The covenant of grace is the saint’s original title to heaven.
Thomas Brooks
Union with a man who acts as a covenant head lies at the heart of God’s dealings with sinners. In the plan of salvation Christ is that man; in Paul’s words He is “the last Adam.” Such language presupposes another covenant head, one whom Paul calls “the first man Adam.”
Covenant headship implies the legal union of the covenant head and the people for whom he stands. Keep that in mind and Paul’s meaning becomes very clear. The first man Adam means that Adam stood as the covenant head of the entire human race. In 1 Corinthians 15:22 we read, “In Adam all die,” or “all in Adam die.” Here the word all refers to all humanity because all men are undeniably subject to death. Why do all men die? They die by virtue of their being “in Adam” who stood as their covenant head in the covenant of works. Thus, when he sinned and fell, the entire race sinned and fell in him and became subject to death.
In His sovereign grace God has provided another covenant head, “the last Adam,” the Lord Jesus Christ. “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Mark the contrast: all who are in Adam die; all who are in Christ live. So the key to being brought from death unto life is to be “in Christ,” that is, to be in union with Him and so receive the life He procured by His covenant obedience. “The first man Adam” brought physical, spiritual, and eternal death to all for whom he stood in the covenant of works. “The last Adam” brings eternal life to all for whom He stands in the covenant of grace. Let us each ask the question, “Am I in Adam or in Christ?”
Rev. John Greer
Daily devotions are from the book “Footprints of Faith” edited by Dr. Alan Cairns.. Copyright 2003 – All Rights Reserved.