What does it mean that Jesus is the second Adam / last Adam?

Answer

The Apostle Paul, in his initial letter to the Corinthian church, explains, “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

Paul highlights the distinction between two types of bodies, namely the natural and the spiritual. Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of the first man, Adam, who became a living being. Adam was formed from the dust of the ground and infused with the breath of life by God. Every individual since then shares these same characteristics. Conversely, the last Adam or the “second Adam”—referring to Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. Just as Adam was the progenitor of humanity, Christ is the pioneer of those destined for resurrection to eternal life. Through His resurrection, Christ embodies a “life-giving spirit” ushering believers into a new spiritual existence. His glorified human body now aligns with His glorified, spiritual life—paralleling Adam’s earthly body suited to his natural life. Upon resurrection, believers will receive transformed, eternal bodies befitting eternal life.

In verse 46, Paul explains that the natural precedes the spiritual. Initially, individuals experience natural life by being born into this world and living here. Subsequently, they attain spiritual life. Paul emphasizes that the first man on earth was the natural man, Adam, who was created.From the dust of the earth. While it is true that Christ has existed from eternity past, He is here referred to as the second man or second Adam because He descended from heaven to earth many years after Adam. Christ arrived as a human baby with a body like all other humans, but He did not originate from the dust of the earth as Adam did. He “came from heaven.”

Then Paul continues: “Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [Adam], so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [Christ]. And as was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:48-49). Since all humanity is connected to Adam, every human being possesses an earthly body similar to Adam’s. Earthly bodies are suitable for life on this earth, yet they are subject to death, disease, and weakness due to sin, which was initially introduced into the world by Adam.

Nevertheless, the encouraging news is that believers can be certain that their heavenly bodies will resemble Christ’s—imperishable, eternal, glorious, and powerful. Currently, all are like Adam; however, one day, all believers will be like Christ, “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21). The Apostle John reassured the believers, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

Read more about the future in 1 John 3:2.