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Among the types in the Old Testament concerning Christ and the church, after the light and the tree of life, there are Adam and Eve. Christ is light and life in order that those who are enlightened by Him and who receive Him as life may become His church as His counterpart. Therefore, it is spiritually significant that the types of Adam and Eve follow the types of the light and the tree of life.
In the Bible Adam as the first man is a type of the Christ who was to come (Rom. 5:14). As a type of Christ, Adam prefigured Christ. Whatever purpose God had for Adam and whatever work He did in Adam were to be carried out in and through Christ. Adam was the head of the old collective man, that is, mankind. Whatever he did and whatever happened to him are participated in by all mankind. Christ is the Head of the new corporate man, that is, the church. Whatever He did and whatever happened to Him are participated in by all His members.
In God’s creation Adam was the center of all creation. God first established the heavens and prepared the earth, and then He created man. He first made the light, the expanse, and the land, and then He created the grass, the herbs, the trees, the fish, the birds, the cattle, the beasts, and the creeping things. Eventually, He created Adam. Thus we see that the heavens are for the earth, and the earth with the different kinds of living things is for man. Therefore, man is the center of God’s creation. This is a type of Christ as the real center of God’s creation, because in Him, through Him, and unto Him all things were created, the things in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, lordships, rulers, or authorities. He is before all things, and all things cohere in Him (Col. 1:16-17). Moreover, the purpose of God’s creation is to glorify Him (v. 18). He is the center of the entire creation of God and He is also the holding center.
Adam was created as the head of the human race, and the human race was the center of God’s creation. Therefore, Adam was the head of God’s creation. This is a type of Christ as the Head of all God’s creation. Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is “the Firstborn of all creation.” Christ as God is the Creator. However, as man, sharing the created blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14a), Christ is also part of the creation, and He is the Firstborn of all creation, having the preeminence in all creation.
Adam was created in God’s image and according to God’s likeness (Gen. 1:26). This typifies that Christ bears God’s image and likeness. Colossians 1:15 says that Christ “is the image of the invisible God.” God is invisible. But Christ, who is the effulgence of His glory and the impress of His substance (Heb. 1:3), is His image, expressing what He is. John 1:18 also says, “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son [Christ], who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” Actually, Christ was the very image in which Adam was created (Gen. 1:27; Rom. 5:14); Christ is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4).
After the creation of Adam, God wanted man to have dominion over all the living created things in the seas, in the air, and on the earth (Gen. 1:26, 28). God wanted the man whom He had created to be His representative to execute His authority and rule for Him on the earth. Therefore, man was not only created to express God but also given the authority to represent God to rule over all. This is a type of Christ as God’s expression and also as God’s representative. Christ as God’s Anointed was anointed and commissioned by God for the carrying out of God’s purpose in dealing with God’s enemy to recover the enemy-usurped earth and bring in God’s authority.
Adam was the first ancestor of the human race. When he was created, the entire human race, which was included in him, was created by God (Gen. 1:26). Thus, he became the head of all men. This is a type of Christ as the head of every man (1 Cor. 11:3). In Ephesians 1:22-23 the headship of Christ over all things is to His Body, the church. In 1 Corinthians 11:3 the headship of Christ over every man is related to individuals. Christ is the Head of the church corporately and of the believers individually. He is the Head of every one of us directly; as such, He has been the One appointed by God in the divine administration to rule over all men.
Adam was the only male in God’s creation at that time, typifying Christ as God becoming the unique male in the universe. In the Old Testament many times God likened Himself to a husband and His people to a wife (Isa. 54:5; 62:5; Jer. 3:14). The New Testament many times also reveals Christ as the Bridegroom who marries the bride (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34; John 3:29; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 19:7). Christ is the unique male in the universe; He is the unique object of our pursuit and the One to whom we eternally belong.
