Sunday, March 12, 2023 AM
THE GOSPEL OUR FOUNDATION: The Stages of Salvation 3
Mike Teel, Pastor
FOCAL PASSAGE:
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. —Genesis 1:3-19
WORK OF DIVINE INCARNATION
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. —Genesis 1:3-5
–In the first day’s work we see the Divine Incarnation is set forth.
–Why is the Incarnation so important?
1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INCARNATION
Consider the following Questions:
–If fallen and sinful men are to be reconciled to our great Holy God, what must be done?
–How can the infinite chasm separating God from humanity be bridged?
–What ladder shall be able to rest here upon here upon the earth and yet reach right into heaven itself?
–The initial step in the work of human redemption / salvation must be the INCARNATION OF GOD HIMSELF.
–This has to be the starting point. The Word must become flesh.
Let’s examine 5 things that indicate this Incarnation.
1. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
2 “And the Spirit of God moved (Heb ‘brooded’) upon the face of the waters” —Genesis 1:2
–This is the first thing we see happening on the First Day of Recreation—the appearance of the Holy Spirit—God’s initiative to begin to move upon the ruin and chaos.
–So also was this order in the Divine Incarnation later for the promised Redemption of the World.
2. THE WORD COMES FORTH AS LIGHT
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. —Genesis 1:3
3. THE LIGHT IS APPROVED BY GOD
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. —Genesis 1:4
–It is interesting that the word used here and translated “good” is also in Ecclesiastes 3:11 rendered “beautiful.”
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. —Ecclesiastes 3:11
–God saw the Light was good, beautiful!
4. LIGHT WAS SEPARATED FROM THE DARKNESS
4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. —Genesis 1:4
–How intentionally did the Holy Spirit guard the types?
–How careful is He to call our attention to the immeasurable difference between the Son of Man and the sons of me.
–Through God’s infinite plan Jesus saw it fit to share our humanity, yet He did not share our depravity.
–The light of Christ was divided from the darkness (fallen humanity) of Satan.
5. THE LIGHT WAS NAMED BY GOD
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night. —Genesis 1:5
–So also was it with Him who is the Light of the World.
–It was not left up to Joseph and Mary to select the name for the Jesus.
THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS SET FORTH
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. —Genesis 1:6-8
1. THE NECESSITY OF THE CROSS
–What was the next thing necessary in the accomplishment of the Work of Salvation?
–The Incarnation by itself would not meet our need.
–The Incarnate Christ reveals the spotless and perfect life which alone meets the Divine requirements, but it does not help us bridge the awful gulf between a holy God and a ruined sinner.
–To span the gulf, sin must be put away, accounted for, redeemed, paid, and that cannot be done except death comes.
22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. —Hebrews 9:22
2. SECOND DAY SECOND STEP
–In the second day’s work this second step in the accomplishment of human redemption is revealed.
–The prominent thing in the second day’s work is the division, separation, isolation.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. —Genesis 1:6-7
–It is believed here that the “firmament, vault, separation, space” symbolizes the Cross, and sets forth its twofold aspect.
3. NOTE THE FOUR OBSERVATIONS:
- The firmament was purposed by God.
- The firmament was set in the middle of the waters.
- The firmament divided the waters.
- The firmament was designed by God.
4. ONE LAST
–It is also deeply significant that words, “And God saw that it was good” are omitted at the close of this second day’s work.
–Had they been included here the illustration would have been marred.
–The second day’s work pointed forward to the Cross, and at the Cross God was dealing with Sin.
–There His wrath was being expended on Jesus, the just One, who was dying for the unjust.
–Though He was without any sin, yet He was “made sin for us” and dealt with it accordingly.
–Does not then the omission here of the usual expression, “God saw that it was good” take on a deeper significance than had been before allowed?
OUR LORD’S RESURRECTION IS SET FORTH
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. —Genesis 1:9-13
—I want to hurry and get to the real point of why we are even studying Genesis. It is all about the Redemption of Man from his sin.
1. RESURRECTION OF THE
CHRIST
—The third thing necessary in the accomplishment of the Work of Redemption was the —-Resurrection of the Crucified Christ.
—A dead savior could not save anyone.
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. —Hebrews 7:25
2. THE
OF THE RESURRECTION
—It is the work of the third day we read “Let there dry land appear” (v. 9)
—There is resurrection the earth appears.
—But on the third day the earth is commanded to “produce, bring forth.” Not on the second day and not on the fourth, but on the third day was life seen upon the barren earth.
3. THE RESURRECTION
—So again, we have this illustration of the Resurrection that will not become a reality until such time as the Word should be fulfilled in the New Testament.
—It was on the third day that our LORD rose again from the dead.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, —I Corinthians 15:3-4
—A dead Savior does no one any good.
—Remember it first takes the Incarnation of the Lord, then His Crucifixion, then the Resurrection and now …
4. OUR
IS A SYMBOL OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST IN OUR LIVES
–Jesus died for our sins. We are to die to our sins.
–As Jesus was buried to demonstrate He had power over sin and death, we symbolize the same in our lives when we submit ourselves to Scriptural New Testament Baptism.
–Resurrection symbolized in Baptism:
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. —Romans 6:1-14
THE LORD’S
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. —Genesis 1:14-19
—The Resurrection did not complete our Lord’s plan for redemption.
—In order for that, He must enter the Heavenly Place not made with hands.
1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
—Once again, we see in this 4th day of creation the symbolic illustration of the ascension of Christ.
—We are reminded that our attention now moves from the earth and its events to the heavens.
34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. —Romans 8:34
—Thus, now we see the completion of the Redemptive work of Christ. Think about it – ever interceding for us!
2. THE SYMBOLISM
—When we lift our eyes heavenward, what do we see?
—“Two Great Lights” – symbolic typically of Christ and His people.
—During the present interval of darkness, the world’s night, Christ and His people are “the light of the World,” but during the Millennium they shall rule and reign over the earth.
3.
—In the first four days’ work in Genesis 1, we have the symbolic illustration of the Four —Great Stages or steps in accomplishing the Work of Redemption typified.
—The Incarnation, the Death, the Resurrection and the Ascension of our blessed Lord are respectfully represented.
—So we have seen from the beginning of Genesis, from the very outset, God’s plan to redeem mankind.
—Even before we had the opportunity to sin, the provision was in the process of being prepared.
—In the beginning I am reminded in Genesis 1:3-4 … 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” —John 8:12
—Why? Because God loves us and wants us to spend Eternity with us. John 3:16
—The question we began with in January: “What would cause people to get out of a warm bed on Sunday morning and come to study the Bible and attend a Worship Service?”
—The answer has to be, “Because a person has a growing, deepening, living personal relationship with Christ.”
Then why are we not telling others about Him?
LIVE IT OUT
–What impact does it have on you that Jesus left the perfectness of heaven to come into our world to save us from our sins?
–Are you living your life as an expression of gratitude for His incarnation?
–What impact does the cross have on your life? Is it foolish or the power of God?
–What decision do you need to make today?