We know that's true from Revelation
chapter five, that the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, that he
is all the glory in heaven, in Emmanuel's land. Open your Bibles
with me tonight, please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15. And our text is verse 45, although
I have several texts. But I want to begin here, 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 and verse 45. What I want us to do this evening
is to think especially about the Lord Jesus, his humanity. the humanity, the manhood, the
fact that he is man. I want us to think especially
about his humanity and what that means to each one of us, how
it should be such an encouragement to us to know that we have a
friend, we have one of our nature, who is the savior. He is God,
we know that, but he is also man. And here in 1 Corinthians
15 and verse 45, the apostle, of course, is writing primarily
of the resurrection of the body, the hope that we have, that when
a body turns back to the dust, we know that when the Lord Jesus
Christ comes again, it shall be raised and it shall be immortal. That is, the body of believers
shall be like his body. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 45. So it is written, the first man,
Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam was made a quickening
spirit. Now the word for man is Adam. In the Hebrew, when God created
man, it's Adam. Adam is the named for man, or
the Hebrew word man is Adam. In the beginning, God created
Adam. The first man, Adam, was made
a living soul when God breathed into him the breath of life. The first Adam we know refers
to the man, our father, Adam. He who is the father of all men
and women in this world. All men who have ever lived in
this world. We all come from Adam. He is our father. And this verse,
first of all, speaks of the first Adam, who was made in the image
of God. And God breathed into him the
breath of life. But now this last Adam, this
last man, the first man and the second man. Sometimes we read
it like that. The first man, Adam, was created
in the image of God, and we know he was placed there in the Garden
of Eden. The last man, or the second man,
is the Lord from glory, the Lord Jesus Christ. The first man,
was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read that in Romans
chapter five. He was a type. And he typified
the Lord Jesus in several ways, but I think first of all, as
a representative man. Adam was a representative man.
He was the first man, he was a representative man, the first
man in this world, at least. We know that in the purpose of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ was set up from eternity. I understand
that. But the last man is the last
of the representative men. Two men, only two men. The first Adam and the last Adam. They're the only two representative
men that the scriptures speak to us of. The first Adam was
a type. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
antitype of the type. In Hebrews 2 and verse 14, we
read, for as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
in other words, for as much as those that he came to save are
partakers of flesh and blood, the scripture says, he also likewise
took part of the same. He did not come to save angels. He did not take upon Him the
nature of angels. The angels were not created like
men are created. That is, that each one stood
or fell for himself. Where Adam represented all of
his posterity, and when he fell, we know that we all inherited
a sinful nature. which is called original sin.
But the scripture in Hebrews says, for as much as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, he also, that is his second man,
he also took part of the same. And we read in John chapter one,
and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. The Lord Jesus
Christ is truly as one with us on the side of his humanity,
as he is one with God on the side of his deity. Let me say
that again so that it'll register with all of us. The Lord Jesus
Christ is truly as one with us on the side of his humanity.
He's one with us. He's the man, Christ Jesus. The God man, yes, but the man.
As he is one with us, so on the side of his humanity, So he is
one with God on the side of his deity. He is the eternal son
of God, one with the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We know
that. And I have several thoughts I want to bring to us about this,
his humanity. First, it was the first Adam
who sinned. It was the first Adam who sinned. It must then be by someone in
the same nature by the same, must be someone in the same nature. In other words, the nature of
man's sin, so the Savior must be someone of the same nature. The Savior must be man. As the representative man was
a man, so the Savior of sinners, he too must be a man. In the same nature that sinned,
God must be honored. God must be satisfied. His justice
must be satisfied in the same nature. That is the fact that
he is a man. The problem, the problem is all
men are sinners. All men are sinners and no sinner
is able to restore fallen man. No man is able to restore himself
and certainly no man is able, man who's only man, I should
say that, no man is able to restore himself because of his sin. And he certainly is not capable
of restoring others. In Psalm 89 and verse 19, God
speaks and he declares, I, God, I have laid help upon one that
is mighty. I, God said, I, the help we needed,
the help that sinners needed. I have laid help upon one that
is mighty. I have exalted one chosen out
of the people. Now, you and I know tonight that
the one who is mighty, mighty, mighty to save, yes, mighty in
every way. He's mighty because he is man,
but he is also God. He's mighty to save. He's mighty
to succor and to help to provide every need to be the strength
of his people. The psalmist said, the Lord is
my light and my salvation. The Lord is the strength of my
life. The strength of my life. He's
the one who gives us strength, isn't he? Physical strength,
yes, but we're talking about spiritual strength as well. The
only reason a believer doesn't turn back as he meets with difficulties,
the hill difficulty, as he makes his way towards the promised
land is because the Lord is our strength. He is our strength.
He keeps us and gives us strength day by day. And no trial, no
difficulty. will ever come upon one of God's
children that His strength is not sufficient for us to handle
in His strength, not in our strength, no. So that's the first thing. It was the first Adam who sinned.
