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Chapter 5
WHAT
THE BIBLE TEACHES US ABOUT MAN...
First God,
then man—this is the order in the Bible. Man as created
by God is truly a marvelous creature. “I am fearfully
and wonderfully made,” said David (Ps. 139:14). “Thou
madest him a little lower than the angels, and has
crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to
have dominion over the works of thy hands” (Ps. 8:5–6).
Let us
examine the words used in the Bible to describe man,
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness” (Gen. 1:26). The Hebrew word “Adam” is used
here which, as pointed out previously, means “man”. But
it means more; it means man as separate from and lower
than God. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread
alone” (Matt. 4:4). In this instance the Greek word
anthropos is used and it means “man in contrast with the
brute.” Anthropos is literally translated, “the
up-looking one,” and it is very suggestive, since God
created the beasts looking down, but man was created to
look up. Created by God, lower than the angels, but
infinitely higher than the beasts, then, is the place of
man in the Bible.
Still
another word is used in Genesis 6:3 with reference to
man: “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” The
Hebrew word enosh is used here, meaning the human race
as mortals. The word “mortal” means “subject to death.”
In other places the word ish is used for man in contrast
with isha for woman.
The account
of how man was formed is found in Genesis 2:7: “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.” You will notice here that the
body of man is only dust—just a clay tabernacle for the
soul. Someone has well said, “Man is a soul; he has a
body.” (Read Corinthians 5:1–4 in this connection.) The
body is the mortal part of man and goes back to dust
after death (Gen. 3:19), but the spirit is immortal and
lives forever and ever (Eccles. 12:7). Death means
separation, and the Bible describes the natural death as
the separation of the soul from the body and spiritual
death as the separation of the soul from God.
In Genesis
2:8–17 we read the story of man’s probation or moral
trial. God could justly put man on trial because He had
given man the power to choose or to determine. This
faculty is called the will. God gave man the desire to
worship Him and a conscience to warn him of right and
wrong.
We all know
the story of man’s shameful fall. In Genesis 3 we first
read of the tempter who came in the form of a serpent,
and how first Eve and then Adam fell into sin. We do not
know just what the tree of knowledge was, but its fruit
had a threefold appeal to Adam and Eve, just as
temptation has now. Genesis 3:6 says the fruit was “good
to eat”, was “pleasant to the eyes,” and “to be desired
to make one wise.” Compare this with First John 2:16 and
you cannot escape the similarity: “Lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”
Because of
Adam’s disobedience, sin entered the world and its power
engulfed the whole human race. Sin is lawlessness or
rebellion against God; it is disobedience or
transgression of His commands. As a result, the penalty
of death passed upon all men. No doubt this was the most
tragic result of Adam’s transgression. In Romans 5:12 we
read: “As by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned.” Thus the power of sin and the penalty
of sin have clung to the human family throughout all its
dark history. Man in his own strength cannot break these
fetters.
Spiritual
death or separation from God followed as soon as Adam
sinned and this estrangement was shown in many ways.
First, Adam and Eve had a sense of shame. Probably
before the fall man was clothed similar to the
description found in Mark 9:3. God’s glory vanished with
the entrance of sin and man sought to clothe himself.
The sewing of the fig leaves reminds us of the weak
attempts which people still make to justify themselves
or to cover their sinfulness (Isa. 64:6). The divine
covering will be restored again sometime to those who
are obedient to Christ.
Before the
fall man lived in friendship with the animals, but with
sin came violence. Man’s communion with God was broken
too, and dread took its place (Gen. 3:8). As long as
Adam refrained from eating of the tree of knowledge, God
was his master, but after that man was his own master.
The first step in our redemption is to confess Jesus
Christ as Lord, thus in purpose transferring control of
our life back to God and letting Him be master.
Another
tragic consequence of the fall was the perversion of the
natural appetites and faculties. God created man with a
capacity to worship and thus be more like Him, but man
has corrupted and debased this instinct into devil
worship and other forms of depravity. Many pervert the
natural craving of thirst into drunkenness, hunger into
gluttony, gain into greed, authority into tyranny, power
into cruelty and oppression, and self-respect into
pride. Man has used his will to rebel against God, and
thus his conscience which God gave to warn him of
wrongdoing has become unreliable (I Tim. 4:2). It is
well to remember this if you have no “feeling” of guilt
when you fail to obey God’s Word.
