THE TWO ADAMS: CONTRASTED – Part 5

 THE FALL – Part 2

 Genesis 3:8-15 (NIV)

 Judgment on Man

8   Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

 FOR YOUR STUDY

         Impact of the Fall. FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM

3:15 The Gospel’s First Proclamation. MESSIAH’S COMING. This verse contains the first proclamation of the gospel. All of the richness, the mercy, the sorrow, and the glory of God’s redeeming work with man is here in miniature. God promises to bring a Redeemer from the Seed of the woman; He will be completely human yet divinely begotten. "That old serpent, called the Devil." would war with the Seed (see Rev. 12) and would smite Him.  But even as the Serpent struck at the Redeemer’s heel, His foot would descend crushing the Serpent’s head. In Christ’s life and death this scripture was fulfilled. Divinely begotten, yet fully human by his death and resurrection Christ has defeated and made a public spectacle of the powers of hell (Col.2: 15). This first messianic promise is one of the most succinct statements of the gospel to be found anywhere.

Responsibility Under God. BIBLICAL MANHOOD. Along with man’s role as God’s appointed leader in society comes responsibility.  In v.16 we are told that man is to "rule over" the woman.  This does not imply dominion in the sense of authoritarian or dictatorial rule but rather responsibility in the sense of providing care and protection. Although this decree was given as a consequence of man’s rebellion against God, it should not be understood primarily in a negative sense. Understood properly, we see the restoring grace of God’s adopting a plan for an orderly society.

        At least three areas of responsibility are woven into the social fabric of biblical manhood:

1.    Material provision, which includes food, clothing, and shelter;

2.    Emotional provision, which involves love, security, and understanding; and

3.    Spiritual provision, which stresses guidance, maturity, and sensitivity (Eph. 5:23, 25-27; 1 Tim. 5:8)

If hurtful and chaotic conditions are to be avoided in our world, man must take seriously his essential role of responsibility.

            

  

H

           

UMAN WORTH. The sin of one human, Adam, corrupted the world.  The continued sinfulness of mankind caused the Flood (6:12, 13).  In contrast, the obedience of one Man, Jesus Christ brought justification and righteousness to man (Rom. 5:18, 19). If redeemed man walked in the justification and righteousness, could not man cause the world to bloom and blossom? God wants to reveal His truth and beauty to the world only through redeemed mankind.  Each believer has strategic significance in his own sphere. He or she must strive to maximize the impact of the good and encourage others to do the same.

3:8 Sinners have always hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God, as they will continue to do: "Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne" (Rev. 6:16).

3:9 The Lord God was not asking out of ignorance, but rather as a parent would demand knowingly of a disobedient child: "What have you been doing now?"

3:12,13 Another human frailty appears for the first time: the man blamed his wife and God.  The woman, too, tried to shift the blame.

3:14, 15 Thou art cursed carries the idea of coming under God’s judgment. Although the exact meaning of the serpent’s being cursed above the rest of the animal kingdom is unclear.  Paul later reinforces the idea that all creation was affected by the Fall (Rom.8: 20-22). Upon thy belly shalt thou go does not insist that the serpent previously had legs; it is equally likely to be poetic language supporting the fact that the animal kingdom will not be able to reverse it post-Fall condition on its own. Dust shalt thou eat is also figurative for extreme humiliation.

NT allusions to v.15 (Rom.16: 20; Heb. 2:14; Rev. 12) seem to indicate that the curse to the serpent has a broader application.  Interpreted messianically, enmity represents the conflict between Satan (thy seed) and God’s people, especially Jesus Christ (her seed).  It shall bruise thy head…thou shalt bruise his heel depicts the long struggle between good and evil, with God ultimately winning through Jesus Christ, the last Adam. V.15 is often referred to as the first messianic prophecy in the OT, the Protoevangelium. …to be cont’d

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THE TWO ADAMS: CONTRASTED – Part 4

THE FALL – Part 1

 Genesis 3:1-7 (NIV)

 Temptation of Man

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Fall of Man

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

FOR YOUR STUDY

• ·        aw-dawm

O

ne of the Hebrew words for man is pronounced aw-dawm, from which comes the name Adam. The original word occurs numerous times in the Old Testament in reference to humans in broad-spectrum, and to one human specifically, the first man created by God, Adam.  "Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come"

Adam was a type of Jesus Christ:

Recall, I mentioned earlier that up till now death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a" type of the one who was to come."

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 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.

The last Adam became a life-giving spirit:

While very much alike, they (the two Adams) were also very diverse:

Thus, it was written that it is not the spiritual, which was first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man was from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are we who are of the dust; and, as is the man of heaven, so 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. (1 Corinthians 15:45-49 RSV)

  

KINGDOM DYNAMICS

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  he serpent is a seducer and is a spiritual seducer.

