Adamic Christology and the human Messiah

    Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is consistently presented as an exalted human, who was given all authority upon his resurrection. Jesus is presented in such a highly exalted fashion that many Christians have concluded he must be more than a human — in fact, that he is the one true God. After all, he shares the honor, the attributes, the name, the deeds, and even the throne of God! [1] However, this is not inconsistent with him being a ‘mere man’ (by which I mean an exalted human without a divine nature). In fact, nearly all of the exalted attributes and deeds of Jesus are found (to a lesser degree) in the human agents of God in the Old Testament. In this series of posts, we’ll examine how the New Testament intentionally draws upon these other exalted human figures in its presentation of the human Messiah, beginning with Adam.

    Note: The idea for this series is from J. R. Daniel Kirk’s book A Man Attested by God: The Human Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels, as well as episodes 48 through 55 of Dustin Smith’s Biblical Unitarian Podcast. It wouldn’t have been possible without their extensive research, so please check out their work for a fuller treatment of the high human Christology of the New Testament!

    Adam in the Old Testament

    As the first-created human being, Adam is also considered in the Old Testament to be the ideal human being in many ways (at least prior to his sin). This can be seen at the end of the first chapter of Genesis, which describes the creation of humanity:

Then God said, “Let us make man [’adam] in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” So God created man [’adam] in His image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:26-28)

    In this passage, the dominion of primeval humanity (including Adam) is said to extend over the sea, the heavens, and the earth. “Heavens, earth, and (the sea) under the earth” is a Hebraic idiom meaning “all things” (Exod. 20:4; Psa. 69:34; 146:5-6; Acts 14:15; Phil. 2:10; Rev. 5:3, 13). Furthermore, this capacity to rule over all things is connected in some way to Adam being “in the image of God.” He was intended to be the visible representation of God on earth, ruling over all things on His behalf.

    The same extremely exalted depiction of Adam is also found in Psalm 8:

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man [’adam] that You are mindful of him, the son of man [ben-’adam] that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God [or: the gods]; You have crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, and all the livestock of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea which pass through the paths of the seas. (Psa. 8:3-8)

    This psalm is a description of ideal humanity; although this is not yet true of all humans (Heb. 2:8), it is God’s intended purpose for humanity. Here, the same Hebrew idiom is used as in Genesis 1:26-28, saying that Adam ruled over heaven, earth, and (the sea) under the earth, that is, “all things.” Furthermore, he was “crowned with glory and honor,” even though those are the unique attributes of God (Job 40:10; Psa. 96:6; 104:1; 111:3; 145:5; Isa. 42:8). Being the image of God, Adam was allowed to bear these divine attributes, even though he was (obviously) not God Himself.

    Nonetheless, we humans do not bear this exalted status at the present time (Heb. 2:8). Why is this? Genesis sheds some light on this question:

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you will die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God [or: the gods], knowing good and evil.” 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate... Then Yahweh God said, “See, the humans have become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and now they might reach out their hands and take also from the tree of life, and eat and live forever.” Therefore Yahweh God sent them forth from the garden of Eden, to till the land from which they were taken. (Gen. 3:2-6, 22)

Adam was not content with his exalted station as the ruler of all things, and sought to be “like God” by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of this sin, he both lost his dominion over the earth and became mortal (Gen. 3:17-19). Although it’s not explicitly said that he lost the image of God, the image must have been at least severely distorted, because Adam lost the glory and dominion associated with it.

    Adam in Second Temple Judaism

    The concept of Adam evolved further in Second Temple Jewish tradition, as can be seen in the writings from this period. Although these writings are not included in the traditional Protestant canon of Scripture, they provide an important historical and literary background for the writings of the New Testament. There aren’t many references to Adam in the literature of this period, probably because he wasn’t a significant character in the Old Testament (apart from the first few chapters). However, the references which do appear show the exalted status which Adam had in Second Temple Judaism:

Shem and Seth and Enosh were honored, but above every created living being was Adam. (Sirach 49.16)

Wisdom protected the first-formed father of the world, when he alone had been created; she delivered him from his transgression and gave him strength to rule all things. (Wisdom 10.1-2)

It was necessary that man should be the last of all created beings; in order that being so, and appearing suddenly, he might strike terror into the other animals. For it was fitting that they, as soon as they first saw him, should admire and worship him... the Father... established him as the king of all the animals beneath the moon, whether terrestrial or aquatic, or such as traverse the air. For every mortal thing which lives in the three elements, land, water or air, did He “put in subjection to him” [Psalm 8:6], excepting only the beings that are in heaven [angels], as creatures who have a more divine portion...

And so the Creator has made man to be, as it were, a charioteer and pilot over all other animals, in order that he may hold the reins and direct the course of every thing upon earth, having the superintendence of all animals and plants, as a sort of viceroy of the principal and mighty King. (Philo, Opif. 83-84, 88)

    These writers believed Adam to be the pre-eminent created being, subordinate only to God and the angels. [2] His pre-eminence, however, was not shared by any other human, because his glory was taken from him when he sinned (Gen. Rab. 12.6). Nonetheless, the glory of Adam will be restored to all redeemed humans in the age to come, after the Messiah (1 Enoch 85.4; 90.37-38; 1QS 4.22-23; Gen. Rab. 11.2). This idea, that the Messiah would restore what Adam lost, later became a major part of New Testament Christology and soteriology.

    Adamic Christology in the New Testament

    According to Paul, Adam “is a type of him who is to come [i.e., the Messiah],” and the Messiah is therefore “the last Adam” (Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:45). Through his death and resurrection, Jesus regained precisely what was lost in Adam, so that all humans will be restored to a sinless state (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:20-22). Because Jesus is the antitype of Adam, we should expect the exalted Messiah to be presented as the image of God and ruler of all things, just as Adam was. This is indeed what we find throughout the New Testament.

