Jesus Christ: The Super-Sub
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17
Adam sinned and died. He died immediately. He died spiritually, but physically he remained standing. Have you ever seen someone sleeping in an upright position? This is what Adam did. He died but remained in an upright position. How many people are dead out there but are still in an upright position? Anyone who has not yet reconciled with God through Jesus is dead though he is still standing upright. Some people are dead but are still walking around hoping for someone to touch them and fall so they can have the cause of death on their death certificate.
But because God said “…in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die;” he eventually died. It took him 930 year to finally drop down and died physically yet spiritually he died almost 900 years ago; I suppose. You see when God says you shall die, you better believe it; you will surely die. It does not matter how long it takes. You will finally be put down.
Adam allowed Satan to take over and be ruler of this world. When he took over he came along with death. Death never started as death; it started first as a lustful desire – an anti-God thought. Lustful desire fell pregnant and eventually gave birth to sin. And sin; when it is full-grown, it brings forth death. This is the process – one stage leads to another until the final product is manifested.
Since the fall of man, death had a complete grip over humanity. The presence of Satan reinforced it. Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:14 From Adam to Moses death dominated the landscape and man had no answer to it. Death reigns through sin.
When the bible says “from Adam to Moses” it means from the fall until the law was given. Sin is represented by death. Adam represents the fall while Moses represents the law. It was only after the law was given that man could do something to avoid separation with God. Spiritual death is spiritual separation with God. When the law came it required total obedience without fault. One who would obey would avoid sin and death and in so doing he would be declared alive with God. Those who could not keep up with the law would be declared unrighteous. For certain sins like murder, adultery and rebellion they would have to be stoned to death.
As we said, man had no answer for his predicament for no one can keep up with the law. The law came as God’s measuring bar to measure human righteousness. But the bar was too high for anyone to come to level with. All of us were born into this condition where we could not keep up with the requirements of the law. We had the law of God – the Jews in the form of the written word (Torah) and we Gentiles, in the form of our conscience. We had the law of God written on our hearts and our conscience witnessed to that. Romans 2:14-16. We too were sinners because of the sin of Adam. As though it was not enough we added our own on top of that. We were dead to God; dead in our own trespasses and sins, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” - “the just for the unjust” Romans 5:8; 1 Peter 3:18. Though by nature we are descendants of Adam, he is not able to save us from the mess he has put us into. Grandpa Adam knew how to mess up things, but to fix he knew not. “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Romans 7:24
Praise God Jesus came and died for us. He demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Adam couldn’t finish what he started – he played half the game and was exhausted. Jesus had to be brought in as a Substitute. He had to come and cry out on the cross; “it is finished.” What Adam could not finish, Jesus says it is finished. Listen to what He said; “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” John 17:4. “
My friend this is so important for us we need to pay attention. We owe Him a shout of thanksgiving. Few hours before He was arrested He was in the garden of Gethsemane praying. The garden was just outside Jerusalem, east of the city across the Kidron Valley just opposite the Temple. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. He uttered this famous statement; “…nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42. Jesus came to replace the first man and rectify his mistakes. He came to undo the works of the devil for it is for “this end the Son of God has been manifested, that he might undo the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8 Darby Bible Translation.
What was it so serious that it called for Jesus to come and undo? What is it so serious that the Son of God had to leave heaven and come and engage Himself with the affairs of man? Obedience! Adam disobeyed God and brought death upon the human race – spiritual and physical death. For this reason Jesus had to come and demonstrate obedience in order to reverse the cruel death that was reigning undisturbed. “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8. Adam disobeyed but Jesus obeyed. Thank God He obeyed!
Jesus replaced the tired and confused Adam by taking his place and become sinful like man. Jesus was faultless – He was spotless in every respect. But God made Him sin so that He could take the place of a sinful man and redeem him. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21. He was not made to be a sinner; He was made to be sin. God could not make Him a sinner for no one makes anyone a sinner – even God. That you do for yourself. But God made Him sin; Him who knew no sin took our place and died that me might be the righteousness of God in Him.
This is the One God referred to in the Garden of Eden that day when He said “and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This is the One God called the Seed of the woman. He came and He crushed the devil under His foot. I like what Reinhardt Bonnke once said while he was still in South Africa. He said; “you know, since Jesus crushed the devil’s head he suffers brain damage and as such he cannot think well.” Thank God he is still suffering brain damage.
Praise God for the Super-Sub!
…continues
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