THE COMPLETE WORK OF CHRIST.

PARADISE LOST.

As we consider the subject of Gods desire for man, and how he has accomplished that through the cross, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus we must first look at Gods original plan for man at his creation, the result of the fall of man and has Gods plan been changed as a result. In Luke 19:10 Jesus makes this statement "For the Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." It is parramount to us that we know what was lost so that we can know what Jesus has come to save. It would be like someone digging around in the sand looking for something and you ask him what he is looking for and he says that he has lost something but doesn't know what it is. You wouldn't even know what to look for and even if you found it you still wouldn't know. It is widely believed that this verse applies to man in his fallen state, this is true but it goes beyond that. For many there are so many unanswered questions about life, from the very basic question "What am I here for?" to the miriad of other questions that arise every day relating to lifes journey.

 So let us begin by looking at mans creation and what was Gods original desire for him. Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth". Our story does not start in Genesis 3 at the fall of man, it starts in Genesis one with God. As we look at the creation story we see a very deliberate progression in Gods creation. God creates the world without form and void and covered in darkness. During the creation process we see how God brings order and purpose where previously there had been none. As I have already said it was a deliberate progression from one stage to the next, each step building on the previous one. Then we come to the crowning glory of Gods creation, the creation of man.

Genesis 1:26-28  In this passage we see the creation of man, both male and female, they are created in the image and likeness of God. We know that God is spiritual and so man is created as a spiritual being, able to have fellowship with God, unlike the animals. Man also has the ability to reason and is given authority over Gods creation. In this they are given the task of subduing and filling the earth and they are give authority over all the animals. In essence man was now Gods steward over the creation and given the responsability to make sure that it became all that God had intended.

 Genesis 2:7-25  In this passage we will see how God plans to accomplish his desire for man to subdue and fill the earth. We note that God creates Adam and then places him in this amazing garden called Eden. The garden was contained to a particular area as we see that it is bordered by four rivers. Imagine if you can what it must have been like, Adam finds himself in this amazing place that God has created for him. He has complete and perfect fellowship with God, he is surrounded by the most amazing plants and garden that you could possible imagine, remember God had said that it was perfect. I don't know about you but I truly wonder what it must have been like as God and Adam walked around the garden together in the cool of the evening. The smell of the flowers, the fruit hanging off the fruit trees, the amazing beauty of it beyond what we could possible imagine.

