Genesis 1:27 (KJV)
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
This verse can be a little confusing. Did God create “him” or “them?” The answer to this question is both. “God created man in his own image” and within the man was the female. This type of thought “two entwined together as one” is not so difficult to believe if you read John 14:10 (KJV) Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?…” Jesus and the Father were intertwined so much so that one could not be distinguished or separated from the other, such is the case in Genesis 1:27 “male and female created he them.” Woman was a part of man from the very beginning.
How does man and woman fit within the framework of the “image of God?” “Genesis 1:26 (KJV) And God said, Let us make man (the man and the woman that is within him) in our image, after our likeness…” “In our image” refers to the righteousness of God, and “after our likeness” refers to God’s holiness.
Ephesians 4:24-25 (KJV)
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another (The cross of Christ unifies the body together as one; 1 Cor. 1:10 …I beseech you, brethren… that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you [“divisions” are caused by false doctrine and the ways of men]; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. The body of Christ cannot be “perfectly joined together” outside the cross of Christ. To have the same mind, judgment and to speak the same thing can only be done within the context of the cross of Christ.).
Although the new man that is spoken of in Ephesians 4:24 represents the second man, we can apply this to the “first” Adam before the fall. In Genesis 1:26, when God created “man in (his) righteousness, after (his) true holiness…” it was for the express purpose of having communion with him. Jesus Christ is the righteousness of God and “Adam” was created “in Christ” 1 Cor. 1:30. We are a new creation “creature” in Christ, old things are passed away 2 Cor. 5:17.”
“Wherefore putting away lying” is the first order of putting away the “old man.” The lie is believing and teaching something other than the cross of Christ. Satan’s goal is to move believers away from the cross towards an erroneous doctrine that is supposedly “based” in scripture.
John 8:44 (KJV)
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
All false doctrine originates from Satan. In my paper “Prophets Today,” I pointed out that wolves in sheep clothing have an appearance of the cross. The cross will be mentioned and even expressed within the doctrine itself, but ultimately there will be work or requirement(s) tied to the doctrine. When the cross of Christ is misunderstood all biblical doctrine will be twisted.
Matthew 4:6 (KJV)
(The tempter i.e. Satan) And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Satan knows scripture well enough to be able to quote it verbatim, but what he does not know is the gospel i.e. the cross of Christ. Those that are lost cannot grasp the message that is within the pages of the bible. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal God’s word(s) to the believer. Every verse within the bible speaks of the Cross of Christ, and if we do not properly understand the cross then we will not be able to properly understand the verse we are studying. This means that just as Satan perverted this verse he was quoting, believers will be perverting the verse that is read.
“Speak every man truth with his neighbour,” means that after we move away from all the “lies” we must PREACH the truth to our neighbor. That truth is the message of the cross. Jesus informs us to love our fellow man as ourselves, “Mark 12:31 (KJV) Thou shalt love thy neighbour ( a “neighbor” is someone that is near or close by; Jesus tells a scribe that he was not “far from the kingdom” Mark 12:34) as thyself…” The only way to show love to our “neighbour” is to preach (speak) the message of the cross to them. The message of the cross is the only thing that can truly bring change to a broken life. Jesus Christ’s commission to the church was “to go into all the world and PREACH the gospel (the cross of Christ) Mark 16:15.” If we fail to preach the cross of Christ to the world then we have failed both the Lord and mankind.
Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Many have described Chapter 2 of Genesis as a reiteration of Chapter 1, but I am not entirely convinced of this concept. The “man” mentioned in Genesis 1 and 2 are the same, however they are two completely distinctive works of God concerning “the man.” The word usage in these two chapters should alert the reader to the fact that something deeper is afoot, but without understanding how the cross of Christ works within the life of a believer concerning sanctification, we are left with unanswered questions.
Genesis 2:3 (KJV)
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Eden represents the “promise” land of rest. When “the man” and/or “Joshua” entered into their respective land of rest, a work was to be accomplished, but because of being sanctified it was not “the man” or “Joshua” that worked, rather it was the Holy Spirit working through them. The Holy Spirit dressed the garden of Eden and defeated the enemies that inhabited the promise land of Israel. As a Christian believer we have a “promise land” and that is Christ’s body. We cannot be baptized into his body through our works, only by faith. “Colossians 2:16-17 16 Let no man therefore judge you… of the sabbath days: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” Jesus Christ is the Sabbath, and he, being the “seventh day,” was sanctified by God Almighty. When we are “looking to be sanctified” by the Lord, we are asking for entrance into his body.
