(Bible Analysis of Man) Man in the Bible - Part 2 — Willie Mullan

Thy tone, as thou hast sought to let me see, thy airing children, lost and lone. 786, now listen for the tune, because we're changing the tune to an old-fashioned one, and you'll easily get it if you listen, won't you?

The Created Man in God’s Image

And I think you remember this, don't you? That last week we looked at the created man. Let's turn to Genesis chapter 1 just for a moment or two. Book of Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness.

And last week we looked at God making man after his own image. And I went into what this, after his own image, means. And I pointed out that man has a body. We saw the material part of man being made out of the dust of the earth.

And then God breathed into this, and this became a living soul. And we went away to Zechariah and found that God, at the same psychological moment, formed the spirit of man within him. So that man is a tripartite being.

He is a trinity like God. A trinity because he is body and soul and spirit. And that makes man. You see, God is a trinity. There is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, yet one God. And man is body and soul and spirit, yet one man.

And so we noticed that man was like God because he was a trinity. And he was like God because he was a trinity and a unity at the same time. And a personality at the same time. But we also noticed this, that man was an authority for this very verse that we are at faith.

And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the tongue of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So man was Lord of all that he surveyed in the day that God created him. And we also found that he was not only a trinity and a unity and a personality, not only had he authority, but he had a capacity like God.

A capacity to love. And a capacity for holiness. You know, when Adam failed, he immediately knew he was not right before a holy God. You know, he began to cover himself with fig leaves. But the moment that he heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, then he ran because he knew that the works of his own hands didn't meet the requirements of a holy God.

You see, he had a capacity for love and holiness and for peace and for mercy. And then last week we went on to look at the fallen man. Only just tackling these quickly to get some new friends into the swing of things.

Adam’s Fall and the Entrance of Sin

And when we looked at the fallen man, we found that this book says Adam was not the saviour. I think that's something that sometimes the people miss. Mind you, Eve was the saviour. Let's have a look at 2 Corinthians, and we're at chapter 11.

2 Corinthians, chapter 11. And this is what Paul is writing to these Corinthians, and don't let's forget that he's writing on the inspiration by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is moving him to write these words.

Verse 3, chapter 11, verse 3. We're saving time. But I fear, said Paul, lest by any means of the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety. You see, he believed this Genesis story. Make no mistake, the God of some of the modernists who poo this thing, say first and second and third chapters of Genesis should be thrown out.

It's trash, isn't it now? I can tell you that our Lord Jesus caught him from all three chapters. I can tell you that the Spirit, under inspiration, moved Paul to write, lest by any means of the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety.

So your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. And so there's no question about the authenticity of the first three chapters. But while Eve was beguiled through the subtlety of the serpent, remember the book says, Adam was not deceived.

Oh no. Oh no, he walked into it with his eyes open. In fact, I believe that he saw what Eve had done. And out of love for her, he followed her. And he disobeyed God. And I mean disobeyed. He wasn't beguiled.

He wasn't even tempted. By one man's disobedience, this book says, sin entered the world on death by sin. And you'll find that this created man is now a fallen man, and the capacity is all upset. The capacity for love is upset.

And the capacity for holiness is upset. And the capacity for peace is upset. And the capacity for mercy is upset. The whole thing is upset. You see, if we were to follow the story, we would find that Adam and Eve, fallen creatures now, sin hath entered, and the seeds of death are within their breaths just now.

You will find that their offspring, the first baby born is Cain, and the next one is Abel. Now these were the first babies in this world. They belong to the first family in this world. They were the first brothers in this world.

And Cain's death was the first, Abel's death was the first death. Infected was the first murder. And Cain was the first murderer. And you'll find that love and holiness and mercy has gone out the door.

Right away you can see the fallen creature. And you'll find this, that we come from the fallen man, and you can trace this right down through the book. Now that's as far as we went last week. We looked up the created man, and then we looked up this fallen man, and we could see that this capacity was upset.

The Second Man and the Last Adam

Now I want to come to the second man this evening. Let's go to 1 Corinthians and start this session properly just now. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and we're commencing at verse 45. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 45.

And Paul says, and so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. And that's exactly what we saw last week. God breathed, and the man became a living soul, and he was body and soul and spirit.

I want you to notice the phrase, the first man, Adam. Because that's a very important phrase these days. One of the professors at Queen's not so very long ago said to me, do you think there are any other men on any of these planets, Mr. Mullen?

I said, there couldn't be. He said, do you think we might find men on Mars, or on some of the planets? Not a chance in the world. This is the first man, is that right? This is what this book says. Adam was the first man.

