There's an obvious difference
between the sexes of the human race. The fact that men and women are
different in nearly every way is undeniably obvious, isn't
it? And these differences result
from a fall here. We're going to see that here
in Genesis chapter 3. The title of this message is
Effects of the Fall. And I told you that it should
be very informative and instructive edifying, and I hope as well
that it's exalting to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There
was a slight difference between Adam and Eve to begin with. Scriptures
make that clear, doesn't it? A slight difference in the two
before the fall. But I believe the man and the
woman were more equal than they are now. But the fall has painfully
increased the weaknesses in each sex and exposed these weaknesses. Look at chapter three, verse
one. Look at it. It says, The serpent
was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God
had made. More subtle, more wise, more
crafty. And he said unto the woman, Why do you suppose the serpent
endeavored to tempt a woman and not Adam? Turn over to 1 Timothy
chapter 2. Turn over there. If we had any one of feminine
liberty or women's livers, so to speak, in this
congregation, they would gnash their teeth at this passage,
that's for sure. 1 Timothy 2. Why do you suppose
the serpent tempted the woman? Because she was the weaker of
the two. I don't apologize for that. I
would say, I'm sorry, ladies, but that's just the way it was.
All right, look at it. 1 Timothy 2, verse 11. Repeat the Scriptures plainly,
clearly. Lay down this mandate. It's not
an option. It's a mandate. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God. And this right here, though penned
by man, yet was dictated by Him from the Holy Spirit of God.
Verse 11, Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the
man, but to be in silence. If that would have happened in
the beginning. If Eve would have shut her big
mouth. That's where it all started.
That's where it all started, isn't it? Look at it. Adam was
first formed, then Eve. Adam was first formed, then Eve. Adam was not deceived, but the
woman being deceived was in the transgression. Do you see that? I turn back
to the text. He says the woman is to be in
silence. She is to be in her subjection. And she was deceived. Hard language, isn't it? But
I tell you, the things that she brought upon us are harder still. This very subjection and this
very oppression, if you want to call it that, she brought
it on herself. Right? She's suffering from her
own evil deeds. It says, Adam was not deceived. Adam was not deceived, but the
woman was deceived. Now, why did God create male
and female different? One, in a sense, superior to
the other, that is, at least having authority over the other.
Why? Why did he? I think you know the reason.
First Corinthians. Turn over there. First Corinthians
11. We've studied this before. 1
Corinthians 11. Turn over there, and we'll see
why. No believer could get offended
at this. Only a believer could see the wisdom in it all. 1 Corinthians
11. Look at verse 3. Got it? 1 Corinthians 11, verse 3. I would have you know that the
head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is
the man, and the head of Christ is God. Verse 7, A man indeed
ought not to cover his head forasmuch as he is the image and glory
of God. The male, the dominant, the stronger
figure, right? But the woman is the glory of
the man. For the man is not of the woman,
but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for
the woman, but the woman for the man." Then he goes on to
say how the man comes from the woman and so forth, so that they're
equal in many respects like that. Look at Ephesians 5, turn over
there, Ephesians chapter 5. I ask the question, why? Why
did God do this? Well, it's a type. It's a type
of Christ in the Church. You see, in all things, He must
have the preeminent. You see, everything written in
the Scriptures is concerning Him. Right? Everything is done,
everything God did, He did by Him. for Him, for Christ, for
the purpose of His glory, for the purpose of pointing us to
Him. Everything points to Christ. So, ladies, don't have this long
look on your face right now. This is not for your degradation
or your humiliation, but let me tell you, see, this is about
humiliation. That's the form of the word humble, and whoever
is humble will be exalted. In Ephesians 5, this is all for
Christ's glory. In Ephesians 5, verse 22, wives,
submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. For
the husband is the head of the wife, even, here it is. It's
always been this way, and this is the reason for it. even as
Christ is the head of the church and is the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
You see that? It's a tie, isn't it? That's
what it's all about. That's the reason. That's the
reason. And as I said, Peter, in 1 Peter
3, he calls the woman the weaker vessel. He just flat out, I'll
tell you if Peter and Paul were alive today, they'd be the most
hated men, well they are. Nobody reads those scriptures
anymore. Paul was just an old bigoted
bachelor and Peter just agreed with it. But Peter says they're the weaker
vessel. Well, he says of men to give honor unto the wife as
unto the weaker vessel. Now back to Genesis. Only a believer
would see the wisdom of this. Only a believer would see the
wisdom of this order and submit to it. Only a believer would
submit to it. Only a believing woman. I can see that old nature
coming out in you women right now. You're suppressing it. I
can see it. I can tell. But only a believer would submit
to that. Only a believer sees Christ in
all this. Only a believer sees the good
of the husband and wife in their respective roles. Only a believer. I believe only a believer sees
how this reversal of these orders and the ruination of these orders
than the ruination of our society. Only a believer, only a believer
will see the wisdom of God in this orderly arrangement. Only
a believer. Now, as I said, the differences
are obvious and they resulted from the fall. We're going to
see right now how that these differences resulted from the
fall. And let me make this statement
and listen to this. Women talk about liberation.
