Adam - First Bad Boy of the Bible

I am copying over prior posts from the Anchor Music Blog site. I am moving them more for archive purposes then anything else. But if you find them worth roaming through, go for it.


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Friday, June 16, 2006

6.18.06 Sermon Notes

The Scripture text is Genesis 5:1-5, the story of Adam - the first Bad Boy of the Bible.

This is the written account of Adam’s line.
When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.
He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.”
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died.

Adam was Bad for a Moment, a moment that reverberates as a ill-struck note throughout the course of human history.

To paraphrase Maximus (Gladiator): Our deeds on earth echo throughout eternity.

Adam was commanded to do two basic things, he was blessed so that he could accomplish two major deeds. First, he is to be fruitful with his family, with the creatures under his care, and with the vegation under his care. Second, he is to rule his family, the creatures of the earth, sea and air, and the vegation under his care.

Adam is to rule in such a way that his family prospers, animals prosper, the earth prospers. Adam is to cultivate his family, care for his creatures and the earth in such a way that they receive the results of the blessing that God gave Adam.

In regard to Adam's family, he is to rule them in such a way that they fill the earth. His rule is to result in adults who can fulfill the commands of ruling and fruitfulness. He is to continue God's initial work of filling the world with God-imagers with the capacity to rule and be fruitful.

What is the measure of success for Adam? When he rules like God, and when he produces "fruit" like God. When the people and creatures and earth under his rule and care become capable of ruling and producing fruit like God commanded.

Not as God, but like God.

Adam needed help in ruling the creatures and the earth, his helper is Eve. He also obviously needs Eve so that together they can be fruitful and fill the earth. That means that Adam's ruling over Eve should result in a cultivated heart that beats with his, a woman who gladly partners with him to experience and live out of God's blessing and commands to them.

But Adam and Eve will only be successful with the people, creatures and earth under their rule and care when they listen and do what God commands them to do. Any deviation from what God commands results in a deviation in what is not good and not right. To take matters into one's own hands is to bring ruin and grief into the ruling and cultivating.

Adam as the first husband failed his wife by not ruling her heart and body, his ruling was to result in a woman who was fruitful and blessed in all she does and says. He let her be deceived, he didn't protect her from the serpent, he didn't slaughter the snake, he didn't drag her away from what was ruining her trust in God. Adam was not deceived, but he chose Eve over God.

Adam as the first father failed his children through the mistrust and abandonment of God in his earlier years. Adam was to raise up children who could rule and cultivate the earth and its animals, which Cain and Abel did. But they were to do it with a right heart before God, and Cain was cultivating a bad attitude. Sin was crouching at his door, just like it did with his mother and father. Cain failed, just like his folks, and it brought death...to his brother.

Adam is the first man, the first husband, the first father. He didn't fail miserably, just for a moment...that resonates forever.

Jesus is the Second Adam, the God-man, the husband of the church, the father of the world. He didn't fail, not for a moment...and this resonates forever as well.

If the sin of one man can bring ruin to his family and his world, then the good of one good man can bring redemption to families of the world. If they trust Jesus, and then pattern their life after him.

Adam was to trust God and pattern his life in accordance with those first commands and blessings. We are Adam and Eve, and we are to trust God through Jesus, and pattern our lives after him.

We are to rule so that those children and people under our leadership develop a cultivated Christ heart in which they can rule and cultivate a Christ heart in their children and people.

We are to cultivate a Christ heart in our children, our friends, our family, our neighbors, fixing and mending broken hearts through the wisdom, love and power of God in us through Jesus Christ.

What is at stake in doing all that God commands us to do?

Adam didn't understand what was at stake.

Don't keep making Adam's mistake.

Through the rule and cultivation of Jesus in our life today, we can avoid making Adam's mistake, and we can also be redeemed. But you have the power of heaven at your disposal, and the wisdom of the saints to help you bring up your children so that they become adults with cultivated Christ hearts.