The serpent was already in the garden. And when God created Adam and Eve, He gave them control over the earth.

Guidelines to Avoiding Sin

Man fell by choice.  The tempter is the father of lies (John 8:44), deceiving and seducing us to sin. The Lie questions God’s Word, giving our opinion absolute authority. Our opinions are easy prey to Satan’s deception.

• Adam and Eve, chose to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and tried to become gods themselves, independent of God, which is what Satan did before the creation. He seduced them into doing what he did. The very things Adam and Eve wanted - dominion, power, life - God was going to give them anyway, but without sin.

         

a.)         v. 1-5. Do not challenge God’s Word. Ask instead.

        What does God mean to me? How can I apply it to

my life?

b.)     v. 6. Suspect urgings that come from carnal appetites, visual enticements that invite acquisitions, and things that tug at personal ambitions (see 1 John 2:16)

3:1-3 The serpent is identified in Rev. 12:9 as Satan himself, here in corporate form. It is not clear why he chose to indwell this particular beast… which the Lord God had made.  Later OT history lists the snake among the unclean animals (Lev. 11).  He is subtil, crafty, and shrewd. Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

The question was shrewdly overstated. Every tree? The serpent caused the woman to begin pondering the matter.

3:4 This bold lie could be translated, "Die? You will not die!" in other words, "God has falsely threatened you with death."

3:5 Ye shall be as gods: The tempting thirst for power can be unquenchable, even when people have all of their needs met.  Knowing carries the sense of "experiencing”; thus the challenge grew yet greater. "God is withholding a good thing from you (self-rule) in order to keep you dependent on him."

3:6 The desire to become wise seemed quite reasonable to the woman. Unfortunately, her definition of wise was human self-rule, not God-dependency as taught in Prov. 1:7.

3:7 They were naked: Adam and Eve’s newly gained awareness of good and evil brought them embarrassment over their nakedness.   ...to be cont'd

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of 

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THE TWO ADAMS: CONTRASTED – Part 3

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

 

Romans 5:12-21 (NIV)

 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

 13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

 18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 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.

 20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

FOR YOUR STUDY
All die because “all have sinned” in Adam. As we take a deeper look into pieces of biblical human race history, those who lived from Adam to Moses were people, who were undoubtedly sinning; but since God had not yet clearly spelled out His law, or given it to mankind as a legal code until Moses, He could not justly condemn these people to death for their personal sins. Paul explains this in verse 13, “but sin is not imputed ([i.e., counted or reckoned] when there is no law.”

Nonetheless, be mindful that New Testament scripture tells us that those who died in the flood did so because they rejected salvation, and not because they were sinners (see 1 Peter 3:18-20). However, Paul points out in verse 14, these people were dying even though their sins were not identical to Adam’s one transgression. The difference is that while the human race from Adam to Moses were “missing the mark” (meaning, to sin), Adam's act of disobedience was a “willful violation of a law” (meaning transgression) and which justly deserved death (Gen. 2:17). In view of this, the only valid reason these people were dying was because all humanity stands condemned to death in Adam.

The word death in Romans 5:12 appears twice, the first time applying to Adam and the second to his posterity or mankind. The same death that came to Adam, says Paul, passed on to all humanity.

The first or sleep-death, which is experienced by both believers and unbelievers, became necessary because of the plan of redemption. Had there been no “lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” Adam would have forfeited his life the day he sinned and mankind would have died eternally (the second death) in him (Gen. 2:17). It is only in Christ that we can pass from death to life (John 5:24; 1 Corinthians 15:55-57; 2 Tim. 1:10; Rev. 20:6).

5:12. The expression as by is a key to understanding vv.12-21.  Paul is going to show several parallels between the way Adam affected us and the way Christ affected us. The whole force of the parallel in Romans 5:12-21 between Adam and Christ depends on the idea of the solidarity of mankind in Adam and in Christ.

5:18. All men…all men: The groups of people are not the same, or the verse would mean that every person ever born would be saved, something Scripture does not teach (see 2:8, 9; Matt.7:13, 14, 23:25:46). Rather, the first "all men" refers to all who were represented by Adam namely, the whole human race. The second "all men" refers to all who were represented by Christ, namely, all who would believe in Him.

5:19 A summary of God’s plan of representative heads for the human race. Adam sinned (once), and all whom Adam represented were found guilty. Christ obeyed (through his whole life) and all whom Christ represented will be made righteous. Some object to this idea of representative heads for the human race. But if we do not think it fair that we were counted guilty for Adam’s sin, then we also should not think it fair that we are counted righteous for Christ’s obedience.

