What pattern of order does God consistently use in the Bible?
Scripture consistently follows the order of first the natural, then the spiritual. Examples include Cain before Abel, Ishmael before Isaac, Esau before Jacob, King Saul before King David, and Adam before Christ. This rule of thumb runs all the way through the Bible, showing God's pattern of natural preceding spiritual.
Les teaches that this is a rule of thumb all the way through Scripture: first the natural, then the spiritual. He reminds listeners that he made this point constantly in the Old Testament. The pattern appears in Cain before Abel, Ishmael before Isaac, Esau before Jacob, and King Saul before King David. In the text with Paul, it comes again: first Adam, the natural, then Christ, the spiritual. Paul writes in verse 46 that the spiritual was not first, but the natural comes first. Adam was the first federal head of the human race, and Christ is the culmination, so the order is natural then spiritual.