WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:03.180 So in our Bibles, we've turned to Genesis chapter 1. 00:00:05.799 --> 00:00:10.820 This is the first in our series. It's part 1 of 2. 00:00:12.859 --> 00:00:18.140 Our scripture reading for today will begin with Genesis 1, starting at verse 26. 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:23.240 And then I'll guide you from there as we read the word of the Lord. 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:31.839 As we do read, remember, we believe this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear and sufficient word. 00:00:31.919 --> 00:00:34.179 It's God's very own word for you, his people. 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:37.200 So when I'm done reading, I'll say this is the word of the Lord. 00:00:37.579 --> 00:00:39.539 And God's people will say, thanks be to God. 00:00:40.959 --> 00:00:43.920 Genesis 1, starting at verse 26. 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:51.420 And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. 00:00:51.420 --> 00:01:02.079 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. 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:05.200 So God created man in his own image. 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:10.140 In the image of God, he created him, male and female, he created them. 00:01:11.439 --> 00:01:12.820 And God blessed them. 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:26.939 And God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:40.060 And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, and which is the fruit of the tree, yielding seed. 00:01:40.259 --> 00:01:49.859 To you it shall be for food, and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life. 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:54.900 I have given every green herb for food, and it was so. 00:01:55.659 --> 00:02:03.280 Verse 31, and God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.120 In the evening, in the morning, or the sixth day. 00:02:09.460 --> 00:02:11.919 Genesis 2, starting at verse 1. 00:02:12.379 --> 00:02:16.740 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:25.700 And on the seventh day, God ended his work, which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work, which he had made. 00:02:26.219 --> 00:02:35.520 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he rested from all his work, which God created and made. 00:02:36.820 --> 00:02:44.780 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth that they were created in the day that God made the earth and the heavens. 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:49.740 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. 00:02:50.300 --> 00:02:55.860 For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 00:02:56.740 --> 00:03:01.099 But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:09.759 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.479 And man became a living soul. 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:17.479 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:20.859 And there he put the man whom he had formed. 00:03:21.459 --> 00:03:22.120 Verse 9. 00:03:22.959 --> 00:03:28.939 Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:33.419 And the tree of life also in the midst of the garden. 00:03:33.419 --> 00:03:37.339 And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:03:38.219 --> 00:03:41.579 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. 00:03:42.060 --> 00:03:45.279 And from thence it was parted and became into four heads. 00:03:45.779 --> 00:03:47.219 The name of the first is Pison. 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:51.159 That is, which encompassed the whole land of Hevala. 00:03:51.739 --> 00:03:52.879 And there is gold. 00:03:53.459 --> 00:03:55.179 And the gold of that land is good. 00:03:55.259 --> 00:03:57.779 And there is Bedulium, the onyx stone. 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:01.080 And the name of the second river is Gihon. 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:04.360 The name, that is, that encompassed the whole land of Ethiopia. 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:07.479 And the name of the third river is Hedikel. 00:04:08.120 --> 00:04:11.020 And that is, which goes toward the east of Assyria. 00:04:11.300 --> 00:04:13.240 And the fourth river is Euphrates. 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:22.019 And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 00:04:22.019 --> 00:04:27.919 And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest eat freely. 00:04:28.399 --> 00:04:33.299 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it. 00:04:33.539 --> 00:04:38.419 For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 00:04:39.859 --> 00:04:43.879 We'll continue reading the scripture in Genesis chapter 3 now. 00:04:44.839 --> 00:04:46.319 Starting at verse 11. 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:49.359 Genesis 3, 11. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:53.900 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? 00:04:54.740 --> 00:04:59.160 Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 00:04:59.980 --> 00:05:07.620 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:11.939 And the Lord said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? 00:05:12.280 --> 00:05:15.580 And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 00:05:15.579 --> 00:05:24.219 Now let's go to Genesis chapter 3, verses 23 and 24. 00:05:24.220 --> 00:05:34.480 Therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:41.160 So he drove out the man, and he placed him at the east of the garden of Eden, cherubims, 00:05:41.840 --> 00:05:49.160 and a flaming sword which turned away and kept everything away from the tree of life. 00:05:49.160 --> 00:05:51.420 This is the word of the Lord. 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:53.740 Thanks be to God. 00:05:53.780 --> 00:05:54.360 You may be seated. 00:05:59.560 --> 00:06:04.920 The Bible says that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:07.740 Let's pray. 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:07.780 Let's pray. 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:15.679 O Lord, you made the snow. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:27.000 And just as the snow is putting water back into the ground so that farmers can put the seed into the ground to bear food for us, tilling the ground. 00:06:27.919 --> 00:06:32.559 You tell us in Isaiah that your word goes forth and will not return void. 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:39.459 We pray that the truth of scripture will be buried deep into our hearts and that it will bear the fruit of the spirit. 00:06:40.379 --> 00:06:44.980 May your word today, as it's proclaimed, accomplish that which you please. 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:47.860 May it prosper in your purpose alone. 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:50.060 Please guard my lips, Lord. 00:06:50.459 --> 00:06:52.899 May everything that is uttered bring glory to you. 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:54.680 For Christ's sake we pray. 00:06:55.060 --> 00:06:55.420 Amen. 00:06:55.420 --> 00:07:00.100 Well, dear friends, which would you rather? 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:05.580 Would you rather to live in an imagined reality? 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:12.240 Or would you rather to know the ugly truth long ago about your family? 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:14.160 Which would you rather? 00:07:17.700 --> 00:07:20.860 Here's someone who would prefer to live in an imagined reality. 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:23.500 It's a philosopher named Thomas Nagel. 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:29.540 Quote, it is not just that I don't believe in God and hope that I am right in my belief. 