The Significance of Genesis 4; Life After Paradise; The People Leave the Garden (selected verses from Genesis 4)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Saturday, February 25 and Sunday, February 26, 2022

In 1991 two hikers in the Italian Alps stumbled upon a 5,300-year-old corpse that would later be dubbed “Ötzi the Iceman.” Preserved for more than five millennia in the ice and dry mountain air, Ötzi is the oldest intact corpse ever found. Forensic investigation revealed that Ötzi was most likely a shepherd. Ötzi was also a murder victim. He had been shot in the back with an arrow. As a Bronze Age shepherd who became a murder victim, we might think of Ötzi as the Abel of the Alps. In other words, the oldest human corpse was not found resting in a peaceful grave with attendant signs of reverence, but sprawled upon a bleak mountainside with an arrow in his back.

It’s a distressing commentary on the origins of human civilization. It seems that human civilization is incapable of advancing without shooting brothers in the back. From the lonely death of Ötzi in the Italian Alps to Neda Agha-Soltan in Iran, whose violent death in Tehran during the 2009 election protests was captured on a cell-phone camera and witnessed around the world, the number of Abels who lay slain by a Cain are incalculable. In a world that spills the blood of the innocent, it’s easy to despair. But the world Abel, Ötzi, and Neda were slain in, Jesus came to save.[1]

We have been focusing on how Genesis chapters 1-11 are foundational to our faith. We come to Genesis 4.

In Genesis 3 we have the devil slithering around as a serpent, talking, tempting, and distorting the Truth and Adam and Eve fall into sin. Then we come to Genesis 4 and we have a description of sin as an animal crouching at the door with a desire to overtake an individual, what an image.

In Genesis 3 we have the “why.” Why do these bad things happen, why sin? In Genesis 4 we have the “what.” What is happening that is sinful. Chapter 3 gives the cause and chapter 4 the effect.

In Genesis 4 we have this picture of sin wanting to overtake Cain, like a snake, a lion, a bear crouching, ready to pounce. When Cain gives into sin it does not stop with him. This is life outside of paradise.

We are not going to read this whole passage. Also, a few years ago I preached on Cain and Abel, so today I want to focus on a few verses. To start I want us to read a few passages of Scripture.

Let’s start with the New Testament:

1 Cor. 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Now, let’s look at a key passage in Genesis 4:6-7: The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Now, Genesis 4:8: Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Lastly, Genesis 4:25-26: And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

Now, we are ready to talk about Genesis 4 as foundational to our faith.

My theme is: The Significance of Genesis 4; Life After Paradise; The People Leave the Garden