Now I can trace a great lot of his race, of course, and we all came from him, no matter how far back you go. I want you to get this, that none of Adam's sons have left this planet and have gone to any other planet to stay.

And even with all the science we have today, the great men who leave this planet and go to the moon can only stay for a short time and come back again, with about a thousand on earth helping them through the orgy.

No, they're not finding any other men. This is the first man. If they find somebody else, Adam might be knocked out of the race, but they're not finding anybody. The old book's too clear. Now the first man, Adam, was made a living soul, verse 45.

The last Adam. Now who was that? That's one of the titles of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's called the last Adam. He was made the quickening spirit. You see, he quickens poor lot sinners. You remember Paul writing to the Ephesians and he said, you were dead in trespasses and sins, and you have been quickened.

You see, that's what happens when you're born again. You see, our Lord Jesus is a quickener. Yes, he gives life to those who come to him. It is very thrilling to know that only in Christ and in him alone is there new life for poor lost sinners who will come and drop the mule.

You remember he said, I am come that ye might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. We were looking on Sunday night on the great testimony that Christ gave. He said, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my message, is the old translation, he that heareth my message and believeth him that sent me, is the proper translation.

You see, the Father sent the Son and he gives this testimony that life is in his Son and he that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. And the sooner we get this little bit tidied up in all its simplicity, the better.

See, it doesn't make a matter what you have tonight. You may have a big church, and you may have sprinkling, and you may have confirmation, and you may have Bible reading, and you may have fair meetings, and you may have a thousand things all connected with religion.

Let me say to you now just bluntly, if you haven't got Christ, you haven't got life. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son, it doesn't make a matter what he has. He can have the home of Panic Hall and all its ritual.

But if he hasn't got Christ, he hasn't got life, so this book says. Peter was pretty sure about this. He says, there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby you must be saved. You need Christ.

You see, he's the last Adam. Well, we'll get round to this. He's a mighty righteous, and so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. That's true, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

And then it changes it in verse 47. It says, the first man is of the earth as it is. You see, his body was made of the earth. This is an old translation that says, the first man is made of the soil as it is.

This is what it means, talking about the material part of the man. The first man, back to Adam again. Now, what's this bit, the second man? Sometimes called the last Adam, but called now the second man.

You see, sometimes there are questions about this. A young fellow came to me once after the Bible class one evening, and he said, I can't understand this question. It calls Adam the first man, and I accept that.

But how can you call the Lord Jesus the second man? There's a whole lot of men in between. Millions of them, that's very tremendous. But you see, when we talk about the first man, Adam, we're talking about the federal head of the whole race.

You see, when Adam sinned, the whole race that was to spring from him was condemned in the federal head. Yes, he was the representative, and he was responsible for the whole race, and he failed it. But then you see, there came a second Adam to the fight.

Somebody that the devil didn't think about. And he's called the second man because he's the representative of a new creation. That's very important, you know. Because you see, if you start to talk to me about being lost again, I shall start to talk to you about my federal head.

Because I was lost when Adam failed. I'll be lost again when Christ fails. And that will be never. Never. You see, I think the people miss this. You see, our Lord Jesus came the second man, the last Adam.

He came as the federal head of a new creation. And I want you to get this. You see, when you say second man, you see his responsibility, don't you? And when you say the second man is the Lord. Now I know there's some arguments about the translation there.

But I don't think there are any arguments if you go through the New Testament. Was this the Lord from heaven? Oh, you know, I could waste the whole meeting now doing this. You see, on the night he was born, on that memorable Christmas night, we call it, so long ago, you remember that the angel of the Lord, he doesn't make any mistakes, he came to the shepherds on the Judean hills.

And he said to them, unto you this day is born in the city of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. For it was the Lord that came. He's really wonderful, you know. You just go right through his life and you see him in the wilderness and the wild beasts were with him.

He was so obsessed in Mark 1. But they never touched him. I don't believe he even groaned. He was the Lord. You can see him at sea in the little fishing boat. And you know the fishermen were in jeopardy and when fishermen get in jeopardy at a rough night, and he just stood up and spoke to the waves and the winds and said, lie down.

It's the old translation. And you know it was wonderful how the time came just right there. Because he was Lord of wind and wind. When he spoke to the fig trees, they just simply whirled up because he's Lord of the vegetable world too.

And then he dies on the cross and his face is battered for the soldier who punched his face. And the crown of thorns that was crushed on his brow, let the blood and the sweat and the spittle all mix together.

