Finding Christ in Christianity
Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. – Luke 24:27
The Problem With
Previously, we excavated chapter five of Genesis. Not just the world, but many Christians seeking friendship with secular peers, have dismissed the truth and relevance of Adam’s genealogy. They say, “Move along; there’s nothing to see here.” Well, let’s look for ourselves. We have the promise from Jesus that all of God’s Word relates, in some way, to Jesus.
In archaeology, timelines and ancestors are important, so today’s “dig” in Genesis 5:1-3, tells us, “This is the book of the generations of Adam… When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.”
The genealogy of Adam is interesting because there’s no mention of Cain. The genealogy starts off with Adam and then Seth, Cain and Abel have been removed. Adam is doing a mulligan ( i.e., a do-over).
Seth Is Made In the Image Of Adam
Notice that the Bible doesn’t say that Seth was made in God’s image, as we might expect. Rather, Seth was made in the image of Adam. This point is critical, which is probably why Seth’s birth was phrased as “Adam’s likeness; Adam’s image.”
If you remember from yesterday, the name Seth means “fixed.” The hope of Adam and Eve was that Seth would fix the mess that Cain made. Seth’s inheritance was credited to him as the firstborn male heir. The lineage of Jesus is traced from Seth. So, Seth is important in God’s plan of redemption.
But Seth didn’t fix things. Seth was not born in the same image of God that Adam was. Sin now reigned in Mankind. Seth, like every person, was in God’s image, but also in the likeness and image of sinful Adam.
Genesis 5:1-5 is evidently intended to show us that Adam was made in the image of God. However, because sin had entered humanity, Seth was not made in the sinless image of God but in the image of Adam, the corrupted image of God. And, in fact, because of sin, Adam died.
Jesus Is The Second Adam, Not Seth
If Seth had been born in the sinless image of God then He would have been the second Adam. That place was reserved for Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:45). It was important for Seth to be in the image and likeness of Adam. Jesus, the Son of Man, was born in the image of Adam – the image of God, without sin. So, the man Christ Jesus could reconcile to God the humanity born in sin. Adam wasn’t born in sin. Eve wasn’t born in sin. Cain was removed from the lineage of Adam, and Abel died. The seed of the Son of Man was in Seth.
So, Seth was in the image and likeness of God, but he was also in the sinful state of the fallen Adam. That made it possible for Jesus Christ to return as the second Adam, the reconciler and mediator of man to God.
Tomorrow We Excavate Noah
We didn’t even get past verse three in our excavation. Please join me tomorrow as we will take a brief look at the genealogy of Noah and then Christ in the work God gave Noah.
Photo by Anton Mislawsky on Unsplash
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https://rockexcavationservice.org/2019/10/23/who-is-god/