5:20, 21 One purpose of the law was to make sin obvious and thus to make more evident the need for redemption.  ...to be cont'd

In Christ,

 Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of 

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

THE TWO ADAMS: CONTRASTED - Part 2

1  Corinthians 15:44-46 

⁴⁴  it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵   So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 

⁴⁶  The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual

 Romans 5:14 

Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

1 Corinthians 15:22 

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ 

all will be made alive.

KINGDOM DYNAMICS 

F

all. The Fall was the key that unlocked the flood-gates of evil, and allowed the waters of iniquity to cut us off from God; the fall was the fatal touch that imparted to our nature the disease of sin; the fall was the hand that

dropped into our cup the poison of iniquity; the fall was the robber that robbed us of the blessings of Paradise; the fall was the rust that corrupted the nature of man; the fall was the blight that marred God’s fair creation; and the fall was the depositor of all the germs of evil in our nature. "Let us lay to heart original sin, and be deeply humbled by it. It cleaves to us as a disease; it is an active principle in us, stirring us up to evil. Some think, as long as they are civil, they are well enough; ay, but the nature is poisoned. A river may have fair streams, but vermin in the bottom."

1 Corinthians 15:21-23, 45-49. There have only been two heads of the human race, Adam and Christ.  Henceforth, Christ is referred to as the “last Adam” (vs. 45).

•  On these two heads rests the destiny of the entire human race. Adam is the prototype of the unredeemed humanity, while Christ is the prototype of the redeemed humanity. What is true of Adam is true of his people, and what is true of Christ is true of His people. Adam’s situation after the fall is the situation of all the unredeemed, while that which was realized by Christ for all men will be the situation of all the redeemed “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (vs. 22).

• Christ’s resurrection is the Second Advent. Not our righteousness (self-righteousness) but Christ’s righteousness qualifies us for heaven, now and in the judgment.

•      In verse 45 Adam is called the first Adam, while Christ is referred to as the “last Adam.” Then again in verse 47 Adam is referred to as the “first man” while Christ is called the “second man.” 

•      As the last Adam, Christ was the sum total of all that is of the first Adam. As the second man He is the head of a new or redeemed human race. Having gathered all that was of the first Adam, Christ as the last Adam superseded the whole Adamic race by His death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 Peter 2:24).

On the cross Jesus died or tasted the second death as substitute or representative of the whole human race (Hebrews 2:9). In this way He abolished death (2 Tim. 1:10). In superseding the whole Adamic race at the cross and thus meeting the just demands of the law on our behalf, Christ qualified in the resurrection to be the second man, the head of a new redeemed humanity (2 Corinthians 5:17), who are found altogether in Him. It is this fact alone that the blessed hope is founded upon and we long for His appearing so that we will be fully like Him (Philippians 3:2021) ….to be continued

 In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org  

THE TWO ADAMS: CONTRASTED - Part 1

The Two Adams Contrasted

Sin is the legacy that our first parents have left the human race. Thomas Boston says: “God made Adam captain of the ship, in which were all our goods, and he ran us on to the rocks and made shipwreck of us.” Romans 5 reminds us that there are two great representative heads—the first and last Adam. We can gather what we lost in the first, by pondering the following contrasts:

ADAM The first man Adam (1 Cor.15:45)	JESUS CHRIST The last Adam (1 Cor.15:45)
"Was made a living soul" (1 Cor.15:45) (Adam was given life-Gen. 2:7).	"Was made a quickening spirit" (1 Cor.15:45) (Christ gives life-John 5:21,25; 6:33 etc.).
"Natural" (1 Cor.15:46)	"Spiritual" (1 Cor.15:46)
ORIGIN--"of the earth" (1 Cor.15:47)	ORIGIN--"from heaven" (1 Cor.15:47)
Men reflect Adam (Cor.15:49 and see Gen. 5:3).	Saved men can and shall reflect Christ (1 Cor.15:49 and see Col. 3:10; Eph.4:24; Rom.8:29; 2 Cor.3:18; 1 John 3:2; etc.).
"Dead in Adam" (1 Cor.15:22)	"Alive in Christ" (1 Cor.15:22)
Adam is the Head of the Old Creation.	Jesus Christ is the Head of the New Creation (2 Cor.5:17; Eph.2:10).
Adam was a representative man (Romans 5), and he acted on behalf of the whole human race.	Christ was a representative man (Romans 5), and He acted on behalf of the whole human race.
Adam performed one act, which had tremendous consequences.	Christ performed one act, which had even greater consequences.
Adam’s act was a sinful act (Rom.5:12, 15,16,17,18).	Christ‘s act was a righteous act (Rom.5:18--"the righteous act"--see NASB).
Adam’s act was an act of disobedience, in eating the forbidden fruit (Rom.5:19; and see Genesis 2:17; 3:6).	Christ’s act was an act of obedience, in dying on the cross (Romans 5:19 and see Phil.2:8).
Here is what Adam’s one act produced: DEATH ( Rom.5:12,14,15) JUDGMENT (Rom.5:16,18) CONDEMNATION (Rom.5:16,18)	Here is what Christ’s one act produced: LIFE (Rom.5:17,18,21) THE FREE GIFT (Rom.5:15,16,17,18) GRACE (Rom.5:15,17,20,21) JUSTIFICATION (Rom.5:16,18,19) RIGHTEOUSNESS (Rom.5:17,19,21) REIGNING (Rom.5:17; compare verse.21)

