Well, as I tell you so often,
the Scriptures are about Christ. They are God's revelation of
salvation from sin. This is what the Scriptures are
for. It's God telling his people how he saves them from sin. And
if you think the Scriptures are for anything else, well, whatever
else they're for is very secondary to that. That's the purpose of
the Scriptures, is to tell Christ's sheep about the salvation that
He has accomplished. For if you would know life, And
you say, well I'm alive today, but there's life and there's
life. There's life which is merely physical, of this earth, just
living, and there's life which is eternal. There's life which
is abundant. There's life which is spiritual.
And if you would know that life for eternity, you must know the
Son of God. There is no knowledge of eternal
life outside of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Those
in religion who seek to be justified with God by their own religious
schemes will be disappointed. They will be found wanting. There
is nowhere other than in the Lord Jesus Christ. For as John's
Gospel tells us in the first chapter, in Him was life. And the life was the light of
man. If you want life, eternal life, you must go to Jesus Christ. It's in Him alone. In Him was
life. There's no true life. There's
no spiritual life outside of Him. There's not comparative
religions that are all different ways to the same goal. In Him
alone was life. Chapter 10 of John, verse 10,
He said, I came that they might have life. and not just life,
abundant life. He came to give abundant life
to his people. In chapter 11 and verse 25, in
the chapter about Lazarus dying, and we all face death. It's something
that we all face all of the time. Today people are remembering
service people, military people who have died in the service
of this country. You know, lives that were full and fruitful and
full of promise in the eyes of their family and their loved
ones are cut short in a moment and they die. And Jesus goes
there to the tomb of Lazarus and he tells his sisters, I am
the resurrection and the life. If you would have life, he It's
not just a thing that is resurrected. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is
the resurrection and the life. And he said, he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, listen, though he were dead, yet shall
he live. If you've been bereaved, if you've
gone to the funeral parlor, when you've seen one of your relatives
left this life, just think of this, what Jesus promised his
people. Though he were dead, yet shall
he live. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man comes to the Father, no
man comes to God truly except by me. No man comes there. He alone is the way to life. Oh how we need to find him. As Job cried out, Job 23 verse
3, in all of his sufferings, Oh that I knew where I might
find him, that I might even come before his presence. Why Job?
Because in him is life. How should a man be just with
God? In him alone is the answer to that question. Oh that I knew
where I might find him, that I might even come before his
presence. Scriptures cry out with the sinner's
plea, the sinner's agony, the sinner's quest, how can I find
life? I can find it in Jesus Christ
and him alone. I must find it in him. And Jesus
said to those who were listening to him in John chapter 5 verse
39, he said, search the scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life. Yes, you're right, in them, in
the scriptures. They, the scriptures, are they which testify of me. This man, who had no form nor
comeliness that we should desire. Just a man looking like physically
any other man. In fact, he looked older than
his years, apparently. This man, who spoke like never
man spake, as they said, this man said, these scriptures, your
Old Testament scriptures, you Pharisees, you religious people,
these are they which testify of me. And I'm going to tell
you some stuff that's very familiar, but it doesn't hurt. It's good
to remember it. When he rose from the dead, and
before he ascended on the road to Emmaus with those two despondent
disciples, beginning up Moses and the prophets, the scriptures,
the Old Testament scriptures. He expounded to them in all the
scriptures. What did he tell them? How to
live? No. the things concerning himself. Why? Because it's only
in knowing him that there is eternal life. It's only in knowing
him. In chapter 24 of Luke, verse
27 is where we see that, but then you read on to verses 44
and 45. This is what the risen Lord Jesus
said to those disciples. These are the words which I spake
unto you while I was yet with you. that all things must be
fulfilled. What things? The ones which were
written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms,
meaning the Old Testament Scriptures. What things written in those
places? The things concerning me. If you would understand the Scriptures
you must understand that they speak of him. And you won't understand
that by rational physical thinking at all. No, the things of the
Spirit of God, they're not naturally, rationally discerned, they're
spiritually discerned. The natural man doesn't receive
those things. No. Then it says, he opened their
understanding. Oh, that He might open our understanding,
that we might understand the Scriptures. And what is that?
It's to have the key to the Scriptures. And what is the key to the Scriptures?
