It makes us think—really—about how many people claim to believe in a creator God and claim to be a Christian—a follower of Christ—but can’t explain the purpose for their own existence or understand what lies ahead for humanity in an uncertain world. Could it be that many professing Christians don’t really know who Jesus is and they don’t fully comprehend the message he brought about a coming kingdom of God?
The Apostle John tells us that in the “beginning” the “word” (utterance) was with God—just as we read in the book of Genesis—and this word is sustained eternally by the spirit of God, and this spirit of God fluttered down upon Jesus after he was baptized by John the Baptist. Noting that it was John the Baptist who was called to be a witness to this manifestation of the spirit, and the utterance of God, when he and Jesus both heard a voice from heaven.
Which brings up another question for us?
If the first Adam was brought into being by the voice of God, and a manifestation of the spirit, and by this he became a living soul, and this was the beginning of the first Adam, then how and when did Jesus become the last Adam?
Or perhaps we can ask this another way.
If Jesus’ beginning as a human being is after the likeness of the first Adam—as he was born of Mary—then he was a son of God in the line of Adam—as are all descendants of Adam, but how and when did Jesus himself become the last Adam, and thereby the beginning of a creation that would start with him?
Now, knowing John is talking about a “beginning,” and knowing God already existed, as did God’s utterance, because the “word (logos)” was with God when a “beginning” occurred, then John the Baptist became a witness to this beginning—as did Jesus.
It was a beginning that started with Jesus the Christ (Jn. 1:1).
Understandably to be manifested in the kingdom of God.
Except that Jesus—being the firstborn—was manifested by a resurrection from the dead during the days of the apostles, allowing them to become a witness to the resurrection, and this was their testimony during their ministry (I Pt. 1:3-5). It was not a testimony that “Jesus is risen,” but a testimony of its validity and what that resurrection meant, testifying also of what became of Jesus after his resurrection, and what his job is now respective to the children of God who will follow him into the kingdom of God.
In this regard, it is worth reconsidering at this point what Jesus said to Nicodemus regarding the kingdom of God, and he said: “verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…” and continuing he said that “which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (Jn. 3:3-7).
Meaning that if Jesus came “in the flesh,” and was “born of the flesh” in the line of the first Adam—having the spirit of man—then Jesus would have to be “born again” before he could enter the kingdom being prepared for him, and thereby Jesus himself became the beginning of a creation and the firstborn of that creation (Rom 6:5). Because the Apostle Paul tells us that: “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14, 16).
Noting also that the Apostle Paul informs us that those who receive the holy spirit become now as the “children of God,” but they are only a shadow of things to come, yet to be manifested into the kingdom of God. For Paul also said: “the earnest expectation of the creature [creation] waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19).
Knowing then if we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we also will be “born again” into the kingdom of God—just like Jesus.
Thus, we know how and when Jesus became the last Adam.
It was after his baptism and after receiving the holy spirit from God, becoming a son of God by the spirit of God. Becoming—at the close of his earthly ministry—the “firstborn” by a resurrection from the dead, and the beginning of a foreordained creation.
Testified as being so by the witness of the apostles who saw his transfiguration on the mountain (Mt. 17:1-12).
Giving us a glimpse into our future as well.
Because Paul tells us that: “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [creation]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” which was made possible through Jesus because God was in Christ (II Cor. 5:17).
Is this then the “all things” that are being created by and through Jesus the Christ? Does this explain the role of Jesus as our high priest in bringing us into the kingdom of God, just as the Father brought his own son into that same kingdom?
Now, if Jesus became an Adam when he received the holy spirit, being called by John the Baptist the “son of God,” then Jesus became the beginning of a new creation. And as Paul wrote to the churches at Rome, he told them that Jesus was a firstborn—not only of Mary—but of God, and we are destined to follow in the footsteps of Jesus: “for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). (Jesus was foreordained to be the heir and firstborn, known beforehand of God before the time of Abraham.)
Thus, when Jesus was born a son of God through Mary, it was in the likeness of the first Adam, but when he received the holy spirit he became the son of God by the spirit of God, and as he was the first, he became the beginning of what God is doing by and through Jesus.
Meaning there will be others to follow. Which allowed Paul to say that Jesus—as the son of God—was and is in “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature [creation],” and all things that foreshadow the kingdom of God were brought into being by God for the sake of this creation (Col. 1:15-17).
