God's Good Order Turned Right-Side-Up

In the beginning when God created man and woman, He established a clear order to creation. God had authority over man. The man was given authority over his wife (the woman), though both were created in the image of God and given equal dignity. Finally, all of mankind was called to "rule over ... every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:28)

There was a clear pattern of authority.

(1) God, (2) Man, (3) Woman, and (4) Creature

For as long as mankind lived in accordance with God's good order, Adam and Eve flourished in the garden. At the Fall, God's natural order was overthrown and mankind was cursed with death. The serpent tricked the woman. The woman then led the man to eat of the tree of knowledge, and the man rebelled against God--blaming Him for creating the woman. Everything had been turned upside-down!

(1) Serpent, (2) Woman, (3) Man, and (4) God

The responsibility for sin entering the world fell at Adam's feet (Romans 5:12), despite the fact that Eve was the first to eat from the tree. In God's eyes, the man was not only guilty for partaking of the cursed tree, but he had failed to protect his wife from the temptations of the serpent. Like Eve, Adam placed his hopes in the deceptive promise of Satan: "You shall be like God."

Thankfully, God did not leave us to perish in our sin. His only Son took on the flesh of mankind, so that He could redeem us from the failures of the first man. Jesus is the heavenly man who has fulfilled the calling of Adam ... He restored the natural order -- showing us how to honor God, love our brides, and reign over the created things.

- Adam failed to protect his bride from the serpent.
- Jesus came to crush the serpent's head beneath His feet.

- Through Adam, sin and death came to all men.
- Christ took our sin upon Himself and destroyed death.

- In a garden of smiles, Adam betrayed God at the whim of Satan.
- In a garden of tears, Jesus resisted Satan for God's sake.

- Adam ate from the tree in hopes that he would be like God.
- Jesus "existed in the form of God, [but] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped."

Jesus has established the life of perfect righteousness. As a man, He was everything that Adam was supposed to be. Jesus submitted to the Father; He cared for His bride; and He destroyed the serpent whose venom threatened us with death.

In the Fall, Adam turned everything upside-down. In his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus has turned everything right-side-up.