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Scripture Reading: Rom. 5:12-21
I. We, the believers of Christ, were born in Adam in our natural birth with all his involvements.
II. In Adam:
А. We were of the old creation.
B. We were fallen.
C. We became sinners before God with sin in our nature — Rom. 3:23; 7:17.
D. We became dead in our spirit because of sin in our flesh — Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13.
E. We became God’s enemies by following God’s enemy, Satan — Rom. 5:10a; 8:7; Eph. 2:2.
F. We were in the kingdom of Satan under his authority of darkness — Matt. 12:26; Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18a.
G. We were loving the world, which lies wholly in the evil one and of which Satan, the evil one, the enemy of God, is the ruler — 1 John 2:15-16; 5:19b; John 12:31.
H. We were condemned by God under His wrath — 3:18b, 36b.
I. We were sentenced by God to die, to perish in the lake of fire forever — Heb. 9:27; John 3:16b; Rev. 21:8.
J. We became flesh, not being subject to the law of God, unable to please God, and having no possibility of being justified by God — Gen. 6:3a; Rom. 8:7-8; Gal. 2:16b.
K. We were walking according to the age of this world and according to the ruler of the authority of the air in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh, being the children of wrath by nature — Eph. 2:2-3.
III. We are regenerated in Christ in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3); in this rebirth the divine transfer takes place and transfers us out of Adam into Christ.
IV. In Christ:
А. We were chosen by God the Father to be holy to partake of His holy nature and predestinated unto sonship to possess His divine life — Eph. 1:4-5.
B. We are judicially redeemed, forgiven, justified, and reconciled to God — v. 7; Rom. 3:24; 5:10a.
C. We are organically regenerated to be the many sons of God, the many brothers of Christ, for the constitution of the church, the Body of Christ — 1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 8:14, 29; Eph. 1:22-23; Rom. 12:5.
D. We are sanctified by the Spirit of life with the element of the divine nature (15:16); renewed from the oldness of our old man by the Spirit of life (12:2b; Titus 3:5); transformed by the Lord Spirit with the life element of Christ (Rom. 12:2b; 2 Cor. 3:18); conformed through the transformation in life to the image of the firstborn Son of God, making us the many God-men, the mass reproduction of Christ the God-man, the prototype (Rom. 8:29); and glorified to be completely redeemed in our body, the framework of our entire being, for the full enjoyment of our divine sonship (vv. 30, 23).
E. We are delivered out of the evil kingdom of Satan, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13a), freed from the warring, subduing, and killing power of sin (Rom. 6:7; 7:11, 17-23), freed from the yoke of slavery of the law (Gal. 5:1), and freed from the vanity of the old creation and the slavery of corruption (Rom. 8:20-21).
F. We are made a royal priesthood and a holy nation (15:16; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9), the overcomers over Satan (Rev. 12:11), the overcomers over the world (1 John 5:5), more than conquerors over the environmental troubles (Rom. 8:35-39), and the kings to reign in the eternal life forever (5:17, 21).
In this chapter we want to see the divine transfer of the believers from Adam to Christ. Praise the Lord that in the whole universe there is such a divine transfer of the believers. This is not like a transfer of furniture or office material from one place to another. This is a transfer of God’s chosen people, who were chosen by God in eternity to be holy and who were predestinated in eternity unto His sonship (Eph. 1:4-5). These elect of God need a transfer because they became fallen from the proper position to another position. They need a transfer that will bring them out of their fallen position back to God’s ordained position.
We, the believers of Christ, were born in Adam in our natural birth with all his involvements. Adam fell before he begot any children. No child of Adam was born before Adam’s fall, so everyone who is a descendant of Adam is in the fallen man. This is why all of us need a transfer.
In Adam we were of the old creation and were fallen. We also became sinners before God with sin in our nature (Rom. 3:23; 7:17). Romans 7 deals with this matter strongly, telling us that in our flesh, nothing good dwells (v. 18).
We became dead in our spirit because of sin in our flesh (Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13). We became God’s enemies by following God’s enemy, Satan (Rom. 5:10a; 8:7; Eph. 2:2). We were in the kingdom of Satan under his authority of darkness (Matt. 12:26; Col. 1:13; Acts 26:18a). We were loving the world, which lies wholly in the evil one and of which Satan, the evil one, the enemy of God, is the ruler (1 John 2:15-16; 5:19b; John 12:31). Whatever you love outside of and apart from Christ — whether good or bad, high or low, moral or immoral — belongs to the world. If you love your spouse outside of Christ, your spouse becomes a part of the world. If you love your education or your car, these are also parts of the world. The world lies wholly in the evil one, Satan.
We were also condemned by God under His wrath (3:18b, 36b). In these recent years there have been terrible natural calamities in the United States. There have been a number of great floods. Do you have the assurance that the flood will not come to your place or to your home? People ask, “If God is love, why are there so many calamities on this earth?” Today the newspapers are filled with reports of stealing, killing, and calamities. This is because the entire world is under God’s wrath. Only God’s mercy holds God back to give a margin of time for man on this earth to repent. We are still here in this margin of time, but we do not know how much longer it will last.
