Genesis 23 - The Revealed and the Hidden - Part 3
The Word of God is Genesis chapter 3, verses 17 to 21. Please listen attentively to the Word of God.
“And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken[cite: 5]; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”. The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Amen.
Consequence of Sin and God's Verdict, Followed by a Twist: Adam's Faith (Eve) and God's Acknowledgment (Garments of Skin)
This chapter 3 section we are currently dealing with shows the consequences of sinning against God for the serpent, the woman, and Adam—that is, the nature of the penalty and judgment. However, to understand the content of this judgment, we must pay attention to the last part of the passage we read today, verses 20 and 21. The key to understanding today's message is hidden in these two verses. “The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” What does God intend to tell us through this passage? This message particularly draws our attention because it presents a story opposite to the preceding content of the curse. The preceding content, as you read, is about God's terrifying wrath and judgment. The ground is cursed, man must labor all his life to eat its produce, the ground will yield thorns and thistles, and humans will eventually return to dust.
Ultimately, it's the story that humans will die. No matter how simply one tries to put it, it's an exceedingly gloomy and dark story. Immediately following the conclusion of this divine curse, verse 20 appears. Following such dismal content of the curse, the story Adam tells is difficult for us to readily comprehend. Adam's natural response, we think, should be to prostrate himself before God, begging to be spared, or pleading that such things not happen to him. However, contrary to these expectations, Adam called his wife Eve's name Hawwah, and the meaning of this name, as we examined before, is the mother of the living.
God's curse ends with the declaration that humans will return to dust. That is, the declaration of death. Yet Adam, as if understanding God's words in reverse, calls his wife the mother of the living, meaning she will be the mother of living people. So, is Adam saying something nonsensical, different from God's declaration? No, he is not. God, in verse 21, confirms that Adam's statement is correct. God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve and clothed them. And this verse is a scene where God acknowledges that Adam's reaction to God's curse demonstrates his correct understanding of the curse's content regarding sin. To our thinking, the story Adam told now is quite illogical and strange. God said they would die, but Adam calls the sinful woman the mother of the living.
Adam's Sin: Listening to His Wife (Flawed Communication)
Therefore, looking at this part, we can infer that Adam knew something God had hidden. In the previous two sermons, we examined those hidden things sequentially, and today we will examine the third and final part God concealed. First, we examined the issue of childbirth and pain; second, we discussed the problem of communication between husband and wife; and today, finally, we will share the message concerning the husband's problem. It's Adam's story. The first word concerning Adam begins thus: “And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife…” – meaning, Adam listened to Eve's words and ate the fruit.
While this content may seem very simple and straightforward, it is a verse that makes us think about many things. Although this verse is expressed very simply, careful meditation reveals that many details are omitted. Specifically, this verse doesn't explicitly state that Adam listened to his wife Eve's words. It simply says the wife gave, and Adam received and ate. However, according to the expression in this verse, Adam didn't just receive the fruit his wife gave and eat it; there was some conversation involved. He ate after listening to his wife's words. This implies that some communication was already happening between them.
The Core of Communication: Content and Purpose
Therefore, that conversation must have included Eve's persuasion, and the content of her faith-based decision. However, the fact that the Bible doesn't narrate such content allows us to infer that this story was likely a repetition of the preceding content. Then, what previous Genesis story is similar to the content of this conversation? We can think it was related to the conversation between the serpent (who could also be called Satan) and the woman Eve. And that content ultimately persuaded even Adam to eat the fruit.
Then what was the content of the conversation between Satan and the woman? As we well know, it was that the fruit was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable for making one wise. And as a result of Adam and Eve communicating about this same content, they reached the conclusion that the content was correct, and finally decided to eat the fruit. In other words, as a result of communication, they arrived at the same conclusion. Adam thought, just as Eve said about this fruit, that it would surely make him wise, thus satisfying his desire for knowledge, and also concluded, together with Eve, that it would provide emotionally and physically satisfying pleasure. And they followed that common decision exactly.
The Danger of Dialogue Without God
From this fact, we can realize that communication itself may not be the solution to all the problems we might face. Communication, of course, is something that must be done. However, what's important is not the presence or absence of communication, but its content. In our communication, the role God plays within it is crucial. But unfortunately, God was absent in Adam and Eve's communication. This means that in Adam and Eve's conversation, they certainly understood each other intellectually. They agreed that their thoughts about the fruit matched, that the fruit was indeed edible, and emotionally, it was very good. Furthermore, they reached the conclusion that it would make them wise, eventually leading them to possess wisdom like God's. And as a result, they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, the absence of God in this communication means they did not listen to God's word. They listened to the wife's word, but not God's word.
