Friday, March 5, 2021

A Comparison of Genesis and Romans

This occurred to me in Bible Study, where we are studying Romans.
I'm not sure how far I can carry the analogy, but I find it fascinating. 

Genesis describes the creation.
Romans 1 references the Creation. 

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Romans 1:28 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,

Genesis 1:28:Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
Romans 5:14 Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Romans 5:17 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

The one man's offense, was Adam's, in the garden. Eating of the wrong Tree.
The gift of God (life) was given through the Tree of the cross.

So, what other comparison might be made?
Well, Paul talks extensively about Grace and the Law.

What analogy is in The Garden to Grace and the Law?
The Trees of Life and of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

The Tree of Life was available to them as long as they obeyed the Law, which for them was: don't partake of the other tree.
Was that law sin? No, it protected them from death.
Was it an arbitrary law? A test? Was it fair to expose them?
Or was it respect for their sovereignty? Their free will?

It was their inability to obey that law that brought their death.
If there was no death already, what was the purpose of the Tree of Life? 

Death resulted from lack of access to Life.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (who hung on a tree)."

So, from the beginning, there was Law and Grace. Obedience and Life.

But it was not and is not now, the Law of Moses.

It was and is, the law of the Spirit.

The Second Adam restored this.

Any thoughts or contributions to this?

I would be remiss if I did not point out that the new life (eternal life) is available to you personally by

  • Recognizing that you need to change, that you are not living up to God's standards
  • Submit to His plan for your life (eternal life) by admitting you're wrong, He's right.
  • Accept the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross as substitution for your death sentence.
  • Live according to the leading and guiding of the spirit.
  • Asking Him to work His will through you when you realize you can't.





20 comments:

  1. You've laid it out remarkably well for a non-theologian. I prefer the non-theologian approach.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I was hoping you and others could help me expand on the idea, if it is possible.

      Delete
  2. "I am the TRUTH, the light, and the way".
    ... All I need to know in one simple sentence.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Waaaay too many comments to put in one, readable post. (Just remember, you asked ☺️)So I break it up.

    PART 1
    My comments follow a general principle of: what is in the old test concealed is in the new test revealed – revelations, amplifications/clarifications and contrasts

    Genesis Theme: Righteousness with God is lost
    Romans Theme: Righteousness from God is found and revealed with specificity


    Intimate communion with God was lost through the first Adam.
    It is made freely available to all through the last Adam and is spelled out in detail in Romans.

    G: Bloodshed is required to cover for the result of sin – God made them coats of skins, animals died.
    R: Proclaims bloodshed of the perfect and last sacrifice needed to recover from sin.

    G: Man’s efforts to cover for his sin fall short. Cain does it his way, Adam can’t reclaim the glory he once had.
    R: God’s efforts to cover for sin are abundant, essential and effective.

    G: God begins with truth.
    R: Man suppresses God’s truth.

    R: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, as you mentioned.
    G: Gives examples of how they did this. In Egypt God sent plagues against Egypt’s gods. God showed He was bigger and stronger than every thing they did to exchange his truth for a lie by worship of the created instead of Him.

    G: God’s glory is on display in all his creation.
    R: Man perverts that, as shown in Romans 1.

    G: God made man exceedingly wise. Adam was up to the task of naming, classifying and shepherding God’s creation. He had free will.
    R: Man became a fool when he abandoned God’s wisdom. Man has free will.

    ReplyDelete
  4. PART 2
    In Genesis we see God’s fingerwork – the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. (Ps. 8 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;)

    In Romans, we see his bared arm in the harder work in effecting salvation’s path for men.
    (Is. 52: The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.)

    G: Closes with death, a coffin in Egypt, God’s children in bondage in the far country being prepared for their promised home.
    R: Closes with God’s children still in the far country (the world) but freed from bondage, with hope, and working assiduously to prepare a multitude for the land, the Kingdom, He promises.

    G: Hints at the mysteries of God.
    R: Shows how the mysteries of God are now revealed in Christ.