It's the Lord Jesus Christ. So that everything, on every
page, in every account, speaks of Him. In that way, we search
for Him in the Scriptures. We search the Scriptures, for
these are they that testify of Him. And in searching the Scriptures,
by the Spirit's guidance, we come to where Paul wants to be
in Philippians chapter 3 that I may know him I may know him
and the power of his death and of his resurrection be found
in him that I might attain unto the resurrection isn't this what
we need as mortal people sinful people that we might attain to
the resurrection from the dead for whatever is turning us on
now, it's fleeting, and but for a moment. And just like we look
outside and we see that this year has gone, nearly, and the
summer that was in such full bloom in June and July, and such
a height, my garden looked so lovely in June and July, and
now it just looks a wasteland of dead things. And that's us. That's a metaphor of us, like
the flower of the field, says the scriptures. That's what we
are like. The flower of the field that comes in the full bud of
its youth and its fullness of life and it flowers and it comes
to full maturity. and it fades, and it withers,
and it dies, and that's it. That's what's going to be for
us. But oh, that I might know him, that I might find him, that
I might attain to the resurrection, that I might be amongst those
who hear these blessed words that Jesus said his disciples
would hear, Matthew 25, 34. where he looks and he says, come,
ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom that was prepared
for you from the beginning of the world. We need to look for
him. The Shulamite looked for her beloved in the Song of Solomon.
She looked for her beloved. Where is he? Show me, tell me
where he is. And then she sees, ah, my beloved
has gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed
in the gardens, and to gather the lilies. And she goes there.
It's poetic language, I know. It's metaphorical language. But
we must go where he is. Where he is declared to be. And
where is that? It's in his word. How is he in
his word? He's there in types. And in pictures. And they're pictures that are
painted in historical accounts. Of a real people. That people
in the Middle East. Historical accounts. He's pictured
in types. In prophecy. in prophecy about
him. In the poetry, as we just said,
my beloved has gone down to his garden. That's poetry. He's pictured
there. He's portrayed. He's portrayed
in four ways. In typical people, in typical
things, in typical events, in typical places. Let me give you
some examples. He's pictured in typical people.
He's pictured in Adam, as I hope to show you a little glimpse
of in this message this morning. He's pictured in Noah. Noah who
built an ark in the face of a generation that continued to sin. He preached
righteousness and he provided by the direction of God an ark
for the saving of his family and God shut him in. Noah is
one who found grace in the eyes of, he says so much to us about
Christ. Melchizedek, that priest, that
priest, that mysterious priest of Salem, that mysterious priest,
He's pictured there in the Old Testament. He's pictured in Moses,
the prophet, the one who brought the word of God to the people
of God. He's pictured in Moses. He's
pictured even in Aaron, weak and failing Aaron, bedecked in
his high priestly robes. He shows us the role of the intercessor
between holy God and sinful man, and it speaks of Christ. He speaks
to us in Joshua, who is the saviour of the people, taking them into
the promised land. And Jesus is our Joshua. He speaks
to us in Boaz, who is the kinsman redeemer, who redeems Ruth, who
redeems Ruth. He buys back his people. He speaks
to us in David, the shepherd king, and I could go on. He speaks
to us in things, When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac,
and he's there in the process of sacrificing his beloved, his
only true son of promise, with his wife Sarah. He's there to
sacrifice that beloved thing, above all other things, this
one. He's there obeying God. And God
shows him Christ, the ram, caught in the thicket. It pictures Christ. This thing pictures Christ. The
ladder that Jacob saw, the ladder between the glories of heaven
and sinless perfection and the sinless state we are on the earth.
And in that ladder We see Christ, it pictures Christ. As Moses
held up a brass serpent for the people to look at in the wilderness
when they were bitten by snakes and he held up a symbol of the
very thing that was causing them death and Jesus said, as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the son of
man be lifted up that whosoever believeth on him should not perish
but have everlasting life. A look, there's life in a look
at the crucified one. The brass serpent speaks of him.
