Would you please take your Bibles and turn them with me to First Corinthians, Chapter 15. First Corinthians, Chapter 15. There are a few places in the scriptures where we find. A certain passage or a verse that summarizes our salvation. Here in chapter 15, we have one short verse which we find a summary of the entire scope of man's redemption. Of his fall in Adam. and his recovery in Jesus Christ. That verse is found in verse 22. I'd like to read verses 21 and 22. Well, let's read verse 20 through 22. Where Paul says, But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." This one verse here, verse 22, in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, lays the foundation for what's called the covenant of grace. God has entered into a covenant. He did not leave man in a state of sin and misery. But he has brought them into a place of salvation. In Adam, man fell into an estate of sin and misery. But God, having elected some to everlasting life, entered into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of that estate of sin and misery and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a redeemer. Whenever I read this verse, In Adam all die, and even so in Christ all be made alive. I almost always think of Handel's Messiah. What a beautiful way he portrays this verse. I love where he takes this verse and with his extraordinary abilities as a composer, he perfectly adapted his music to fit the subject. And to capture some of its thought, John Newton actually describes this for us, his display of genius. He said, surely the most solemn and most pathetic strains must be employed if they accord the with the awful words by man came death and then in Adam all die. If you're familiar with the Messiah. You know how those those doleful tones, those solemn tones that he brings out in Adam all die. But then Newton goes on to say, nor can even the highest efforts of the heavenly harpers more than answer to the joy, the triumph and the praise. which the other part of my text would excite in our hearts. That is in Christ. Even so, in Christ shall all be made alive. It's like the music just leaps out. Even so, in Christ shall all be made alive. Is by one man came death and by the other came life. These two men. As though the Apostle Paul says to us, I have some very, very sad, very, very bad news, but I also have some good news, some very, very good news. In this case, we can never rightly or fully understand much more appreciate the good news unless we understand something of the bad news. Now, the bad news is this in Adam all die. The good news, of course, is in Christ shall all be made alive. So let's look at the bad news and then we'll go over to the good news. The bad news is this all die. It's a very solemn note, isn't it? All men die. Here, the apostle Paul is speaking primarily about physical death. The separation of the soul from the body. And we see that death is an enemy. Death is our enemy. You look down to verse 26 and he says the last enemy that will be destroyed is death. He calls death an enemy. Now, there's a sense in which we do not look forward to death at all because it's unnatural. I mentioned this, I believe, just a couple of sermons ago. It's unnatural. And it's often as often as it occurs. And so much of death around us, we drive by graveyards, we hear I read the obituaries of death all the time. We still never seem to get used to it, do we? Sometimes you'll hear it explained that death is just the natural process of life. They talk about the cycle of life. You're born, you live, and then you die. That's just the cycle of life. Well, the Bible calls death an enemy. It teaches us that the separation of the soul from the body is an unnatural thing. In 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul speaks of dying as being unclothed. When the spirit leaves the body, the spirit is now unclothed, he calls it. In verse 5 of 2nd Corinthians 5, he says, we know that if our earthly house, this tent is destroyed, he's speaking of our body, We have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And for this, we groan earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation, which is from above. Speaking of our new body that will be transformed. We groan, he says, desiring that we don't want to be unclothed, he says. It's not a natural thing. Death is an enemy. We don't. Look forward to it in almost in any way, except the Apostle Paul did when he said for me to live as Christ and to die is gain. We knows that when he dies, he'll be with the Lord, which he says is far better for the Christian. That is far better. But the experience of death itself is an unnatural thing. I remember Dr. Sproul shortly before he he died, I heard an interview where he's talking about death. And he said, you know, I don't think I'm really afraid of death itself. I'm just afraid of how it's going to happen. And nobody wants to think about how it's going to happen. But it is it's still an enemy, even though the sting of death has been removed. It's still an unnatural thing for us. But not only is death an enemy, death is inevitable. There's no stopping it, is there? We may try to prolong it and hold tenaciously to life, but