Christ in Me (and you)
Genesis 20:2–3 (ESV)
2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.”
The effect of Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is that people were set on a course of deciding for themselves what is right and what is wrong. It doesn’t take great analysis to know that we would get it wrong much of the time, because we would follow the evil desires of our sinful nature. We would be left to rationalize and justify our behavior, and all out of ignorance of true righteousness, which is found only in God. The Apostle Paul commented once when evangelizing in Athens:
Acts 17:30–31 (ESV)
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this, he has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”
In the age of the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), God overlooked some things because He had not yet given us His law. It was up to each man to decide for himself what is right and wrong. Even Abraham, the man God chose with which to make His covenant and bring forth from His own body the Messiah that would one day save us from our sins, would have multiple concubines, marry a close family member, and deceive kings at the risk of losing his wife and putting her in jeopardy. It appears that God allowed most of the human race to run its course of sin, as did the Canaanites before He brought judgment upon them, but with Abraham God was beginning to unfold His plan of redemption from which the sins of the whole world would be paid for.
So, was it ok to God that Abraham was a sinner? Absolutely not! But God overlooked some things in Abraham’s life because Abraham believed and obeyed God. Bear in mind that God has always been in control of His unfolding plan to redeem creation, steering it to success despite the rebellion and sinfulness of the people who were principals in His plan. We will soon see the clay feet of Isaac, Jacob, the twelve sons of Jacob who became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel, the kings of Israel beginning with Saul, David, and Solomon, and all who followed thereafter. We will see a prostitute, a foreign woman, and all manner of sinners in the lineage of Jesus.
It was never God’s purpose to make us all into perfect people in this world, but to redeem us from our sins. He would give us His Word, fill us with His Spirit, and begin to recreate us after the image of His dear Son who is perfect. That work will one day be complete when we cross over into His presence, are given a new incorruptible body, and eternal life. My prayer for you today is that you will rejoice in your salvation, and let the Holy Spirit, and the guidance of God’s Word, teach you right from wrong, as you yield to the righteousness of Christ that is in you.
Galatians 2:20 (ESV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Christ in me (and you), in the Name of Jesus, Amen,
Rodger