Christ in Genesis 2 – 4 February 2, 2009

Christ in Genesis

(Not an exhaustive listing)

Genesis 2:1-3 – The Record of the Creative History/The Segue into Redemptive History

Although these opening verses speak of creation in the past tense and God’s rest from creative activity, we see creative activity in the following verses. Is this a contradiction? How do we reconcile the passages?

Some would like to claim that this is a clear contradiction in the Scriptures, but this is hard to justify when we realize that the Bible exhibits this sort of extrapolative structure with regard to genealogies in the Torah as well in other places (for instance, in the book of Matthew). In one sense, Moses is giving a general statement regarding Creation and extrapolating a specific event embedded within that general statement. Therefore, the beginning of Genesis 2 is really the beginning of an extrapolative process that explicates the personal relationships/experiences implicated in chapter1. In another sense, we begin to see the redemptive history begin to unfold. God has literally ceased from His labor, with regard to creation. Redemptive history, however, begins in this chapter.

Genesis 2:4-7 – The Necessary Birth and Ministry of the Son of God

These verses present us with the birth of the son of God, Adam, the “only begotten of the Father”,* who comes into being via three elements: 1.) God, 2.) the dust of the earth, and 3.) the Spirit of God. Adam is supernaturally composed by God, brought to life by the Spirit of God, but is, nonetheless, a real man. He is created to “till the earth” (i.e. cultivate an otherwise fruitless, barren land), and have dominion over all of creation.

Here are the parallels: 1.) Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, born of a woman (dust), the Father, and the Spirit of God (Luke 1:35); 2.) He refers to Himself as the Sower of the seed in Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23 & Luke 8:1-15; 3.) Christ, in that passage, explains that the seed is the Word of God, i.e. the gospel, He has come to preach. The types of soil are different types of people.

The key verse here is 5b, which reads: “…and there was no man to till the ground”, because it reflects the situation in Israel at the time of Christ’s advent. There was no man who wanted to or had the capacity to be sent to preach the gospel of the kingdom, let alone present himself as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity (see, Psalm 14 & Isaiah 53).

Thus, we have the birth and the God-ordained ministry of Jesus Christ in Genesis 2:4-7. Adam and Jesus are both the unique, sinless, sons of God called to agricultural occupations, although one occupation is literally figurative and the other figuratively literal (Adam and Jesus respectively).

Genesis 2:8, 9&15 – The Ministry of Christ Further Elaborated

Adam’s placement in a specially made garden is also of typical significance, as it speaks of Israel, God’s special garden/vineyard, to whom Christ was first sent. Jesus uses the “Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers”, in Matthew 21:33-46, to tie these points together. The parable speaks of a “Land owner” (v. 33), “who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it…leased it to vinedressers and went to a far away country” (v33). The landowner sends many of his servants to “receive its fruit” (v. 34), but the wicked vinedressers killed and stoned them (v. 35-36). So, the Land owner sends his Son to receive the fruit, but they kill him as well in order to obtain his inheritance (v. 37).

Here is the interpretation of the parable: 1.) God is the land owner, 2.) the vineyard is Israel, 3.) the wicked vinedressers are the Pharisees and Sadducees who killed and stoned 4.) the “servants” or prophets, 5.) the land owner’s son is Jesus, whom they killed in order to obtain 6.) the inheritance, or the kingdom of God.

Thus, in Gen. 2:8,9&15 we have the placement of Christ in Israel, teaching the Word of God (i.e. cultivating Garden of God) and the foreshadowing of His death and resurrection in the mention of the “Tree of Life” and the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”, which stand in the center of the Garden of Eden (note that in Acts 5:30, 10:39 & 13:28-29, 1^st Peter 2:24 and Galatians 3:13 call the Cross of Christ a “Tree”). The garden is also significant because it speaks of the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed to the Father prior to being led to His death (Matt. 26:36-46, note the emphasis on his disciples’ “sleeping”, which is a type of role inversion that seems to pervade the fulfillment of types in the New Testament, for instance in the earthly/spiritual typological switch Paul speaks of in 1^st Corinthians 15:46-49).

