Thank God that we have a savior who knows from experience how it is to be human in every sense of the word Therefore, we rejoice in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in our walk day by day, for it is by his grace – his divine enablement – by which we walk in HIS VICTORY.

This month (April) the world of Christian religion celebrated what is called Easter, a name which some find offensive. My dad used to call it "Resurrection Sunday" actually a better name. I have come to the place where I believe our Father is more concerned with the truth conveyed, rather than whatever names may be used. If God could use a "jackass" to get to Balaam, then he will use what he wishes, as he desires.

An old hymn has been on my mind for several weeks, it is one I grew up singing every Easter Sunday. It begins slowly with: "Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my savior," and then bursts into a rousing,"Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’re his foes" This is tremendous truth because when he arose Adam arose. We descendants of Adam actually can sing; "Low in the grave WE lay" (together IN Christ) - - and, "Up from the grave WE arose, with a mighty triumph o’re OUR foes" There is, and was, NO defeat. Only a glorious victory. Genetically Jesus was a descendant of Adam. Hebrews 7:8-10 speaks of Levi paying a tenth of the spoil to Melchizedek, because he was genetically in Abraham, even so, Adam was included in Jesus death and resurrection. Included in the First Adam, the head of the human race, were ALL OF HIS DESCENDANTS including Jesus the Christ. The verse from the poem, "My Ancestor," describes this relationship. (Author unknown)

"You died and I was born;
Yet each of us are cells of you,
In flesh, In blood, In bone;
Our blood contracts and beats a pulse,
Entirely not our own."

It is only by relating to our Lord’s humanity as the son who had emptied himself in order to bring us from the First Adam the son of God (Luke 3:38), who amazingly was "a type of him who was to come," that we can fully appreciate how we have been lifted up to dwell in the heavenly places, included in the Last Adam. "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ (God’s Last Adam) all will be made alive." (1Corinthians 15:22) We, that is, ALL of mankind, were included in God’s Last Adam.

The First Adam was physically taken from the earth, and spiritually was made to live by the breath of God being breathed into him. He became a living soul – a person. The Last Adam was also of the earth, in the sense of his physical ancestry from Adam One. The Last Adam's physical life was brought into being by the Holy Spirit indwelling the earthen "ovum" in Mary, who was a descendant of Adam. Without our choice we all are in the "family tree" of the First Adam, the First Man. Therefore, we must ask, "Is there any valid reason why God has not included us ALL (All of mankind) IN THE LAST ADAM, THE SECOND MAN, the very one who became a "life-giving spirit?’" (1 Corinthians 15:45) Thank God that IN HIM is LIFE, the very life of which we may all partake of freely.

There is a huge difference between the First Adam and the Last Adam with regard to glory. We know that the First Man, Adam lost the glory covering that he had, and that Jesus laid his pre-incarnation, fullness of glory aside. We look at the brief moment in time when Jesus exhibited a temporary glory on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John. Matthew described it this way; "And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light." Peter later referred to this as "the more excellent glory." As we behold his glory, we too are being transformed (metamorphoo) into the image of his glory. Watchman Nee got it right when he said; "GOD’S PURPOSE FOR MAN IS GLORY, GLORY, GLORY."

THE GLORIFIED JESUS – THE SON OF GOD EIGHT is the number of NEW beginnings. Man’s first day was on the eight day from the start of creation. Jesus was raised from the dead on the eighth day, the first day of a new week. Indeed it was GOD’S NEW DAY As a point of interest, the numeric value of the Greek letters in the name Jesus, add up to 888. The number eight is associated with RESURRECTION, and REGENERATION. It speaks of a new beginning, a new era, or order. The LAST Adam died; the SECOND MAN is the NEW ORDER, the new beginning. We are of the SECOND MAN, the NEW MAN. In Christ Jesus we have been set free from the First Man, the old Adamic order of the flesh. Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection and the life." This he could say as the "son of man," because his life was the expression of his fathers will by his obedience. Even during the time of great agony in the garden, just before his arrest, he could pray a prayer of both request and submission to his father’s will. "Abba Father All things are possible for you; remove this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will." His flesh, his humanness, cringed at what he knew was ahead of him, something that he may have heard about before, or he may have even seen, a Roman crucifixion.

Death was before him, and into it he willingly entered because he came to do the will of the Father. We are reminded that Jesus did not self-resurrect. We must emphasize that it was GOD THE FATHER WHO RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. The following scriptures confirm this truth: Acts 2:24 (But God raised him up again); Acts 2:32 (This Jesus God raised up); Acts 4:10 (whom God raised from the dead); Acts 10:40; 13:30, 32, 34; 17:31; and Romans 6:4 (as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father).