Don't misunderstand. This doesn't mean God was entirely absent from their conversation. As we can see from the earlier conversation between Satan and Eve, the most frequent words in their dialogue were 'God' and 'God's word'.
Nevertheless, the outcome at the end of that conversation certainly did not please God.
The Right Attitude in Biblical Interpretation: God-Centeredness
From this fact, we can clearly understand. The problem with Adam and Eve was not whether they communicated, but what content they communicated. It's about whether God was present in that communication process. However, this is not a simple matter of whether 'God was mentioned' or 'scripture was quoted' in the conversation. When we converse or communicate with neighbors, will all problems be solved just by including God and God's word in the conversation? Unfortunately, no. Rather, we often see many problems arise even when God's word is quoted. Why is that? It's because God was not the top priority in their conversation, or the conversation did not aim primarily at fulfilling God's word. That is, their purpose itself was different.
What was the purpose of their communication? They were only interested in how high a position they could attain, and how they could ascend to God's place. Also, because their purpose was how many good things they could possess, and how much they could satisfy their desires, they could not properly interpret their fundamental problems using the words of the scripture. The most fundamental issue in proper biblical interpretation and understanding is not how much Greek and Hebrew we know. It's not about having extensive biblical knowledge either. Problems don't arise simply because we fail to clearly understand difficult words within the Bible. While having a sufficient understanding of the entire Bible might help in understanding it correctly, there is a far greater and more fundamental issue. When you read the Bible, if your purpose is to prove yourself right, to convince the other person you are correct, or to satisfy your intellectual curiosity, you can never interpret God's word correctly.
Why do many famous and outstanding biblical scholars exist who do not know God's word correctly? Why do they even speak words denying God's existence without hesitation? It's not because they don't know the Bible. It's because they read the Bible for their own intellectual satisfaction. Or because they read the Bible to prove how much they know. Therefore, they become unable to correctly interpret even the scriptures they know well. Because they interpret the Bible for themselves.
These errors seen in Adam and Eve's communication can also be found in the dialogues between Jesus and the Pharisees in the New Testament era. Did the Pharisees not know the scriptures properly? No. They were people not only capable of reciting the scriptures verbatim but also skilled enough to quote necessary content anytime, anywhere. However, the Bible records that they did not know the scriptures. Jesus Himself told them they were 'those who do not know the scriptures'. This fact reminds us that the most crucial aspect when approaching the Bible is the heart of the person reading the word. Depending on whether that heart truly seeks to please God, glorify God, and move towards God's purpose, or whether the act of reading the Bible is solely for oneself—to prove oneself and justify oneself—everything we read in the Bible changes completely.
Consider an elderly woman who registers at a small rural church and learns Hangul for the first time to read the Bible, reading the word letter by letter, and compare her with someone who reads many books, possesses extensive biblical knowledge, and reads the Bible solely to prove themselves before people. That grandmother might not even properly understand the context within the scripture, and might not know the original meaning of the Hebrew words, yet in the Holy Spirit, before the cross of Jesus Christ, she can grasp the deep secrets of the Gospel far more correctly than the biblical scholar.
My saying this is not intended to suggest that deep biblical interpretation is unnecessary. It is perfectly natural for us to strive diligently to interpret the Bible clearly. However, if the heart is not set before God, or not directed towards pursuing God's kingdom, then it is not something that pleases God, and all that effort is merely a resounding gong, devoid of any meaning. A person who loves God may make mistakes when reading the Bible. Relying on the Holy Spirit, yet lacking sufficient knowledge, they may not clearly understand all the content of the scripture at times. But surprisingly, when those who genuinely love God read the Bible, even if their interpretation is lacking, we often witness God's work and love, which flows through the entire scripture, manifest in their lives. However, no matter how excellent one's ability to read and understand the Bible in Hebrew or Greek, and no matter how outstanding their biblical knowledge, understanding of the word lacking love for God not only harms oneself but also hurts countless others, as we have seen historically and through our own experiences.
