Living As Salt and Light: God's Call to Transform Your World by Prince Derek

Author:Prince, Derek [Prince, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whitaker House
Published: 2013-08-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Going the Distance

In this chapter, I want to bring together two major themes. The first topic, which we have already covered, designates Jesus Christ as “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45) and “the second Man” (verse 47). I pointed out that in the divine plan, Jesus was the end of one race and the beginning of another. As the last Adam, He took upon Himself the sin, the transgression, the condemnation, and the total failure of the Adamic race. By His atoning death, He expiated the guilt of Adam’s race. And by His resurrection into newness of life, He opened the way for the initiation of a new race, of which He is the Head.

The apostle Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). As we follow Him through His death and into His resurrection by faith and identification with Him, we become members of this new race.

The new race is called “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15). This “new man” is destined by God to fulfill the purpose that Adam failed to fulfill. Adam was created in the likeness and image of God to show forth God’s likeness to creation and to exercise God’s authority on His behalf. Adam was created to exercise dominion. Yet he lost his dominion and became a slave to Satan and sin when he obeyed the devil rather than God.

Bringing the Two Themes Together

Theme 1: Regaining What Was Lost

It is important for us to recognize that Jesus has fully dealt with the legal issue of Adam’s failure. When Jesus appeared after the resurrection and revealed Himself to His disciples, He said, “All authority has been given to Me” (Matthew 28:18). Essentially, He was saying, “What you lost, I have regained.”

On that basis, He further said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). In other words, “Be the administrators of My authority. Demonstrate My power. Fulfill My purposes. I’m going back to heaven. In My place, I will send you another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. And when you receive Him in His might, you will go forth under His direction and leadership to accomplish what the first Adam failed to do. You will be My visible representatives. You will be able to say, as I said, ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father.’ As I came to do My Father’s will, you will go to do My will. As I testified of the Father that it was He dwelling in Me who did the works, you will testify of Me that it is Christ dwelling in you doing the works. As I testified of the Father that I spoke not My own words but the words that the Father gave Me, you will testify, ‘We do not speak our own words but the words that Christ gave us.’ This is My plan.

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