1. How did we get here?
   1. So, at the end of Genesis 3 God sent man and woman out of the Garden of Eden.
   2. In Genesis 4:1 Adam and Eve have children. They are named Cain and Abel.
   3. They both make sacrifices and God is pleased with Abel’s sacrifice, but not Cain’s. There may be reasons for this, possibly because Abel gave of the first fruits.
   4. Cain is angry.
   5. God speaks to Cain, we read that verse earlier, but let’s read those verses again. Genesis 4:6-8: The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
   6. They have left paradise and now paradise has left them.
   7. They had sinned in Genesis 3 and the consequence of the sin is spiritual death and physical death. They needed a redeemer, but God has not yet provided the redeemer.
   8. They are out of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lived a long time (Adam lived 930 years, Genesis 5:5) so we do not know how old Cain and Abel were at this time. One source makes the case that Cain is already married.[2]
   9. As I thought of this I was convicted to think about this from Adam and Eve’s perspective. Think with me. Allow yourself to go there. Have you ever gotten yourself in a pickle? Have you ever wished that there could be a do-over? Have you ever wondered how something was going to get taken care of after a BIG mess? Maybe something was irreparable?
   10. We all know what it is like when family relationships are divided. For many of us we wish that we could take the words back. We wish we could take back actions. We may wish we could make the phone call to repair things, or write the letter, or knock on their door.
   11. We know what it is like when things seem perfect, or almost perfect, and then we lose it. Maybe we did not realize how good we had it. Then we always wonder “what if…?”
   12. I wonder if after Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve were thinking, “What if we did not eat of that tree?”
   13. I wonder if after Cain killed Abel, Adam and Eve were wondering where they went wrong.
   14. More than that, I wonder if after Cain killed Abel, they are so emotionally distraught. They did not know what to do.
   15. Murder is wrong.
   16. Murdering your own sibling is certainly not supposed to happen.
   17. This is the first sibling rivalry.
   18. This is the first jealousy recorded.
   19. This is the first anger recorded.
   20. This is the first murder recorded.
   21. BUT Adam and Eve’s emotions were not recorded.
   22. If Adam and Eve had a journal, what would it read?
   23. I imagine Eve running to Cain and letting out a blood curdling scream, “What have you done! What have you done! What have you done!” as she pounds her fists on his chest.
   24. Then, I imagine Eve going to Adam, but what would she say to him? Was it, “you should have intervened?” Or, did they grieve together.
   25. We don’t know what their thoughts were, but we do see a little bit in Genesis 4:25-26. We will come back to that.
   26. This is life after paradise. I wonder if Adam and Eve are realizing this is the new normal. Adam lived 930 years (Genesis 5:5) so he saw a lot of suffering in his descendants.
2. What about Cain’s descendants (Genesis 4:17-26)?
   1. What was life outside paradise like? We will not read the next several verses but allow me to summarize a few key insights.
   2. In verse 19 Lamech starts polygamy. In Genesis 2:24 Adam marries one wife, but now Lamech has two. Genesis 2:24 says that a man is united to his wife, not wives. They are fallen.
   3. In verse 21 we see musical instruments (The pipe).
   4. In verse 22: we see iron and bronze. This means significant advances.
   5. In verses 23-24 we have more murder.  Lamech wants protected like Cain.
   6. Notice that these are real records. These do not read like fictional myths or allegory. They are records.
   7. They may skip generations and not include everyone but they are records.
   8. Adam and Eve sinned and now they are in life after paradise. We now see the consequence of sin. When we disobey God there are consequences. We must obey God’s ways (Genesis 4:7).
      1. Jealousy (Genesis 4:4-5)
      2. Anger (Genesis 4:4-5)
      3. Murder (Genesis 4:8, 23)
      4. Revenge (Genesis 4:14)
      5. Polygamy (Genesis 4:19)
   9. Where did Cain get his wife? Genesis 5:3 says that Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born. He lived another 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
   10. Cain married his sister! Yes. Now, there is the belief that Adam and Eve were one specific family that God spotlights and so there were more people and Cain’s wife was from other people. But here is the problem with that.
   11. Remember the first Adam-second Adam sermon? In Adam all die, so that in Christ all can be made alive. Romans 5:12-21 is about that. Also 1 Cor 15:21-22: For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
   12. Look at Romans 5:18: Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
   13. Jesus paid the price of sin from the line of Adam. Plus, the New Testament seems to show that Adam’s sin trickles down to all humanity.
   14. God is faithful. He provided redemption.
   15. To be saved all humanity must go back to Adam and Eve.
   16. Now, how does that biologically work? Well, Adam and Eve would have been created perfectly. Their genetics were perfect so at this point that would not be a problem. But the longer human beings are in this sin-filled world their genetics got worse and the closer people are genetically related the more likely deformities would come.
   17. Did the law forbid marrying a relative? Yes, but the law came much later. By the time of the Law genetics would have been corrupted by sin and so God told them not to marry relatives (Leviticus 18-20).
   18. So, now, outside of paradise there is sin.
   19. Commenting on his performance in the gangster drama Black Mass, actor Johnny Deep said, “I found the evil in myself a long time ago, and I’ve accepted it. We’re old friends.”[3]
3. God’s grace outside of paradise
   1. We see God’s grace in Genesis 4:7. We read that earlier.
   2. We see God’s grace in Genesis 4:15 when God protects Cain.
   3. We see God’s grace in Genesis 4:25-26. Let’s re-read that passage. Genesis 4:25-26: And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
4. God gave Adam and Eve another son (Genesis 4:25-26)
   1. The Lord provided more children.
   2. That is NOT to say that other children replace a child lost, NO WAY. Let me repeat, That is NOT to say that other children replace a child lost, NO WAY. However, Eve said it herself “for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”’
   3. We see God’s grace.
   4. I wonder if she was concerned that they populate the earth. God told them to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28).
   5. I wonder if she was concerned that without more children there would not be a redeemer. Remember in Genesis 3:15 there was the first prophesy of a redeemer. With every child Eve may be wondering, “Is this going to be the redeemer?”
   6. Adam and Eve knew paradise.
   7. Adam and Eve probably wanted paradise back.
   8. They were the only two to live in paradise, to live without sin.
   9. I am sure they wanted redemption more than anyone.