The Passover lamb speaks of him gloriously. The scapegoat, where
the sins of the people were transferred to the head of the scapegoat,
and it was chased away into the wilderness, and picturing how
Christ takes away the sins of his people into the wilderness
of the forgetfulness of God concerning the sins of his people. And the
manna, I am the bread of life, said Christ, and God fed his
people with manna. The manna speaks of Christ. The
rock which was smitten, when they were dying of thirst and
out of it came that living water, and he said, whoever believes
in me, There will be a well of springing water in him, and that
water is Christ, and that rock, as the New Testament tells us,
was Christ. An altar, they had an altar. What does it speak
of? We have an altar, says Hebrews. What's our altar? It's our Lord
Jesus Christ. For on that altar, everything
that is required to make peace with God is accomplished. We
have a mercy seat, as they did. Our mercy seat is Him. For all
these things testify of Him. In events, when Adam and Eve
sinned, And God clothed them with the skins of an animal that
had to shed its blood to provide those skins. Speaks of Christ.
Speaks of Christ. The exodus out of Egypt. The
bringing of the people of God out of the bondage of slavery.
Goliath. David killing Goliath. Speaks
of Christ conquering Satan. The furnace, that one that walked
with those three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the one that walked
with them is one like unto the Son of God in the fiery furnace.
In the den of lions, Daniel went in there and the Son of God came
and closed the mouth of the lions. They all speak, these events,
the places, the tabernacle. the temple, the cities of refuge,
we could go on. They all testify of Jesus Christ. They're all metaphors of him
whom to know is life, life eternal. What I want to do is perhaps
start a series of looking in a bit more detail at some of
these pictures that I alluded to just before, and we'll begin
at the beginning, because that's the best place to start, and
we'll begin with Adam. What does the account of Adam
in the scripture testify to us about Christ? In the passage
that we read in Romans chapter five, it seems as though an understanding
of these things is central to the gospel, because Paul spends
time in the clearest, the clearest epistle in the scriptures concerning
the gospel of justification by grace in Christ, and he spends
some time in this chapter five talking about Adam. as if that's
relevant so it must be relevant chapter 5 verse 14 nevertheless
death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned
after the similitude of Adam's transgression so that people
hadn't done exactly the same as Adam did and yet they died
the death that God promised for the soul that sins it shall die
why did they die because we were all represented in Adam. And what he did, we all, all,
every one of the human race did in him. And then it says, Adam
who is the figure of him that was to come. The figure of him
that was to come. That's the title of my message. The figure of him to come. And
who was that? He was the first Adam The one
that he's speaking of is the last Adam. The last Adam. The
one first federal head and the last federal representative head. And the last Adam is Christ.
Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
last Adam. In what ways did the first Adam
figure the last Adam? In what ways? Well, I want you
to see that he's a representative man. and that our Lord Jesus
Christ was truly a man. Then I want you to see that he
shared a holiness of nature with our Lord Jesus Christ. And then
he had dominion over creation, as our Lord Jesus Christ does.
But most vividly, he portrays to us the salvation of God in
Christ in his marriage to Eve. So let's look at these things.
He was a representative man. He was a literal man. If you
say in this day in which we live that you believe in a literal
Adam and Eve and a literal Garden of Eden, then of course everybody
who reckons that they're so high and mighty with their rationalistic
scientific thinking, they think we're all mad, don't they? They
think we've completely lost any sense of common sense or rationality. Well, I tell you, these things
are not rationally understood. I don't have the slightest problem.
The children of God don't have the slightest problem believing
in a literal Adam and Eve, in a literal creation, in a literal
belief of the account of the scriptures concerning the creation
of the world. Everything about... we don't
have the slightest... and you say, oh well that brings you
into conflict with science. No, it doesn't. Not in the slightest.
There is nothing, there is nothing about modern science or engineering
that I use and that I see and that I understand some of but
less and less of the older I get in this state, there's not anything
of that that is real today that is in any way challenged by my
belief in a literal Adam and Eve. Not anything. I even believe
in evolution. Shock! Shall I tell you what
I mean? I mean the mutation of bugs and bacteria and the fact
that bacteria become resistant to certain antibiotics. How do
they do it? Well, there is variation and the antibiotic sort of selects
out the ones that are susceptible and leaves ones that are not
susceptible and so over time that the species of bacteria
become more resistant to that antibiotic. That micro-evil,
I don't have any problem with that, I don't have any problem
with Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands, that some
of them, from the one kind of finch, get addicted. See, it
doesn't affect the fact that I believe God concerning Adam
and Eve, concerning his creation, because it's so significant.
