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Easter 2026: How Jesus as the New Adam Restores Humanity

Easter 2026: How Jesus as the New Adam Restores Humanity

Last updated on: April 5, 2026 at 1:57 am by Henry Karlson

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Easter 2026: How Jesus as the New Adam Restores Humanity 2026-04-05T01:57:42-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Markos Bathas: The Harrowing of Hell (The Resurrection of Christ) / Wikimedia Commons

Just as the Trinity is one God, so God made humanity to be composed of many persons while also remaining one. Each human person has the same human nature, a nature which, in and of itself, is good, because God saw that all things which God created are good. The problem is not human nature as it is in its essence, an essence with a purity which it never lost, but rather, the way every human person engages that nature in a way run which contrary to, and less than, the good their nature possesses. They turn away from their own nature, and what it suggests them to do, and instead, rely upon themselves, on their own individual existence, engaging the world in light of their new (and fallen) individuated self. They deliberate and act as individuals, and in doing so, promote everyone else to do the same. This leads to a divided humanity, one where each person tries to become an individual independent from everyone else. This is what leads us to sin, and the more we strive to be an individual cut off from everyone else, the more we deny our own inherent natural good and the harmony that good would have us be in with everyone else. But, try as we might, we cannot and do not destroy our nature, and with it, the way we are connected with everyone else. Thus, humanity, which is one in and of itself, is realized through a plurality in history, a plurality which it was always meant to have (multiple persons), but a plurality which is realized in a fallen, sinful manner, as persons try to live and act and experience reality as individuals with no true connection with everyone else. It is because we are still one, we are still connected to each other and what one person (or individual) does, has an effect on everyone else. The sin of one person affects us all. It is also due to this integral unity that the sins of every one of us can be and are also able to be joined together, creating, as it were, its own face, a covering over our nature, hiding it from ourselves, replacing the face of unfallen, pure humanity with the face of fallen humanity, “fallen Adam.”

We can talk about “Adam” in many ways. We can talk about the integral unity of humanity with its natural goodness, that is in the way it was created to be, as unfallen Adam. We can talk about the collective unity of humanity after sin has infected us, causing each of us to experience the world in a way contrary to our innate good nature; this is what is described by the term “fallen Adam.” We can also talk about a particular person who we name Adam, a person who was meant to represent all humanity, and in that representation, was given grace and wisdom which he was meant to use to overcome the collective sin of the world; he failed, which is why he, more than others, is said to be the source of death and sin in the world (for the more authority or privilege someone is given, the more responsible they are for what they do). As there are many ways we can understand what is meant by the name Adam, they are many ways to interpret Paul when he wrote, “Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned” (Rom. 5:12 RSV). We can believe there was a “historical Adam,” whose sin made the human situation worse; we can also believe, however, that in all of us, our sin adds to the collective sin of fallen humanity so that all of us can be said to be “Adam” in our own unique way. All of us come into the world with freedom, and with it, we can choose to sin or not, and when we sin, we share that sin with the rest of humanity, not just temporally, but metaphysically, thanks to the way humanity is interdependent with each other.

We can read the two creation stories in Genesis representing different aspects concerning the creation of humanity. The first story can be seen to show humanity in its integral unity, that is in a metaphysical (and possibly transtemporal) sense, which is why we find in it saying humanity is made in the image and likeness of God as “male and female,” for by saying this, we see humanity reflected as a collective whole, where it is in that collective whole we find ourselves imagining God, who is, like us, a plurality of persons while also one. This story is also where we find God calling human nature good. The second creation story is the story of Adam, and through it, we find the one who was sent to direct the world and guide it, restoring the world, making it all paradise, fall into sin, leading humanity, and all creation, deeper into the clutches of sin. It is because of the interdependent nature (or integral unity) of humanity, we find ourselves and our destiny joined with Adam and what Adam did. Because he failed us, the reign of death can be said to be confirmed by him, giving us a way to understand Paul when he said that through him we all sin and experience the sting of death.