Sin is destructive.  Does sin offend us?

Parishioners of a conservative, small-town church in rural Indiana were surprised one Sunday when a biker came to visit. He stuck out like a sore thumb—pony-tailed, tattooed, and wearing bikers’ colors. But the church came alongside him and showered him with love and acceptance. He kept coming back and eventually became a Christian.

But there was one lingering question: Why did the biker always wear long-sleeved shirts—even on the hottest days of summer? One day he finally confessed to the pastor that he had a tattoo of a naked woman on one forearm, and he didn’t want the other people in the church to see it.

A few weeks later, the biker walked up to the pastor and asked, “Want to see my new tattoo?” The pastor turned a little pale as the biker proudly rolled up his sleeve. “You know that naked woman tattoo I told you about awhile ago? I had the tattoo artist put clothes on her!”[4]

God provides a way out of sin. Let’s re-read 1 Corinthians 10:13.

1 Cor. 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Seek the Lord, seek paradise. Someday we will be in the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21-22).

Prayer

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[1] Brian Zahnd, A Farewell to Mars (David C. Cook, 2014), pp. 60-61. https://www.preachingtoday.com/search/?query=Genesis%204&type=scripture&sourcename=illustrations

[2] https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/cain/cains-wife-who-was-she/

[3] The Talk, Celebrities, Chicago Tribune (9-5-15). https://www.preachingtoday.com/search/?query=Genesis%204&type=scripture&sourcename=illustrations

[4] Source: As told by Pastor Danny Janes, Lighthouse Community Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan. https://www.preachingtoday.com/search/?query=Genesis%204&type=scripture&new-gr-c-s-check-loaded=&gr-ext-installed=&sourcename=illustrations&filter=pttype%3AHumor

The Significance of Genesis 3 and the rest of the Bible (Genesis 3 and selected verses): The fall, the punishments, the first prophesy of the Messiah; the exile from the Garden of Eden; they move east…

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Saturday, February 12 and Sunday, February 13, 2022

Most of you know that I do not like snakes. I think it was 2007 when a friend of mine asked me to come down to Kentucky to work with him on a property he had. We were working outside and he told me, “One time in 10 years I saw I copper head snake.” So, I had been warned but it was only one time in ten years. We worked cutting down brush and burning it in a big fire. I was then cutting it with a lawn mower and I turned around to see a copper head slithering away. I do not like snakes. A few years before that my friend had a contractor come to look at something in that house. He had to go in the crawl space. He comes out and says, “The good news is that you do not have a leak down there. The bad news is you have a black snake.” He was crawling through the crawl space and saw a snake skin. He then looked up and saw a blacksnake coiled in the corner.

In Genesis 3 we see the devil take the form of a snake to tempt Adam and Eve. I will summarize parts of this story and I want to focus on the first prophecy of Jesus.

I am in a sermon series showing that Genesis chapters 1-11 are foundational to our faith. In Genesis 3 we see the beginning of sin and the plan for redemption.

My theme today is:

In Genesis 3 sin enters the world, but we also have the first prophesy that God will provide a Savior.