“1 Corinthians 1:2 …to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…”
Hebrews 3:8-11 (KJV)
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me (because of their unbelief), proved me, and saw my works (Psalms 103:7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts [works] unto the children of Israel.) forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways (They sought for God’s miracles instead of his ways. To have the miracles of God is not necessarily a bad thing, but miracles do not change a person’s heart nor gains us entrance into the promise land.).
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. (We must have faith in his finished work of the cross to gain access to this rest. The “ways” of God cannot be known outside of understanding the cross of Christ. Only the Lord can bring a person into his rest. The Lord shows us this principle when he took the man and placed him in the garden Gen 2:15. The garden represents the “place prepared” for man. While in the wilderness an “angel” lead Moses and Joshua to their respective place of rest Exodus 23:20, and Christ has prepared a place for us John 14:2.)
Hebrews 4:3-4 (KJV)
3 For we which have believed (God’s prescribed order that lays within the outline of the cross) do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation (literality “a casting down” can be used as “conceiving seed” or “laid down” Vine’s ) of the world (God finished creation on the sixth day i.e. creation was completed. Jesus Christ was “foreordained” before the conception i.e. foundation of the world 1Peter 1:20. This means that before anything was “conceived” i.e. created Christ was destined to go to the cross. God knew that Adam would fall. The “Lamb” i.e. Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world Revelation 13:8. God provided the sacrifice before Adam was placed in the garden. Only by embracing exclusively the cross of Christ can entrance into the sanctifying day of rest be afforded to us.).
4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works (All of God’s provision for humanity can be found within the cross of Christ. God will not circumvent the cross of Christ which was established from the foundation of the world).
In science we know how the human baby develops within the mother’s womb. According to medlineplus.gov there are four different developmental classes a baby undergoes during pregnancy the zygote, blastocyst, embryo, and fetus. The blastocyst period is were the “zygote which has traveled down the fallopian tube has formed into a ball of cells, and it continues to divide, creating an inner group of cells with an outer shell. The blastocyst reaches the womb (uterus) around day 5, and implants into the uterine wall on about day 6. At this point in the mother’s menstrual cycle, the lining of the uterus has grown and is ready to support a baby. The blastocyst sticks tightly to the lining, where it receives nourishment via the mother’s bloodstream.” (emphasis mine) www.medlineplus.gov
What I find interesting is that on the “sixth day” when man was created, that God had already provided the necessary requirements that man would need to survive. God had a provision of food waiting on man in herb trees, which was “the man’s” meat. Now, I am not saying that Genesis 1 is a gestation period of human life, but what I am saying is that there are striking similarities between the creation day(s) and the cycle of the baby within the womb of a mother. The universe is similar to quantum mechanics (sub-atomic) in how it works, and although science is still debating over these similarities, models do show obvious coincidences that are frankly, difficult to ignore.
This type of word usage can be found in scripture as in Psalms 139.
Psalms 139:16 (KJV)
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect (unformed mass i.e. as an embryo Strong’s; lacking a coherent shape or structure; an embryo has all the genetic makeup that will form into a fetus.); and in thy book all my members were written (Science has proven the stages of human development within the uterus of the female, and how genetics play a role during the trimesters of the woman’s pregnancy. Naturally understanding this passage, science has once again proved the authenticity of the scriptures.), which in continuance were fashioned (same as formed), when as yet there was none of them.
The idea of conceiving seed into an embryo is throughout Genesis 1. Even in plant life an embryo is part of it’s cultivation in becoming a full-fledged plant. Case in point Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself (Plant embryo means that a plant in its earliest stages of development. In seed-bearing plants, the embryo “i.e. seed” is contained within the seed.), upon the earth: and it was so. A human offspring in the early stages following conception is considered an embryo up to the end of the eighth week, after which it is classified as a fetus.
Rev 13:8 (KJV)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life (This book refers to the body of Christ) of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Christ was crucified “from” the foundation of the world. On the sixth day creation was completed and Christ was crucified “out of” creation which makes Christ the sanctified seventh day i.e. the rest of God. We must be born in Christ i.e. born-again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible seed.
