Who does Lazarus represent in the Bible?

Christ raising Lazarus from the dead is a typology for what happened when we who believe Jesus were raised from our former “dead in trespasses” state to life in Christ. Here’s what happened when Christ arrived at Lazarus’ tomb- John 11:39-

"Jesus said, Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of the dead man, exclaimed, But Lord, by this time he [is decaying and] throws off an offensive odor, for he has been dead four days!"

Jesus Christ: He is Grace-personified, the One by whose obedience we are made righteous-

“By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

From the above verse, we see that committing acts of sin is not what makes a person a sinner. Adam passed on the sin virus to all of his descendants. Sinners will produce sins just as a person infected with HIV will produce symptoms of his infection—the fact that he looks healthy (sinless) does not make his blood (works) acceptable. His works are deathly, even aka dead works. Likewise, the one who receives God’s gift of righteousness in Christ gets to produce a harvest of good deeds for God because in Christ Jesus, we are a new creation having the same “righteous nature” as Christ. Christ has rid all who believe Him of the sinful nature/sin virus which Adam passed on to all of his descendants (Colossians 2:13) and which conscripted all to a life of producing the stench of sins.

Lazarus dead in the tomb, apart from Christ: A type of man with the old/sinful nature inherited from Adam still intact aka “dead in trespasses,” — rejecting God’s gift of righteousness to us in Christ and arrogantly striving to be godly/righteous aka be like God by human effort at keeping the law when Christ says “There is none good but God.” The one here is not raised from death to life in Christ as he does not believe the efficacy of Christ’s finished work in making the sinner who believes righteous. He might sing: “‘Tis no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me” but his action of attempting to be godly/righteous by human effort as Adam and Eve tried to do prove that he is still alive in himself and not utterly reliant on Christ for righteousness, life and godliness. The law which he tries so hard to obey in order to be godly like God causes him to produce only an abundance of the stench that is sins-

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death." Romans 7:5.

Lazarus raised from the dead, in Christ: a type of man with the sinful nature excised by Christ and now having Christ’s righteousness nature aka made righteous by Christ’s obedience — no longer striving to be righteous by human effort at obeying the letter that kills but receiving God’s abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ: raised from death in trespasses to life in Christ and thus destined to produce a harvest of good deeds for God—

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.”Romans 7:4

The stone: A type of the law, including the Ten Commandments (which was written and engraved on stones) and which many are trying to obey in order to be righteous aka be like God. Human striving at obeying the law (which kills and gives the knowledge of good and evil like a certain tree) for the attainment of godliness/to be like God is the hallmark of the sinful nature. It is an outright rejection of Christ’s sacrifice in making the sinner who believes righteous like God.

Martha: “the sister of the dead man, exclaimed, But Lord, by this time he [is decaying and] throws off an offensive odor, for he has been dead four days!"

Martha’s fear of taking away the stone (a type of the law) is the same fear which some pastors and religious leaders project on the flock today— that removing the law will make believers go on sinning sprees; that having nothing to do with the law surely must translate into believers producing the stench that is sins in abundance. Christ who is Grace-personified is still saying:

"Take away the stone from the one whom I have raised from being dead (in sins) to life (in Christ.)"

How can we who are dead to the law, dead to the sinful nature and made alive in Christ (Grace Himself) continue to give off the stench of sin after being removed from under the very stone (Law) that caused us to produce the same stench (sins) to begin with? How can sin have dominion over us?—

“For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14.

But many who claim to represent Christ deceive the flock with variations of the same untruth which Martha believed— that Lazarus would be smelly (full of the stench of sins) after Christ said to take away the stone. Such deceivers in pastors’ garb make statements such as:

"Yes you are saved and given new life by Grace but we cannot remove the law. We still have to keep the law to cover you who were dead in trespasses and have now been raised to life in Christ so that you will not produce the stench of sins."

With such mixture “neither cold nor hot” doctrine, the stone is partially removed while the dead in trespasses hold on to their striving for godliness by keeping the law and so have been cut off from Christ—

“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s Grace.” Galatians 5:4.

No salvation from sins for such who trust themselves to keep even a tittle of the law, for this is why Christ gave His life for you and I, beloved of God—

“He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Never trust yourself. Trust in Christ, forsaking every confidence that you put in yourself to be or do good (be like God.) Believe Jesus, beloved. Remove the stone (the law,) knowing and believing Christ (Grace Himself) as your utter Life, Righteousness and Strength and experience the glory of God-- how great and powerful God is in saving you and I from sin and death through Christ Jesus. As it was with Lazarus, there is no stench of sins following our liberation from under the stone that is the law but the life and fragrance of Christ Himself. In Him, sin has no hold over us-

"For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14.

There’s a more detailed answer in the comments section below:)