Lesson Six: How The Original Sin Still Affects us Today, and How our Sins Also Affect Creation |
LESSON SIX
How The Original Sin Still Affects us Today, and How our Sins Also Affect
Creation
We know God doesn’t make
mistakes. He directed Paul to write the
word authenteō in 1 Timothy 2:12, and that is the only place in the canonical
Bible where that Greek word is used. If
it just means to take authority, or to rule, then why not use the Greek verb proistēmi,
which means to rule, or to lead?
Interestingly enough, the
feminine noun version of proistēmi (to lead) is used only once in the
Bible as well, and that is of a powerful woman of God, named Phoebe. She was the
minister/deacon of the church in Cenchrea. She
was also a leader – prostatis – the feminine noun version of proistēmi
(to lead or rule). If proistēmi
were used in 1 Timothy 2:12, instead of authenteō, then we’d have a
contradiction, because there are multiple woman preachers in the Bible who lead
congregations in churches. Phoebe was
even a leader of Paul the apostle:
Here is Romans 16:1-2 in The Passion Translation:
“Now, let me introduce to you our dear and beloved sister in the faith, Phoebe, a shining minister of the church in Cenchrea. I am sending her with this letter and ask that you shower her with our hospitality when she arrives. Embrace her with honor, as is fitting for one who belongs to the Lord and is set apart for him. I am entrusting her to you, so provide her whatever she may need for she's been a great leader and champion for many - I know, for she's been that even for me!” -Romans 16:1-2 TPT
Here is Romans 16:1-2 in the Young's Literal Translation:
“And I commend you to Phebe our sister -- being a ministrant of the assembly that [is] in Cenchrea -- that ye may receive her in the Lord, as doth become saints, and may assist her in whatever matter she may have need of you -- for she also became a leader of many, and of myself.” -Romans 16:1-2 YLT
There are women leaders and preachers in the
Scriptures, so we know the ‘teach and have authority’ in 1 Timothy 2:12 isn’t referring
to women preachers or leaders. We must keep it within the context that it gives
us. Our 1 Timothy 2:11-14 passage also
says “and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” in verse 14 (NRSVue).
What did Eve do, when she gave the wrong teaching to
Adam, which he didn’t correct? She led
him to his eventual DEATH. He allowed
himself to be under her teaching and authority, and the authority she
ultimately had over him, was his life, as well as her own.
Our 1 Timothy 2 passage is where it points to Eve in
the deception, instead of the sin entering through Adam, because it’s telling
the wives in a specific church at that time (Ephesus) to not ruin her husband’s spiritual
walk with wrong (Artemis worship) teachings, as Eve did to Adam (forbidden fruit), which lead to the fall of humanity.
Most other passages in the Bible instead mention that sin entered the world
through Adam, such as the following…
Look up Romans 5:14
in the NRSVue, and then fill in the blanks, below:
“Yet death reigned from ____________ to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of ____________, who is a pattern of the one who was to come.” -Romans
5:14
Eve ate the forbidden fruit first, but the
transgression, which lead to the fall of man, and sin entering into the world,
is attributed to Adam, who ate after Eve.
Why is that?
Adam had a double transgression. Like Eve, he knew it was wrong to partake of
the forbidden fruit, but he was with Eve when she partook, and did not stop
her:
“she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.” -Genesis 3:6b
After she partook, she gave him the fruit, and he
didn’t turn it down, but also partook of it.
Adam was directly told of God to not partake of that
fruit:
Look up Genesis
2:16-18 in the NRSVue, and then fill in the blanks, below:
“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the ____________ of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not _________, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be _______________; I will make him a helper as his ____________________.” -Genesis 2:16-18
God directly told Adam not to eat of the forbidden
fruit, and then He made Eve from
Adam’s DNA (The Hebrew word means curve). There is no mention of God
directly telling Eve not to eat of that fruit.
Eve knew not to partake (as we see in Gen. 3:2-3), and partook anyways,
but Adam didn’t stop her. There’s no
mention of him even trying to stop her.
Since Adam knew directly from God Himself not to eat of the forbidden
fruit, but was right there watching Eve do it, and didn’t stop her, and then he
did it, the responsibility of the first sin entering the world was put on
Adam’s shoulders, because he had the power and knowledge to stop it, and he
didn’t.