Without an understanding of these foundational things at the beginning,
so much other spiritual understanding is deficient. How is it that
we understand creation? Is it by science? The Bible tells
us. Hebrews 11 verse 2 tells us.
It's by faith that we understand. Not by science. Not by rationality. By faith we understand. And the
natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God.
So don't be surprised that the majority of unbelieving don't
agree with you about whether God created the world, but it
doesn't alter the fact that for those of you who believe, those
of us who believe, I don't have the slightest problem believing
in a literal Adam. And he was made in the image
of God. In the image of Christ, actually.
Genesis chapter 1, verse 26, says this, God says, let us No, it didn't say let me, God
said let us. Is that clear? That's the Trinity.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Let us make man in our, not my,
our image, after our likeness. How did God make man? 2nd Corinthians
chapter 4 verse 4, he made him after the image of Christ. Why?
Because it says there that Christ is the image of God. Christ is
the image of God. Colossians 1.15 tells us that
the Son of God is the image of the invisible God. Hebrews chapter
1 verse 3 says that the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ is
the express image of the person of God. So that Jesus could say
to Philip, when Philip said, show us the Father, Jesus said
to him, Philip, have I been so long with you and yet you have
not known me? He who has seen me has seen the Father. Adam was made in the image of
Christ, and he was a representative of all of humanity. verse 12
of Romans chapter 5, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all
men, for all have sinned, and verse 14, nevertheless death
reigned from Adam to Moses. You see, there was that representative
thing. Verse 15, Not as the offense,
so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of
one many be dead, Yeah? Because of what he did, all humanities
plunged into the same condition. Much more the grace of God, and
the gift of grace which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded
unto many. By one man, sin entered the world,
and death by sin. And so death passed upon all
men, for all have sinned. He represented all humanity. And so as he sinned, all humanity
sinned in him. By the offense of one, judgment
came upon all men. By one man's disobedience, says
verse 19, all were made, many were made sinners. By one man's
disobedience, many were made sinners. You say, oh, that's
not fair. Ah, but the The outworking of it is perfectly fair because
who is there that can say they have no sin? For all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God. First Corinthians chapter
15 verses 21 and 22 say, for since by man came death, by man
came also the resurrection of the dead. For since by the first
man came death, by the last man, the last Adam, came also the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ shall all be made alive." All that Adam did, we
did in him. He's a federal head, he's a representative
head, a representative man. His sin is imputed, counted,
the sin of all, legally. His sinful nature is imparted
to all. We all come from the womb, all
as sinners, all wanting our own way, all rejecting the rule of
God. That's how we come into this
world. We have that sinful nature imparted to us, all without exception. There's not one can say it's
unfair because we all sin constantly. But as Adam was a man representing
all men, so Christ became man, and represented some men. The
men he represented were what Hebrews calls the many sons,
in bringing many sons to glory. The many sons, his elect, he
represented them, even so in him, in Christ, shall all his
elect be made alive. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse
45, and so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living
soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. He was a
representative, and what he was a representative of and the things
he did were imputed, counted, credited to the account of those
he represented. And the nature of him was imparted
to those he represented. Just as condemnation is sealed
in the headship of one federal head, that's the first Adam,
justification is sealed in the headship of another one, the
last Adam, who is Christ. What Adam ruined, Christ restored. What he broke, the law that Adam
broke, Christ fulfilled it in every respect. Where Adam disobeyed
God, Christ obeyed God. Where Adam failed, we read of
Christ in the prophecy of Isaiah, he shall not fail. Adam failed,
but he shall not fail. In this way, Adam is a figure
of him that was to come. He was a figure of him that was
to come in the holiness of his nature. Ah, but he sinned. Yes,
but before he sinned, he had a sinless nature. Only two men
Well, three if you include Eve. Two men have walked this earth
in sinless perfection, Adam before the fall, and Christ. Before
the fall, only two men have walked this earth in sinless perfection,
Adam before he fell and sinned, and Christ living in this world.
holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. Why is sinlessness
important in a saviour? Why is it important that he be
sinless? Does it matter that he be sinless?
Look at Hebrews chapter 7. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 26. What do we need in order to stand
between us and God? Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 26. For such an high priest became
us, or was appropriate for us, or was suited to us. You know
when somebody wears some clothes and you say, oh that's not becoming,
it doesn't suit, but such a high priest as Christ became us, is
appropriate to us. What are his characteristics?