00:07:30.040 --> 00:07:32.879 I hope there is no God. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:35.220 I don't want there to be a God. 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:38.660 I don't want the universe to be that way. 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:41.600 You got to admire his honesty. 00:07:43.139 --> 00:07:48.680 Well, here's someone who would choose to know the ugly truth long ago about her family. 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:56.660 This journalist was adopted from another country by a family in the USA, and she was asked in an interview, 00:07:57.160 --> 00:07:59.959 what would you like for birth parents to know? 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:04.040 Now that you've been raised up and you're an adult, what would you like your birth parents to know? 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:07.079 One of the things that she wrote was this. 00:08:08.379 --> 00:08:14.139 Birth parents hold the key to an important part of who we are. 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:18.759 We benefit when we are told the truth. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:21.459 As ugly as it may be. 00:08:24.519 --> 00:08:31.560 You and I are here today by God's providence, I think because we want to know the truth. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:32.960 Do you want to know the truth? 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:39.420 Well, God has revealed the truth and he's made it known to us through stories. 00:08:41.060 --> 00:08:49.300 So, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I want to tell you today the story of your first king. 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:53.360 It's an ugly story, but you need to know the truth. 00:08:53.360 --> 00:09:00.860 I've got four observations from these early chapters of the Bible, Genesis 1, 2, and 3. 00:09:02.580 --> 00:09:06.080 So, you and I, we were born into an ancient story. 00:09:07.399 --> 00:09:08.980 And here's the first observation. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.980 You and I come from the line of the first king. 00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:17.240 And he was the king in a good world. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.860 We read in Genesis 1, 26, God said, 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:24.480 Let us make man in our image after our likeness. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:33.560 And let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, over the livestock, over the earth, over every creeping thing of the earth. 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:40.060 So, Adam was put to have dominion over all that God made. 00:09:40.159 --> 00:09:42.659 He was a king appointed by God. 00:09:42.659 --> 00:09:49.459 Well, what's something that creeps on the earth that Adam gave a name to? 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:51.419 And he was had dominion over. 00:09:52.319 --> 00:09:55.019 What comes to mind when you hear a creeping thing on the ground? 00:09:55.959 --> 00:09:56.539 The serpent. 00:09:57.459 --> 00:09:58.219 Serpents creep. 00:09:58.600 --> 00:10:00.659 And Adam was given dominion over the serpent. 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:03.159 He was to rule over the serpent. 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:13.100 We read in Genesis 2, verse 2, that on the seventh day, God ended his work from which he had made. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:17.620 And he rested on the seventh day from all of his work. 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:22.980 The Psalms and Isaiah, they describe the whole earth as God's footstool. 00:10:24.019 --> 00:10:27.379 So, yes, Adam was appointed as a king, part of the creation. 00:10:27.699 --> 00:10:31.299 But it's God who sits enthroned over all the creation. 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:36.259 So, Adam was a king in a good world, but there's a higher king. 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:37.579 There's God the creator. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.699 God entered his kingly rest. 00:10:42.339 --> 00:10:50.699 He established his throne of heaven, the eternal glory of God, resting in distinction from his creation. 00:10:50.700 --> 00:10:57.759 Well, this good God, he put his pleasing law inside the heart of the first king, Adam. 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:02.340 And he set up this pattern, Adam, you will work and then you will rest. 00:11:06.920 --> 00:11:15.759 Naturally, as created man, Adam and all those who would come after him would be obligated to obey the creator in all things. 00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:19.659 So, by nature, Adam had to obey. 00:11:19.899 --> 00:11:23.539 But by nature, God did not have to bless Adam's obedience any further. 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:31.379 That would have been something special if God would say, in addition to obey me as your creator, I will give you even further blessings. 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:34.319 I will hold out for you a promised reward. 00:11:34.320 --> 00:11:39.280 So, on this first point, we are all image bearers. 00:11:39.400 --> 00:11:42.300 We are all under the great king, the God of heaven. 00:11:42.740 --> 00:11:45.460 And he has put his moral law in our conscience. 00:11:46.040 --> 00:11:47.140 Romans 1, 2, and 3. 00:11:47.620 --> 00:11:53.640 We all know what is right and wrong because God made us and he made this creation very good. 00:11:55.260 --> 00:11:59.580 So, if anyone is responsible for the brokenness of this world, it's not God. 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:02.740 We need to know more about this story of our first king. 00:12:02.740 --> 00:12:07.960 And this also helps us answer a very difficult and important question. 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:11.120 Why are there so many good people in this world? 00:12:12.180 --> 00:12:14.120 You and I probably work with people. 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:18.240 We know people that we would say, that's a better person than most Christians that I know. 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:19.419 Don't you know people like that? 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:21.340 Well, this explains that question. 00:12:21.419 --> 00:12:24.659 It's because God made all of his creation very good. 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:28.820 As we walk around, you see people on the streets or in the grocery store. 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:31.940 Just remember, remind yourself, there's an image bearer. 00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:33.700 That is an image bearer. 00:12:33.760 --> 00:12:39.340 Next time your co-worker, who's probably not even a Christian, does something admirable, just praise God. 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:41.160 There's a reminder right there. 00:12:41.460 --> 00:12:42.740 This is an image bearer. 00:12:42.940 --> 00:12:44.240 God made everything good. 00:12:45.640 --> 00:12:50.820 So, you come from the line of the first king in a good world. 00:12:50.820 --> 00:12:55.740 You and I were born into an ancient story. 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:57.040 Here's the second observation. 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:06.000 Your first king, he was appointed by God himself, not only as a king, but also as a royal priest. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:11.060 Your first king was appointed as a royal priest. 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:16.079 Notice what we read in Genesis chapter 2, verse 8. 