After Adam was created, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart” (Gen. 2:18). Then God brought to Adam every beast and every bird that He had created. And Adam gave names to all of them, but he did not find a complement, a counterpart, to help him (vv. 19-20). This typifies that none among God’s creation can match Christ as His counterpart, for none was out of Christ, and none had the same character, life, or nature as Christ to be a perfect match to Him.
Because none among the creation could match Adam to be his complement, his counterpart, God caused him to fall into a deep sleep and opened his side (Gen. 2:21). This is a type of Christ sleeping in death and being pierced in His side (John 19:34). At the end of the crucifixion of Christ, a soldier pierced His side with a spear, causing His side to be opened and to flow out blood and water (John 19:34). Blood is the negative aspect of Christ’s death; it is for redemption, which is for the purchasing of the church (Acts 20:28). Water is the positive aspect of Christ’s death; it is for imparting life, which is for the producing of the church (Eph. 5:29-30).
With the rib which was taken out of Adam, God built a woman as Adam’s counterpart (Gen. 2:22-24). The rib taken out of Adam signifies the flowing water and the unbroken bone mentioned in John 19:34 and 36. When Christ died on the cross, His side was pierced and the water of life came out, strong as an unbreakable bone, to produce the church as His counterpart. Thus, the sinner whom God created and who became fallen, after being redeemed and transformed by Christ’s death and resurrection, becomes the woman in the universe to be married to Christ.
Just as Adam is a type of Christ, Eve is a type of the church. Eve was built by God with a rib taken out of Adam. Therefore, Adam said that Eve was “bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:21, 23). Eve’s coming out of Adam in this way typifies that the church comes out of Christ in the same way. The church is produced by the life-dispensing water which flows out of Christ. Hence, the church has the essence of Christ and comes out of Christ.
Eve received her life from Adam; she was the bone of Adam’s bone and the flesh of Adam’s flesh. Hence, she had the same character, life, and nature as Adam. In like manner, the church comes out of Christ and has the same character, life, and nature as Christ. Therefore, in this respect Eve is a type of the church, which has the same character, life, and nature as Christ.
Eve not only came out of Adam but also was brought to Adam (Gen. 2:22) to be joined to Adam and to become one flesh with Adam (v. 24). In like manner, the church is joined to Christ and becomes one with Christ. Only Eve, who came out of Adam, could be joined to Adam; likewise, only the church, which comes out of Christ, can be joined to Christ. As Adam and Eve were joined to become one complete unit, Christ and the church are also joined to become one complete unit. However, Adam and Eve were joined to become one flesh, whereas Christ and the church are joined to become one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).
Eve was a part of Adam’s body as Adam’s counterpart, typifying that the church is Christ’s Body as Christ’s counterpart. Ephesians 1:22b-23a says, “The church, which is His Body.” Christ’s Body is not an organization but an organism constituted of all the regenerated believers for the expression and activities of the Head. The church is this organic Body. Moreover, the church as the Body is also the counterpart of Christ (Eph. 5:31-32) to match and complement Him completely.
Eve was Adam’s reproduction, Adam’s duplication, signifying that the church is Christ’s reproduction, Christ’s duplication. The church comes out of Christ and has the same character, life, and nature as Christ. In the church there is only Christ and there is no element other than Christ. Therefore, the church is Christ’s reproduction, Christ’s duplication.
As Eve was Adam’s multiplication, the church is Christ’s multiplication produced through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Pet. 1:3). Christ was the unique grain that fell into the ground and died, and in resurrection He brought forth many grains (John 12:24), that is, many believers, to constitute the church as the Body of Christ to be His multiplication.
As Eve was Adam’s increase, the church is Christ’s increase. John 3 shows that Christ is immeasurable and unlimited (vv. 31-36). Such a One needs a universal increase to be His bride to match Him (vv. 29-30). Hence, God first regenerates us through His Spirit (vv. 3-6) that we may have the eternal life of Christ (vv. 15-16, 36a). Then He fills us with His unlimited Spirit (v. 34) that we may become the bride, the increase, of the all-inclusive Christ, who is above all (vv. 31-35).
