Topic: “MAN, THE IMAGE OF GOD”! (PT. 2)

Text:  Psalm 8:4: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  And the son of man, that thou visitest him”?

The creation fell in Genesis because Adam (male and female) that the LORD God formed partook of the fruit given him by the woman (the church of that day) who was deceived by the serpent.  That’s the problem going on in the creation today the woman (the false church system) is bound with the ways of men and refuse to follow God in His totality because of unbelief:

• Matthew 15:1-11 [Jesus speaks to the scribes and Pharisees about what defiles a man]:                         Vs 3: But he answered and said unto them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition”?  Vs 6: Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
• Colossians 2:8: Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

The LORD God didn’t give the command to the woman, but to the man, in Genesis 2:16.  When the man and the woman came on the scene, the male and the female was already ruling and reigning in the creation.  They were already fulfilling Genesis 1:28: Being fruitful, multiplying, replenishing the earth, and subduing it:  having dominion over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moved upon the earth.  They were the LORD God ruling in Genesis chapter two.

There are those that will take these scriptures Genesis 1:26-28 and Genesis 2:16 and run with it thinking men have more power with God than the women, but not so spiritually.  Physically yes, he’s stronger, but spiritually he (the male) has no more power with God than the female.  

[In the divine order “the man Adam’s” delegated ruler-ship over his wife Eve was based on the “fall” not by “priority”:  

• 1 Timothy 2:13: For Adam was first formed, then Eve.  Vs 14: And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 

The husband’s delegated ruler-ship over his wife was made necessary by “the fall, and not creation”: 

•  Genesis 3:16:  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children:  and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  1 Timothy 2:14) (above). 

Man’s ruler-ship was not based on priority (having precedence of creation) nor superiority, because when God created “man” (doesn’t denote gender as far as it being male only), “male and female” created He them and called their name ADAM, in the day when they were created: Genesis 5:2.
So the "female" already qualified as Adam, the same as the "male" and was in the same class as the "male" being in the image and likeness of God.

Satan approaches the “woman”, but it was the “man” that brought in sin:

• Romans 5:12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. 

This is why God couldn’t take the product of a  man’s seed and make him the “incarnate” Word in the flesh; but He could us a “woman” that had not known a man.  The problem wasn’t in the “womb of the woman”, but in the “seed of the man”!  The curse was carried in “the seed” of the man!  But God destroyed the curse that was carried in the “seed” of man, by sending “the seed CHRIST”!!!  Galatians 3:13-16.

But the “husband’s authority over his “wife” is based not on superiority of creation, but “his love for her”:

• Ephesians 5:23-25: The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church:  and he is the savior of the body.  Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.  Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (vs 28-29).

Galatians 3:27-28: As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:  for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  

The man  (Adam) that the LORD God gave that command to is a body of people composed of both male and female that was ruling in the creation.  The enemy was able to get to the woman (the church).  Even though she had eaten of the fruit (not an apple) – she appropriated the lie of the serpent to her life.  Though she had eaten of the fruit (which was "a lie" from the devil) the creation was still intact, because the command wasn’t given to her, but to the man Adam:

•  Genesis 2:16: And the LORD God commanded the "man", saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:  for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.

When the one that was the head of the creation partook  of the forbidden fruit, it was then the creation fell into destruction. 
 In Romans 5:12 when it states, “By one man sin entered into the world”, that word “entered” doesn’t denote the beginning of sin because sin was already in the world, but the enemy knew that if he got hold of the “man” (the body of people the LORD God had put in charge of the creation) that was the head of the creation he would cause it to fall and he did.  But even with that God in His infinite wisdom had a plan to bring the creation back unto Himself and did through His Son Jesus the Christ!!!

• 2 Corinthians 5:19: To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

Galatians 5:22-23 speaks of the fruit of the Spirit: love joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.  That’s God’s fruit.  So the devils fruit is opposite of that: hatred; torment; etc. The LORD God told the man he could eat of every tree that was in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  The tree of life was in the midst also.  If you’re eating only of the tree of life, you will only have one mind-set or be single-eyed or single minded, and that gives us eternal life.  But they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which caused them to become double minded, so they were looking at two schools of thought. 

• Romans 8:6: To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

•  James 1:8: A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.  

• John 17:15: I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil: [which was the systems that men had set up even then and is still active - philosophies, vain deceit, traditions of men, rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: Colossians 2:8].

By eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they became critical and judgmental of others.  Religion: “Get that man out of your house”; “throw away those cigarettes”; “leave that alcohol alone”; take off those pants, earrings and make-up lady and God will bless you”.  Religiously critical and  judgmental! 
How can you scale a fish without catching it first?  What we need to do is manifest the love of God to people, and preach the gospel of good news to them and the Word will do the work.  

Some folk that are married, married for the wrong reason.  They did it so they could make what they were doing legal, or so others could not judge them, but they’re miserable!  We need to wait on God! There may be things God will do in me that He won’t have to do in you and vice versa.  Is anyone brave enough to call God an adulterer?  He divorced Israel, Jeremiah 3:8, and has remarried, and He’s married to us the church, the Body of Christ!  Hallelujah!!!

But the goal is the same for God’s people and that is, to get us to the place that we grow to the fullness of the stature of Christ, in the earth: 

•  Ephesians 4:13: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Anything that deviates from what most people believe, in their own eyes, you’re as wrong as “two left shoes”, so to speak.  And what they believe may not be “truth” as far as God’s Word is concerned.  John 3:17-18, let us know that anyone that does not believe in the Son is already condemned.  “Religious people will tell you about the “biggies of sin", that they call sin:  drinking; smoking, cursing; having sex outside of marriage; gambling, but they don’t tell you that anything that is not of faith is sin: Romans 14:23. So that judgmental spirit is still at work today in people.

Even though the woman in Genesis had eaten of the fruit or appropriated to her life what the serpent (the devil; Satan) had told her, the creation was still intact. 

This serpent wasn’t a snake standing up on his tail talking to the woman.  These were people that had been in that place of power the Adam people were in, but lost it.  They were called “morning stars and sons of God”, which included Lucifer: 

• Isaiah 14:12: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How art thou cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations.                                                                [Lucifer was "a man" that at one time had power with God in the beginning, but got the "big head" was filled with "pride" and tried to exalt himself above God and God brought him down! 
• (Isaiah 14:16): They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness and destroyed the cities thereof:  that opened not the house of his prisoners"?
Jude 6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.                                                        

 There are still serpents in the church today.  Those Pharisees, Sadducees, the Jews that were always at odds with Jesus, He called them serpents, and vipers. 

• Matthew 23:33: You serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell? 

Though the woman was in the transgression, 1Timothy 2:14, the creation was still intact, because the command was not given to the woman by the LORD God, He gave the command to the man.  But the woman offered the lie of the enemy which she had received to her husband and he partook of it, because he wanted to keep fellowship with her.  And when he (Adam) did partake of the fruit, the creation fell.  The LORD God told the "man" that in the day that you do this you will surely die, Genesis 2:17.      He (or they) didn’t die physically right away, but they died spiritually.  They became not annihilated but alienated from God spiritually.  They lost spirit relationship or fellowship with God and eventually died physically.

That’s why it says, “The voice of the LORD God came walking in the garden in the cool of the day” Genesis 3:8.  The Adam race of people had lost the light, the fire of God, became uncovered of the righteousness of God!   

• Genesis 3:20, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve”, because she was the mother of all living.  

She was not the mother of “all breathing”, but “living”. The evening is facing the going down of the Sun.  The darkness is approaching.  Adam had gotten lost in the “Eve”- ning (the woman) – the adulteress).  Their light was going dim. They had lost the light of God that was in them.  The fire had begun to sizzle out in them and the light in them was diminishing.

Man, the image of God, is us His people, manifesting Him (God) in flesh form in the earth as Jesus did:   1 John 4:17: As he is, so are we, in this world.                                       

  God is Light!  When the earth was upright the Sun was shining on the earth from all angles with the same amount of light.  Everything was perfect.  But when the Adam people fell it caused the physical earth to be tilted on its axis, and it caused a shadow to be cast, and the light rays of the Sun was no longer striking all four quarters of the earth equally.

A “shadow” is an interruption of the light!  In the Greek “shadow” means “darkness of error”. 

• Hebrews 10: For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.

Shadow is from the root word ski’a, meaning, shade or (an interruption of the light); darkness of error or an adumbration.

• Hebrews 1:3: [speaking of Jesus]: Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. 
• 1 John 4:17: As he is, so are we, in this world.

Jesus being “sat down on the right hand”, is not Him up beyond the blue sitting at the right hand of God in some big high back chair.  It’s Him being established in a place of power and authority.  And He has given unto us that same power:

• Luke 10:19: I give unto you power, to tread on serpents and scorpions, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
•  Acts 1:8: You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me.  

