Soteriological Reflections on Adamic Christology

Abstract

The subject of Christology is indispensable in Christianity because the entire Christian gospel centers on the person and works of Jesus Christ. One of the Christological models espoused in the New Testament is Adamic Christology with its focus on the striking analogy between Adam’s sin and Christ’s atoning sacrifice. While allusions of the Adam-Christ comparison appear elsewhere in the New Testament (Luke 3–4; Heb. 2:5–18), the most explicit articulation is found in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. Most of the existing literature on the subject focus more on exegetical issues and fail to provide adequate theological analysis on the Adam-Christ comparison. Current interest in theological implications of the Adam-Christ comparison has prompted this paper which explores Adamic Christology based on a theological reading of Romans 5:12-21 and other relevant texts on subject. The researcher used a literary research design comprising textual, theological and historical analyses of data collected from commentaries, articles, books, and dissertations/theses. The main thesis of the paper is that despite remarkable continuities between Adam and Christ on the basis of an ontological inclusivity of all humankind in their vicarious humanity, Christ exceeds Adam in all soteriological respects as the one who reverses the effect of Adam’s sin and its effect on humanity by bestowing salvific benefits on all who express belief in his saving person and works. The paper is an interdisciplinary study that contributes to the fields of Systematic theology (particularly on the issues of hamartiology and soteriology) and New Testament studies (especially Pauline studies).