This is a message that I developed for the jail ministry.
Feel free to provide any constructive criticism. Feel free to provide any rude criticism too
I know who my detractors are, and most of them are on block. See the hand? Argue with the hand
We are all either in Adam or in Christ. Those who have accepted Jesus and his sacrifice on the Cross are in Christ, and those who have not accepted Jesus yet are still in Adam.
This is the state of the man in Adam
· He is represented by the decision that Adam made to reject God and his authority in the Fall (Genesis 3), to sin against him, and is under condemnation as a result (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12-19, 1 Corinthians 15:22). All mankind is represented by Adam by virtue of being a physical descendant from him.
· He is in the marred image of God, and is not fulfilling his purpose in life; he does not reflect the nature of God like mankind was originally created to reflect (Genesis 1:26-27). Mankind was created to reflect the image of God in all spheres of his life, by displaying love, mercy, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control in his dealings with other individuals.
· He lives in spiritual darkness (Acts 26:18, Ephesians 4:17-18, Colossians 1:13-14), and is being blinded by Satan from understanding the gospel message (2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Timothy 2:25-26)
· He is spiritually dead, or separated from the life of God (Ephesians 2:1-2, 4:17-18, 5:8-9, Colossians 2:13)
· He is an enemy of God, and hates his laws (Romans 1:30, 5:9-10, 8:7, Ephesians 2:1-3, Colossians 1:21-22)
· He reflects the nature of Satan, and rejects God’s authority over his life (John 8:43-44, I John 3:8-10)
· He is under the wrath and condemnation of God (Romans 1:18-32, 5:16-19, 8:1)
· He has a sinful nature that causes him to pursue sin, and he is enslaved to it (John 8:34, Romans 6:20)
· His mind is in a state of futility that knows no peace or shalom (Romans 3:9-18)
· He is unable to understand spiritual knowledge until God begins to intervene in his life (I Corinthians 2:14)
This is the state of the man in Christ
· He is represented by Jesus Christ and the merits of his righteous life, and is no longer represented by Adam and his transgression (Romans 4:3-8, 5:17-19, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
· He has come to a realization of his sinful state and his need for forgiveness, and has responded in faith, repentance and confession, accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Savior (Romans 4:3-8, 24-25). He is redeemed, or bought back, from the penalty of death for his disobedience (Romans 6:23, Galatians 3:13-14)
· He has eternal life as a present possession (John 3:16; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:35-40; John 6:47; John 6:54; John 10:28-29; John 11:25; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11, I John 5: 13)
· He is no longer under the wrath and condemnation of God, and will not be abandoned (John 5:24, Romans 8:1, 31-39, Hebrews 13:5)
· He is sanctified, or set apart for holy purpose (Hebrews 10:10)
· He is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
· He is a resident of the kingdom of God, and is seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6, Colossians 1:13-14)
· He is loved by God with a distinguishing love (Romans 1:7)
· He enjoys a state of shalom, or peace, fulfillment, rest, with God (Romans 5:1)
· He has access to a storehouse of spiritual knowledge through Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Colossians 2:1-3)
· He is victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 2:14-16)
· He is adopted as a son of God, and God treats Him like a son, disciplining him as needed (Romans 8:9-24, Galatians 3:26-27, 4:6, Hebrews 12:5-11)
· He is being conformed to the image of Christ, who is God (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 4:17-24, Colossians 3:9-10, 2 Peter 1:3-4)
· He is united with Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-5). Metaphors that refer to this union include water baptism and death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-11), the vine and the branches (John 15:1-11), the human body (I Corinthians 6:15-20, 12:12-27), a building or temple (I Corinthians 3:10-17), and putting on clothing (Romans 13:13-14)
· He is indwelt by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, which empowers him for obedience and endurance during temptation, trials and suffering (Romans 6:1-14, 8:9-17, Galatians 2:20, 4:19, I Corinthians 6:15-20, II Corinthians 13:5).
Importance of understanding in Adam and In Christ
· Identity determines behavior; behavior or what we do/what is done to us doesn’t determine identity
· This affects issues regarding sin and temptation
· A major theme of Paul’s writings is, our identity is in Christ now, not in Adam, and we need to start behaving like it (I Corinthians 6:11, Colossians 2:6-7, 20, 3:1-4).
