Since we will be going through the Bible chronologically in these studies to see where and how this Covenant has been revealed, here is an example of a type/image that presents itself chronologically right from the beginning. That is Adam. Adam is a representation of Christ, and certain texts in Scripture that describe Adam as the first man also describe something about Christ and about the Covenant.
Adam in Hebrew means man or mankind. When God created man, He gave all things to Adam to manage; He subjected all things to him and man was perfect. He made him head over all things, and father of the human race. He was a representation of Christ. When Christ redeemed us, the Father gave all things to Him and made Him head over all things, because He was perfect. Christ became the second Adam who was perfect and became the Father of all who will be saved—people who will become holy and immortal.
Paul understood well that Adam was an image or type of Christ. He himself mentioned and explained this in several places:
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Here the word for figure is the word tupos, or type. Adam was a type or representation of Christ. Here is another place where Paul mentions Adam and compares him with Christ:
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive…
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Paul says ‘as in Adam’, and compares him with Christ and says ‘so in Christ’. The first Adam was the father of mankind, but through sin became the father of sinful mankind that dies, while the second Adam through righteousness became the Father of mankind that will be holy and immortal. The first man was given authority over the earth on the condition of obedience and faithfulness, while the second Man was given authority both in Heaven and on earth also through the condition of obedience, but also to redeem the world. When we say under condition, we see this in this text:
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
That is to say, under condition, and BECAUSE Christ redeemed us with His life, therefore He was set over all things as Father and Head. If we understand this well, then we know that in some places where the Old Testament writings mention Adam or the man to whom authority over all things was given, those texts also relate to Christ and describe something about the plan of salvation, because Adam is a representation or image of Christ. Paul understood this and in this text from 1 Corinthians 15 he mentioned this several verses earlier:
27 … For He [God the Father] hath put all things under His [Christ’s] feet…
Notice the expressions which Paul uses here, ‘put all things under his feet’. These are expressions from Psalm 110.
Now we will see this in other places and make connections. Here is another example where we can see that Paul understood this. We read a portion of Psalm 8. In that psalm David describes how God subjected all things to man when He created him.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
Paul understood that this text does not only speak about Adam and mankind, but also about Christ, and thereby reveals the plan of salvation, that is, the Covenant. Here is the proof:
5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Through Adam was given a representation that the Father would subject all things to Christ later, after He redeems us and restores us according to His image. Thus in the example of Adam we see something of that Covenant between the Father and the Son:
- that Christ would be made a little lower than the angels for a time and that He would redeem us (meaning that He would be incarnate by the Father—‘but a body hast thou prepared me’ Heb. 10:5 — meaning as a man)
- that He would be glorified and the Father would give all things to Him and subject all things to Him and make Him the Father of holy, immortal mankind
Paul understood this and thus he saw that Psalm 8 which speaks of man—Adam. Here we see the use of the same words as in Psalm 110 where it says:
1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
And again another example where Paul speaks of Christ and says that the Father has put all things under Him and made Him Head over all things:
22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Being made Father means being made Head over all things, that is, Ruler over all. Paul understood all of this, and we saw above in 1 Corinthians 15 that he uses those very expressions from Psalm 110 while describing this. And those two psalms, the 8th and 110th, he connected them, because they use the same expressions. And thus the texts about Adam, the first man to whom authority was given, describe the Covenant, the agreement between the Father and the Son, and what They promised each other in that Covenant. Christ promised that He would redeem us (because it is written that He would become lower than the angels for a time), restore God’s image in us (He will become our Father, which means He will be born anew in us, just as Adam became the father of mankind), and thus become the new Father of new mankind, while God the Father promised that He would, through the work that Christ will perform, subject all things under His feet and give all things into His hands, making Him Head over all things. Thus we see through Adam as a type of Christ that there exist prophecies connected with him that partially describe this Covenant between the Father and the Son.
From now on we will be entering deeper into Biblical texts chronologically and finding many places where this Covenant has been revealed in much detail. The next study will be about Abraham and how this Covenant has been revealed in the texts relating to Abraham.