The liberation of a woman, the liberation of a woman is to be
bound to a faithful, loving husband. You think about that. You write
that down, you go home and think. Go home and learn what this means.
The liberation of a woman is to be bound to a faithful, loving
husband. All right, look at verse 6. And
if you take that in a spiritual sense, you'll see the wisdom
of it. OK? And that's the reason the Scriptures
tells those that are unmarried to seek a believing husband or
wife. Because you're not going to find
that faithful, loving husband elsewhere. Look at verse 6. It says, When the woman saw that
the tree was good for food, She saw the tree was good for
food, and as we said this morning, this is three things John spoke
of—lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride of life.
Good for food, pleasant to the eyes, a tree to be desired to
make one wise. She took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he
did eat. She was tempted by Satan, and she succumbed to it, but
it says that the man willingly partook of it, and joined his
wife in this transgression. The man knew what he was doing.
He knew what he was doing, disobeying God Almighty. He knew it. He
knew what he was doing. But he couldn't have known all
the ramifications of it. He had never done. He couldn't
have known. what he was about to bring upon
this race. He couldn't have known. All that his sin would bring
upon us, death. He didn't know. He didn't know
what it was. He just didn't know. But he was responsible enough.
He heard what God said. Don't do it. That's good enough.
Don't do it. And as I said earlier, this was
not a noble deed on Adam's part to take part with his wife in
this transgression. It was not a noble deed. It's
not worthy of our admiration of him, not at all. He willingly
did this. He willingly disobeyed God and
chose his wife over God Almighty. And while that is a picture of
Christ who willingly took part with us and made flesh and out
of love to his fallen bride drank the cup of God's wrath and became
sin for us who knew no sin, who died that we might live. Yet
Adam did this. This was an out-and-out blatant
act of sin and rebellion against the Holy God. And isn't it proof
of man's depravity that they make light of that which brought
on all the misery on our planet? Isn't it? All these silly little
ads that you'll see. of some man, some man and woman
in a garden about to eat of an apple. And it's just, it's made
fun of. That's proof of man's utter ignorance
and depravity. This is no light and laughing
matter here. This is, this is what plunged our race into utter,
this is what, this is why your husbands and wives die and your
children and your parents. This is why, this is why you're
full of sin. This is all, it all started right
here. This was a tragic, pitiful. I can't sit here, I can't stand
here and expound on the utter sinfulness of sin, of this, what
happened here. It's all behind this right here.
The effects. Well, we're going to, let's look
into it, okay? Let's look at the effects on
the man and the woman through this. All right, look at verse
16. Our Lord speaks to the woman and he says, this is what you
brought on yourself. Verse 16, under the woman he
said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. Two different things here. He
said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow. Womankind, womankind experiences
the greatest degree of suffering and sorrow between the sexes. Womankind suffers the most of
the two. It's obvious, isn't it? Not just
physically either. Womankind bears the brunt of
most violence, most abuse, most deprivation, most bondage, and
most misery all over this planet. It's a man's world, and they've
ground women under their arms. Why? She brought it on herself. That's what the Lord said here.
