Part 2 - The Root of Our Exchanged Life

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called Identification.

Paul describes Christ as the “last Adam”. 1 Cor. 15:45 …The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening (life-giving) spirit. This is very significant. The first Adam, of the garden in Genesis, was and is the federal head of fallen humanity from whose loins all mankind has been generated. With Adam’s fall, all mankind has fallen to the usurping power of the Serpentine Sin nature. Man thinks he is independent but actually he has actually lived under the influence of the Sin infection as his “normal” fallen nature. This then is referred to as “the natural man” (Gk., psuchikos) who receiveth not the things of the spirit” (1Cor 2:14). This is the independent “man of the soul.” Paul here is not referring to the unsaved but rather the Christian who still chooses to live by his fleshly soul’s mind, emotions, and self-will.

Conversely, we are to live and move and have our being in accord with Him, and walk not independent of Him. We see Christ as the federal head of an entirely new race of people called “the church which is His body.” It’s by His indwelling life that we are made “new” in our soul as we trust in Him alone as our only legitimate life. Christ is not noted as the second Adam, but rather the last or final Adam, as our “head of the body.” Every person’s head instructs the members of his body by the nerves of communication, such is the case of Christ our head instructing and guiding us by as “His Spirit” within us.

A believer is completed in Christ.

Col. 2:9-10 For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:  

Most of us would not like to admit it, but until we received Christ we were not all there. Only Christ in us makes us complete, completing our creation as it was meant to be. No human was intended to live life on this earth apart from Christ completing their creation. Being only created by God, not birthed of God, we were not equipped with His guiding and empowering spirit of life within us to lead us and empower us to live in the way of the righteous God-life, then not having His rest and peace in the midst of the trials of life.

Every Christian has had a positional change from being in Adam to being “in Christ”. 1 Cor. 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. In Christ all things are made new with regard to that which matters – our spirit, which is our governing source of by His indwelling life (Zoë, His guiding and empowering spirit-life). “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).  

Obviously, our physical body is not made new – it will be exchanged. Paul tells us that our soul (inward) man is being renewed day by day (1Cor 4:16). It is our spirit that was regenerated by Christ Spirit of life who has come to indwell our spirit (1Cor 6:17). We have become one with Christ to the extent that He now is our very life (Col 3:4a).

Our new status or position is that we are “in Christ”; yet at present we still live in our physical human bodies. How is it that we are “in Christ”? 1 Cor. 12:13a For by one Spirit are we all baptized (fully immersed) into one body The Holy Spirit has placed us into “the body of Christ.” This was a waterless baptism. The body that we are in is none other than Christ’s own body.

We, as to our “old man,” were in Him on the cross and so we died in and with Him. We are now the resurrected members of His incarnate “body” on earth, and we will be His co-ruling “body” as His agents in the “heavenly places” for eternity (2Cor 5:1). We have exchanged our “body of sin” (Rom 6:6) and “body of death” (Rom 7:24)” to be His body members now ands forever (Eph 5:30).

Most all Christians know Christ’s blood was shed for their sins (Heb 9:22); they identify with His shed blood on their behalf, at least to that extent. It’s by His shed blood that we have been redeemed, justified and reconciled to God. Now let’s go on from there to see this in a deeper measure and also to see other benefits we have gained by Christ’s cross.