Everyone, when we read the Bible without a heart to glorify God and consider God's purpose, we cannot hear God's word. That is precisely what we commonly mean by not listening to God's word. Communication, as the Bible speaks of it, does not merely refer to deeply conversing with each other, thereby understanding each other well, making decisions, and trying to follow them well. Of course, that is undoubtedly an important process. However, when the Bible speaks of communication, it doesn't end with discussing something and reaching a decision through it, but simultaneously includes the process of seeking truth together within that communication. Through that communication, discerning what God's word is pointing towards, what God's hidden will is within that word, what pleases God, and seeking all that truth together, knowing it together, and enjoying it together—that is communication. It's not just about following one side's opinion that seems right, but together, within God's pleasing will, striving to seek that will by humbling oneself further, loving the other person, enduring together, humbling oneself before God's word together, coming to know God's holy will and His heart, earnestly hoping for that will to be done, discovering that will and seeking to follow it—that is true communication. That is precisely what you and I earnestly desire, and that is the communication the Bible speaks to us about.
Adam's Failure: As Priest and Covenant Head
When that doesn't happen, we will not be able to hear God's word correctly, and proper communication cannot occur. You may have read the Bible, but sadly, your life might have no connection to that word. Sadly, you are not understanding God's true will, but merely quoting scripture for your own defense, assertion, or justification. That is what we refer to as 'not listening to the Bible' or 'being far from God's word'.
Why did Christ come to this earth? Christ came precisely to restore this. Because our problem lies right here. We can easily discover this fact in the scenes where the Lord speaks to the Pharisees and to those who claim not to know God's word in the scriptures. The Lord came to do the Father's pleasing will, and He Himself bore the shameful cross. This was the act of Jesus Christ personally taking upon Himself all human curses, something utterly impossible for God to do. In fact, for God, not bearing the cross was the simple and easy way to fulfill His righteousness. Because humans had sinned. And all humans deserving punishment experiencing the pains of hell was the right way for God's righteousness to be fulfilled. However, because Jesus Christ knew what the Father's pleasing will was, He submitted Himself to that pleasing will.
Initially, when praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, what did Jesus desire? It was for the cup to pass from Him. This was the Lord's thought, and it was a righteous thought. However, Jesus decided to obey the Father's will, not His own, and prayed accordingly. Jesus abandoned and gave up His own will, and instead obeyed God's will. Why did He do that? Because that was true communication. He followed the holy will of God the Father.
Everyone, in today's passage, Adam accepted the outcome of the conversation, the communication, he had with Eve, accepted it as it was, and abandoned the basic mission he should have fulfilled in his position, thereby committing a very serious sin. Then, what was the proper course of action Adam should have taken in that situation? When he saw the serpent enter the garden, Adam should have first remembered God's command to keep the garden. Then, he should have fought the serpent. He should have waged war. Adam should have blocked the serpent's path into the garden, and to win that war, he should have sought God's power, righteousness, mercy, and compassion. However, Adam, despite being the covenant head, did not try to keep the garden. He should have acted as a priest, being the head. But he did not fulfill his role as priest either. When Eve listened to the serpent's words, and was deceived by the lie, Adam should have corrected this rightly and returned to God's word together with Eve, but he did not. It's easy for us to understand from the Bible that Eve was tempted first, and then Adam followed suit, leading us to easily think Eve was more at fault. However, if we examine this content closely, we realize that what the Bible says is the opposite of this understanding. What the Bible states is that while it's true Eve was tempted, Adam remained passive, even participated in the act. Therefore, Adam, as the covenant head, must bear the responsibility for all this sin. That is why the Bible refers to it as Adam's sin.
Principle of Representation: Sin in Adam and Life in Christ
Adam could feel wronged too. Since his wife came and told him to eat, and he ate, couldn't we make that much of an excuse? Admitting the fault of eating it, but the fact that the woman gave it to him to eat is not wrong. Nevertheless, the reason this is Adam's sin is precisely because he abandoned all his rightful duties. To go a step further, when God sought him and the woman, he should have approached God as a priest, repented for his and Eve's sins, and if possible, it would have been right for him to lay down his own life for his wife, who was flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones. Since this fact is not recorded in Genesis, we must go to the New Testament to understand it. Through the words of Jesus Christ, we can clearly understand this fact. Jesus laid down His life for His bride. We know well that the Bible refers to Jesus as the second Adam. Thus, Jesus, the second Adam, finally fulfilled that mission. The first Adam failed to do what he should have done as the covenant head. As the head of salvation for all humanity, as the covenant head, he was the one who should have fulfilled that role, but he failed. Consequently, Adam lost all qualifications as the covenant head and himself became one needing a covenant head. Furthermore, he could not include all his children in the salvation resulting from it. All his descendants could not be included in the eternal life he should have enjoyed with God. Everyone, the statement that we are all under sin carries precisely this meaning.
