February Devotional
NOW THE SERPENT WAS MORE SUBTIL THAN ANY BEAST OF THE FIELD WHICH THE LORD GOD HATH MADE. AND HE SAID UNTO THE WOMEN, YEA HATH GOD SAID YE SHALL NOT EAT OF EVERY TREE OF THE GARDEN? (GEN 3:1)
I. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE?
Many people do not know what the message is that is the Bible. We see here in Genesis chapter three that the serpent, who had been made by God was more subtle than any beast of the field. The definition of subtil here means “sly, artful, cunning.” The serpent was evil and separated from God because as we see written in Isaiah 4:12, “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.” (Isaiah 14:12)
Moreover, we see a fuller explanation in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men.” Eve ate of the fruit of the tree and gave to her husband and he ate also and the eyes of them both were opened, but they were now sinners and could not obey God. They could not be obedient, or “not sin.”
Satan was a fallen angel and he had taken what appears to be one third of the angels with him. We see Satan’s evil fall in Isaiah 14, beginning with verse 12, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, (Satan’s name) son of the morning! How art though cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 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: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high.” (Isaiah 14:12-14) “…the serpent was more subtle (subtil) than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made…” Satan told Eve that she “shall not surely die” if she ate of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden. Satan, is the father of lies as we see in the Gospel of John chapter 8, verse 44, where we see the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to the Jews saying “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Satan said to Eve that the Lord God had lied to them. Then God found Adam and Eve in the garden hiding among the trees of the garden. “And the Lord God called to Adam and said, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast, thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:9-24)
In Genesis 3:15 (bold print in above paragraph); is the first mention of the message of the Bible. While Adam and Eve were still in the garden, God told them that he was going to send the seed of the woman, the Messiah, the Redeemer, his only begotten Son, to redeem them and all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ from sin and death. What a message! You don’t have to go to hell. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will not perish but have everlasting life.
II. IN ADAM-DEATH. IN CHRIST-LIFE.
In the fifth chapter of Romans, verses 12-21, the apostle Paul reveals what happened when Adam sinned.
“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: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
By Adam’s sin -one man- one real man. This is true history. It is not allegory! The Lord Jesus Christ authenticates the events of Genesis 3. In fact, all of the Old Testament. In Mark 10, verse 6, the Lord Jesus Christ authenticates that “From the beginning of creation God made them male and female.” Thus, authenticating that God created all things including the creation of Adam and Eve. In the Gospel of John Chapter 5, He authenticates Moses and his writings in verses 45-47.
Thus, we see here in Romans 5:12-21, the universality of sin. “…as by one man, (Adam), sin entered into the world, and death by sin! And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…” Here we realize that all have sinned. All were in Adam spiritually when he disobeyed God and Adam’s sin was imputed unto all. Of course, in Isaiah 53:6 we see that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Therefore, everyone has sinned. In Ephesians 2, we read, “And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the prince of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation (manner of life) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of flesh; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:1-5) Therefore, all sinned and in Adam all died. Both sin and death are universal. However, as God gave the promise in the garden of a coming Messiah, a coming Redeemer, He fulfilled the promise written in the Scriptures, by sending His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Here we see the free gift of righteous everlasting life – shall reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, here we see that sin and death came by Adam and grace and everlasting life come in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
III. THE DESTRUCTION OF SIN AND DEATH.
In Romans chapter 6, we find that God’s plan from the garden is true and we see in Romans 6:5, “For if we have been planted together in the likeliness of his death, (the Lord Jesus Christ) we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” Here we also see that the word “if” doesn’t mean there is any doubt about it, it means “since.” Since we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. (Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones, The New Man, page 56)
The word “planted’ means “growing together,” actually in union with Christ. This is not something one experiences according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, but it is objective. We receive it and believe it by faith. Even as Abraham believed God.
We also see the destruction of sin in verse 6:6, we find written: 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.”
The word “is” should be “was” because it is in the aorist tense according to Dr. Lloyd Jones. He says the action is complete. It has happened. We are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, so what happened to him physically really happens to us spiritually. He came and bore our sin in His own body on the cross. He had no sin except ours and when He died unto sin once and forever, so did we. Therefore, in these portions of Scripture, we find in God’s word that I was a man in Adam but I’ve been translated out of Adam into the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember this is objective. We know this because God says it. We believe it because God says it.
Therefore, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, who states in his commentary on The New Man; page 67, “If we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. When? Now. Let Hell say “no.” Let everything within you and without you say “no” it doesn’t matter. Stand on the foundation of God. Plant your feet on this great and glorious promise because it’s true. I am taking and believing by faith what God tells me He has done.” He promised it in the garden and He has done it. He tells me that He has put me into Christ, and that because I am in Christ and have died with Him, I have risen with Him. I am walking in newness of life with Him.” This is the message of the Bible.
IV. CONCLUSION
Now unto him that is able to keep you* from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, [be] glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever**. Amen. (Jude 1:24-25)
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