We have to go back and remember some of the western movies where the cavalry were involved. We remember seeing this file of the American mounted Army, cavalry going up this mountain on a narrow ledge, single file. They wound down around the mountain, down to the plains. But, who had to be at the head? A file leader, the captain! There was a leader up at the head of that long line. Well now, if that can help us a little bit, that is where Christ is! Christ is the "file leader" of all of us, that He came down to earth to purchase our redemption and now He is bringing us to Glory through our salvation! Can we just make a beautiful picture of that in our mind? We hope so!
Then, being the Pauline man that we are, what does Paul say? Be followers of "me" as I follow the file leader our captain, Christ. See? This is the whole picture of mans fall as found in Adam as our file leader but in reverse. For it took a second Adam to come and back track if you will the first Adam's tracks backwards to reverse or change the required out come. Now let’s come back and pick that up in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1.
Just envision this. we're not a visualization promoter, but, once in a while, as these pictures are drawn in Scripture, it just helps us to get a little glimpse of what he is talking about. In fact it’s just like the Four Gospels. Why do we have four instead of one? Well, because all four of the Four Gospels look at Christ from a different viewpoint, and one could have never done that. Just as with witnessing an auto accident there are two or more views to the scene and each has a different perspective of the events and items within it.
It is the same way with earthly anecdotes. We cannot carry a theme from start to finish in the spiritual realm with an earthly antidote. It is absolutely impossible. But it does help to put several of them together. Look what the Apostle writes. This angers people, but it is what the Holy Spirit inspired him to write and it is just as appropriate for us today as it was the day he wrote it.
I Corinthians 11:1 "Be followers of me, even as I also am (a follower) of Christ." See how plain that is? But for us what does this mean, the same as it did for Paul or any one else of his students. That being that there is only one course of action required of us to enter the second blessing and that is to do as our file leader had done. Surrender His flesh our flesh likeness to death, the only means of separating self and the spirit of this worlds rule from mans flesh. For in the first Adam all have fallen into (S.E.L.F, Satan Elevating Life Falsely) sin and death, so in the second Adam in humility and contriteness of heart all in like fashion must of necessity walk the same path in reverse. How by trusting the second Adams prescribed course of humble humility and thereby enter the promised New Covenant the Covenant of God's doing all in those who will become obedient and surrender their self-will and the spirit of this worlds order unto God by, put them to, death. Now come back to Hebrews and we get the picture, how that the Lord Himself left heaven’s glory to come amongst human men and became a man that He might be the file leader, the chief of all those that He is bringing with Him to Glory.
For us as believers, who have become receptive ones, the second man up there at the front is who? The Apostle Paul! So Paul is following Christ as He is leading us up that file of believers to Glory. He’s following Christ. We follow Paul. The reason we always give is that Paul is human like we are. He had the same temptations, he had the same weaknesses. Consequently, we can identify with someone like that, this is why Jesus came as a man and was tempted in all areas as we are, divinity put on flesh and blood in order to be able to give aid and help in our times of need or weakness to over come the strong man of pride and self-will. But, remember, when Christ finished that work of redemption, He became the captain, the file leader, of those of us that He is bringing with Him to Glory.
The last part of the verse is that our salvation was made perfect through what? Through suffering. Yes, through suffering as it was required of Him so it is required of us as well. It causes humility and obedience to be learned as it was in Him and so it is in us too. Now where does that begin? Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve have just disobeyed and put the Spirit of Christ that was within them to death by turning their backs on Him. And accepting the nature of Satan as their lord and the exaltation of self (pride)above all others. By this action they have plunged the human race into sin and death, again death is spiritual separation from God (Elohim). All because of the tempter, the devil, Satan. They placed all of mankind under the rule of Satan and by so doing received his nature, a sin consciousness (the knowledge of the tree of good and evil or a mind set on worldly or earthy things, the bestial nature) and fear of death's sting. It was through the Levitical Law that the knowledge of sins (the utter sinfulness of sin) hold was to be revealed as this Law gave NO means of or for redemption but only exacted death for disobedience, unbelief and sin.
Genesis 3:14a "And the LORD God..." God the Son, in His Old Testament personality is confronting Satan and look what He tells him. This is the first promise of a line of the redemption from Genesis all the way up through the finished work on the Cross. And the beginning of the work of the risen Lord the Spirit from His place in Glory as seen in Acts chapter 9.
Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; (Christ is the seed of the man hidden deep within the soul, asleep) it (the seed of the woman) shall bruise your head, (Christ defeated Satan by crushing his head with the death of mans flesh and the giving or shedding of blood [for life was in the blood], burial and resurrection. But did Satan get his licks in? You bet he did! And here’s the prophecy of it) and you (the Lord says to Satan) shall bruise his heel." (the nail driven through the Lords heels)Now we have the power to follow suit in the same fashion as we bruise Satan's head when we willingly surrender self and the spirit of this worlds order to death. When we see by way of divine revelation the true meaning and purpose of the Lord Jesus and what it is that He accomplished for all.
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