I'll greatly multiply thy sorrow. Isn't it true? All over the world,
women, because they're the weaker of the two, at least physically
in most respects, are oppressed and abused by men. Isn't that
right? It's sad, but it's true, and
it's a fact, and it'll be that way until the Lord comes. And
if women in this country think they are oppressed and abused,
they ought to go over to Iran for about two days. They'd come
back thinking they were liberated here. And like I said, it's no
laughing matter, but it's all of this. You know how women are
abused all over the world. All of this is right here. Our
Lord said it would happen. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow. Thy sorrow. Verse 16 says on
that, it says, and thy desire shall be to thy husband. You
shall be subject to thy husband in all things. He shall rule
over thee. And why do women remain with
men and even return to the men who abused them. Isn't it so? Our Lord said it would happen
right here. Right here. Some women who leave
those husbands and remarry, they sometimes, if not most of the
time, remarry a man just like the one they love. Everybody,
you nod your head. It's so. Why? Lord said it would
happen right here. And also, a woman is the most
possessive of the two, a monogamous of the two, desiring one man
only, desiring to possess him. Listen to this. You women are
the only ones that can really understand this, I believe. Desiring
to possess that man, yet be possessed by him. Not wanting to be ruled, yet
wanting to be. Huh? Is that not right? Women,
I think, are the only ones that make sense to. Except maybe a
believer. See, a believer can see the correlation
of Christ to his church here. Only a believing woman would
smile at this, and only a believer sees the correlation here, because
a believer wants to be the weaker vessel. Huh? Do you? Huh? Paul said it in 2 Corinthians
12, I glory in my infirmities because when I'm weak, my husband's
strong. Huh? You women, I know you act
like and you want to rule at times, but do you now really?
No, you don't. Do you? Huh? That wanting to
rule is that what she did to begin with. And she wished she'd
have never done it. She had a faithful, loving husband.
But a believer does. He certainly does, doesn't he?
Has a faithful, loving husband. And the believer wants to be
the weaker vessel, and he wants to possess Christ and be possessed
by Christ. Huh? That's sad. We're called the
bride of Christ, aren't we? We're called—we're certainly
the weaker vessel, no doubt about it. And I want him to reign and
rule over me. Don't you? He's certainly all
wise. And ladies, if you've got a husband
that's loving and faithful and shows at least some degree of
wisdom, you're in a good place under subjection to him. A good
place. That's the way the Lord ordained it. It's best. It's
best. It's good. It's right. Totally. It's just. It's for your good.
For your good. If Eve had aheeded that to begin
with. All right, look at verse 16. It says again, that a woman,
I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow
thou shalt bring forth children. Not only the sorrows of abuse
and oppression and so forth, but the greatest, greatest form
of affliction that a woman undergoes is in this thing of child-rearing. And us men, we just can't enter
into it. I mean, from a little girl, from 11 years old, sometimes
even younger, until they're older women, they suffer horribly. Physical suffering. All as a result of this thing,
childbearing. Right? Why? Our Lord said, this
is the punishment. This is it. But do you notice
when we read over there in 1 Timothy 2, they said that she'll be saved
in childbearing. But the pain and the suffering,
it says, in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. And also
in sorrow, they're going to lose a few. Barbara Cain, we don't
know if Cain was Eve's first child. We don't know that for
sure. seems to indicate that. We don't know for sure. But Eve, do you realize that
Eve lost both her boys in one day? If it was her first child, her
oldest son, she lost Abel, that sweet young man, and then lost
Cain the same day. Abel was killed and Cain was
kicked out, never to be seen again. Don't you know this, this
indictment came haunting her? Oh, I've done this, she said.
I've done this. Huh? The pain, and all the pain
and the suffering and the agony and misery women go through in
conception and childbirth. Men rarely go through half the
physical suffering and pain of the average woman. Rarely. And it's a good thing because
men are the breadwinners and have to go out and so forth if
they had to endure the physical. You see the wisdom of the Lord
in that? The women are keepers at home and able to endure that
yet still do their task, yet men could not endure that and
go out and be the breadwinners. So you see the wisdom of the
Lord in all that. In spite of this chastening rod
and affliction, yet there's wisdom and there's goodness in it. Well, why is all this? This is
the fall. You see that? It's all the fall.
