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From "First Fruits Of Zion"- ffoz.org
Parashat Hashavuah
B’reisheet - בראשית : “In the beginning”
Torah : Genesis 1:1–6:8
Haftarah : Isaiah 42:5–43:10
Gospel : Matthew 1, 2
The First Adam and the Last Adam
Thought for the Week:
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him.” (Genesis 1:27) The yiddish collection of teaching called Tz’enah Ur’enah says, “Just as Adam was created in God’s image, so the Messiah is anointed by God, and God’s spirit will be upon him.” In this we learn that there is a direct correlation to be made between Adam and Messiah. God created Adam in His image. Paul writes of Yeshua, “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). “‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45).
Commentary:
Paul explains that sin and death came to humanity as the result of one man’s sin. Though it is true that we are all guilty of sin, and we are all punished for our own misdeeds, the original introduction of disobedience came through our first father. Through one single act of disobedience, he forfeited his right to the Tree of Life and immortality. Therefore, death came through Adam, “even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam,” (Romans 5:14) which is to say that everyone dies, whether they sin or not. An unborn child who dies (God forbid), though he never had the opportunity to commit sin, dies all the same.
It does seem frightfully unfair that one man’s single transgression should consign all humanity to death. But it is equally unfair that one man’s righteousness also offers all of humanity the reward of righteousness: “the right to the tree of life.” (Revelation 22:14)
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Yeshua Messiah. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:17–19)
Adam’s name means “man.” As human beings, we are all sons of Adam, and we share in his physical nature, including the fallen aspects of it. We share in his condemnation. Messiah is also a son of Adam, sharing in Adam’s nature as it was prior to his disobedience and expulsion. He is in the form of the original man. Thus, the title “the Son of Adam”; that is, “The Son of Man.” He is a second Adam, and unlike this first Adam, He did not transgress. If the first Adam’s sin was sufficient to merit death for all mankind, the righteousness of Messiah—the last Adam—is sufficient to merit us life. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) And this life is not only a spiritual abstraction. It is the hope of eternal life through the resurrection of the dead. It is the reversal of Adam’s bane. We need only cast our allegiance with last Adam, the Life that gives spirit.
Shavuah Tov! Have a Good Week!
Parashat Hashavuah
B’reisheet - בראשית : “In the beginning”
Torah : Genesis 1:1–6:8
Haftarah : Isaiah 42:5–43:10
Gospel : Matthew 1, 2
The First Adam and the Last Adam
Thought for the Week:
“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him.” (Genesis 1:27) The yiddish collection of teaching called Tz’enah Ur’enah says, “Just as Adam was created in God’s image, so the Messiah is anointed by God, and God’s spirit will be upon him.” In this we learn that there is a direct correlation to be made between Adam and Messiah. God created Adam in His image. Paul writes of Yeshua, “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). “‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45).
Commentary:
Paul explains that sin and death came to humanity as the result of one man’s sin. Though it is true that we are all guilty of sin, and we are all punished for our own misdeeds, the original introduction of disobedience came through our first father. Through one single act of disobedience, he forfeited his right to the Tree of Life and immortality. Therefore, death came through Adam, “even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam,” (Romans 5:14) which is to say that everyone dies, whether they sin or not. An unborn child who dies (God forbid), though he never had the opportunity to commit sin, dies all the same.
It does seem frightfully unfair that one man’s single transgression should consign all humanity to death. But it is equally unfair that one man’s righteousness also offers all of humanity the reward of righteousness: “the right to the tree of life.” (Revelation 22:14)
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Yeshua Messiah. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:17–19)
Adam’s name means “man.” As human beings, we are all sons of Adam, and we share in his physical nature, including the fallen aspects of it. We share in his condemnation. Messiah is also a son of Adam, sharing in Adam’s nature as it was prior to his disobedience and expulsion. He is in the form of the original man. Thus, the title “the Son of Adam”; that is, “The Son of Man.” He is a second Adam, and unlike this first Adam, He did not transgress. If the first Adam’s sin was sufficient to merit death for all mankind, the righteousness of Messiah—the last Adam—is sufficient to merit us life. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22) And this life is not only a spiritual abstraction. It is the hope of eternal life through the resurrection of the dead. It is the reversal of Adam’s bane. We need only cast our allegiance with last Adam, the Life that gives spirit.
Shavuah Tov! Have a Good Week!
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Re: In The Begining
Thu, November 16, 2006 - 5:07 AMHey Barry, you still kickin? -
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Re: In The Begining
Thu, November 16, 2006 - 5:09 AMJust stopped by to let you know I'm still readin.
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Original Sin
Sun, November 19, 2006 - 9:50 AMThe Doctrine of Original Sin is one especially odious to Jews. The idea is obviously false but Christians base much of their theology on this false premise. Let us look at the three passages there are most likely to cause this confusion.
You do remember that Paul is difficult to understand or so says the 2nd Letter of Peter at 3:16. Now in Romans 5: 12-14, Paul says:
Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned -- for up to the time of the law sin was in the world, though sin is not accoundted when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin after the pattern of the trespass of Adam, who is the type of the one who was to come.
Paul's idea that death is the consequence of sin comes from Genesis 3:3 says that if Adam and Eve ate of the tree in the middle of the garden of Eden or even touched it, they would surely die. He then looked at Psalms 51:7 in which David says:
True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
Unfortunately for the history of Christianity, the Pauline lie has been propagated to the ends of the earth and many believe it. However, we need to look at the facts. First, there is no indication in the book of Genesis that G-d stopped talking to Adam so there was no spiritual death. He lived 931 years and died. To suggest that physical death is a result of sin, certainly is not supported by the facts. No one lives to be 931 years old today. In addition, Paul says that death reigned from Adam to Moses. All died as a result of their sin, not their personal sin, but there original sin that they got from their father Adam. From these two passages, Paul concluded that not just Adam and Eve were held guilty by the act of eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but also their children. And he concluded that the penalty for this act was physical and spiritual death.
The idea that original sin brought physical and spiritual death is made a lie two chapters later when Genesis says of Enoch:
Then Enoch walked with G-d, and he was no longer here, for G-d took him. Gen. 5:24.
Obviously, one man did not die, Enoch, and the Enochian Jews, from which Nasoreans and Pharisees descended, believed that Enoch became the Archangel of the Presence, the Highest of the Archangels, when he ascended. He neither spiritually nor physically died.
There is a further difficulty with the Pauline idea of Original Sin. Jesus is asked in John 9: 2:
His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
In verse 3, Jesus says: Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of G-d might be made visible through him.
Jesus denies the idea that one can inherit sin sufficiently to harm one from his parents. He got this idea from the Torah where it says:
Exodus 20:5-6: For I, the Lord, your G-d, am a jealous G-d, inflicting punishment for their father's wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Obviously, we are more than four generations away from Adam. Thus we cannot be held guilty for his sin.
Like so many of the doctrines of Paul, they ignore the very words of the Master and propagate a lie. There is no scriptural truth to the doctrine of Original Sin.
Rabbi Barry Albin