The word “from” is a primary particle; “off,” i.e. away (from something near) [“could be a possible indication of a neighbor or someone that is near” My thoughts], in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative)… (out) of,… since,… In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation (Gal 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,), departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc. (emphasis mine)
Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
1 Tim 2:5-7 (KJV)
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified (“evidence given” Strong’s) in due time (“in the season Divinely appointed for the reaping.” Vine’s).
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle (Although his apostleship was not after Peter’s criteria “Acts 1:21-22 (KJV) Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.” nevertheless he was chosen by the Lord after the ascension to carry the gospel “cross of Christ.”), (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
Christ gave himself before Adam was placed within the God i.e. the garden, but the manifestation or evidence of that sacrifice was not until “2000 years” ago. We can see the proof of the sacrifice being evident within the lives old testament saints. Elijah and Enoch both were taken to heaven. The only way a person can be “loosed” from the bonds of sin is through the shed blood of Christ; however, during this time the practice of animal sacrifice was still in place. The faith that they had in the true sacrifice of Christ afforded them this latitude.
Genesis 2 the Process of Sanctification
Isaiah 43:1 (KJV)
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
How can understanding Jacob and how he became Israel help us understand Genesis 1 & 2? The story of Jacob is one of the greatest examples of the process of sanctification in the life of a believer. When Rebekah was pregnant the Lord prophesied to her “…the elder shall serve the younger Genesis 25:23.” Esau as the elder brother would serve the younger brother, because Jacob was chosen by the Lord Isaiah 41:8. Jacob would spend a large portion of his life trying to bring about this promise. The “birthright” and “blessing” was promised by God to him, but because he did not have faith in God, he tried through his own efforts to bring the promise to fruition. We are a “chosen generation” 1 Peter 2:9, but we are exactly like Jacob, trying to attain the benefits and blessing of God by means of our own efforts. We do not totally believe God is able. The promises are not enough for the self-willed; however what God has promised he is able to bring to pass, and that is enough for faith Romans 4:21.
The Lord created Jacob and he (the Lord) formed Israel. Creation only takes a moment, but formation happens over a “process time” Exodus 2:23. When we are “born-again” our journey is one similar to “Jacobs.” To be “born-again” only takes a moment, but our sanctification is a process of time. Theologically we are fully sanctified in the Lord but practicality dictates that we are being sanctified. We must be transformed from Jacob (supplanter) to Israel (prince with God) just as Jacob was in Genesis 32:28.
Genesis 32:28 (KJV)
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed (overcome).
The names given to the people of scripture, especially in the Old Testament, is often times a reflection of the qualities of that particular person. The name given to Jacob means “to circumvent” and “supplanter” i.e. “to take the place of (another), as through force, scheming, strategy” Strong’s Concordance. “And he (Esau) said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. Genesis 27:36”
The name Israel means “prince with God,” and only God can change Jacob to Israel. Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh (the only way to overcome is by the blood of the lamb, by our testimony referring that the object of our faith is exclusively in the cross of Christ which allows the Holy Spirit to work within our lives, and loving not our lives unto death meaning that the object of our faith does not change even under penalty of death Rev. 12:11) will I make a pillar (This pillar is not weight baring, but it is for “cosmetic” purposes only.) in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. This is the new name every believer seeks. Many are trying to change their name from Jacob to Israel through their own efforts or works, but in doing so they are reconfirming the name “Jacob” upon their lives.
In Isaiah 43:1 the Lord stated that he “created” Jacob, and then he (the Lord) took Jacob and formed him into Israel. While Moses was in the wilderness, it took him a “process of time” to have a revelation of the cross i.e. the bush that burned but was not consumed Exodus 2:23. Moses, like Jacob, tried through his own flesh to bring about the PLAN of God. “Acts 7:22-25 (KJV) And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.” Moses was going to free his people by killing the Egyptians one at a time. God would ultimately slay the whole of the Egyptian army in one day. We may “know” God’s purpose for our lives, but we must patiently wait for it. Often times we can be right in knowing the will of God, and be wrong by trying to bring it to pass. A “process of time” is needed for a believer to lose hope in the flesh and attain a revelation from God. This indefinite amount of time could last a lifetime, but that is not the will of God. If we try to fulfill our purpose without the pure revelation of the cross we will end up being a “Jacob” and not a “Israel.” No one truly consider themselves to be a “Jacob.” Man is stubborn and set in his own ways. For us to even admit being a “Jacob” God has to literally break us.