To me, the most glorious words ever spoken, other than when God had pronounced his creation as "very good," and in Revelation Twenty-one where he declared, "Behold I am making all things new," were the words Jesus cried out as he was dying on the cross. "IT IS FINISHED" Wow What a declaration "IT IS FINISHED" NOTHING can be added to, or taken away, from that triumphant declaration.

WHAT IS FINISHED? The First Man, the First Adam, sin, and all of its results were dealt a death blow. The power granted to Satan’s, as the temporary "prince of the world" became NULL and VOID. We are reminded by Peter that the devil goes about AS a roaring lion, a lion he is not It is hard to understand why so many of Gods saints are so fearful of this defeated foe, and constantly seeing demons which seem to have more power than they have. The great "apostle of faith," Smith Wigglesworth is said to have been awakened during his sleep to see the devil by his bed. He took one look and said, "Oh it you," and went back to sleep in perfect peace. This is a lesson that some need to learn. So, instead of chasing demons hour after hour, and living in fear, we can live fear free, and Christ centered, in the glorious victory of Christ.

The OLD COVENANT of the LAW was declared to be NULL and VOID In Luke 16:16 we read the words of Jesus that spoke of the end having already begun: The Law [= Torah] and the Prophets [continued in effect] until John [the Baptist]. From that time on, the reign (royal rule; kingdom) of God is being progressively brought and declared as the good news - and everyone is one after another being pressed and forced into it (Jonathan Mitchell’s Translation). It is a pity that so few of Gods saints believe this, and that they do not realize that the last remnants of it, including the priesthood, temple, records and more were dealt with in 70 AD by God’s servants - the Roman armies. (See also: Hebrews 8:7, 13 and 10:9 written before 70 AD) The New Covenant, annulling the Covenant of Law, came into being by the shed blood of Jesus, his death and resurrection. Indeed a NEW AND LIVING WAY it is.

In 1956 I was living in a rooming house in Chicago. It was during the Easter season, that a fellow room renter wanted me to see his beautiful church. As I walked in, I saw a huge crucifix covered with a veil. All that I could see was death, death, death and no hope. As I walked out into the sunshine, the old tune sprang up within me, "I serve a risen savior - - HE LIVES."

Our Father was pleased with the death of Jesus and all that he accomplished. Consider Acts 3:13. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, HAS GLORIFIED HIS SERVANT JESUS, {the one} whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him." Jesus had laid aside his glory. This we know from his prayer in John Seventeen. Now, with his glory restored, he is the risen Lord of Glory.

Peter made a mighty proclamation as he spoke on the Day of Pentecost. Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him BOTH LORD AND CHRIST-- this Jesus whom you crucified. The Roman Emperor demanded that everyone should call him "lord" and worship him as a god. Many believers were martyred because they refused to bow to Caesar. God the Father has made Christ Jesus both Lord and Christ. The word CHRIST is not just Jesus alone, now, it includes HIS BODY, the CHURCH.

Because Jesus left his estate in the heavenly realm, and divested himself of his deity to live as a man, we now know the honor bestowed upon him. "And that is why God raised him to the very highest place, and gave him the Name which ranks above all others, so that IN ADORATION OF THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should acknowledge JESUS CHRIST as LORD – to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11 TCNT)

The Baptist scholar, A.T. Robertson commented, "Not perfunctory genuflections whenever the name of Jesus is mentioned, but universal acknowledgment of the majesty and the power of Jesus who carries his human name and nature to heaven. This universal homage to Jesus is seen in Romans 8:22; Ephesians 1:20-22, and in particular Revelation 5:13." (Word Pictures in the New Testament) End of quotation. One of the clearest proofs of the resurrection is to be found in Acts 2:33. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear." We don’t receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit based on our personal works, personal holiness, or merit, as was the teaching of the Pentecostal movement that I grew up in. There is but one basis of receiving, it is the EXALTATION OF THE RISEN JESUS.

It is in this SECOND MAN, God’s LAST (not second) ADAM, in which have been placed through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was our Father who in his wisdom caused us to be within the man Jesus the Christ when he died, so that we were INCLUDED in his death, so that when he died, we died. Furthermore, we were included in his burial, resurrection and ascension. Spiritually we NOW sit in the heavens IN CHRIST, at the right hand of the Father. What a place of rest that is No effort, no struggle, no defeat, just being.

In Corinthians Chapter Fifteen we read of "the First and Second man." Jesus became part of the First Man, the Adamic race, in order to bring us out, and into, that of the SECOND MAN. The order has changed. We are to be no longer in the state of lacking the glory as the First Man became. As the Second Man, we are progressively, not only being clothed in glory, but our very being will radiate his glory through every part of us. So often within my thoughts, or upon my lips, the words come, "Let your glory be revealed," or other similar phrases. We have not arrived in fullness yet, for the time has not come, but we will arrive, and his glory WILL FILL THE EARTH Your earth, my earth, and all of the earth Yes, earthen vessels to be changed into golden vessels full of His glory.

