To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Wed, 2 May 2001 16:44:49 -0500
Subject: HF032 - The New Adam Race - Part 2
Hebraics,
This is Part 2, of Study HF032 - The New Adam Race.
I concluded our initial study with a quote from an early Christian
writer, who said, "Because of His measureless love, He became what we
are, in order to enable us to become what He is."
What the early Christians believed and taught is that the new
covenant consisted of a new humanity. They spoke of Christians
as, 'the third race.'
The early writer Barnabas said, "It is the new people which God
has called into existence." Another writer explains that there are
three kinds of men, that is, pagans, Jews and Christians.
To carry this a step further, even the Jewish historian, Flavius
Josephus, spoke of Christians as a tribe. He said, "And the tribe of
Christians, so named from him [Christ], are not extinct even to this
day."
But are this things actually true? Is Biblical Christianity a new race
of people, or is Christianity another great religion that made its
appearance 2,000 years ago?
As we continue with this study, we want to consider what the Bible
actually has to say about the new covenant people of God. The one
thing I wish you to see in this study, is the uniqueness of the new
covenant.
The new covenant is not simply another covenant made between
God and man. Nor is it the covenant of Moses, made better, or
even put on a better footing. The new covenant actually
encompasses a new humanity. And only those people who have
been born from above can participate in this new covenant.
Let's come back to the conversation between Jesus and
Nicodemus. The Lord said to this Jewish leader, "You must be
born again." The Greek term for 'born again' is, 'gennao anothen.'
'Anothen' means, 'from above.' It can also be translated 'all over,'
or, 'beginning.'
'Anothen' is a Greek modifier. It includes the idea of 'from the
beginning.' Thus, man must have a rebirth that not only gives him a
new beginning, but it has its origin from the beginning. This is where
the idea of 'heavenly' comes in. The birth from above is divine in
origin. It is from above.
But the new creation of God was planned from the beginning. The
apostle alludes to this, when he says, "Just as He chose us in Him
before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and
blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons
through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the kind intention of
His will." (Ephesians 1:4,5)
A key issue at hand is that the new people of God are not given the
nature of angels. They are given the nature of Christ. Thus the
apostle says God's new people share in the divine nature. This means
that we are kin to God by nature.
Peter makes reference to the divine nature, when he says, "For by
these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so
that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." (2 Peter 1:4)
In this Scripture, the terms 'precious,' and 'magnificent promises,'
and 'divine nature' are given emphasis in the original Greek. Peter is
speaking of key facts, that while one day we will fully enjoy the
total of our spiritual inheritance, we are, right now, enjoying the
effects of our new divine nature. We are right now children of God.
I use the term 'divine' not in the sense that we are gods, or that we
are becoming gods, but, rather, in that we share in the likeness and
image of God, which speak of His essential nature. We are creatures
born from above. We are a new humanity that is of a heavenly origin.
We are given God's own divine nature.
While all this is glorious indeed, never do the apostles deny the
battles that Christians are subject to in this present life. We
struggle with temptations. And we are harassed by spirit beings who
try to distract us from reaching out to the lost Adam race. We must
never forget that God's new humanity comes from the fallen children of
Adam.
What the apostles tell us, however, is that the Christian has in
himself a longing to be clothed with his future resurrected body. We
are children of God, though left clothed in a fleshly body, we are
much aware of our promised future body that will be exactly like the
body that Jesus Christ now has. John says, "We shall be like Him." (1
John 3:2) Jesus is called the firstborn of many brethren.
Paul brings this out, when he says, "For indeed while we are in this
tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed
but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by
life." (2 Corinthians 5:4)
The apostle gives light on our new humanity, when he says, "The
first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As
is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the
heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have born the
image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly." (1
Corinthians 15:47,48)
But what does all this have to do with the 'badness' of religion? The
problem comes when we constantly think of ourselves only in religious
terms. Religion cannot give to us that which only God can give. But
because man is religious by nature, he is constantly building
religious structures through which to achieve his goals.
