Where art thou? It's not where you're from, but where you're at!
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Have you heard of a family intervention? My friend Rick was a young dad. From a good home, worked hard, great property, actually started a couple businesses. But Rick is an alcoholic. Grew up drinking socially, but daily dominance, and one day with help, several friends and family just came to the door and said, we need to sit down and talk. Explained how his drinking effecting them, his young family. That intervention so powerful that that young father is now middle aged and close to retiring, a grand father. Changed his life.
Now that saying, not where you from but where you at. True in Rick’s life - his background, all benefits, how good life was before don’t really matter, where is he at right now. Move from one place to come to a new place in that intervention, no I don’t need alcohol. That saying, from another high school friend named Richard, served time in prison for murder, drug dealer - he used to always say - not where you from it is where you at. A rap lyric, but for him who was in the foster system, parents abandoned him, ended up adopted - that was a big saying - not my past, not my ruin, but where I am at - that’s what really counts.
Well, congregation from our text, God’s first intervention on behalf of His people in all of history. And God’s first question to humanity, like this saying, rings out not just to Adam, but as we saw federal head of the whole human race, God is asking this question of each and every human being that ever lived: Where art thou. The biggest deal isn’t that you were created with such grandeur in the image of God, nor that we’ve shattered that image and live with such fallen-ness, the biggest deal isn’t sin and the curse released upon us. The biggest deal is where are we at - by ourselves separated from God, hiding in fear in the bushes carrying on in our fear, failure, our shame; or are we at where Rick was at - at the intervention - at the place where God calls us out, and says “I’ve got a new place, even better than the place you left for you to be at - It’s called in Christ, in the seed, and its a location - where instead of having Adam as our head, finding this seed of Eve, fulfill broken covenant of works, and its a new place in Christ - called the covenant of Grace. And kind of like with Rick, surround by loving presence - and they make promises we’ll walk with you, be here, get out of the bad place new future! And here in God’s first intervention - God gives the mother of all promises - he actually gives it to the mother of the human race, Eve, but he gives it to all who embrace the gospel - as the promise from which all other promises of grace flow.
Guido DeBres, says not only are we to be able to witness to our neighbours about who God is, why this world is here, about the root problem of original sin; but simply and clearly our witness has got to be about Jesus. Confession uses Art 16,17,18 as that hinge. Election not for us about who, but that God is sovereign and gracious and will save some. Art 17 the method of that salvation, and Art 18 the Mediator the person of Christ.
KEY TRUTH: The God who is toward us, pursues fallen man with a promise, instead of abandoning us in death!
KEY TRUTH: The God who is toward us, pursues fallen man with a promise, instead of abandoning us in death!
So what is God’s plan of this covenant of grace. It is not that God says, let’s forget about the covenant of works, let’s forget that I made you to image me, and eternal life would come as your whole being and obedience walks with me - confirmed eternal life. That principle is gone through out that covenant and replace it with a covenant of grace, where by my whim, I’ll over look sin, and just based on faith accept people. No let’s examine from our text how God sets up this new arrangement this new covenant of grace!
A. The Gospel is God Pursuing Us, not Us Seeking Him
A. The Gospel is God Pursuing Us, not Us Seeking Him
Our confession states that God’s wisdom and goodness - not setting aside justice, but putting into an effect a way for His merciful love could address the tragedy of our lives, God draws near to the mess! Kind of the opposite of us isn’t it? See someone with overwhelming problems, we usually don’t rush to them - do I have time, walk with this person cost not just a lot of time, emotional energy. And when we have problems we also don’t share them so freely - draw back like wounded animal licking wounds. Think of it normally the most anticipated part of the day, could hardly wait each day for time when God would walk with them in the garden, now God comes and Adam hates it and runs from His presence. They hid themselves. That’s what humanity is doing in all its pursuits in created things, without walking with the Creator! That’s you and I in dealing with our sin - don’t want hat intervention - just carry on life with our addiction, manage the best we can!
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.
