1 Corinthians 15:22 (ESV)

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

There is poetic parallelism between 1 Corinthians 15:21 and 1 Corinthians 15:22. In the Greek text, 1 Corinthians 15:22 is the longer verse, as it is an exposition of the condensed sentence in 1 Corinthians 15:21.

Of course, the man through whom death entered the world is Adam (Genesis 2:17; Genesis 3:19). All people, as Adam’s offspring, are in Adam and subject to the death which his sin brought about.

The second man referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:21 is Christ. He became a man, lived a perfectly obedient life, died, and rose from the dead. All those who are in Christ (not by biological descendance but by faith) will share in his resurrection.

The present tense of the verb die contrasts with the future tense phrase shall be made alive. While our present experience is characterized by death, we are holding on to the promise of a future resurrection.