The Word of Truth: Jesus Christ

The Word of Truth

 

Jesus Christ

 

 

 

          In our last Study of the Word of truth we learned that the most terrible fact of our world is sin. When God created the first man and woman they were innocent and blameless. They experienced sweet fellowship with God and they enjoyed each others company. Adam and Eve were to have children and rule the world in righteousness. But on a fateful day, Adam deliberately rejected God’s authority over his life and sin entered the human experience.

 

          Sin is the cause of all our troubles, the source of all our sorrows and the reason for death. In Genesis 3, God questioned Adam and Eve about their disobedience and then declared the consequence for their sin. God said,

 

                    In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
                    Till you return to the ground,
                    For out of it you were taken;
                    For dust you are,
                    And to dust you shall return.

                    (Genesis 3:19)

 

          For Adam and Eve and their posterity life would be hard and they would die. And in verse 15 God pronounced a curse upon the serpent, the Deceiver, Satan. But God is not only the Judge of all the earth[1]; He is the essence of love.[2] And so, in the midst of God’s pronouncement of doom upon the serpent, a message of hope shone forth for humanity. God promised a Redeemer, the man we know to be our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived and who now lives forever. Here is God’s curse upon the serpent and our message of hope.

 

                    So the LORD God said to the serpent:
                    “Because you have done this,
                    You are cursed more than all cattle,
                    And more than every beast of the field;
                    On your belly you shall go,
                    And you shall eat dust
                    All the days of your life.

                    ¹⁵ And I will put enmity
                    Between you and the woman,
                    And between your seed and her Seed;
                    He shall bruise your head,
                    And you shall bruise His heel.”

                    (Genesis 3:14, 15)

 

          Genesis 3:15 is one of the most important sections of Scripture in the entire Bible. Theologians call it the “proto-evengelium” because it announces the first good news to mankind after the fall. There will be victory over the serpent and his work that brought mankind to ruin.

 

          It was God’s wondrous mercy to allow Adam and Eve to hear the curse upon the serpent and the promise of victory over him, before they heard their fate of “dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” Had Adam and Eve not had this hope of a redeemer they would have been plunged into despair. It would be despair to look upon yourself as a sinner before a holy God without knowing the mercy and love of God. God is so good. In the face of Adam’s bold sin, God offered the promise of redemption and the doom of the deceiver. Let’s examine verse 15 in more detail.

 

                    “And I will put enmity
                    Between you and the woman,
                    And between your seed and her Seed;
                    He shall bruise your head,
                    And you shall bruise His heel.”

                    (v. 15)

 

          Sin came into the world through one man, Adam. Therefore the solution to the problem would be another man whom God called the “seed of the woman.” There would be enmity, conflict or war between Satan and the Redeemer. And Satan would bruise[3] the Savior’s heel. Here is the first prophecy of the sufferings of Christ. He would fall in battle, but he would recover and then bruise[4] Satan’s head. This would be an ultimate death blow. Here is the promise of total victory over Satan. The Bible tells us that one day Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire, where unrepentant humans will face the second death.[5] And Satan will be destroyed; brought to ashes.[6]

 

          But now, I want you to notice the unique manner in which God referred to the promised Redeemer. He called him “her seed”; the seed of the woman. In the term “her seed” we see a foreshadowing of the virgin conception and birth of Jesus Christ. In a normal conception it is the man who puts the seed of life into the woman. When it comes to Jesus Christ, however, it was God who created the perfect human seed in the womb of a young virgin named Mary. We will read this in a moment in Luke 1.

 

          But why would God do this? Why would He create seed in the woman? As I said earlier, it was through a man, Adam, that sin and death entered our world. Therefore it would have to be through another man that redemption would come. But since the time of Adam’s fall every human being comes into the world under the power of sin. So it could not be through normal procreation that a redeemer would come, for he also would be under this influence of sin. Therefore just as Adam came into the world blameless and innocent as a result of the direct creative act of God, another man would have to come into the world blameless and innocent by another direct act of God.

 

          The promised seed therefore would have the same genetic flawlessness or perfection as the first Adam had. The following verses from Luke make it clear that God was the direct cause of the life of Jesus Christ.

 

 

                    Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary,

                    for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold,

                    you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son,

                    and shall call His name JESUS. ³² He will be great, and

                    will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God

                    will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He

                    will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His

                    kingdom there will be no end.”

                    ³⁴ Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be,

                    since I do not know a man?”
                    ³⁵ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy

                    Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest

                    will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who

                    is to be born will be called the Son of God.”

                    (Luke 1:30-35)

 

          Mary asked the angel, Gabriel, how a baby would be conceived in her womb without a man being involved. Gabriel’s answer provides a great truth that many Christians throughout history have not seen, because of a theological assumption.[7] In verse 35 the Greek conjunction translated “therefore” is dio kai. Every time dio kai is used in the New Testament it indicates the cause responsible for something.

