Section 2. Adam the Type of Christ
1. The Lord Jesus as the second Adam.
1 Cor. 15:44-47. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening [life-giving] spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."
As such He is the Head of a race:
Ver. 48. " As is the earthy such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."
What a precious gift of the love of our heavenly Father is the written word, which gives us all the details of this blessed subject which. we may well desire to know. In the first place there is a remark to make as to the description which God gives us of the creation in the first chapter. of Genesis.
When describing the origin of the heavens and the earth, we read, -" God created the heavens and the earth" (ver. 1), but when describing the particulars of what took place in the first five days, it is always "and God said"; (ver. 3), [the first day] Let there be light; (ver. 6) [the second day] Let there be a firmament; (ver. 11) [the third day] Let the earth bring forth grass; (ver. 14) the fourth day] Let there be lights; (and ver. 20) [the fifth day] Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life: (ver. 24) the sixth day begins in the same way, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind,"-but the description of the creation of man which follows is not thus given. (Ver. 26), "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, etc. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful... and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl (see also chap. 2:7). And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils of the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
After this the distribution of food is related: one kind for the human race and another' kind for the remainder of the creatures. In reading the first and second chapters of Genesis it is 'to be remarked, that in the first place, in the beginning, man was made lord over all that was in existence, to govern it in blessing, and his dominion was to be exercised over the creatures who belonged to the creation here below.
2nd. That in his primitive state he was a living soul. 3rd. That there was an inheritance prepared on purpose for him-the garden of Eden.
4th. That his duty there was to dress and to keep the garden (15).
5th. That the possession of' all was given to him, and was to remain his on condition of his not eating of one single tree (17).
6th. That his authority over the creatures is recognized by God, because that God brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them, " and whatsoever Adam called every living creature that was the name thereof."
7th. That having no companion, the Lord God said, " It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him" (Ver. 18). (Ver. 21) " And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
Christ is the Antitype of Adam.
The fulfillment of each of these seven particulars is found in the antitype.
The fifth chapter of the epistle to the Romans tells us that Adam was "the figure of Him that was to come."
And it indeed is not difficult (with the Word of God open before us, and our hearts open to what is contained in it) to trace points of resemblance between Jesus the Son of Man and Adam who is called Son of God (Luke 3:38).
We shall see that it is Jesus as Son of Man who is the antitype of Adam the Son of God.
The force of the figure is most evident in its application to Jesus as Lord, and as to the Lordship of Jesus.
Phil. 2:5-11. " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
How this explanation of the connection which there is between the humiliation and the glory of Jesus comes home to the hearts of the children of God!
Acts 2:36. "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made this same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
Eph. 1:18. " I pray that God would open the eyes of your understanding... that ye may know... what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet" (ver. 19-22).
Rev. 19:16. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh these words written-'King of kings, and Lord of lords.'"
All that we can say, with regard to the extent of His dominion of whom we now speak, is, that it is over the whole universe.. According to these verses, everything both in heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
As Adam was a living soul, so also Jesus is, as second Adam, a life-giving spirit. That which was perhaps the distinctive feature of the first Adam was that lie was a living soul; but it was not thus with Jesus, for to Him belongs a glory infinitely higher and distinctive, even that of being the life-giving Spirit. He is the only begotten Son of the Father and Son of God from before the foundation of the world. But in grace He has taken this glory also-a glory which supposes not only that He has eternal life in Himself, but also that He has the power of communicating it to whom He will. And this He could not do, to such sinners as we are, unless He had borne upon the cross the judgment of the wrath of God against our sins. For He did not become the resurrection in order to raise the dead (that is all that have died) out of their graves, without being also "the life" in order to give eternal life to all those who believe on Him.