Just as Eve became the fullness of Adam, the church becomes the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 1:23 shows us that Christ is the One who fills all in all and that the church is His fullness. Christ, who is the infinite God without any limitation, is so great that He fills all things in all things. Such a great Christ needs the church to be His fullness. The fullness of Christ issues from the enjoyment of the riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8). Through the enjoyment of Christ’s riches the church becomes His fullness.
Just as Eve was Adam’s expression, the church is Christ’s expression. The fullness of Christ is the expression of Christ. The fullness does not refer to the riches of what Christ is; it refers to the expression of those riches. When we enjoy the riches of Christ, we become His fullness that He may have a full expression.
Eve as the counterpart of Adam ultimately typifies the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2, 9-10). As the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem comes out of Christ, her Husband, and becomes His counterpart, just as Eve came out of Adam, her husband, and became his counterpart. She is prepared by participating in the riches of the life and nature of Christ.
The New Jerusalem as the universal bride (Rev. 21:2) is a living composition of all the saints redeemed by God throughout all generations. In the entire Bible, God likens His chosen people to a spouse (Isa. 54:6; Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 16:8; Hosea 2:19; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32) for His satisfaction in love. Eventually, the saints throughout the generations, who have been chosen, redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified by God, will constitute the New Jerusalem to be the universal bride of the unique male in the universe—Christ—that He may have the full satisfaction in love.
Revelation 21:9 shows us that this universal bride is also the wife of the Lamb. A bride is mainly for the wedding day, whereas a wife is for the entire married life. The New Jerusalem will be the bride in the millennial kingdom for one thousand years, which is like one day (2 Pet. 3:8), and will be the wife in the new heaven and new earth for eternity, to the ages of the ages without end.
The New Jerusalem takes God as her center, substance, element, and essence. She has gold, signifying the divine nature of God, as her city proper (Rev. 21:18); she has pearls, signifying Christ’s overcoming death and life-imparting resurrection, as her gates (v. 21); she has precious stones, signifying the Spirit’s work of transformation, as the wall and the foundation (vv. 18, 14, 19); she has the Triune God as her temple and her light (vv. 22-23); she has the throne of the Triune God as her center (22:1); and she has the flow of the Triune God as her supply (v. 1). Thus, ultimately, the New Jerusalem, typified by Eve, is the full expression of the Triune God in eternity.
In the Bible Adam as the first man is a type of the Christ who was to come. He typifies Christ: as the center of God’s creation, in whom, through whom, and unto whom all things were created; as the Head of all God’s creation, the One who has the preeminence in all creation; as the One who bears God’s image and likeness to express what God is; as God’s representative, anointed and commissioned by God to carry out God’s purpose; as the Head of all men, appointed by God in the divine administration to rule over all men; and as God who became the unique male in the universe to be the universal Bridegroom to marry His redeemed people as His bride. Among God’s creation, none could match Christ as His counterpart. Hence, Christ slept in death and His side was opened to flow out the water of life, which produced the church as His counterpart. Thus, the sinner whom God created and who became fallen, after having been redeemed and transformed by Christ’s death and resurrection, becomes the woman in the universe to be married to Christ.
Just as Adam is a type of Christ, Eve is a type of the church. Eve typifies the church. The church came out of Christ, has the same character, life, and nature as Christ, and is joined to Christ to be one spirit with Christ. The church is also the Body of Christ to be His counterpart as His reproduction, multiplication, increase, fullness, and expression. Eve as the counterpart of Adam ultimately typifies the New Jerusalem, the universal bride, constituted with the saints throughout the generations, who have been chosen, redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and glorified by God, to be the bride of Christ in the millennium and the wife of the Lamb for His satisfaction in eternity, to the ages of the ages without end. The New Jerusalem takes the Triune God as her center, substance, element, and essence to be the full expression of the Triune God in eternity.
