Understanding how to grow up spiritually

Session 2 Lesson 2

Growing in Intimacy with God

Introduction: Last week, we introduced this segment of our series with the truth about the fall of man from grace in the Garden of Eden and the new challenge which is the spiritual death from which God had to raise man. About two thousand years ago on the Cross of Calvary, this problem was solved when the Lord said in John 19:30 “…It is finished…” as He hung on the Cross. 

Today, we shall continue to see the eternal effects of this simple sentence made by the Son of God on Calvary’s Cross in our favour. 

Man is now free to make choices: By the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, man was delivered from the dominion of darkness. In the realm of darkness, man was completely ignorant of who he was and who he had become due to sin. The sin nature was introduced to Adam when he sinned against God in Gen.3. 

➢ Man became a slave to sin by that nature which was later passed down to their lineage. See Rom.5:15-18; 1Cor.15:21-22.

➢ Note that Eve was deceived and transgressed due to deception but Adam’s sin was a willful disobedience. See 1Tim.2:14.

➢ God decided to raise a new breed of people with his own seed [1Pet.1:23 and 1Jn.3:9]. See Rom.5:15-18; 1Cor.15:21-22. 

➢ He did this first by bringing Jesus into this world without the involvement of a male sperm thus making him the Son of God in this world. The woman’s womb is the vessel through which a child is born into the world.

➢ The bible recognizes two Adams namely the first Adam and the Last Adam. The first Adam was the one who sinned and the last Adam was the one who did not sin [Jesus Christ]. See 1Cor.15:45-50. 

➢ The sin nature left man a sinner who had no choice but to sin and live in corruption. Sin made man corruptible in that he became subject to the dictates of the devil and death. Rm.7:21-23; Ps.14:1-3; 53:1-3 and Rm.3:10-12.

➢ Any man who receives the last Adam – Jesus Christ is now free from the dominion of darkness and can now see the true difference between light and darkness and therefore be able to make choices that would help him live for God. Col.1:12-13.

➢ The death of Christ on the Cross brought the will of man alive again to be able to say yes to God and no to Satan. See Heb.9:16. 

➢ The Testator of both the Old and New Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ [John 5:39 and Rev.19:10]. By His death, the testaments came alive and so did our will that was bound to obey the dictates of the flesh prior. 

➢ Our will was rescued to be able to not only make choices but to make the right choices. See Eph.2:1-6; Col.1:13-14; 1Pet.1:23.