Basic HTML Version
Dr. Warren Gage
Good News
The Bible begins with a
wedding, and ends with a
wedding. Genesis opens with a
garden wedding near a river
alongside of which grows the Tree
of Life. Revelation closes with a
garden wedding near a river
alongside of which grows the Tree
of Life.
God’s creation of a bride for
Adam also reflects the gift of a
bride for Jesus Christ, whom the
New Testament calls the “last
Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45). In
the garden, Adam was put into a
deep sleep. The man, though still
sinless, was wounded in his side.
God took the bone from Adam’s
bloody side and fashioned a bride
for him. The Lord God then
awakened Adam fromhis sleep in
the garden and presented to him
a pure and beautiful bride. His
beloved stirred every passion in
his heart.
Awounding and awedding
There is a pattern: a
wounding,
followed
by
a
wedding. So also, in the fullness of
time, God the Father brought
upon his Son the sleep of death.
Although Jesus, too, was sinless,
God permitted his side to be
pierced by a Roman spear. Out of
Jesus’ side poured forth water and
blood, the blood for the bride’s
purchase, the water for her
purification (John 19:34). God
then healed Jesus of his wound,
and awakened him in the garden
from the sleep of death. One day
Jesus will be presented with a
pure
and
beautiful
bride
(Revelation 21:2) who will stir
every passion of the Son’s heart.
You are that bride; this is your
story.
These parallels between Eve’s
story and ours are magnificent,
but they don’t end there. Consider
the very words used to describe
Eve’s fall in Genesis 3:6: “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 desirable to make one
wise, she took from its fruit and
ate; and she gave also to her
husband with her, and he ate.” She
took, she gave, and they ate.
Centuries later, Jesus shared a
meal with his disciples on the
night before he was crucified. He
was the “Seed” of the woman,
who had come to reverse and
redeem the consequences of Eve
and Adam’s fall. The Gospel of
Matthew records the scene like
this:
“And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, blessed and
broke it, and gave it to the
disciples and said, “Take, eat; this
is my body” (Matthew 26:26).
He took, he gave, and they
ate. Can it be a mere coincidence
that the same verbs describing
Eve’s fall were taken up by Christ
as he anticipated his cross, which
for him would be a tree of death,
but for his people is a Tree of Life?
Each of us must face the
harsh truth that we are very much
like Eve. We, too, were given life
by a good Father, and we also have
challenged the commands of our
Maker and turned from him to
seek our own way. Thus, Eve’s fall
is our fall. Eve’s shame is our
Good News - Broward Edition
30 August 2013
DOCTRINE
go to
NEXT PAGE
A Helper Suitable