Jesus
came to earth as the second Adam. By placing Himself under limitations, He
modeled God’s original intent for Adam. Jesus, the Son of Man, would have complete
faith in the Father and the Holy Spirit. The power of Jesus’ life and ministry
rested upon His faith in the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did
not come to earth with His own agenda; He came to fulfill the will of the
Father.
God would display everything He desired for
humanity through the life and ministry of Jesus. The Bible leaves us a clear
record. Jesus, as the second Adam, lived and fultilled all God had planned for
the first Adam. Jesus lived a completely sinless life. Completely governed by
the voice of God, he overcame every temptation of the devil. He was a living
and breathing expression of the Father’s heart to humanity. He came preaching
and demonstrating the Good News.
Jesus healed all manner of sickness and
disease because it was never God’s intention for those evils to be part of
man’s existence in the first place. God’s passion to redeem humanity and the
earth consumed Jesus; this was His divine mission. As the second Adam, He
succeeded in reestablishing God’s original plan so we could be free in Him.
Preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom of God were essential to Jesus’
mission, but God’s plan could not find fulfillment without His death and
resurrection. Only through this divine purpose could God’s full desire for
humanity be realized.
For humanity to become born again, God
Himself would give them the key that would unlock the door into a new identity
and a new way of living. He used this new way of living as a reintroduction of
what He desired at the beginning of time:
a people who lived as citizens of His Kingdom, representing His
interests in the earth. Jesus taught, modeled and fully demonstrated this
kingdom (God’s rule and reign) in His life on earth.
God’s revelation of Himself underlies our
faith in Him. A believer and citizen of the Kingdom of God is one who responds
by faith to God through trusting God’s revelation of Himself found in Scripture
as the basis of his or her existence. Jesus revealed Himself to all humanity as
the way, the truth and the life. God’s love, His standards and all His
attributes are found in His Word and in the person of Jesus Christ.
When the Good News of the gospel is
presented, individuals receive a choice between life and death. Adam and Eve
also received a choice, and God continues to honor people’s choices today. He
entrusts us all with a measure of faith in the gospel message, and He gives
each of us the ability to respond to Him. But we must decide to say yes.
God gave humanity the gift of faith to
release His ability to work on our behalf. We can only receive faith through
surrender and trust.
St. Paul writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8
