What Is Federal Headship in the Bible — In Biblical Context

The Biblical Context

Federal headship — sometimes called representative or covenantal headship — is the biblical teaching that God has appointed two representative heads of humanity: Adam and Christ. The word 'federal' comes from the Latin foedus, meaning covenant. Romans 5:12-21 is the foundational passage. 'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned... Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.' Paul's argument requires that Adam's sin be counted as ours by representation, just as Christ's righteousness is counted as ours by representation. 1 Corinthians 15:22 echoes this: 'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' Verse 45 calls Christ 'the last Adam.' Federal headship explains why all humans are born under sin's guilt and corruption, even before personal acts of sin: Adam acted as our representative in the Garden, and his fall is reckoned to all those he represented. It also explains the glorious truth that the redeemed do not stand before God on the basis of their own works, but on the basis of Christ's perfect obedience reckoned to them. This is the foundation of imputation. Federal headship teaches us that we are not autonomous individuals; we exist in covenant relationships. Our hope is that we have been transferred from the condemned line of the first Adam to the justified line of the Last Adam, our covenant Head, Jesus Christ.

Where It Sits in Scripture

Supporting Passages