenly Father, “even so IN Christ shall all be made alive.”- 1 Corinthians 15:22. We emphasize the words “In Christ.” It is that little word “IN” that almost all religions of Christendom overlook, ignore or deny. Even Calvinists, the closest of the Reformers to the truth of free grace, miss the import of that little word! - “IN Christ.” Those found to be “in” Christ are the very ones that are chosen unto salvation from the beginning, and for their bodily tabernacle, all the redemptive and atoning sacrifice of Christ was made, to “afore prepare unto glory”. These blessed ones are His family, of whom Christ is Head, and IN whom His bride and offspring were “preserved in Christ Jesus,” – Jude 1, and are styled by Paul as the “vessels of mercy afore prepared unto glory.” In Ephesians 1, we note the wording of the text, “According has He has chosen us IN Him”- meaning “in Christ,” “before the foundation of the world.” Why He did so is stated in the same: “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” – Ephesians 1:4. Members of the family of man immediately recoil at the suggestion that God would choose some to salvation and leave the rest of that family to perish in their sins. But the family of God views the text in a much different light: There is no way possible for a member of the family of man to change himself into what he is not, no more than “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”- Jeremiah 13:23. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again,” and assured him that in the absence of that birth into the Spiritual family, “he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,” – John 3:5, because it is a Spiritual kingdom, not observable to the natural senses. They understand that it is the “will of God, even their sanctification,” and unless God’s extraordinary power is demonstrated, they are helpless to be either holy or unblamable before Him in love. Thus, for them to see and enter the kingdom of God, they must be prepared by the God of all grace to do so. They are denominated “vessels of mercy,” and are said to be “afore prepared unto glory.”

         The bodily tabernacle is derived from the family of man, being born of Adam’s generations. God’s Spirit will not dwell in an unholy temple, and yet those of the family of man that are to be the “earthen vessels” into which the children of God are to dwell in their Spiritual birth, must therefore be fully and completely prepared for the birth of God’s elect people. This preparation was the intent of the redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ of these vessels, and all the atonement, and all the benefits of the work of Christ was to prepare a place for them. They are, as a result, predestinated according to Him that worketh all things after the counsel of His own will, and to the good of them that love God, to the called according to His good pleasure.

         In that preparatory work, they are fully engaged, although it was Christ’s own working to the end for their salvation. They were chosen IN Him, and being IN Him, they were “. . .complete IN Him, which is the Head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised WITH the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”- Colossians 2:11. They are also said to be, “buried WITH Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen WITH HIM through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead.” It is also said of them with Christ, “hath He quickened together WITH Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” “Wherefore if ye be dead WITH Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (touch not; taste not; handle not; which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men.”- Colossians 2:20-22. The use of the word “in” Him indicates a union, a oneness. The word “with” is in compliment, both in the same place at the same time.

         In most of our cases, whether when Arminian will-worshipers, or dead-letter Calvinists, when we read the text, “According as He hath chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world,” our natural mind leaped forward without any reflection, and concluded erroneously that the text taught that God saw the fallen race of man, had pity on some of them, and chose some to salvation to manifest His grace and mercy, and left the rest to manifest His justice and wrath. We did not then realize that such a concept had God choosing His people IN ADAM from the foundation of the world. But the text does not say that, nor teach it. It clearly states that He chose His people IN CHRIST – not IN ADAM.

         It is amazing how few there are that have discovered that for God to be our heavenly Father, He must be the one that begat us, bringing us into (Spiritual)life in time, to manifest us as His children. We erred to think that He authorized other fallen and corrupt men to regenerate and create children for Him! For either Adam or Christ to procreate children, the germ of life must proceed from the begetter to the begotten; from the sire to his offspring; from the father to the child. We have little problem seeing that we are the offspring of Adam’s corrupt generations, and were “Begotten of a corruptible seed.”- I Peter 1:18. That is the only explanation for our inherent and universal corruption. It is inherited!

         But while we speak of our daddy as our natural father; how many understand why we are to call no man “Father,” “for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”- Matthew 23:9. That “Father” is not a preacher, soul-winner, or evangelist here on earth: He is in heaven. As Peter expressed it so clearly, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible (seed) by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”  John confirms as much, when he writes, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”- 1 John 3:9.

         We insist, as all the offspring of Adam fell in him, Adam, became corrupt, and totally depraved in all the faculties of their being – body, soul and spirit, and hence rightly and justly subjects of death and judgment; even so, those in seed substance in Christ, being prepared by His sacrifice in the atonement and redemption of them all, shall in the course of time “be made alive(Spiritually).” And we will add, as Baptists’ Articles of Faith state: “Without the loss of one.”

 

                   Elder Stanley C. Phillips                    July 23, 2010

                   1159 County Road #420

                   Quitman, MS 39355

                   601-776-6056

                   carl...@hughes.net