How We Got Into This Mess and How God Got Us Out of It

Genesis 3 is all about how humans got into the mess of a sin nature.  Basically, the first couple rebelled against God’s strict order to not eat of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” instead of saying “NO” to the serpent. God warned that if they did that there would be death. Physical death took some time to work but spiritual death came right away.

I noticed something about what Adam and Eve does next after eating the fruit. It’s what man does most of the time when confronted with the bad things they do.

1. They tried to cover up their mess. (They made fig leaf clothes to hide their nakedness. Genesis 3:7 This also shows a tendency for man to say, “I can do it myself.” Obviously, that didn’t work the first time and it doesn’t work now.

2. They tried to hide from God. (Genesis 3:8 )

3. They blamed someone else for their mess. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent.

The only one that can get us out of the mess is God and He started way back in Genesis 3:15. Even though He had to pronounce the consequences of what they did, He gave them a promise and a prediction. That prediction came true over 2000 years ago when Satan (the serpent) tried to kill Jesus off and only managed to “bruise His heel”. Jesus did die but three days later Jesus crushed the serpent’s head by rising from the dead. And He will permanently crush his head when Jesus comes back. So that is how God got us out of the mess we are in and our job is to believe it and accept His gift of love.

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The First and Second Adam

The name Adam means earth, it comes from the word adamah, which means red earth. This name is connected to the earth from which he was made. Genesis 2:7 says that “the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Because he was the first man, when he and his wife sinned by eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, all of mankind inherited the sin nature. It became part of man’s DNA structure. Through Adam, according to Romans 5:12, sin and death were now a part of all people.

However, one Man reversed this curse of man. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave us the gift of salvation and grace through God’s forgiveness by dying on the cross. Romans 5:17 He is the second Adam, the “life-giving spirit”. 1 Corinthians 15:45 No ordinary human could have done this. God had to become man so that He could save us from our sins.

Genesis 1 and Jesus

I have had more insight into Genesis 1 and Jesus.  I have seen how He can be seen with each new day.  Day one: As I said, He is the Beginning (Revelation 21:6; 22:13), the Word (John1:1-3, 14; Revelation 19:13), and the Light (John 1:4-5,9; 8:12).  Day two: He is our atmosphere — without Him we cannot live (Acts 17:28). Day three: He is the spring of water (John 4:13-14) and He is our ground (our rock and foundation — Luke 6:48).  From Him we get our nourishment. He is also our seed, who fell to the ground so that we might have life John 12:23-24). Day four: He is our Sun, He is the bright and morning Star (Revelation 22:16).  Day five: He is the eagle that catches us on our wings (Deuteronomy 22:11), the hen who gathers us as chicks under her wings (Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34). Day 6: He is the butterfly (He lived, died, and lived again), the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world John 1:29; Revelation 5:6) and the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).  He is also the last Adam who gives us life instead of death, righteousness instead of sin, and health instead of sickness I Corinthians 15:45).  Those are all the ways I see Jesus pictured in Genesis 1.

Jesus Our Sabbath Rest

The sign of the Sabbath was to show that God gave the Israelites rest from their labors in Israel, to show that He was the one that made them holy, and because God completed His work and rested on the Sabbath. But it was only a shadow of the rest that Jesus gave when He completed His work on the cross and rose from the dead. The Sabbath showed us that as God’s people, His body, we rest in Jesus. He is our Sabbath rest. The Sabbath day is a shadow of the rest we receive in Jesus because of His death & resurrection on the cross. Now we “rest” on Sunday because that is when Jesus finished His work of salvation by rising from the dead, just like God finished His work of creation on the sixth day and rested on the Seventh–Genesis 2:2,3. He is our High Priest who offered His own blood as the spotless Lamb of God. Now His body–those who have faith in Jesus Christ–rests in Him. One day, when He comes back, we will have our permanent rest forever. Read Hebrews 2:17; 3:17-5:10.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Reference: Warren, Tony “Who Changed the Sabbath Day to Sunday”, 1996, http://www.mountainretreatorg.net Please read Tony Warren’s article for a complete study on Jesus and the Sabbath day rest.