John 5:19-29. " Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that Himself doeth: and He
will show Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, until the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
2 Cor. 4:3-6. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
Parallels according to 1 Cor. 15; between|
The First Adam|And|The Second Adam|
Death…|Ver. 21|The resurrection of the dead.|
In him all die…|22|In Him shall all be made alive.|
Sown in corruption…|42|Raised in incorruption.|
Sown in dishonor…|43|Raised in glory.|
Sown in weakness…|43|Raised in power.|
Sown in a natural body|44|Sown in a spiritual body.|
The first man, Adam, was made a living soul…|45|The last Adam was made a quickening spirit.|
Of the earth, earthy…|47|The Second Man, the Lord from heaven.|
As is the earthy, such are they also which are earthy…|48|And as is the heavenly, such are they also which are heavenly.|
As we have borne the image of the earthy…|49|We shall also bear the image of the heavenly.|
Flesh and blood…|50|The inheritance of the kingdom of God.|
The sleep…|51|The change.|
Death or desert…|52|Raised incorruptible or changed.|
Corruptible…|53|Incorruptible.|
Mortal…|53|Immortality.|
Death…|54|Swallowed up in victory.|
Death and its sting|54|Death without sting…|
The grave and its victory…|54|…and the grave without victory to the believer.|
For the sting of death is sin…|55|But thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.|
And the strength of sin is the law…|55||
But how in every way does-the second. Adam surpass in excellency the first!
Let us briefly examine the contrast which is found in the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans:-
"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned - for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was to come" (ver. 12-14).|"But not as the offense, so also is the free gift; for if through the offense of one [the mass] many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by the offense of one, death reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ. As then by the offense of one judgment came upon [rather 'toward' than 'upon'] all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, even so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offenses might abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."|
Let us now consider who will be His associates in glory - the joint heirs, through grace divine, of His blessed position. For this subject of the joint inheritance is that which has been most studied; and in all difficult subjects the door which is best known is always the one to go in at.
Perhaps the consideration of the double marriage of the Lord will help most minds to lay hold of that which is distinctive to "the Church."
Thus we are taught in the Word that Jehovah is to be known as the Bridegroom, the Husband of the Holy Land, and that the Church is the espoused of the Lamb.
The Earth married to Jehovah (Isa. 62:2-5.):-The Lamb as the bridegroom of the Church (2 Cor. 11:2):-||
" And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness [O Jerusalem], and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken: neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah (my good pleasure is in thee), and thy land Beulah (married);* for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For, as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." Jehovah had over the rebellious children the right of a (master) Baal (Jer. 3:14, 31-32.) " I was a master [bahal] unto them, saith Jehovah" [rather master than husband-lord]: but in Hos. 2:16, He says "And it shall be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou shalt call me, My husband [Ishi]; and shalt call me no more, My baali [master]:" and (verse 19) "And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know Jehovah. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that I will hear; I will hear the heavens, and the heavens shall hear the earth. And the earth shall hear the corn, the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon Lo-Ruhamah [her that had not obtained mercy]; and I will say to Lo-ammi [not my people], Thou art my people." Moreover, we find in Jeremiah that the Holy Land will lose the name of her virginity by taking that of her husband (chap. 23:5, 6):-" Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice upon the earth. (In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely): and this is His name whereby He shall be called [this king]: THE LORD [Jehovah] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Chapter 33:14-16.) And we find the same name used in speaking of the wife as (in the 23 chap.) is applied to her husband:-" Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David; and He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, THE LORD [Jehovah] OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." In the 45th Psalm, the King is Elohim. It is by this name, rather than by that of Jehovah, that He is there presented to us; but here it is Jesus as the Son; and the bride is the earth. For, like Solomon (the. prince of peace for the earth), Jesus will be manifested according to His glory, as Jehovah and as Elohim; and the Holy Land will be under the protection of His powerful arm.|"I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy; for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin unto Christ; but I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ." (Eph. 5:23.) "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ also is the Head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body: as then the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish..So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the Church: for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." (Compare this portion with that which is found in Gen. 2:21-24). (Rev. 19:16). "Alleluiah: For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb! And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God." (Chapter 21:2.) "The Holy City [this is after the millennium], New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Ver. 9, 22) " Come hither, I will shew thee the Bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,* and he showed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God... And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God '.Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." (Chap. 22:1.) " And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out -.of the throne of God and 'of the Lamb... And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. (Ver. 16.) I, Jesus, have sent mine Angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star. And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely... He which testifieth these things, saith, Surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." These verses which I have just cited recall to mind another portion - that of John 17:20-26:-" Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."|
(** This is during the millennium; and perhaps at the foot of this mountain is the Holy City upon earth, which is called (Ezek. 48:35) Jehovah Shammah - Jehovah is there.)