still it remains true that it's appointed unto man once to die. I tried to look up an article I read just a few months ago where some man really believes he's going to beat death. Well, we know for certain that he won't because it has been appointed once to die. And to every man wants to die. It's inevitable. It's common to all. And by that, I'm not saying the exact same thing, but I mean that no one escapes it. Whether you're strong or weak, you're beautiful or famous or rich and powerful, or you're low and poor and weak, you will die. It's appointed and a man wants to die. All men. Here in the same chapter, the Apostle Paul, when he was speaking of the resurrection up in verse six, that Christ was seen after that he was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present. But some have fallen asleep and that's the Christian. He's fallen asleep. He's died. Some have died. Now, one thing we know for certain, all 500 have died, every one of them. They've all died. It's it's common to all men. I'll never forget the when Stuart Ali was at our church for the very first time is one of the RBMS conferences years ago. He we were talking about. The theme of the of the association meeting was raising up the next generation of preachers. Where are we going to find them? How are we going to find? How are we going to train them, equipping them and so forth? And he began his sermon by reading the genealogy in the book of Genesis chapter five. And it went something like this. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years. And he died. Seth lived one hundred and five years and begot Enish, and after he begot Enish, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years and he died. And he just went through the list and came to that and emphasized that little phrase. And he died when he got done with the genealogy. I went, wow. All men die. We need to raise up new men to take our place because all men die. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. Death is coming. And yet men and women do have an uncanny ability of putting the thought of death as far from their minds as they can. Or they comfort themselves that whatever lies beyond the grave is nothing to be feared. They try to think of stories they hear or or hopes they might have the near death experience that you hear people talk about when they when they were dying. They saw a light and sometimes the most ungodly people see this light and they feel warmth and they feel comfort. After my near death experience some 12 years ago, I had so many people ask me the question, did you see anything? Did you see? I've had a doctor asked me, did you see anything? And I said, no, I didn't see a thing. I didn't see a thing until they got me back. And then I saw the fireman standing over me. That's all I remember. I didn't see a light. I didn't see anything. Well, that was my experience. But they said, well, whatever these other people, what about their near death experience? And I would just say, I have no idea. But what I would also say is I wouldn't put my hope in any of that because it's story. We don't even know what happens to the human brain was deprived of oxygen. You can see all kinds of things and have experiences and all Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light, the Bible says. So it may be a hope that he's holding out for the unbeliever. that it's going to be all right. Don't worry. Everybody you hear about has this near death experience. Others believe in annihilation that well, when you die, you die. You're like a dog. You're dead. You're gone. That's it. You no longer exist. And some people hope that that's the reason, but they have no basis for that hope. The Bible teaches us that we have a soul that can never die. But they would rather believe in what some people just Pull out of thin air when you die, you die, you're gone. There's no way to prove that there's no way to know that, but they have a hope. Some believe in reincarnation and so forth. But the fact is still true. It is appointed and a man wants to die. Death is common to all men all die. We're told in this passage all die. Now the reason. that were given why all men die is in the phrase in Adam. For as in Adam, all die. Why do men die? Well, it's not the natural order of things and the sense that's not the way God created man. He did not create man to die. It wasn't baked into the cake. It's not something that God himself put there for us to die where he created us so that we will die. Verse 21 says it was in for by man came death and by man also came the resurrection of the dead. Notice there's a parallelism between these two verses. He says, by man came death and by man came the resurrection. The first man that's mentioned is Adam. The second man that is mentioned is Christ. And he says in Adam all die. That's the reason why we die. That's why there's death in the world. God commanded Adam in the Garden of Eden not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree in the midst of the garden. Upon penalty of death, the day you eat thereof, you will surely die. And he did. He died spiritually in his separation from God. Temporally, he died in that the seeds of death