00:13:16.179 --> 00:13:18.179 You're going to want to look at this for yourself in your Bible. 00:13:18.699 --> 00:13:19.599 Genesis 2, 8. 00:13:22.059 --> 00:13:27.819 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. 00:13:27.820 --> 00:13:31.879 So, God made all the creation, heavens and the earth. 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:33.520 But then he made a special place. 00:13:34.560 --> 00:13:36.640 And he called it the Garden of Eden. 00:13:37.900 --> 00:13:40.780 And then God put man there. 00:13:41.640 --> 00:13:45.700 He put man that he had formed inside this garden. 00:13:45.700 --> 00:13:53.480 So, Adam was to be this representative royal kingly priest of this garden. 00:13:55.620 --> 00:14:01.980 And that's important because as goes the king over Eden, so goes his kingdom. 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:09.860 Why can we say that Eden was a garden temple if Adam was a priest there? 00:14:10.680 --> 00:14:12.860 Well, look at the next verse, Genesis 2, 9. 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:21.180 Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:24.279 The tree of life also in the midst of the garden. 00:14:24.940 --> 00:14:27.500 And the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:14:28.620 --> 00:14:31.200 So, do you get the geography that is being described here? 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:33.820 How many rivers were there that we just read? 00:14:34.740 --> 00:14:35.480 Four rivers. 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:36.960 And did they all go in the same direction? 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:39.899 No, each one went in a different direction. 00:14:40.019 --> 00:14:41.019 All the different coordinates. 00:14:41.019 --> 00:14:43.480 And we know water runs downward. 00:14:44.500 --> 00:14:45.819 So, what can we deduce? 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:48.620 Eden was a garden that God placed where? 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:51.600 On the top of a mountain. 00:14:51.740 --> 00:14:53.059 It has to be on the top of a mountain. 00:14:53.500 --> 00:14:55.419 On all directions, it's sloping downward. 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.159 And the rivers are carrying the water. 00:14:57.579 --> 00:14:59.299 So, here's this mountaintop garden. 00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:06.620 And the Lord, in the midst of it, right in the middle of this garden, he put two symbols, two visuals, two trees. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:11.579 And then he took Adam and he put him in the garden. 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:13.599 Are you with me so far still? 00:15:14.459 --> 00:15:14.719 Okay. 00:15:14.859 --> 00:15:16.259 None of this is to waste your time. 00:15:16.399 --> 00:15:17.539 All of this is significant. 00:15:17.699 --> 00:15:18.500 I hope you'll see why. 00:15:18.500 --> 00:15:22.179 Now, look at Genesis chapter 2, verse 15. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:25.320 Here it says it again. 00:15:25.399 --> 00:15:26.019 It repeats it. 00:15:26.179 --> 00:15:27.759 The Lord God took the man. 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:29.379 There's only one man. 00:15:29.460 --> 00:15:30.059 That's Adam. 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:33.019 Who had dominion over all that God made. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.899 And he put him into the garden of Eden to do two things. 00:15:38.539 --> 00:15:40.200 What are the verbs that your Bible says? 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:42.159 It's great if we have a lot of different translations. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:47.679 Mine says Adam was to work it and to keep it. 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:49.339 To work and keep. 00:15:49.719 --> 00:15:53.059 That verb work can also be translated to minister. 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:55.079 To tend to it. 00:15:55.759 --> 00:16:01.199 In Sunday school with the book of Revelation, we were seeing how the priest had to tend to the candlesticks. 00:16:01.659 --> 00:16:04.120 And the menorah was representing trees. 00:16:05.019 --> 00:16:10.120 So, there's that image of a priest tending to the lamps, tending to the trees of the garden temple. 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:14.820 That's exactly the image of Adam in the garden of Eden on the top of this mountain. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:16.720 And also to keep it. 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.220 The word keep it can be translated guarding. 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:25.279 So, the Levites, remember, they're the ones who had to go and slay all those who worship the golden calf. 00:16:25.980 --> 00:16:29.539 Levites were butchers slaying the animals for the sacrifice. 00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:33.759 And they were bodyguards protecting the holy presence of God. 00:16:34.159 --> 00:16:35.539 Protecting pure worship. 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:40.199 Do you get the picture of Adam in the garden of Eden as a priest? 00:16:40.679 --> 00:16:41.379 Guarding it. 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:42.219 Keeping it. 00:16:42.579 --> 00:16:43.360 Ministering to it. 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:44.219 Tending it. 00:16:46.839 --> 00:16:52.259 So, if Eden is on the top of this mountain, it's really a picture on earth of the kingdom of heaven. 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:58.699 It's the kingdom of heaven intruding onto a special place on planet earth that God created. 00:16:58.700 --> 00:17:03.660 And over this special kingdom on earth, he puts a kingly priest, Adam. 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.140 And as goes the king, so goes the kingdom. 00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:09.680 Do you see all that's in these precious verses? 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:13.180 Numbers 8.26. 00:17:13.460 --> 00:17:14.680 I just want to read this for you. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.880 Listen carefully. 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:20.140 It's the same verbs of what Adam was told to do describing the work of priests. 00:17:20.140 --> 00:17:28.560 It says that they were to minister to the brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard and doing service. 00:17:29.320 --> 00:17:32.400 Minister, guard, keep, serve. 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:34.960 That's the work of Levites in Numbers. 00:17:34.960 --> 00:17:50.240 So, Adam's task was cultivation, guarding, keeping, and expanding the holy land of Eden in which God's presence dwells until this sacred garden temple fills all that God created. 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:57.600 It's for the sacred dwelling, holy presence of God to be expanded until the glory of God covers the earth. 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:05.000 You and I, we are wired to work. 00:18:05.919 --> 00:18:07.740 We are wired to cultivate. 00:18:08.779 --> 00:18:13.359 You can take an abandoned downtown area and put people there with resources. 00:18:13.919 --> 00:18:14.719 They will clean it up. 00:18:14.819 --> 00:18:15.779 They will repaint the buildings. 00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:17.779 They'll fix what's broken structurally. 00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:19.279 They will bring life to it. 00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:20.500 We're tended. 00:18:20.699 --> 00:18:22.539 We're built that way to tend, to cultivate. 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:29.099 People who can go buy really good produce at the grocery store, they like to garden just for fun. 00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:29.779 It's relaxing. 