And his bones are pulled out of his joint and his hair is matted round his face. And he dies in agony and shame and in darkness. And as the earth trembled, the dying priest turned and said, Lord, he's still Lord.

Let's get it settled now without a long argument. It was the Lord that gave him. You can see his deity when you see the second man, you see his responsibility, he's responsible for the new creation. If he lets it down, it was very sure he won't let it down.

He's God, he cannot fail. When you say the second man, you see his responsibility. When you say the second man is the Lord, you see his deity. When you say the second man is the Lord from heaven, you see his eternality.

See, Unitarians try to argue with me. They'd be amused at their ignorance. One old Southern Unitarian minister said to me, he began at Bethlehem, you know. Did he not? I want you to explain this to me, sir.

It says the second man is the Lord from heaven. Did he come from heaven or did he come from Bethlehem? While he was sort of turning it over in his mind, I said, this book says he who was rich became poor.

If he began at Bethlehem, you tell me when he was rich. Was he rich at his birth? He was born in a stable. Was he rich in life? He was the carpenter's son. Was he rich in the future? He had to say, show me a penny.

The fowls of the air had nests, the birds of the air had nests. Yea, my dear, the foxes had holes. He had no where to lay his head. Was he rich in death? He died on a cross. He was buried in another man's grave.

When was he rich? See, he doesn't know. He hasn't got an answer to that. You see, he was the eternal son. Down from his glory ever living story, my God and Savior came. Let's get it settled, he was the Lord from heaven.

Came from heaven. Wonder of wonders, you know. He came from heaven to save a thing like me. Yes, he's the federal head. Let's go back up the chapter here because we're not finished with this. Look at verse 22.

Sometimes I find when you work backwards you can do it better. Verse 22, For us in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. You know, I know there are universalists who preach this. They say, you see, the first federal head failed and all in Adam died.

Well, you see, Christ came to the site and even so in Christ shall all be made alive. And they're putting the emphasis on the all. Everybody died, everybody will be made alive and nobody is going to perish, but that's not what this book says.

I heard an old fellow preaching this once. And I was so annoyed with him that I said to him, can I ask you a question? Oh, it was in the open air. Allowed to ask if he allows me. He said, certainly you can ask the question.

They said, you're preaching that everybody's saved, whether the Lord or not, all are saved. That's right. He said, you know, he was the savior of the world. That's right, sir. If everybody's saved, you tell me why Paul became all things to all men that by all means he might save some.

What's he talking about that we're all saved? Tell me about the man that's lost in hell in torment. Tell me about the fearful and the unbelieving and the whoremonger and the liar who shall have their path in the lake of fire forever and ever.

Tell me about it. You see they're not preaching right. This is not handling the word of God. Watch me doing the calling. He's putting the emphasis on me all, isn't he? Watch it now. Verse 22. For as in Adam.

When I was born, I was born in Adam. He was my federal head and I was born a saint. Yes, in Adam, in Adam, in Adam all die. Even so, in Christ. All in Christ, of course. I am Christ. Now that's where the emphasis is.

You see, the fallen man. I want you to get this. That our Lord came to assist you. He came to be responsible for a new creation. He came as the savior of the world and has provided salvation for all who will accept it.

Oh, there's salvation for all. They don't want to be saved. That's your business. God is not taking conscripts to heaven. You're not willing to be saved. I talked to a wee boozer on Saturday night. A man that's been drinking for years.

And I said to him, you know the Lord Jesus came to save you Willie. He called him Willie Jordan. And he died on the cross to save you and he rose again. There is a savior for you. But you need to be willing to come.

He said to the folks once, ye will not come unto me that ye might have life. He said, of course I'm willing. And was down on his knees in the flesh. Now you see the created man and then you see the fallen man.

Salvation as New Creation in Christ

And now you've had a glimpse of the second man. Let's try and see the saved man now. The man that's in Christ. Let's go to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Now this is very thrilling.

Verse 17. Paul knew just how to preach. He says, therefore if any man be in Christ. That's the bit we were at just a moment ago. He is a new creature. There's an old translation which says, he is a new creation.

Ah, that's what our Lord came to be the head of. The new creation. Adam was the head of the old creation. Yes, and when we were born, we were born in Adam. And when we were born again we are in Christ.

Now I want you to watch how wonderfully Paul put this. If any man, you know there's a sameness about this, any man. Because I want you to get this, that high and low and rich and poor and black and white and learned and illiterate and Arab and Jew and Protestant and Catholic.

Any man. Any man can get saved, you know. Oh, don't make this exclusive, you know. This is any man. Doesn't make a matter what school you went to. Doesn't make a matter whether you can write your name or not.

