“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.” _________1 Corinthians 15:45-47 NIV

                                                      Second Adam From Above
At Christmas time as I was growing up we always sang the old Christmas carols….all the verses. I have been blessed with a good memory, maybe not always a blessing, however. I remember the words to most the old hymns and listened carefully to the preacher. I figured the Lord put me there for a reason, so I’d better listen. I still believe that and act on it.
Back to the old carols. A favorite was “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” which I sang with enthusiasm.

However, I always wondered the meaning of one line in one of the refrains: “Second Adam from above.”

Charles Wesley’s original words penned in 1739:
“Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface;
Stamp Thy image in its place.
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the life, the inner Man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.”

Many years later and after much Bible study I learned the meaning: Jesus Christ is the Second Adam from above, or “the second man from heaven” as translated in the New International Version of the Holy Bible. I was touched and impressed with this profound doctrinal message. I checked the hymnal being used currently at our church and that verse was no longer there. I don’t know why it was removed.
Nevertheless, I can still sing that verse from memory and rejoice in the meaning. Jesus Christ came to this earth to “reinstate us” in God’s love, which had been lost in the Garden of Eden by the first man, Adam. Jesus Christ imparted Himself into each believing heart.

Now that is a Christmas gift far, far beyond compare. Glory!
Merry Christmas!