A while back I wrote about a chorus from the Messiah called “Behold the Lamb of God.” This time I would like to write about another Messiah Chorus, “Since by Man came Death.” This particular chorus, taken from I Corinthians 15, talks about how sin entered into the world and how we are delivered from sin. “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead” (I Corinthians 15:21). Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, in Paradise. They had a peaceful, serene environment in which they had full communion and fellowship with God. They were perfect. Eve, however, listened to the lie of the devil that she and the entire human race could “…be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:5b) if she and Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This they did, and consequently they fell into sin. In spite of this great fall into wickedness, God let Satan know in no uncertain terms that he would not win. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel”(Genesis 3:15). The devil’s lie to Eve is the same one he tells today to everyone the world over. He even tried to tempt Jesus to follow him in the wilderness and abandon God’s plan for Him to redeem His people. Christ, however did not fall into temptation despite Satan’s best effort. His will was focused on doing what His Heavenly Father required of Him. “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day”(John 6:39). This Christ has done and He continues to intercede for us at God’s right hand. Where Adam fell into sin and caused the entire human race to fall with him, Christ redeemed His people from that fallen race. We still face afflictions in this life, including death itself. Even death, however, is for our profit because we have been delivered from spiritual death. Therefore, when we die our afflictions will be over. We will have a peace that is even better than what Adam had in the Garden of Eden because it will last forever and be undamaged by sin. May God grant us the assurance of this victory in Christ!
Kevin Rau
Young Calvinists 