It's all the fall. All right, let's look at the
main, verse seventeen. And to Adam he said, and to Adam he
said, Because you have hearkened unto the voice of thy wife. Because. And I'm not going to make light
of this in any comical references at all. Not going to do it. But
the fact is, he said, you have hearkened unto your wife when
you should have acted the man. God's blaming Adam here for Eve's
transgression. Yeah. He says, because you didn't
act the man. Because you didn't lead like
you should. Because you didn't provide the care and instruction
and example and the role model. Because you played the coward
and you were ruled and didn't do the ruling, because you were
not the king and priest of your home, as you should be, he says
in verse 17, Cursed is the ground for your sin. Cursed is the ground
for your sin. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life. Though Adam blamed Eve, God blamed
Adam, because he's the one that should
have led instead of following. Adam is our head. Paul did mention
Adam in 1 Timothy 2, but Adam is our head. Adam is the one
spoken of when sin, death, and condemnation is mentioned. Besides,
if Steve had sinned only, the whole human race would not have
suffered sin. Because the seed of Adam is where
we get to sin, right? The seed of Adam. God, if Adam had not sinned,
you know, I'm just telling you that Adam is the head here. He's the head where sin was imputed
from. If Adam had not sinned, Eve only,
then perhaps God made him another wife. Without sin. Well, you see man,
by man, sin entered into the world and death by sin. Adam
is the one spoken of. By man, by one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. Adam's seed, Adam's seed. Now,
we're going to see the wisdom of this a little later on in
this message, because Adam represents somebody else. We read that,
didn't we, in Romans 5? Adam represents someone else.
I look at the curse that Adam endures. Verse 17. Cursed is
the ground for thy sake, and sorrow shalt thou eat of it all
the days of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles shall
it bring forth. Cursed is the ground, and sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the day. You'll hoe it, you'll grub
it, you'll dig it, you'll mourn over it, you'll pray for it,
you'll That's where man started with
it. Grubbin' in the ground. Grubbin' in the ground. A woman's
lot is to suffer in delivering children. A man's lot is to suffer
to provide for them. Diggin', grubbin', toilin', laborin'.
Sweat. Sweat. You know, I just thought of it.
I don't know if it's true or not, but women don't even seem
to sweat as much as men, as profusely. Maybe even that's a result of
the Father. I just, I'm not going to repeat
it. You know what I'm thinking of now, Walter Gruber's statement. Ask me later. What he said. Sweat. That's the lot of man,
isn't it? Sweat. He said, "...thou art,
and unto dust shalt thou return." Dust. Dust. What's the sad pattern? Standing there in their little
fig leaves, and by this time the wind had blown them off,
standing there hanging their heads, not knowing really what
awaited them, having pointed their fingers
at one another and despising one another and blaming one another
and now full of just turmoil and thoughts that they'd never
had before, just sin running through their minds and hearts
and mad at one another and mad at the serpent and mad at God
and just fearful and just You know, you've had all these same
emotions. Caught red-handed, guilty, feeling
guilty. Is there anything worse than
feeling guilty about something? Guilt. Oh, guilt. Standing there,
hanging there, maybe with a prostate on the ground. Sad pairing. A broken couple. A bleak scene. It's a bleak scene. Where are you now, Adam? Where
are you now? I think about when God first
created Adam and all his glory, he was the most magnificent creature
that ever walked the planet. I believe the angels and the
cherubs and the seraphs looked at him just in amazement. The
angels weren't creating the image of God, man was. And they looked
at this creature creating the image of God with just utter
profound amazement. This is glory to God. This is
the greatest thing God has ever done, by far, bar none. Greater than the stars, the sun,
the moon, the planets, greater than the animals, greater than
the plant. This is the image of God in human flesh. What a
marvel. What a creation. Now, in man,
you can think of the, these countenance. Have you seen some noble people,
some people that just seem to exude nobility? You know what
I'm talking about. I can't put it into words. There's
still something, as marred as it is, as dim as it may be, there's
still something of the image in the face of a man. That's
the reason I say he didn't come from a monkey. Look into the
eyes of a monkey. You'll see just a cloudy glare. countenance
of understanding or wisdom or discernment. He's just a beast,
that's all he is. But you look into the face of
a man, you'll see a glimmer in his eye, especially a believer,
most especially a believer. But the countenance of this man
Adam, the radiance, his glory, the beauty of this man, the intellect.
