The Sons of God: Part 3

God's purpose in creating the physical universe was to glorify Himself in a new dimension. He had always received glory in the heavens, which is the spiritual dimension. But then He decided to create a new dimension of physical matter in which to receive glory and also to glorify Himself in that physical matter.

Man, being the highest form of life on earth, was created not only to glorify God, but for God to glorify Himself in man. Adam was thus created with a glorified body. It was a body of dust that housed the light and glory of God. It was perfect. There was perfect harmony and communication between man and God.

Then man sinned, and he lost the glory of God that covered him. He was thus found to be "naked," that is, divested of God's glory. The sentence of the law condemned him to death, and though he did not die immediately, yet was he made mortal because he lost the immortal body that had been his divine inheritance.

History is the story of man's return to his divine inheritance--the immortal, glorified body. There is no need to leave the earth and "go to heaven" to receive this body. Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:1 that this new body ("tabernacle") is being held in reserve for us in the heavens, but we also know that when Christ returns, His reward is with Him (Rev. 22:12). He will bring it to us. We do not have to go there to get it.

Jesus said that "the meek will inherit the earth" (Matt. 5:5). The earth is our lost inheritance. More specifically, the glorified body--glorified dust--is our lost inheritance. Because Jesus had a heavenly Father and an earthly mother, He was able to inherit BOTH heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18). He had to be born through a woman of Adamic descent to receive authority in the earth, because God had given that authority to Adam (Gen. 1:28). For this reason, He is also called "the Son of man (Adam)." But He also had to have a heavenly Father in order to have authority in heaven.

So it is with us. Jesus showed the way for us to re-inherit that which was lost through Adam's sin. And not just for a few, but for the entire creation, for Scripture tells us five times that the glory of God will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. The last time I checked, the waters covered about 100% of the sea.

When Moses led Israel out of Egypt in their journey to the Promised Land, God saw to it that this journey was a historical allegory. It was history with prophetic meaning. The three primary events in that journey (beginning, middle, and end) were prophetic of our larger journey through history from Adam to the final destination when the earth is filled with His glory.

But it is also an allegory for each of us as individuals. Israel's three main feast days are: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. These are the beginning, middle, and end of our individual walk with God. So let us first explain the feast of Passover.

PASSOVER: Because the sentence of the law upon Adam (and all of us) is death, or mortality, the law demanded nothing less than death to pay for sin. Neither Adam nor any man could do enough good deeds to restore himself to immortality.

All religions by their very nature advocate certain moral systems. Some, no doubt, are better than others. Most religions focus their debates upon moral issues. But the Bible is unique. Although it sets forth a moral code of ethics, it recognizes that no matter how good a man becomes or how many good deeds a man does, it will always fall short of the penalty for sin. For this reason, no man's good deeds can bring him into immortality. No amount of self-improvement will bring immortality to his mortal body. No amount of good food and good environment will cause him to live beyond 1000 years.

And so Moses showed the way to deal with the root problem of sin through the sacrificial system. An innocent animal, such as a lamb, had to be sacrificed to pay the debt for one's sin. The entire sacrificial system laid down this very important principle.

When a man sinned against his neighbor, he was required to pay restitution in order to restore the relationship with his neighbor. But to restore the relationship with God required payment for sin itself--death. That is why the death of an animal was often required.

All of these sacrifices for sin, however, had to be repeated, because the blood of animals could never really restore us to God. Yet they prophesied of a greater Lamb who was to come, one who could indeed take away the sin of the world. That "Lamb of God" is presented to us in the New Testament as Jesus Christ. John 1:35 and 36 says,

"Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God!"

And so, at the end of Jesus' ministry on earth, He freely gave Himself as the Sacrificial Lamb for the sin of the world. He was crucified at the feast of Passover, while all the people were killing their lambs as Moses had commanded. In fact, the timing of Passover itself prophesied of the day Jesus would have to die as the Passover Lamb.

The New Testament instructs us simply to have faith in that act which Jesus did. While it is true that the priests and leaders of the people hated Jesus and conspired to kill Him, it is also true that Jesus knew that He was called for this purpose. It was His destiny. It was prophesied in all of the sacrifices established by Moses. It was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah, who said in Isaiah 53:3-7,

"³ He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and aquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

"⁴ Surely, our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

"⁵ But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.

"⁶ All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

"⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth."

Our journey to immortality and to our inheritance, then, begins with Passover. It is to accept Jesus as the Lamb of God as the acceptable Sacrifice for sin. No other religious founder has done this or even could do this. No other man has given his life so that you might live. Some men have indeed given their lives for others--and this is highly commendable--but no man could give his life to bring another man into immortality, or to grant him the glorified body that was lost through Adam. That is the difference.

And so, the path to the Promised Land begins with the feast of Passover. Israel was not allowed to leave the House of Bondage until they had kept the Passover. So also it is with us. No man can leave the enslavement of sin and mortality apart from accepting Jesus Christ as the Passover Lamb.