Holy. harmless, undefiled. He must be those things. We cannot have a sinner stand
as our substitute because he himself must be under the same
condemnation. We need one who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens,
who needs not daily, as human high priests, earthly high priests,
the high priests of the temple and the tabernacle, they needed
daily to offer up sacrifice first for their own sins before they
were ceremonially counted fit to offer up sacrifice for the
sins of the people. You see, he had to first for
his own sins and then for the people's. For this he did once
when he offered up himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ was offered
up once for all. The Passover lamb, which represented
Christ, had to be selected from the floor. And it must be a perfect
lamb. It must be one without blemish
and without spot. It must be taken and examined
for fourteen days before the Passover. That it be seen that
it's perfect. And Christ was examined before
the law of God. To see that he was perfect before
the law of God. So that he could be our holy,
harmless, undefiled Saviour. A man in sinless perfection walking
the earth as a federal representative as Adam was before he fell. But what's the difference? Adam,
as it were, were on probation. He was in a sort of a probationary
state. He was susceptible to falling,
and of course he did fall, but even so in Christ, in Christ,
there's no probation about it. He's accomplished everything
he needs to do in the salvation of his people. There is no danger
of a fall from grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Next point, in
the dominion over creation, In Adam, there is a type, a picture
of Christ. Genesis 1, 26. God said, let
us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Do you know,
in these days, you've got the animal rights movement and all
sorts of other things that go on and they're in such a state
of confusion and they cause such terrible harm and damage because
they do not understand this. God gave man dominion over creation. God gave man dominion over these
things. When Noah came out of the ark,
God gave man the animals for food for him. It was the doing
of God. And we fly in the face of God
and we cause all sorts of problems in our society when we forget
that. Look at Psalm 8. Let me read some of these things
to you now. Psalm 8. Psalm 8. What is man that thou
art mindful of him? I'll just skip down because time
is going so fast. What is man that thou art mindful
of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou hast
made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned
him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion
over the works of thy hands, and have put all things under
his feet, all sheep and oxen and the beasts of the field,
the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth
through the paths of the seas O LORD our Lord how excellent
is thy name in all the earth and then Paul in Hebrews applies
that to the Lord Jesus Christ in Hebrews chapter 2 Hebrews
chapter 2 verses 8 and 9, speaking of Christ, made a little lower
than the angels, verse 7, you've crowned him with honor, glory
and honor, and set him over the works of your hands, you've put
all things in subjection under his feet. As Adam was put in
control, Christ is in control of all creation. There's nothing
that's not put under him, but we see not yet all things put
under him, but we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory
and honor. He is crowned with glory and
honor. As Adam had dominion, so Christ is King of kings and
Lord of lords. Colossians 1 verse 16 says concerning
Christ that all things were created by him and all things were created
for him for he is before all things and in him all things
consist he is sovereign God this one is sovereign God as Adam
had dominion so Christ has dominion and the Psalms tell us listen
listen Psalm 2 verse 12 Kiss the son, lest he be angry and
ye perish. Don't, to use the modern language
of the street, don't mess with the son. Don't be flippant. The son of God is sovereign,
ruler over all things. Anyway, I want to quickly get
to this last point. How is Adam, a picture of Christ,
most eminently, most graphically in his marriage to Eve? Look
at Genesis chapter two. Genesis and the second chapter
and the account of the marriage. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 20. And Adam gave names to all the
cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the
field. But for Adam, there was not found an help meet for him,
a help suitable for him, a companion suitable for him. Verse 21. And the Lord God caused a deep
sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And he took one of
his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib
which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman, and
brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone
of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman, because
she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his
father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they
shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the
man and his wife, and were not ashamed. One flesh. Marriage union. This is where
God instituted this, but why did he do it? If you turn to
Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians chapter 5, and don't worry if
you can't keep up, I'm reading them out. Ephesians chapter 5,
verse 25, Husbands? This is instruction
concerning marriage, isn't it? Between a man and a woman. Well,
yes, it is. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might
present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that
loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they
too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. The marriage, the
picture, what's pictured in Adam and Eve is a picture of Christ
and his church. That's what was instituted. The
bridegroom and the bride. Christ is the bridegroom. The
church, his people, is the bride. I saw New Jerusalem coming down
out of heaven, says John in Revelation, prepared as a bride for her husband,
adorned as a bride for her husband. It speaks of a king over creation
and his queen. He slept. How did Eve be made
out of the side of Adam? God caused a deep sleep to fall
upon Adam. Does that not speak? Oh, you're
over-spiritualizing, some might say, but no, I think all these
things speak of him. Adam had to go into a deep sleep.