· The background is laid for understanding union with Christ, which is a spiritual reality; we are joined to Jesus in a spiritual sense and he carries our burdens with regards to obedience, temptation, trials and suffering
Feel free to provide any constructive criticism. Feel free to provide any rude criticism too
I know who my detractors are, and most of them are on block. See the hand? Argue with the hand IN ADAM, IN CHRIST
We are all either in Adam or in Christ. Those who have accepted Jesus and his sacrifice on the Cross are in Christ, and those who have not accepted Jesus yet are still in Adam.
This is the state of the man in Adam
· He is represented by the decision that Adam made to reject God and his authority in the Fall (Genesis 3), to sin against him, and is under condemnation as a result (Genesis 3, Romans 5:12-19, 1 Corinthians 15:22). All mankind is represented by Adam by virtue of being a physical descendant from him.
· He is in the marred image of God, and is not fulfilling his purpose in life; he does not reflect the nature of God like mankind was originally created to reflect (Genesis 1:26-27). Mankind was created to reflect the image of God in all spheres of his life, by displaying love, mercy, kindness, gentleness, patience, self-control in his dealings with other individuals.
· He lives in spiritual darkness (Acts 26:18, Ephesians 4:17-18, Colossians 1:13-14), and is being blinded by Satan from understanding the gospel message (2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Timothy 2:25-26)
· He is spiritually dead, or separated from the life of God (Ephesians 2:1-2, 4:17-18, 5:8-9, Colossians 2:13)
· He is an enemy of God, and hates his laws (Romans 1:30, 5:9-10, 8:7, Ephesians 2:1-3, Colossians 1:21-22)
· He reflects the nature of Satan, and rejects God’s authority over his life (John 8:43-44, I John 3:8-10)
· He is under the wrath and condemnation of God (Romans 1:18-32, 5:16-19, 8:1)
· He has a sinful nature that causes him to pursue sin, and he is enslaved to it (John 8:34, Romans 6:20)
· His mind is in a state of futility that knows no peace or shalom (Romans 3:9-18)
· He is unable to understand spiritual knowledge until God begins to intervene in his life (I Corinthians 2:14)
This is the state of the man in Christ
· He is represented by Jesus Christ and the merits of his righteous life, and is no longer represented by Adam and his transgression (Romans 4:3-8, 5:17-19, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
· He has come to a realization of his sinful state and his need for forgiveness, and has responded in faith, repentance and confession, accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Savior (Romans 4:3-8, 24-25). He is redeemed, or bought back, from the penalty of death for his disobedience (Romans 6:23, Galatians 3:13-14)
· He has eternal life as a present possession (John 3:16; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:35-40; John 6:47; John 6:54; John 10:28-29; John 11:25; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11, I John 5: 13)
· He is no longer under the wrath and condemnation of God, and will not be abandoned (John 5:24, Romans 8:1, 31-39, Hebrews 13:5)
· He is sanctified, or set apart for holy purpose (Hebrews 10:10)
· He is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
· He is a resident of the kingdom of God, and is seated in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6, Colossians 1:13-14)
· He is loved by God with a distinguishing love (Romans 1:7)
· He enjoys a state of shalom, or peace, fulfillment, rest, with God (Romans 5:1)
· He has access to a storehouse of spiritual knowledge through Christ (1 Corinthians 2:14-16, Colossians 2:1-3)
· He is victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 2:14-16)
· He is adopted as a son of God, and God treats Him like a son, disciplining him as needed (Romans 8:9-24, Galatians 3:26-27, 4:6, Hebrews 12:5-11)
· He is being conformed to the image of Christ, who is God (Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 4:17-24, Colossians 3:9-10, 2 Peter 1:3-4)
· He is united with Jesus Christ (Acts 9:1-5). Metaphors that refer to this union include water baptism and death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:3-11), the vine and the branches (John 15:1-11), the human body (I Corinthians 6:15-20, 12:12-27), a building or temple (I Corinthians 3:10-17), and putting on clothing (Romans 13:13-14)
· He is indwelt by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, which empowers him for obedience and endurance during temptation, trials and suffering (Romans 6:1-14, 8:9-17, Galatians 2:20, 4:19, I Corinthians 6:15-20, II Corinthians 13:5).
Importance of understanding in Adam and In Christ
· Identity determines behavior; behavior or what we do/what is done to us doesn’t determine identity
· This affects issues regarding sin and temptation
· A major theme of Paul’s writings is, our identity is in Christ now, not in Adam, and we need to start behaving like it (I Corinthians 6:11, Colossians 2:6-7, 20, 3:1-4).
· The background is laid for understanding union with Christ, which is a spiritual reality; we are joined to Jesus in a spiritual sense and he carries our burdens with regards to obedience, temptation, trials and suffering