1. First, let’s talk about sin.
   1. In Genesis 3:1-7 we see Adam and Eve tempted by the devil and they give in to temptation.
   2. The devil temps them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
   3. This passage is telling us what is wrong with the world, which is sin.
   4. Think of sin like death.
   5. Actually, isn’t it interesting that because of sin there is death and because of death there is decomposition.
   6. A few times we have noticed that a mouse has died in our house. How do we know that a mouse has died? We smell the mouse. You see, we notice a smell and we usually know that the mouse is dead in a wall and we just have to wait for the smell to go away. That smell tells us something is not right. What is wrong? Sin brought death into the world.
   7. In Genesis 3:8-14 Adam and Eve hide from God.
   8. They knew they were wrong. They knew they had disobeyed God.
   9. God talks to them and they blame each other.
   10. Adam says, “the woman ‘You’ gave me…” He blames God and Eve.
   11. In Genesis 3:14 God begins to give the consequences.
   12. Within the consequences we see grace.
   13. God gives grace and it is that He will provide a redeemer.
2. The prophesied redemption.
   1. Read with me Genesis 3:15: I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
   2. I like what Dr Rydelnic shared: Some reject this as Messianic thinking why would God give grace in the midst of judgment, but that is common:
      1. God did that with Cain giving him a mark.
      2. Gen 6 judgment of earth with grace for Noah.
      3. Then Lot is rescued in the midst of judgment.
      4. Some think this is just a story showing why there is hostility with snakes… but this is a surprise in that the snake talked. The devil was possessing the snake.
      5. Seed: even in the next chapter the Word for seed means an individual.
      6. This is predicting the Messiah’s death.
      7. In defeating Satan, the Messiah will die.
   3. Hark the Herald Angels Sing: clearly Genesis 3:15 was in the mind of Charles Wesley when he wrote the 4th verse:
      1. Come, Desire of nations, come!
      2.  Fix in us Thy humble home:
      3. Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring seed,
      4. Bruise in us the serpent’s head;
      5. Adam’s likeness now efface,
      6. Stamp Thine image in its place:
      7. Final Adam from above,
      8. Reinstate us in Thy love.[1]
   4. This verse is known in Christendom as the protoevangelium, or “first good news,” because it is the first foretelling of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Using an emphatic Hebrew construction, God announced here that a male descendant—He—would someday deal the serpent (meaning Satan) a fatal blow. The NT writers understood Jesus Christ to have fulfilled this prophecy (Heb 2:14; 1Jn 3:8).^[2]
   5. Verse 15 is Messianic. This is the first prophesy of the Messiah. Her offspring will give a death blow to the devil, bruise his head means death.
   6. Verse 15 does say that there will be enmity between her offspring and the devil, and the devil’s offspring (maybe demons). There is still that sin struggle. Often times I think that would mean all of us as her offspring; however, “offspring” is singular.
   7. Seed in the Bible just means offspring: Hagar and her seed Ishmael. This does not mean seed as in sperm just as offspring.
   8. Again, this passage uses her offspring saying “He” and that is masculine, singular, meaning One person, the man, Christ Jesus.
   9. Think about that. There will be One offspring, Jesus, that will deliver the death blow to satan.
   10. So, right here after the first sin God gives grace.
   11. But how important is this to the rest of the Bible?
   12. First, we can compare this narrative with the wording in Genesis 4 with Cain, then with Noah later on, and other Old Testament passages. We will not do that today. But if you want to see how they are similar contact me during the week.
3. The fulfilled redemption
   1. I have been emphasizing how these narratives in Genesis are critical for our interpretation of the whole Bible. Think about it. If we were to throw this out of the Bible we lose:
      1. God’s grace in the midst of judgment.
      2. The first prophesy that God will provide a redeemer.
      3. Within that first prophesy we see that the method of our redemption will come through humanity. If we do not believe this passage we lose the foundation for how God will bring salvation.
   2. When do we see this fulfilled in the New Testament?
   3. When do we not see this fulfilled in the New Testament?
   4. Galatians 4:4: But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
   5. Notice how that passage says “born of woman.” It seems that God is making sure we know that our Savior was born of a woman. He was a descendent of Adam and Eve.
   6. Luke 24:27: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
   7. All of the Scriptures point to Jesus.
   8. One more passage that connects with this verse is Revelation 12:9: And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
   9. We needed a Savior and in the judgment against the very first sin, God pointed to our redemption.
4. Applications:
   1. Salvation comes from the Lord. We must trust the Lord that He will provide a way of forgiveness.
   2. We can be encouraged that all the way back in Genesis God prophesied a way of redemption.
   3. We must be encouraged that God is faithful.
   4. We must have confidence in God’s Word.

So, once again we see how the Bible links together like a chain.

I read the following:

The distinctive mark of theology today is its dreadful ambiguity. The chaos of American theology today can be traced back to its roots in the rejection of biblical infallibility. Preaching is not the act of unfolding our personal convictions. It is the duty of informing men of all that God has spoken. To move off from the pages of Scripture is to enter into the wastelands of our own subjectivity. Scripture plays an important role in the salvation of men. The Bible is a divinely provided map of the spiritual order. It contains the directions and markings to guide a person into reconciliation with God.

—Clark Pinnock, Bibliotheca Sacra, October–December 1967^[3]

Prayer

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[1] Dr Rydelnic; Bible Study moment; 12.02.2021

NT New Testament

^[2] Robert D. Bergen, “Genesis,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 11.

^[3] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 49.

