PROTOEVANGELION
Notes
Transcript
PROTOEVANGELION
PROTOEVANGELION
The first gospel was given just after the first sin of men in Eden. I want to meditate on the nature of sin and the gospel.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
“Did God actually say?”
Satan’s 1st weapon was making Eve suspect God and His words. Today’s corruption of the church also started from suspecting God’s word. When we suspect the truthfulness and authority of the Scriptures, we easily fall to sin. Why today’s church is so impotent? Because she does not believe the authority and innerancy of the Scriptures. When Eve showed a defect in her faith, the serpent striked a wedge on the defect. “You will not surely die.”
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
What was the origin of sins?
Why did they eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil?
The origin of sin was not trusting God and His words. If the origin of sin is disbelief, the most important thing of us before God is faith. So Heb 11:6 says......
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
And what was the motive of the sin of Eve?
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Why did they eat the fruit? She wanted to be like God. She wanted to be autonomous.
Disbelief of God
Rebelious heart
auto: self
nomus: law
self-law maker
self-judge
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
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.
Loincloths of fig leaves
religions
philosophies
traditions
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Worldly religions:
Men try to ascend to gods.
Biblical gospel: God descends to men to save them.
Worldly religions: Ascension of men to gods
Biblical gospel: Condescension of God to men
And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
Alienations between
Men - God
Men - neighbors
Men - other creature
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.”
Singular masculine he.
Who is he?
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
It was the 1st substitutionary sacrifice in human history.
A type of Jesus Christ.
Garments of skin
The mother of all living.
Questions.
What was the first gospel?
What was the first weapon Satan used?
What was the motive of the sin of Adam and Eve?
What is the nature of sin?