Here then, in detail, is the evidence upon which is based the assertion, that there are two marriages yet to come: - first, of Jesus the Son of man - God-man - the Man of sorrows, who was dead, but who is risen again and glorified: the Lamb and the heavenly church, as in the Epistle to the Ephesians - in one word, of Jesus with the body which (between the moment of His rejection by men and His return to reign) has been formed. And secondly, of Jehovah (Jesus in His divine glory for the earth) and the Holy Land.
The contrast between the two is most clearly established by comparing Duet. 28 and the first and second chapters of the Ephesians.
In Deut. 27:15-26, there is a succession of curses pronounced against the nation - terrible curses which are called down upon the disobedient Israelites - and
In the 28th chap. we are given the providential, national blessings (but still only what is earthly) which belong to Israel as obedient. "On high, above all the nations of the earth.. thou shalt be blessed;… in the city…in the field… in the fruit of thy body, of thy ground…of thy kine… of thy cattle… of thy flock. Blessed shalt thou be in thy basket and in thy store.. and thou shalt be blessed in thy going in and in thy coming out," &c., &c. Everything is of the earth, earthly, and they are all temporal blessings. But read further, verses 1-14:-"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy store- houses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: and thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them." Everything is of a nature suited to an earthly people.But in the Epistle to the Ephesians, that which is there taught us is: "Blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places." " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." Everything is in the heavenly places, and they are all spiritual blessings: all well adapted for the body of Christ: all suitably arranged for those in whom it was God's good pleasure to show forth his name of God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; in like manner that the earthly blessings will be the glorious witness to the name of Jehovah.||
To this brief sketch of the two different kinds of blessings (viz:-blessings on earth and blessings in the heavenly places), we may add that we are never spoken to about the church in the Old Testament; but rather, about the people of God upon the earth. The church, which is heavenly, was kept as a secret by God: a mystery which did not belong to the province of Israel: -a secret which God has revealed by means of his Son when rejected. After the rejection of the Son, Paul was the chosen instrument for the revelation of this mystery. The Apostle Paul assures us that the truth of this divine, this heavenly church, had been kept by God as a deep secret until his (that is to say, Paul's) time.
" Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith" (Rom. 16:25,26.)
(Eph. 2:20-iii. 12.) " And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner. stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy, temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of. the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body [i.e., with Christ] and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel; whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ: and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be known by the Church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."
These passages are too plain and simple to need to be explained for those whose faith is simple; howbeit, it may be well to make some general remarks, taken from the Old Testament, which may help to meet the objections most generally met with.
The promises made to Moses have not made of none effect those which God gave to the patriarchs; and the promises given to the patriarchs have not made of none effect those given to their forefathers. This is self-evident; for, to say the contrary is to make the promise of God of not so much worth as the promise of a good man, inasmuch as difficulties cannot hinder God from performing His will and fulfilling His promise if He wills it: whereas, a man of worth (though as being nothing more than a mortal man, he may lose the power of being faithful to his word) would cease to be a man of worth if he were not true to his word. But God cannot lie. It is impossible. What he has said he will fulfill. This is the reasoning of Paul in the 3rd chap. (ver. 15-18) of his Epistle to the Galatians. Though a narrow heart, and the thought that God had no respect to the Gentiles, as such, was the effect which the law produced upon Israel;* nevertheless, this thought was neither according to the prophets, nor Moses, nor the patriarchs. The Israelites were, as a nation, the witnesses for God. The nations were without God in the world. To Israel be- longed the light which flowed from the possession of the promises and of the ordinances of worship of the true God --the responsibility consequent on these things. "What advantage, then, hath the Jew, or what profit is there in circumcision? Much every way; chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God." (Rom. 3:1, 2.)
(* It seems strange that such a thought should be entertained at a time when Israel was under the judgment of God, and the government of this world was in the hands of the Gentiles.)