In Adam we were sentenced by God to die, to perish in the lake of fire forever (Heb. 9:27; John 3:16b; Rev. 21:8). This is man’s destiny. This is why we need to give up the world and spend our time to preach the gospel to rescue fallen man from the lake of fire. Fanny Crosby, a sister who lived in the last century, wrote many hymns. One of these hymns (Hymns, #921) is concerning rescuing the perishing sinners. The first stanza and chorus of this hymn say,
We should be inspired by this matter. All the people on the earth are busy doing many things, but eventually they will perish. We need to have a heart to rescue the perishing, to care for the dying.
Due to our fall in Adam, we became flesh, not being subject to the law of God, unable to please God, and having no possibility of being justified by God (Gen. 6:3a; Rom. 8:7-8; Gal. 2:16b). We were walking according to the age of this world and according to the ruler of the authority of the air in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh, being the children of wrath by nature (Eph. 2:2-3).
The modern course of the world is an age. In the United States it seems that nearly every decade is an age. The size and style of men’s ties have varied over the years. About thirty years ago, the ties were very wide. Then they gradually became narrower. All the modern styles match a particular modern age, the course of the world. We were walking according to the age of this world. This was the position we were in before we got saved. Thus, we needed a great transfer. This divine transfer is the totality of all the items of God’s dynamic salvation. God’s dynamic salvation is the transfer. This dynamic salvation rescues us from everything in Adam.
We are regenerated in Christ in resurrection (1 Pet. 1:3); in this rebirth the divine transfer takes place and transfers us out of Adam into Christ. Through regeneration God transferred us. Once we were in Adam, but today we are in Christ.
We were chosen by God the Father to be holy to partake of His holy nature and predestinated unto sonship to possess His divine life (Eph. 1:4-5). We participate in the holy nature of God and the divine life of God. We need to realize that our position is crucial. If we are in Adam, we are finished. If we are in Christ, we have God’s nature and possess God’s life.
We are judicially redeemed, forgiven, justified, and reconciled to God (v. 7; Rom. 3:24; 5:10a). All of this took place according to God’s righteous, legal requirements, so it is judicial.
We are organically regenerated to be the many sons of God, the many brothers of Christ, for the constitution of the church, the Body of Christ (1 Pet. 1:3; Rom. 8:14, 29; Eph. 1:22-23; Rom. 12:5). We are the sons of God and the brothers of Christ for an organism to satisfy the Triune God. This organism is the Body of Christ.
We are sanctified by the Spirit of life with the element of the divine nature (15:16); renewed from the oldness of our old man by the Spirit of life (12:2b; Titus 3:5); transformed by the Lord Spirit with the life element of Christ (Rom. 12:2b; 2 Cor. 3:18); conformed through transformation in life to the image of the firstborn Son of God, making us the many God-men, the mass reproduction of Christ the God-man, the prototype (Rom. 8:29); and glorified to be completely redeemed in our body, the framework of our entire being, for the full enjoyment of our divine sonship (vv. 30, 23). We have received the divine nature, but the divine nature has to work within us by the Spirit of life to sanctify us into God’s holiness. Being holy is connected to God’s nature. If we do not have the divine nature of God, we can never be holy. God’s divine nature is the element of sanctification, and this element is wrought into our being by the Spirit. Then gradually we become holy as God is in His nature. Thus, we become God in His nature and in His life but not in His Godhead. Regeneration, sanctification, renewing, transformation, conformation, and glorification are the steps that accomplish the very great career on the earth of making man God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead. This is for the full enjoyment of our divine sonship.
We are delivered out of the evil kingdom of Satan, that is, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13a), freed from the warring, subduing, and killing power of sin (Rom. 6:7; 7:11, 17-23), freed from the yoke of slavery of the law (Gal. 5:1), and freed from the vanity of the old creation and the slavery of corruption (Rom. 8:20-21). We are fighting with sin, so there is a war going on, raging all the time. Sin is warring against us, subduing us, and killing us. But in Christ, we are freed from this sin. We are also freed from the yoke of slavery of the law. The law decreed by God through Moses enslaves us. Only in Christ can we be freed from that slavery.
We are freed from the vanity of the old creation. This is Paul’s expression in Romans 8. The old creation is vanity. Eventually, the entire old creation will pass away. This is why Solomon said that everything under the sun on the earth is vanity of vanities (Eccl. 1:2). Whatever we have is a part of the world, the world is the old creation, and the old creation is vanity. But in Christ we have been freed from this vanity. Today we are no longer in vanity. The world, the old creation, is vanity, and Christ is the reality. We are also freed in Christ from the slavery of corruption. Everything in the world is under corruption. Every new thing eventually decays. That is the slavery of corruption. To become old is a part of the slavery of corruption.
We are made a royal priesthood and a holy nation (Rom. 15:16; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9), the overcomers over Satan (Rev. 12:11), the overcomers over the world (1 John 5:5), more than conquerors over the environmental troubles (Rom. 8:35-39), and the kings to reign in the eternal life forever (5:17, 21). This is all in Christ.