Genesis 2:15-17 – The Commandment of God/the Teacher of the Word

Adam is given the task of keeping the commandment of God and, by way of implication, handing it down (i.e. teaching it) to Eve (see, 3:2-3). This is also in alignment with Adam’s role as cultivator of the Garden of God, and its typical importance explained above. Christ’s purpose was not to “destroy the Law or the Prophets…but to fulfill” them (Matthew 5:17). Adam, at least in this chapter, does not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and so, within this passage, reflects Christ’s moral purity before God. As with all Old Testament types, however, Adam ultimately fails to perform the role God has assigned to him of maintaining purity before Him.

Genesis 2:18-20 – The Search for a People Comparable to Christ

God is looking for “a helper comparable to” Adam and cannot find one (18). Interestingly, the Lord forms and brings “…every beast of the field and every bird of the air” to Adam “to see what he would call them” (19). There are two things to note about this passage. 1.) “beasts of the field” and “birds of the air” are used throughout Scripture as symbols of humanity (for example, see, Matthew 13:31-32, where the Kingdom of God is likened to a seed which grows into a tree in which the “birds of the air” lodge), and 2.) Adam’s role is one of dominion, exhibited in judgment by the Word. By Adam’s verbal judgment, there is found no one who is comparable to him.

Do we not find the same scenario in the Gospels? Christ, by His Word, names the Pharisees and Sadducees, judging them for what they are, finding them lacking in comparison to Him (see Paul’s theological elucidation of this in Romans 3:9-24). The heart of the Gospel finds a typical parallel here. Adam could not find a biological bride comparable to himself; Christ could not find a spiritual bride comparable to Himself. A unique biological bride had to be created for Adam; a unique spiritual bride had to be created for Christ (see Matthew 22:1-14).

Genesis 2:21- The Death and Resurrection of Christ

Eve is created from Adam’s wound, a wound inflicted upon him by God. Notice the movement of the narrative: 1.) The Lord causes a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, 2.) the Lord takes one of his ribs (i.e. pierces his side, next to his heart), and 3.) the Lord closes up the flesh (i.e. heals the wound). Scripturally, “deep sleep” is used in conjunction with God’s judgment.

Here are some examples:

1.) Genesis 15:12-16 – Abram falls into a “deep sleep” and God tells him of a.)his descendants’ suffering in Egypt, b.) Abram’s final days, and c.) the “sin of the Amorites”.

2.) 1^st Samuel 26:12 – David refrains from executing Saul, whom God had caused to fall into a “deep sleep,” that God might pass judgment upon him.

3.) Job 4:13 – Eliphaz the Temanite is speaking about man’s righteousness before God. He speaks of falling into a “deep sleep” where a spirit tells him of God’s judgment of man.

4.) Job 33:15 – Elihu tells Job that God speaks to men when they fall into a “deep sleep”, in order to keep man from “the Pit” and “the sword” (i.e. judgment).

5.) Proverbs 19:15 – “Laziness casts one into a deep sleep,
and an idle person will suffer hunger.” Deep sleep is, again, used in direct connection with judgment.

6.) Isaiah 29:10 – God puts Israel under a “deep sleep” as a form of judgment.

7.) Acts 29:9 – Eutychus falls into a “deep sleep” and dies. Again, deep sleep and judgment go hand in hand.

It is God who placed our judgment upon His only begotten Son; it is God who pierced His only Son; it is God who resurrected His only begotten Son. And if the type of Christ is not clear enough: God pierces Adam’s side in order to obtain the basic building element of Adam’s soon to be wife, just as Christ’s side was pierced and released the two building elements of the church: blood and water (John 19:33-34).

Genesis 2:22 –The Marriage of Christ and the Church

Again, notice the movement of this one verse. God the Father takes the internal building element of his only begotten son, forms it into a woman, and presents the woman to Adam. This is the formation of the church and the great marriage of the bridegroom and his bride in that God takes the blood of His Son and the Water of His Word, saves and sanctifies those who are His Son’s Bride, and will bring them to Him (i.e. the Church, Matthew 22:1-14 has some of the details).

Genesis 2:23 – When We See Him We Shall Be Like Him

Just as Adam was made in the image of God, Eve was made in the image of Adam. And just as Jesus is the “express image of God” (Heb. 1:3), the Church is being conformed to the image of Christ (Ro. 8:29, 1^st Corinthians 15:46-49). The woman bears the image of the man; she also has a name that is derivative of the man’s name. Christians derived their name from Christ in Antioch (Acts 11:26), and will bear the image of Christ in its fullness at the resurrection (1^st John 3:2).

