Atonement for Sin

Sin must be atoned. This something mankind cannot do. Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin and shame when they covered themselves with leaves. (Genesis 3:7) However, that’s not how sin must be covered. Atonement requires a reconciliation by blood. (Exodus 29:36; Hebrews 9:22; Ephesians 2:13-14; 1 John 1:7) And that’s what God provided.

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:20-3:24)

Verse 20 simply appears to be an informative statement conveying that the woman’s name was Eve. The name “Eve” is a Hebrew name which means “life”. As the text states, this is appropriate because all human beings came from her. She was the first mother.

The Breath of Life

As previously discussed, Genesis 1 is a sequential summary of what God created on each day of the creation week.  Genesis 2 provides additional details about the creation week.  Likewise in Genesis 2:7-9, additional information is given about the creation of man, including the breath of life God gave him.  

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:7-9)

Please notice a few things.  First, God made man from dirt.  The chemical composition of the human body is mostly oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen.  These elements make up about 96% of the human body.  The vast majority of the chemicals in common dirt are also these four elements.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_the_human_body; http://organiclifestyles.tamu.edu/soilbasics/soilchemical.html)  Therefore, the biblical account is consistent with what we see in scientific research.   Continue reading

Land Animals – The Sixth Day – Part 1

God begins the sixth day by creating land animals.

Genesis 1:24-25  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

The Hebrew word translated “creature” is nephesh.  It was first used in verse 20 in reference to animals living in the water.  Its basic meaning is “soul” or “life”.  It should be understood as a “living being”.  It is used of Adam in Genesis 2:7 after God breathed into him and brought him to life.  Continue reading

Christians Are Dead?

Colossians 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

In this passage, Christians (i.e. those who are “risen with Christ”) are told to keep their focus on heaven and not Earth.  Then we read something rather strange.  Paul writes, “For ye are dead…”  Huh?  I thought we were made “alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11)  What does it mean that we are dead!

When we read the word “dead” in the Scriptures, it needs to be understood as “separated”.  Death is always a separation.  Physical death is a separation of our spiritual part from our physical body.  Spiritual death is the separation of a person from God.  We are told in Romans 6:2 that believers are “dead to sin”, which in context means separated from its penalty, and by extension, its power. When one is dead to something, the thing in question has no power.

So in the passage above, believers are dead to the things of this world.  Therefore, the things of the world should not be our focus.  The life of the believer is “hid with Christ in God.”  It is “hid” in the sense that it cannot be found on the Earth.  It is where Christ is, and that is in heaven.  Christian need to keep looking to Him.

Power in the Day of Death

Ecclesiastes 8:8a There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death:

Death affects all.  It is an event over which we human beings have no control.  It can occur in a moment and forever change the lives of those still here. Continue reading