With sin
came sorrow, sickness, pain, and death. The thistles and
thorns, the weeds and hard work all came as part of the
curse. The mind became darkened and filled with
imaginations of evil and violence. Abel met his death
(separation from the body) by the hand of his brother
Cain who became the first murderer (Gen. 4:8). The path
of natural man was ever downward, farther and farther
from God. The ugly picture of his fallen condition found
in Romans 1:21–32 has only one redeeming feature—it
shows how great was man’s need of a Savior. It shows,
too, how great was God’s mercy in sending his Son while
man was in that horrible state.
Perhaps you,
like many others, wonder why God did not destroy Adam
and Eve and make an end to sin right there. Such an act
would have acknowledged “creative failure.” God’s
eternal purpose in creating man must and will be
fulfilled. “Then why did not God give man another
chance?” you may ask. Such a decision does not recognize
the terribleness of sin. God cannot condone or excuse
sin. It must be punished. There was no other way whereby
God’s will could be done than for Jesus to die in our
stead. And thus by infinite sacrifice He satisfied the
demands of righteousness and divine justice, and
demonstrated God’s boundless love and mercy.
Chapter 6
THE
CROSS IN CREATION...
The long
black night of sin which hung over the world between the
fall of man and the coming of Christ is a dismal story.
Judgment overtook the world in the days of Noah and
everybody except Noah and his wife, their three sons and
their wives, perished in the great flood. God then said
that although the imagination of man’s heart was evil
from his youth, He would never again curse the ground
because of man (Gen. 8:21). The Hebrew word for
imagination means “the plotting and devising of evil.”
Although the flood destroyed all but the family of Noah,
it did not stop men from sinning. Nothing but a change
of heart could help man.
Shafts of
spiritual light pierced the gloom at various times. A
notable spiritual advance in man’s relationship with God
was made during the life of Abraham to whom it was
revealed that righteousness is imputed by faith. (See
Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4:22–24). “Imputed” means “to
attribute righteousness as derived from another.” For
this reason Abraham is called the “father of all them
that believe” (Rom. 4:11). No doubt Abraham looked by
faith down through the years and saw Christ’s sacrifice
on Calvary for him. Possibly Jesus referred to this when
he said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day:
and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56).
Another
great step toward understanding God’s plan of salvation
was made under the leadership of Moses to whom God
talked most intimately, as we see in Exod. 33:11. God
gave Moses the Ten Commandments written on two stone
tablets and revealed the fact that atonement for sin
must come through the shedding of blood (compare Heb.
9:18–22). Each person had to sacrifice a lamb or some
other innocent creature, to die in his stead. The idea
underlying animal sacrifice in the Old Testament is
known as the doctrine of substitution. Each worshipper
had a sense of guilt because of having sinned. This
guilt was of such a nature that he could not atone for
it himself. Sin had to be punished and the wages of sin
is death. Rom. 6:23. The devout Hebrew, therefore,
brought a lamb or some other sacrifice to the temple and
laid his hands upon it and confessed his sins over it,
after which the priest deftly slew it, thus shedding its
blood! The significance of this act was to identify the
worshipper with the victim, and to confess that he was
the one who was guilty of death but the innocent lamb
was taking his place and dying in his stead. This act
beautifully typifies the work done by Christ of Whom
John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God which
taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Christ is
God’s Lamb and His death on Calvary has made atonement
for sin. He is our substitute. He took our place when we
were guilty and condemned to die. By faith in Him and
His sacrifice we may be justly pardoned. What a glorious
privilege is ours! What a staggering price was paid for
our redemption! Various names have been given to this
form of worship. Most frequently it is called “the Law.”
The purpose of the Law was to prepare people to receive
Christ (Gal. 3:24). It is also called the “Old Covenant”
or “Old Testament” in contrast with the New Covenant
which Christ brought (Heb. 8:6–13). We are told in
Hebrews 10:1–4 that these sacrifices could not cleanse
the conscience nor take away remembrance of sin. After
Jesus came all such sacrifices ceased, for “we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.” (10:9–10).
A long line
of prophets helped to unfold the work that Jesus was to
accomplish by coming into the world. In Revelation 19:10
we read: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy.” One meaning of “testimony” is “divine
revelation,” so we can read it thus: “The divine
revelation of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” This
revelation of Jesus in the Old Testament is so full and
so complete in detail that it constitutes “miracles of
foresight,” the fulfillment of which can only be
accounted for by the inspiration of the Bible. Isaiah
rose to great heights of inspiration and his prophecies
are sometimes called “the gospel according to Isaiah.”
Read the fifty-third chapter and note how many things he
said about the life and death of Christ, all of which
came to pass. They were written about 700 years before
Christ was born. If twenty or more sculptors of
succeeding periods of time and from different lands, and
having no contact with each other, were to bring a piece
of marble and place it on a statue, and if the resulting
state were a marvel of harmony and beauty with each
piece fitting exactly and making a complete whole, you
would say that there must have been one architect. There
is a striking parallel to this in the different prophets
who told of Christ for the account is so detailed and
complete that it can only be explained on the ground
that one great Architect, namely the Holy Spirit had
guided and inspired them.