Doesn't make a matter whether you can read or not. There's a big man in the meeting now, not very far away from me. And the night he was saved, he says. But the confessor said, can he read? That's alright, I'll read it to you.

You'll believe I'll do it rightfully, don't you? Let me write this some more. Read it out. In the spirit of God takes the word and breathes it in his heart and he's down on his knees and he's crying, Lord Jesus save me.

If any man. Yes, any old woman that never went to school can get saved. Any bruiser can get saved. Let me tell you that a murderer can get saved if he will but can't. Though your sins be as cup for heaven's sake, don't be putting limitations on grace.

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. If any man, let's hit that. There's a sameness about this. It's the same for the Queen as it is for me. She'll have to get saved before the Lord Jesus. If she's going to go to heaven, I hope she'll be saved.

Yes, now I want you to get this. If any man, there's a sameness about that. If any man be in Christ, let me hit the in Christ. There's a blessedness about that. You know I'm not in the baptist. I'm a Christian and in Christ.

Sure I knew Christ before I ever saw the baptist. Oh I believe what they believe and what I teach they believe too. I believe the doctrines and the fundamentals of this church are scripturally true but I'm not in the baptist you know.

I happen to be in Christ. There's a blessedness about this. You see it's very wonderful to be in Christ. God is just like this. You see I'm right in there. Just like that. Just like that, goes right in there.

You see if I look beneath me just now, there's no other foundation than any man can lay. Which is Christ. I'm standing on Christ. And you see if I look away above me, the highest place that heaven abhors is his.

Because he's underneath me and he's above me. And this book says that like as the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so is the Lord round about his people. And I'm in Christ. He's below, above and round about.

And if you're only saved and you were an old loser two weeks ago, you're as much in Christ as I am. You're not as long saved but you're as well saved. There's a blessedness about being in Christ you know.

As any man there's a shamedness about this, being in Christ. There's a blessedness about this. He is a new creation. Yes he is you know. Very wonderful to be a new creature. You see when you come to the Lord and you accept him, you're born again.

You get a new birth. And you have a new life. And you have new aspirations. And you find new friends. And you do new things. And you're on your way to the new Jerusalem aren't you? You know if any man be in Christ he is a new creation.

You know there's a positiveness about that. Oh yes. You know sometimes I've been in this vestry here. I've led hundreds in my life, probably thousands to know the Lord. And sometimes you know I kneel.

Can I confess this? Nels was a man some years ago and he wasn't right down on his knees until he lifted his hands and said Lord Jesus thank you for this night and I'm coming to you. Bless ye your mind.

And he was off his knees before I knew it. And it goes through my mind I wonder is he really saved. And that's a shame for me. Because the book that I read has told me that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Oh but years have proved that he was a new creature. Man you can see him in the meeting a day or two later he's got a new Bible. Yeah. Passers by on the street and they look at him and they think he's come terrible.

My God he'll not stick it he'll be back at the bookies. Ha ha ha he's not back at the bookies. And we are not wrong enough for him. He's got new life. You know why you are here tonight? Because you're a new creature.

They can say what they like about you. And they can scoff and laugh and mock they did it with your master. What's the buzzard? You're a new creature. Yes there's something positive about that. You see this bit?

What's this bit? If any man has a shamelessness there. Be in Christ there's a blessedness there. He is a new creation there's a positiveness there. All things are tossed away. I want you to get that. There's an indisputableness there.

You know that's how you know you're saved too. You see I had drunk Tony Wayne from I was 16 until I was 24. And the day that I took the old chap off and screwed it into a nut and stood there and said alright Lord Jesus I'll give you my life and I'll trust you.

I never drank Tony Wayne again. 44 years. I'm a new creature you know. And all things. There's a whole lot of old things tossed away you know. Do you have this experience? You used to do this and you used to go there.

And there were so many things that were habits. Are they gone? Oh yes that's indisputable you know. You're backward but you crawl around with the believers. Some of you I see coming in here you've just saved the dead too and walk amongst me and bless you and bless him too.

You know why you're here? Not because you think I'm anybody. You're here because you love the Lord. That's wonderful isn't it? That's the truth of history. All things. You might have been in the pub tonight but you're not you know.

All things are passed away. You see all things become new. You know this book becomes new. Why you wouldn't have thought of sitting fiddling through these pages for a hundred pounds a week. Something happened.

Hallelujah. It has happened. Do you see this? You see you're the new creation. Something has taken place inside you. It's a new birth and we'll come to that one night. And I want to tell you this. There comes a new commandment into your being whether you love or not.

