January 3, 2011
Dear New Life Family,
I am writing to encourage each one of you to join us on a journey through the “One Year Bible” in 2011.
As we read through the Bible together in 2011, let us read to worship!
Worship Christ as Creator, the Image of God, the perfect Adam, the God-man, the Bridegroom, the Promised Seed of the Woman, the Promised Redeemer, the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World, the Greater Abel, the Greater Ark of Noah, the Blessed Man, the Anointed Son, our Shield, Glory, Lifter of our Heads and Salvation! And that is in just the first three readings of the One Year Bible!
We would do well to remember what Jesus said to the Bible interpreters of His day: "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering." (Luke 11:52) What had the lawyers done to deserve such a reprimand from Jesus? They had taken away “the key to knowledge” which is the revelation of Himself as God’s Promise, the Messiah.
The key to knowledge is the revelation of the Christ. To give people the law without the One who was promised to fulfill the law is a crime. To interpret the Old Testament without the Promise of the Messiah at the core is a false interpretation. Jesus is the key to the Scriptures. Jesus said “they testify of me” (John 5:39). “Moses wrote about me” (John 5:46); “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44)
The Bible is the written Word of God and Jesus is the Living Word of God. In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3)
So we read the Scriptures to see Christ and know His gospel.
Here are some pictures of Christ in the first few readings in the One Year Bible. I pray that it will encourage you to read and worship!
GENESIS 1
In Genesis 1:1 Jesus Christ is Creator (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Psalm 33:6).
Jesus is the Light of the World (John 9:5); He is the Great Separator of things of earth and heaven (John 3:19-21)
God, the Son, operates in one resolve with the Father and the Spirit (Genesis 1:26)
Adam was the first man, the prototype man, all that Jesus as God designed man to be, as the express image of God. (Jesus is the perfect image of God- Hebrews 1:3)
GENESIS 2
In Genesis 2 we see the first man, Adam, in the state of untried innocence; not yet in perfect obedience. He is a picture of all that Jesus would be as man, except that Jesus is the perfect man in the state of perfect obedience.
In the New Testament we learn that Jesus is referred to as “the second man” (1 Cor. 15:47) and “the last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45)
A bride was taken from Adam’s side to be His co-regent, one appointed to reign together with him in oneness. (Gen 2:21-22)
Adam, the first bridegroom was put into a deep sleep. (The word’ sleep’ is used in the New Testament for a believer’s death; death, no longer as “the wages of sin” (Romans 6:23), but transition to new state).
The man 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." 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. (Gen 2:23-24)
A bride was taken from Adam’s side to be a partner he could perfectly correspond with. She would complement him and be his co-regent.
Jesus fulfills this prophetic picture as the second man, the heavenly bridegroom. He was put into the deep sleep, His death on the cross. His shed blood and sacrificial death not only provided atonement for our sin but made possible the formation (the Hebrew word is ‘building’) of a bride, the church as His eternal companion.
Paul writes of this mystery in the Book of Ephesians.
30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:30-32, NKJ)
Jesus left His Father’s house to gain a bride at the price of His own life. In this prophetic picture, Jesus, like the first man, Adam, must be put into a deep sleep, a picture of His death.
We can see how the wounded side of the first man points to the wounded side of the second man:
34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. (John 19:34)
We can also see here in His wounded side a portrait of our purchase as the bride, the church, the Eternal Companion of the Lord, destined to reign with Him in wedded oneness in the ages to come. From His side redemption flows. The church is purchased with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)
GENESIS 3
Of course in Genesis 3 we have the account of the fall of humanity. But we also have the first mention of the gospel and a prophetic picture of it.
The first mention of the Coming Redeemer is found in Genesis 3:15. Theologians call this the “protevangelium”, the first mention of the gospel.
Genesis 3:14-15 (NIV)
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
The Promised Redeemer would be “the seed of a woman”. The expression, “to crush the head” is an oriental expression meaning to “depose the governmental rule”. This is the prophetic picture of the Messiah who would not be the Son of fallen man, but the Son of God, born of a virgin. He would come to save us from our sins and destroy the works of the devil, deposing his rule.
In Genesis 3:21 we have a picture of the failure of human attempts to cover sin (Operation Fig Leaf!) and God’s provision through the sacrifice of an innocent animal on behalf of the guilty sinners, a picture of the sacrificial Lamb of God.
Genesis 3:21 (NIV)
21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
This is the gospel of God. The good news of the Messiah and the provision of the atoning sacrifice.
GENESIS 4
The gospel presented in Genesis 3:14-15 and 3:21 was to be passed on to Adam’s children.
Prior to the fall, the man and the woman lived as a one flesh unit. They shared the same name. After the fall, with sin, came dissolution of oneness. The woman was named Eve. Whereas Adam was created in God’s image, Adam’s children were born in the image of fallen man (Genesis 5:3). Therefore although Adam was the first man, his son, Cain, was not qualified to be called the second man. Cain was no longer, man, as God created man to be. Instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit, his nature was fallen and he was spiritually subject to the dominion of the god of this age, Satan. Never in human history would there be another ‘man’ until the Messiah. He would qualify as the ‘second man’ because He was born, not of Adam’s seed. He would be, as Adam was originally, born without sin. His obedience would be tested. Where the first man Adam disobeyed and brought sin and death into the stream of humanity, Jesus would obey and bring righteousness that would be extended as a gift to believers, and a new stream of humanity that would be born of the Holy Spirit.
Abel, the second son of Adam, is a picture of one who is obedient to the gospel. Cain brought to God what he thought best. He is a picture of man living by human reason without revelation. His religion is one of self-redemption.