This does not at all mean that Christians are to have no form of
structure in their lives. It is without question that the Lord places
his people into flocks. And these flocks will have pastors and
teachers who have an understanding on kingdom principles, and who will
be able to provide guidance into the ways of the Lord. But never are
these pastors and teachers to usurp God's divine prerogatives.
Think about all the wars that have been fought over religion. What
does this tell us? It tells us that there will never be a perfect
religion. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom
were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would
not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of
this world." (John 18:36)
So, once again we hear that Jesus did not come to give us a new
religion. Nor did He come to give us a visible structure by which we
can identify ourselves. We must learn to identify ourselves with the
Jerusalem from above. The kingdom we serve is invisible to the eye. No
one can say, "Lo, Christ is here." Or, "Lo, Christ is
there."
God spoke through the prophet, and said, "Heaven is My throne
and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could
build for Me? And where is the place that I may rest? For My hand made
all these things, thus all these things came into being."
He went on to say, "But to this one I will look, to him who is
humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."
(Isaiah 66:1,2) Yes, Jesus came to give us a new humanity. The
one who trembles at His word, soon realizes this.
In Isaiah 66:2, the key is found in the word, "Word." This term
speaks both of Christ as the Word of God. But it also means
'speech.' Do you long for and tremble at the 'speech' of God. This
brings me to my final observation in this portion of our study.
There is another identifiable trait of God's new Adam race in Christ.
Every person who is born from above has direct access to God Himself.
It is this fact alone that does away a need for an intermediatorial
ministry in the new covenant.
No single believer has more access to the divine counsels of God than
does another believer. Lots of folk don't like to hear this, but it is
Biblical.
One weakness with many today is in their attempt to live in the
new covenant, on an old covenant level. It simply doesn't work. Any
attempt to live on that level is an open door for disaster. (But I'll
leave that be for now. Perhaps later we can look at how demons work
through the flesh. The early writers spoke of this activity as a
'super-heated human spirit.)
The primary reason that the office of prophet does not have the
same emphasis in the new covenant as it did in former covenants, is
because of our new humanity. No new covenant believer needs a prophet
to tell them what the mind of the Lord is for their own life. There is
no need. We all have direct access to the mind of Christ. (Cf. 1
Corinthians 2:15,16)
Listen very carefully to how Jesus describes His new covenant
people; "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring
them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock
with one Shepherd." (John 10:16) (Remember what Isaiah 66:2 said about
God's 'speech'?)
Note the Lord's emphasis on His 'Voice.' In the former covenant, the
prophets served as the voice of God. In God's new humanity, each
person born from above, has the Voice of the Shepherd speaking into
his or her life.
I must be quite honest here - The most unstable people I have ever
met, are those who continually look to others to give them direction
from the Lord.
This is not to say that new covenant believers have no need of
mature counsel. Quite the contrary. Mature guidance is especially
crucial for the immature believer. But the guidance given must be only
from what God has given us to say in the Scriptures.
Some many years ago I was in a conference where there were
several speakers. One gentleman made the remark that he was
tired of people who had to have Scripture and verse for everything.
The moment he said that, a warning went off in my heart. I thought,
"How deceiving this is."
The prophet of old said, "To the law and to the testimony! If they do
not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn."
(Isaiah 8:20)
It is odd to find the word 'dawn' being used by the prophet. But to
the prophets this word spoke of the light of God flowing through the
prophets. So if a so-called prophet spoke contrary to God's sacred
writings, it meant that the anointing he was speaking from was a false
anointing. God has given us His written word to serve as a judge
between what is true and what is false.
The apostle Peter said, "So we have the prophetic word made more sure,
to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your
hearts." (2 Peter 1:19)
Peter is telling the peoples to study the Scriptures, and to keep
studying the Scriptures, until the light of Christ begins to flow
through their hearts. In my opinion there is no greater experience
than to have the light of the revelation of Jesus Christ to fill one's
heart. (Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:6)
The apostle Paul said that we are to never exceed the Scriptures. (1
Corinthians 4:6)
The study remains open for discussion.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)