Hiding from God. Anyone in the covenant of works, fallen with Adam can do anything but really be hiding from God in shame and guilt. So watch what God does: Genesis 3:9
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Here is the good news of the Bible, this God didn’t rush down to search us out in order to drag us to the judgment seat, yes his justice in that moment of the first sin, built in effects, they are already dying physically and spiritually - world changed. Yes, wages of sin is death - covenant of works means that consequence of sin is what we live under. And that the whole world falling under curse of God - creation itself changed and groaning! But here God does rush to Adam and Eve, immediately with no hesitation not to condemn, already under that. But God rushes with something new for them. Planned from eternity for God’s elect , yes this fall would happen covenant of works broken, but now look what happens - the story is n’t just great creation, then fall, then try to work our way back to good creation and some how reverse the fall. No, here is something new - grace! New arrangement added by which God through His Son somehow not just fix fall, but that creation and His people not just get paradise regained. But creation and God’s people are going to be renewed by grace, they are going to be brought beyond the initial good - to the new creation - the glorified creation!
And so God calls out where are you - to find us, fleeing; with all the misery we’ve deserved and God hasn’t caused, and He seeks us out to comfort and rescue us in grace! And I do need to ask you - whether you feel the awe of this undeserved quest of God to seek you out. Rick now loves his family and friends for that most awkward moment of his life. DO you love God for seeking you? Ought to be our most basic testimony - Once was lost but now am found , how precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed! Why Newton seeing slaves, and he was both slaver, and enslaved, but he’d say There by the grace of God go I. Not think himself better than any. Lived whole life reaching out to people lost in the shadows. His friend William Cowper suicide, gave place to live, - welcomed - letter writing ministry - so approachable. And we can have verbal testimony that our God takes the first move in mercy. But in our lives to those in troubles - must be seen too!
There is so much more to say about this interchange, but what more do we learn about this new arrangement of Grace
B. God's First & Primary Intervention is the Gift of His Son, born of a woman.
B. God's First & Primary Intervention is the Gift of His Son, born of a woman.
We are so used to the story that we fail to see how surprising the Sovereign LORD GOD’s reaction to deception and sin are. We might expect God to say to Satan: you are cursed, and forever. But what do you expect him to say to Adam and Eve after cross examining them. These are kind of surprising words don’t you think. You’d expect their personal punishments and consequences to come first. Like a parent about to ground a teenager: - Do you realize what you have done. Brow beat them - this means your money is gone ,trip down South cancelled, This means you won’t be able to go out and more, going to have rebuild this house you just burned down. But its a little strange isn’t it that God’s first words of judgment to Adama and Eve are these: Genesis 3:15a
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
The creation and his precious human race is now careening into black-hole of death and sin and destruction,. And in the midst of human suffering and sin and death, God calls out where are you in love, and he sets out to find Adama and Eve to announce. We are going to war!
Satan and this fallen creation have brought us to the point of crisis, and I am stepping in for you - I put enmity between the destroyer and you. And look God not only comes with an announcement, he finds Adama and Eve and their whole seed - and He says I have something else for you, and he pulls out this on thing that he he was pursuing us with. Here is my promise, covenant promise of grace in the smallest most condensed form. What’t he substance of the promise? The chaos and violence unleashed by sin won’t have the final word. No who will have the final word - the human will. But not just any human. Evil is going to be overcome by the human but its the particular human - who is Son of God - born of a woman, the Son the seed, Jesus Christ! Genesis 3:15b
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
We will look at how this seed will be a mediator of grace and victory for our concluding point, but for now, do you see the surprising arrangement God is setting up is to give us a Person. You can see it can’t you that the whole of human history from this point on is the story of two seeds. Satan’s seed and Eve’s seed. Generations after Eve, were indeed divided between the godly line of Seth, and “called upon the name of the LORD.
The Battle of the Two Seeds: Genesis 4:26
To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.
And this other seed of fallen humanity under the reign of Satan, who like in Genesis 11 none for cultural exploits that exalted themselves against God. Two lines seen from Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau. Two lines children of Israel, and the people of a Pharoah devoted to killing. See it in Idumean King Herod at the birth of Jesus, and the book of Rev 12 the people of the Child and the people of the Beast from the Sea. And though this is only in shadow form - the essence of God’s primary and first intervention is to give us this seed:
Galatians 4:4
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
When God announces the enmity between Satan's seed and the Seed of this Son - don’t miss that he is giving us one of the most basic promises of the covenant of Grace: I will be your God and you will be my people. Gen 17:7, Rev 21:3) We can be on the great I am’s side, and this is by complete undeserved favour of God not our works. As the rest of the covenant of grace will spell out, this son will be sent in our place - why born of a woman - fulfill what the first Adam failed in -his incarnation, obedience, his suffering, his death, resurrection - that will be our salvation! This is only in seed form and shadowy at that:
Col 2:17
These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
But even in shadowy form, must see and testify that God’s provision as He comes running to fallen humanity is not some ethical or religious idea - but the Person of His Own Son - provision of a covenant with him, need this seed if death and sin is not rule you!