The Significance of the First Adam and the Second Adam; How is the Historical Adam Foundational to Our Faith (Selected scriptures from Genesis 2 and 3; Romans 5:17-20; 1 Cor. 15:20-22, 45-49)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Saturday, February 5 and Sunday, February 6, 2022

In Christ and the Meaning of Life, German theologian Helmut Thielicke tells the story of a young [soldier] who reached out to pick a bouquet of lilacs and uncovered the half-decayed body of [another] soldier beneath the bush: “He drew back in horror, not because he had never seen a dead man before—he drew back because of the screaming contradiction between the dead man and the flowering bush.”

Thielicke notes that the soldier’s reaction would have been different if the man had come upon a dead and faded lilac bush instead: “A blooming lilac bush will one day become a withered lilac bush—this is really nothing more than the operation of the rhythm of life—but that a man should be lying there in a decayed condition, this was something that simply did not fit, and that’s why he winced at the sight of it.”

We can only understand the mystery of death if we see it through the lens of Adam’s rebellion against God. We are pilgrims who traverse an “empire of ruins” with death as our fellow traveler. Unable to rid ourselves of this cheerless companion, we attempt to rehabilitate it instead, treating death as if it were a neighbor and not a trespasser.

We clothe it in our best dress and apply make-up to its waxen features. Laid out before us in stiff repose, death looks as if it were merely asleep and if we do not look too carefully, we can almost convince ourselves that it has a beating heart within its breast and warm blood pulsing through its veins. We whisper to ourselves that it is not as alien as it first appeared. But this fool’s dream vanishes the minute we attempt to embrace death, finding that it repays our kiss with only sorrow and loss.

Death is not a natural stage in the cycle of human development. Death is a curse. The presence of death is an intrusion. It is “natural” only to the extent that nature itself suffers from the stroke that fell upon Adam as a consequence for his sin. Nature endures death but not willingly. It groans in protest, loathing the bondage to decay which death has brought upon it and yearning for “the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). Death is “the last enemy,” a tyrant who acts on sin’s behalf and whose sway over us was finally broken at the cross but will only be fully realized at the resurrection (Romans 5:21; 1 Corinthians 15:26).

Death is our enemy but, like the law, it is also a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. Death’s hard lesson exposes the true nature of sin. Indeed, the law and death are strange allies in this mysterious work. In the hands of God both act as a goad, puncturing our denial and prodding us to turn to Christ for relief from death’s sting.[1]

We are in a sermon series showing how Genesis chapters 1-11 are foundational to our faith. Last week we talked about the historical Adam and Eve. Today, I want to talk about how Adam’s sin points to Christ’s redemption. Today, I want to talk about how the New Testament shows how Adam was a type pointing towards Christ.

Theologically, a type is an OT person, object, or event that had a useful function in its own historical setting, but that also was designed by God to prefigure a greater, more spiritually potent situation or person. In this case, Adam was a “type” of Christ since he functions as the founder of the human race and his action had a profound influence upon it. Jesus, of course, is the superior “antitype” to Adam.^[2]

Theme:

My theme is that Adam was a type and Jesus is the antitype. Adam’s sin led humanity into sin, but Jesus’ redemption makes salvation possible for all of humanity.

Let’s use three New Testament passages to show the importance of the historical Adam.