Genesis 2:24-25 – The Rapture of the Church and Eternity in Paradise

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Genesis 3 & 4 as a Type of the Old and New Testaments

Genesis 3-4 can be understood separately as pointing to the necessary birth, ministry, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, they can also be taken together to form a very complete, very complex type of the whole of the Biblical message that can be broken into:

1.) The Old Testament

Genesis 3 – The Fall of Humanity and the Promise of the Savior

The Establishment of Substitutionary Atonement

2.) The New Testament

Genesis 4 – The Ministry, Death and Resurrection of Christ

The Birth of the Church

The Coming Judgment

The Old Testament

The Fall of Humanity

Genesis 3:1-5 – The Genesis of a “Generation of Vipers”

The serpent’s question is very subtle. He asks: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (v.1). No, God did not tell her that she was not to eat of every tree of the garden; he said the opposite. He states: “…Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (2:16). It appears to be that the serpent is looking for Eve to answer in the negative by saying something to the effect of: “No, God said we can freely eat of every tree of the garden.” However, Eve corrects him. Hence, his attempt to outright deny the consequences of breaking the law of God and cast doubt upon God’s moral character.

The lies are three: 1.) God stated that she may eat of, literally, every tree of the garden (this is implied by the serpent’s exclusion of the succeeding transitional phrase in 2:17, “but”, which indicates that God is drawing a distinction between the bountiful variety of edible fruit they may freely consume and the one tree that is off limits), 2.) God’s law may be broken without any consequences, and 3.) God’s law immorally withholds what is natural and good.

In Matthew 23:33-35, Jesus refers to the scribes and Pharisees as a “generation of vipers”. He places “all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah…”(v. 35), declaring that they were the spiritual offspring of the serpent, whose seed would have enmity with the woman’s Seed (Christ Himself), which is first exhibited in Genesis 4. Christ refers to the Pharisees as a “brood of vipers” because they know the Law but manipulate it for personal gain, denying the absoluteness of God’s Commandments and the judgment awaiting those who break them.

Genesis 3:6-8 Knowledge of Good

In verse 5, the serpent states that Eve’s “…eyes will be opened, and [she] will be like God, knowing good and evil”, and v.6, which is immediately juxtaposed to the serpent’s closing words, states: “So when the woman saw the tree was good…”. In this verse, Eve’s eyes are opened to the sensuous (“food”), aesthetic (“pleasant to the eyes”), and intellectual (“desirable to make one wise”) good the tree has to offer. Eve was aware of the good the fruit offered, but unaware of the evil that consuming it would bring into the world. She can see, but is nonetheless blind.

Genesis 3:9-22 – Knowledge of Sin by the Word of God

This passage indicates that it is not until they hear the word of God – in which He calls them to account for their behavior (v. 9-13), elaborates upon the judgment embedded in 2:16-17 (v.14-19), and kills an animal in their place and covers them with its skin (v. 21) – that they actually know evil. In verse 22, He then states: “…the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil…” Evil is shame before God (v.9-13), pain, strife, turmoil, and suffering (v.14-19), and, ultimately, eternal relational separation from God (v.22-24).

The Promise of the Savior

Genesis 3:15 – The Seed of the Woman

In theological discourse, this verse is referred to as the protoevangelion, or the Proto-Gospel. It is the first prophecy concerning a male, descendant of a woman (notice the exclusion of a biological father), who would crush the serpent under foot and suffer while doing so, but ultimately turn out to be the victor. In other words, it is the first verbal prophecy of the virgin born Messiah – Christ the Savior who defeated the serpent when he suffered for our sins.

The Establishment of Substitutionary Atonement

Genesis 3:21

Now, verse 21 indicates that Adam and Eve didn’t die immediately because another was slain in their place. This is the establishment of substitutionary atonement, performed by God on behalf of Adam and Eve. God, in His mercy, executed His judgment upon an innocent animal. This prefigures the death of Abel (4:8), who is a perfect type of Christ.

