1 Corinthians 15:45 (WEB)
So also it is written, “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
As quoted in the map (KJV)
1 Corinthians 15:45–47 (KJV)
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Key words
- ὁ ἔσχατος Ἀδάμho eschatos Adam · Greek
- 'the last Adam' — Christ as the new head of humanity.
- πνεῦμα ζῳοποιοῦνpneuma zōopoioun · Greek
- 'a quickening spirit' — the last Adam gives life where the first brought death.
- ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος ἐξ οὐρανοῦho deuteros anthrōpos ex ouranou · Greek
- 'the second man… from heaven' (v. 47).
Why it matters
Paul calls Christ the last Adam and the second man from heaven. Pitre quotes this with Romans 5:18–19 as the premise of the whole New Eve chapter (p 20): once Jesus is seen as the new Adam, salvation is the undoing of the fall, and the question follows at once — if Jesus is the new Adam, who is the new Eve?