Ephesians 2:12-18 KJV That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (13) But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (14) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; (15) Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; (16) And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: (17) And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. (18) For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Most know only the thought of a holy teacher having died a martyr's death when they think of Jesus Christ and his crucifixion.
God's Word speaks of the death on the cross as His means to save all mankind's souls from sin, and in turn, from damnation and destruction.
Of course, Jesus shed HIs blood when He died on the cross.
In order to understand this we must learn why man even needs salvation.
THERE IS MORE TO HIS DEATH THAN WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN PHYSICALLY HAD YOU BEEN THERE THAT DAY. Jesus' death is linked very closely to Adam and Eve's experiences.
Man's actions would bring about some very real ramifications, whatever those actions would be. Let me show you how our physical actions bear upon the spiritual things.
Romans 14:11-12 KJV For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (12) So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. THERE IS MORE TO OUR EXISTENCE THAN WHAT YOU CAN SEE. I am going to explain how mankind today is overly saturated with awareness of only one plain of existence and only one realm of all that actually exists.
Although people hardly care about it, God's instructions to mankind are given for very important and serious reasons.
The white man today mostly disregards spirituality.
WHY WE CAN KNOW WE ARE SPIRITUAL With Adam and Jesus both, there is a common denominator.
Genesis 2:15-17 KJV And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Something existed in the world that Adam had to protect the Garden from. Also, death would occur should man eat of ther forbidden fruit. Danger and destruction are noted in these two points. After man was told these things, God caused him to use his dominion and name all the creatures.
Then chapter 3 comes along and we read: Genesis 3:1 KJV Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Notice the serpent asks the woman if God actually said this.
So the INVISIBLE truly comes to the forefront in all of this.
Let me pause and let you know who the serpent was: Revelation 12:9 KJV And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. The serpent is the devil or Satan. Think about the whole picture.
Had God spoken to her, she would have no problem.
So the serpent attacked all possible aspects of faith in this encounter.
The question started with an attack on the authorship of the statement.
Genesis 3:2-3 KJV And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. We read: Genesis 3:4 KJV And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: He said she would not die, but become as gods. Genesis 3:5 KJV For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Now think of this.
Isaiah 14:12 KJV How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. And it is as though he was so bitter with the fact he could not be like God, that he slurs God to the woman and says God does not want anyone else to be like gods. Was was the devil so concerned about a spiritual issue?
Moreover, we find she did eat and gave it to Adam who also ate, but they did not physical die the day they ate. God said: Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. But the Bible teaches there is not just a physical death.
If his body died, then we would know it was a physical death God spoke about.
The physical later did suffer a death due to this spiritual death.
So we find that the serpent was interested in the spiritual, which made God's command to be a spiritual concern as well, since He did NOT want man to die this spiritual death.
And the Bible hereby shows how all of the wickedness and sin in the world today was birthed from Adam's disobedience so long ago. Romans 5:19 KJV For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, ... All mankind has been born away from God, and has inherited Adam's sinfulness. Unless we each follow God's advice, we will physically die and spiritually be destroyed in our souls as well, and forfeit the eternal Life God has arranged for us to obtain once again since Adam. God made man to exist for eternity! Death only came due to sin. Romans 5:12 KJV Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Life's sins will catch up with everyone one day, bring ultimate destruction in your future.
So the spiritual was the important issue in Adam's day.
Revelation 13:8 KJV ...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The cross homes in and concentrates upon the invisible and the spiritual, so the physical can be rectified as well in our futures, and so we can also live today in the fullest spiritual blessedness. The spiritual death that occurred with Adam, that led to a physical death later, was God's concern.
John 10:10 KJV The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. He came to restore to mankind what mankind lost when Adam sinned and died the day he sinned.
Ezekiel 18:4 KJV Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Destruction is the result of sin.
God instituted something as long ago as the time of Adam's immediate family to deal with this very problem. Genesis 4:4 KJV And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: SACRIFICE. The death of an innocent would stand in the place as the death of the one offering the sacrifice. Leviticus 1:4 KJV And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. That death counted for the required death of the person. Death had to occur for every sinner, but nobody said the death of another innocent could not count for the sinner's death. One man, though, cannot take the place of another man, and die his required death, since the first man has to have his own death dealt with as well!
One might ask why Jesus did not have sin, if everyone else does. Hebrews 4:15 KJV For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Why was he without sin? 1 Timothy 3:16 KJV And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. John 1:1 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:14 KJV And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. The only way a man could exist who had no sin was for God to manifest Himself in flesh like a man. SIN is sort of a legal issue.
Luke 1:35 KJV And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. This verse shows the Holy Ghost was the Father.
Jesus Christ was the SACRIFICE of them all!
And just as much as the INVISIBLE things that occurred in Adam's day were the most important, the INVISIBLE things of Christ's death were most important. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 KJV For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Romans 6:2-7 KJV God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. What you would not have seen the day Adam sinned, was that EVERY PERSON who would descend from him were carried into sin when he went into it.
What did not appear visibly was YOUR DEATH WITH JESUS. John 12:31-33 KJV Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. (32) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (33) This he said, signifying what death he should die. When Jesus was lifted up to die on the cross, He said HE WOULD DRAW ALL MEN TO HIMSELF.
Galatians 2:20 KJV I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. You would have SEEN one man die on a cross that day.
Romans 6:7 KJV For he that is dead is freed from sin. And we are to actually look at ourselves as having death and resurrected with Jesus after we get baptized into that death. Romans 6:8-11 KJV Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:13 KJV Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. We are to actually consider ourselves as resurrected from the dead. Ephesians 1:18-22 KJV The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, (19) And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, (20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, (21) Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (22) And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Ephesians 2:5-6 KJV Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 2 Corinthians 5:14-18 KJV For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (15) And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. (16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. (17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; We are a new creation.
Jeremiah 31:33-34 KJV But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Hebrews 8:12 KJV For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 1 John 1:7-10 KJV But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. . |