Recapitulation of Chapter 3

While chapter 1 is the creation of the universe, and chapter 2 is the giving of the Law by God to Adam and Eve, Chapter 3 is the transgression of God’s law, man’s eternal separation from God, his suffering under the curse of God, the promise of the woman’s Seed whose heel would be bruised once he bruised the head of the serpent, and the establishment of substitutionary atonement by God Himself (3:21). Moreover, just as Genesis 2:1-4 marks the end of creative history and the beginning of redemptive history, chapter 3 marks the end of creative history and the beginning of redemptive history. Note that the patter here is just as Paul describes it in 1^st Corinthians 15:46-49: First the earthly (2:4-25), and then the spiritual (3:1-24).

The movement of the narrative is compelling because it reflects the Old Testament’s overall historical progression. Here is the layout, so far:

1.) God creates the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1)

2.) God grants man a very significant role as cultivator/steward of creation and keeper/steward/teacher of his law (Gen. 2, specifically 2:16-17).

3.) However, man fails, deciding to indulge in sin rather than follow God’s law (Gen. 3:1-7).

4.) They fall under the curse of God because of their sin (Gen. 3:8-19).

5.) God, in his judgment upon the serpent, promises them a Savior (Gen. 3:15).

6.) God establishes substitutionary atonement (Ge. 3:21).

7.) Abel, the righteous shepherd, is born, but soon slain by his jealous brother Cain.

8.) Seth, Abel’s replacement, is born to Adam and Eve. He is the firstborn from the dead (in two senses: 1.) Adam and Eve are dead, and 2.) he is appointed to the position that Abel held, who is now dead).

The New Testament

The Fulfillment of the Prophecy

Genesis 4:1-2 – The Birth of Israel and Christ

After they are expelled from the garden, Adam and Eve have a son they name Cain. The firstborn son is the “possession” of Adam and Eve, the first couple on earth, as his name conveys. The name, however, can also mean “possessor”. And, in this case, he would be the possessor of the blessing of his father. Cain the agricultural worker follows in his father’s footsteps, working as a “tiller of the ground”. He symbolizes Israel, as we read throughout the parables of Jesus (e.g. the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32, where Israel is portrayed symbolically as the jealous older brother, and the Gentiles as the younger, wasteful, yet repentant, son).

What is noteworthy about this passage (Gen. 4:1-2) is that Christ also speaks of Israel in agricultural terms in his parable of the “wicked vinedressers” in Matthew 21:33-46. Cain is a type of Israel, the keeper of the garden (or, vineyard), following in the footsteps of his father who handed the profession down to him (remember: the seed is the Word of God). He is the purely biological descendant of the one entrusted with the Law (2:15-17), Adam.

Some time afterward, Abel is born. Abel – whose name means breath, indicating the brevity of his life – is not Cain’s twin, but his birth excludes any reference to copulation. The verse merely states: “Then she bore again…” (v.2). The exclusion of any mention of copulation is curious when one considers that he is the younger son whose shepherd profession is not shared with his earthly father, but finds its roots in the redemptive work of God in 3:21. The only reference to the sacrificial killing of an animal is found in relation to God. Abel’s sacrifice of the “…firstborn of his flock…” (4:4) points us back to the very short, but powerful, statement: “…the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them” (3:21).

And it is in this sense that Abel preeminently typifies Christ. Jesus is the “Good Shepherd”, born of a virgin (literally excluding any mention of copulation), whose life and ministry has been learned and given to Him by none other than God Himself (John 10:14-18, note how Christ speaks of Himself in this section of Scripture and compare to Abel’s life).

The Ministry of Christ

Genesis 4:3-5 – The Fullness of Time Comes

The key phrase is “in the process of time it came to pass” because it so closely reflects what Paul teaches in Galatians 4:4, when he writes: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law…” The phrase in Gen. 4:3 means to convey a sense of fruition, or birth, fullness, or completion. Again, while 4:1 states that “Adam knew his wife”, verse 2 only mentions the birth of Abel, specifying that he is a shepherd, and subtly contrasting him with Cain in the transitional phrase “…but Cain…”

Cain’s birth is preceded by the act of copulation, by an act of the flesh; Abel’s birth has no mention of copulation, only of his birth from the same woman; and “in the process of time” the two present their offerings before the Lord. Cain’s offering is cursed (3:17-19), and half hearted; Abel’s offering is learned from God Himself, blessed, and whole hearted. Reading verses 3-4, we can see that Abel’s offering is accepted because it is an offering (sacrifice) of “…the firstborn of his flock and their fat…”; we can also infer that Cain’s was not acceptable because it was poor offering of fruit (not the first fruits of his labor).

