I've been going through Charles Price's series on Colossians over the past few weeks (as I'm sure you have since my recommendation a week or two ago [?]). As always there is lots to chew on from his sermons, but one of the most thought provoking points he makes (which of course isn't restricted to mere thought, as you'll see) comes from verse 15 of the first chapter:
It's easy to see the deity of Christ in this passage, right? However, I don't know about you, but I completely missed the humanity of Christ which is contained in this little sentence. Charles Price says that many people are quite aware of the deity of Christ, but when it comes to His humanity there is not that same understanding.
If we look at the very beginning of the Bible we read:
Adam and Eve were created in God's image. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. So when Paul talks of Jesus in this way, he is not so much speaking about the deity of Christ as he is about the humanity of Christ. Of course the pre-fall Adam isn't equal with the incarnate Christ. As we'll read soon, Adam was from dust, but Christ is from heaven, which is of course a significant difference with significant consequences for us.
Anyway, though man has been radically corrupted since the fall, there was once a point when mankind reflected the moral character of God. As Charles Price says,
Of course as I've eluded to already, they fell, and they ceased to show what God is like. Having been made in God's image and enjoyed perfect union and relationship with God, man turned his back on God, with dire consequences. However, this was not the end of the road for human beings. 1 Corinthians 15:47 reads
Paul is describing Jesus here in terms of 'the second man'. So when we talk about the humanity of Jesus, we are not talking about humanity as we know it, in its corrupted and depraved state. We are talking about Him being the second true human being. Jesus Christ is what a real man is supposed to look like. Charles Price says that,
We often think that Jesus was is disguised as a man. We think of Him as God with a man-costume thrown over Him in order to blend in (a doctrine known as Docetism). But in reality, Jesus is fully human. Fully God, but fully human also. He is as real a man as Adam was created to be, but unlike Adam, He is divine. While Adam was created in the image of God, Jesus Christ is the image of God.
So what's the implication of this for us? What does Christ becoming the 'second man' accomplish? Well in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul goes on to write
We have inherited Adam's sinful nature. All we have to do is look within our own hearts for proof of that. But now, through Christ, we can become "the righteousness of God". We can be restored to reflect the image of God. How? Well later on in the first chapter of Colossians, Paul calls this 'the mystery hidden for ages and generations', but is now revealed. And that mystery is:
That's the gospel. That is the hope that is offered to the world. Acknowledging your sin, repenting of it, and relying on Christ's work on the cross is not some kind of get-out-of-hell-free card. It's the beginning of a union with Christ. It's God actually indwelling in you by his Holy Spirit, and transforming you into His likeness. That's the beautiful goal of the Christian life.
The third part of Charles Price's series expands on this revealed mystery, but I won't go there just yet. The point of this is to show the profoundness and reality of Christ's perfect humanity. Where Adam failed, Christ succeeded.
As fallen human beings we have been given a second chance by the Second Man. "The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit." When J.C. Ryle wrote that though it costs to be a true Christian, it pays, this is the payment he is referring to - the hope of life, the hope of glory.
"He is the image of the invisible God..."
If we look at the very beginning of the Bible we read:
So God created man in His own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. - Gen. 1:27
Adam and Eve were created in God's image. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. So when Paul talks of Jesus in this way, he is not so much speaking about the deity of Christ as he is about the humanity of Christ. Of course the pre-fall Adam isn't equal with the incarnate Christ. As we'll read soon, Adam was from dust, but Christ is from heaven, which is of course a significant difference with significant consequences for us.
Anyway, though man has been radically corrupted since the fall, there was once a point when mankind reflected the moral character of God. As Charles Price says,
If you and I existed apart from Adam and Eve and we wanted to know what God was like, we could simply go along to the Garden of Eden, hide behind a tree and watch the way Adam and Eve live and behave and act and react and you’d see what God is like. They were His image.
Of course as I've eluded to already, they fell, and they ceased to show what God is like. Having been made in God's image and enjoyed perfect union and relationship with God, man turned his back on God, with dire consequences. However, this was not the end of the road for human beings. 1 Corinthians 15:47 reads
The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.
Paul is describing Jesus here in terms of 'the second man'. So when we talk about the humanity of Jesus, we are not talking about humanity as we know it, in its corrupted and depraved state. We are talking about Him being the second true human being. Jesus Christ is what a real man is supposed to look like. Charles Price says that,
If you want to know what a human being is supposed to be like, if you want to know how human beings were designed to behave, look at Jesus. He is the image of what human beings were intended to be – the image of God.
We often think that Jesus was is disguised as a man. We think of Him as God with a man-costume thrown over Him in order to blend in (a doctrine known as Docetism). But in reality, Jesus is fully human. Fully God, but fully human also. He is as real a man as Adam was created to be, but unlike Adam, He is divine. While Adam was created in the image of God, Jesus Christ is the image of God.
So what's the implication of this for us? What does Christ becoming the 'second man' accomplish? Well in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul goes on to write
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
We have inherited Adam's sinful nature. All we have to do is look within our own hearts for proof of that. But now, through Christ, we can become "the righteousness of God". We can be restored to reflect the image of God. How? Well later on in the first chapter of Colossians, Paul calls this 'the mystery hidden for ages and generations', but is now revealed. And that mystery is:
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
That's the gospel. That is the hope that is offered to the world. Acknowledging your sin, repenting of it, and relying on Christ's work on the cross is not some kind of get-out-of-hell-free card. It's the beginning of a union with Christ. It's God actually indwelling in you by his Holy Spirit, and transforming you into His likeness. That's the beautiful goal of the Christian life.
The third part of Charles Price's series expands on this revealed mystery, but I won't go there just yet. The point of this is to show the profoundness and reality of Christ's perfect humanity. Where Adam failed, Christ succeeded.
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. - 1 Cor. 15:21, 22
As fallen human beings we have been given a second chance by the Second Man. "The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit." When J.C. Ryle wrote that though it costs to be a true Christian, it pays, this is the payment he is referring to - the hope of life, the hope of glory.
I've made some changes to this post, so if you read it before this comment was up I suggest you read again. I just felt that initially I didn't make it clear that there is a distinct difference between the man Adam and the man Christ. There of course is, so I've tried to express that better. I'm sure I've still left some stones unturned, so feel free to point out anything you think is unclear or just plain wrong. In the words of Michelangelo, "I am still learning".
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