Exodus 3:2 (KJV)
And the angel of the Lord (actually this is the Lord himself) appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush (It took 40 years in the wilderness for God to humble the efforts of the flesh and destroy its hope. It is at this point when the flesh has lost hope in scheming and strategizing that God can give us a revelation of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Moses who was a prince in Egypt is now just a shepherd in the middle of a desert.): and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed (This represents the Deity and Humanity of Christ. “I AM” speaking out of the midst of the flame revealing unto Moses the power. If the believer tries to “carry” the name and power of God by the means of the flesh, then “burnouts” will be a staple within a believer’s life i.e. the bush will be consumed. The only way the bush will burn and not be consumed is by the power of the Holy Spirit. Even Christ did not rely on the strength of his flesh when he fully came out of the wilderness. He came out filled of the Spirit and with power, but at all times deferred to the Holy Spirit.)
Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
Sanctification can only become real in the life of a believer when the Lord has brought us into a condition of feeling “greatly distressed.” This place of “distress” reveals every false way that is against the cross of Christ. The scripture is full of this process. We can see it in the life of the patriarchs, the nation of Israel, and even in the church.
Here is an example of Israel being in distress.
Judges 10:7-9 (KJV)
7 And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon (The Lord can bring about any situation he so desires whether it is oppression or liberation. Our adversary is used by the Lord to bring us correction and is a tool of the Lord to teach. The devil cannot do anything against the child of God unless the Lord allows it, and even then, the line that the Lord has drawn he (the devil) cannot cross unless given permission by the Lord. The next time we find ourselves in a position were the enemy is “sifting” us, it is for the express purpose of breaking down everything that we trust in so that we can then be brought back to the true way of the cross.). 8 And that year they (The Philistines and Ammonites) vexed and oppressed (broke and crushed) the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.
9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed (In the past, when serving one false god, they were oppressed on one side, but now they were serving many different types of false gods and were oppressed on all sides. For a believer that may be oppressed on many different “sides” it is because we are serving many different false ways. It is at this moment of great physical and mental oppression that Israel was brought under conviction and was then formed because of the “breaking” of the Lord.)
The patriarchs experienced this process as well.
Genesis 32:6-7 (KJV)
6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to thy brother Esau, and also he cometh to meet thee, and four hundred men with him.
7 Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed (Jacob is in a state of great physical and mental straights because he is fearing for his life. It is at this moment that he was about to be “transformed” by the Lord.): and he divided the people that was with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands;
In the New Testament we can find this kind of “distress” in the life of Paul.
1 Corinthians 2:2 (KJV)
For I determined (“resolve” Vine’s; this gives the idea of the word “formed” used in Gen 2 and Jer. 18) not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
This determination that Paul had was a direct response to the “squeezing of the Lord.” It took many years for Paul to come to the revelation of the cross concerning sanctification. While Paul was journeying to Corinth the Lord transformed him from just a “new creation” to a “formed” man of God. Only by being formed by God was Paul able to come to the conclusion of the cross of Christ. Before his “forming,” Paul was trying to live for God by his own will power Romans 7:23.
Jesus is the bread of life that humanity needs to consume in order to find eternal life. During the Passover at the last supper the disciples gathered around Christ as he taught them communion. Communion consist of drinking “the wine” which is the blood of the new testament and the breaking of the bread which is the body of Christ.
Matthew 26:26 (KJV)
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
In 1 Corinthians 12:27 Paul tells us that “we are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Christ takes us “the bread,” blesses us, and then brakes us. It is only after the breaking can Christ then give us to the world. Many of us are in the body of Christ and therefore blessed, but we have not yet submitted to the breaking of God. We want to fulfill the plan of God, but just as Moses, Jacob, and others we have to be broken.
Jacob does not become Israel until he “wrestles with the Lord,” and while wrestling with God, he (God) “breaks” Jacob and afterward he changes Jacob’s name to Israel. It is in this “breaking” that God can then give us unto the world. If, however, we try fulfill the great commission given by Christ the world will see “us” and not HIM.