00:18:30.339 --> 00:18:31.559 God made all things good. 00:18:31.619 --> 00:18:32.740 It's not part of the curse. 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:35.659 And here's another question. 00:18:36.519 --> 00:18:42.379 Why do you think it is that every single human being knows that there are some things that are sacred? 00:18:43.859 --> 00:18:44.839 Isn't that true? 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:47.899 Newborn babies. 00:18:50.159 --> 00:18:51.039 Funeral homes. 00:18:52.539 --> 00:18:56.259 If you see someone else praying, you give it space. 00:18:56.899 --> 00:19:00.420 Everyone knows there are some things on this earth that are sacred. 00:19:01.779 --> 00:19:10.940 And that's because your first king, he was appointed by God himself to be a royal priest over the temple garden Eden. 00:19:12.099 --> 00:19:13.319 Are you still with me? 00:19:13.879 --> 00:19:15.220 That was two of the four. 00:19:16.019 --> 00:19:16.700 Number three. 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:20.240 You were part of an ancient story. 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:27.500 The creator God entered into a covenant with your first king. 00:19:27.500 --> 00:19:34.819 The creator God entered into a special covenant above just making him. 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:37.420 Specifically with Adam. 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:42.300 I'm going to try to prove this to you from Genesis that we just read. 00:19:42.300 --> 00:19:48.380 But first, I just want to try to give you some categories to even be able to evaluate whether this is true, whether there's a covenant there. 00:19:49.420 --> 00:19:50.840 Why do we care about covenant? 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.220 Why take a semester and do a series on covenant theology? 00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:59.960 The word covenant appears 316 times in all of the Bible. 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:01.600 It's very important. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:06.019 38 different books of the Bible refer to covenant. 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:16.740 Both biblical and secular history record covenants, not between God and man only, but also covenants among people, among men. 00:20:17.700 --> 00:20:21.059 Let me give you first an example of a covenant among men from the Bible. 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:23.400 So we have a category of what a covenant is. 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:29.119 Genesis 31 44 says that Laban made a covenant with Jacob. 00:20:29.799 --> 00:20:31.039 Listen to a few of the details. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.639 He said, come now, let us make a covenant. 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:37.759 You and I let it be a witness between you and me. 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:47.480 And as after they covenanted, we're not given more details, but we are told that Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar or an Ebenezer. 00:20:47.700 --> 00:20:50.559 And that was a point of reference for all the descendants of Jacob. 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:55.480 They'd be able to come to the stone and remember the story and the covenant between these two men. 00:20:55.960 --> 00:20:58.799 So the covenant involves at least two parties. 00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:04.259 They make commitments and then there's a visual representation of the covenant. 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:07.039 So that's a covenant between men. 00:21:08.419 --> 00:21:12.200 Does the Bible say that there was a covenant between God and Adam? 00:21:13.639 --> 00:21:14.940 Hosea 6 7. 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.019 If you don't look this one up now, that's fine. 00:21:17.079 --> 00:21:18.899 But write that down or memorize it. 00:21:19.240 --> 00:21:21.599 Hosea 6 7. 00:21:22.339 --> 00:21:23.119 Listen carefully. 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:29.459 The prophet Hosea is prosecuting Israel for breaking their covenant with God. 00:21:29.699 --> 00:21:34.639 And he says, like Adam, you transgressed the covenant. 00:21:35.819 --> 00:21:39.419 There they dealt faithlessly with me, their God. 00:21:40.339 --> 00:21:42.659 So Israel broke the covenant with God. 00:21:43.259 --> 00:21:45.119 What's the comparison that Hosea uses? 00:21:45.319 --> 00:21:47.579 Just like Adam broke that covenant. 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:49.459 I believe that's the right interpretation. 00:21:50.159 --> 00:21:52.039 The word Adam also means man. 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:57.639 Well, if there is one man who broke a covenant on behalf of all mankind, it would have to be Adam. 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:00.339 Here's what's more. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:04.559 If you're a Christian, you need to know about God's covenants. 00:22:04.639 --> 00:22:07.220 You need to know what the Bible says about divine covenants. 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:08.279 Here's why. 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:19.279 Second Corinthians 3 verse 5 says God has made us Christians, the church, sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:28.019 So if your job as a Christian is to be a minister of the new covenant, you better understand what this is, that you're supposed to be ministering. 00:22:28.899 --> 00:22:31.500 So how can we understand what a covenant is better? 00:22:31.500 --> 00:22:35.599 I love how this person put it. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:36.940 I think this is so accessible. 00:22:37.099 --> 00:22:38.880 Children, think of this. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:41.039 One pastor put it this way. 00:22:41.460 --> 00:22:46.960 A covenant is a perfect blend of both love and law. 00:22:48.160 --> 00:22:52.460 Think about what you'd have if you only had law in a relationship. 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:59.059 And then think about what you'd have if you only have affection in a relationship, but no, no real law, nothing binding. 00:23:00.059 --> 00:23:05.700 And a covenant, it's more intimate and more loving than a mere contract. 00:23:05.700 --> 00:23:12.819 And a covenant is also more binding and more accountable than a mere relationship. 00:23:13.860 --> 00:23:15.460 That's the force of a covenant. 00:23:17.180 --> 00:23:20.380 So to be a covenant, and I'm giving you the criteria now. 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:23.500 So when I show it in Genesis, you got to decide if you agree that it's there. 00:23:24.220 --> 00:23:25.180 You got to have this. 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:29.880 You got to have promises, promises between the parties or commitments between them. 00:23:29.880 --> 00:23:33.700 That which shall be required of each party. 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:35.460 That's got to be there for there to be a covenant. 00:23:36.600 --> 00:23:38.480 That's the commitment part. 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:43.480 Now, the other part is the oath bound or the sanctioning pact. 00:23:43.700 --> 00:23:46.340 So some kind of law that will bind it. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:56.720 So legally binding agreement with curses threatened for covenant breaking and rewards promised for covenant fulfillment. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:24:00.480 Those are the things you got to have for there to be a covenant. 00:24:00.900 --> 00:24:03.680 So here's a concise definition of what I tried to explain. 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:12.059 OK, a covenant is an oath bound promise or a sanctioned commitment between parties. 