As a proof that he had received by revelation THE MYSTERY, the apostle Paul drew

attention to his knowledge in the associated "Mystery of Christ" (Eph. 3: 4). This

mystery had been the theme of many an O.T passage, but reached its zenith in the

revelation made to and through Paul. The double exaltation "in the earth" and "above the

heavens" is expounded by Paul in Eph. 4: 9, 10 "Now that He ascended, what is it but

that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth. He that descended is the

same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fill all things".

We have long seen and taught that the mystery of Rom. 16: 25-27 looks to the

inner teaching of Romans, namely 5: 12 - 8: 39 where Adam is introduced, and with

Psa. 8: before us we begin to see that the whole mystery of Christ looks back to Adam

also. Here are some of the outstanding foreshadowings.

(a) The first man Adam, who was of the earth earthy, set forth in mystery or in type

the second man, the last Adam Who was from heaven.

Adam was "natural" or

"soul-ish", Christ was a life giving spirit.  The name Adam is reflected in the word

likeness, which is the Hebrew demuth, the letters DM being common to both words, a

feature not so obvious in English as it is in Hebrew. Christ is the image of the invisible

God, and Adam was created in that image. In these features, the mystery of Christ most

evidently looks back to Adam.

(b) The whole argument of Rom. 5: 12-21 revolves around the fact that both Adam

and Christ are Representative Heads of a seed. "The offence of ONE" and "ONE man's

disobedience" is a foreshadowing of "the righteousness of ONE" and "the obedience of

ONE", a truth which finds expression also in I Cor. 15:, where we read "For since by

man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead, for as in Adam all die,

even so in Christ shall all be made alive", the image of the earthy being exchanged for the

image of the heavenly.

(c) The promised seed of the woman finds its fulfillment in Christ and His seed, "The

God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom. 16: 20).

The more therefore we can learn of the true position and purpose of Adam's creation,

the more shall we enter into the "secrets of the Son" and "the mystery of Christ", and the

more we appreciate the mystery of Christ, the better shall we be prepared to understand

the mystery of the present dispensation. The fact that Adam sinned and involved all his

seed in death, adds to the problem, but redemption, justification and forgiveness, blessed

as they are, do not remove the initial disability of "flesh and blood" unfallen though it

was at the beginning. Adam by creation, and apart from sin altogether could not inherit

the kingdom of God (I Cor. 15: 50), and so the problem still remains--Why were the

elect brought into existence "in Adam" even in unfallen Adam? That there must be an all

sufficient reason the fact that God is "the only wise God" makes clear, but we must

exercise further patience as we search the Scriptures and look to the Divine Author for

fuller light.