| Adam and Christ, Part 3: The Fall of Man |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, January 30 2006 00:00 |
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The prophet Hosea referred to the fact that Adam had broken the covenant God gave him, and Israel has done the same (Hosea 6:7). God gave to the man, Adam, a probationary command. Not only was he to exercise dominion over all creation, take the woman as his wife, honor God’s Sabbath, tend the beautiful garden God had given him, but he was not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But he did. And Paul adds that he did so not being deceived, but deliberately (1 Tim. 2:14). The consequences of this disobedience were grave. Not only were Adam and his wife, Eve, driven out of the garden, not only did they now have difficulty subduing and ruling the creation, but because Adam was man and represented the human race, all mankind fell in Adam, as Paul discusses in Romans 5:12-19. Thus the loss of fellowship with God, the loss of effective control over the creation, a life of pain and suffering, and death of all kinds was the consequence not only for Adam, but for all his posterity. Man was condemned and declared a sinner! Yet the covenant remained in place. Man still had an obligation to obey God and to act as his faithful viceroy. But because he now lost the nature that enabled him to so act, and he as well lost the particular qualifications that enabled him to serve God, namely, the knowledge, holiness, righteousness that was necessary, Adam and his posterity faced a dilemma. Death was the inevitable result of failure, but they now lost the tools necessary to redeem themselves and correct the terrible mistake. Law was given in the course of time. Law is a blessing in that it protected, defined, and taught God’s people, but law in itself had no power to correct the problem and end the dilemma. Law had no remedial powers and could not restore man to his pristine position nor could it give him back the moral tools necessary to serve God. The hopelessness of this dilemma cannot be overstated. Man had no way out. (More next time) |
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