Was Jesus Like Adam Before or After the Fall Research Paper - 1

Was Jesus Like Adam Before or After the Fall - Research Paper Example Each of the positions weighs greatly especially if one was to go by presentable evidence each side would produce. However, in the midst of this quagmire, Christians should not divorce their eyes and wisdom from the book of Ephesians 4: 21, â€Å"we should not depend not only our understanding of the work of Christ but also our understanding of the way of life expected from each of us as we seek the truth that is in Jesus†1. As a result, this research adopts a relatively divergent path from the two positions and postulates that the nature of Christ is both manifested by fallen and un-fallen nature of Adam. The un-fallen nature of Adam is characterized by sinless and un-separatedness from God, which Christ has. On the other hand, fallen nature of Adam is characterized by physical strength, mental power, and moral worth, which again Christ can be associated with2. Nature of Adam before the fall The bible describes the man God created and placed in the land of Eden as one created in God’s image. This man was Adam and as an image and spiritual creature of God, Adam possessed the image of God, which made him to remain connected to God. Adam’s original state was one of a sinless man who had favor from God. The sinless nature of this man was manifested through his purity and holiness, which made him to have an assured connection with God and at the same time, beloved by God3. Adam, in this state, was perfect and righteous. Adam in his original state is given noble powers by God as the head of earthly family who was to represent God and rule over other creatures. In this sense, the original Adam had God’s gift of well-balanced mind, he was perfect in his being and constantly in harmony with God. At the same time, his thoughts were largely pure and his aims had an element of holiness The notion of the image of God and Sin The sinless nature of original Adam is what God had wished man to live. The image of God (Adam) was to remain pure, was to remain perfect, and exhibit no propensity to sin. The sinless state was to put Adam in constant and unlimited communication with God in a special and privileged way as compared to other creatures. In other words, the sinless man was to remain representative of God glory and heritage. Adam obedience in God was to be uncompromised and this is what was required of him. Nevertheless, Adam profaned this sinless nature when through temptations became sinful. Adam through devil’s temptations became disobedient to God, pervert and selfish. Adam became weakened as a result of committed sin and he subsequently became a victim of devil, unable to resist the power of evil4. The special connectedness of Adam and God was weakened, communication violated and closeness disrupted. As a result, Adam became captive to Satan’s evils, unable to resist and hence it needed intervention of God to rescue His image (Adam). Adam and Eve committed sin and this was to become permanent transgressio n human being can be associated with especially with regard to consequential effects. Angel M. Rodriguez observes that Adam’s actions of sins became the fountain source in which human disasters and troubles emanated due to angered nature of God5. Punishment for Adam and Eve became an appropriate avenue God displayed His displeasure with human race and consequently the aftermath of this punishment befell the human race. Sin therefore became