Genesis 32:31-32 (KJV)
31 And as he passed over Penuel (literally “to face God;” when Jacob faced God, the Lord was able to reveal unto Jacob who he (Jacob) really was. 1 Cor 13:11-12 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly [Believers when “born-again” are children at first, but we are suppose to grow up. A child that is unbroken and living by “self” cannot understand the things of God]; but then face to face [This could be understood as “Penuel” coming face to face with God ]: now I know in part; but then shall I know [myself] even as also I am known [even as the Lord knows me].) the sun rose upon him (During the night a person cannot see clearly around themselves, it is only during the “daylight” hours that people can plainly see; As Paul stated “through a glass, darkly” as it were during the night), and he halted upon his thigh (to be soft; the thigh [from its fleshy softness]; by euphemism the generative parts; figurative a shank, flank, side [we will created disciples after ourselves and not Christ until we have been “halted”]).
32 Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank (failure, crippled; also to remit, forget, and remove. God had to “cripple” Jacob’s flesh. Jacob was serving two masters self and God, only when God crippled his flesh was he truly able to be reliant upon the Spirit.), which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
Ephesians 5:30-32 (KJV)
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 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.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Paul emphatically states numerous times that as believers we are “members of his (Christ’s) body. In the beginning God created male and female as one, as a believer we should be baptized into his body. In Genesis 2 a rib was taken out of man and used to build the woman that was to be a “help meet” for him. The Lord spends more time preparing the woman than he did creating Adam, because of the word “build” which gives the idea of methodically putting the pieces together.
Genesis 2:21-24 (KJV)
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;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made (built, obtain children, repair) he a woman, and brought her unto the man (The Lord presented Adam with Eve, and Christ being the last Adam will be presented with a wife i.e. Church. Eph 5:25-27 (KJV)…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.).
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she (The church) was taken out of Man (In this case the last Adam, Christ.).
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (This tells us that when we are “taken out of Christ” we are to be married to him becoming one flesh.).
When the Lord “halted” upon Jacob his sanctification process began in the spirit. At that moment he was married to Christ.
The word “halted” in the Strong’s Concordance means probably to curve; used only as denominative from [H6763 “a rib” (as in the rib that was taken from Adam Genesis 2:21)] a rib (as curved), literal (of the body), or figurative (of a door, i.e. leaf); hence a side, literal (of a person)], to limp (as if one-sided) :- halt. (emphasis mine)
Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary.
In Exodus 12:7 Moses directs the children of Israel to put blood upon the two “side posts and on the upper door post of the house.” The application of blood to the upper door post of the house represent the salvation of the believer and one side post signifies sanctification and the other side post justification. It is by these two “side posts” that salvation can be held up, however if our “foundation” is upon something else, when the storms and winds come it will fall.
After the fall, Adam had a son in “his own likeness, after his image” and named him Seth. Seth was in Adam’s own righteousness and holiness Genesis 5:3. All of the human race since Adam can only bring forth sons and daughters after their own personal righteousness and holiness. As believers if we are “unbroken” we can only bring forth disciples after our self, it is only after bring “halted” upon can believers “make disciples after Christ.”
Jeremiah 18:3-4 (KJV)
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel (body) that he made of clay was marred (to decay, corrupt) in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel (This “vessel” is a completely different vessel from the marred vessel, although it is similar to the first. Jesus informs us that he is not doing a “patch job;” No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent (i.e. tear) is made worse. Matt 9:16 ), as seemed good to the potter to make it.
1 Corinthians 15:45 (KJV)
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The “last Adam” is that “other vessel” spoken of in Jeremiah 18:4. The first Adam was marred and corrupted by the fall but the “potter” made another vessel as represented by Christ. Jesus Christ was totally conceived by the Holy Ghost Matthew 1:20.
Luke 1:35 (KJV)
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee (“the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” Genesis 1:2), and the power of the Highest shall overshadow (i.e. to cast a shadow) thee (“darkness was upon the face of the deep” Genesis 1:2; “He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.” Psalms 18:11 ): therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Just like the first Adam was conceived within the verses of Genesis 1, the second Adam is conceived in like manner within the womb of Mary. The first man is of the earth and the second man is the Lord from heaven 1 Corinthians 15:47. We can now understand Christ’s conception and growth into a man, and it is at the of time of the crucifixion that the “works were finished from the foundation of the world.” Hebrews 4:3-4 “Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.” 1 Cor 15:46 The first work was natural and the second work is spiritual.
Finally, the wealth of information within these two chapters is enormous and could not be covered in 12 pages. The topics that were discussed within this paper can help enlighten and set the reader upon a journey of discovery. Jesus Christ and him crucified intertwines itself to such a degree within the pages of scripture that even if the majority of the bible was somehow “lost,” the message of God would ring loud in the ears of the reader.