In dealing with TRUTH, we must NEVER go beyond Scripture and teach that in Adam all humanity inherit his guilt. It is only when we personally, consciously, persistently, deliberately, and ultimately reject the gift of eternal life in Christ that the guilt and responsibility of sin and the second death become ours (John 3:18, 36; Mk. 16:15, 16; Hebrews 2:1-4; 10:14, 26-29).....to be cont'd

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

TOO BUSY?

Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run;Hurry and scurry puts you further behind.-PROVERBS 21:5 MSG

Has the hectic pace of life robbed you of the peace that might otherwise be yours through Jesus Christ? Are you one of those people who is simply too busy for your own good? If so, you’re doing a disservice to yourself and your family.

Through His Son Jesus, God offers you a peace that passes human understanding, but He won’t force His peace upon you; in order to experience it, you must slow down long enough to sense His presence and His love.

Today, as a gift to yourself, to your family, and to the world, be still and claim the inner peace that that is your spiritual birthright – the peace of Jesus Christ. It is offered freely; it has been paid for in full; it is yours for the asking.

So ask. And then share.

In Christ,

 Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org

WRESTLING WITH GOD

P.T. FORSYTH (1848-1921)

THE ROMAN Catholic writer Carlo Carretto said he did not trust theologians who do not pray, presumably because the great temptation of theological inquiry is to reduce Almighty God to an object for study. Prayer is the great antidote to this presumption because true prayer is loving, humble communion with a person.

In this sense, Peter Taylor Forsyth was the ideal theologian, for he was a theologian who loved to pray, and he wrote lovingly and wisely about prayer. He began his little classic, The Soul of Prayer, with fear and trembling: "It is a difficult and even formidable thing to write on prayer and one fears to touch the Ark. Perhaps no one ought to undertake it unless, he has spent more toil in the practice of prayer than on its principle."  ¹But Forsyth prayed that God would nevertheless regard his efforts as a theologian of prayer "as a prayer to know better how to pray." ² 

Forsyth believed prayer was so central to the health of the Christian life that "the worst sin is prayerlessness. Overt sin…[is] the effect of this, or is punishment. We are left by God for lack of seeking him."³

Forsyth was also a pastor. He believed that one had to spend time with people in order to know their problems and to spend time with God in order to solve them. It is this combination of Forsyth as pastor and theologian that makes The Soul of Prayer so helpful. As theologian, Forsyth writes thoughtfully on the mysteries of prayer; as pastor, he speaks to our hearts.

Only a pastor/theologian could have written as creatively as Forsyth did about what it means to wrestle with God in prayer. Forsyth hated resignation and fatalism in prayer, believing that sometimes to resist the permissive will of God is to do the perfect will of God is to do the perfect will of – if what we resist is what God only temporarily wills to be (e.g., poor health, a bad job, a difficult marriage).  It may be God’s will that we be in a difficult circumstance but not necessarily that we stay in that situation. "He has a lower will and a higher, a prior and a posterior. And the purpose of the lower will is that it be resisted and struggled through to the higher."⁴ Wrestling in prayer from the lower to the higher is one of God’s chief means of education our spirits.

Resist God, in the sense of rejecting God, and you will not be able to resist any evil. But resist God in the sense of Closing with God, cling to him with all your strength, not your weakness only, with your active and not only your passive faith, and he will give you strength. Cast yourself into his arms not to be caressed but to wrestle with him. He loves that holy war. He may be too many for you, and lift you from your feet. But it will be to lift you from the earth, and set you in the heavenly places which are theirs who fight the good fight and lay hold of God as their eternal life. 5

In Christ,

Playwright Janet Irene Thomas

Founder/CEO

Bible Stories Theatre of

Fine & Performing Arts

www.biblestoriestheatre.org

info@biblestoriestheatre.org