Daily Devotionals

Devotional: September 3rd

“But not as the offense, so also is the free gift: for if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.”

In HYPERLINK "javascript:" , Paul contrasts the two federal heads of the human race, Adam and Christ. Adam was the head of the first creation; Christ is the head of the new creation. The first was natural; the second is spiritual. Three times Paul uses the words “much more” to emphasize that the blessings flowing from Christ’s work superabound over the losses incurred by Adam’s sin. He is saying that “in Christ the sons of Adam boast more blessings than their father lost.” Believers are better off in Christ than they ever would have been in an unfallen Adam.

Let us suppose, for a moment, that Adam hadn’t sinned, that instead of eating of the forbidden fruit, he and his wife decided to obey God. What would have been the result in their lives? As far as we know they would have continued to live indefinitely in the Garden of Eden. Their reward would have been long life on earth. And this would have been true of their offspring.

As long as they too continued without sinning, they would have lived indefinitely in Eden. They would not have died.

But in that state of innocence, they would have no prospect of ever going to heaven. There would be no promise of being indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit. They would never become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. They would never have the hope of being conformed to the image of God’s Son. And there would always be the terrible possibility that they might sin and forfeit the earthly blessings they enjoyed in Eden.

Think, by contrast, of the infinitely superior position which Christ has won for us by His atoning work. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. We are accepted in the Beloved, complete in Christ, redeemed, reconciled, forgiven, justified, sanctified, glorified, made members of the body of Christ. We are indwelt and sealed by the Spirit and He is the earnest of our inheritance. We are eternally secure in Christ. We are children of God and sons of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are as near to God and as dear to God as His own beloved Son. And there is much, much more. But that is enough to show that believers are better off today in the Lord Jesus Christ than they would have ever been in an innocent Adam.

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