Jesus said, “It is from a great power and a great wealth that Adam came into being: and he did not become worthy of you (plur.). For, had he been worthy [he would] not [have tasted] death.”
In this saying, Jesus uses Adam as a metaphor for the false self; the one who was originally separated from both God and from Eve in the Garden myth. Great wealth and great power, while they sound like positive conditions, are also metaphors for the illusion of separation since only those who believe in the “Us/Them” mentality can hoard wealth while others suffer in poverty, and only those who accept the lie of division can wield power over those who are, like themselves, one with God and each other.
So, Adam – the symbol of our original “sin” of accepting the lie of separation from God and one another – “was not worthy of [us]” and because of this unworthy status, Adam tasted death. This is the fate of all who embrace the illusion of separation because there is no life in this false reality, only death. This death takes many forms. We suffer a spiritual death because we cannot see our Oneness with God and with others, and we suffer a physical death because we never enter into the true life that comes from embracing our Divine connection which also connects us with everyone around us who is also created in the image of the Divine.
The Apostle Paul contrasts Adam with Christ in much the same way. Adam’s disobedience leads to death while Christ’s obedience leads to life. [See Romans 5:12-14] Paul also contrasts Christ and Adam by pointing out that, “in Adam all die, [but] in Christ all will be made alive.” [1 Cor. 15:21-22; 42-50]
Some commentaries equate the “great power and great wealth” part of the saying with God’s favor and miraculous power, but, to me, it seems more consistent that these terms are meant to align more closely with our attachments to physical wealth and vain aspirations that stem from our failure to see the reality of connection and Oneness with everyone and everything.
Either way, the end result for Adam was a state of unworthiness and death, so our lesson here should be to avoid that path and embrace the reality of life which flows to us and through us by way of our unity with Christ, who fills everything in every way.
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Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.” He hosts the Second Cup with Keith podcast, and co-hosts the Apostates Anonymous podcast, and the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.
His latest book, SECOND CUP WITH KEITH is available now on Amazon>
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