Therefore, sin entered the world via Adam.
The original sin of Adam opened a door, and this is a
spiritual one, which is not under the laws of physics. The effects of sin (other
than what we detect in the linear physical), knows no time or locality. Adam's sin has not gone away, and it affects each and every one of us, today. This is the same case with us, when we sin. Our sins don't disappear, they stick around, knowing no time or locality.
In the next lessons, we'll get deeper into the power of blood, and we will look into how sins don't go away, and what to do about that.
__________________________________________________________________
What was Phoebe's
position in the church that was in Cenchrea?
What was Adam's
double transgression?
Lesson Five -- Lesson Seven
"It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. 49 But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed." -Luke 6:48-49 CEB
"The Lord lives! Bless God, my rock! Let my God, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high!" -2 Samuel 22:47 CEB
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -John 8:32 CEB
"Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6 CEB |
The terms "Christian" and "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" have been thrown around so much, that for many people, they have lost their original savor. What is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it going to church? Is it being a "good person?" Is it via doing certain rituals, or following certain traditions? No, it is so much simpler than that.
Jesus says:
"Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me." -Revelation 3:20 CEB
Let Jesus into your heart and life. Put your faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone.
Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth? He came to pay for our sins. Have you ever broken any of the Ten Commandments? Did you know that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that just looking at someone with lust in your heart is the same thing as committing adultery in your heart?
Many people will say I'm a good person. Sure, I've stolen a few paper clips in my time, and I've told some lies, but I've never killed anyone, so I'm good enough for heaven. Don't be so sure. Have you ever felt hatred toward someone? If so, then you are guilty of committing murder in your heart:
"Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them." -1 John 3:15 CEB
If you have stolen, lied, lusted after someone, hated someone, loved someone or something more than God, etc., then you have broken at least 5 of the Ten Commandments. Do you really think you'd make it to heaven? Not according to God's Word:
"Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CEB
But there is good news:
"That is what some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11 CEB
We are all sinners:
"All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory" -Romans 3:23 CEB
Even Mary, the woman chosen by God to be a vessel that would carry Jesus in her womb, was a sinner, and in need of a Savior:
"In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior." - Mary said this in Luke 1:47 (CEB). Only sinners need a Savior, and Mary also accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.
We are all imperfect, fallible sinners:
"This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." -1 John 1:5-8 CEB
The blood of Jesus Christ is what cleanses us from all sins. Jesus came to this earth to die to pay for our sins. You see, Leviticus tells us that 'the life is in the blood,' and that it takes spilt blood to atone for sin.
When we choose to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and to live our lives for Christ, then Christ's spilt blood cleanses us from our sins:
"Come now, and let’s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow. If they are red as crimson, they will become like wool." -Isaiah 1:18 CEB
Jesus tells us this:
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son." - Jesus said this, in John 3:16-18 (CEB)
Paul gives us a simple "step by step process" on how to be saved:
"Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation. The scripture says, All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame." -Romans 10:9-11 CEB
Jesus is our one and only mediator:
"There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus" -1 Timothy 2:5 CEB
Jesus is our High Priest:
"Also, let’s hold on to the confession since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, who is Jesus, God’s Son; because we don’t have a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin." -Hebrews 4:14-15 CEB
We are to follow the Lord and the Bible, not traditions of people:
"Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you?" -Matthew 15:3 CEB
Jesus is God:
"Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory." -1 Timothy 3:16 CEB
If Jesus isn't the Lord of your life, then I hope that you will let Him into your heart and life this very moment.
"But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8 CEB
Have you built your foundation on the Rock of Salvation?
Jesus is the way. If you would like to receive Jesus into your heart and life, then let Him know. Pray to the Lord, telling Him that you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for your sins. Tell this to God in your own words, from your heart.
"The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23 CEB
Believe, and Receive:
"You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ." -Ephesians 1:13 CEB
When you believe on Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. You are sealed as a child of God.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, to pay the death penalty for your sins, and that Christ rose from the dead three days later, and you are ready to let Him lead your life, and you will live for Him, then you are saved, and born again.