were implanted into Adam. He began to die the moment a baby now is born. It's beginning to die. It's going to grow, but it's going to die. It's heading in that direction. And then there is the eternal death, the second death, which will be an eternal separation from God. The Bible teaches that Adam, when he sinned in the Garden of Eden, was not acting alone or for himself alone. He did not act as a private individual having nothing to do with those who would follow. No, he stood in a particular and unique relationship with all of his posterity and children. Posterity. That means your children that will come after you, your children, your grandchildren, your great grandchildren. In other words, from these two, Adam and Eve came the entire human race. And Adam was the representative of this entire human race. We see that implied in the word, and it's a very important word here. It's the word in in Adam all die. When Paul says in Adam, he's speaking of union with Adam in union with Adam. Union means to be joined together. When a man and a woman are married, they are joined together and the two shall become one flesh. Well, there was this union between Adam. As our representative and the entire human race, he was acting as the covenant head. Of the human race. He was acting on their behalf so that when he sinned, and fell from his original righteousness, all of mankind sinned with him and fell with him or fell in him. His sin, his guilt. Became theirs the moment he committed the transgression, they had not even been born yet, and yet they being part of that human race descending from Adam would inherit Adam's sin. They would be in Adam. If you just take your Bibles for a moment, turn over to Romans chapter 5. See that Paul speaks of it here in Romans 5 as well. Romans chapter 5. Verse 12, he says, therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, And thus death spread to all men because all sinned. All sinned, how? We weren't there, were we? We weren't born. We weren't even thought of, except in the mind of God. But we weren't there. But how can you say all sinned? He's speaking of we sinned when Adam sinned. When he sinned, we sinned in him. We inherit not only his sinful nature, but we inherit the guilt of his sin, the transgression. We inherited Adam's sin and guilt. Therefore, Paul says death comes upon all men, not because they're men, not because they're human, but because they are sinners in Adam. The wages of sin is death, and so death, he says, has spread to all men. Sin entered the world through this one man, Adam, and it was in this condition that Christ came into the world to save sinners. So now let's look for a moment at the good news that he puts here in the passage back to first Corinthians chapter 15. Notice what he says about being in Christ. Now, if you don't like the bad news, well, there's good news. Very good news. In fact, in fact, people say, well, that's not fair. How could one man's transgression condemn us all? Well, the gospel says one man's act of obedience saves us as well. Not what we did, but what he did for us. He was acting on our behalf. We were in union with him. So he says the good news, the blessed remedy that God has given is that in Christ shall all be made alive. Remember that Paul's argument here in chapter 15 is that Christ, that if Christ was not raised from the dead, literally speaking mostly about the resurrection, Christ was literally raised from the dead, not figuratively or spiritually, as some would suppose, but literally he was raised from the dead. If Christ was not raised from the dead, his whole argument is we are all in deep, deep trouble, very deep trouble. If Christ is not raised from the dead, that means we're not going to be raised from the dead. We're not going to be raised at all. Everything we preach, everything we believe, everything we hope for is worthless, he says. Notice verse 20, but now Christ is raised from the dead and has become the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep. Adam, you see, plunged the entire human race into an estate of sin and misery. And if that were the end of the story, we would all be miserable. Of all men, we would be miserable. But that's not the end of the story, he says, but by man came the resurrection of the dead. Again, that parallelism, Adam sinned, we sinned, Christ was raised, we are raised. There's an obvious parallelism between death and life and Adam and Christ. Look in verse 45, he says, And so it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being and the last Adam became a life giving spirit. They're both called Adam here because they are both acting as the representatives. Of those. For whom they died or was Christ was raised just as Adam stood as the representative representative head of the entire human race, Jesus. is also the representative head, not of the entire human race, but of his people. Of his people. Christ stands in their place. He acts in their behalf, just as Adam was acting on our behalf. Christ does as well. What happens to him happens to them. When Adam died, they died. We are born spiritually dead. That's why Paul can speak of the natural man is being dead in his trespasses and