Parental Role: Leading Children to Christ
No matter how well you educate your children, no matter how much effort you put into making them beings who contribute greatly to this society, you cannot save those children. Your children cannot receive salvation by relying on you. On the last day, even if you plead with the Lord to save those children, they cannot be saved because of you. We and our children must all rely solely on Jesus Christ, the offspring of the woman, for our own salvation. This is the fact you must teach your children. It's easy to think that teaching our children to worship well in church and study the Bible diligently is the job of teachers. Of course, the responsibility should rightly fall on those appointed as teachers. However, what we as parents must absolutely tell our beloved children is the fact that parents are beings incapable of taking responsibility for their children's salvation. Even from a worldly perspective, it's clear we cannot take responsibility for our children's entire lives. But beyond that, we cannot take responsibility for their souls either. And this is an issue we must take more seriously. We need to be more humble before our children. And we must let our children know the fact that we are beings who cannot live without Jesus Christ. We must teach them the fact that we must rely solely on Christ. Not only this, but we must also absolutely share with our children the fact that while we may falter in this shaky world due to sin, may fail to live as exemplary children of the Lord in the world, and may seem like failures, even in such a life, because we rely on Jesus Christ, we can still live praising, thanking, and repenting. Not just with children, but spouses must share this fact with each other. We must teach this fact to one another. We must be able to tell and inform each other who Jesus Christ is, what it means to look to Christ, and that because of Christ, we are beings who can live and remain unshaken in any situation. Between spouses, and between children and parents, there can be fights, and relationships can grow distant. Even among believers, disputes can arise. But what we must not forget is that only the Gospel can heal these wounds, and that we must live relying solely on that Gospel, the cross. And we must tell each other this fact and help each other understand it. We must teach our beloved children that they cannot live their lives by their own strength alone, that no matter how well they prepare for life, they cannot take responsibility for their lives by their own power, and that the only way to obtain eternal life from God is by relying not on their parents, but solely on Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must teach them so they can approach Jesus Christ, who will make their lives complete.
The Curse on Adam (Man) and the Ground: Toil and Death
We too must understand this fact correctly. We must clearly know that we cannot live alone by ourselves, that no matter how outstanding our abilities may be, we are beings who can never live alone. Adam was not a savior either. Not only could he not save others, but he could not save himself either.
Death Sentence and Adam's Proclamation of Life
That is why Adam looked to the offspring of the woman. Such an Adam called Eve Hawwah, the mother of the living. Please consider the offspring of the woman. A fact we clearly know is Jesus Christ, who became the offspring of the woman. However, we must also know the fact that the Church exists together within the lineage of that offspring. Then why must the offspring of the woman be Christ, and the Church united with Christ? The reason is precisely because the Church alone, and the word 'woman' alone, holds no hope. Hawwah alone holds no hope. When we look at the woman, when we look at what we call the Church, when we look at the believer, salvation cannot arise from there either. The Church cannot save you. Because according to the Bible, we are all women unable to bear children; that is who we are. The Church cannot create new life. Although we call ourselves a holy assembly, 'saints', by the power of 'saints' alone, no new life can be created.
