Are You In Adam or In Christ?| Women's Rightly Divided Bible Study

Romans 5:12 | Are You In Adam or In Christ?

Thank you Father God for this time that we can spend reading and studying your word. Thank you Lord for teaching us through your holy word about what it means to be "in Adam" or "in Christ".  In Jesus's name we pray, amen.

12¶Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Sin leads to death. All unbelievers are sinners and are spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins. If a person dies in their sins, having never believed the gospel, they will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

Romans 3:23 in the King James Bible says,
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Isaiah 64:6a,b says,
6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; 

Even believers, when we sin it still leads to "death" but in the form of loss of heavenly rewards and really sin doesn't produce anything of value for us or God. However, believers are completely forgiven of ALL sins, past, present and future. Our sins were paid for at the cross and we are forgiven the moment that we believe the gospel. We can also never loose our salvation as we have been learning now in Romans 1-5.

There are two kinds of people in this world. Those that are "in Adam" and those that are "in Christ". Those in Adam, unbelievers, are still spiritually dead in their trespasses and sins. All that an unbeliever can do is sin because "whatsoever is not of faith is sin." They are still capable of believing the gospel, because God has given us all freewill, so believers need to share the gospel with them. All saved people, believers, were once "in Adam" and we still have a vile flesh although our inner man is a new creature in Christ. Therefore, we should not be high-minded, but meek and gentle in sharing the Gospel with others. Unbelievers, those "in Adam", are in danger of spending eternity in the lake of fire if they never believe the gospel of their salvation. They are also in danger of being left behind when the rapture occurs, which means that they will have to go through the 7 year tribulation on the earth if they don't believe the gospel before that time. The world is full of billions of souls that are still "in Adam" today. These souls follow after Satan's course for this world and even have his spirit working through them.

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1 Cor 15:22

Ephesians 2:2-3
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Then there are those who are "in Christ". Those in Christ are those who have recognized their sin nature and trusted in God to save them by believing how that Christ Jesus died for our sins, was buried and rose again for our justification. Believers have eternal life and will spend eternity with the Lord. In the dispensation of grace, God is forming the church the Body of Christ to inherit the heavenly places. In Israel's prophetic program, which is put on hold until the rapture, they will inherit the earth. Both groups of believers are "in Christ" but there are differences. One day, in the dispensation of the fulness of times God will gather both groups of believers together in one, as they are both in Christ. We will be joined together, yet still having our specific "roles" - Israel on earth and the Body of Christ in the Heavenly places. We will both serve God throughout eternity. The believers in Israel's program are something referred to as "the bride of Christ." The believers in the dispensation of grace are referred to as "the Body of Christ" or the "one new man". In the dispensation of the fulness of times, the Bride and the "one new man" will be joined together like a marriage union, to both serve Christ throughout all of eternity. Just like biblical gender roles here on earth, the bride of Christ and the "one new man" body of Christ have specific roles to fill in eternity. The bride of Christ ruling and reigning with Christ on the earth (like a woman being a keeper at home and the house is her "kingdom"), and The Body of Christ ruling and reigning with Christ in the Heavenly places (like the husband going out of the home to work and being leaders in the governments, CEOs of major corporations, etc). Those in Christ today are also ambassadors for Christ with the ministry of reconciliation. We are to grow and mature spiritually through the word, which means reading and studying God's Word rightly divided. We are to share the gospel with others and teach sound grace doctrine to fellow believers. We do also have specific gender roles today on earth and so men are to be the providers and leaders in their homes and to be the pastors and elders of the local assembly. Women are to be keepers at home and teach the children as well as for the aged and more spiritually mature women to teach younger women and those with less understanding of God's word rightly divided, sound grace doctrine and biblical womanhood. Even in society as a whole men and women are supposed to have gender roles. Men are to be the rulers, politicians, military leaders etc and if a woman works outside of the home its supposed to be something like a nurse, childcare providers, teachers etc. This is a whole other study. See my studies on Biblical Womanhood and homemaking to learn more.

Within the group of people that are in Christ, there are those who are spiritually minded and those who are carnally-minded. What this means is that because we have freewill, each believer can choose for themselves whether or not to read, study, believe and obey God's word rightly divided or not to. Sadly, most believers today choose not to. They have very little understanding of God's word rightly divided. They might attend church or appear godly, but most often they do not study for themselves nor do they rightly divide the scriptures or understand grace living. They are usually following after the wisdom and traditions of men. They might also be so carnally-minded that they appear to be no different from the unbelievers in the world. Many believers today are "enemies of the cross" meaning that they teach things contrary to God's word rightly divided. They will still go to heaven but will have loss of rewards at the believers judgment seat of Christ. But there are those who are spiritually minded. These are rare. They rightly divide the scriptures and understand grace living. They are more often than not, allowing Christ to live in and through them. This doesn't mean that they never sin or get off track, but they choose more often to walk in the Spirit instead of after the flesh. As a result of this, they suffer for their godly living. They are often despised and looked down upon by the world and by religious people.

Once you understand the two different kinds of people, those in Adam and those in Christ, you need to start looking at each person and asking "are they in Adam or in Christ?". Are they spiritually lost or are they a fellow believer? If they are lost or if you even think that they could still be lost even if they profess to be a believer, give them a clear gospel message. Have patience with them because most people don't believe right away. Then, if they are a believer, you can teach them sound grace doctrine rightly divided if they show an interest in it. Be patient with them also as not everyone is open to hearing about rightly divided bible study. However, before teaching sound grace doctrine, be sure to be established in foundational grace doctrine first for yourself, learn to rightly divide the scriptures and learn about grace living which is the point of these Romans Bible studies and all of the studies on my blog, podcasts and YouTube channel.

Homework: Read over Romans chapter 5 again for yourself. Write answers to the following questions in your own journal:

1) Have you come to understand yet that we are saved by grace through faith alone? What verses have helped you to understand this?
2) Have you come to understand yet that we are also eternally secure in Christ once we have believed the gospel? What verses have helped you to understand this?