This is the story of the greatest victory of all time. No greater contrast between opposites is possible: the first Adam brought failure, retreat, anxiety and the grave; the second brought triumph, freedom from fear, peace, joy and life for evermore.
David had enjoined Solomon to be a “man” (1 Kings 2. 3), but only Jesus attained to the prescribed standard. In consequence, only he became a quickening, or life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15. 45) ; the beginning of a new creation—beings with a life unending.
John, in chapter 14, preserved the astonishing record, “He that hath seen me bath seen the Father”—an incredible statement when pondered. For three-and-a half years the disciples had walked and talked with Jesus; a man who became weary and tired, who ate and drank and slept like other men—yet he was a walking revelation of God to mankind.
Here was a new and noble way of life. “God was in Christ” Paul wrote. To the Colossians he extended the interpretation; he spoke of a mystery, or secret, hid throughout past ages, but now “made manifest in his saints . . . which is Christ in you the hope of glory”. This is a clear-cut demonstration of teaching by inference: God revealed in Christ, Christ revealed in his brethren—it means God revealed in his brethren! Hence the well known prayer, “That they also may be one in us”. Words cannot express the magnitude of the position.
This is the business and purpose of our lives brought about by the Second Adam. The future is a bright one, but to be like him then we must be like him now.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One