For it befits him [Jesus] to reign until He has put all the enemies under his feet. The last enemy being abolished is death. For “He has put all things in subjection under his feet.” [Psalm 8:6] But when it says that all things have been put in subjection, it is clear that He who put all things in subjection to him is excluded. Now when all things have been put in subjection to him, then also the Son himself will be put in subjection to He who put all things in subjection to him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Cor. 15:25-28)

In this passage, Paul presents Jesus as the fulfillment of Psalm 8:6 (which was originally about Adam), because God has put all things in subjection under his feet. Jesus is still subordinate to God, of course, because “it is clear that He who put all things in subjection to him is excluded;” however, he rules over the universe on behalf of God, just as Adam did.

    In Paul’s next letter to the Corinthians, he also refers to Jesus as “the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4), and says that we are being transformed into that same image (2 Cor. 3:18; cf. 1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21; Col. 3:10). This confirms that the Messiah has regained what was lost in Adam, becoming the visible representation of God’s rule over the universe, and we too will be conformed to this ideal human state.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah Jesus: who, though he was in the form of God, did not grasp at equality with God, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant. Becoming in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death of a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted him, and gifted him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, whether in heaven or on earth or under the earth, and every tongue confess that “Jesus the Messiah is Lord,” to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:5-11)

There is a lot of debate among scholars about whether this hymn from Philippians 2 is Adam Christology. However, my personal opinion is that it is. The ‘Second Adam’ reading of Phil. 2:5-11 has been proposed by both trinitarian and unitarian scholars, [3] and seems to make better sense of the hymn in context of the entire letter to the Philippians, which is an exhortation to earthly obedience (2:5, 17, 25-30; 3:4-10).

    According to this reading, Jesus’ being “in the form of God” (en morphe theou) is equivalent to Adam’s being “in the image of God” (Gk: en eikon theou). The Greek words morphe and eikon are synonymous, and are used interchangeably in the Septuagint and early Christian texts. [4] However, unlike Adam who tried to be “like God” (Gen. 3:5), Jesus “did not grasp at equality with God.” Instead he voluntarily emptied himself and took on the form of the Suffering Servant who “poured himself out unto death” (Isa. 53:12). [5] He came in the likeness of fallen, mortal humanity (cf. Rom. 8:3) and obediently died.

    Because of Jesus’ act of obedience, God exalted him and restored him to Adam’s original position. He was given authority over the things “in heaven and on earth and (the sea) under the earth,” just like Adam was (Gen. 1:26-28; Psa. 8:6-8; cf. Exod. 20:4). Because of what he did, we all will also be “conformed [symmorphon] to the body of his glory” (Phil. 3:21). This reading of Philippians 2:5-11 confirms that Jesus’ rule over all things is a return to Adam’s original state, and that he rules over all things as the ideal human (not as God Himself).

Now God did not subject the world to come, about which we are speaking, to angels. But someone has testified somewhere: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor, and You have appointed him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” (Psalm 8:3-6)

For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing unsubjected to him. Yet at present we do not see all things having been subjected to him; but we do see Jesus, having been made a little lower than the angels, “crowned with glory and honor” because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that God, through whom and for whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, should make perfect the archetype of their salvation through sufferings. (Heb. 2:5-10)

    In this passage, the Hebraist applies Psalm 8:3-6, which was originally about Adam’s ideal humanity, to Jesus the Messiah. He explains that all things are not yet subject to humanity, but all things are subject to the highly exalted human Messiah. Because of his death, Jesus was “crowned with glory and honor” and “made perfect,” in order that “many sons” might be brought “to glory.” Again, this shows that the Messiah regained the glory which Adam lost, so that we can be conformed to his ideal humanity.

    Conclusion

    The figure of Adam in the Old Testament is central to New Testament Christology. Adam was originally created to be the ruler of all things, as the functional representative of God on earth, crowned with the divine glory; but because he was not satisfied with his station, and tried to be “like God,” his glory and rule was taken from him. Christ’s obedient death reversed this, and so he was exalted to Adam’s former position, as the glorious ruler of all things. Thus, when we read that Jesus is/has the glory of God (Mark 8:38; John 1:14; 12:41-43; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 1:3), or that he is the ruler of all things (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-21; Col. 1:18; 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:21-22), we shouldn't conclude that he is God Himself; rather, he is the ideal human, exalted even greater than Adam because of his obedience to God.

Next: https://universalistheretic.blogspot.com/2023/07/mosaic-christology-and-human-messiah.html

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[1] Robert M. Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski, Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2007).

[2] They believed Adam to be subject to the angels because of the Septuagint’s translation of Psalm 8:5, “You have made him a little lower than the angels.” 

[3] Charles H. Talbert, “The Problem of Pre-Existence in Philippians 2:6-11,” Journal of Biblical Literature 86 (1970), 141-153; George Howard, “Phil 2:6-11 and the Human Christ,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 40, no. 3 (1978), 368-387; James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making, 2nd ed. (London: SCM Press, 1989), 114-121; Scott A. Deane, “Obedience and Humility of the Second Adam: Philippians 2:6-11,” A Journal from the Radical Reformation 7, no. 1 (1997), 4-12.

[4] R. P. Martin, Carmen Christi: Philippians 2.5-11 in Recent Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), 106-119; James D. G. Dunn, Christology in the Making, 115.

[5] R. P. Martin, Carmen Christi, 182-189.