Reformed Theology Pt 2 | The Adamic Covenant

Covenant Reformed Baptist Church

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All right, we are doing a series on reform theology.

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This will be the second message of the series. Let's pray father Thank you Lord for this day that you have given us to gather together to worship you

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Well, we pray that our worship is in spirit and in truth. Oh Lord be with us now as we walk through this text as we walk through this

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Specific doctrine that's laid before us more help us to to understand and to To apply it whenever we preach the gospel

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In Christ's name we pray. Amen. All right, so the topics that we will be covering in this series will be this confessional covenantal

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Calvinistic law and gospel distinction the ordinary means of grace

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And we will also be looking at the five solos of the Reformation So I don't have a time period stamped on this and I don't know for sure if I'll get

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You know, like we'll break down each point of each thing. But the most important that we have to go through slowly is

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Covenantalism Reform theology is an understanding of theology that came about during the

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Protestant Reformation and as particular Baptists were formulating their theology

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They were not only reforming from Catholicism but they were also reforming from Presbyterianism and We will touch more on that in the weeks to come.

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I mentioned last week that Particular Baptists want it to be known as covenant theologians

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But that they saw issues with the Westminster form of the covenants we kind of spoke a little bit about that in Sunday school today and I didn't want to go too deep into it because I know there's a message coming soon.

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That's gonna Really dive into it We do however agree with Westminster when it comes to the three main covenants though Not in the details.

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So we agree that there are three main covenants and my outline for covenant for covenantal is this the covenant of redemption

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Which last week we looked at the covenant of redemption and I would ask that if you did not hear that message that you will go back and Listen to that message because it's going to play a lot in the weeks ahead

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The weeks that are laid out before us the second point is the covenant of works and the third point is the covenant of grace

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This week we will look at the covenant of works and my outline is as followed the

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Adamic Covenant number two the Abrahamic Covenant Number three the

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Mosaic Covenant also known as the Sinai Covenant number four the

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Davidic Covenant Our focus this week will only be on the the

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Adamic Covenant. The text we will be focused on will be Genesis 2 15 through 17 also chapter 3 1 through 24

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So Genesis 2 15 through 17 Also chapter 3 1 through 24 and as we transition let us remember the covenant of redemption that as we are about to Read this as we're about to see what actually took place that we have to understand that this was not the beginning

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That was the focus of last week that Genesis chapter 1 in the beginning is not the beginning

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But the beginning took place for us in the covenant of redemption where God the

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Father purposed he had a purpose to save a people and that God the

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Son Jesus Christ was to Accomplish that purpose and that the

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Holy Spirit would apply that purpose So as we're going over what the text says, let us not forget what happened first We cannot come to this and think this was plan a no

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Jesus Christ coming into the world has never been a plan B So although I'm going to explain this in a way that it'll seem like it

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Ultimately, it's not I just have to give it to you the way that the text lays it out and we are going to not so There's going to be things in Genesis that we're going to read over that we're not going to touch in previous sermons

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I have already taught specifically on the subject or I'm not you know,

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I'm gonna touch on it, but I'm not going to really go in -depth exegetical because either I have are

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I have already done so previous sermons or in weeks to come I have planned to come back and to Open the veil on a specific verse if you will.

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So point number one the eidemic Covenant the eidemic covenant is the covenant made with Adam on the behalf.

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Listen on the behalf of all Humanity it can be said that there are two covenants here pre and post pre fall and post fall

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Now as I was looking through this I could only personally personally,

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I can only see the pre fall covenant and a post fall promise a pre fall

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Covenant and a post fall Promise now, there are definitely people out there who disagree with me.