sins. We are born dead. You see that little baby you bring home from the hospital looks so cute and so pretty and you you just look at that little child. But you need to remember that that little child is dead in their trespasses and sins. You don't have to wait till they're 12 years old for them to be dead. They're dead as soon as they're born. They're born spiritually dead. Christ must quicken them. The Holy Spirit must quicken them and make them alive. Or they will remain spiritually dead and they will die one day. But Jesus stands in their place. He acts on their behalf. When he died, they died. Whatever he did, he did on behalf of his people. Those who are Christ, those who belong to Christ. And so he says that in verse twenty three, but each one his own order, Christ, the first fruits and afterwards those who are Christ's at his coming. He's not speaking of all men, but those who are Christ, who belong to him, those who are united to him. When Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, he did that for us on our behalf. Every act of obedience was on our behalf. He was righteous altogether before he came to this world. He didn't have to come and prove righteousness, but he came to do it on our behalf, just as Adam was supposed to obey God on our behalf, but failed miserably and plunge the entire human race into an estate of sin and misery. So also Christ acted on our behalf. His obedience was for us. And God the Father said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. He says that also of us who are in Christ, we are accepted in the beloved, we are told. And so also, when Christ died on the cross, he didn't die as an individual. He died as our representative head. He died as a substitutionary atonement for our sins, for our sins. He died. He rose from the grave, triumphant over death. But again, it wasn't just acting on his own behalf, but it was for us. He rose from the grave, triumphant over death for us. Acting on our behalf. In 2 Corinthians 5 15. He says, but for him who died for them and rose again on their behalf. In Romans six, five, he says, For we have been united. If we've been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Christ was raised from the dead, and so we will be raised from the dead, just as when Christ died, we died. So when he was raised, we will be raised. In Romans 518, he says, therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came upon all, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. Now, he's not teaching there a universalism. Sin is universal. The Bible teaches that clearly everyone who is born of Adam is born in sin. They have the guilt of sin of Adam. They have the nature of Adam. So when when he died, they all died, it's universal, but that's not so when it comes to Christ and his death and his resurrection, he was acting specifically for his people. This is why we believe in particular redemption. Because if you don't believe in particular redemption that he died for his elect, he died for his people, those who are Christ, who belong to him, who were given to him by the father. If you extend it to all men, then the only only conclusion can be all men are saved. And the Bible doesn't teach that doesn't teach that anywhere. But he's speaking of those who are in Christ, who are united to him. And so he says, for as by in verse 19 of Romans five, he's a for as by one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners. So also by one man's obedience, many will be made righteous. They get they receive the righteousness of Christ, it is imputed to them to their account. When he died on the cross for their sins, their sins were imputed to him, so he paid the price. But his righteousness is imputed to them. And what happens to Christ happens to them. He died. They died. He rose. We, too, were raised to walk in newness of life. Romans 6.4 says, Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. So what a blessed truth this is. It's a very sad truth that in Adam all die. But what a blessed fact this is that those who are Christ will be made alive because they are united to him. Now, they will still be subject to death. They still must face the grave. But the sting of death, as I mentioned, has been removed. Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead as the firstfruits of our resurrection. The firstfruits in scripture were viewed as a as a pledge and an assurance of the ingathering of the whole harvest. So if Christ was raised from the dead and he actually was raised from the dead, that guarantees the resurrection of all who belong to him. Again, reading verse twenty three of chapter fifteen, each one in his own order, Christ, the first fruits and afterward those who are Christ said is coming. They will be raised from the dead. Someone said it is true that the death of the body is still inflicted upon all, but this ceases to be the punishment to God's people, but must rather be considered as a blessing. Whomsoever it is, to whomsoever it is Christ to live, it is die to gain. The body, which is consigned for a while to its native dust, shall be raised again in the likeness of Christ's glorious body and will participate in that blessedness of its