The Second Adam vs. Evil

The author Jeffery Russell wrote three volumes on the historical and theological background of the devil. In it, he traces the earliest places the devil is mentioned in the Bible all the way to modern times explaining how different cultures have talked about the devil. At the end of this long work, Russell concludes with his final thoughts on the matter:

“A real force is actively present in the [world], urging to evil. This evil force has a purposive center that actively hates good, the [world], and every individual in the [world]. It urges us to hate good, the [world], other individuals, and ourselves. It has terrible and immense effects, but it is ultimately futile; every individual can defeat it in himself or herself by drawing on the loving power of God. For Christians, then, the person of the Devil may be a metaphor, but it is a metaphor for something that is real, that really brings horror to the world every day and [that] threatens to lay the entire world waste.”^[1]

Jesus is described as the Second Adam. If it was by the First Adam that we all sinned, it is through this Second Adam that all are made alive. The Second Adam was obedient while tempted by the devil; the First Adam was not. Adam 2 was exalted by submitting to the will of God whereas Adam 1 was humiliated in seeking his own exaltation.^[2]

This Second Adam overcame the wiles of the devil in the wilderness not by trying harder but by living faithfully the way that Adam 1 was supposed to in the Garden.

The psalmist writes, “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame.” (Ps 25:1-2a) What emotion do Adam and Eve feel after they have eaten the fruit? Shame.

When we put our full allegiance in God and trust that He’s got us, that His plan for us is better than anything we could plan for ourselves, then we are given the opposite of shame. We are given hope. As the psalmist continued, “No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame.” (Psalm 25:3)

But friends, we cannot get to that place unless we reckon with the seriousness of sin. Otherwise, we’ll continue to try harder and get nowhere. As the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

We need more than good intentions; we need a Savior who can stand up against the Powers of Evil and win. Behold Adam 2. Behold the lamb that takes away the sin of the world.

[1] Quoted from Dale Bruner’s Matthew: A Commentary (vol 1)

[2] An idea explored further in David Brook’s The Road to Character (2016).