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I do not at this moment plan to Prove that statement, but in the weeks ahead

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I will We have several things going on here in our text and my outline is simply this

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Now as I read this you're gonna say there's nothing simply about that, but I assure you these are go really fast

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Point number one God made a covenant with Adam Point number two

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Adam breaks God Adam breaks the covenant point number three

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God pronounces curses upon the serpent the woman the man and all creation point number four

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Adam names his wife Point number five God makes a sacrifice and point number six

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The man was removed from the tree of life So God made a covenant with Adam Adam breaks the covenant

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God God pronounces curses upon the serpent the woman the man and all creation

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Adam names his wife. God makes a sacrifice and the man was removed from the tree of life now to our first subpoint

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God Made a covenant with Adam Genesis chapter 2 verses 15 through 17

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The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it and The Lord commanded the man saying you may surely eat of every tree of the garden

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But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat

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For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely

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Die, so here we see that God gave to Adam a garden in Genesis 2 15 through 17 and we see that he also gives two conditions

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So he places him in the garden. He gives him the garden and he gives two conditions

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He gives a positive condition and a negative condition the positive condition

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Adam is to Work the garden that he has been given.

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He is allowed to eat from every tree, but one The negative condition

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If Adam eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil He will surely die.

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So he's placed in the garden The positive condition is that he is to work the field

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And he can eat of every tree but one negative condition if he eats of that one tree that God told him not to eat from He will surely die

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Now I Don't know how familiar Everyone is with covenant theology, but some people do not see this as a covenant

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There's some covenant theologians who would say that this is not a covenant because it never uses the word covenant but the

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Conditions are here. The conditions of a covenant are here

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He places Adam in a garden to work the garden

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I'm giving you the garden. This is yours But here's the condition you are to work the garden that's a positive

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Condition, it's yours You can have it And everything in it except for one tree

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Do not eat of this tree and that's the negative condition

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Hosea chapter 6 verse 7 says this

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But like Adam they transgress the covenants now

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Some would say that where it says like Adam, but like Adam is speaking of a mankind but Understand it this way if it was to say but like mankind

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They transgress the covenant the they is more pointed toward mankind

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Adam is very specific. It's speaking of the individual who broke the covenants like Adam they all mankind have transgressed the covenant

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So is this a covenant and I would say that this is a covenant

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Adam was given something it was his to keep and conditions were made in order for him

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To stay and As we walk through the other covenants that do say the word covenant.

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The same thing is given positive and negative conditions and as we transition verses 18 through 25

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We have the Lord creating the animals as well as the woman who is

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Adam's wife Eve Point number two Adam breaks the

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Covenant Genesis chapter 3 verses 1 through 13 now the serpent was more crafty than all the other beasts of the field that the

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Lord God had made and He said to the woman Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

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And the woman said to the serpent we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden

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But God said you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden

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Neither shall you touch it Least you die

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But the serpent said to the woman You will surely not die for God knows that the that when you eat of its fruit

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Your eyes when you eat of it your eyes will be open and you will be like God knowing

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Good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes and that the tree was a desire that That it was to be desired to make one wise

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She took the fruit and ate it and she also gave some to her husband who was with her in he ate then the eyes of both were open and they

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Knew that they were naked they sowed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths and they heard the sound of the

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Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the

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Lord God among the myths the trees of the garden But the

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Lord God called to the man and said to him. Where are you? and he said

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I Heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself

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And he said who told you You were naked Have you eaten of the tree of which

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I have commanded you not to eat? The man said the woman who gave me gave to be with me

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She gave me fruit of the tree and I ate Then the

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Lord God said to the woman What is this that you have done? the woman said

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The serpent deceived me and I ate I want you to notice something

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Notice that it was Eve who ate the fruit first But it was

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Adam who broke the covenant listen right here this is key

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This is key to understanding redemption and as we transition notice also that they were unashamed of their nakedness before they broke the covenant and afterwards

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They became ashamed in their shame They hid themselves from God, but when questioned by God they told the truth

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Now I know a lot of times we've probably heard what I'm about to tell you in a different point of view

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We heard that Adam Blamed it on his wife and his wife blamed it on the serpent

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But is that what actually takes place? I Stand before you today that when there was a presence of God came to them all they did

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Was tell the truth let's read again from verse 9 and listen

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But the Lord God called to the man and said to him. Where are you?