00:24:13.539 --> 00:24:18.339 If you only have a promise between people, what you have there is a promise, not a covenant. 00:24:19.339 --> 00:24:25.500 And then if you just have a law, you know, a superior like the creator giving a law to the creation, all you have is a law. 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.680 But there's no covenant. 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:35.319 What makes it a covenant is if there is sanctions, if there's rewards for obedience and then punishments, curses for disobedience. 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:37.720 All right. 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:43.900 So we've got two or more parties, commitments, sanctions, and then a visual representation of it. 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:47.180 What is going to be a visual reminder of the thing we've agreed to? 00:24:47.180 --> 00:24:51.100 Now, let's see if this passes the test. 00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:56.400 Look in your Bible to Genesis chapter two, verses 16 and 17. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:06.460 We read that the Lord God, the Lord God, that's the covenant Lord, the creator. 00:25:06.460 --> 00:25:09.160 He commanded man. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.860 Man is the vassal servant. 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:13.160 He's the creature here. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:15.240 So there's our two parties. 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:25.720 And God said, you may surely eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:28.980 So this was what's called a positive law. 00:25:29.059 --> 00:25:30.059 It's an additional law. 00:25:30.319 --> 00:25:33.799 This is above and beyond the laws that govern all of creation. 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:37.139 This was a trip wire. 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:46.440 You, Adam, are not allowed to eat of the knowledge of the fruit of the knowledge of the tree of good and evil, because if you do that, you will surely die. 00:25:46.740 --> 00:25:48.279 So there's a legal sanction. 00:25:49.159 --> 00:25:51.039 There's a threat for disobedience. 00:25:55.159 --> 00:25:57.200 Now we read of the tree of life. 00:25:57.419 --> 00:25:59.319 You can turn to Genesis chapter three. 00:26:00.919 --> 00:26:02.039 Genesis chapter three. 00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:03.119 Look at verse 22. 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:09.839 In Genesis chapter three, we have the promise of obedience implied. 00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:13.639 OK, so in Genesis chapter three, verse 32. 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:20.399 Why did God put the cherubim, those two angels, to block sinful man from reentering the garden? 00:26:21.579 --> 00:26:26.859 He says, because if you eat from the tree of life, you will live forever. 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:33.179 So what's implied here is that in this garden with these two trees, there is a visual representation. 00:26:33.379 --> 00:26:36.219 There is a curse for disobedience with the one tree. 00:26:36.379 --> 00:26:40.500 And then there's a promised reward for eternal life of the second. 00:26:41.059 --> 00:26:47.319 And Adam was not allowed to have access to the tree of life because he had to obey God perfectly. 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:52.480 And his one command, do not eat of the knowledge of the tree of the tree of good and evil. 00:26:54.159 --> 00:26:58.099 So each tree visually represents this covenant. 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:03.720 Eternal life for obedience and death for disobedience. 00:27:03.720 --> 00:27:07.059 So this covenant was a good covenant. 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:10.019 It was for man's good and it was for God's glory. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:13.519 God's divine covenants are always for our good. 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:16.740 Think about this. 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:20.599 Why do all people like picture billionaires in California? 00:27:20.839 --> 00:27:23.579 Why do why do all people want to work for immortality? 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:34.680 Why do all people have that instinct that maybe if I do all the right things, I can be the one that just lives on in fame or I can I can never age. 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:35.879 I can stay young forever. 00:27:37.059 --> 00:27:42.220 Well, that's because our first king was put in a covenant with God himself. 00:27:42.220 --> 00:27:47.400 There were promises extended to him for perfect obedience. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:51.200 But there are also curses for his disobedience. 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:58.299 You and I were born into this ancient story. 00:27:59.660 --> 00:28:02.759 In our first king, God made him sinless. 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:04.220 Remember, everything was very good. 00:28:04.360 --> 00:28:06.420 So what else can we infer about this covenant? 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:08.019 Number four is this. 00:28:08.019 --> 00:28:14.240 The divine covenant between God and Adam was not a covenant of grace. 00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:16.579 Why was it not a covenant of grace? 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:19.119 Well, because Adam had not sinned. 00:28:19.940 --> 00:28:21.359 He didn't need grace. 00:28:22.359 --> 00:28:24.660 He had done nothing to lose any merit. 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:26.099 He was created very good. 00:28:26.339 --> 00:28:28.000 And God gave him this positive law. 00:28:28.539 --> 00:28:30.879 Do this and you will earn eternal life. 00:28:30.880 --> 00:28:37.520 Adam had a promised reward on the condition of his fulfillment. 00:28:38.800 --> 00:28:41.180 Adam was threatened with the curse of disobedience. 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:46.100 And the goal was signified by the tree of life as a pledge of eternal life. 00:28:46.580 --> 00:28:51.700 He would have unchangeable communion with God had he kept this in obedience. 00:28:51.700 --> 00:28:56.799 The Bible says that sin is lawlessness. 00:28:57.600 --> 00:28:58.860 And Adam had this one law. 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:00.640 And he broke the law. 00:29:00.779 --> 00:29:03.140 He broke this covenant with God. 00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:08.080 He fell short of the glory of God. 00:29:08.340 --> 00:29:10.360 The glory of God was extended to him. 00:29:10.940 --> 00:29:14.380 And he disobeyed, falling short of the glory of God. 00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:21.720 So there was more glory to be had that was above and beyond what God gave man by being a creation. 00:29:22.960 --> 00:29:25.260 There was a glory further held out to him. 00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:27.020 But Adam fell short of it. 00:29:28.180 --> 00:29:32.400 This is why theologians have called this covenant between God and Adam a covenant of works. 00:29:33.140 --> 00:29:37.400 And it governed the entrance into a consummated cosmos. 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:40.920 Eden was like a microcosm. 00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:43.180 As goes the king, so goes the kingdom. 00:29:43.180 --> 00:29:48.340 And if this king would have obeyed perfectly, him and all of his posterity would have received blessing. 00:29:49.200 --> 00:29:52.039 But because he disobeyed, he rebelled and he sinned. