“The LORD God made clothing out of skins for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. The LORD God said, ‘Since man has become like Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, and also take the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.’”
~Genesis 3:21-22
Where did God get the skins to clothe Adam and Eve? Somewhere in that garden an animal must have been slain, meaning that blood was spilt. The shedding of blood has always been God’s means for redeeming humanity.
Adam was the first man to have a personal relationship with God before he was saved. After his rebellion there was an immediate change. God came to meet with Adam, but Adam hid from God. Man cannot come to where holy God is, but God does condescend to where sinful man is—wooing… drawing… calling out. Man may run, but he cannot hide from God. Eventually we will all have to meet with God—and it is always on God’s terms.
The result of Adam’s rebellion was death. That consequence is confirmed in verse 19: “…until you return to the ground….”
But the mystery is in verse 22. Why would God cut off the way to life? The answer is—like every other mystery of the Bible—actually quite clear. Had Adam eaten the fruit of the tree of life he would have continued on forever in a fallen condition. His offspring would have been born in his image—as fallen creatures—but there would have been no end to it. God’s sentence of death, of an end to all things—even time itself—is a concession of grace! There would have been no “better life” or “better world” because this would have been it…forever. Man would live on forever until this world simply rotted out from under him—that would be a version of hell.
Thank God that He blocked that way! But in His grace He provided another. Paul called it “a better way.” In light of the truth it is immeasurably better than any alternative.
Brother George, My wife and I visited your church Sunday and loved the hospitality of the members and loved the service. We will definitely be back soon. We just moved to Canton from Mableton and are really wanting to find a church in our new area. We were blessed with a wonderful message and felt good just being there. My wife and I have a blog too. www.saratim.blogspot.com. Again, we look forward to hearing your message again very soon.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Tim and Sara Greene
Welcome to Canton, Tim and Sara, and welcome to First Baptist! We're thrilled you joined us on Sunday, and I'm so glad you had a good experience. I think it's a great church, and God has certainly blessed my family through it. One of the best things is that we have a pastor who boldly preaches the Word of God.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I enjoyed your blog, and am now praying for you and your desire for a family. May God bless you in this way!