God then brings the animals to Adam to name them. This would have been an amazing time for Adam, it was part of Adam leaning his responsibility as Gods steward and a demonstration of his authority over all the animals. Again in this you get a sense of how God would have used this time with Adam to build on their own relationship. It's the beauty and the majesty of it all as well, lions, tigers, elephants, all the different varieties of birds in all their splendour and colour. I believe that God would have brought two of every animal, male and female, for Adam to name because at the end of this process it says that there was not found a helper or mate for him, remember God had already said that it was not good for man to be alone. God is and allways has been the God of relationship, remember what he said, "Let us create man in our image". God knows and understands the importance of relationship, he knew that Adam needed someone that he could relate to at his level, that is why I believe  God brought both male and female animals to Adsam so that he could see that he needed a partner and mate to fulfill his role in subduing and filling the earth. So we see how God puts Adam to sleep and removes part of his side to create his helpmate, the significance of using part of Adams side is to show that they will stand side by side as co-workers in what God has for them to do, joint heirs you might say. God then personally brings Eve to Adam, what a moment for Adam, remember he has spent the most amazing time with God in the garden, he has just named all the animals but when God introduces Eve to him he only has eyes for her, as he looks at Eve he says "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh". We must not lose the significance of this moment. Remember what God said in Genesis 1 that he was going to create man in his own image, and as I said earlier this was not just  men, but speaks of mankind, men and women. In Genesis 2:24 it says "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh." The relationship between the husband and wife give us a unique glimpse into the complete image of God. Men are created in the image of God and we see that in all that we as men, in our authority, leadership, our strength, our sexuality, all that we are meant to be as men reflect the image of God. Women also reflect the image of God in their beauty, their femininity, their grace, their compassion, their sexuality, all they are meant to be as women reflect the image of God. The one flesh relationship is not just about the sexual union in marriage, even though it is sometimes preached that way, it encompasses the whole aspect of the relationship. We are meant to be one in spirit, sole and body.
So here we have it, Adam and Eve brought together by God in the midst of this amazing garden, given the responsibility by God to be his stewards over his creation. Given total authority to subdue and fill the earth as they walk in relationship with him. In all of this we see that God only places one restriction on them, they are not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, every other tree and herb is theirs to eat. Gods desire for man was that as he walked in relationship with him and with one another he would walk in the blessing that God had pronounced over him and as he moved out into the whole earth, then the whole earth would become like the garden. The only problem was there was someone else who was about to enter the scene who had other ideas.
John 10:10  "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and destroy." In this first part of John 10:10 we see that Jesus points out there is an enemy and he calls him a thief. We know that Jesus is referring to Satan and that he only comes to do harm, he never comes to bless, his whole agenda is to destroy Gods plan.
We see in Genesis 3:1 when Satan comes on the scene the very first thing he does is to question Gods word, "Has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree in the garden". His whole agenda is to sow doubt into the heart of Adam and Eve. Eve answers him correctly, but Satan now has their attention, what should have happened, Adam should have told him to leave, remember God has given them total authority over the garden, instead they entertain his thoughts and by continuing the discusion they open themselves up to his lies and deception. Satan then goes on in verses 4-5 to expand on his lies, he tells Eve that if she eats of the tree she will not die, but that Gods knows that their eyes will be open, and that they will be like God, knowing good and evil. Not only does he call God a lier, but he calls into question Gods heart towards Adam and Eve by implying that God is holding out on them. Satans attack is directed at who they are, who God has created them to be. They are already created in Gods image and likeness, created to be his image bearers. Everything they need is in their relationship with God, they are crowned in his glory, they have his authority and blessing to do all that he has called them to do and to be all that he has created them to be, but Satan has taken Gods word and twisted it and lied to them and made it sound like Gods heart is not to be trusted and his word is not reliable and in doing so he appeals to their own natural thinking and reasoning. Adam and Eve fall for his lies, in doing so they believe that they can gain wisdom apart from God and his word and so they eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and Evil. The result is devistating, they give it all away, they lose everything God had given them.
In Genesis 3:7-24 we see the result of mans fall. In verses 7-8 we see that their eyes are opened and they now understand the consequence of their disobedience. They are aware that the glory of God has lifted off their lives as they now see that they are naked. Prior to this they had walked clothed in Gods glory, now as a result of their sin they walked in their own flesh and this is what they saw. The spiritual seperation that they now experienced was also evident when God comes looking for them and asks the question Adam where are you? God is not asking about their physical location, but rather looking for Adam to come and repent, but instead Adam has hid himself in the garden, fearful of what will happen because of what he has done. Adam also tries to cover himself with fig leaves, this is his own attempt to cover up his sin. Not only do they try to cover their sin they both turn around and try to blame someone else for what happened, Adam blames Eve, and Eve blames Satan, neither of them are prepared to take responsibility for what has happened.
The consequences for both of them are severe, Eve will now have to suffer sorrow and pain in her role as a wife and mother, there will also be the desire to dominate over her husband, but God says that the husband will rule over her. Due to the fact that Adam didnot take control of the situation and exersise his authority the earth is now cursed and as a result of his sin, where he was to walk in the blessing of God to subdue and fill the earth he will now have to work hard to provide for himself and his family. The blessing that God had pronounced over them was now lost as a result of Adams sin. The garden is now also out of bounds to them, God places an Angel at the entrance of the garden to protect the tree of life, in his fallen state Adam and Eve can no longer eat the fruit from the tree, to do so would mean they would live forever in their fallen state and this was not possible because it would stop Gods plan for redemption.
 Adam has also lost his authority but not only that he has handed it over to Satan, where Adam was meant to be Gods authority on the earth Satan is now the god of the world system. In 2 corinthians 4:4 we see Satan refered to as the god of this age and in 1 John 5:19 it says that the whole world lies under the sway of the evil one. The word world there is cosmos or order of things, meaning that where Gods authority in Jesus is not exersised the devil has his own way. We see in the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4 and Matthew 4 that Satan is aware of the possition, when he offers to give it all back to Jesus if he will just bow down and worship him. This is of course an attempt by Satan to stop Jesus from going to the cross because Jesus knows that he must eventually die on the cross to undo the work of Adams sin and open the door for God to restore back to man all that was lost. Of course if Jesus had fallen for Satans temptation he would not have got the world back, but rather he would have come under Satans authority the same as Adam did, and Gods plan would have been destroyed. Again in Matthew 16:21-23 we see how Satan tries to stop Jesus going to the cross, this time he uses Peter to try and hatch his plot when Peter says that he will not allow Jesus to die on the cross, note how Jesus answers Peter "Get behind me Satan", exactly the same thing that he said to Satan in the wilderness. Jesus is not calling Peter Satan, he realises where the temptation is coming from and deals with it.
So we have seen that so much was lost as a result of Adams sin, the effect of Adams fall has been felt by every man, woman and child that has ever lived from that time, not only that the whole world was cursed as a result. Thankfully that is the end of the story, God had a plan, a plan of restoration, a plan to restore back to man all that was lost in the garden. In Genesis 3:14-15 we see Gods judgement on Satan, he says that there will be emnity between satan and the seed of the woman and that the womans seed would bruise his head and that in the process his heal would be bruised. This refers to the struggle that  would take place over the authority that Adam had given to Satan but that utimately the womans seed would prvail and crush Satan and take back the authority that was rightfully his. We see in the geneology of Jesus in Luke's gospel chapter 3 how Jesus is traced right back to Adam and Eve, proving that Jesus is the seed refered to in Genesis 3. In 1 John 3:8 it says that the son of man was manifest to destroy the work of the devil. Jesus came for on purpose and that was restore back to man all that was lost on that fatefull day in the garden. To restore mans intimacy with God, mans authority on the earth and mans glory that is revealed through Gods annointing.
In the next post we will look at the work of cross of Jesus, We will examine the role the cross plays in fulfilling Gods promise of restoration. Is the cross just about forgiveness or is there more? we will answer that question next time. 
       

