The Last Is First
Christians have a poor self-image because they focus on their condemned first-Adam life, but being in Christ makes them a new creature with a glorified Last-Adam life.
Miles J. Stanford preaches about the transformation that occurs in believers when they shift their focus from their earthly, condemned self to their heavenly, glorified identity in Christ. By beholding the glory of the Lord, Christians are changed into His image from glory to glory, becoming a new creation in Christ, distinct from the earthly lineage of Adam. Through faith, believers take on the righteousness and beauty of Jesus, being accepted in Him as part of a new race, the heavenly man, the Last Adam.
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"As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:48).
Christians have a poor self-image simply because they are thinking and looking upon the condemned and crucified first-Adam life within, instead of being occupied with their glorified Last-Adam life above. "Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
"'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new' (2 Corinthians 5:17). Does this not mean a new sort of creature, as the Word implies? Do we go back to Adam, the innocent man in the garden in which God set him to dress and keep? No, that would be no creature new in kind. Adam even, pure and good before his fall, was yet of the earth, earthy.
"Is the Lord Jesus but the first man set up afresh? No, He is 'the second man, the Lord from heaven.' He is a heavenly man, the Last Adam-head of a new race; beginning of a new creation-and you and I who believe are 'in Him,' seen and accepted before the Father 'in His Beloved.' The full image of Him we have not yet: true. That will be ours in the day of His coming. The thing we are!" -F.W.G.
"A sinner in himself, the believer has, by faith, taken upon him the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is 'in Him,' he has been made the righteousness of God in Him. He is 'accepted in the Beloved' (Ephesians 1:6). Faith alone gives him all this comeliness. He has been recreated in the Lord Jesus. This is the beauty of the believer; and he is lovely in the eye of the Lord Jesus. 'So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty; for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him' (Psalm 45:11)." -J.C.B.
"And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Sermon Outline
- I. The Problem of Poor Self-Image
- A. Christians have a poor self-image due to focusing on the condemned first-Adam life
- B. This is in contrast to the glorified Last-Adam life
- II. The Solution of New Creation
- A. Being in Christ makes us a new creature
- B. Old things are passed away, and all things are become new
- III. The Nature of the New Creation
- A. We are not just a new version of Adam, but a new kind of creature
- B. We are 'in Him', seen and accepted before the Father 'in His Beloved'
- IV. The Beauty of the Believer
- A. By faith, we have taken upon us the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ
- B. We are recreated in the Lord Jesus and are lovely in His eyes
Key Quotes
“'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new' (2 Corinthians 5:17).” — Miles J. Stanford
“'Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory' (2 Corinthians 3:18).” — Miles J. Stanford
“'And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly' (1 Corinthians 15:49).” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- We must focus on our glorified Last-Adam life, rather than our condemned first-Adam life.
- By faith, we have taken upon us the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ and are recreated in Him.
- We will bear the image of the heavenly as we continue to walk in Christ.