C. How This Grace will Come: Serpent-Crusher
C. How This Grace will Come: Serpent-Crusher
The last part of our text, speaks of why Jesus Christ must not only be a divine mediator, but why he must be a fully human one who represents us, like Adam did in the first covenant.
Here it is interesting to note that covenant in Moses days were Suzerain Vassal in form. A superior king and a neighbours lower king come into agreement. And one of them would take on themselves the condition and take the lead in making promises. IE Abraham with he animals. Well, that Suzerain would be saying, if the covenant gets broken, if I don’t fulfill you can do to me… Well, God speaks this covenant. With Abraham he speak the covenant and make s the promise. Other covenants like Sinai, while though a covenant of grace, also showing covenant works - its the people who make the promise - taking on curses and blessings for obedience. But here in seed form only God speaking, and the promises is his, that His Son born of woman - will fix this mess - Gal 4:4 tells us he was born under the the law for us, - had to fulfill covenant of works, had to withstand the curses - Adam incurred - but he doesn, his heel is bruised, but he shatters the and crushes
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
For sure in the OT believers, beginning with Adama and Eve would be trusting in this promised seed without fully understanding. But progressively, the promised seed from Israel is revealed. Like the miracle child Isaac, he will be brought back as it were from the dead. He would be like that lamb in Isaac’s lace, on the mountain of the Lord He will provide. Spotless like a Passover Lamb. He will be born of a virgin as Isaiah 11. Isaiah 53 he will work atonement for many, and the way of the LORD will prosper through him. But the point at the beginning of the drama of salivation, is that God decides to seek out to save us, but He will do so by becoming a child of Eve, a second Adam. The covenant of wrks was broken, but the Second Adam will have to fulfill perfect obedience, as well as paying the penalty, undergoing the curse.
This i why we read in Phil 2:8
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Why we read 2 Cor 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The Fall necessitate a Redeemer who would fulfill the terms and the punishment of the covenant works on our behalf But we also needed this second Adam, second head of a new people, who establish a new covenant of grace that will hold for all time, OT, NT, and now today! The OT showed the story of the Fall all over again, Adama and VE fell into sin, unable to keep God’s law and were exiled out of the garden. The OT people of God Israel, disobeyed God’s law and so were exiled out of the Land. But in the fulness of time, this Son of Eve comes, the new head of the human race, and taking our sin upon himself- he volunteers to be exiled out of God’s presence on the cross, he takes on the Curse, He fulfills the law - and wham o fulfilling it, establishing the new covenant - Satan’s reign is crushed, God’s people released in Christ. And so we read: Romans 8:3
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
And that’s the very last thing our confession says in this article, not only would Christ defeat Satan, and overcome the curse, positively, as he does so, as He rises in our human nature and we represented in his renewed humanity. We see God rescuing us not just to get us out of hell, or get us to heaven. But he sends this Son in in human nature to rescue us, so that meeting him, we are taken to the ultimate goal and end. Better than creation.
“And he comforted him, promising to him his Son, “born of a woman,” to crush the head of the serpent, and to make him blessed/happy. Belgic Confession Art. 18
And this brings us full circle. Humanity estranged from God under the reign of Satan, seeking happiness in creation and or itself, avoids God - plunging deeper into physical and spiritual death - and ultimately if honest completely miserable. But God comes and says, the intervention he must make in your life - the one Person in the universe who is both God and Man and who loves you - he must make an intervention - and your happiness, blessedness - will not be found in a philosophy, or religious practice, or all our past-times in creation, our blessed ness or happiness found only in a Person, IN a relationship with this seed, this Son of Eve this Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear friends, it is not where you are from, its is where you are at. Are you at Jesus. Are you located in Him, - and from the beginning to the end of the Bible it is all about this seed this offspring and us being united to Him in faith!