In The Beginning: Adam Restored

Last week I published a post in which I examined the different roles of Adam, as part of my In The Beginning series. I demonstrated from the Scriptures how Adam was a son of God, bridegroom, priest, prophet and king.

I explained that it’s important to understand these different roles of Adam because in understanding Adam, we come to understand the blueprint, God’s original design, the original state of affairs before everything started going all askew. Salvation History is the story of our redemption and the return to that original state of affairs.

In today’s post I’d like to look at how Adam’s various roles are taken up once more…

In Salvation History, what was lost in Adam was restored in Christ, the New (or Last) Adam:

…Adam…was a type of the one who was to come… as [Adam’s] trespass led to condemnation for all men, so [Christ’s] act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men – Romans 5:12-18

Since Christ heals the damage done by Adam, it hardly surprising to find Christ fulfilling all the original roles of Adam and even surpassing them. Additionally , through Christ, Christians are called to have a share in these roles too!

In Christ and Christians

Below I outline the ways in which Christ fulfilled the roles of Adam and I will also explain how you do too. If you’d like to read more about these roles, the last three roles are mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, start at paragraph 1241.

Role #1: Son Of God

Christ: Whereas Adam was a son of God by grace, Jesus is the Son of God by nature. Adam was a son of God, but Jesus is the Son of God.

Christian: If you are a baptized Christian, you are a son or daughter of God. In Baptism, the stain of sin is washed away and you are infused with new life, becoming partakers of the Divine nature.

Role #2: Bridegroom

Christ: Adam was the bridegroom of Eve, but Jesus is also a bridegroom to the Church. Whereas Eve was the mother of all the living, the Church is the spiritual mother giving supernatural life through the Sacraments.

Christian: If you are a baptized Christian you are invited into relationship. You are part of the Body of Christ, the Church. As a member of the Body, you are connected to the Head, Christ, and thereby invited into the intimate life and love of the Blessed Trinity.

Role #3: Priest

Christ: Adam was charged with serving and protecting the garden sanctuary of Eden, a priestly responsibility. Jesus is also a priest, but not just a priest but, as the book of Hebrews, states, our “great High Priest”. Where Adam failed to protect the Garden and his bride, Christ willingly offered His life for the sake of His Bride in the most perfect of sacrifices.

Christian: If you a baptized Christian, you are a priest! You have a share in the priesthood of Christ. As I see it, a priest is typically involved in three activities to which you too are called:

(a) Sacrifice
Priests offer sacrifice and you are to do the same. You are called to offer all the little sacrifices of life to God, to offer your very life as a sacrifice to him:

“…offer your bodies as living sacrifices to God, holy and acceptable to him…”
– Romans 12:1

All these little sacrifices are brought to the liturgy and united to the Sacrifice of the Eucharist. The Offertory Procession and the Eucharistic Prayer are ideal times in the liturgy which you can call to mind the week’s sacrifices and offer them to the Lord.

(b) Intercession
Priests are intercessors for the people. Likewise, you are called to have a grounded prayer life, to pray for others and intercede for them. Although this will happen throughout the week, it should culminate in the corporate Sunday celebration, especially in the Prayers of the Faithful.

(c) Sanctification
Priests make things holy and that is the call of your life as well, turning the places where you live, work and play into holy ground. All Christians are called to be “salt and light” wherever they go, sanctifying the world around them.

Role #4: Prophet

Christ: Adam exercised his prophetic calling in naming the animals, but as the Word, Jesus gave the full revelation of God.

Christian: If you are a baptized Christian, you are also a prophet. To be a prophet means to be the mouthpiece of God. You are therefore called to evangelize, to speak healing and truth to a hurting world which has grown deaf to His voice. Be warned though, as with the prophets of old, following the prophetic calling often results is scorn and persecution…

Role #5: King

Christ: Adam was given dominion over nature, but it is Jesus who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, the one before whom every knee will one day bow.

Christian: If you are a baptized Christian, you are not only a priest and prophet, but a king! But what does that mean? I see two principal exercises of Christian kingship:

(a) Self Rule
In exercising your baptismal kingship, you are called to rule yourself – your body, your appetites and passions – to be controlled to none of them. You are to be the master of your body, not its slave.

Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. – 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

At the time of posting this article, we are in the season of Lent (“The Great Fast”) and one of the purposes of fasting is to gain mastery self-control and mastery over our bodies.

“Want a great empire? Rule over yourself” – Publius Syrus

(b) Servanthood
Kingship has something of a negative understanding among most people. I live in the United States where the idea of a king focuses on one who subjugates his people. Now, there is certainly a concept of this which we saw above, but we shouldn’t consider the flawed rule of earthly kings, but instead focus upon the perfect rule of the divine King of Kings, Jesus.

What kind of kingship did Jesus manifest? Christ demonstrated a kingship of servanthood. He was a king who knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples and then went to die in order to protect His people. This is the kind of kingship we are to imitate.

As you can hopefully see from this quick sketch, Jesus fulfilled in a greater way each of Adam’s roles and, as Christ’s followers, we are called to walk in this way. You are a son of God, a bridegroom, a priest, a prophet and king! Embrace your calling!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4