LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
What is the meaning of federal headship?
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
What is the meaning of federal headship?
In theology, federal headship is one theory used to explain imputation—how Adam’s sin
was imputed to all his descendants and how Christ’s righteousness was imputed to those who
believe the gospel. According to the federal headship theory, or federalism, Adam was the
federal (or representative) head of the human race; Adam chose to sin, and all of us are
considered guilty, too, because he was our representative. Federal headship is seen as a
possible explanation of Paul’s comparison of the roles of Adam and Christ in Romans 5:18: “As
one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification
and life for all men” (ESV). So, Adam’s sin brought condemnation on the human race; Christ’s
sacrifice brought salvation for the whole race. The idea of federal headship involves the
teaching that Adam was the first representative of the human race and Christ was the second
representative.
The idea of federal headship is not explicit in the Bible; that is, the Bible nowhere calls
Adam our representative. Federal headship is simply a way some scholars have chosen to speak
about Adam’s, and then Christ’s, involvement in the destiny of humanity. The theory is based
on Paul’s argument in Romans 5 that “sin entered the world through one man, and death
through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (verse 12). From
Adam to Moses, even before the Law was given, “death reigned” (verse 14). If there was no
Mosaic Law, and if “where there is no law there is no transgression” (Romans 4:15), how could
Adam’s sons have been deemed sinful? Applying the concept of federal headship, we can say it
was because they were part of the human race; Adam was their representative, and therefore
Adam’s transgression applied to all men.
The weakness of federal headship is that it is an interpretive tool, not an explicitly biblical
truth. Romans 5 does not say that Adam was the representative of the human race, only that
“by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man” (Romans 5:17). God
never says exactly how the transference of the sin nature occurred, only that it did occur.
What we know for certain is that death entered the world through Adam’s sin. The idea of
federal headship is not stated outright in Scripture, but Adam’s sin was definitely the origin of
the problem, and sin was inherited by all of us through him. Then Christ came and by His
sacrifice became our Savior. Thus, there is a parallel between Adam and Christ: “Just as one
trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in
justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the
many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made
righteous” (Romans 5:18–19).
Federal Headship is foreign to the modern mind, but it is a biblical concept. It is the
teaching that the father is the one who represents his family, his descendants. Proof of this can
be found in Heb. 7:8-10. “Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom
it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so
to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.”
Levi was a distant descendant of Abraham, yet it is said that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek
even though Levi hadn’t yet been born. How is this so? It is because Abraham represented his
descendants. We know that Levi did not physically carry out the act of paying tithes to
Melchizedek, but we know that Abraham did. Therefore, this passage teaches the
representative nature of Abraham over his descendants. Without this understanding of this
passage, it would not make any sense.
Federal Headship also finds its place in the Epistle of Romans when Paul says in Rom. 5:12-
14,
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and
thus death spread to all men, because all sinned– 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but
sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam,
who is a type of Him who was to come.” In these verses, we see deep theological truths. When
Paul says in verse 12 “because all sinned,” he is using what is called the aorist indicative in
Greek. This means that it is an action that is completed in the past. Therefore, there is a logical
implication that we can draw from this. Wayne Grudem in his systematic theology says
“But it was not true that all men had actually committed sinful actions at the time that Paul
was writing, because some had not even been born yet, and many others had died in infancy
before committing any conscious acts of sin. So Paul must be meaning that when Adam sinned,
God considered true that all men sinned in Adam.”1
Also, please consider these two quotes dealing with Federal Headship.
“The federal headship view considers Adam, the first man, as the representative of the
human race that generated from him. As the representative of all humans, Adam’s act of sin
was considered by God to be the act of all people and his penalty of death was judicially made
the penalty of everybody.”
“The federal headship of Adam presupposes and rests upon his natural headship. He was
our natural head before he was our federal head. He was doubtless made our federal
representative because he was our natural progenitor, and was so conditioned that his agency
must affect our destinies, and because our very nature was on trial (typically if not essentially)
in him. Whatever, therefore, of virtue in this explanation the natural headship of Adam may be
supposed to contain the federal theory retains.” Therefore, it should be clear that Federal
Headship teaches that Adam represented us; and when he fell, we fell.
But some may object and say that this is not fair. They will say that we should not be held
responsible for Adam’s sin because we didn’t commit his first sin–he did. We are not held
responsible for Adam’s sin. We are affected by Adam’s Original sin in two main ways. First,
original sin is the teaching that Adam’s first sin brought to us both guilt and a fallen nature. He
brought us guilt in that he represented us; and when Adam died, we died in him. 1 Cor.
15:22 says, “In Adam all die. In Christ all shall be made alive.” Second, since Adam is our
ancient biological father, we inherit his sinful nature.
Third, to deny Adam’s representative headship logically leads to a denial of Christ‘s
representative headship on the Cross.
Jesus represented His people
1 Cor. 15:45 says, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-
giving spirit.” The “last Adam” is a reference to Jesus because of the similar relationship that
exists between Adam and Jesus. That is, both Adam and Jesus are representative heads. Please
consider 1 Cor. 15:22 that says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made
alive.” This is teaching us that Adam and Christ are heads of groups. Notice “in Adam” and “in
Christ” are referencing our position in relationship to both of them.
If Adam did not represent mankind, then Jesus could not represent the Christians when He
died on the cross. As Adam’s offense resulted in condemnation to all people, so also, Jesus’
sacrifice results in justification for those who believe in Him (Rom. 5:18). It is because of
Federal Headship–legal representation–that we are able to be saved at all. As Adam’s sin was
imputed4 to us because of the Fall, our sin was likewise imputed to Jesus on the cross; and
Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us when we receive Him. In other words, if it was not for the
biblical idea of Federal Headship (of one person representing others), then Jesus could not have
represented us on the cross. If Jesus did not represent us on the cross, then it could not be said
of us that ” . . . you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3); and, “Now if
we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,” (Rom. 6:8). Jesus
represented us so completely on the cross that it can be said that we have died with Him. If it
were not for Federal Headship, this would not be possible; and we could not have died to sin.
Conclusion
Federal Headship is a biblical concept with some very important ramifications. Because of
the biblical concept, we are able to enjoy salvation; we have died to sin, and we can rest in
Christ who represented us before the Father in His satisfaction of the Law of God.
