Christ the true and better Adam
Son of God and Son of man
Who, when tempted in the garden
Never yielded, never sinned
He who makes the many righteous
Brings us back to life again
Dying, He reversed the curse, then
Rising, crushed the serpent’s head
Christ the true and better Isaac
Humble son of sacrifice
Who would climb the fearful mountain
There to offer up his life
Laid with faith upon the altar
Father’s joy and only son
There salvation was provided
Oh what full and boundless love
CHORUS
Amen, amen
From beginning to end
Christ the story
His the glory
Alleluia, amen
Christ the true and better Moses
Called to lead a people home
Standing bold to earthly powers
God’s great glory to be known
With his arms stretched wide to heaven
See the waters part in two
See the veil is torn forever
Cleansed with blood we pass now through
CHORUS
Christ the true and better David
Lowly shepherd, mighty King
He the champion in the battle
Where, o death, is now thy sting?
In our place He bled and conquered
Crown Him Lord of majesty
His shall be the throne forever
We shall e’er His people be
CHORUS x2
Words and Music by Matt Boswell, Keith Getty, and Matt Papa
Christ The True And Better
Song Meaning
Keith & Kristyn Getty structure "Christ The True And Better" around four named Old Testament figures, giving each a full verse before drawing the same conclusion each time: Christ fulfills and exceeds what they only foreshadowed. Adam failed in a garden; Christ, "tempted in the garden, never yielded, never sinned." Isaac was nearly sacrificed by his father; Christ, the "Father's joy and only son," actually was.
"See the waters part in two... see the veil is torn forever" pairs Moses' exodus miracle with the crucifixion's torn temple curtain, treating one as rehearsal for the other rather than an unrelated event centuries later. "He the champion in the battle, where, o death, is now thy sting?" moves from David's victory over Goliath to Christ's victory over death itself, borrowing Paul's own taunting question from 1 Corinthians.
The repeated chorus, "Christ the story, His the glory," functions as the hymn's thesis statement — every Old Testament figure named across four verses turns out to be a partial chapter in one continuous narrative, not four separate stories that happen to share a theme.