Can you imagine this man's intellect? God brought to him, see what
he'd name the animals. How many species are there? of
animals. Huh? How many? God doesn't even
name the woman. What a brilliant man. Einstein
was a child compared to Adam. What a glorious and beautiful
creature this was. Now look at him. And if you really want a picture
of him, go and see what man is, but go out to a rest home somewhere. Go to a nursing home. Vicki,
where are you? Go to a nursing home, and go
in there and see the effects of this scene right here. See
what man—Madam, where are you? Look at you now. Look at what
God's creation has become. Go in there and look at those
once proud and strong and wise and intelligent men and women. bent over and gnarled and wrinkled
mass of just putrid flesh and can't even remember that worse
than a child. I watched my grandfather, he
didn't know his son's name. He didn't know his son's name. This is no laughing matter. And
look at this broken couple now, this bleak scene before, and
a poor, miserable, guilty, vile, ashamed, naked little creature,
shivering with fear. But God. But God, who is rich
in mercy. Johnny should have snuck them
out, shouldn't he? I mean, God had been good to
them from day one, hadn't he? What did they lack? God gave
them free reign and rule over everything. He said multiply
and replenish and mind and flesh could possibly
desire. Everything. Nothing but one tree. And boy, isn't that us? Isn't
that us? One tree. And that tree, there
was nothing about that tree, per se, except just a symbol
of God's authority. God put that tree in that garden
for one reason. not to tempt the man and woman,
but to remind them, I'm God. That's the only thing. You can
have anything and everything but that tree. Why, God? Because
I said so. That's why. That's enough? That ought to be enough. And
God should have snuffed them out, shouldn't he? Should have
snuffed them out. I didn't think about, Father, what all has come
as a result of that. All the, oh, this planet, all
the... This is a degraded, despicable
place, isn't it? This is like a cesspool. One
of the old Puritans called it a cesspool of iniquity. A septic
tank, in our language, a septic tank of iniquity and filth. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for that great love wherewith he loved, I believe Adam. I don't
think that God was going to allow Satan to have the victory, not
over his first man. That's the reason I firmly believe
that Adam was saved. God called him, didn't He? They
say God called him Adam. God preached the gospel to him,
huh? God closed him. Look at verse 21. And unto Adam also, and to his
wife, did the Lord God make coats of skin. God killed an innocent
animal, flew its blood, and wrapped that guilty, vile, wretched,
and rebellious pair in that skin of that poor little animal. I think it was a lamb. Oh, isn't
that goodness? He's already shown his infinite
good. And I believe Adam. I believe
Eve also. I think we'll see them someday.
I really do. God called them. God preached
the gospel to them. Gave those promises. God clothed
them. And that's such a picture of
Christ, isn't it? Killing an innocent animal to
cover their guilt and shame. What a picture of Christ that
is. The just dying for the unjust. The innocent for the guilty.
Lamb slain for sinners. Look over at 1 Corinthians. real
quickly, and I'll wind this up. 1 Corinthians. Look over here.
1 Corinthians gives this story
of the two Adams. And this is the reason for it
all. This is the purpose behind it all. We saw the effects. Is that clear to you? Byron,
I think it is, isn't it? Why a woman suffers and goes
through the things she does. God said it would happen. It's
clear in it, men and so forth. A woman is subject under her
husband to his reign and rule, and a man is a slave to her beauty. And a man has gotten to, by,
and through the woman. That's the way it is now, because
of the Paul. Look at 1 Corinthians 15, verse
47. It says down here, 1 Corinthians
15, verse 47, the first man is of the earth, let's see, the
second man is the Lord from heaven. Now, this morning I just briefly
said that God directed, God allowed, however you want to say it, God
ordained the fall of man. You know, even in all this black,
terrible picture, we see the infinite wisdom and goodness
of God, don't we? Why? Because had Adam not fallen
and borne seed, and they in turn borne seed, there would be the
danger of us falling at any time. Right? Adam had the righteousness,
had a created righteousness. Adam had the righteousness of
man. He was righteous, he was holy, but it wasn't the righteousness
of God. See, he could be tempted. He
was, and failed. God can't be tempted with sin,
can he? That's the reason I believe firmly
in the impeccability of Christ. That means Christ could not be
tempted with sin. He can't tempt God. You say,
but he was a man. I don't care. I don't care. He can't be tempted. That righteousness
that he was fulfilling for us, that perfect, eternal righteousness
that he imputed to us, now we have that righteousness whereby
it is impossible for us to ever fall. See the goodness of God
