From Eden to the Kingdom

From Genesis 11:1-9, Fallen humanity seeks to make idols of themselves and disobey even the most basic commands of God, but Jesus makes a name for himself through suffering and obeys every last command of his Father.

From Genesis 9:1-17. In American culture, we have learned to detach religion and God from reality. God is helpful for our mental wellbeing, but he has no bearing on our daily lives. But, the story of the Bible reveals a different God: one who enables life through his blessing.

From Genesis 8:13-22. Mankind is fickle and unpredictable, but God is longsuffering and gracious, even in his judgment. Through a sacrifice given by a righteous man, Noah, mankind rested from God's wrath. So too, through the sacrifice of one righteous man, Jesus Christ, mankind enters eternal rest in the presence of God.

From Genesis 7:1-10, In our time, we define righteousness as being true to oneself, but in Scripture, we find that the way that seems right to a man leads to destruction. True righteousness is found walking after God, and it is because of the righteousness of Christ that we are ultimately able to pass through the judgment of God.

From 1 Cor. 15:12-26 - We seek permanence in a world that is always changing. Jesus has come to bring resurrection and life, giving us an eternal kingdom which will never end.

Genesis 6:1-8: Men and fallen angels may sow disorder and violence that God judges, but Christ has come to bring order and life through his life, death, and resurrection.

From Genesis 5, Human freedom is lauded as the greatest good (even the greatest gift of God) in our day, but the example of Lamech shows the true curse that freedom is. Enoch, on the other hand, is given as the example of a life that is dependent on God, and one that is delivered from the judgment of God.

From Genesis 3:1-24. Seeking wisdom apart from God leads to guilt and shame. Though we try to cover our guilt and shame, we cannot escape it. Even in the midst of God's judgment on Adam's sin, he still provides grace through the promise of a seed of the woman. That Seed was Jesus Christ, who bore our guilt and shame on the cross. Because we have been forgiven and restored, we can now work to forgive and reconcile others.

From Genesis 2:18-25, we see relationship as God intended it to be. The pagans of the time believed that men and women were created for conflict and today's society believes that we cannot escape our instincts, but God created man and woman as a picture of himself. God is relational and covenantal, and we can see this in his relationship to Israel. We see it fully in Jesus Christ, who died to sanctify his people, the Church.

From Genesis 1:26-31. We, like the ancient pagans, find satisfying purpose in this life, even though we believe that we can define life by our own terms. God has created us in his image, and yet we don't exemplify that image in the world. Jesus has come to rightly bear the image of God, and in so doing he has restored the image of God in us. We respond by bringing all things within our rule under the authority of God's Word.