Where we are so far…

Before we go any further in our teaching, I want to make sure we fully understand what we have covered up to now. So, a little review.

Number one, remember that the story of the gospel is present from Genesis to Revelation, and already in the first three chapters of Genesis, we begin to see the gospel being revealed.

Thus far we see that God has created the earth, its solar system, and the plant and animal kingdoms. He has also created man and given him dominion over the entire earthly creation.  Through an act of willful disobedience, the man has now fallen into sin, and the dominion of his earthly kingdom has been forfeited to the devil, who at some point in eternity past has been cast to the earth for a similar sin.   The bible calls the devil “the god of this world” (2Corinthians 4:4),or the “ruler of this world” (John 12:31,14:30, 16:11).  1 John 5:19 tells us that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” .

The kingdoms of heaven and earth are now separated.  No longer is the Creator able to walk with His creation in intimate fellowship.  God’s holiness is incompatible with the nature of the fallen world.  God Himself has driven the man out of the Garden of Eden, barring him forever from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22-24).   

When God gave Adam the commandment, He specifically stated that the consequence for disobedience would be death (Genesis 2:17).   As a result of their sin, Adam and his wife did die spiritually that day, when the Spirit of God separated from them (remember that death is separation). The absence of the Spirit of God revokes their access to the Kingdom of God.

But that is not all.  Their physical lives were also required of them as payment for their sin.  But that day God revealed an aspect of His character that had not been previously disclosed.  When the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife in order to clothe them (Genesis 3:21), the first blood was shed on planet earth. That animal, whatever it was, died in their place.  It gave its life as a substitute or a sacrifice for theirs. God allowed this to happen by reason of His Grace and Mercy.

(I took the liberty in my previous post to illustrate this animal as a lamb even though the bible does not specifically say so.  I did this because this is a type and shadow of Jesus Christ, He who would come in the future as the Lamb of God, to die a substitutionary death for the sins of mankind.)  

And also as a review, let us define again what we mean when we use the word sin.

This is one of those tricky words that can be used as a noun as well as a verb, so it is true that one can possess sin as well as commit a sin.  The Hebrew word used as a verb is chata’ (pronounced khaw-taw) and it means to miss, to forfeit, or to lack.  Chatta’ah (khat-taw-aw) is the noun version of the word that means an offence or an offender. 

Adam and Eve committed an offense against the LORD God and as a result, they now lack the perfection of their original creation.  They have forfeited the Spirit of God that once made them whole and complete and reflective of His image.  The bible states that the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). 

Not only are they in this state, but every child that they produce into the world will have the same condition.  Adam cannot pass to his children a Life that he does not possess.  Therefore, we can say that mankind is born in sin, even before a child is able to say his first word, take his first step or act out in any sinful manner.  They are born in the state of sin regardless of whether or not they act sinfully.

Every one of us as descendants of Adam are born with in this condition.  There is nothing we can do of ourselves to change this.  No amount of good behavior, rule following or law keeping can restore unto us the Spirit of God that was lost when our first earthly parents sinned.  

As human beings, we are now severely flawed.  We are corrupted by sin, destined to live and die on earth with our souls forever separated from God. 

But none of this took Our Heavenly Father by surprise.  From eternity past, God had a wonderful plan to restore and repair all that was broken and lost in Adam.

God’s redemptive plan provided a way to remove sin from us completely, to restore to us the Eternal Spirit of God and thereby grant us access once again into the Kingdom of Heaven. That is why the Gospel is the Good News!  It is more than that, it is wonderful news! 

As we continue in our story, we shall learn exactly who Jesus Christ is, and why everything He did was very purposeful for our salvation.  We will begin to see how it was that He had to come as a man, die for our sins, and then be resurrected unto eternal life.  And we can learn how all of that can apply to us if we just come to Him with believing faith. 

… so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.  This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,  in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.

Ephesians 3:10-11