 

          Gabriel revealed to Mary that the child, the “Holy One” would be conceived and come into existence in Mary’s womb by a direct act of God’s power, just as Adam did. Jesus is not an eternally begotten Son (whatever that means) who passed from one form of life into another to become a man. The Bible never suggests that there was an incarnation where a pre-existing Son of God was transformed and became a man. Jesus is the Son of God through an act of God’s creative power.[8] Jesus is a true man just like Adam.

 

          Some people teach that redemption could only be accomplished by God becoming a man. But the Bible, the Word of truth, teaches us over and over again that salvation is through the man Jesus Christ.[9]

 

                    Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the

                    world, and death through sin, and thus death spread

                    to all men, because all sinned— ¹³ (For until the law

                    sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there

                    is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to

                    Moses, even over those who had not sinned according

                    to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a

                    type of Him who was to come.

                    (Romans 5:12-14)

 

          There are a number of people in the Old Testament who could be called types of Christ, because in some way they pointed towards him. But verse 14 is the only place in the New Testament that points back to a particular person and says here is the “type”, the proto-type, the pattern for the man who will be the Savior. The Greek word translated “type” is tupos which refers to the image which is produced by a blow, like the key on a type writer producing a letter of the alphabet on paper. It can refer to how the image on a signet ring leaves an impression on a wax seal. In other words the kind of human being Adam was is what Jesus was.[10] Adam was not a God/Man and neither is Jesus.

 

                    For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through

                    the one, much more those who receive abundance of

                    grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life

                    through the One, Jesus Christ.)
                    ¹⁸ Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment

                    came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so

                    through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to

                    all men, resulting in justification of life. ¹⁹ For as by one

                    man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also

                    by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

                    (Romans 5:17-19)

 

          The contrast between the two men, Adam and Jesus, is made clear in this section of Scripture. Adam, a man, disobeyed God and brought ruin to humanity. Jesus, a man, obeyed God and saves all who trust in him for salvation. This truth about two men is also revealed in 1 Corinthians 15.

 

                    But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become

                    the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since

                    by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection

                    of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all

                    shall be made alive.

                    (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)[11]

 

          As we have learned before, Adam’s disobedience lead to sin and death, not just for Adam and Eve but for all their descendants. But God promised to reverse this through the seed of the woman. The way in which Jesus would redeem us is in contrast to how Adam fell. Adam, who had life, disobeyed God and brought in sin and death. Jesus Christ obeyed God, even to the point of death[12] and brought everlasting life to God’s people. The writer to the Hebrews makes it clear that Jesus shared fully in our humanity.

 

                    Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh

                    and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same,

                    that through death He might destroy him who had the

                    power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those

                    who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject

                    to bondage. ¹⁶ For indeed He does not give aid to angels,

                    but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

 

                    ¹⁷ Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren,

                    that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things                                   pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the

                    people. ¹⁸ For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted,

                    He is able to aid those who are tempted.

                    (Hebrews 2:14-18)

 

          Jesus Christ is a true human being, made like us in all ways. But unlike us, he came into the world blameless of sin and genetically perfect like Adam. But then Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Christ’s genetic purity coupled with his moral purity, through his obedience to God, made him the perfect Redeemer and sacrifice for all of our sins.

 

          God’s original intent was for Adam and all of his descendants to live together forever in Paradise.[13] Adam failed. Since the consequence for sin is death, the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ had to die to pay the price for sin. But since he was sinless death could not hold him. The apostle Peter declared that “’God raised up’ Jesus ‘having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.”[14]

 

          Now, everyone, anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior, believing that God has raised him up from the dead, receives the blessings of Christ’s life and sacrifice. We exchange sin, guilt and death for forgiveness, righteousness and life—everlasting life.[15] The apostle Paul, writing in 1 Corinthians 1:30, declares that God has made Jesus Christ to become for us “wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” And John wrote “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”[16]

 

          Everyone, anyone, who trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation has been taken out of the race of Adam into which they were born, and they are born again into a new creation; a new race of redeemed humanity.[17]

 

          The Word of truth presents the cornerstone of the Christian faith. In order to destroy what Satan had done and save humanity, the Redeemer, the seed of the woman, had to be what Adam was before his fall into sin. Jesus Christ is the last Adam[18] who redeems what Adam lost. This parallelism between Adam and Christ enables us to see a great biblical truth about life. The Bible tells a true story about two men, Adam and Jesus. It tells the story of two gardens, the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. It tells the story of two decisions, Adams decision to disobey and Jesus’ decision to obey God.

