MESSIAH

When God created the world, He spoke everything into existence. Everything that is…except us. Humans were different from the very start.

1. Created in the very image of God. Not even the angels can say that! Genesis 1:26-27

2. Sculpted by the very hands of God. Genesis 2:7

3. God Himself breathed life into man. Genesis 2:7

4. Created for and immediately commissioned with divine purpose. Genesis 1:26, 28-30

In all creation, human beings are unique in both their original form and function. Until we screwed it all up.

Not that we didn’t have help. The Serpent certainly helped, and that is where it gets interesting. The fascinating aspect of the fall of man is that it is almost identical to the fall of Lucifer. The crime in both cases is “to become like God” (Isaiah 14:12-15, Genesis 3:5). The rebellion screams, I don’t need God, I can be God! To illegally take God’s position of power and authority by force and will. Obviously, this didn’t end well for Adam, Eve, or the Serpent. All three were cursed, but it’s in the Serpent's curse that we get our very first glimpse of Messiah.

Though the consequences were incalculable, God promised that one of Eve’s descendants would destroy the works of the Serpent, restoring the broken relationship between God and humanity. This will be accomplished at great cost after hundreds of generations of hostility between the two warring factions. God will restore human beings back to their original position at the apex of creation.

The ramifications of this first Messianic prophecy set the tone for everything in the whole of scripture and the overarching story of mankind. Grace. The unmerited, incomprehensible favor and love of God toward a lost humanity. A grace that was denied the Serpent and those who fell alongside him. What makes us so special? The Angels can’t seem to figure it out according to 1 Peter 1:10-16, and when King David looked up at the night sky, he asked in the 8th Psalm, “What is man that you are mindful of him?”

Lord, help us to understand Grace. As we consider our lives, reveal a deeper understanding of the redemption purchased by Jesus, our Messiah. With that revelation, help us to walk in your purpose for our lives on this earth as we await your glorious return.

Amen.