1. Let’s first look at 1 Cor. 15:20-22:
   1. 1 Cor. 15:20-22: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
   2. Notice how in that passage Paul is looking back to Adam. Paul is showing how Adam is a type.
   3. 1 Corinthians 15 is known as the great chapter on the resurrection.
   4. So, here in this section Paul is showing that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection. This speaks of the first installment of harvest to eternal life, in which Christ’s resurrection will precipitate and guarantee that all of the saints who have died will be resurrected also.^[3]
   5. For as one man came death— that would be Adam— as one man, Christ, comes the resurrection.
   6. As in Adam all die.
   7. We all die because of the sin of Adam.
   8. Yet, we all can be made alive through Jesus.
2. Next, let’s look at 1 Cor. 15:45-49:
   1. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
   2. Adam became a living being, right? Paul quotes from Genesis 2:7 about Adam becoming a living being. Jesus gives us spiritual life. Paul is saying that Jesus gives us our spiritual resurrected bodies.
   3. The first man, Adam, from the dust. The second man, Jesus, is from Heaven.
   4. Notice all the comparisons and contrast.
   5. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust: they die right? Those in Adam die. But: As is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of Heaven- we live. We have resurrected bodies.
   6. Paul is comparing and contrasting the first Adam who brought death, versus Jesus being the second Adam bringing life.
   7. We will bear His image fit for Heaven.
   8. Notice that it is clear that Paul thought of Adam as a real man.
   9. More than that, Paul built theology around Adam. Adam was the prototype and Jesus the antitype.
   10. Adam was a type pointing to Jesus.
   11. I love this quote:
   12. Here’s the gospel: you’re more sinful than you ever dared believe; you’re more loved than you ever dared hope.[4]
3. Last, example: Romans 5:17-19:
   1. I have preached on the Romans passage, so I only want to briefly look at it.
   2. This passage is extremely important for the theology of the first Adam and second Adam.
   3. The section on the first Adam and second Adam begins at verse 12, but we will begin at verse 17:
   4. Romans 5:17-19: For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
   5. In the broader text, there is a dash at the end of Romans 5:12 because it is not picked up again until verses 18-19.
   6. Notice how verse 17 is an explanation and then verse 18 an inference.
   7. Adam is a type.
   8. Again, Theologically, a type is an OT person, object, or event that had a useful function in its own historical setting, but that also was designed by God to prefigure a greater, more spiritually potent situation or person. In this case, Adam was a “type” of Christ since he functions as the founder of the human race and his action had a profound influence upon it. Jesus, of course, is the superior “antitype” to Adam.^[5]
   9. I like how one source shares: In this passage Paul explores the contrasts between the condemning act of Adam and the redemptive act of Christ. They were different in their effectiveness (v. 15), their extent (v. 16), their efficacy (v. 17), their essence (vv. 18, 19), and their energy (vv. 20, 21).^[6]
   10. Again, verse 19 is restating this. The disobedience of Adam versus the obedience of Christ. Humans were made sinners through Adam’s sin because he represented humanity. As stated before, we were all in his loins. But in Christ we can be made righteous.
4. Application:
   1. Paul knew nothing of denying the real history of Adam.
   2. We must recognizing that cutting Adam out of our Bible has consequences on the reality of sin and forgiveness.
   3. Adam was a type and Jesus is the antitype.
   4. These texts (1 Cor. 15:21-22; 45-40 and Romans 5:17-19) show that Christ is the second Adam. This means that Adam was a type of one to come. We cannot, we must not, take the real Adam out of the Bible.
   5. We must worship Christ for doing what we could not do on our own. We all failed in Adam. We all sinned in Adam.
   6. To me, these are worship passages, do we worship Christ for the awesome salvation which He has freely provided?
   7. Do we try to earn our salvation? We cannot earn our salvation and that is why Jesus gave us the free gift of His righteousness.
   8. Adam sinned and we all sinned in Him, we needed Jesus to fix it.
   9. We must serve and worship Jesus who gives us His grace.

Close:

Most kingdoms do anything they can to protect their king. This is the unspoken premise of the game of chess, for example. When the king falls, the kingdom is lost. Therefore, the king must be protected at all costs. Another notable example comes from the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill desperately wanted to join the expeditionary forces and watch the invasion from the bridge of a battleship in the English Channel. U.S. General Dwight David Eisenhower was desperate to stop him, for fear that the Prime Minister might be killed in battle. When it became apparent that Churchill would not be dissuaded, Eisenhower appealed to a higher authority: King George VI. The king went and told Churchill that if it was the Prime Minister’s duty to witness the invasion, he could only conclude that it was also his own duty as king to join him on the battleship. At this point Churchill reluctantly agreed to back down, for he knew that he could never expose the King of England to such danger.

King Jesus did exactly the opposite. With royal courage he surrendered his body to be crucified. On the cross he offered a king’s ransom: his life for the life of his people. He would die for all the wrong things that we had ever done and would do, completely atoning for all our sins. The crown of thorns that was meant to make a mockery of his royal claims actually proclaimed his kingly dignity, even in death.[7]

Prayer

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[1] Source: John Koessler, “Death: Our Enemy and Teacher,” on his blog A Stranger in the House of God (6-30-10)

OT Old Testament

^[2] Michael G. Vanlaningham, “Romans,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 1752.

^[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), 1 Co 15:20.

[4] —Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian and author of The Reason for God

Source: Tim Keller, in the sermon Treasure Versus Money, PreachingToday.com

OT Old Testament

^[5] Michael G. Vanlaningham, “Romans,” in The Moody Bible Commentary, ed. Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2014), 1752.

^[6] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ro 5:15–21.

[7] Source: From Philip Ryken’s sermon “Long Live the King!” PreachingToday.com