Just as the integral unity of humanity allows us to share in the “sin of Adam,” so it also allows us to share in the work of Christ when he overcame the power of sin and death. It is important to keep in mind, due to our connection with everyone else, what happens to one of us has an effect on all of us. This is why when humanity was assumed by God in the incarnation, Jesus would be able to do for us what Adam did not do, freeing us from the bondage of sin, allowing us to find our way back to God and the kingdom of God. This is what makes Jesus the New or Second Adam. He fulfills what Adam failed to do. His victory over sin and death is revealed to us in his resurrection from the dead, but it is not his alone, as it is a victory for all of us. Then, after that victory, he does something more: he opens up the way for us to participate in the divine life itself. While he is one of us, due to his humanity, he is also God. We can participate in the divine life through him, as we are joined with him in his humanity. However, for us to experience the divine life, he had to deal with the sin of the world, taking upon himself to do what we could not, so that in and through him, sin comes to its proper end, freeing humanity from its sting. In this way, he gives us both our salvation, and our ability to participate in the divine life, as his gift to us (and to the rest of creation):

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:15-17 RSV).

To reiterate, just as the oneness of humanity means the sin of one of us is something which is shared by all of us, it is also that same oneness or integral unity which allows the God-man to bring salvation and deifying grace to us all. It is that grace which will lead us from death to life. But, in order to go from death to life, eternal life, we must experience death. It is in our death we will find Jesus is joined with us, sharing with us our death, thanks to the way we are united with him in our humanity, so that, once we recognize him and our union with him, we can share with him his victory over death in his resurrection from the dead. Through death, Jesus overcomes death, not just for himself, but for all of us, and in doing so, he has transformed the meaning of death. It is no longer ruled by the sting of sin but rather it is ruled by God’s glory, so that all the dead will be lifted up by Christ and experience their own resurrection from the dead.

Christ is risen from the dead, and in him, Adam, all humanity, is recreated. While “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made,” (Jn. 1:3 RSV), now, through him, all things are also remade, brought back and restored to what God intended them to be. We have been shown that death is not the end, but just the beginning of the end, the end which is eternal life, where we are intended to share in his glory. Thus, St. Hilary of Poitiers, summarizing our faith, as it relates to the incarnation and how the incarnation helps us, says:

The phrases ‘came down,’ ‘was incarnate,’ ‘was made man’ and ‘rose again on the third day and will come again to judge the quick and the dead’ contain the mysteries of our salvation. Therefore he is ‘immutable’ and ‘unchangeable’ Son of God, so that, in the assumption of man, he brought glory upon corruption rather than tarnish upon eternity. [1]

Our glorification or deification is the ultimate purpose of the incarnation; yes, God became one of us to save us from ourselves, from our sins, but that is because our salvation was the necessary precondition for our glorification. God created us to share in the divine life, the life of love, for ourselves; it is this which we rejected in our sin, and yet which we can now accept through Christ and the grace which he gives us:

The purpose of the incarnate economy of God the Word, which is proclaimed by all the divine scriptures and which we read but do not understand, is surely summed up by saying that he has shared in what was ours to let us share in what was his. The Son of God became the Son of Man in order to make us men sons of God. By grace he lifts up our race to what he is by nature.[2]

Christ is risen! Adam rejoices, for now humanity is able to achieve its purpose in Christ. Now, we can become what God intends us to be, for now, those in the graves are to be granted eternal life!

[1] St. Hilary of Poitiers, “Against Valens and Usracius” in Hilary of Poitiers: Conflicts of Conscience and Law In the Fourth-century Church. Trans. Lionel R. Wickham (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1997), 64.

[2] St Symeon the New Theologian, “The Practical and Theological Chapters” in Symeon the New Theologian: The Practical and Theological Chapters & The Three Theological Discourses. Trans. Paul McGuckin OP (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications. 1982), 99 [3.88].

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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