How foolish would it be to say that Adam had
the power to form himself, to breathe life, or to make himself a living soul?
It would be as foolish as saying you and I have the power to do any
such thing spiritually. God always does the forming. He forms the physical body and He forms the
spiritual body. God breathes physical
life and God breathes spiritual life. God
gives the living soul and God gives the quickening Spirit. And all is done in and by and for Christ.
Before ever speaking the heavens and the earth into existence, before even forming Adam’s lifeless body, the Lord God formed another body. This other body is made up of those He elected unto salvation. The body of God’s people had nothing to do with the forming because before they had the ability to think or act God formed the body. And just as God knew Adam before Adam knew himself, God knew each individual member of His body before they knew themselves. Before God spoke the heavens and the earth into existence He knew me. When Christ took my sin upon Himself, the innocent in place of the guilty and bore the wrath of God in my place, He knew me. In time when I was yet in my mother’s womb He knew me. When I was walking according to the vent of my depraved nature with no desire to know Him He knew me. Before God, by the work of the Holy Spirit, breathed into me and made me spiritually alive He knew me.
Think on this, God formed Adam from dust, a thing of
little value, a thing with no stability, a thing carried away by the slightest
breeze. There is nothing desirable
about dust. It is made up of insignificant
particles that can not be seen unless they collect on our furniture and even
then we try our best to wipe it away. Yet God took dust and formed a sinless
body. So it is with God’s elect.
God did not choose His people based on any good that they possessed. God
forms the spiritual body from undesirable, dusty sinners. Like
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that
we are dust.
The forming of this spiritual body is in God’s
own son, Christ Jesus the Lord. God
chose the dust of the ground, and Christ entered into a covenant with God
to be their Surety. Christ promised
to be born of a woman. Christ promised
He would live sinless in order that He might be a spotless sacrifice able
to take upon Himself the sins of His people.
Christ promised He would stand before justice and bear the penalty
of that sin in order that God’s mercy would not be at the expensive of
His justice. In other words, Christ covenanted to be the
Substitute for this elect body that God chose unto salvation. Remember all this took place before man had
done any good or evil, yea before the foundation of the world.
Throughout history kings were brought up and kings
were brought down. Countries were
joined and countries divided. Whole
families were directed and journeyed and lands given and lands taken away. So much was spoken by the prophets and then
after all these generations of God bringing glory to Himself by pictures and
types, one night a baby was born—Immanuel, Wonderful, Counsellor, God
with us. And God WITH US walked contrary
TO US and, as He promised, no sin was found in Him. As He promised He lay down His life for that body that God chose
to save before He ever made the first drop of water or the first grain of
sand. God, pleased with His Son, raised
Him to sit at His right hand. And
at God’s appointed time, He takes each individual member of that body
for which Christ died and breathes into their nostrils the breath of life.
And just as Adam opened his eyes to life so do those who God gives spiritual
life—not born of corruptible seed but born of incorruptible. For
the first time, that which was only dust has communion with God through Christ.
And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak
unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes.
What is the difference between physical life and spiritual life? The man who is only physically alive gives an argument saying that the scriptures are nothing more than a history written by men. Yet to him made spiritually alive that same word becomes life for it is the word of God Almighty concerning the true Word, Christ our Redeemer. The lifeless body sees an element of good in its members. The living body sees what it is and desires to be covered in the robe of Christ’s righteousness. The lifeless body stands up and declares that I’ll not have this man, Jesus, rule over me. While the living body bows before Him as Lord of lords and King of kings. The lifeless body scoffs at Christ’s resurrection. But the new body prays continually assured that we have an Advocate seated at the right hand of the Father, One who ever lives to make intercession between God and men. The lifeless body says eat, drink, and be merry for this is life. While the new body waits, comforted by the Holy Spirit, ever watchful for the hour when Christ shall return for His purchased possession. In that great day the lifeless body will beg, “Worthy am I!” While the living body sings, “Worthy is the Lamb!”
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