Revealing to us what Jesus is doing now.
Because the creation of the world that came about by and through the first Adam was only a figure of the creation to be brought about by and through the last Adam.
Giving a context to the resurrection of Jesus who has already “risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept [including the first Adam]” (I Cor. 15:20). Being “declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom 1:4). And, as a mediator between us and God, Jesus “is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning [commencement], the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col 1:18).
Revealing to us our incredible human potential.
To become like Jesus.
However, this understanding of Jesus as the beginning of a creation is sometimes contradicted and undermined by common Christian teachings today, because people don’t stop to think about what God is doing by and through Jesus.
Examples can be found in the frequently cited binitarian and trinitarian doctrines, each teaching that Jesus had no beginning, but instead had a pre-existence in another form, and claiming Jesus was not born in the image of Adam, but was rather transformed into an ambiguously defined god/man being, and finally these doctrines deny the fact that Jesus was himself the beginning of a creation of God, by teaching that he was an equal co-creator with the one God who is the Father. Essentially attempting by these interpretations to refute that Jesus came in the flesh, which is something the Apostle Paul warned about specifically when he wrote that: “many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist (II Jn. 1:7).
However, to confess that Jesus was born in the image of the first Adam, and was another Adam, simply defines the nature of Jesus’ humanity, and the role he played in becoming the firstborn of many brothers and sisters to follow, for as Paul also wrote: “whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (I Jn 4:15).
That is to say that when we are given the holy spirit of God—at the time of God’s choosing—to bring us to become like Jesus, then there will be a time when we also will be manifested as the children of God—in the kingdom of God (I Jn. 5:11). Which means that Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith, and the one God is working through in respect to this continuing creation that began with him, is working at a job to bring us into the kingdom of God (Acts 1:8). (Jesus is not a mediator between us and himself, but between humanity and God.)
For it is through Jesus that we receive the spirit of God by reason of Jesus’ preeminence, and by the power that was bestowed upon him by God the Father.
This is that blessing promised through the seed of Abraham, who was the last Adam, who became the beginning of a creation, a creation that we may be a part of in the future (Lk. 1:32). And this blessing will in time be offered to everyone, and we know this through the words of the Apostle John who said: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I Jn 3:2).
How then should we see Jesus as he is now?
Is he still a child in a manger, or a dead savior on a cross, or someone far off in heaven who has nothing to do until he returns to this earth?
This question should raise a challenge to Christianity to consider how the adopted traditions of Christmas and Easter have affected our understanding of Jesus’ role as a high priest, and what it is God is doing by and through Jesus the Christ (Mk. 7:9).
Other doctrines should also be reexamined as well.
Consequently, it should make us stop and think about who Jesus is and what he is doing now.
And we can know what he is doing.
When Jesus was “born” he was in the image of the first Adam who was himself in the material image of the creator God, and by Luke’s genealogical reckoning, Jesus was defined by the “spirit of man” that was in him (Heb. 1:3). But there came a time when Jesus was baptized by the holy spirit, as witnessed by John the Baptist and Jesus, and he became defined as the “last Adam,” and the beginning of the creation of God.
After his resurrection he ascended to the throne of the Father, and there he has the role of mediator between humanity and God, and he is preparing a coming kingdom, and he—not the church—is preparing us for the kingdom of God. And he has the honor and power to do this for us. Because Jesus was not deified but rather “glorified” and given immortal life by God, and he was given all the power to bestow the holy spirit on others so they also can become a part of God’s future kingdom (Jn. 7:39).
Therefore, we can say with some confidence that Jesus is working on the creation of God on our behalf.
Again, revealing to us our incredible human potential to be like Jesus in the future.
But there is more than this.
Jesus is also our acting high priest—an intercessor—who has been given the power to help us when we are in need, and when we are in trouble, and he has the power to work things out for the good for those who understand that our reconciliation with God is defined by the law of God (Rom. 8:28; Heb. 4:14-16). Because God’s gift of eternal life is understood to be given as a gift—and not earned through our measure of obedience—but given to those who are obedient to the law of God, and this law defines what it means to be in agreement with God, and Jesus has a role in helping us to be reconciled to God. (End of two-part series.)
