Our Divine Representative
In describing the connection believers have with Christ as the first-fruits of the resurrection, Paul draws the analogy between the relationship all people have with Adam and that which all believers have with Christ. He calls them first-fruits because just as the first of the harvest was dedicated to God as a representation of the whole of harvest in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, as the first-fruits of the resurrection, represents the resurrection, or harvest, of all who are in Him. Because He was raised to new life, so all who are in Him and represented by Him will be raised to new life. Just as there is a "caused relation between the death of Adam and the death of his descendants so this is a casual revelation between the resurrection of Christ and that of His people," Hodge wrote.

God selected Adam to be a representative of all his descendants. As human beings, we are by nature and by the declaration of God bound to Adam and the consequence of his actions. This is often difficult for independently minded people to swallow. Many people ask, "Why couldn't I choose my own representative?" Without knowing it, when people ask such a question they are foolishly challenging the wisdom of God. But who are we to question God? We must simply accept that God wisely chose Adam to represent us. Adam acted in our place, and had we been in the same position we would have acted no differently. When Adam sinned, he acted in our place as our head; therefore, we received the same condemnation and penalty of death that Adam received.

In the same way, Christ serves as the Head of the Church. Just as the condemnation and death of Adam fall on all who are in him (all humanity), justification and life, which comes through Christ, fall on all who are in Him (the Church). "Christ is the cause of life because His righteousness is the judicial ground of our justification," Hodge wrote, "and because we derive from Him the Holy Ghost, which is the source of life both to the soul and body."

Reflection and Commitment
Reread 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 and then read Romans 5:12-21. Don't think that because all died in Adam, all will be justified in Christ. This would teach universalism. The key is all in Adam die, and all in Christ live. Who, then, is in Christ? How are you in Christ? Why does this guarantee your resurrection?

For Further Study: Gen. 2:17; 3:17-24, Rom. 3:21-26, Eph. 2:1-10, and Col. 1:19-23.