The earth being upright – when God created the heaven and the earth, He created everything perfect, He created man perfect.

Red blood cells renew themselves every ninety to one hundred and twenty days. God made us eternal people.  There are epithelial cells that continually generates to the surface of the skin, to restore injured or dead cells.  God didn’t create man to die, He created us to live.  Man is dying because of his thought processes, what we’ve been told over the years.  Everything with religion is a “one of these days” message, when our God is a right now God!  

The body is continually renewing itself, but because of “Leviathan” (the priests), the people are deceived.  Many of them are preaching that to get to heaven you must go by way of the grave.  That was the purpose of Jesus being buried in Joseph’s tomb.  It was borrowed, because Jesus knew that it wasn’t going to hold Him there.  Jesus conquered death so that we wouldn’t have to go that way.  It matters not how many have died or how many will die, it doesn’t negate the Word of God! 

• John 10:10: The thief comes not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:  I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Genesis 49:5: Simeon and Levi are brothers, and instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.                              

 Levites were the priests. 

• Job 41:1-2: Canst thou draw out Leviathan with a hook? 

Take a look at the first four letters of that name, “LEVI”.  When you look at the instruments of cruelty that are in their habitation, unscramble the letters in “LEVI” and see what’s there:  that which is "EVIL" [ill; harm; hurt; sin; unrighteous; immoral; corrupt]:  and "VILE" [debased; wicked; depraved].  But when we detach ourselves from the “LEVITICAL priesthood” and connect with the “MELCHISEDEC priesthood”, we can “live”!   

• Hebrews 7:11: “If therefore perfection were by the “Levitical priesthood”, (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of “Melchisedec”, and not be called after the order of Aaron”? 
• Vs 12: “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law”.
• Ephesians 2:5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace you are saved:  Vs 8: For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God.

We the true “sons of God” are kings of the east [life messengers, those free from the systems of men] and are marching forth with the true message of the gospel of the kingdom of God in us, and the kings of the earth [death messengers, preachers bound by the system of religion] are going to have to come under subjection to the fullness of the truth of the Word of God. 

• John 4:24: God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him in Spirit and in truth!

• John 8:32: And you shall know the “truth” and the “truth” shall make you free.

Our being in the image and likeness of God is "THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITH A BODY"!             That’s what Jesus was.  He was the very "SPIRIT OF GOD WITH A BODY"!:

• John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God:  Vs 14: And the Word was made flesh. 
• 1 John 4:17: As he is, so are we, in this world!

Many Christians think that they have to sail off to heaven to get their long white robe, but in reality, we already have the robe on which is "the righteousness of God": 

• Revelation 19:8: And to her (the Lamb’s wife – us the church) was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.          That’s what the “robe” is the fine linen, clean and white: (leukos, “the light” of God).

• Romans 13:12: The night is far spent, the day is at hand:  let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  

We have on the light which is the righteousness of God, so we have on “the robe of righteousness”.

• Isaiah 61:10: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, (Jesus hadn’t come and died as our Savior yet):  he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

The prophet Isaiah had been clothed with the garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness before the resurrection!  What about for us after the resurrection?  We can have on both now, the garments of salvation and the robe of righteousness!  And we do!  Especially for those that get the revelation and believe it!

• Revelation 3:18: I counsel thee to buy of me gold (the divine nature of God) tried in the fire, that thou may be rich; and white (light) raiment, that thou may be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou may see.

With the robe of righteousness on, it covers us, so that the shame of our nakedness won’t appear.  This covering has nothing to do with “clothes”, but it is the “righteousness of God”!

• 2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin:  that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
  

Genesis 2:24-25: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:  and they shall be one flesh.  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

They weren’t ashamed because they were covered with the righteousness of God.                            Revelation 3:18 is telling us, be clothed with the righteousness of God so that the shame of our nakedness won’t appear.  

The man and his wife were not ashamed until they became uncovered of the righteousness of God, then they were naked, and they tried to cover themselves with “fig leaves”.  These leaves did not come off of a physical fig tree.  
Leaves is from the root word chemah’, meaning curdled milk.  When something has curdled it’s sour and not fit for human consumption.  Anything “sour” has a sharp acid taste to it.  That’s what the messages or traditions of men (kings of the earth) contain, “Religious ACID”, which is:  abomination; condemnation; imagination; damnation. This is what's holding many of God's people in bondage. 

• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

The man and his wife became locked into a religious system of Judaism.  That’s what the “fig leaves” represent, philosophy, vain deceit, tradition of men, rudiments of the world, and not after Christ Colossians 2:8. 

When Jesus cursed the fig tree:

• Mark 11:13-14: And (Jesus) seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon:  and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.  And Jesus answered and said unto it, “No man, eat fruit of thee, hereafter forever”.  And his disciples heard it.  Then He goes to the temple in Jerusalem and cleanses it of those that sold and bought in the temple.   Vs 20: In the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  

Jesus answering the fig tree tells you that the fig tree was talking to Jesus, it was a religious spirit.   Jesus saw the fig tree afar off, Mark 11:13.  He saw the leaves, haply looking for some fruit.        With the fig tree it usually produced fruit before or along with the leaves, so it should have had some fruit on it. 

That’s the design of the “false church system”, or “religious order”, it has leaves, but no fruit!  That’s what was offered to the woman in Genesis.

• Genesis 3:6: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

When Jesus saw the fig tree afar off, He had a flash back of what happened to the woman (the church) in Genesis, how they had gotten caught up or wrapped themselves with religious order, “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life”, which is not of the Father, but is of the world” 1 John 2:16. 
Another definition of “leaves” is “to join” or “a wall”.  They joined a “religious system” which became an entrapment to them!  That’s what draws people today: famous preachers, singing programs with famous singers, which is more of entertainment than it is reaching out for souls. 
 Lots of churches love preachers that can “hoop”, and run the aisles and if you preach more than fifteen or twenty minutes you’ve lost half of the people.  Hooping is alright for those that do it as long as “truth” is being spoken.  Personally, I don't care for "fast foods", I like home cooked meals, which takes more time than running to get something quick" (so to speak).

Here Jesus remembered what happened to the woman (the church) in Genesis 3, and how her husband (the man Adam) partook to keep fellowship with her, which caused the creation to fall.  You see He (Jesus Christ) was there and saw all this happening even in the beginning:

•  (Luke 10:18): I saw Satan as lightning, fall from heaven.                                                               Those that opposed God in the beginning between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2, even before the Adam race and now they've deceived them (the Adam race) and caused them to fall from their divinity back into their humanity.   Satan is a proper noun that relates to "people"!      But Jesus' encounter with the "fig tree" caused Him to remember what transpired with the "woman" (the church) in Genesis and He remembered that "great fall". 

•  Mark 11:14: And Jesus answered and said unto it, “No man, eat fruit of thee, hereafter forever”!
•  He (Jesus) was letting the devil know that he deceived the church in the beginning and they partook of that fruit, but from this point on no man will eat of you, from this day forward!  Jesus cursed religion, then!  He didn't partake of it and is delivering those that will take hold of the Kingdom message from it as well!!!  

 Keep in mind the fruit that the church ate of in Genesis that brought the bondages of the devil upon them, Jesus conquered all of it in Matthew 4:1-11, during His temptation in the wilderness.  With each temptation the devil brought to Jesus, His response was:

•  “It is written”!  Vs 11: Then the devil leaves him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him.  He defeated the devil with “THE WORD OF GOD”!!!

We have the power to overcome because we are as Jesus was, “in the image of God and after His likeness”.  But we must use the power He has given to us.

We as a body need each other!  Instead of fighting and bickering, let us come together and reason together as sisters and brothers. 

• Psalm 133:1: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

We’re in God's image because we are the invisible God made visible or manifested in flesh.  We are after His likeness, so we must manifest His fruit:  love, joy, peace, dominion, authority and power!

We’re not in the “form of God just because we have on flesh only”, but this is a particular kind of flesh.

• 1 Corinthians 15:39: All flesh is not the same flesh:  but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

KIND is from the root word chresteu’omai, meaning to show oneself useful, as to act benevolently:  be kind: [To treat as one’s own family] / also from chrestos, meaning employed, in relation to being  useful (in manner or morals); better; easy; good, goodness; gracious; kind.

Some synonyms for “kind” are: sort; species; class; type; breed; character; nature.

God did something different with “man” than He did with the other creatures.  He made “man’s flesh” immortal, as He Himself is immortal.  Man became God’s dwelling place in the earth, and “useful” for service to God as well.

FLESH in 1 Corinthians 15:39 is the root word (sarx):  flesh (as stripped of the skin), or (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food); the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions), or a human being (as such): carnal; carnally minded; fleshly.