THE DISCIPLES CROSS

Luke 9:23  "If any man would come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me."
Jesus lays down here one of the most important principles of a disciples life. If we are truly going to fulfill all that God is calling us to we must know what this verse realy means, and believe me there are many misconceptions out there about this verse. Firstly we note that there is a particular set of steps in this process. This comment that Jesus makes is directed at those who are desiring to be his disciples he says "If any man would come after me." So often we hear people outside the church say we all have our cross to bear, that is not what Jesus is talking about, and we will come back to that. The next step is self denial. We cannot take up our cross until we have first truly denied ourselves, that is laid down our own will and motives. Jesus shows us this in his own life when he goes into the Garden of Gethsemane. He spend three hours agonising over his upcoming death, he has known all his life that this night would eventually come. This was the purpose he had come for, he knew that and spoke many times about his death and resurrection and yet he still had to yield his will to his Father. This area of self denial is the point that most of us fail. We simply end up doing our own thing or we don't even bother to take the time to seek God and find out what his will realy is and as a result we still end up going our own way, only to wonder why things don' work out. At one stage some years ago, while praying about this verse God said to me "David are you prepared to go to the garden?" That realy challenged me as I saw what Jesus went through that night as he prepared to go the cross for me. Paul says in Hebrews 12:4 that we have not resisted to the shedding of blood, and yet we know that Jesus sweated drops of blood that night in the garden. We cannot underestimate the importance of this in our own lives, the point of self denial is the make or break in our walk with Jesus, it's where we either chose Gods will or rebelion.
So what is our cross that Jesus is talking about? We hear so many people say "We all have our cross to bear" It may be easier at this point to say what it is not, it's not sickness, poverty, disease, persecution or some terrible hardship that you may be going through. Sadly though this is what a lot of people think it is, even people who are not saved believe this, but as I have already pointed out Jesus was not refering to them but to people who wanted to follow him. So how do we know it's not sickness or disease because Isaiah 53:4-5 points out that Jesus has borne all our grief, carried all our sorrows, he was wounded for our transgressions and that by his stripes we are healed, he did all this when he went to the cross on our behalf. Psalm 103:3 says that he forgives all our iniquities and heals all our diseases. I am amazed that Christians can believe that Jesus has forgiven all their sin, and that they cannot in any way earn their salvation and yet not believe that God has healed all their diseases and can even say that the sickness or disease that they may be suffering is their cross in life. This type of thinking totally denies the work of the cross of Jesus. Our cross is not where we crucify our own flesh, Romans 6:6 says "Knowing this that the old man has been crucified that we might put to death the mortal deeds of the flesh." in Galations 2:20 he says that he has been crucified with Christ. We cannot crucify our own flesh, if we could then Jesus didnot have to go to the cross. It is only through the work of the cross od Jesus that our sin can be dealt with. Jesus had to deal with the old man or old nature for us to walk free from sin. As we accept Jesus as our Lord and saviour our sin are forgiven, we are washed clean and Jesus gives us his rightouseness. Paul says in Galations 5:16 that if we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh and then in verses 22-23 he shows us the fruit of the Spirit. It's our responsability to yield our lives to the Spirit, realising that our old man is dead through the work of the cross of Jesus and as we  do that we are able to walk free from our old habits and in doing that we lay as those sins that have so easily beset us.
So having said all that what is our cross? it is simply the things that God calls us to do on a daily basis as we serve him. We know that for Jesus his cross was the ultimate call that God had for him. That's why he came in the first place. If you look at the symbol of the cross you see it consists of a vertical post and a horizontal bar, this speaks to us of our vertical relationship with God our Father and the horizontal relationships we have, one with the church and our gifts and abilities that God has called us to use there and the other with the world as we are called to be his witness to those around us, family, friends work mates, people who don't know Jesus as there Lord and Saviour. Of course the foundation of our cross is the word of God because all that God does is established in his word.
Sadly many Christian struggle under the belief that their cross is some horrible disease or sickness or hardship but Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me all who labour and heaven ladden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gently and lowly in heart and you will fin rest for your souls for my yoke is easl and my burden is light." My prayer is that as you meditate on this you will be able, by Gods grace, to lay aside those burdens and take up what God has called you to and truly know what it means to walk in all that Jesus has for you.