“So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven.”
1 Corinthians 15:45-47 (NAB)
About twenty years ago, I had a conversation with a doctor I had worked with for years, who had an inspirational experience leading him to return to his Jewish faith with greater devotion. He never shared what inspired him, but it was so intense that he planned on leaving the medical field completely, and devoting the rest of his life to studying Torah, the Jewish scriptures, and he joined a very strict religious group in Chicago.
I felt a little inadequate, discussing the person of Jesus with him, considering his brilliance and passion for Jewish teaching, but somehow our conversation kept progressing in that direction anyway. I told him that I believed Jesus was the Messiah, the human incarnation of God, and he politely stopped me and said, “That would never happen, because God would never become a man.”
When I asked him why he was so sure of that, he said that the heart of the commandments is to not make or worship any graven image, so God would never do something that is contrary to His own commandments.
I tried reminding him that the prophet Isaiah predicted that a virgin would bear a child, whose name is “God with us,” a divine person, yet born in human form. He continued to shake his head no, saying that even if God could do such a thing, He never would do it. Mosaic laws were clearly a stumbling block for him, preventing belief in an incarnation.
Our discussion ended there, although I still think about what he said, even to this day.
If I could continue that conversation with him now, I would like to say that God had a plan to send His Son into the world long before He wrote any commandments. He planned it from the first day that sin was committed in the Garden of Eden.
The first Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, and sin brought us death, but God’s plans have an eternal purpose. It was His plan long before the commandments were ever written. He promised long ago in the Garden, to send the offspring of a woman, to save us and destroy the head of the serpent forever.
(Genesis 3:15)
He had a plan to send a new Eve through Mary, and the second divine Adam, through Jesus, who was born through a divine-human conception in her womb. Paul teaches that the earthly precedes the heavenly. The first Adam came from the earth and the second Adam, Jesus, came from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47)
A baby conceived by the Spirit of God in a human womb, is no graven image. He is not made by the hands of man, or in the ordinary way life is conceived. He is not an idol made of gold or carved in stone. He is God’s divine son, conceived by His Spirit in the untouched human womb of Mary.
This plan was a mystery for ages, yet was briefly hinted at long ago in the Garden story in Genesis. Paul even refers to it as “the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.” (Ephesians 3:9)
The most important component of the incarnation is -Grace. Without grace, we could only think and reason in terms of satisfying rules or commandments to earn rewards or punishments. Grace changed all of that.
Grace is giving something to someone that they don’t deserve, and cannot be earned. Grace gives us forgiveness and a relationship with God through Jesus. Once someone experiences amazing grace, it’s easy to believe in the divine incarnation.
Grace outmatches the productivity of our sin, and that’s why it’s so amazing. Why would God do all of this for us? He tells us, “God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
God makes plans because He loves us so much, and He started planning since that day in the Garden. His plan for salvation began long before the giving of the commandments and He sent the second Adam at the perfect time, who was born in Bethlehem.
I disagree with my doctor friend who asserted that God could, but would never become a man. God could and did become a man, when He left His throne in heaven to suffer and carry a cross for us, and it’s all because of His immense love and amazing grace.
Lord Jesus, we thank you and we pray for all people who do not see the beauty and truth that you are the second Adam, the incarnate Son of God. We pray that your Holy Spirit reveals saving grace and love to people of all faiths today. Amen