LIFE-STUDY OF GENESIS MESSAGE EIGHTEEN: THE FIRST FALL OF MAN

I love the books of Genesis and Revelation because in them we can see God's purpose and its fulfillment. These two books also reveal how the enemy, the subtle one, came in and how he will be cast out. The so-called modern critics, who do not believe in the Bible, mainly direct their attacks at the books of Genesis and Revelation. When we were young this higher criticism was quite prevailing, and we fought against it. The higher critics attacked the books of Genesis and Revelation because the subtle serpent within them knew that no other books exposed him as much. If you want to know how the serpent came in and what his destiny will be, you need to read the first chapters of Genesis and the last chapters of Revelation. Revelation 12:9 mentions "the ancient serpent, he who is called the Devil and Satan." The word "ancient" that describes the serpent refers to the time of Genesis 3. Therefore, if we did not have the books of Genesis and Revelation, the subtle serpent would not be fully exposed. Thus, the serpent invented the so-called modern criticism in an attempt to discredit these two books.

In Genesis 1 and 2 we see a garden and in Revelation 21 and 22 we see a city. By transformation and building the garden becomes a city. Between Genesis 2 and Revelation 21 are many ages or dispensations. The serpent first appeared in Genesis 3 and he has been active ever since; he never sleeps. Throughout all the generations since Genesis 3 the serpent has been working constantly. If you read through the entire Bible carefully, you will see that the serpent came in in Genesis 3 and that in Revelation 20:10 he will be cast into the lake of fire. Regardless of the age or dispensation Satan has always been active. In the first dispensation, meaning the first way in which God dealt with man, Satan was there. Satan not only corrupted the first human couple, but has corrupted man in every succeeding dispensation. When God initiated another age or dispensation, Satan was there to damage people. Throughout age after age and dispensation after dispensation Satan has been present, making it appear as if God has been unable to handle the situation. But this is not so. God is great. We only need to give Him a little time. As far as God is concerned, a thousand years are equal to a day. The period of time from Adam's creation until now is actually less than six days to God. We need to be patient with Him.

As we come to the church dispensation, we see the strongest conflict between Satan and man. What a battle is raging! The book of Revelation shows us that in the churches God has gained a group of overcomers who will defeat Satan. At the end of this dispensation the Lord Jesus will return in victory. The Lord Jesus has been unable to return because as yet there has been no victorious ground on which He can set His feet. He is waiting for this. The overcomers will establish a beachhead for the glorious Christ to return in a victorious way. According to Revelation 12, Satan firstly will be defeated by the overcomers. Then, at the time of the Lord's return, Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit (Rev. 20:1-3). Eventually and ultimately he will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

In Genesis 3 Satan came in and in Revelation 20 he will be cast out. Immediately after the first two chapters of Genesis Satan came in, and immediately before the last two chapters of Revelation he will be cast out. Thus, in the entire Bible there are just four chapters in which we see no footprints of the contaminating enemy. Apart from these four chapters he has polluted every age and space. Only Genesis 1 and 2 and Revelation 21 and 22 are free from Satan's contamination. Between Genesis 2 and Revelation 21 we see all the activities of the subtle serpent. Have you ever noticed that Satan appeared immediately after the first two chapters of Genesis and that he will be cast into the lake of fire prior to the last two chapters of Revelation? In this message we want to consider how this crafty one first came in.

As we have seen, Genesis 1 reveals God's eternal purpose and heart's desire, and Genesis 2 reveals God's way of fulfilling His purpose. However, before God could accomplish His purpose, Satan came in. In everything Satan tries to be first. Anything that is real can afford to be somewhat slow, but that which is false always moves hastily. Therefore, in regard to many things it is better for us to do nothing at the first instance. Suppose a little boy comes to his father and says, "Daddy, I want to buy a new toy." The father should answer, "Son, wait for two days. Let us see what the Lord will say." Perhaps it is even better to wait an additional two days. Since Satan is always in a rush we should never accept the first proposal. If a brother comes to you seeking an answer regarding a certain matter, do not reply immediately. Perhaps that question is an instance of the rushing activity of Satan. You need to wait awhile. After a few days that brother might change his mind. I have seen this happen many times. The disposition of young men and young ladies is very quick; they have a hasty temperament. They like to act swiftly and get answers immediately. This haste has its origin in the subtle serpent. If you will wait, God will come in. In most things God is not present at the first instance. The serpent will always act ahead of God in an attempt to defeat Him.

According to Genesis 3, Satan came in first. In the Bible we have the principle of the first mention. Whatever is first mentioned in a particular field establishes the principle for all the subsequent items in that field. Thus, Genesis 3, the first mention of Satan's activity, reveals the principle that Satan comes in before God.