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:53.160 He committed lawlessness. 00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:55.320 Instead, he brought on the curses. 00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:58.700 Sam Reneham confirmed this conclusion. 00:29:59.360 --> 00:30:06.960 He said, had Adam obeyed God, he would have obtained the glory of God and constituted the many righteous. 00:30:06.960 --> 00:30:15.140 Nehemiah Cox also wrote that God's covenant with Adam was the grounds for friendship between God and man. 00:30:15.819 --> 00:30:21.240 It was promise promising Adam rich bounty and goodness as a reward for obedience. 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:23.519 So it was for man's good. 00:30:23.519 --> 00:30:25.240 But listen carefully. 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:30.759 This covenant did not contain even an iota of pardoning mercy. 00:30:31.660 --> 00:30:39.420 If obeyed, it would raise physical man and his posterity to the high degree of the immortal angels of heaven. 00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:49.440 But if disobeyed, it would sink man to the lowest state of apostate devils and leave him under a misery like theirs. 00:30:52.080 --> 00:30:57.300 Think about why all men everywhere know when they're breaking their conscience. 00:30:58.100 --> 00:30:59.880 They know that law inside of them. 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:01.700 People know when they're doing wrong. 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:08.600 Think of all the good deeds people everywhere in the world try to do to appease their conscience. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:14.240 And that's because our first king, he was created sinless. 00:31:15.360 --> 00:31:17.980 And he was put in a covenant of works. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:22.779 If you can do this, you can receive blessing for yourself. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:26.279 That's what our flesh is always tempted to go after. 00:31:27.559 --> 00:31:30.620 Do you see how everything was at stake in the Garden of Eden? 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:37.819 Because of King Adam now, we are all born naturally into this covenant of works. 00:31:38.840 --> 00:31:40.759 That's the default state we enter. 00:31:43.080 --> 00:31:46.279 We ask the question, why are we so broken? 00:31:47.660 --> 00:31:48.880 Don't have to look far. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:49.900 I look at my own heart. 00:31:50.259 --> 00:31:52.620 I look at my own family and extended family. 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:54.400 We were all so broken, aren't we? 00:31:55.779 --> 00:31:58.840 It's because you and I were born into this ancient story. 00:31:58.839 --> 00:32:04.480 In our first king, he was a federal head. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:05.839 This is our fourth point. 00:32:06.359 --> 00:32:08.759 Your first king was a federal head. 00:32:10.359 --> 00:32:14.179 A federal head means that what this person does affects everyone under him. 00:32:15.399 --> 00:32:17.019 You might say, well, I don't like that. 00:32:17.119 --> 00:32:18.480 I didn't choose to be under Adam. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:19.819 I didn't ask for that. 00:32:19.819 --> 00:32:22.480 Well, that's natural to feel that way. 00:32:23.159 --> 00:32:27.799 But let me try to give you some answers because as you share the gospel, this will be a very common objection. 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:32.559 Let me give a lighthearted one first and then a very heavy one. 00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:36.460 So let me try to think of a good example of losers. 00:32:36.460 --> 00:32:40.420 The USA men's national soccer team. 00:32:40.860 --> 00:32:44.680 You might say, I want to try to be a goalie and play in the World Cup. 00:32:45.299 --> 00:32:47.220 And they say, okay, well, what country were you born in? 00:32:47.400 --> 00:32:47.680 USA. 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:49.819 Oh, man, you're going to have to play for the USA. 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:50.759 Well, I didn't choose that. 00:32:50.840 --> 00:32:51.640 Well, that's where you were born. 00:32:52.400 --> 00:32:56.380 And then you get to the World Cup and the goalie lets the ball get across the line. 00:32:56.860 --> 00:32:58.759 The whole team loses and gets disqualified. 00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:00.460 They got to pack their bags and go home. 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:03.960 Well, the strikers are saying, I didn't even get to touch the ball this whole game. 00:33:04.880 --> 00:33:05.579 Well, guess what? 00:33:05.579 --> 00:33:08.139 Well, your teammate let the ball get across the line. 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:09.539 The whole team gets penalized. 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:12.639 You could say the goalie is like the federal head of the team. 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:15.279 And everyone born in that country is cursed. 00:33:16.899 --> 00:33:18.679 So here's a heavier example. 00:33:19.559 --> 00:33:24.199 My point with this is that we actually accept the same premise, even if we deny it. 00:33:25.099 --> 00:33:29.759 It's a very, very late modern way of thinking that I have to choose what I'm part of. 00:33:31.139 --> 00:33:32.299 Here's a heavier example. 00:33:32.299 --> 00:33:36.059 There's a child that was born four years ago in the Gaza Strip. 00:33:37.159 --> 00:33:40.279 And they're now homeless, thirsty. 00:33:41.339 --> 00:33:42.819 They lost one of their parents. 00:33:43.419 --> 00:33:46.559 They can say, I didn't choose to be born here, to have all these curses on me. 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:47.379 Well, guess what? 00:33:47.419 --> 00:33:48.440 You're part of these nations. 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:49.859 These federal heads made choices. 00:33:50.259 --> 00:33:51.500 You're suffering as a result. 00:33:51.500 --> 00:33:58.279 So it's a very, very entitled Western, late modern way of thinking to say, I don't want to be part of Adam's curses. 00:33:58.440 --> 00:34:00.180 Well, welcome to mankind. 00:34:00.640 --> 00:34:01.660 We have no choice. 00:34:02.779 --> 00:34:07.839 So Adam was placed in the garden prior to the creation of Eve. 00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:10.299 This means only Adam was a federal head, not Eve. 00:34:11.139 --> 00:34:14.840 And when God comes to hold them accountable for their sin, who does he start with? 00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:18.420 Adam's quiet the whole time God starts with Adam. 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:25.860 Genesis 2, 8, we were told that the role of Eve was to help Adam. 00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:28.119 So she had a very important role. 00:34:28.199 --> 00:34:29.539 If he's the king, she's the queen. 00:34:29.699 --> 00:34:32.059 But God is coming after Adam. 00:34:32.420 --> 00:34:33.519 He's the federal head. 00:34:33.880 --> 00:34:34.840 And this is important. 00:34:34.840 --> 00:34:44.019 If Adam had fulfilled this covenant of works, he would have secured all the blessings for himself and all those he represented. 00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:51.160 The spiritual kingdom of heaven would cover all the earth as much as it fills the heavens. 00:34:52.680 --> 00:35:01.800 But because Adam was a federal head, we read in 1 Corinthians 15, we read this earlier, in Adam all die. 00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:10.820 Nehemiah Cox also said it could be only on account of such a covenant that Adam's posterity, that's all of us, 00:35:11.620 --> 00:35:15.280 should be involved as they were in his standing or falling. 