kindred soul that is with Christ. So what a simple but profound truth, and it is difficult to get your mind around it. But it's revealed in the scriptures that in Adam, we all die. But in Christ, if we are indeed in Christ, we will be made alive. Charles Spurgeon at the funeral of of a senior deacon in his church at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, a man by the name of William Olney, he began his sermon with these words, he said, I'm going to speak about The favorite expression of my brother, William Olney, which he frequently used in prayer, he says, I wonder whether you'll agree with me. He's asking the congregation, do you do you remember this as well as my memory serves me, said I've heard him a score of times at least use the following sentence when he drew very near to the Lord God in prayer. He said, Lord Jesus, we are one with thee. We feel that we have a living, loving, lasting union with the. As far as I think that you must remember that gem of his, those three words have stuck by me, and ever since he's gone, I found myself repeating themselves them to myself quite involuntarily, a living, loving, lasting union. He owed everything to that he consciously enjoyed a living, lasting, loving, lasting union with the Lord Jesus. And if you and I have that, we have all that we want for time and eternity. If we do not have that, we have nothing. Nothing. What a blessed privilege it is to hear the gospel and to believe brings us into that saving union. You see, Christ did this for his people specifically, but it's not till it is applied to them by the Holy Spirit in drawing them to Christ by faith so that they will be forgiven, so that they will be adopted, so that they will have all of these blessings in Christ Jesus. That's when we trust Christ, when we believe the gospel. So what a privilege it is to hear and understand the gospel. And it's by preaching the message of the gospel that God saves the lost. In Adam, we died and in Christ we will be made alive. Charles Simeon said, true, this does not accord well with the dictates of corrupt reason. But to dispute about this doctrine is to no purpose. We are dead in Adam, whether we believe it or not. Nor can we obtain life but in and through Christ. I believe he was saying that because some are repulsed by this idea. Repulsed or not, it's what the Scriptures teach and what experience shows. We all die. We all die. And why do we die? Because in Adam, we all die. When he sinned, we sinned. When he died, we died. Every single one of us by nature is related to this first Adam. So everything that belongs to him belongs to us, which is death. That's all you have to inherit from Adam is death, spiritual death. You're separated from God even while you live. You're dead while you live. You'll experience physical death. And outside of Christ and in Adam, you will one day experience the second death, which is eternal separation from God forever. Only those who belong to Christ possess the life of Christ. How do you belong to Christ? Well, you need to believe in him. You need to trust in him. You need to come to him. He said, he who comes to me, I will in no wise cast out. He has made that promise. Come unto me all your weary and heavy laden. I will give you rest. Believe in God, he says, believe also in me. In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, you might be also. What precious promises we have if we are in Christ. You can't be baptized into Christ literal by literal water baptism. That's only a symbol of what's already taken place by faith. We trust in Christ and by the spirit we are joined together with Christ. So what is his becomes ours. And Paul can begin the book of Ephesians with that wonderful doxology. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. It's all about being in Christ. It seems that that's Paul's favorite expression in his epistles in Christ or in Adam. So the question is, which are you? By nature, you're all in Adam. It's only by grace you can be in Christ. You can't work your way into Christ. You have to trust him. You have to believe in him. You have to. You have to call upon him. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. And so the question is this. Are you in Adam still? Or are you in Christ now? Let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for this very simple but difficult truth. But Lord, you have so ordered it this way that you would put one man as our representative and that one man condemned us all. But we thank you that in your grace and your mercy, you sent one man who would live this perfect life and die a substitutionary death and pay for our sins and be raised from the dead that in him we can be blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. What a gospel, what a what a gracious God that you did not leave us to perish in this state of sin and misery, but you provided a savior. Oh Lord, help us to put our faith, our trust in Him and Him alone. We thank you for the Lord's Supper that reminds us of what Christ has done when He said, this is my body broken for you. This is my blood shed for many for the remission of sins. Oh Lord, thank you for such a reminder. In Jesus name, Amen.