Dear Friend,

There are two very special men in the Bible that we need to know about. These two men are Adam and Christ. Adam is called God's "first man," and the Lord Jesus Christ is called God's "second Man."

God's first man was Adam.

Adam is called God's "first man" because he was the first man, the head of the human race.

Man did not come up from lower forms of life. He was created by God! Man is the highest of all God's creatures because he was created "in the image of God." The Bible says,

"So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." Genesis 1:27

Why did God create man? He created man for His glory and to bring pleasure to Himself. God said, "I have created him for My glory" (Isaiah 43:7). God wanted a race of people who would glorify Him and bring pleasure to Him. The Bible says,

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You have created all things, and for Your pleasure they are and were created." Revelation 4:11

God did not create millions of people to fill the earth. He created only one man—Adam. He created a wife for Adam. Her name was Eve. From Adam and Eve came the whole human race.

God's first man, Adam, disobeyed God.

Man was created to have fellowship with God so that he could enjoy God and God could enjoy him. In the beginning Adam and Eve had wonderful fellowship with God in the garden of Eden. They walked and talked with God in the cool of the evening as a son and daughter might talk to their loving father.

But something happened which changed all this. God's enemy, Satan, deceived Eve. She believed Satan's lie and disobeyed God.

Was Adam deceived? No, he was not. Adam chose to disobey God. He took sides with Satan.

The moment Adam disobeyed God, he died spiritually. He did not die physically, but he died spiritually. This means that he was separated from God. Sin had come between Adam and God.

God's first man, Adam, produced a race of sinners.

Adam now had a sinful nature, and he passed his sinful nature on to his children and to the whole human race. Adam produced a race of sinners! The Bible says, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners...." (Romans 5:19)

The whole human race had been stolen from God by Satan and put into Satan's kingdom of darkness. Satan put his spirit of rebellion and disobedience into every person. The Bible speaks of "the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience." That spirit is the spirit of Satan! People became very wicked. The Bible says,

"God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Genesis 6:5

God's second Man is Jesus Christ.

God wanted a race of people who would be pleasing to Him and glorify Him. But God's first man, Adam, produced a race of sinners. Could a race of sinners bring pleasure to God's heart? No, it could not. Could a race of sinners glorify God? No, it could not.

Now that men were sinners, did God hate them? No, He did not. God loves man. God has always loved man. The Bible says, "He loved the people" (Deuteronomy 33:3).

What did God do? God gave us a "second Man." Who is God's "second Man"? He is God's Son, the Lord Jesus Himself. The Bible says,

"The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy [made of dust]: the second Man is the Lord from heaven [the Lord Jesus Christ]." 1 Corinthians 15:47

It is as if God were saying, "My first man, Adam, disobeyed Me and produced a race of sinners. But I am giving the human race a second Man, My Son, the Lord Jesus Himself. He will obey Me perfectly and bring pleasure to My heart. He will become the Head of My new family—the children of God."

God's second Man, Jesus Christ, always pleased His Father.

At the beginning of His public ministry, the Lord Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river and something very wonderful happened. The Bible says,

"And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him:

"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:16-17

God now had a Man on earth in whom He could find His perfect pleasure and delight. Everything Jesus said and did was pleasing to His Father. He said, "…I do always those things that please Him" (John 8:29).

Jesus never sinned one time. There was not a single thing that He ever said or did that was not pleasing to His Father. At the end of His public ministry, three of His disciples were with Him on the top of a high mountain. There His glory as the Son of God shined out from Him. The Bible says that His face "did shine as the sun." Again God spoke from Heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him." (Matthew 17:5)

God's second Man, Jesus Christ, is Lord over the entire universe.

Satan had stolen us from God, but the Lord Jesus came to redeem us—"to buy us back"—so that we could once again belong to God. The Bible says,

"You know that you were not redeemed [bought back] with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 Peter 1:18, 19

Jesus died on the cross and was buried, but He rose again on the third day. After His resurrection He appeared to His believers many times over a period of forty days. Then He returned to Heaven.

God now has His second Man, Jesus Christ, before Him as the One in whom He finds all His pleasure and delight. God is so pleased with His Son that He has placed Him in charge of everything. God has made His Son "Lord of all." This means Jesus Christ is Lord over the entire universe. The Bible says of the Lord Jesus,

"Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him." 1 Peter 3:22

God's second Man, Jesus Christ, is the Head of God's new family.

God has not only made His Son Lord of all, but He has made Him the Head of His new family called "the children of God." All who believe on the Lord Jesus and receive Him as their Savior are born into God's new family.

There are now two families in the world. The head of one family is Adam. Adam's family is a sinful family.

The Head of the other family is God's second Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. His family is called "the children of God." Every person belongs to one or the other of these two families. All of us, when we were born, were born into Adam's sinful family. Every person in Adam's family is separated from God and lost. The Lord Jesus said, "…Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3b).

We cannot be born again physically, but we can be "born again" spiritually into God's family. No matter who you are, if you want to be in God's new family and go to Heaven, you must be born again. Jesus said, "Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again." (John 3:7)

How are we "born again" into God's new family? We are born again by believing on the Lord Jesus and receiving Him as our Savior. The Bible says,

"As many as received Him [the Lord Jesus], to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12

Dear friend, if you are not sure that you have been born again into God's new family, why not make sure right now. Find a quiet place where you can be alone with the Lord and tell Him,

I am in God's new family.

The moment I take the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I am born into God's new family. God takes me out of Adam's sinful family and puts me into His new family. I am now a child of God forever! All who take the Lord Jesus as their Savior are children of God. The Bible says,

"For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26

God is now my heavenly Father. I can talk to Him at any time. I can pray to Him at any time. He wants me to love Him and to trust Him. He wants me to enjoy being His child. The Bible says,

"Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons [the children] of God…." 1 John 3:1

---

God's first man, Adam, disobeyed Him and brought sin and death into the world. Adam produced a race of sinners. But God loved us and He gave us a "second Man." God's second Man is His Son, the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again to become the Head of God's new family—"the children of God." By taking the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I am born again spiritually into God's new family.

"Lord Jesus, I truly believe that You are God's second Man, and I take You as my Savior. Since I have taken you as my Savior, I am now in God's new family."

^top

---