 

          It tells us of two deaths, a death due to sin and a death to save sinners. It tells us of two races of people, those who are in Adam and those who are in Christ. It proclaims two paradises, the paradise lost by Adam and the paradise to come through Jesus Christ.

 

          No man ever lived as Jesus lived. He lived a life of obedience and love in a world full of disobedience and hate[19]. No man ever loved as Jesus loved. He loved his enemies[20] and he loved God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.[21] No man ever taught as Jesus taught, for he taught as one having true authority.[22] No man ever died as Jesus died. He died for the sins of the whole world.[23]

 

          Adam was made in the image of God but his sin distorted that image. But Jesus Christ so lived that he could say that when we see him we see the Father.[24] And no man will ever do what Jesus Christ will do in the future. The Bible declares that he will return to earth from heaven. He will judge all mankind. He will punish the wicked with everlasting destruction, he will grant everlasting life to God’s people and restore our world to the paradise that it was.[25]

 

          Jesus Christ is the greatest man who ever lived and he now lives forever. And everyone who trusts in him for salvation receives the forgiveness of their sins and the sure and certain expectation of everlasting life.

 

                   

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[1] Genesis 18:25

[2] 1 John 4:8

[3] Literally the Hebrew word translated “bruise” means to crush.

[4] Same as above - crush

[5] Revelation 20:10, 15. The phrase “forever and ever” in verse 10 does not mean eternally. Jude 7 speaks of God’s judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah and that it was destroyed through the “vengeance of eternal fire” as an example for what will happen to all the wicked. The fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah is not still burning. It is gone along with the cities and all who were in them. They have been annihilated and destroyed. Speaking of the same event and example of judgment Peter wrote that God turned “the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly (2 Peter 2:6).” Likewise, Satan and all the wicked will be thrown into the “lake of fire” which is called “the second death” (Rev. 20:14). The wages of sin is death, total annihilation. It is not eternal torment (John 3:13, Romans 6:23, Psalm 37:20, Psalm 145:21, 2 Thessalonians 1:9).

[6] Ezekiel 28:18

[7] This assumption is that Jesus pre-existed his birth, living in heaven as a spiritual being, either as God or an angel before he was born. But Jesus was not once a pre-existing spiritual being, God or angel. Hebrews 1:5 says, “For to which of the angels did He ever say: “You are My Son, Today I have begotten You”? And we know from our second study in “The Word of Truth” that there is only one being who is God.

[8] In the genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3, Scripture takes the lineage backward from Jesus (v. 23) to Adam (v. 38) who is called “the son of God.” Roman Catholic scholar, Raymond Brown, commenting on the “therefore” in Luke 1:35, states, “of the nine times dio kai occurs in the New Testament…it involves a certain causality…this has embarrassed many orthodox theologians since in preexistence Christology a conception by the holy spirit in Mary’s womb does not bring about the existence of God’s Son. Luke is seemingly unaware of such a [preexistent] Christology; conception is causally related to divine Sonship for him.” (The Birth of the Messiah, 1977)

 

In other words, for Luke and Gabriel, God’s creative act in Mary’s womb begets (brings into existence) Jesus as God’s Son. There is no hint of any suggestion at all that there was an incarnation where a pre-existing spirit being transformed himself and became a human baby. Jesus is a true man and came into existence by the creative power of God just as Adam did (Luke 1:23, 38). There is only one true God and He is the Father of Jesus Christ.

 

[9] See Acts 2:22, Acts 17:31, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews  10:12. The title “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew title “Messiah” which means God’s anointed one.

[10] I say that Jesus “was” like Adam, because he is different now since his resurrection. 1 Corinthians 14 45 says, “‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam [Jesus] became a life giving spirit.” When God breathed into Adam he became a living being. Adam was animated by breath life. But since his resurrection Jesus is animated, that is he lives, by spirit life; the very life of God which is why he now lives forever. We too as believers will one day share in this everlasting life through the spirit (1 Corinthians 15:47-48).

[11] The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible makes the point even clearer that Jesus is a human being. “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).”

[12] Philippians 2:8

[13] God knew that Adam would fail. But He also knew what He would do to redeem mankind through Jesus Christ. Thus Revelation 13:8 calls Jesus “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

[14] Acts 2:24

[15] John 3:16

[16] 1 John 5:11

[17] John 3:3 – “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Titus 3:4-7 – “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, ⁵ not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

[18] 1 Corinthians 15:45

[19] Hebrews 10:7-9

[20] Luke 23:32-34

[21] Matthew 4:1-11, John 14:31

[22] Mark 1:22

[23] John 1:29

[24] John 4:9

[25] Acts 1:9-11, Acts 17:31, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Acts 3:21