You begin to love folk you didn't. See the old thing that was upset when Adam fell. Oh the love begins to get its proper place. First of all you love the Lord. Then you love the Lord's people. Then you love the Lord's house.

Then you love the Lord's word. And then you love those who haven't got the Lord. Yeah. Comes into its own doesn't it? And there's not only a new creation and a new commandment but you know you begin to walk a new course.

You're following after holiness. Oh you'll never catch up with it. You'll never get perfectly, yeah blamelessly, faultlessly holy. No. But you're going along that course you're following holiness. And you're following peace.

And you'll never catch up with it either. There will always be somebody to really rattle you and you've got to stand up and become that. See I watched these guys with the masks on the other day standing out with their guns and their new guns on the street.

Where was Mr. Nathan with all his muscles then? When poor old Paisley took a stand whether he was right or wrong. He hadn't a stick in his hand. But they had all the military in the north of Ireland out on the roads.

My God that mean man would need to be hunted. That sort of game won't do. Do we let these boys parade? And are we afraid to get the men out? And then of poor Paisley makes a blunder of any kind. All the army and all the jeeps that they can command for about three miles along the road waiting on them.

And you know if they went to Iraq then they wouldn't fight goose against goose anyway. It goes like alarm. They never fight like that. I think it's a disgrace. And I want to register that. You see I seek peace.

There's once or twice in life when I've got to say things and say them I will. Would you make any mistakes about that? When I think it's truth and fair I shall say it. Yes I think God expects me to say it too.

Oh I'm following peace and holiness. But I'll hardly catch up on it while I'm here. Look let's get away from the created man and let's get away from the fallen man and the second man and the faith man.

The Carnal Man and Life in the Flesh

Let's get to the calm of man. Let's go to 1st Corinthians and we're chapter 3. 1st Corinthians chapter 3. Now before we read the part of this chapter I want to say that Paul is writing to the church of Corinth.

Let's have a look at the opening verses of chapter 1. Chapter 1 verse 1. Paul. That's how he starts his letters. How I love it. Not Dr. Paul. Not the very reverend father Paul either. Just Paul. Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God.

And Sarpenes our brother unto the church of God. Make no mistake about it which is a term for them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called saints. The words to be are in italics I think in your book.

They're just called saints. Now these people were really saints. No doubts at all. He's writing to the church. He's writing to them that are sanctified in Christ. He's writing to them who are the saints of God.

And this is what he said to them. Chapter 3 now. He says and I brethren and he uses that word to let you see that he knows they're really saints. And I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual but as unto carnal.

Even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat. For hitherto ye were not able to bear it neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envy and strife and divisions are ye not carnal walk of men.

You see sometimes saved men become carnal men. That's something we need to be very careful about you know. See this word carnal. It's an old Greek word. It's the Greek word phara. And more times it's rendered flesh.

Carnal and flesh. Though you have to be very careful with the word flesh. Because you remember that this book talks about the loss of the flesh. And you can see that if you go to examine adultery and so on and so on.

And then this book talks about the sins of the flesh. And this book talks about he that is born of the flesh is flesh. But that's different. You remember it says our Lord Jesus in the days of his flesh.

You remember when he wrote again he says a spirit hath not flesh and bones. So when you use the word flesh you'll find it sometimes talking about your body. Sometimes talking about your physical friend in the days of his flesh.

Sometimes this word flesh means you're all carnal nature. That's why we call it the sins of the flesh. See although we're saved from that. This is the thing we want to get a hold of. And we are a new creation.

And old things are passed away and old things become new. You know inside the same frame there's the old man. The old nature. The carnal fleshly nature is still there. If you haven't found that out I would doubt that you're saved at all.

Because you'll find the old man will want to do things you know. Yes now it's easy to see the carnal nature. See what he said here. See that's when you can see this old man can't you? There's envying and strife and divisions.

You see we've an open meeting here in the morning at the table. And we've got quite a number of able young and old preachers. See the young fellow stood up on Sunday morning and preached. Yes unto him who loved us.

And washed us from our sins in his own blood. And I've scarcely ever seen a young fellow do as well. Now it's easy for other young fellows in the meeting to be envious of them. You're as fool as you are.

Remember if God takes up a wheel out in the meeting. And it's evitable to you that God is helping him. And God is directing his thoughts and God is blessing him. Then you ask for grace to say hallelujah.

Because God will go on blessing them no matter about you. You see when I was coming up in the meeting at home. And it was very evitable that God was blessing me. In fact it was more evitable to the people than it was to me.