Generational sin has come to all men.
Adam in the garden scorned his inheritance as one who was created in the image of God. He chose to go his own way. And so it began. The first-born Adam scorned the inheritance given to him as a child of God.
(Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:6-8)
Cain, being the first-born of Adam, also scorned his inheritance, his blessing as a first-born son: He killed his brother Abel. And Abel's blood cried out from the ground.
(Genesis 4:1-12)
And all the generations followed suit.
Ishmael, who was in fact the first-born of Abraham, did not receive the blessing of a first-born. As the Scripture tells us, it was to Isaac that the blessing would come. Again we see the second-born and not the first-born receive the blessing.
(Genesis 16:1-4, Genesis 17:15-21, Genesis 21:1-5)
Esau, again the first-born son, also scorns his blessing as a first-born, and it falls to Jacob, the second-born son of Isaac, to receive the blessing.
(Genesis 25:21-34, Genesis 27:1-40)
And so we see that the first-born, traced back to Adam has scorned his inheritance as the first-born, and so the blessing comes down to the second: Generational sin is at its height.
Of Jesus the Scripture says:
So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being", the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 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. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1Corinthians 15:45-50
And so Jesus, the second Adam, is the one to whom the blessing has now fallen.
We now, in the flesh, are of the first-born, the first Adam. We have been born from our mother's womb in water and blood. But it is not to the first-born that the blessing of eternal life will come.
As Jesus explained to Nicodemus, he knew the Scriptures, he was Israel's teacher. But it was not enough to "know".
Nicodemus was of the first-born, the first Adam: "Flesh gives birth to flesh." John 3:6a
Jesus explained to Nicodemus that he needed to be born again of water and the Spirit. "The Spirit gives birth to spirit." John 3:6b
We need the second Adam, who is Jesus, to be able to enter the kingdom of God.
We need to invite him into our hearts: We need to be born of the Spirit.
It is the second-born who will inherit the Kingdom. We need to be born again of water and the Spirit. (John 3:5)
We can pray this:
Father, I come before You in the Name of Jesus.
I ask You to forgive me for all the sins of my life. I ask You to wash me in the Precious Blood of Jesus
Lord Jesus, I open the door to my heart. I ask you to come in and take over my life. Make me the kind of person you would have me be.
In Jesus' Name. Amen.
When we accept Jesus, when we invite him into our hearts, we are born again and receive the blessing of the second-born, the second Adam, born of the Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
We break the bond of generational sin that has come down to all men through the flesh of the first Adam.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16
This reflection came to me as I reviewed our Year One Hebrew text materials, in preparation for an upcoming class in Education for Ministry (EfM is a four-year program of Theological Education for lay people). I was questioning the validity of the author's skepticism of the birth order of Moses and Aaron. For further study of this second born biblical thematic phenomenon, please see:
Shem, second-born son of Noah, Genesis 11:10-26;
Abram "ah" Genesis 17:5;
Sarai "ah" Genesis 17:15;
Perez Genesis 38:27-30;
Rachel Genesis 29:16;
Moses Exodus 7:1, 7;
Israel Exodus 4:22, Exodus 12:13;
Ephraim Genesis 41:51-52, Genesis 48:13-22;
Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim (second-born of Joseph) Exodus7:1a, Numbers 13:8, 16, Numbers 14:6-9, Joshua 1:1-9;
David the second anointed king of Israel, Psalm 51:11b, Acts 1:16a;
Solomon, second-born son of Bathsheba, her first son dies 2Samuel 11:1-5, 2Samuel 12:15-18, 24 1Kings 3:12-14 1Kings 4:29-34;
prophets, major and minor, all inspired by the Holy Spirit;
Deborah of the country of Ephraim, Judges 4:4-5;
Gideon Judges 6:34a, 32;
Samson Judges 13:25;
John the Baptist, filled with the Spirit from the time of his birth, Luke 1:15b;
Mary Matthiew 1:18b, Luke 1:35a;
Acts 2:4;
And the list goes on.
Clearly, this concept of second birth is an important and predominant biblical theme that persists throughout the entire Holy Bible. I would venture to say that any serious "student of theology" willing to take the time to do a more indepth study would find that what was originally thought of as God's Sovereign Choice, is actually an entire book, the Holy Bible, pointing the way for the salvation of mankind.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 2:7a