Gospel Hidden in the Curse: Childbearing, Relationships, Labor, Death
The Bible says this. Galatians 4, verses 27 and 28: “For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.””[cite: 208]. This is written about us. We are like this, unable to conceive and bear children. But He tells us that through the offspring of the woman, God's amazing work will happen within us. And this passage in Galatians concludes thus: “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.”. The meaning of this statement, that you and I are children of promise, ultimately promises that we will become beings who make all these things abundant. We were those unable to conceive. Yet God promises to send the Messiah to us through this church. The phrase 'one who does not bear' here signifies that we are beings incapable of doing anything, beings insufficient to please God in any situation. To us like that, God, who protects, cares for, and is with us, is giving a promise. To us living in sin, boasting as much as our strength allows yet inevitably being the most pitiful, wanting to place ourselves in the highest position yet having nothing but weakness to show, thus floundering in sin today, frustrated, not knowing how to live—to us like that, God is promising Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament scripture shows this history. Was Israel any kind of nation? A nation that constantly betrayed God, a nation that never once came to its senses on its own. They didn't even listen to the words of the prophets God sent. Through such an Israel, God sends Jesus Christ. And that promise is the same for us. We who believe in Jesus and resolve to follow only the Lord, yet sin countless times, wander, waver, and fall; we who, if our pride is slightly hurt, never forget and never forgive the offender; we who hold onto the wounds this world inflicted and sharpen the knife of revenge against this world; we who find it too hard, difficult, and frustrating to have to work again, eat again, live again in this stifling reality—to us living in such reality, with no hope in sight, God makes a promise. He says He Himself will create the image of Jesus Christ within us. Just as He showed in the Old Testament, He promises that in us who are in Jesus Christ, God Himself will bring about His church in our hearts and establish the name of Jesus Christ.
Christ: Bearing the Curse and Giving Life
If we truly understood, even just a little, who God is, what He is accomplishing for us, and how He thinks of us, how could our faith life, and our lives, remain as they are now? Throughout biblical history, God brought the Messiah into the lives of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Joseph. And He fulfilled the promise that the number of the children of promise would be like the stars of the sky and the sand on the earth. And the astonishing scene of God, who began that work, accomplishing what He does, is recorded in the final part of the scripture we are examining today. And we call this the Gospel. That He accomplishes that very work through us.
Everyone, the ground was cursed. So we came to know well. The ground is no longer a blessing but a place producing thorns and thistles. In today's passage, the word 'toil' in 'you shall eat by toil' is the same word used for 'pain' in the pain of childbearing mentioned earlier. It means pain has begun for us. Instead of ruling over the created world, we ended up fighting against the created world. War began. Nature was no longer our friend. Before humans fell, did the produce of all fields and lands just appear freely? Not so. Adam and Eve had to cultivate. But at that time, the process was not painful. Cultivation was joy. But it became toil. The toil and sweat we must exert daily from Monday onwards just to live one day was not originally pain for us. The scripture says it was originally joy.
Are you joyful in living? Do you perhaps not think of living itself as suffering? Does living not feel too laborious? As long as we live, we cannot eat and live without toil. This principle applies regardless of whether one has little or much money; everyone carries the burden of pain and toil as we live. Because God's word, that living itself involves pain and toil, is not wrong. We became unable to rule over time and the world anymore. Not only the relationship between humans and creatures, and between humans, but also the relationship between humans and creation became twisted. The laws of nature still exist, but they can no longer glorify the relationship between God and humans. The saying 'you reap what you sow' is an unchanging truth. The law of cause and effect still exists in this world. However, humans became unable to sow good things anymore. Therefore, they also became unable to reap good things. Rain and wind are no longer on our side. Some places in America where we live suffer from drought due to lack of rain, while states on the opposite side suffer from flooding due to excessive rain. This is our reality. While we peacefully worship in this chapel now, our brothers and sisters on the opposite side of the globe may be on the brink of life and death amidst the dangers of war. How much do we pray for our brothers and sisters suffering there? The world has become like this. All creation is groaning. Because all creatures are heading towards death. The Bible describes this as the land being defiled, and says the land mourns. It is clearly recorded in the Bible that even all the creatures God created grieve and sigh because of this.
Hosea says this: “Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;”[cite: 270]. He says there is no longer knowledge of God in this world. Do you think we know that knowledge of God, even just a little? No. Because, as I mentioned, true knowledge of God is a heart that fully seeks God. But the heart that seeks God, obeys Him, and loves Him has disappeared from this world. “there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”. The prophet Hosea says this is our state. He continues: “Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.”[cite: 277]. That's right. We are all heading towards destruction. One by one, things are disappearing. The number of animal and plant species that have gone extinct from nature so far must be enormous, and in the future, even more creatures will go extinct, perhaps dozens or hundreds each day. Because the land, having received the curse, no longer produces life. It's not that there is no life, but proper life doesn't emerge, and humans, being from dust, return to dust.
