He establishes the basis for the
contrast between Adam and Christ by quoting Gen. 2:7 (15:45). His quotation is,
however, quite free and the second half is entirely missing from the Old
Testament text. The purpose of adding πρωτος and ‘Αδαμ is probably to set up a typological contrast
with the last (εσχατος) Adam, Christ. The addition of the
second half, ο εσχατος ‘Αδαμ εις
πνευμα ζωοποιουν, is
probably Paul’s haggadic midrash based on Gen. 2:7. Whereas the first man Adam
is a ψυχη ζωσα, the last
Adam is a πνευμα ζψοποιουν. Interestingly, in this verse, the contrast is made not between σωμα and ψυχη (or πνευμα), as one would naturally expect if Paul is
thinking in terms of Platonic dualist anthropology, but it is made between ψυχηand πνευμα. This
implies that when Paul describes Christ as πνευμα, he does not think of the disembodied
existence of Christ. He simply indicates that while the first man is imagined
by ψυχη, the last Adam
is animated by πνευμα. (Sang-Won (Aaron) Son, Corporate Elements
in Pauline Anthropology: A Study of Selected Terms, Idioms, and Concepts in the
Light of Paul’s Usage and Background [Rome: Pontificio Instituto Biblico,
2001], 49)