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listen to the truth in this and He said I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid

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Because I was naked and I hid myself and he said who told you that you were naked

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So he's asking him a question Now as Adam to lie to the Lord God Who told you you were naked?

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Have you eaten of the tree that I have commanded you not to eat from the man said?

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The woman he me gave me gave gave to be with me. She gave me fruit of the tree and I ate it

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Well, that's what it says. Isn't it? It says and she gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate

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Is he lying? Is he blaming it on her or is he just telling

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God the truth? Then the Lord God said to the woman.

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What is this? What is it that you have done? The woman said the serpent deceived me

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And I ate is she lying She is she just pointing trying to get the serpent in trouble or is she telling the truth?

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Is that what happened point number three?

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God pronounces curses upon the serpent the woman the man in all creation Now as I I'm gonna do a as I read this

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I'm gonna do like a walk -through And this will kind of be the transitional statement as well

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But in this we're going to see that the serpent is going to be Cursed But all the animals as well that the curse that falls upon the woman

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Falls upon all women as well The curse that falls upon creation

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It falls upon all of earth all of creation All of earth is it's touched by this curse and the curse that falls upon man is

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Falls upon all men like this is not just To the serpent alone, this is not to the this woman

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Eve. This is not to this garden alone This is not to Adam alone, but all creation under heaven and earth

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Alright, so Genesis chapter 3 verses 14 through 19, and I'm gonna walk through it.

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We're gonna want to answer some questions I'm not gonna go too deep some places. I'll go a little deeper in others verse 14 the

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Lord God said to the serpent Because you have done this cursed are you above all livestock and All the beasts of the field so all livestock all all the livestock all the beasts are cursed

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But this the serpent is going to be cursed Above all of them and here's the curse.

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I don't know if y 'all ever noticed it. Here's the curse That falls upon this beast the serpent on your belly

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You shall go And dust you shall eat all the days of your life

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So what is the curse that falls upon the serpent? on its belly

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It shall go and the dust it shall eat all the days of its life

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Now does it's not saying that snakes eat dust But that its mouth is on the ground its tongue.

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It comes out so there it's on the ground This this this animal was cursed to crawl on its belly.

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That's the curse of the serpent All animals are cursed now because of what's taking place, but this one specifically

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Is to crawl on its belly And eat the dust all the days of your life

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And it says to him I will put enmity between you and the woman the woman here is

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Eve and In between your offspring and her offspring

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He shall bruise your head. So this Offspring that's coming from the woman shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel

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And we know that this is the proto -evangelium and we'll get more into that When we get to the covenant of grace

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To the woman he said surely I will multiply your pain and childbearing ladies

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Is this just for Eve? No, if you've ever had a baby, you know that this is for you as well

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I will multiply your pain and childbearing and in pain you shall bring forth

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Children now, this is one that you know Like I kind of feel uncomfortable saying it says in your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you

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If you go to chapter 4 verse 7, this is Adam speaking with Cain after Cain done

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This is where Cain and Abel and Cain murders his brother Abel Verse 7 says if you do well, this is the

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Lord speaking to Cain if you do well Will you not be accepted?

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And if you do not do well Sin is crouching at your door

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Its desire is contrary to you But you must rule over it same

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Wording Same wording contrary to you That the woman was going to be cursed not only with the pains of childbearing but also

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Wanting to have control over the man That is a curse that is placed upon women a woman wants to have control over a man

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But he tells her that her husband is to rule over her

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This is a curse ladies and ladies if if you feel this Tension in your soul know that you have that because of the curse

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It's because of the curse and that's something that you should fight

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Verse 17 and to Adam he said because you have listened

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To the voice of your wife everything coming after this It's because he listened

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Because You have listened to the voice of your wife and you have eaten from the tree that I have commanded you you shall not eat

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Cursed is the ground because of you cursed is creation Cursed is creation cursed are every animal

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The serpents and all the animals are cursed His wife is going to feel the pain of childbearing and have that desire to rule him

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Because he listened to the voice of his wife cursed is the ground because of you

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And in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life The struggle ladies and gentlemen the struggle right man.

