I In
the day the God made the earth and the heavens, the Lord
God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul.1
And from the flesh of Adam, God formed a woman, which the man named
Eve because she was the mother of all living.2
Although Adam lived in paradise in close fellowship with God, the
first man was deceived with his wife into sin for which God warned,
“you shall surely die”.3
So the woman and the man condemned themselves to death, according to
the curse which God spoke to Adam, “By the sweat of your face you
shall eat, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were
taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”4
So the Lord
God sent the man and his wife out from paradise and prohibited
mortals from partaking of immortality.5
II Man,
like all flesh, suffers corruption and perishes.6
Man is a wind that passes and comes not again.7
And all flesh is like grass, like the flower of grass. The grass
withers, and the flower falls.8
Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish.9
For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the
beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the
same breath, and all go to one place.10
All are from the dust, and to the dust all return.11
What account is mortal man in whose nostrils is breath, for every
living creature in who’s nostrils is the breath of life is taken by
death.12
When mans breath departs he returns to the earth; on that very day
his plans perish.13
The dead do not praise the Lord
when they go down into silence, as David cried out "What profit
is there in my death, Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your
faithfulness?”14
Indeed, there is no remembrance of God in death for the dead know
nothing at all. This is the case for all those who sleep the sleep of
death.15
III Sin
therefore came into the world through one man, and death through sin,
and so death spread to all men.16
According to God’s righteous law, the soul who sins shall die.17
Having been alienated from God through sin, mankind is already
condemned.18
And by works no man is justified in the sight of God.19
Humanity has already been charged that all are under sin, as it is
written: “None is righteous, no not one; no one understands; no one
seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become
worthless; no one does good, not even one.”20
Lacking the repentance that leads to life, man is dead in trespasses
and sin, following the course of this world, following the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience. The children of man have fallen away, they have all
become corrupt as Jesus said, “no one is good except God alone.”21
So death has reigned from Adam, even over those whose sinning was
not like the transgression of Adam.22
IV Of
first importance is that Jesus has died for our sins, he was buried,
and he was raised on the third day.23
Our hope and faith in the gospel rests on the promise that we shall
likewise attain the resurrection from the dead at the end of the
age.24
Although the first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam
became a life-giving spirit.25
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also
bear the image of the man of heaven.26
At the last trumpet the dead will be raised imperishable and be
changed.27
For the perishable body must put on the imperishable, and the mortal
body must on immorality so that it comes to pass, as it is written,
“Death is swallowed up in victory”.28
We believe that Jesus died and rose again - likewise God will bring
with Christ those who have fallen asleep.29
For the Lord himself will return and descend from heaven with a cry
of command and the dead in Christ will rise.30
V
Despite death’s curse through one man’s trespass, the gift of
righteousness following many trespasses now reigns in life through
the one man Jesus Christ.31
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one
act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.32
As by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by
the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.33
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection
of the death.34
As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.35
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish.36
Thanks be to God in showing his love for us that, while we were under
the law of sin and death, Christ died for the ungodly to justify us
by his blood in saving us from the wrath of God.37
VI
The hour is coming, when the dead will hear the voice of the son of
God , and those who hear will live.38
For as the Father has raises the dead and gives them life, so also he
has granted the son also give life to whom he will.39
And he has given him all authority to execute judgment, because he is
son of man.40
God has given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to
whom he will.41
The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice
of the son of man and come out, those who have done good to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the
resurrection of judgment.42
This is the will of the Father, that everyone who looks on the son
and believes in him should have eternal life, and Christ will raise
him up on the last day.43
VII Sin
reigned in death, but now grace reigns through righteousness leading
to eternal life.44
The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.45
Whoever believes in the son has eternal life; whoever does not obey
the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.46
The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by
faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.47
To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and
immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are
self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,
there will be wrath and fury.48
VIII According
to the promise of our God, we are waiting for new heavens and a new
earth in which righteousness dwells.49
Those worthy to attain to the coming age and to attain to the
resurrection from the dead cannot die anymore, because they are equal
to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.50
For all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God and have
received the spirit of adoption as sons.51
We are sealed with holy spirit, which is the guarantee of our
inheritance until we acquire possession of it.52
Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of
God so as to be set free from our bondage to decay.53
The children of God groan inwardly eagerly waiting for adoption as
sons - the redemption of the body.54
1
Genesis 2:4,7
2
Genesis 2:21-23, 3:20
3
Genesis 2:17, 3:11
4
Genesis 3:19
5
Genesis 3:22-24
6
Job 4:17, Romans 1:17, 1 Corinthians 15:53-54
7
Psalm 78:39
8
1 Peter 1:24, Isaiah 4:5-6
9
Psalm 49:12,20, Eccles. 3:18
10
Eccles. 3:19, 12:7
11
Eccles. 3:20
12
Genesis 2:7, 7:14,22, Psalm 104:29, Isaiah 2:22, Eccles 9:3-6, 12:7
13
Psalm 146:4
14
Psalm 6:5, 30:9, 115:17
15
Eccles. 9:5, Psalm 6:5, 13:3, 1 Kings 2:10, Daniel 12:2, Acts 13:36,
1 Corinthians 15:6,20,51, 1 Thes. 4:13-15, 5:10, 2 Peter 3:4
16
Romans 5:12, 14
17
Ezekiel 18:4,20
18
John 3:18, Ephesians 2:19
19
Romans 3:20
20
Romans 3:9-12, Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3
21
Psalm 51:1-3, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19
22
Romans 5:14
23
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
24
John 11:24, 1 Corinthians 15:12-19, Psalm 16:10-11, 1 Peter 1:3,
Acts 4:2, 17:18, 23:6, 24:21, Titus 1:2, 3:7, 1John 2:25
25
1 Corinthians 15:45
26
1 Corinthians 15:49
27
1 Corinthians 15:51
28
1 Corinthians 15:54-56
29
1 Thes. 4:14
30
1 Thes. 4:16
31
Romans 5:15-17, John 6:50-51
32
Romans 5:18
33
Romans 5:18-19
34
1 Corinthians 15:21
35
1 Corinthians 15:22
36
John 3:16
37
Romans 5:8-9, Revelation 7:10, John 1:29
38
John 5:25
39
John 5:21,26
40
John 5:22,27
41
John 17:2, John 3:14-15
42
John 5:28-29, Daniel 12:2, Acts 24:15
43
John 6:40, 11:24, 17:2-3, 1 John 5:11-12
44
Rom 5:21
45
Rom 6:23, John 3:17
46
John 3:36, John 3:18
47
Galatians 3:22
48
Romans 2:7-8, Romans 7:6; ch8, John 3:3
49
2 Peter 3:13, John 11:51-52, Mark 1:15
50
Luke 20:35-36, Galatians 3:26, John 1:12, Acts 2:38
51
Romans 8:14-15, 2Corinthians 1:22, 5:5, Ephesians 1:5, Galatians 4:5
52
Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:9-12
53
Romans 8:19,21, Galatians 3:26, John 1:12
54
Romans 8:21, 23
