Part 3 - The Fall and the Restoration

Restoration in Christ: The Lordship of Christ

The Bible states "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10). Here, two conditions are presented for salvation: confessing the Lord Jesus and believing God has raised Him from the dead. "Lord" is not a name for Jesus, it is His title. It is a title of authority, meaning master. To confess the Lord Jesus is to acknowledge his supreme authority as a master over oneself.

The exaltation of Christ

The resurrection of Christ and His ascension into Heaven is proof of God the Father's acceptance of the sinless perfection of Christ. It shows the standard of righteousness that God will accept. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, "And when He has come, He will convict the world ... of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more" (John 16:8, 10).  Paul the Apostle writes concerning this: "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:8-11). The resurrection of Christ and His exaltation by the Father is not only proof of His righteousness, but of His rightful lordship over all.

The obedience of Christ as a man, to the point of death, is also spoken of by the writer to the Hebrews: "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Heb. 5:8-9).

Those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead know Jesus as "the author of eternal salvation." "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness." Paul writes that God, "even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:5-6). Obedience to Christ leads one to be joined to Christ, to find life in Him. In this, God considers the believer to have been raised up with Christ and imputes the righteousness of Christ to the believer. However, one cannot believe that one has entered into new life with Christ without believing from the heart that Christ has been raised from the dead.

The answer to the fall of man

The obedience of Christ is in contrast to the disobedience that resulted in the fall of Adam and Eve. When man disobeyed God's command, his heart turned from God and became centered upon himself. Man elevated himself above God and took God's place. In contrast, Christ submitted Himself to God's will and was obedient to the point of death on the cross. In this God was glorified through the only man in human history who was perfectly submissive to His will. In this Jesus has been exalted as head and lord over all. He has become the "author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him." Jesus is God's answer to the main cause of the fall of man, the turning away of man's heart in disobedience.

To come to Christ requires repentance from putting oneself above God. To confess Christ as Lord and as the One to whom one must obey is to renounce that which caused the fall of man. To bow the knee to Jesus is to willingly come under the authority of God. When Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me," this in part is the denial of that part of one's self, the heart. To come to the cross of Christ is to submit to the obedience of Christ. This is to account that the rebellious self has died with Christ and that God's rightful place is the center of one's heart. The submission and obedience of Christ as a man to God is accounted to those who take their place in and under Christ by faith.

The authority structure of God

Paul wrote of the exaltation of Jesus by the Father, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22-23). As a mediator, Jesus is head over His people. The authority structure that God has established is written of by Paul to the Corinthians: "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (1 Cor. 11:3). The rebellious nature of man bristles at this, but those who obey Christ find peace from rebellion against God.

The First Commandment states, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me" (Deut. 5:6-7). This law of preservation for the redeemed of Israel finds its fulfillment in Christ, for Paul wrote, "Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28). It is through the lordship of Christ that God is all in all and that the first of the Ten Commandments is fulfilled. The First Commandment is a model of restoration in Christ and points to one of four essential aspects of a right relationship with God: submission to Yahweh as the one and only supreme authority. This authority structure of Yahweh was expressed by Jesus who said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

Four essential elements

It is easy to confess Christ with the mouth and say "Lord, Lord" however without believing it in one's heart. Jesus Himself said, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me" (Matt. 15:8). The prophet Jeremiah wrote, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 17:9-10). God searches and tests the hearts and minds of men, and the test of keeping the First Commandment is the keeping of the next three of the Ten Commandments. God being all in all is encompassed by four essential elements, which are modeled by the first four of the Ten Commandments. These are all fulfilled in Christ, with the first being the lordship of Christ. The lordship of Christ is the denial of self, where the heart of the believer gives way to God.

God is all in all when one walks in the Spirit, which is modeled in the second of the Ten Commandments. This is the denial of self where one relies upon the fullness of God instead of one's own possessions and resources. This is to glory in the living God and His living works instead of glorying in one's own dead works. It is to allow God's living presence to be all in every situation by abiding in the life of Christ. (See Life in Christ). To this end, Jesus said, "I am the life."

God is all in all when one walks by faith, modeled by the third of the Ten Commandments. This is the denial of self where one submits to God's understanding and judgments in all matters, even when one cannot comprehend a situation. It is to submit to God's plans and purposes by faith. God is glorified when He is trusted in and counted upon, the basis for which can be found in His name. (See Faith in Christ). To this end, Jesus said, "I am the truth."

God is all in all when one rests in His finished work of redemption, modeled by the fourth of the Ten Commandments. This is the denial of self where one counts oneself unable to accomplish that which only Christ has done. It is to glory in God's strength that has accomplished the work of salvation and brings righteousness. (See Rest in Christ). To this end, Jesus said, "I am the way."

To know Yahweh as one's God, and to know no other God, is fulfilled in and through the lordship of Jesus Christ and obedience to His commands, which lead the believer to live in Him, have faith in Him, and rest in Him. This is encapsulated in the claim of Jesus that, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).