If it be forgotten that the distinctive privilege of the Jewish nation was, to be the channel of God's testimony, the thread is lost by which God intended we should form a judgment concerning this people; but, because they were-the channel of testimony and of blessing too, this does in no way prevent others being likewise blessed. The unbelief of Israel, and its unfaithfulness to its distinctive privileges, has in no manner made void the blessing. The unfaithful witness and the unfaithful steward has been set aside and judged (Rom. 11); but the blessing to which Israel ought to have borne witness remains untouched.
But that which I desire in particular to call attention to is, that the testimony which God has given from the beginning presents not only a blessing for the Gentiles (when the Jews will be blessed upon the earth), but also a blessing through the means of the Jews. They are even to be joined with them. But that of which the prophecies of the Old Testament have never foretold, is of a body taken out from among the Jews and Gentiles, and formed for the Son, during the interval which passed between the rejection and the death of the Messiah, of which both the Jews and the Gentiles were guilty, and the Lord's return. And this body is for the heavens, and not for the earth. Here is the testimony of the prophets with regard to the blessing of the nations when joined with Israel:-
Mal. 4:2-6, & 1:11||
Zech. 14:12, 16-21||
Hag. 2:5-9|Isa. 2:1-5, & ch. 52|
Mic. 4:1-3, & ch. 5|Psa. 148:11, 14|
Dan. 7:14-27|Psa. 2:1-12|
|Psa. 18:49; 22:23-28|
|Psa. 67:4-5|
And Moses has said: " Rejoice ye nations with his people." (Deut. 32:43.)
It would be true to say that Israel had been blessed more than all nations, since God has declared Himself their king; but, on this account, to say that God has despised the nations, and has had no thoughts of blessing for them, is quite another thing, and is not true.
The rebellion of Egypt and the hardness of Pharaoh's heart was the cause of the judgment that came down upon them: the conduct of Ammon, Moab, and Edom brought down on each one of them its judgment in particular. But when we consider that Israel will be the blessing for all the earth, and that the nations will be blessed through its means (when Israel will have found wisdom to prize that presence of God which was with it even from the time of its coming out of the land of Egypt), we see then that the blessing of Israel is not incompatible with that of the nations. And we may go still further; for if God takes a central place in Israel, in order to become the blesser of all the earth, Israel itself cannot have the blessing without the nations being blessed with it. There will be, without doubt, degrees of glory and of blessing; and that of Israel will be the highest. In these three passages (Hab. 2:14, Isa. 19:24,25, and Ezek. 48:35) there are three concentric circles of blessing that of the nations generally; that of those nations who are most intimately related with Israel, and that of Israel itself, which is the highest of all. And there is not a single passage in the Word of God which supposes it can be otherwise when the blessing spoken of is one to be enjoyed upon earth. For there the Jew must always have the pre-eminence; since Jesus Himself, as a man upon the earth, was a Jew; and if, in the heavenly places, the sinner from among the Gentiles is on the same level with the sinner from among the Jews, it is not so upon the earth.
It is very important to see that Jesus, as the seed promised to the patriarchs, ought necessarily to be of their race a Jew; and that, as to things here below, all has always rolled around the Jewish people. If the blessings for the heavenly places are the most excellent, and if in heaven there will be no distinction, nevertheless, for the earth, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob looked for a seed which, according to the verses quoted by Paul in the 4th chapter of the Romans, was to be the means of blessing, first, for the circumcision, then for the uncircumcision.
It seems to me that, admitting this scripture, it is impossible-first, to lower the position of preeminence which God has given to Israel upon earth, and which is even to be the means of blessing for the Gentiles; or, secondly, to bring the Gentiles into the blessing which belonged to the Jewish nation before the day of Pentecost: or, thirdly, to deny that the nations will be blessed through the means of Israel, when the time of blessing shall have come in.
Upon such a subject it is difficult to stop; but, perhaps, sufficient has been said to show not only the contrast there is. between Adam and Noah, but, likewise, that it is in the heavenly character of His glory-not the earthly -that the Lord Jesus is the antitype of Adam.
The first man, earthy, is given as a type of the heavenly man. In the same way, Eve is the type of the Church which is to be revealed in the heavens, and we shall be glorified with Him in the heavenly places, as we see in the two last chapters of the Revelation.