Abel brought what God required- an innocent animal substitute, a type of Christ. This sacrificial system was instituted as a means of communicating the gospel. Abel received the witness from the Holy Spirit that He was accepted by God on the basis of the sacrifice of another made on his behalf, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Cain rejected the gospel. Although God appealed to him that both a sin offering and the rule of sin were at his doorstep, Cain rejected the sin offering and submitted to the rule of sin.
“By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings.” (Heb 11:4)
We see the first case of depression in Cain. Failing to believe the gospel, he does not have the witness of God’s acceptance. He is still in his sins and under God’s wrath. He is angry that he is not accepted by God by living on his own terms. He is jealous of his brother Abel’s peace and joy. The spirit of antichrist takes over and we have the first religious war. Cain rises up to persecute and kill Abel.
“This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.” (1 John 3:11-12)
Jesus is the greater Abel who was despised, rejected and slain by His brothers. Abel was the first shepherd and Jesus is the Great Shepherd (John 10:11) Abel died a violent death and his blood called for judgment. Jesus died a violent death but His blood cries out for mercy. (Hebrews 12:24)
The rest of Genesis 4 is a powerful study on human sociology.
GENESIS 5
The development of human society continues with a record of years lived and the records of people’s death. The first part of the gospel is patently clear: The wages of sin is death. We have the repetition of the phrase, “And he died.”
Some have pointed out that the meaning of the names in the geneology give us the hope of the gospel in a sentence:
Man (Adam)
is appointed (Seth)
mortal (Enoch)
sorrow (Cainan) but
the blessed God (Mahalaleel)
shall come down (Jared)
teaching (Enoch) that
His death shall bring (Methusekah)
the despairing (Lamech)
rest (Noah)
Matthew 11:28 (NIV) 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
GENESIS 6
Mankind in going astray is ‘flesh’ (Gen 6:3). The New Testament use of the word ‘flesh’ as referring to the nature of man in its independence from God is seen here.
There is widespread corruption on the earth.
“The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”(Gen 6:5)
Jesus certainly believed that Genesis 6 was historically accurate:
26 "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27).
The ark of Noah is a picture of God’s plan of salvation in Christ. Noah was saved because he believed God’s message (Hebrews 11:7)
The ark, like the plan of salvation in the Christ event- the incarnation, sinless living and substitutionary dying of Jesus to fulfill the law, is planned by God. Noah had no part in the planning. God ordained that the ark would be the means of salvation from the wrathful judgment against sin. God was judging the old creation with the flood. Those who entered the ark (plan of salvation) would be saved.
As with the story of man’s fall in Genesis 3, no sooner had God announced His judgment against sin, He also announced His provision of escape from judgment. In every case, that provision speaks of Jesus!
14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. (Genesis 6:14)
The ark is made of wood. Wood speaks of humanity. Cypress wood is known for its resistance to corruption. The wood represents the sinless humanity of Jesus that qualifies Him to be our Savior. The wood is covered with pitch. The Hebrew word for ‘pitch’ is ‘kopher’ – covering. The common Hebrew word ‘kopher’ relates to atonement. His blood would provide atonement for our souls (Lev. 17:11). There are three sections to the ark, just as there are three sections to the tabernacle (another picture of the plan of salvation in the Old Testament!) Jesus is the Greater Ark of Noah.
There are many wonderful parallels to the plan of salvation seen in the ark of Noah and the plan of salvation that we can enter into through faith in Christ.
AS YOU READ THE PSALMS
Psalm 1 Jesus is the Blessed Man!
Psalm 2- Jesus is the Son of God
Psalm 3- Jesus is a shield about us, our glory and the lifter of our head! Our sustainer. The one who answers our prayers. The author and finisher of our salvation!
PROVERBS 1:1-7
Proverbs 1- Jesus is our Wisdom from God (1 Cor 1:30; Prov 4)
MATTHEW 1:-4:11
Worship the One who came to save us from our sins (Matt 1:21). He went right to the root of our problem. John the Baptist says it well: “ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”. Jesus did not come to prune our sinful nature. He came to deal with its root. He goes right back to the beginning of the problem- Adam. Where Adam fell into disobedience, Jesus would bring judgment on Adam and his progeny, as “the last Adam”, by identifying Himself with his sin on the cross. Sin would be cut down and thrown into the fire. As “the second man”, the federal head of a new humanity, he would rewrite our history as one of perfect obedience.
Jesus, though sinless, identified with the natural man in baptism. Notice the commendation by the attending persons of the Trinity. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased! (Notice also that the dove who is not seen after being sent out by Noah after the old creation is judged (Gen. 8:12) is finally seen in Matthew 3:16 resting on the head of Jesus Christ, the second man, the head of THE NEW CREATION!)
Where the first man was tested and failed, this man would succeed. The woman (whose name was also Adam) was tempted in the garden to live autonomously and to break fellowship with God through disobedience at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil through the lust of the flesh (she saw that the fruit was good for food) the lust of the eyes (a delight to the eyes) and the pride of life (desirable to make her wise). Jesus was tempted in the wilderness in the same areas: the lust of the flesh (to make stones bread, to break fellowship with the Father and to satisfy his hunger independently from the Father’s provision); the lust of the eyes (Luke has this as the second temptation, Matthew the third- to behold the glory of the kingdoms of this world) and the pride of life (prove who you are by casting yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple and commanding angels to save you).
As Jesus resisted the temptation to worldliness and sin by hiding the Word of God in His heart, let us do the same!
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:4)
You will be blessed!
Pastor David
P.S. As we pray for the global harvest in 2011, may the Lord increase our vision, our compassion, our prayer life and our obedience. Let’s pray for the “Global Hot Spots” on page 10 and “the Global Trends to Watch” on page 12 of the book “Operation World”
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