God prepared
the world for the coming of Christ. The Greek language,
the most beautiful and most descriptive language ever
known, was spoken by almost all peoples at that time.
The Roman Empire was at the height of its world power,
and comparative peace prevailed during the life of
Christ and for many years after, making it easy to
travel to distant lands.
The Jews
were scattered over the world from Spain to the
Euphrates, and they could carry the gospel news
everywhere in a comparatively short time once they
received it themselves. (Acts 2:7–11).
At last
after many long centuries of waiting, the hush of the
still Judean night was broken by an angelic choir
singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.” The long dark night of sin
was over. Jesus the Savior was born. And still men were
not ready to receive Him, for there was no room for Him
in the inn. The heavy shadow of the cross which was
foreseen by Abraham and Moses and the prophets hung
heavily over the manger cradle, for Mary’s little babe
was the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.”
(Rev. 13:8). The cross awaited the Creator. Such is the
sad record of sin.
Chapter 7
GOD’S
GALLERY...
God’s
picture gallery—God’s Word—is a wonderful masterpiece.
It is a word-picture of Him who manifested all that God
is and who is the key to all that God has and all that
God means. It reveals Jesus Christ, the King of glory.
He is God the Son, the second person in the divine
trinity.
In order
that we might behold this matchless Christ, God gave us
four windows or Gospels through which we can gaze upon
Him. Although each Bible writer sought to describe the
same person they all extolled different characteristics,
and in varying degrees of emphasis. Matthew, for
instance, was most impressed by the fact that Jesus is
the Messiah, the fulfillment of all the Old Testament
prophecies. Mark was thrilled at the mighty miracles
wrought by the power of Christ. To Mark He is Jesus the
Wonderful. Luke, on the other hand, perceived more
clearly the union of the divine and human natures in
Christ the “Son of man.” John emphasized Christ’s deity
more fully, and through his eyes we behold Him more
expressly as the Son of God.
In each case
the writer seldom, if ever, mentions his own name or the
pronoun “I”. Christ occupies the entire pre-eminence,
even to being the first and last name mentioned in the
New Testament.
Matthew, a
Jew by birth, refers to himself as a publican
(taxgatherer) when Jesus called him. He makes more
references to the Old Testament Scriptures than any
other gospel writer. He first tells of the visit of the
wise men who came to worship Christ. The wise men were
Gentiles. Carefully note Matthew 3:3; 4:14–15; 8:10–17.
You will find that these verses reveal the first lovely
glimpse of Jesus our Savior ministering to all men, both
Jews and Gentiles alike, in fulfillment of Scripture.
In chapters
5, 6, and 7, Matthew gives the longest account of
Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. This is the most wonderful
message this world has ever heard or known. Significant
are the words of 7:24: “Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him
unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” We
do well to become thoroughly familiar with the words of
Jesus and build our spiritual and doctrinal structure on
Him only. Everything else is sinking sand.
Chapter
eight is called “the works of Jesus” because so many
miracles are recorded in it. The thirteenth chapter
contains a long list of parables, or stories told for
the purpose of imparting spiritual truth. They tell
about the nature of the Kingdom Jesus came to establish.
Matthew is
the only Gospel that mentions “the church.” In 16:18 it
is recorded that Jesus said, “I will build my church;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Every saved person belongs to this church, and
furthermore only saved people belong to it. Again in
18:17 Matthew records that Christ spoke of the church
but in this case it means congregation. We shall study
this subject more fully later on.
We solemnly
pause in reverence at 26:26–28 where we are told about
Jesus instituting the most sacred of Christian
ordinances—the Lord’s Supper. It is symbolic of Christ’s
death on Calvary whereby the New Testament came into
effect. When we observe the Lord’s Supper we testify
that our sins are forgiven and that we have faith in
Christ’s sacrifice for us. Peering down further we see
Christ crucified, risen, and exalted. The glorious final
triumph of Christ is enshrined in His own words: “All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (28:18).
Having so said, he issued the timeless command to his
followers: “Go ye therefore, and make Christians of all
nations (margin), baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”
(28:19–20). We learn from this command that a Christian
must help spread the gospel and that Christ’s promise to
always be with us rests upon our faithfulness in
carrying out His command. Faith implies obedience.
