1 Corinthians 15:21-22 - "21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."

 

Introduction

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 is a passage commonly used to prove that because of the doctrine of Original Sin, the earth must be young.

 

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

 

In other words, people die because Adam sinned, but can live eternally through redemption in Christ. And, just in case that isn't clear...

 

22 For as in Adam all die,

so in Christ all will be made alive.

 

The argument is that if Evolution is true, then death did not come through Adam's sin, scripture is untrue, and redemption in Christ is turned on its ear. It is a powerful argument, but is it true?

 

The Greek

The word Paul uses for death is thanatos. It is a noun, derived from the word thnesko, which is a stronger form its primary word, thano, which means "to die", either literally, or figuratively.

 

For die, Paul uses the word apothnesko. Derived in part from thano, apothnesko can also be literal or figurative.

 

In other words, Paul could be referring to physical death, but he could be referring to a spiritual death as well.

 

The Resurrection of the Dead

Though our passage is related to Original Sin and redemption, they are ancillary to Paul's point. Paul was writing about the resurrection, trying to cut through some Corinthian misconceptions. These are outlined in verse 12...

 

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead,

how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

 

It would seem that some Corinthians doubted the resurrection Daniel had prophesied in Daniel 12:2...

 

2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake:

some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

Now, a Christian should read Daniel 12:2 and realize that the everlasting life to which the saved will awaken is through Jesus Christ. However, look at what else people will be resurrected to: everlasting contempt. Daniel is writing of the resurrection of both redeemed and condemned, and so is Paul (Note the word "all" in verse 22 above). But why discuss resurrection in general, when the Gospel is so focused on redemption? It is because the Corinthians did not realize that if they disregard the resurrection (of redeemed and condemned alike), then they must abandon their own redemption. As Paul put it...

 

13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

- - -

17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

 

Resurrection vs. Redemption

Paul elabroates in verses 13-19, that if Christ has not resurrected, then the apostles are false witnesses and no one will be resurrected. Daniel 12:2 is therefore false and even teaching the Gospel is futile, because without a valid faith, we are left in our sins, the dead have died in theirs, and we are to be pitied. Yet while the Corinthians are faithful to Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:5), they do not realize how important their views on resurrection are. [emphasis added below]

 

20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

 

Verse 22 says that Christ will make all alive (i.e., resurrected), and that "all" includes the condemned. This creates a parallel between the one we follow into death (Adam) and the One we follow into resurrection (Jesus). But was Adam the first to die? Was Jesus the first to rise? No, for Lazarus rose before Jesus (John 11), and according to the fossil record, much life died before Adam sinned. Is this a problem? Many think so, but for Adam to be a type of Christ, one might actually expect pre-Adamic death, if only to parallel any pre-Jesus awakenings.

 

The First to Sin, but not the First to Die

The reason our passage is so easy to intepret as a proof that the earth is young, is because of our common and powerful knowledge that Jesus Christ brings us eternal life that counters our death in sin. Even Jesus Himself said in John 11:25 [emphasis added]...

 

"I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying."

 

At first glance, John 11:25 makes 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 appear to speak only of Original Sin and redemption. However, Jesus was speaking of both resurrection and redemption. Compare the two verses: After the resurrection of all, eternal life follows for those who believe. The half the Corinthians questioned was the resurrection. Hence, Paul's explicit statement that all die, and all will be made alive. He meant all.

 

That said, John 11 brings up a very interesting example of someone rising before Christ died. It was Lazarus...

 

13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.

14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead."

- - -

23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.”

25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

- - -

43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”

44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes,

his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

 

Lazarus rose before Jesus, yet Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. This is interesting, because if theology suggests that no one could die before Adam's sin, then how can someone rise before Jesus' death? A careful distinction will explain it...

 

Though Lazarus rose before Jesus died, Lazarus would die again and resurrect later on. In other words, the resurrection to judgement would begin with Jesus' resurrection, not Lazarus' awakening above. By the same logic, people could die before Adam's sin without dying in sin, because death had no eternal consequence before Adam's sin. Reading on in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul essentially makes this very point.

 

The Sting of Death

People commonly read our passage as the doing and undoing of Original Sin. However, as we now see, mere resurrection does not undo sin; it merely raises one for judgement. In fact, the resurrection will occur in two phases (Daniel 12:2, 1 Corinthians 15:23-26, Revelation 20:1-6). First, the redeemed will resurrect and go to Heaven; then, the condemned will resurrect and go to Hell. For the redeemed, Jesus will not have prevented their death, but after resurrection He will have reconciled them to the Father. As Paul puts it (in the very same chapter as our passage)...

 

55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

 

And there you have it. Before there was any command from God, there was already physical death. However, sin had no power in that death, and so physical death had no sting. Consider this. If sin preceded death, then the sting of sin would be death, yet according to verse 56 above, it is the other way around. Therefore, death preceded sin.

 

Conclusion

If the consequence of Adam's sin was not the introduction of physical death into the world, then what did God mean when He promised that Adam would certainly die for his sin? (Genesis 2:17) Well, first of all, Adam had been given access to the Tree of Life; being merely human, he would otherwise physically die. Therefore, God was warning that He would deprive Adam of the Tree of Life if he ate of the Tree of Knowledge. Yes, Adam physically died, but so did those before him. That said, Adam's death was the first to be in consequence of sin; the deaths before his were not.

 

Adam was the first to ever fellowship with God, he was now the first to be separated from Him. As God's proxy for mankind, this made Adam mankind's first connection to God, and now this connection was severed. So, while mere death does not start with Adam per se, it now comes through him, as the separation into which we are born and die come through Adam. Before Adam's sin, people died; afterwards, people died in sin, and they must be resurrected through Jesus for judgement. As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15...

 

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

 

[12/23/2011 - Corrected typos]