Are You the Gardener? Pt. 3 - 2 Adams, 2 Gardens

Rom 5:17-19 NIV

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant grace and His gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

¹⁹ For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

1 Cor 15:46-49 NIV

So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

⁴⁷ The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

⁴⁸ As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

2 Adams & 2 Gardens & Choices

1^st Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden

Charged with caring for the Garden – being fruitful & multiplying

He had to choose between a garden & a tree

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (lost the garden)

Adam & Eve only knew good & happiness – they didn’t know evil

Like a loving parent, God wanted to protect them from evil

Eating from this tree would give experiences of grief, & sorrow, misery

It’s about believing that what God says is true and that He knows best

Disobedience brought exposure & shame – “He saw that he was naked”

Adam went into hiding

Sought to cover himself – keep certain things in the dark

Now, not only the experience of evil, but experiencing new feelings – Shame

v Guilt says there’s something wrong with what I did

v Shame says there’s something wrong with who I am

Shame drives you into hiding – Hide from God

          Shame drives you from purpose

Shame makes you keep silent

Go to another Garden: Gethsemane – where decisions had to be made

2^nd Adam, Jesus had to choose between a tree & a garden

Just like the 1^st Adam, He only knew good

To chose the tree was to experience every evil from the 1^st Adam 

          “He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief” – Is 53:2

He also experienced the shame

Jesus stripped naked on the cross – exposed

Ps 22:1. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? 

⁶ But I am like a worm instead of a man.  People make fun of me and hate me.

Jesus is taking away everything that Adam brought – Sin and Shame

Shame says there’s something wrong with me

Jesus takes upon himself everything that’s wrong with me

He puts on me everything that’s right with Him

Grace says there’s nothing wrong with me – because I am New (2 Cor 5:21)

Bear His likeness (1 Cor 15:49)

Where Shame sent me into hiding

Grace says I can come out of hiding

And come boldly into the presence of God – without shame

“By His wounds I am healed” – Is 53:5

 Wounds heal, but scars don’t always disappear

So many of us in the church are healed, but hiding scars

          Because, when people see scars, they ask “What happened?”

                    Triggers memories of things we’re ashamed of

I believe in my head what the Bible says – I’m new; no condemnation…

But seeing the scars makes me doubt myself

Can make us struggle with the message of Grace

          Is there something that I need to do?

Why won’t the scars go away?  Bad reminders

Jesus has scars, too.

His scars didn’t go away just because He was resurrected

When Thomas doubted His resurrection, what did Jesus show him?

          His scars

He showed the scars from the most painful & shameful event

          He didn’t hide them

Jesus used the scars to Inspire Faith

When people want to know if this thing is real…

Your scars are proof of the Grace of God

Heb 12:2.  Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  NKJV

v There was shame there, but He ignored the shame

He focused on the joy & purpose that was set in front of Him

The answer to the question:  YES

He IS the Gardener – the Husbandman

He wants to cause growth in your life

Recovery of what was lost in the 1^st Garden

Be fruitful and productive, with multiplication in your life

Reign in life