1 Corinthians 15:22 – Again: All!

For even as, in Adam all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.

The simple truth that Paul puts down here makes the Gospel exactly what it is: a Good message! Certainly, the first half of the truth determines us in the sad inevitability of dying. Everyone knows it is that way; it is a given, not a choice. And hence: everyone.

But precisely because “in Adam all are dying” is a given, that makes the comparison that follows so overwhelmingly glorious! “In Christ shall all be vivified”! Remember, it says, “For even as …” and “thus shall …”. By making “vivified” an option or a choice (as mainstream Christianity teaches), one takes the sting out of the Gospel. People turn “in Christ all” and turn it into: all in Christ. A subtle but also fatal twist.

How despondent is the idea that Adam would take all of humanity into sin and death, while Christ should be satisfied with ‘the happy few.’ In such a comparison, Christ would by far be Adam’s inferior. A loser. Therefore never let it take away from you: Christ encloses all humanity and is therefore rightly called “the last Adam” (: 47)!

Delen: