Christ in the Fall (2)

In our previous post we noted that Genesis 3 presents the Lord to our view in at least four aspects. He is:

1. The Contrast

2. The Caller

3. The Conqueror

4. The Covering

Having already considered Him as the great Contrast with Adam and Eve, we now see Him as:

The Caller 

After the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve, "they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day ... And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, "Where art thou?"." (v8-9)

Undoubtedly the "LORD God walking" is a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son of God. He made man for fellowship, and now He comes down to Eden. Between His Creation of Man in Ch 2, and His Call to Man in Ch 3, sin has "entered into the world" (Rom 5.12). 

He calls "Where are you?" (v9 ESV). It was not, of course, that He was unaware of Adam's sin. It was not that He was ignorant which tree Adam and Eve were cowering behind. His call to Adam was to expose Adam to Himself. It was a call of grace. Adam must face the fact that he was not where he was before, he was separated from God, shamed before God, and under sentence from God. Yet now, in wonderful grace, he was sought out by God.  

The Caller was the Son of God. He had stooped to the garden, He was seeking the guilty, He was showing grace! How this reminds us of His incarnation. He who was the Son of God stooped to become the Son of Mary. He who was Holy, and the object of angelic praise, "came into the world to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1.15). He who was the Lord of glory showed unfathomable grace: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8.9 ESV). He had come to "seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19.10), and this required His sacrificial death upon the Cross. 

May we who were guilty, condemned, separated, and hiding from God, never forget His grace in seeking for us:

"O the love that sought me,

O the blood that bought me,

O the grace that brought me to the fold!

Wondrous grace that brought me to the fold." 

Christ in the Fall (1)

Genesis 3 is known as the chapter of the Fall. Eve was deceived, Adam was disobedient, and "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin" (Rom 5.12). It is a chapter of calamity, of shame, suffering and separation. 

And yet, even in this chapter of rebellion and judgment, the Lord can easily be traced. He is seen here in a variety of ways:

1. As the Contrast

2. As the Caller

3. As the Conqueror

4. As the Covering 

Over the next couple of blog posts we will consider different views of Christ in Genesis 3. Notice first, He is:

The Contrast

Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, surrounded with every blessing from God, with plenty of food to satisy their hunger, and with every evidence of God's goodness to them hanging from the branches of every tree. By way of contrast, the temptation of the Lord Jesus occured in the wilderness, during a time of severe hunger, while He was surrounded by wild beasts. 

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards an hungred" (Matt 4.1-2).  

However, Eve was decieved and Adam was disobedient. God's command was clear, but they did not rest upon it and obey it. Thus both failed! How different was the Lord Jesus! He rested in God's Word, saying after each of the tempter's darts was hurled at Him "It is written ...". He was perfectly attuned to God's Will, perfectly obedient to God's Word, and thus He was the victor in the trial. His victory in the trial was accomplished in such a way that ot could be an example for all believers to follow. 

"There was, of men, but One who never failed,

In every circumstance He faced, prevailed;

Our blessed, glorious Lord.

How was it then He won the day in trial?

How did He so defeat a raging devil?

By resting in God's Word"

What is my attitude to God's Word? Do I rest upon it's clear statements and promises? Do I obey it's commands? The safest place for the Christian is the place of obedience to God's Word. May we cultivate this character of obedience and submission, following the example of Christ.