    Genesis offers ‘types’ of Christ
    1) Isaac, the beloved, miraculous and only [true] son offered as a sacrifice by his father. He is dead to his father for 3 days from the moment the word comes to Abraham to sacrifice him.
    2) Isaac, is ‘raised’ on the 3rd day from metaphorical death, then walks off the page of scripture. Meanwhile, an unnamed servant is gathering a Gentile bride for him. We don’t see Isaac again until his bride is presented to him.
    3) Joseph, the chosen son, betrayed by his brothers and left to die is ‘raised’ up to a new life (at age 30), gives bread to a dying world, gets a Gentile bride, and becomes the second to the ruler of the land. *

    Romans proclaims the actual deal, Christ
    1) As the only Son sacrificed by his Father to redeem men.
    2) The Holy Spirit who speaks not of himself (unnamed servant) but of the Son, shows the Son to us, collecting a Gentile bride for Him.
    3) Christ, betrayed by his brothers, and made to die, is presented as the chosen Son who will become ruler of the earth.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PART 3
    G: They are told of him but do not see him. They hear of him but do not understand.
    R: Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand." (15:21)

    G: God chose a people for himself.
    R: God is still choosing a people for himself, expanded and clarified that it’s now Jews and Gentiles as one.

    G: God‘s plan for salvation is misty, vague, and shadowy. But He does leave messages.
    One is in the very stars on constellations found along the ecliptic where they can be seen in both hemispheres (no one without excuse – Romans 1:20) whose names, in order by constellation from brightest to dimmest stars, spell out the story of salvation.*

    Another way it’s revealed is in the names of the patriarchs from Adam to the flood.* Taken in order those names mean: Man (Adam) appointed (Seth) mortal (Enosh) dwelling or perhaps sorrow (Kenan) . The Blessed God (Mahalel) shall come down (Jared) , teaching (Enoch) his death shall bring (Methusaleh) the despairing (Lamech) comfort or rest (Noah).

    R: Expounds on each aspect.

    Genesis and Romans both show righteousness comes through faith. (Genesis 15:6 and Romans 5:1)

    G: Shows God’s patience and forbearance in bringing judgment, leaving lots of time for repentance. Methuselah, whose name means “his death shall bring,” is the longest living man recorded. Only when he dies does God bring judgment. There’s a message about God’s patient forbearance in the length of his life.
    R: Talks about “riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience .... meant to lead you to repentance.”

    G: Models men living in the flesh who cannot live in harmony with one another.
    R: Models the unity we can have to live in harmony in Christ, Chapter 12.

    G: God visited men from time to time.
    R: “The Spirit of God dwells in you”

    * I have longer talks on these if interested, which is not likely at this point. But an interesting and challenging proposition since I studied Romans last year and Genesis the year before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All of that is well done and thank you.
      The Gospel Hidden in Genesis is amazing.
      I read this years ago: https://www.khouse.org/articles/1996/44/

      Do you have any insight on the comparison of the trees with grace and law?
      Or the tree of life relating to the cross (the source of our eternal life?

      Delete
  6. Interesting comparison, and no disagreement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. I appreciate your comments, even when you only sigh :)

      Delete
  7. I don't make the same connection as you've written about the tree of life and the cross. It's called the "tree of good and evil" and became - like everything else in Genesis - a mechanism of death. I don't quite make the leap from that to Christ dying on the 'tree' to end death for us. Sorry (:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem.
      I may have stretched on the cross, but the tree of knowledge of good and evil could be the law and The Tree of Life, Grace?

      It just seemed coincidental to me that the cross was also a tree.

      Delete
  8. I enjoyed the comparison and Baysider's thoughts. Thanks Ed. I'll give these some ponderings (I'm a slow thinker.). :) Blessings my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  9. EXCELLENT.

    And good call. The Genesis week serves as a template for salvation history. We see this, clearly, in St. John's great revelation, why not the Apostle's Epistle to the Romans?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Interesting! I also thought it was interesting that the CBS lesson Baysider and I will lead in our groups Thursday talks about Genesis and the THORNS AND THISTLE grown there...and how Christ had on a crown of THORNS as He died...The ROMAN soldiers may have unknowingly symbolized the situation of Eve in Genesis.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's interesting. I'll have to give that some consideration.

      Delete