This lacking of the fullness of the glory of God is but temporary. Within the heart of many of us is the cry, "Show us your glory" It was the cry that Moses had, and the cry of all creation is for the restoration of the glory of God that was lost by the First Adam. The prayer of Jesus was for a restoration of the glory that he had set aside when he came to live and walk as a man as without a doubt there was stirring in his being, a sense of loss, and a longing to return to where he had once been. Then was not time as the cross was still ahead. Truly the cry of all creation is for a restoration of the glory of God, even to the limited degree that had been known before the First Adam forfeited his right to it. Thanks to God our Father that time will soon come when the SONS WILL ARISE IN GLORY.

This Second Man is not of the OLD order. All the natural and carnal merits that some have believed in, like the Jews of Jesus day believed, are so much rubbish in God’s sight. These thoughts come from the natural and carnal thinking of man, and not by dwelling in the revealed Christ.

My heart leapt for joy when I first read the following words in the book, "The Unshakable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person," written by E. Stanley Jones. He emphasizes the present reality IN CHRIST. "For many there is a kingdom of race. A large proportion of the problems of the world revolve around the problem of race. The solution is very simple. It is contained in this verse: 'In it [i.e., the Kingdom] there is no room for Greek and Jew [racial distinction], circumcised and uncircumcised [religious ritual distinctions], barbarian and Scythian [cultural distinctions], slave or free man [social or economic distinctions].' (Colossians 3:11 Moffatt) in another list is added: 'male and female' [sex distinctions] (Galatians 3:28) Here is the simplest of solutions: THERE IS NO ROOM" End of quotation.

Ephesians 2:14-16 makes it clear that the war is over No more separate groups of Jews and non-Jews, and no more just a few chosen of God. ALL ARE CHOSEN and INCLUDED, and on one basis only, IN Christ Jesus.

WHY is this so? It is so because GOD sees CHRIST JESUS, not all the other things that the natural and religious man sees. There is only ONE MAN that matters, it is the man Christ Jesus, of whom we have been joined to, become a part of, and who is our very life CHRIST our LIFE means that we have returned to the Tree of Life. In Genesis and in Revelation 22 we read of the Tree of Life. There is a third Tree of Life to be found in Scripture. We call it "THE CROSS." There is nothing that makes us want to partake of the cross. We recoil in horror from it, YET, it is there that the life blood of Jesus, the son of man, restored us to the Father. Out of death, comes life, a divine principle it is.

Many years ago, I learned the following two verses from the old hymn, "I've Found the Pearl," that Dwight, an old mentor, had discovered when researching hymns.

"My, Christ, He is the Tree of Life,
That in God’s Eden grows,
The living clear as crystal stream,
Whence life forever flows."
"Christ is my Meat, Christ is my Drink,
My Medicine, and my Heath,
My Portion, mine Inheritance,
Yea, all my Boundless Wealth"

While the glorified Jesus the Son of God is a glorious truth that most accept, it is also truth that this glory is a shared glory. With Christ in us, we may partake of ALL that he is, for "as he is, so are we in this world." The poetry quoted above describes this relationship. This is the inheritance of the sons in light. The inheritance of the sons of God for we have been called to be the expression of his will, purpose and glory in, and upon, this earth. It is now that the tabernacle of God is with men, his dwelling place is within all who have received his life. It doesn’t end there, for "IN CHRIST ALL WILL BE MADE ALIVE." (1 Corinthians 25:22)

There is a fullness of glory, of which we have tasted in part. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 speaks of the time, the day; "when He comes to be glorified IN His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed-- for our testimony to you was believed." To those of us who believe that all not only have died in Adam One, but that ALL will be made alive IN CHRIST, we will rejoice in that coming day, for the time is at hand when all will believe. All will rejoice, and all as part of the Second Man will be glorified, "And I heard a voice, a great one, out of the throne, saying, Consider this. The tent of God [the glorified body of the Lord Jesus in which He lives] is with men. And He shall live in a tent with them. And they themselves shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, And shall wipe out every tear from their eyes. And death shall be no more - - -." (Revelation 20:3,4) An Expanded Translation of the New Testament, by Kenneth Wuest. Beloved of God, it is he who sits on the throne that says;" I AM RE-CREATING ALL THINGS." (Revelation 21:5) Williams N.T. We are being changed from glory to glory and into his very image, Christ our very life.

Even so, come Lord Jesus in your fullness that we so long for, we your creation which you are molding into vessels of glory, desire to be used of you to bring glory, honor and praise to you. It is YOU alone whom we bow to and worship. Amen