Greater Man ~ 20171224 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
12/24 Advent: Jesus is Greater! Greater Man ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20171224_advent-greater-man.mp3
Jesus is greater! We have been looking this Christmas season at Jesus. Jesus is greater! Jesus is the greater prophet, Jesus is the greater priest, Jesus is the greater king. He is a greater prophet than Moses and all the Old Testament prophets; he is a greater high priest than Aaron and all the Old Testamen priests; he is a greater king than David and Solomon and all the other kings. Jesus is the greater prophet who speaks God's words to us; who is the Word made flesh. Jesus is the greater priest who mediates between God and man, who offered himself as the greater sacrifice; the Lamb of God who by his one offering takes away the sin of the world. Jesus is the greater temple, the place where we can meet with God. Jesus is the greater king, the greater ruler who governs for the good of his people, the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.
Greater Adam
Today we look at Jesus the greater man. Luke highlights this in his genealogy where he traces Jesus' family tree all the way back to “the son of Adam, the son of God” (Lk.3:38). Jesus is in the line of Adam, in the line of humankind. Jesus is actually called 'the last Adam' in 1 Corinthians 15.
1 Corinthians 15:45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Jesus is the last Adam; the final man, the archetypal man. Jesus is what man was meant to be. Jesus is the greater man, the greater Adam. This text refers back to creation where God formed man from dust and breathed into Adam and he became a living being. But Jesus came down from heaven to give life to others.
1 Corinthians 15:46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Here Adam and Jesus are compared and contrasted. The first man was from the earth, made from dust, natural, and his descendents bore his fallen image. The second Man, the last Adam is from heaven, spiritual, and we who belong to him will bear his image. As Romans 8:29 says, we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” We either bear the fallen image of Adam or the renewed image of Jesus.
The Image of God; Fruitfulness and Authority
If we go back to Genesis, we see what man was meant to be.
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Man was made in the image of God; man was meant to image forth God, to put the invisible God on display to his creation. Man was created to show God off, to put him on display, to showcase his character and disposition. Man was to be God's representative ruler over all his good creation.
We see in this passage two main aspects of the image of God that we were meant to display; fruitfulness and authority. Man was meant to be fruitful under God's blessing, to multiply and fill the earth. In Genesis 2:15 we see:
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Man was intended to be fruitful, and to make the earth fruitful. Man was meant to fill the earth “with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hab.2:14 cf. Is11:9). As God is creative, forming and filling the earth with life and variety and color and beauty, so man is meant to form and fill, to bless, to make the earth productive. Man is meant to be fruitful.
Man is also meant to rule. Humankind is to display God's image in their use of authority. They are to have dominion, to subdue the earth and every good thing in it. We see both of these aspects in the garden in Genesis 2:15; man was to work; literally to till, to serve, or to put into service. The garden was to be enslaved under his good authority; to bring out its full potential. Man was also to keep it; to defend and protect, to guard, to watch over and attend to. God's good authority was to be put on display for all creation; the kind of good authority under which everything thrives. And man was to exercise authority under God's good authority. The
Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Man was to subdue nature and to himself be subdued by God. God filled the earth with every good thing, and God made a garden, and he placed man in the garden with the requirement that he honor his Creator with obedience.
Greater Representative
But we know how things go, don't we. Man was not content to rule over the whole world under God's good authority. He wanted to be like God, to be out from under God's rule, and make his own rules. And as Romans tells us:
Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Adam sinned, and because of his one sin we all die. We cry out
'That's not fair!' Adam acted as our representative. He acted as man on behalf of all mankind. Adam and Eve sinned, and so all humankind sinned.
We may not like this, that Adam represented us, but it is in this way, Romans 5:14 tells us, 'Adam was a type of the one who was to come.' Romans 5:12-19 goes back and forth between the two men, the two great representatives, Adam and Jesus.
Adam Christ
Trespass Free gift
Justice Grace
one trespass one act of righteousness
one man's disobedience one man's obedience
sin & death spread to many grace abounded for many
death reigned recipients of grace and gift of
righteousness reign in life
many sinned many made alive
condemnation justification and life
Romans 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
So if you don't like Adam as your representative, you have another option! Jesus is the greater man, the greater representative. Where Adam disobeyed, Jesus obeyed perfectly; where Adam brought justice, condemnation and death, Jesus brings grace; the gift of righteousness, justification, and eternal life. In Adam we get what we deserve. In Christ, we don't get what we deserve, and we get what we don't deserve. Jesus is our greater representative.