Christ had to sleep the sleep of death for his people. He had
to sleep the sleep of death for his people, to redeem his people.
And what is pictured in that marriage union is devotion. a
union in which they're both counted together, one flesh. Remember,
I've told you in the past about the legal state and what it used
to mean in marriage was that absolute responsibility of the
husband for the wife, the one for the other, Christ for his
church. It speaks of love, it speaks of self-sacrificing, destructive
love, self-destroying love. Why did Adam eat the forbidden
fruit back in Genesis chapter 3? And verse six, you see the
serpent beguiled Eve. Verse six of chapter three of
Genesis. When the woman saw that the tree
was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired to make one wise, she did what God had
said they must not do. She took of the fruit thereof
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he
did eat. And Paul tells us, in writing
to Timothy, about the relationship between man and woman. 1 Timothy
2.14, Adam was not deceived, but the woman being, the woman
was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived and was
in the transgression. And she came and gave to Adam,
who knew perfectly what he was doing. Adam was not deceived. Why did he eat? It says, and
he did eat. He wasn't deceived. Why did he
eat? For this reason, before Adam
would be parted from Eve, he would be damned with her. That's
why he did eat. So the scriptures tell us, before
Adam would be parted from Eve for her sin and condemnation,
he would be damned with her. And as he went down into that
damnation so that he wasn't separated from his wife, so Christ was
made sin for his people, that his people might be made the
righteousness of God in him. Christ came to bear the sins
of his people in his own body on the tree. He came down into
that place which was an evil cup to him. It was an evil cup. I wonder if the pure heart of
Adam knowing God and knowing what he was and seeing the one
he loved who had fallen, what a horrible cup it must have appeared
and yet for love for her he went down there and how Christ took
upon him the sins of his people that he might redeem his people.
so that the result of it might be that they might be naked together. Naked together. It tells us in
Genesis 2, 25, at the end of that account of the institution
of marriage, the creation of Eve, they were both naked, the
man and his wife, and were not ashamed. They were both naked
and not ashamed. Hebrews 4, verse 13, all things
are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
God sees right through the clothing cover. right through the facade
of our respectability and sees what we are. All things are naked
and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Isaiah chapter
50 verse 7, here's the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ speaking,
I know that I shall not be ashamed. Christ knew that as a man, why? Because he would be vindicated.
When he was made sin for his people, he would pay the penalty
of sin and that sacrifice and that payment would be vindicated
and he would be raised from the dead. I know that I shall not
be ashamed. Isaiah 45 verse 17. Israel, the
people of God, the elect of God. I'm not talking about that nation
in the Middle East, you know what I mean. The Israel of God. Israel
shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. The
result? You shall not be ashamed. Romans 10 verse 11, for the scripture
said, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Adam
and Eve are not mythical characters. I believe they're literally true.
But much more, they figure Christ, the bridegroom, united with his
bride, the church. Adam loving Eve to the point
of damnation with her. Christ coming and being made
sin. to restore his people to that
place of sinless perfection without blemish. What does it tell us
in Ephesians 5? Why did he do those things that
he might present his church without blemish and without spot? So
that Christ and his church might stand together naked before the
gaze of God, before the gaze of Him to whom everything is
open and revealed, that we might stand naked and unashamed before
the gaze of strict justice with Christ, knowing that he has cleansed
us. First Corinthians 15, 45, as
the first Adam was made a living soul and all humanity in him,
the last Adam, Christ, was made a quickening spirit. What is
a quickening spirit? It's a life-giving spirit, giving
life. John 17, verse 2, Prayer of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Before he went to the cross to
redeem his people, before he went down into that place of
condemnation, thou hast given him, Christ, power over all flesh. Christ has power over all flesh
that he should give, he's a quickening spirit, that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. Do you see, in some
little way, we've barely scratched the surface, how Adam is a picture,
as all these scriptures are. These scriptures are they that
testify of me, said Christ.