 

LIFE-STUDY OF GENESIS MESSAGE SEVENTEEN: TO WORK GOD INTO MAN AS LIFE

In this message we come to the last part of Genesis 2. Although Genesis 1 and 2 are quite brief, they contain many basic items. We have previously pointed out that nearly every item in these two chapters is a seed of divine truth, and that these seeds require the entire Bible to expound and develop them. The divine revelation in the Bible unveils spiritual things, and these spiritual things are mysterious, abstract, and, humanly speaking, unsubstantial. Due to our limited ability to understand them, God was forced to disclose His divine revelation in the way of picture and allegory. Genesis 2 was written in a figurative way, and all the items found therein are figures. We should not understand them merely according to the outward letters, but probe into the inner sense of the figures. Both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are figures. What is the tree of life? It is difficult for people to understand. Nevertheless, it is the tree of life. In Genesis 2 we also find a river, and at the flow of this river we have gold, pearl, and onyx stone. What do all of these things signify? What do they mean? As we have seen in earlier messages, all of them are figures and compose an allegory.

Humanly speaking, the end of Genesis 2 is easy to understand because it relates the story of a marriage. Adam was created, but he had no wife. Thus, God provided a wife for him. This does not sound allegorical. If we only read Genesis 2 we will not recognize it as an allegory. However, if we read through the whole Bible, we will realize that the marriage found in Genesis 2 is indeed an allegory. Why do we say this? Because later in the Old Testament God told His people, "For thy Maker is thine husband" (Isa. 54:5). Man's creator is his husband, meaning that in the universe the unique man is God Himself. The man created by God actually is not a man, but a woman. I have a question to address to all the men reading this message: are you male or female? I am a female. I am a female because I am part of the wife. Firstly, God was my creator. Secondly, He became my redeemer. Now He is my husband.

This concept is thoroughly developed and expounded in the New Testament. Although many people think of Jesus Christ as a great teacher and others regard Him as their Savior, the four Gospels also reveal Him as the bridegroom. Undoubtedly He is a teacher and the Savior. However, He is also the bridegroom come to receive the bride (John 3:29). One day the disciples of John came to the Lord Jesus, asking Him why His disciples did not fast (Matt. 9:14-15). In His answer the Lord Jesus revealed Himself as the bridegroom. The Lord asked them, "Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?" Furthermore, Paul, the greatest apostle, told us clearly that the church is the wife and that Christ is the husband. In 2 Corinthians 11:2 he said, "I betrothed you to one Husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ." Thus, we are a wife to Christ. Moreover, in Ephesians 5 Paul speaks of marriage, saying that when a man is joined to his wife the two become one flesh. In Ephesians 5:32 Paul says that marriage signifies the great mystery concerning Christ and the church.

Adam in Genesis 2 was a type, a prefigure of Christ. Speaking figuratively, we may say that Adam was Christ. When we see Adam in Genesis 2, we see Christ. What then does Eve signify? Apparently she was only a woman, Adam's wife. However, if we have the spiritual vision from Ephesians 5, we will see that Eve in the garden was a prefigure of the church. If we have this perspective, we will realize that whatever happened to Adam in Genesis 2 was an experience of Christ and that whatever happened to Eve was related to the church. We must understand Genesis 2 in this way. In figure, Adam was Christ and Eve was the church.

This is similar to the photograph of a person. Suppose I have a photograph of Brother John. If I show you the photograph and ask you who it is, you will be correct if you say that it is Brother John. However, we must be careful, for although it is a picture of Brother John, it is not the real person of Brother John. It is simply a photograph of Brother John, depicting his appearance and giving you some idea of what he is like. Likewise, in Genesis 2 we see a figure or picture of Christ and the church in the types of Adam and Eve. When we examine the picture of Adam and Eve, we understand how the church comes into existence. It will be difficult to understand this if we simply talk about Christ and the church; however, if we look at the picture, we will be very clear. The picture saves a great many words. If I describe Brother John to you, using many words, it would still be difficult for you to picture what he is like. However, if I show you his photograph, you will immediately be clear about him. Although the photograph is not the real person, it does afford you some understanding of the person, relieving you of the need to guess. God uses the picture of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 to give us a definite revelation of Christ and the church. Without this chapter we could never understand the relationship between Christ and the church so exactly. This picture shows how the church came into being.

Please remember that Genesis 1 and 2 unveil two main things. Genesis 1 reveals God's eternal purpose, which is to express Himself through man and to exercise His dominion with man. Man was created to express God and to represent God. Genesis 2 continues by showing the way to fulfill God's purpose. Although God has a purpose, He must have a means of fulfilling it. What is God's divine way of accomplishing His purpose? As we have seen, His way is life. God desires to come into us as life. In order to accomplish His purpose, God wants to come into man to be man's life and life supply. Furthermore, Genesis 2 reveals that God's procedure involves three steps. The first step was for God to create man as a vessel to contain Him as life. Since man was made as a vessel to contain God, man can live by Him, express Him, and represent Him. As the second step, God placed man in front of the tree of life. We have seen that the tree of life represents God Himself. In placing man before the tree of life, God was indicating that He wanted man to take Him into his being that he might be transformed into the precious materials for the building up of the church.