Adam was in a beautiful garden, with all his needs met, and everything good at his fingertips, and he disobeyed and ate. Jesus was hungry, in the wilderness, having fasted for 40 days, beginning literally to starve, and Jesus submitted himself to God. Jesus was tempted in another garden, looking toward another tree, and he said 'nevertheless, not as I will but as you will' (Mt.26:39).
Relationship
In Genesis 3 we see another aspect of what it means to be truly human:
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Man was made for relationship with God. God intended for them to enjoy fellowship with him, to enjoy his presence, to walk together. This is what the whole Old Testament is longing for;
Exodus 29:46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, ... that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.
This is what Jesus points us to in John 17
John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Knowing God, enjoying relationship with God, this is what man was made for. Jesus, in constant communion with his Father, begins to show us what this is meant to look like. Jesus rose early to pray (Mk.1:35); he prayed in the evening (Mt.14:23); on occasion “all night he continued in prayer to God” (Lk.6:12); often “he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Lk.5:16). Jesus says:
John 14:31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.
Jesus says:
John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”
Jesus says:
John 10:38 but if I do them [the works of my Father], even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”
Jesus enjoyed his relationship with his Father.
Authority
Jesus, the last Adam, exercised his authority over creation. When the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing,
John 21:6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. (cf. Lk.5:4-7)
Jesus exercised dominion over the fish of the sea. Jesus exercised dominion over the trees; “may no fruit ever come from you again” (Mt.21:19);
Matthew 8:27 “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Jesus had authority over sickness, over disease, over birth defects, even over death and decay (Jn.11:43). Jesus was ideal man, in absolute authority at all times; and he used his authority for the good of others. Jesus used his authority to guard and protect his followers.
John 18:6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”
Jesus was in absolute authority, even over his own life
John 10:17 ...I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Fruitfulness
And as the ideal man Jesus' life bore much fruit. In spite of never being married and having no children, Jesus was abundantly fruitful. The fruit of his three and a half year ministry produced a dozen followers who transformed the world; he built his church, and the gates of hell still have not prevailed against it. 2000 years later, he is still bearing fruit across the globe. Jesus gave us the secret of his fruitfulness.
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
By his death Jesus defeated death and hell and the devil. Back in the garden it was prophesied that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, and the serpent would deal a fatal blow to the seed of the woman. Jesus, the true seed of the woman, crushed the head of the serpent by dying.
Image of God
As the final Adam Jesus enjoyed relationship with God. Jesus exerted his good authority over all creation, and Jesus was abundantly fruitful. Where the first man failed to properly display the image of God, Jesus put God fully on display.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
...18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Jesus, the only God who was with God and who was God, became flesh and made God known. 2 Corinthians 4:4 speaks of
2 Corinthians 4:4 ...the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Jesus is the image of God.
Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Jesus images God exactly as Adam was meant to do. Jesus puts God on display in flesh for all to see.
God Become Human
To legitimately fulfill this role as the greater Man, the image bearer, exercising man's dominion over creation, enjoying relationship with the Father, being fruitful and filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, Jesus had to really and truly be human. This is the wonder of the incarnation. This is the wonder of Christmas; that God became a man! As the Christmas song goes “Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord, ...veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail th' incarnate Deity, pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel” [Hark the Herald Angels Sing, C.Wesley]
This is why doctrine matters. This is why theology matters. This is why the virgin birth matters. That Jesus is truly Son of God and Son of man. For Jesus to crush the head of the serpent, he had to be the seed of the woman.
This is why the incarnation matters. This is why a doctrine called the hypostatic union matters; you don't have to know it by that name, but it is absolutely essential that Jesus is one person with two natures; that he is fully God from all eternity, and that without diminishing his deity, he took on a second nature, that he became fully human; that Jesus is fully God and became really and truly human. If he was not truly human, he could not be a legitimate substitute and die for our sins. If he were not fully God, his sacrifice would not be of infinite value.
I invite you to stand in awe of Jesus today. Worship Jesus. He is the greater prophet, the greater priest, the greater king, the greater man. Acknowledge him today as your greater representative. Jesus is worthy of your attention, of your affection, of your awe. Jesus is worthy of your wonder and worship. Jesus is greater!
Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org