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The struggle is real. Hallelujah. Hallaback Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face

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You shall eat bread When whenever God gave Adam Put him in that garden to work the field

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This was gonna be something different that this this fruit that this trees were going to grow it wasn't gonna be really hard labor

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It was gonna be something that came naturally he was to work the field, but the field was not given thorns and thistles

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But now he might plant something and guess what it might not be water. It might not grow

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That it was going to come with troubles This is by the sweat of your face.

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You shall eat the bread until you return to the ground For out of the ground you were taken from you were dust into dust

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You shall return The ground is cursed

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Working the ground hard work comes you're only able to eat by the sweat of your brow, but not only that you're going to die

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And every Living person after you is going to die because Adam was created from the dust and from the dust

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He will return Adam who was supposed to earn eternal life and and by doing so earn life for his posterity has now

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Earned death by being disobedient to the Covenant Point number four

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Adam names his wife Galatians chapter 3 verse 20 The man called his wife his name

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Eve listen Because she is the mother of all the living.

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I think this is a key point here here and in this verse Adam clearly

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Identifies Eve as being the mother of all the living to me it seems here that It seems that he is owning his responsibility as a federal head of all humanity

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He has just been promised death but he knew that his wife was going to be the mother of all the living that that all the living was going to come from him and That all the living who would have lived if he would have kept this commandment will now die

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And as we transition from this this could be pointing back to the curse That was pronounced upon them in verse 16 but also in 15 speaking because of the word because you have

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Listened to the voice of your wife Because you have listened to her

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It speaks about her bearing children and It would be in pain and that she and that the woman's curse would be filling the pain of childbearing and In wanting to rule over her husband.

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He knew that she would be the mother of the living and that because of the curse that was pronounced upon them that us we now the descendants of Adam and Eve would fill these same curses and will one day

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Die and be buried to the dust we shall go Point number five

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God makes a sacrifice Genesis chapter 3 verse 21 and the

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Lord God Made for Adam and his wife garments of skin and clothes them

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Pre -fall listen pre -fall. They were naked and unashamed Post -fall they were ashamed of their nakedness

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So God in a sacrifice clothes their nakedness and covers their shame

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They're ashamed of their nakedness God Sacrifices an animal to clothe them

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But the problem with this is is that this clothing is only temporary This clothing is only temporary

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Garments wear out As we transition they just as you and I will need a once -and -for -all sacrifice

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Mankind will need to be clothed in the garment that will not wear out

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This sacrifice has to be something other than the blood Go there has to be something other than bulls

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It has to be something other than sheep's something other than lambs that that these caught this clothing is not sufficient

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We need something greater point number six

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The man was removed from the tree of life Genesis 3 22 through 24 listen carefully as I read

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Then the Lord God said behold The man has become like one of us knowing good and evil now at least he reached out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever

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Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken

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This right here speaking of that that ground that was cursed that would bear thorns and thistles verse 24 he drove that he drove out the man and at the east of the

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Garden of Eden he placed a cherubim and flaming sword turning every way to guard

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This means that they're not going back in to guard the way To the tree of life now

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This is where it gets interesting the tree here seems to be where Adam would have eaten from if He had kept the

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Covenant if Adam would have kept that Covenant that was made that God made him by Being in that garden and working it eating of all the fruit except for one

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He would have been allowed to eat from this tree and in doing so he would have have earned

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Eternal life for himself and For his posterity

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Remember earlier. I said notice that it was Eve who ate the first fruit

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But it was Adam who broke the Covenant Eve ate the fruit

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But Adam broke the Covenant when Eve ate the fruit.