Our Reality: Between Grace and Hardship
This couldn't be more realistic. That's why our lives are bound to be toil and pain. So humans constantly live challenging this fact. Because we yearn to live happily, and even if it stems from our sin, even if we have left God, we want to find happiness within it. That is our heart. But we lack the ability to change the world. We lack the power to change nature. We cannot change situations. The environment always remains the same. So we try to reach happiness by changing ourselves. Everyone, you've heard the Buddhist phrase 'Ilche Yushimjo' (一切唯心造 - Everything is made from mind alone), right? It means instead of changing the world, one must change one's mind. So, if only we turn around and change our minds, that place becomes the world of nirvana (피안 - pi'an, the other shore), they say. If only we could do this, perhaps we could ease our minds to some extent. However, all human problems do not originate from the environment. The cause of all those problems lies within people's hearts. The scripture says the human heart is the problem. It means our problem was not the world we were born into, or the environment we grew up in, but ourselves. That's why the world groans because of us. The reason the world suffers is precisely because of us.
In this desperate situation, Adam speaks. ‘My wife's name is not the mother of the dead, but the mother of the living.’ This is Adam's cry. He, amidst the death of inevitably returning to dust, is not talking about death, but about the mother of the living. It seems nonsensical. Yet Adam knew exactly what God intended to do for him and his wife who had sinned. As proof of this, God made garments of skin and clothed them. Everyone, to make garments of skin, what is needed first? There must be a dead animal, right? For the first time in the Bible, the story of an animal dying appears. An animal had to die to make garments of skin. God is now telling humans, who committed a deadly sin, 'You will live'. He made garments of skin and clothed them. If He planned to kill humans, there would have been no reason to clothe them. God is now confirming that the story Adam told is correct.
Adam covered his shame with fig leaves. But Adam later learns that the offspring of the woman will come. And he learned that this offspring would not be one ending in death. That offspring was one who would give life.
Christ: Bearing the Curse and Giving Life
According to biblical expression, He is the life-giving spirit. We know well the fact that death will come to us. The content of Genesis 5 is all about that death. It shows that all people end in death. Yet the Bible says that death does not simply end in death, but an offspring who overcomes death will come. God said if they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. In place of that tree of knowledge of good and evil, in place of that garden, that hill, this time on a hill called Golgotha, a tree of death stands. The tree of curse we know. In the place of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree of curse, the tree of judgment, is erected. And upon it, the Son of God, the offspring of the woman, hangs and dies, bearing the curse we deserved. At that time, the curse we should have surely received, our death, dies within Christ's death. Christ proved His righteousness through all these events, and as a result, He resurrected. He became eternal life. And we who were in Christ also obtained the life of resurrection. Although there was nothing in us worthy of validation before God, by the single fact of being in Christ, we came to enjoy the life of resurrection together with Christ. When Adam vaguely realized this, what could he possibly say? He says this: ‘My death does not end in death, but ends as a living being. My wife will not conceive the dead, but will conceive the living, and will be the mother of the living.’.
Everyone, the offspring of the woman will belong to life, and although Adam was not the savior, in the pitch-black darkness where creation itself groans, where nothing but pain and toil could be produced, one crucial fact emerges that cannot be swallowed by all that. Of course, the pain of childbirth must exist. But through that childbearing, He will come. The pain of relationships will arise. But in that pain, Christ will come. And when He comes, not you or I will be king, but Christ will be our king, and then we will know peace. Our communication will also become painful. We will talk to each other but fail to understand, suffer pain because of it, misunderstand each other, get irritated, hurt and be hurt. But Christ will come. Only then will we turn towards the Lord's truth, and be able to understand instead of arguing and misunderstanding. All aspects of work will become painful, and living itself will be toil. But according to today's passage, Christ will come. He will come and say this to us, the weary and heavy-laden: “Come to me... and I will give you rest.”. He will bear our entire lives on His shoulders, die for the burden of our sins, and resurrect for our joy. Only then will we know His rest. Of course, death will cover us. But Christ will surely come. He will break all the chains of death and speak of eternal life where one lives even though they die. “Whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”. That was the single reason Adam could cry out like that in Genesis.