in that? Now we have a righteousness that
cannot ever fail. That's what you read in 1 John
5. Huh? You cannot sin. Why? said that one verse, because
his seed is in you. Christ in you is your hope of
glory. You sin, don't you stand? Christ in you doesn't. But that's
what 1 Corinthians, or 1 John 5 is saying. It's exactly what
it's saying all the way down through there. It talks about
imparted righteousness, but it certainly most definitely talks
about imputed righteousness. How the righteousness that Christ
imputes to us, and this is a miracle, and I can't, we can't enter into
it. So if the righteousness he imputes
to us, it's impossible for us to see it and follow. Old things
are passed away. Old things become a new creature
in Christ. You understand that? No, you
don't. Because I don't either. But you see what I'm saying,
though. You understand it in principle
anyway, in degree. But it had to be the righteousness
of Adam. We could follow it any minute. Huh? And be subject to judgment and
condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation to them in
Christ. No! Yeah, my believer's going
to be a judge. No! No! Huh! No, you can't judge me because
you have to judge Christ. Right? I was crucified with Christ. I was crucified with Him. And
my sins were paid for. Read on. Verse 42, the second
man is the Lord from heaven. The first man is earth of the
earth, earthy. The second man is the spiritual
one, the Lord from heaven. Verse 48, as is the earthy, so
are they also that are earthy. You feel that earthiness, don't
you? Another word for dirtiness, isn't it? Dirty. Guilty. Earthy. As is the heavenly, though such
are they also that are heavenly. It's like Christ. God has ordained
that we be conformed, predestinated us to be conformed to the image
of his Son. Heavenly. Christlike. As we have borne
the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Hasten it, Lord. Please. Quickly. Come. Stamp thy image on us. Now I say this, brethren, this
I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold,
I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the last trump, the trump shall sound, for the
trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. We shall be changed. Now, this
corruptible must put on incorruption. We must die. But to the believer,
Christ changed the name of it to sleep. He said, Adam, you're
going to die. But to the believer, he said,
he's not dead, he sleepeth. Incorruptible we shall be changed.
This corruptible must put on incorruption. This mortal must
put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
put on incorruption, And this mortal shall put on immortality.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
Adam didn't realize it. He didn't realize it. We do now.
We have the last chapter. We have 1 Corinthians 15. Adam didn't know that that woman's
seed would be the second Adam, that federal head. The sting
of death is sin, you see? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be unto God. Thanks
be to God which giveth us the victory. How? Through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Two Adams, Two Adams. Turn back to Genesis now, and
I'll quit. Two Adams, one flesh, the other spirit. One flesh,
the other spirit. As they were of the earth are
earthy, so are they that are of the spirit shall be spiritual. I like Christ. One earthy, one
the Lord from glory. One blaming his wife, Bringing
sin upon our race, sweating in labor because of sin, Christ
taking the blame for his wife, putting away sin, not bringing
it, but putting it away, and he sweat, too, but great drops
of blood. He resisted, and the blood is
striving against sin for us. You see the glory of that? Isn't
that beautiful? the wisdom of God and all that.
Every word is significant in it, every word. Verses 22 through
24, and the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us
to know good and evil. Now lest he put forth his hand
and take also the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore
the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the
ground. What does that mean? The man,
God said, lest he in case he takes for this tree of life and
eat and live for, what does that mean? Somebody tell me, because
I don't know. I really don't. I don't think
anybody does. There isn't much speculation. That's a mystery, isn't it? I
don't know. I know Christ is a tree of life, but this man's
a sinner now. I don't know what that means.
So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword, which turned
every way to keep the way of the tree of life." And as we said this morning,
now we're not barred. The first Adam was barred from
the presence of God, wasn't he? He was kept back by a flaming
sword and a cherub. Now, because of the second Adam,
we were brought nigh. See, the first Adam kept us from
paradise, got us kicked out of it. The second Adam is going
to get us in it. The second Adam is going to bear
the sword himself, that fiery sword. It's going to plunge in
him, and he's going to open the way for sinners to come in. And now we can come. and freely
into the presence of God himself. Two Adams. Two Adams. Okay. Stand with me.