But the point I want to emphasize and make sure we all understand
this, there was a man The first man, a holy man, yes, but he
was just a man, he sinned. Now, to satisfy God's justice,
his justice must be satisfied by the same nature that sinned. It must be by a man. Therefore, the last man, the
second man. The second thing is, it was the
first man as an adult that sinned. When God created Adam, He didn't
create him a baby. He didn't create him a child
or teenager, but no, a full-grown, mature individual. Children may be easily deceived,
right? We all know that. What if Adam
had been created as a baby and placed there in the garden Would
he have been any match for Satan who would come, as he did, to
tempt Adam? Would we believe that was just
if God had created Adam as a small child to be tempted and tested? Of course we wouldn't. No, Adam
was a man. He was a full-grown man. And
as the writers tell us or have said, you've read this I'm sure,
he sinned with his eyes wide open. He wasn't deceived. He was a man and he wasn't a
caveman either. He was a man of high intelligence,
great intelligence. He was made in the image of God.
And people want to tell us that we all sprang from cavemen? Of
course not. That's not to say that as sin
worked its way among men that some didn't end up in a cave.
I knew some men when I was in Mexico who lived in a cave. They
could have been called cavemen. But that was, you know, many
years afterwards, the creation. No, Adam was a man, and as Paul
tells us in 1 Timothy 2 and verse 14, and Adam was not deceived. That's what makes his sin so
awful. I mean, it's awful any way you
look at it, but the fact that he chose his wife Eve over God. He was not deceived, Paul says,
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman, the woman Eve, being
deceived, was in the transgression. She was deceived, but not Adam. And Eve was not our representative
either. Adam was our representative. Now here's the third, the last
point. It is by the last man, First, I said it was the first
man who sinned, and second, it was the first man as an adult
who sinned, and third, it is by the last man, now listen,
who was born a child that God's justice, by which God's justice
is satisfied. Think of the several texts we
have in the letter of Hebrews. subject of Hebrews basically
is to show the superiority of the Lord Jesus Christ over everything
that Judaism had. But especially he's presented
to us there as a high priest, as our great high priest. And
the scripture says, we have not, get that negative, we have not
an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, but was in all points tempted or tested as we are, yet without sin. And then another verse there
in Hebrews, though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered. As you read through the Gospels,
the four Gospel narratives, you notice several times we read,
it speaks, he that is Christ, he was moved with compassion.
Several times, he was moved when he saw people, he was moved with
compassion. Why? He's bone of our bone and
flesh of our flesh. He was moved with compassion.
And then you read often, he said, I have compassion on the multitude. Don't send them away. The disciple
said, send them away. Oh no, don't send them away.
Why? Because he had compassion, the
scripture says, on the multitudes. The last man who is the Savior,
he learned by experience as a man. Now, as God understands, He's
omniscient. And I believe you would agree
that I emphasize and I declare this quite often, don't I? That He's God. He's the God-man.
And all the attributes of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit both have as well. He's eternal. He's omnipotent. But as a man, this is the point
I'm trying to make tonight, as a man, He learned by experience
the things which people experience in this world. Things that you
experience, things that I experience, things that his people experience. And I have nine truths. I'm going
to go through fairly quickly, but nine truths about the last
man. Number one, he experienced what
it is to begin in the womb. That's where you began. That's
where you began. You began in the womb. He experienced
what it is to begin in the womb and be born. Now, as mysterious
as the virgin birth is, we know that the body that he took into
unity with his deity had a beginning. The Holy Spirit, the angel told
Mary, shall come upon thee. And that holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. He had a beginning
and developed, just like you began in the womb of your mother
as just a cell, one cell. He did that too. There was just
a heartbeat at one time, that's all. They didn't have ultrasounds
back then, but if they had, they could have taken an ultrasound
of Mary, and seeing him in the womb just like many of you have
seen your children in the womb. He experienced that. He's a real
man. He had a beginning and he developed
in the womb of Mary. He experienced in this the same
as all of his people. The scripture says he was born. He was born. The angel announced,
There is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior.
Number two, he experienced what it is to grow from an infant
to a child to a teenager to an adult. He experienced that. Young people have someone, have a Savior,
that may be touched with the feelings of their infirmities. No matter what age, that's the
point I'm trying to make. Look with me in Luke chapter
two. Luke chapter two and verse 52 and this is what we're told
about him at the age of 12. Remember at the age of 12 he
was taken to the temple to Jerusalem to worship with Mary and Joseph
and they started home and he remained and they came back and
found him in the temple there talking with the doctors of the
law. His first recorded words to his
mother, wished you not that I must be about my father's business.
