1 Corinthians 15:22 — For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
We are reflecting on the fact that baptism proclaims many truths to us in its function as a sign, and we are presently dwelling on one of the most remarkable of these - that the believer is joined to the Lord Jesus Christ.
This union is multifaceted, and to hear the full message proclaimed in baptism, we need to consider the various aspects of the believer's union with Christ. We have already seen that the union that Christians have with Jesus is a legal union. This time we want to see also that it is a federal union.
We understand (and have already commented on the fact) that Adam was effectively put on probation in the Garden of Eden, and that he acted in our place under a covenant established by God, so that whatever Adam did under that arrangement, God would regard all the descendants of Adam as having done also. Had Adam resisted the temptation of Satan, he would have lived eternally and we would all have inherited eternal life on the basis of his actions. However, Adam rebelled against God, ate the forbidden fruit and suffered the consequences (death) in his body and soul. Because he acted on our behalf under that covenant, from conception we share with Adam in the guilt of his sin. We are born spiritually dead and liable to eternal condemnation unless something (that is beyond our ability) is done to rescue us.
Now we turn to Christ, or the "Last Adam," as Paul refers to him in 1 Corinthians 15:45. Like the first Adam, Jesus acts as a federal Head of His people. Everything He did while on earth, and much of what He does in heaven, is in the place of and on behalf of His people. He earned righteousness in His perfect life of obedience for His people. He died to sin in their place on the cross. He was buried, rose to newness of life, ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of God to reign. All these things believers are counted as doing and having done because they are joined to Christ as their federal Head. They are no longer "in Adam" but by the work of the Holy Spirit they are now "in Christ" - joined to Him.
This is what Paul talks about in our text above. Everyone joined to Adam receives the penalty God pronounced ahead of time if he would eat the forbidden fruit - they die both physically and spiritually, suffering an eternal condemnation for what Adam did (though each of us adds our own sins and wickedness to the deposit we receive from Adam). However, says Paul, in the same way everyone who is joined to Christ will be made alive - freed from the consequences of Adam's and their own sin and made heirs of eternal life because of the complete work that Jesus did.
Two things in closing. First, we need to ask ourselves whether we are still "in Adam" today, or whether we have renounced our relationship in the flesh with him and have reached out in faith to be joined eternally to Jesus Christ. He is the only One Who can save us from our richly-deserved destruction!
Second, think on your own baptism in this light, or when you witness the baptism of others. The cleansing work of the Spirit that is pictured there has the result of joining the believer to Christ to receive all the merits of His redemptive work. Here is something that is well worth reflecting on!
