Anticipating Christ,
The Greater Adam
Genesis 2:15-17
The following Advent devotion provides Scriptural texts we can meditate on as a church congregation, in concert with the sermon series each week, to gain a deeper understanding of our sin, a closer look at the beauty of Christ, and the power of the Gospel that saves and redeems.
Scripture
15The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:15-17
Advent invites us to slow down and remember both comings of Christ: His first coming in humility as a baby in a manger, and His promised return when He will wipe away every tear. In Genesis 1-3, we see God’s original design for humanity. We were created in His image, commissioned to bear fruit, and called to glorify Him. Yet Adam, our first representative, failed in obedience, and sin fractured the world. Even then, God made a covenant promise that an offspring of Eve would one day crush the serpent’s head. This promise finds its fulfillment in Jesus, the true and better Adam, who came in humility, living the obedient life we were meant to live and dying the death we deserved.
Because of Christ’s finished work, we no longer strive to “be fruitful” in order to earn worth, joy, or identity. Instead, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in us—love, goodness, faithfulness, self-control—not by our own strength but through Christ alive in us. Advent becomes a season of humbling gratitude as we reflect on who we were created to be, how far we fall short, and how graciously God provides everything we need in Christ. In Jesus we have a Savior-King, a perfect representative who brings us victory through His weakness.
Meditate
Take a few moments to quietly reflect on this truth.
We were created in the image of God to be fruitful, yet sin distorts this mandate and treats fruitfulness as a means to self-serving ends. How does the incarnation of Jesus and the gospel renew us to be a new creation?
Pray
Speak this prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your heart and mind.
Father, we are moved in awe and reverence of you for giving us the gift of your Son who took on the nature of a servant for our salvation by taking on our sin and shame on the cross. We thank you for your abundant love and kindness towards us. Will we honor you by reflecting your goodness and faithfulness in all things. Amen.
Apply
Consider specific ways you can live out this truth today.
Look at the grace of Christ in his humanity; not only becoming weak but taking on the ultimate weakness of the cross. The firstfruit of God will ultimately lead us to be fruitful in the ways Adam and Eve were mandated in Genesis 1.
Memorize
Carry this truth with you throughout your day.
15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