00:35:17.480 --> 00:35:22.200 Adam was covenanted to bring all of creation into a state of secured glory. 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:29.200 But instead, we see the evidence in Genesis 6, 5, that the wickedness of man was so great in all the earth. 00:35:29.199 --> 00:35:30.919 This is the posterity of Adam. 00:35:32.179 --> 00:35:36.659 That every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 00:35:37.439 --> 00:35:39.019 But God made everything very good. 00:35:39.619 --> 00:35:41.079 How can that be so quickly? 00:35:41.219 --> 00:35:42.379 Just three chapters later. 00:35:42.939 --> 00:35:45.359 It's because Adam was a federal head. 00:35:45.739 --> 00:35:47.639 And now his sin is imputed. 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:51.579 His sin is passed on through his blood to his children. 00:35:53.219 --> 00:35:55.980 Adam's sin, not Eve's, is passed on. 00:35:55.980 --> 00:36:03.559 And this was true for every single man and every human being that walked this earth except one. 00:36:03.659 --> 00:36:08.019 Who was the one that did not inherit the sin of Adam? 00:36:08.199 --> 00:36:08.920 Who was the one? 00:36:09.820 --> 00:36:12.679 Well, there's only one person who was born of a virgin. 00:36:14.019 --> 00:36:15.019 And who was that? 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:19.179 It was the man, Jesus Christ, God himself. 00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:29.339 We read in Romans 5, 17, because of one man's trespass, death reigned from that man throughout the world. 00:36:31.500 --> 00:36:34.579 Adam was a federal head over all of his natural offspring. 00:36:34.739 --> 00:36:36.679 That's what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15. 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:39.779 So all mankind were represented with Adam. 00:36:39.780 --> 00:36:43.160 Michael Reeves drives this point home. 00:36:43.460 --> 00:36:52.140 He says, if we deny Adam's place as a federal head of a covenant that would bring either blessing or condemnation upon all those he represents, 00:36:52.280 --> 00:36:56.900 then we lose the ability of all mankind to fall in Adam. 00:36:57.560 --> 00:37:04.200 And if that is the case, we remove the reason for God's wrath against all of mankind's sin and trespasses. 00:37:04.199 --> 00:37:10.319 So do you see how if you deny Adam as a federal head in this covenant with God, 00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:16.960 you undermine Christ's incarnation, Christ's imputation in Christ's new covenant? 00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:21.379 God's laws are fixed. 00:37:22.779 --> 00:37:26.319 If one man's sin can bring curses on all the world, 00:37:26.960 --> 00:37:33.839 this is good news because one man's righteousness can bring blessings on all of his posterity. 00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:37.879 We need Adam to be our first king, our federal head, 00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:42.199 because without that principle in place and trusting the laws of God, 00:37:42.699 --> 00:37:49.059 we have no hope in a second Adam, the first king over his new creation, Jesus Christ. 00:37:49.839 --> 00:37:52.519 So our first king was a federal head. 00:37:54.339 --> 00:37:56.339 I'll try to bring this together this way. 00:37:56.340 --> 00:38:00.220 Because you and I were born into this ancient story. 00:38:01.220 --> 00:38:06.360 How does understanding this story of our first king help you? 00:38:09.860 --> 00:38:13.120 Well, Romans 5, 18 says, 00:38:13.119 --> 00:38:17.259 Yes, that one trespass led to the condemnation of all men, 00:38:18.000 --> 00:38:24.259 but one act of righteousness by Jesus Christ led to the justification for all. 00:38:25.179 --> 00:38:26.359 Hercules Collins wrote, 00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:32.199 A public head, so Adam stood as Christ is of his spouse. 00:38:33.079 --> 00:38:38.839 And what he did as our chief head, we did it, whether it be gain or lose. 00:38:38.840 --> 00:38:45.420 Under the rule of that first king, Adam, we lost all hope of God's blessings. 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:49.480 But with Christ as king, we gain all of Christ's blessings. 00:38:51.420 --> 00:38:52.260 Think of that. 00:38:53.280 --> 00:38:56.240 Adam, the federal head, and Eve, his spouse, his helper. 00:38:57.079 --> 00:38:59.100 Christ, the federal head, and who is the bride? 00:38:59.980 --> 00:39:00.800 It's the church. 00:39:02.019 --> 00:39:04.700 We have the place of Eve in the story now, 00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:06.280 if you're part of the new creation. 00:39:06.280 --> 00:39:09.580 Think of that, how through the church, 00:39:09.920 --> 00:39:15.240 through the church, the Holy Spirit gives birth to the king's spiritual seed. 00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:18.560 It's through the preaching of the gospel. 00:39:19.340 --> 00:39:21.760 It's through the prayers, through the ministry of the word, 00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:22.780 that the church now, 00:39:23.640 --> 00:39:26.280 the Spirit uses that to give birth, to regenerate, 00:39:26.900 --> 00:39:28.680 to make others be born again, 00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:31.080 to draw them into this line of Christ. 00:39:33.080 --> 00:39:34.920 How did Christ achieve this? 00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:36.940 Well, you know the gospel, 00:39:37.079 --> 00:39:39.639 but I want you to make this connection with Adam, the first king. 00:39:41.579 --> 00:39:44.700 Meredith Klein, a professor at Westminster Escondido, wrote, 00:39:45.440 --> 00:39:49.440 attainment of the kingdom and entering divine rest 00:39:49.440 --> 00:39:52.420 take the form of a victory in battle. 00:39:54.220 --> 00:39:58.500 Confrontation with Satan was unavoidable for each of the two Adams. 00:39:58.500 --> 00:40:01.579 Adam was to have dominion, 00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:04.079 to rule, to guard over the temple. 00:40:04.980 --> 00:40:05.699 And then he didn't. 00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:06.280 He failed. 00:40:06.800 --> 00:40:08.239 He did not confront the serpent. 00:40:11.019 --> 00:40:12.139 Meredith Klein wrote, 00:40:12.139 --> 00:40:20.400 To combat and vanquish God's enemy is the one act required of God's servant king 00:40:20.400 --> 00:40:25.500 to activate all the blessings that God promised by his covenant. 00:40:25.500 --> 00:40:31.739 Jesus Christ went to battle Satan in the wilderness for 40 days. 00:40:31.860 --> 00:40:32.559 He was tempted. 00:40:33.239 --> 00:40:36.159 He drove out the money changers from the temple. 00:40:36.500 --> 00:40:38.920 He cast out demons everywhere he went. 00:40:39.280 --> 00:40:42.280 He was bringing the power of the kingdom of heaven on earth. 00:40:42.539 --> 00:40:45.519 He was reclaiming all that God had made good. 00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:52.659 And on the cross, it's the great twist of human history, of redemptive history. 00:40:53.380 --> 00:40:58.219 On the cross, it's where Jesus Christ, he crushed the serpent's head. 00:40:59.420 --> 00:41:05.179 That's why Colossians 2.15 says that Jesus disarmed the rulers and authorities 00:41:05.179 --> 00:41:10.659 and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. 00:41:10.659 --> 00:41:16.059 Christ is the last Adam. 00:41:16.440 --> 00:41:18.179 He's the king who conquered Satan. 00:41:18.519 --> 00:41:25.519 And he is currently extending the temple presence of the father on this earth. 00:41:27.460 --> 00:41:29.299 We are Christ's Eve. 00:41:29.719 --> 00:41:31.019 We are here helping him. 00:41:31.879 --> 00:41:35.460 Our missionaries are taking his word to the unreached people groups 00:41:35.460 --> 00:41:40.179 because the temple presence of God is extending through the church. 