Adam had an assignment from God on the Earth that God had created. His assignment was to ‘rule’ (Gen 1:26) and to rule in God’s name (as God was and is King) but, and it is a significant but, Adam alone was created in his image. Adam was quite a bit like God, not “God” but like Him ie in his likeness. The animals were not like God but Adam was and it was Adam who was given this awesome responsibility- to delegated rule, in God’s place, over the whole created order. When creation looked at, listened to and sensed Adam they were seeing, hearing and sensing God- that is until the fall when Adam fell short of the glory of God. We, however, in covenant with Jesus, in this time, are on the journey of being changed back to God’s image ‘from glory to glory’ (2 Cor 3:18).
This is called sanctification and Paul referred to this “progress” of the faith
‘Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith’. Philippians 1:25. But back to Adam.
Adam was to be God’s manager or steward, representative, go-between or mediator.
Ps 115:6 ‘The heaven …the eternal holds himself , the earth He has assigned to men’. (Moffat Translation). God did not give away ownership of the earth, God has assigned responsibility to humans.
If you are unfortunate and end up on the wrong side of the law and appear in court you will most likely need the services of a lawyer who will spend much time listening to you and represent your case to a judge. Your lawyer will stand between yourself and the judge , the opposing lawyer and all the evidence being presented against you – the lawyer will mediate- interpose between two parties.
Adam, as we know, was not successful in his assignment and God sent another human the ‘last Adam’ to succeed where the first Adam failed. Christ came to represent God on Earth. He became the mediator or go -between, representing God to humanity. But wasn’t Adam supposed to represent God to creation ? The irony here is that humanity now needed their own intercessor, Jesus, to mediate for them. Jesus mediated God to man and also man to God – this is the priestly ministry of Jesus.
The risen Jesus is now functioning as our advocate interceding on our behalf to the Father. Our relationship with him guarantees our prayers access the Father because they are mediated through Jesus and are therefore in his name. Jesus has gone between ourselves and God and reconciled us to the Father. Jesus has also stood between us and Satan and broken his evil hold on our lives. In these ways Jesus has brought redemption to our lives by breaking the power of Satan and reconciling us to the Father. Jesus the ‘last Adam’, has done it all!
So we, now redeemed, may resume the journey to engage in the original assignment given to the first Adam – to represent God to creation. This assignment has never been revoked – we just needed to be redeemed.
How are we getting on with the ‘progress in the faith’ in representing God to the whole of God’s created order?