The conflict between Cain and Abel is a conflict between Israel, who strove to please God in the flesh by following the law (signified in the cultivation of the land, the task given to Adam), and Christ, who strove to please God in faith by offering “a more excellent sacrifice” (Hebrews 11:4. Another interesting note: In the book of Hebrews, the phrases “Better” and “More excellent” are always used to denote the New Testament instantiated by the blood sacrifice of Christ). The conflict is between the seed of the flesh/devil and the seed of the woman.

The Death of Christ

Genesis 4:6-8 – Israel’s Unwillingness to “Do Well” and the Shedding of Christ’s Blood

Cain’s unwillingness to “do well” mirrors Israel’s unwillingness to repent from their wickedness and do what is right. John the Baptist’s comments in Matthew 3:7-12 correspond perfectly with what we read here in verses 6-7, in that he states that: 1.) the Pharisees are a “generation of vipers” (or, the seed of the serpent, or “murderers” v.7), 2.) they are told to “…bear fruits worthy of repentance…” (v.8 – Note that Cain and Abel were making sacrifices for the atonement of their sins before God, as Hebrews 11:4 declares), 3.) John denies them special privileged status because of they are the fleshly children of Abraham (i.e. he denies that they are “respected by God” solely on the basis of their lineage and status as firstborn), and 4.) John speaks of the impending judgment of God on them.

Israel’s unwillingness to “do well” before God and bear fruits worthy of repentance led her to crucify Christ, just as Cain’s unwillingness to “do well” before God led him to kill Abel, to shed his blood. Strikingly, the murder of Abel is preceded by dialogue “in the field” (v.8). The movement here is important: First, Cain talks with Abel; Second, time passes while they are engaged in dialogue (“…it came to pass…”). Third, Cain rises up against Abel when, lastly, they are in the field. The significance is seen in that the death of Abel is preceded by and defined by this dialogue that ends in the field.

In this one verse we see Christ and Israel engaged in dialogue about the New Covenant sealed by His blood. After a period of time of walking with Christ, questioning His ministry and teaching (etc), they rise up against Him and crucify Him. But who rises up against Him? Judas, who sells Him out for 30 pieces of silver, which later get thrown into the Potter’s Field, or as they from then on called it: “The Field of Blood” (Matthew 27:3-8). This is the death of Christ at the hands of His own disciple, brother, specifically at the hands of his older brother Israel.

Genesis 4:25 – The Appointed Son

The Resurrection of Christ

The birth of Seth is the birth of Abel’s permanent replacement, or restitution. Abel’s righteous life before God was short; Seth’s life, however, will serve as the foundation for Enosh, whose birth is succeeded by many conversions. Righteous Seth has been appointed by God to be “put” in the place of Abel, “fixed” there, and “permanent” (as the meaning of his name indicates.

This is the resurrection of Christ, “… the firstborn from the dead…” (Colossians 1:18), “…the firstborn among many brethren…” (Romans 8:29), and “…the firstborn of every creature…” (Colossians 1:15). Christ’s bodily resurrection is referred to, figuratively, as His birth from the dead – as Seth’s birth is from the dead (i.e. Adam and Eve).

Genesis 4:26 – Enosh the Preacher

The Birth of the Church and The Coming Judgment

Enosh’s name indicates a life of sorrow, or suffering. Seth’s son initiates a wave of devotion to God just prior to two events: 1.) the rapture of Enoch, and 2.) the Great Deluge, which saved 8 people and male and female animals (i.e. symbolically, people) both “clean” (Jew) and “unclean” (Gentile). Young’s literal translation reads as follows:

“And to Seth, to him also a son hath been born,

and he calleth his name Enos;

then a beginning was made of preaching

in the name of Jehovah.”

What were they preaching? It is very likely that they were preaching exactly what the early church preached: “Repent for the kingdom of God is near!”

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* Regarding this title, I know that Jesus Christ alone is the “only begotten of the Father”. I am using the phrase to further emphasize what is implicit to the type – Namely, that Adam is the specially created son of God, created for a very special purpose, as Christ is the only begotten of the Father etc.