What pattern do biblical genealogies follow in their order?
Biblical genealogies consistently follow a natural-then-spiritual order: they begin with the natural line and then move to the spiritual. Paul states that which is spiritual was not first, but the natural came first, and afterward the spiritual. This pattern runs through both Old and New Testament genealogies.
Les teaches that every genealogy, whether in the Old Testament or the New, always begins with the natural and then moves to the genealogy of the spiritual. Paul makes this point in verse 46: that which is spiritual was not first, but that which is natural and unspiritual came first, and afterward that which is spiritual. Verse 47 identifies the first man, Adam, as of the earth and earthy, made from the elements of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As Adam is the federal head of the human race in Genesis, Christ is the response to that federal head because Adam fell; when Adam fell, there had to be a way of restoring it, and the second Adam, who is Christ, would restore. Les also says he cannot prove this from Scripture, but he likes to think Adam before he sinned had a body identical to Christ's in His earthly appearance, since Adam before sin was incorruptible and could have lived forever had he not fallen, while Christ did not fall.