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She did not break the Covenant Adam broke the

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Covenant Because he listened to the voice of his wife Eve's hope for life was not in her keeping the

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Covenant Are you listening? Her hope for life was not in herself keeping the

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Covenant, but it was in her husband Keeping the Covenant ladies and gentlemen our hope for eternal life is not in ourselves keeping the

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Covenant But it is in our husband Jesus Christ keeping that Covenant That's where our hope for life is not in ourselves keeping the

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Covenant, but in Jesus Christ keeping the Covenant That is our hope for life if Adam would have eaten from that tree the tree of life that tree would have been

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Available for all of us to have eaten from I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound

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Great to me. There's no Jesus there But if he would have eaten from that tree the tree of life that tree would have been available for all of us to eat

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From and we would have gained life by eating from that tree again, remember

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I said this is How the story is unfolding? But we know what took place in the beginning

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But since he broke that Covenant, he was removed from the garden and unable to eat from the tree of life

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Look back at verse chapter 2 again verse 16 says this and the

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Lord God commanded the man saying You shall surely eat of every tree in the garden in the garden

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But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil verse 17 You shall not eat for in the day that you eat of it.

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You will surely die the Hebrew here a Better translation would be dying you will die

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Dying if you eat of this dying You will die We all know

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I'm in my 40s now, and I'm not what I was in my 20s Okay, I just recently started working back out and it doesn't feel the same like You know, there's stuff that I could do then that I cannot do now.

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I am dying And I will one day die because he ate of this tree dying we will die

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Romans 5 12 says this therefore Just as sin came into the world through one man

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Speaking of Adam and death through sin so also death spreads all men

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Because it is one man's sin his sin his disobedience caused his death and our death if you have your confession of faith chapter 9 chapter 6 excuse me speaks of the fall of man and sin and its punishment chapter 6 paragraph 1 begins like this

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God created humanity upright and perfect and He gave them a righteous law

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So you have to ask yourself. What is this righteous law?

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well, if you turn to chapter 19 It speaks of the law of God and if there and right the very beginning it speaks of Adam chapter 19 paragraph 1

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God gave Adam a law of comprehensive obedience written in his heart in A specific precept not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

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By these God Obligated him and all his descendants to personal total exact perpetual obedience

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God promised life if Adam fulfilled it and threatened death if he broke it and He gave

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Adam the power and the ability to keep it Who did he give the power and the ability to keep it?

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one person Adam paragraph 2

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That same law That was first written in the human heart contain

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Continue to be the perfect rule of righteousness after the fall It was delivered by God on Mount Sinai in The Ten Commandments and it is written on two tablets the first four commandments contain our duty to God and The other six are duty to humanity

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Love God and love neighbor, right? Now go back to chapter six

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God created humanity upright Paragraph one and perfect He gave them a righteous law the

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Ten Commandments the ten words the Decalogue written in his heart that would have led to life if he had kept it and Threatened death if he had broken it yet, they did not remain for long in this position of honor

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Satan used the craftiness of the serpent to seduce Eve Who then seduced

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Adam Adam acted without any outside compulsions and deliberately transgressed the law of their creation and the command given to them by eating the fruit the forbidden fruit

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God was pleased in keeping with his wise listen his wise and holy counsel to permit this act

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Because he had purpose to direct it for his own glory Something happened before that there was a plan a and they were carrying out his story

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Paragraph two by this sin our first parents fell from their original righteousness and communion with God we fell in them and Through this death came upon all all became dead in sin and completely defiled and in and in all capabilities and parts and soul and body

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Paragraph three. This is the last paragraph for read By God's appointment.

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They were the root and Representatives of the whole human race

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Adam and Eve was the root and representatives of the whole human race because of this the guilt of their sin was accounted and Their corrupt nature passed on to all their offsprings

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Who descended from them by ordinary procreation? Their descendants are now conceived in sin and are by nature children of wrath

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The servants of sin and partakers of death in all other miseries spiritual temporal and eternal