Dear Partner,

Last month I made the statement "God has no grandchildren." Humans do have grandchildren because each generation produces children who then produce more children. At one point in time, the whole human race was in the loins of the first man Adam. You could say it this way; the whole human race was "in Adam" in the beginning.

1 Cor 15:45-47   And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

Billions of people had been born during the time span between the creation of Adam and the birth of Jesus Christ. So why is Jesus called the second man? Because Jesus is the second man that God created. God created the first man Adam. He formed Eve from one of Adam's ribs. Then God told "them" to be fruitful and to multiply. You could say it this way … God said to Adam and Eve, "I am through making humans. From now on you will be making humans. Be fruitful and multiply the number of humans that are on the planet."

After the fall of man, Adam and Eve began producing children and the sin nature was passed down directly to them. Then that generation also began producing children and through this process the sin nature has been passed down through all generations to every human born of a woman on planet earth. That is … to every human but one. There was one man born of a woman, born under the Law, which did not have the sin nature passed down to Him … and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. He was spawned by God in the womb of a virgin and there was no sin nature in Him. He was the first man born on planet earth without a sin nature since the original fall of man. He was the "second man" that God directly spawned on planet earth.

Notice that Jesus is not only called the second man but also "the last Adam." Why is He given that title? Because He is now spawning a new species of human that is not spiritually descended from the first man Adam. When a person is born again, much more happens to him than simply being forgiven. He actually goes through a death and regeneration process within his spirit. The sin nature, what the bible calls the "old man," is crucified in Christ. The believer is baptized into Christ's death and then quickened to new life by the "last Adam."

Rom 6:3-6   Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Notice the good news that after we were baptized into His death, we were then quickened so that we ALSO should walk in newness of life. How is this possible? Because we have been born again. We have been spawned directly from the last man Adam … Jesus Christ. God sees every believer as being "in Christ" in the same way he originally saw all humans as being "in Adam." There are only two kinds of humans on earth today in God's viewpoint. Those "in Adam" and those "in Christ." That's why no amount of "good works" in any religion can ever be successful in separating a human from the death nature they received from Adam. Just like Jesus told Nicodemus, "You MUST be born again." Hallelujah! Now this famous verse finally comes to full understanding in our minds as we comprehend these truths:

2 Cor 5:17   Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

A believer is not a "forgiven old creature." The "old creature" was judged (in Christ), found guilty (in Christ), and suffered the death penalty (in Christ). His sins were not forgiven … they were remitted? Why? Because he died (in Christ)! As far as God is concerned, the whole species of Adam (past, present, and future) has already been pronounced dead. There is only one hope and that is to respond to the gospel, be baptized into Christ's death, and then be quickened to new life as a child of God by the last Adam, Jesus Christ.

False religion keeps telling believers they are simply "forgiven" but not changed. I cannot tell you the number of services I have sat through in my lifetime where the essence of the message being taught to believers was they were "just old sinners saved by grace." That is NOT what the New Testament teaches. We WERE old sinners. We got SAVED by His grace. Now we are NEW CREATURES in Christ Jesus. We belong to a different species of human than the sons of Adam. We are the sons of God, spawned from the loins of the last man Adam, Jesus Christ the Righteous. It is time to lay aside false religion and to choose rather the pure truth that proceeds from the pages of the New Testament. The world is starving for LIFE … not religion! Let us dare to believe what God's Word says and go forth to shine as lights in this lost world.

Phil 2:15   That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.

Sue and I love you and appreciate you.   We thank God for your generous and giving heart.   God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

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