00:41:40.179 --> 00:41:44.579 That's what we get to do as his helpers, as the bridegrooms. 00:41:45.379 --> 00:41:46.960 He's the bridegroom and we're the groomsmen. 00:41:47.039 --> 00:41:47.819 We point to him. 00:41:48.419 --> 00:41:50.000 We long for the day when he returns. 00:41:51.739 --> 00:41:55.960 So when you gather with his church in Christ's name, 00:41:56.519 --> 00:42:00.500 you gather to get this foretaste of the sacred kingdom of heaven. 00:42:01.059 --> 00:42:06.079 You get a foretaste of the rest, of the presence of God that he made all good. 00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:14.340 You see how a divine covenant truly is much more intimate and loving than a mere contract. 00:42:15.940 --> 00:42:22.039 You see how it's also much more binding and accountable than just a relationship 00:42:22.039 --> 00:42:28.360 to the point that Christ put himself under his own law to purchase you. 00:42:28.360 --> 00:42:35.800 Colossians 3, 1 through 4 says that if you have been raised with Christ, 00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:42.559 then seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father. 00:42:44.640 --> 00:42:47.440 You were born into an ancient story. 00:42:47.440 --> 00:42:55.940 And if Christ is your king, then his story is the best one your soul can hear. 00:42:56.679 --> 00:42:57.800 Praise be to God. 00:42:58.679 --> 00:42:59.519 Let's pray. 00:43:02.200 --> 00:43:03.720 From Colossians 3. 00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:07.599 Lord, please help your people. 00:43:08.039 --> 00:43:13.019 Help us, Father, to set our minds not on this earth, but on things that are above. 00:43:14.099 --> 00:43:17.579 We confess that you died and rose again. 00:43:18.399 --> 00:43:23.099 And so we who have died with Christ, we hide our lives in him. 00:43:24.299 --> 00:43:29.379 We trust, Lord, that when Jesus Christ appears, who is our life, 00:43:29.380 --> 00:43:32.860 then we also will appear with you in glory. 00:43:33.640 --> 00:43:38.180 We long to live with you and dwell with you, the new heavens, the new earth. 00:43:39.059 --> 00:43:40.340 Come quickly, Lord Jesus. 00:43:41.000 --> 00:43:41.300 Amen. 00:43:41.300 --> 00:43:41.440 Amen. 00:43:59.380 --> 00:44:07.940 Amen. 00:44:12.420 --> 00:44:16.019 Amen. 00:44:19.019 --> 00:44:19.920 Amen. 00:44:23.160 --> 00:44:26.920 Amen. 00:44:26.920 --> 00:44:27.920 Amen. 00:44:56.920 --> 00:44:58.920 Amen. 00:45:26.920 --> 00:45:27.920 Amen. 00:45:30.200 --> 00:45:33.780 Well, the Bible tells us to take the Lord's Supper often. 00:45:34.200 --> 00:45:37.940 Jesus said, as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me. 00:45:38.760 --> 00:45:43.579 So we make a practice of taking the Lord's Supper together every week. 00:45:43.880 --> 00:45:50.420 And we do this for several reasons, that when we do this, we're told we're proclaiming Christ until he returns. 00:45:50.420 --> 00:45:57.599 So by coming up to take of the bread and the juice, you're proclaiming Jesus Christ and his gospel for you. 00:45:59.300 --> 00:46:03.180 This is a picture to us of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus. 00:46:04.000 --> 00:46:05.900 Our sin put him on the cross. 00:46:07.159 --> 00:46:10.000 All of the suffering that we deserve, he suffered. 00:46:11.360 --> 00:46:19.320 And all of the goodness, all of the love that is God, the perfect peace, he gives to those who belong to him. 00:46:20.420 --> 00:46:25.380 It's also a picture for us of a hope we have of the future. 00:46:26.139 --> 00:46:27.960 It's called the wedding supper of the Lamb. 00:46:29.260 --> 00:46:36.119 Where the great king, the Lion Lamb, Jesus Christ, will enjoy a feast with his bride, with his church. 00:46:36.880 --> 00:46:39.480 So we do this together as a body. 00:46:39.980 --> 00:46:43.760 We long for that day where we'll be able to look as far as the eye can see. 00:46:43.760 --> 00:46:50.360 More than there are stars that fill the heavens of all those that Christ ransomed with his precious blood. 00:46:50.420 --> 00:46:53.880 So that's what this represents. 00:46:54.340 --> 00:46:55.500 It's the gospel. 00:46:55.880 --> 00:46:56.980 It's the work of Christ. 00:46:57.900 --> 00:47:04.059 We're not to take this in any other way except resting in his finished work for us. 00:47:04.619 --> 00:47:11.680 So let me read these words of caution to fence off the Lord's Supper and make sure that no one is drinking judgment upon themselves. 00:47:11.679 --> 00:47:13.940 1 Corinthians 11 says, 00:47:13.940 --> 00:47:23.559 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord. 00:47:24.279 --> 00:47:28.440 Let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 00:47:28.819 --> 00:47:34.919 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 00:47:34.920 --> 00:47:38.539 To discern the body is to say, 00:47:38.840 --> 00:47:41.920 How can I approach the holy God? 00:47:42.500 --> 00:47:50.320 There's God in the holy of holies and here's me with this condemnation from Adam as well as my own sins piled on. 00:47:51.099 --> 00:47:53.460 So how can I have access to God? 00:47:53.460 --> 00:48:02.539 Well, it's only if Jesus Christ has clothed you for the banquet feast, if he's put on those white garments of his righteousness freely onto you. 00:48:03.619 --> 00:48:05.179 And how do you receive those? 00:48:05.280 --> 00:48:07.079 Who is it that receives those white garments? 00:48:07.639 --> 00:48:11.260 It's whoever puts out the beggar's hand and takes it. 00:48:12.780 --> 00:48:13.880 What is that hand? 00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:14.480 It's faith. 00:48:15.260 --> 00:48:19.460 Faith is the poor beggar's hand receiving the righteousness of God freely for you. 00:48:19.460 --> 00:48:23.159 Jesus says in the words of institutions, 00:48:23.380 --> 00:48:26.280 This is my blood of the covenant. 00:48:27.679 --> 00:48:29.300 Thomas Watson commented, 00:48:29.460 --> 00:48:31.659 The Lord's Supper is a covenantal seal. 00:48:32.740 --> 00:48:37.820 It is a certified deed to bestow the blessings of the new covenant to us. 00:48:38.559 --> 00:48:47.860 A small piece of wax stamped by the king's ring is made the instrument of imparting the wealth of an empire to another. 00:48:47.860 --> 00:49:00.820 In the same way, these elements of bread and wine in the sacrament, though in themselves of no great value, are signals to confer the covenant of grace to us. 00:49:01.320 --> 00:49:06.240 This gives them more value than all the riches of the wealthiest bank. 00:49:07.280 --> 00:49:11.519 If that's how you receive Christ, then you come and you feast on him. 00:49:11.519 --> 00:49:19.380 If you're a believer, you're a member in good standing at another church or you're looking for a church, we welcome you to enjoy. 00:49:19.480 --> 00:49:20.400 This is the Lord's Supper. 00:49:20.519 --> 00:49:21.780 Please come and take as well. 00:49:22.480 --> 00:49:28.920 If you're not a believer, you're under church discipline or you're not sure if you should, then play it safe. 00:49:29.059 --> 00:49:30.460 Don't take the Lord's Supper today. 00:49:31.099 --> 00:49:35.099 Instead, talk to a Christian that you respect and ask your questions. 00:49:35.239 --> 00:49:35.800 Work through it. 00:49:35.800 --> 00:49:39.440 We're all here for that, to minister Christ to one another. 00:49:39.940 --> 00:49:45.120 We ask that we all respond to the gospel today and still in your hearts before God. 00:49:45.200 --> 00:49:47.260 When you're ready, we'll make a light through the center aisle. 00:49:47.900 --> 00:49:50.300 We'll tear his body. 00:49:50.900 --> 00:49:54.880 We'll take the cup and we'll go back to our seats and hold on to it. 00:49:54.920 --> 00:50:00.080 Then we'll all stand together as a spiritual family and we'll enjoy the feast together once all have been served. 00:50:00.960 --> 00:50:01.900 You may come to this table. 00:50:01.900 --> 00:50:01.980 Amen. 00:50:05.800 --> 00:50:06.060 Amen. 00:50:06.060 --> 00:50:06.100 Amen. 00:50:06.100 --> 00:50:06.200 Amen.