Here in Luke chapter two in verse 52, and Jesus increased. Well, let's read verse 51. And
he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject unto
them. But his mother kept all these
sayings in her heart and Jesus increased. See, he's a man. He's a man. He increased. He was just a baby about this
size right when he was born. He increased. physically, but
also in wisdom. He increased in wisdom and stature
and in favor with God and man. He experienced what it is to
grow from a baby to a man. He experienced that. Number three,
he experienced what it is to be physically tired. Amazing, right? Amazing. He that upholds all things by
the word of his power. As man in this world knew what
it was to be fatigued, to be tired. We know that from John
chapter four, when he Rested there on the side of the well,
it says, Jesus therefore being wearied from his journey, set
thus by the well. And I believe that we see how
tired and how fatigued he was in these words. I mean, just
read them to you. But after a long day of teaching
and preaching and It says they took him, that is his disciples,
they took him, now listen, even as he was in the ship. How was he? Well, it wasn't long
before he was asleep in the back of the ship, even though they
were in the midst of a storm. Doesn't that tell us that he
was exhausted mentally and physically? He worked in the carpenter shop
of Joseph. The curse that Adam's sin brought
upon man is to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. The
Lord Jesus Christ experienced that. And he was the firstborn,
remember? He was the Lord, he's God's only
begotten son, but he was Mary's first begotten son. And it seems,
and this is, I'm assuming this, but since we never read of Joseph
again, Mary's husband. We never read of him again after
Luke two. We assume that he's died. Well,
the weight, the responsibility of that family, he being the
firstborn, would have fallen upon him. It would have fallen
upon him. And he assumed that responsibility. of the family. What I'm trying
to point out is the things that you experienced, the things that
God's people experienced in this world, he experienced, to show
us and to impress upon us how he can be touched No matter what
trial or difficulty you're going through, he can not only sympathize,
but empathize with you, with his people. Number four, he experienced what
it is to be hungry and thirsty. And I doubt that many have ever
been as hungry as he was after he fasted 40 days in the wilderness. He was hungry. I would assume
he had great hunger, wouldn't you? 40 days without any food. He was thirsty. He experienced
that. We know on the cross when he
cried, I thirst. The psalmist said in a Psalm
22, which concerns him, my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. Number five. He experienced what it is to
have love and joy. To have love and joy. He experienced
that. He learned by what he suffered
in this world. And he experienced these things.
He said, these things have I spoken unto you that my joy might remain
in you. Now he had joy, and he bequeathed
his joy unto his people. that my joy may remain in you
and that your joy may be full. You know, we're never told that
he laughed. And the commentators point this
out. We never read that the Lord Jesus
Christ laughed. We do read that he cried. And
one writer said, how could he laugh? How could he laugh being
in this world of sin? and knowing everyone that he
saw had an eternity before him, before that person. How could
he? His work was not a laughing matter. How could he laugh? He rejoiced. We read that in
Luke chapter 10. And number six, he experienced
what it is to have sorrow and to be troubled. Can you imagine
that? To be troubled. This is what
the scripture says in John 12, 27. Now is my soul troubled. It's what he said. Number seven,
he experienced what it is to be tempted. I mean that temptation
was presented to him, but it never found anything in him to
answer to the temptation. He could not sin. I understand
that. He's God. God cannot sin, cannot be tempted
with sin. But as a man, he was tempted,
yet without sin, the scripture says. He said, for the prince
of this world cometh. finding nothing in me. There
was nothing in Christ, his humanity, to respond to any temptation
that Satan might present. Number eight, he experienced
what it is to suffer. Suffer in his body, and yes,
even in his soul. He said, my soul is exceedingly
sorrowful, even unto death. And number nine, He experienced
what it is to die. He went through death's door,
didn't he? All of these things, and I'm
just about through, all of these things confirm that he was a
real man. But more than that, they remind
us that he may be touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
no matter what they are, no matter what difficulty, trial, Disappointment,
loneliness. You know, I think of some people
as they get older, living alone, they experience great loneliness. Can the Lord Jesus identify with
that? Sure, sure. He spent whole nights,
the scripture says, alone in prayer. Loneliness. And let me close with this. You
all know in the gospel that has John's name that he never refers
to himself by name. He never does that, does he?
He always speaks of himself in some kind of a third person way. One time, and this is in John
13, he said that the disciple whom Jesus loved, now he's talking
about himself, isn't he? The disciple whom Jesus loved
leaned upon his breast. Every child of God, every one
of you here tonight who know the Lord as your Lord and Savior,
you may say the same about yourself. The disciple whom Jesus loved. The disciple whom Jesus loved. Loved so much, loved you so much,
that he gave himself for your redemption. the disciple, if
you're one of his disciples. And the only reason you are one
of his disciples is because he loved you. He loved you from
all old eternity. Well, I pray the Lord would bless
these words and help us to appreciate more just
what a great savior we have. What a wonderful Savior we have. Amen? Let's sing it.