From
Matthew’s picture of Jesus the Messiah, we turn to
Mark’s account of Jesus the wonderful. No mention is
made of Jesus’ birth and little is repeated of what
Jesus said, but Mark is thrilled by what Jesus did. In
the very first chapter we are ushered into the presence
of One who radiates supernatural power over men and
demons. Sickness fled at His touch, and at His word
miracles were done. In obedience to His call some
fishermen left their nets and became apostles, and
Christ so transformed their lives that they in turn
changed the lives of other men and altered the entire
history of mankind.
It would be
a good idea to make a list of all the things Jesus did
as recorded in the first chapter of Mark. Mark wrote his
gospel especially for Gentile readers. He explained
words that Gentiles would not understand, such as
“Boanerges” in 3:17. (See also 5:41, 7:11, and others.)
Mark also explained Jewish customs; as in 7:3–4. His
purpose was, of course, to help the Gentiles better to
see Christ in all His wonderworking power and believe on
Him.
Although
Luke is mentioned only three times in the New Testament,
he wrote more than anyone except Paul. He was a
physician and a companion of Paul. His Gospel was
written for all the world, and in words of unmatched
beauty he grips the interest of the thoughtful and
cultured as he depicts the glorious perfection of Jesus,
the ideal, universal Son of man.
Luke gives
the most complete account of the miraculous virgin birth
of Christ in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. He tells the
only story of the boyhood of Jesus (2:41–52). Our
knowledge of Christ’s teaching would be poorer without
Luke’s Parable of the Good Samaritan, of the Prodigal
Son and of the Pharisee and the Publican in the temple
and others. Christ’s recognition of the dignity of
womanhood is mentioned by Luke more than by any other
writer. (See 7:11–17; 8:1–3; 10:38–42). Last but not
least, Luke gives Christ’s attitude toward the poor, the
needy, and the despised, as depicted in the story of the
rich fool (12:16–21) and the great supper (14:12–15). In
23:39–43 we are told of Christ’s mercy to the penitent
thief on the cross, and His infinite love is portrayed
in verse 34 as He pleaded for His murderers: “Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Our
parting glimpse of Jesus reveals Him risen and finally
ascending. Concerning all these wondrous things Jesus
told His followers: “Ye are witnesses of these things”
(24:48). A New Testament witness is one who gives
testimony of truth at the expense of his life. The word
“witness” comes from the Greek word martur which is the
same as our word martyr.
The Gospel
of John supplies much rich material omitted by the other
three writers. The preexistence of Christ is emphasized
it the first two verses. The third verse portrays Christ
as the active agent in creation, and the fourth tells us
that He is the source of life. His incarnation is
revealed in the fourteenth. Thus John stresses the deity
of Christ, and records more of what Christ said than
what He did. He also interprets the purpose of His
mission more fully.
The name of
Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, meaning Jehovah is
Deliverance. It appears more than six hundred times in
the Gospels. As already pointed out in chapter 4, the
names of God describe His very being, and hence are of
great significance.
Jehovah, the
I AM of the Old testament, should be compared with the
“I am’s” of the New. You will find seven of them in
John’s Gospel, as follows: (1) “I … am He (the Messiah),
4:25–26; (2) “I am the bread of life,” 6:35; (3) “I am
the light of the world,” 8:12; (4) “I am the door”,
10:7–9; (5) “I am the good shepherd,” 10:11; (6) “I am
the resurrection, and the life,” 11:25; (7) “I am the …
vine,” 15:1. Jesus showed Himself as having power to
heal the body—Jehovah-rophi. He spoke peace to many
troubled souls—Jehovah-shalom. He provided for the
multitude in their time of need—Jehovah-jireh. And above
all, we are saved through faith in His atonement for our
sins; He is our Jehovah tsidkenu—”The Lord our
Righteousness.” Is it any wonder that Jesus said, “He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:3–11)?
The above description can be multiplied many times
throughout John’s Gospel, showing how he portrayed the
deity of Jesus.
John, like
the other three writers, devoted about one-third of his
message to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
It is always safe for us to emphasize what the Bible
does. We can never exhaust the theme of Christ’s death
and atonement and His resurrection, by which we obtain
forgiveness of sins. Sometimes when we gaze upon a very
beautiful object we notice one thing in particular which
keeps drawing us to it. It is like that in the Gospel of
John, for it is there we read about Jesus talking with
Nicodemus and saying the most wonderful words ever
uttered; this is sometimes called “the golden gospel”:
G-od so
loved the world, that he gave his
O-nly begotten
S-on, that whosoever believeth in him should not
P-erish, but have
E-verlasting
L-ife.
The love of
Christ is so wonderful that it makes our hearts sing
with Isaac Watts:
Were the whole realm
of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my heart, my
life, my all
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