True Value: Becoming the Offspring of the Woman
But then, but then, that Christ finally came. He came breaking through everything. Neither law, nor Satan, nor death, nor life, nor success, nor failure, nor our frustration, nor our wounds, nor our pain, nor our lives could stop the coming of this Jesus Christ. God brought Christ to this earth, breaking through all our lives. He came to this earth breaking through the lives of all those in the Old Testament, breaking through all Satan's temptations and schemes. And that Christ broke through even our lives. He died for us amidst contempt and abuse, and rose again for us. The world learned that there is a God who loves them. Finally, God's true people began to live not for the world but for the kingdom of God, and realized what kind of beings they are. We finally realized that we were beings more important than this entire history of humanity. More precious than all the time humanity has existed and lived, its heritage; more precious than all the scientific achievements or truths we have created and realized; more precious than this vast universe, where the Earth orbits the Sun, formed over billions of years—the Bible is now trying to tell you that you, sitting here in this place of worship, are that precious existence. Breaking through all that, Jesus came for you. And because of that Christ, we finally learned who we are. We learned what we should live for. We learned what direction my life is heading in. Not just living day by day, growing old, losing strength, eventually dying and flowing away with everyone else, but as much as I breathe each day, this universe rejoices, God is pleased, proud, and you have become the very beings who are God's joy. We became beings who glorify God like this, and we finally realized the fact that we are chosen ones walking that path.
Once we understand the value of that life, our living is no longer toil. My living becomes God's joy, and this moment I breathe, my life becomes glory to God. Without the coming of Christ, none of us can enjoy the joy of heaven on this earth while fighting against sin. Everyone, the amazing rest you can enjoy with the Lord on this earth, amidst pain and suffering because God walks with you—you will absolutely never taste even in heaven. How can you, who can enjoy on this earth the joy untasteable even in heaven, simply let the time of your life for that purpose flow by meaninglessly? Impossible. Life is not suffering, but as much as we live, we taste God's grace; as much as we live, we come to know God's grace; as much as we live, we store up treasures in heaven. Because we come to know the Lord daily.
Experiencing Eternity
The things of this world will gradually slip from our hands. But in our hearts, the eternal things will become clearer. Your name might perhaps be forgotten in the world. Even your own descendants, how long will they remember our names later on? But your name in the Book of Life will become ever clearer. God will not forget your name; God will engrave your name on His heart, and that name will shine ever brighter. For now, those eternal things might seem faint. But, beloved, do not worry. Until the day the image of Jesus Christ is formed, the Lord will never rest. If you are a true believer, that work will be happening within you, and if that work is not happening within me, I might not be a true believer, so I must check again if I truly believe in Jesus Christ. Am I in a life becoming like Christ, or am I living today for my own life, for my own happiness? Think seriously, and if you don't feel Christ's touch in your heart, you must come before Jesus Christ once again. And confess. ‘Lord, I had forgotten; I had forgotten the fact that You died for me. I forgot what kind of person I am; I forgot how precious a being I am; I forgot why God saved me. Lord, I repent and will return.’ The one who repents is a happy person.
But if nothing comes to your mind, let me tell you again. Jesus Christ died for you, yes, for you. The confession you made before might not have been the true confession of Jesus Christ. If you truly know Christ, you must know that touch of God. The touch of God that has kept you; the touch that lifted you when you fell; the touch of God that made you repent; the touch that did not abandon you when you left God and lived as you pleased; the touch of God that called you back to His embrace when you were proud of your own zeal in church—if you do not feel that touch, you might be an abandoned one.
Light in Darkness: Hope Beyond Despair (Example of Pastor Ju Gi-cheol)
Then is that the end? Absolutely not. God will call the abandoned one today. Therefore, return. Come again to the Lord's great embrace, to the embrace of love. And call on the Lord's name. ‘Save me, I will go to Jesus!’.
Do not be shaken just because health fades, wealth disappears, your sense of existence vanishes, or worldly things slip from your hands. God will call your name even more clearly, God will protect you today amidst your hard toil, He will make you gaze upon the amazing treasures of heaven, and teach you that the life walked with Jesus is true. God's glory will accumulate, and eternal life will cover you. Beloved saints, let us walk that path together!.
Closing Prayer
Let us pray!. Loving Lord, astonish us with our faith. And astonish us again with our unbelief. Let us be astonished by the grace of Jesus Christ. Let us be astonished by this disobedience of ours. Let us be astonished by this weak life of ours, and yet let us be astonished by the grace of Jesus Christ and God who treat us with dignity, and by His hand that holds us precious. Lord, we confess that Your touch is our blessing, so even if I fall down astonished by everything, I confess that drawing near to God is my blessing and come to You, Lord. In the life we live with You, let Your name shine, and let my name fade away. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!.