When God created and made man in His image and after His likeness, He gave man flesh that was incorrupt and immortal.  It was “sin” that brought on death and started the decay process.  But God has restored man back to incorruption and immortality through Jesus the Christ:  

• 1 Corinthians 15:22: In Adam all die, but even in Christ shall all be made alive:  Vs 54: So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory!     This doesn’t happen beyond the blue but right here and right now while we have these bodies that God has given us!
• 2 Timothy 1:9-10: Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Philippians 2:6: Who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

Equal is from the root word isos (ee’sos) meaning (through the idea of seeming); similar (in amount and kind); agree together; as much; like. [This word “Isos” is used with the verb “to be”, signifying “to agree” / also from the word “ei’do”, meaning to see; to know by perception: know; cannot tell; know how; behold; perceive; be aware; consider; have knowledge; be sure, tell; understand / and from “hora’o”, meaning to stare; to discern clearly (physically or mentally): to attend to; to experience; to appear: behold’ perceive; see; take heed.

We must come to the revelation now or the understanding that our being in the “image and likeness” of God is the truth that as Jesus was God in flesh form in the earth, so are we!  That’s the “mystery of the gospel” that many find hard to accept.  Get this: “Man will never find God, until he COME TO HIMSELF”!!!

Genesis 1:26: Let us make man in our image: (tse’lem – “phantom” (an appearance without material substance):  [Synonyms for "substance" (person; incarnate; body).
AFTER OUR LIKENESS: (demuwth') [resemblance; model; shape; similitude; manner; fashion; pattern]: 
In other words, John 4:24, says, God is a Spirit, but He made man "to be like and act like" God Himself - "in love and in power", in the earth as His ambassadors or representatives!

Jesus thought it not robbery (plunder; defraud; stealing), to be equal with God (Philippians 2:6), because He knew that He was God in flesh form. 

• 1 John 4:17: As he is, so are we, in this world.

FORM in the Greek is morphe’, meaning, shape; “nature”.  It goes to another root word mer’os, in relation to the adjustment of parts.      Mer’os means to get as a section or allotment: a division or share:  part; portion; behalf.

Nature is the essential quality of a thing; essence; inherit tendencies of a person; kind; type; the power or force that seems to regulate it. 

•  Romans 8:14: As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  

God took man (male and female) through a metamorphosis, moving him from the stage of a cocoon to a full fledge butterfly!  He moved man from mortality to immortality!  From darkness to light!  From death to life!  

• Colossians 1:12-14: Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:  who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.

Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27; 13:35: For thou will not leave my soul in hell; neither will thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Jesus’ flesh did not “see corruption”: 

 Corruption in Hebrew is shach’ath, which is a pit (as a trap), destruction, the grave:  / also from shu’wach, meaning to sink; bow down; incline; humble.

• Philippians 2:8: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

In the Greek, “corruption” is diaph’oros, meaning, decomposition and decay. Jesus' body did not decompose or decay, it was eternal flesh.  That's the flesh He's put in us!

• Revelation 1:18: I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

John 17:4: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

This "life" Jesus has given us is "Zoe": lifetime / (za’o) to live; be alive; quick; lively.  This is “life” as a principle of that which is the common possession of all animals, men, by nature, plants, etc. 
 But when God speaks of “life” in relation to “man”, He uses the word “eternal” or “everlasting” with it!  

ETERNAL (aio’nios) perpetual (of past time, or past and future as well): everlasting; since the world began; forever / also from (aion’) an age; perpetuity (also past); the world; ever; evermore; age; eternal; course; forever: or [time in its unbroken duration]

.  Why "Eternal Life"? [Because it stresses the quality (status; grade)) of life]:  Why "Everlasting Life"? [Because it stresses its length (unending)].

• John 3:14-16: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Ephesians 5:30: We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

1 John 4:17: As he is, so are we, in this world!

We’re not in the “form” of God” just because we’re in a flesh body, but it’s a particular kind of “flesh”!  Jesus was God and He was flesh!  His flesh was eternal, and the flesh He has given us is also “eternal”!

• 1 Corinthians 15:53: This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.  Vs 54: So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then, shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man BE IN CHRIST, he is a new creature (creation); old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
• Colossians 1:21-23: And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the BODY OF HIS FLESH  through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:  if you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister. (Read vs 24-29).
• Colossians 3:9-10: Lie not one to another,, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
• Hebrews 9:11-12: But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Pastor Gracie Perry