47. "New Life in Christ, Do Not Return to Corruption," Genesis 8:13-19

 47. "New Life in Christ, Do Not Return to Corruption,"

And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried. Then God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird, and whatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark. -Genesis 8:13-19 NKJV

Let's talk about the reason why God allowed this flood in the first place, in the book of Genesis 6:11-15,17-19 stated that the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and now I am about to destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark... verse 17-19 And now I am about to bring a flood of water upon the earth to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing, of all flesh, two of every kind you shall bring into the ark to preserve them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

In short, flood was God's judgement to the humanity's corruption and wickedness. God brought a flood to end all of this, but preserved the life of Noah and his family and some pair of animals because Noah is a man of God, he walk righteous before God that's why he was spared. It is a new beginning for Noah, who was 601 years old that time, the judgement was already passed to them, there was no flood already. Now the land is dry, after the flood and being shut down inside the ark, indeed it is the new beggining point in the spared life of Noah and his household. Like writing in a new blank white page of paper, it is living in a new beggining. 

God's original plan is to allow His creation to be multiplied, to be fruitful and may abound in earth but not in the wicked way, God don't want us to be corrupted. God wants us to have a fruitful and blessed life, living in God's blessings and His righteousness. We became Christian to start a new life with God, indeed we became wicked and walked in a corrupted way of life before but God spared our lives, we did not died for our sins instead Jesus died for us so that we may have a new life, and to wash away our sins Jesus took the judgement in behalf of us sinners. How lucky we are? Though we are nothing compared to Noah, but like Noah who is being saved by the judgement of God we also received salvation. It is His grace for us. 

             So now I say, Live a new life in Christ, Do not return to corruption. Corrupted life wages judgement and will lead to death. Says the book of Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." The real purpose of God to our life is to live in Him, and for Him. God wants us to have a fruitful life. And to have a fruitful life, we need God, because God is the tree of life. 

I. GEN. 8:17: BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY

God says to Noah to bring out with him every living thing of all flesh that is with him: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

This is the same verses that God said at the very beggining when God created the earth, animals and humans, "And God blessed them [Adam and Eve], saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” -Genesis 1:22 NKJV

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” -Genesis 1:28 NKJV

So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. -Genesis 9:1, verse 7 -And as for you, be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it.”

It is always being reminded to Noah and to his sons, these words of blessings of being fruitful and multiply that also have been pass to every generations, like in Genesis 28:3 Isaac said to Jacob "May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples...". He just not only heard this word from his father, but Jacob heard it also from the very mouth of God -"Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body." Genesis 35:11 NKJV. 

Then Jacob said this blessing to his son Joseph in Genesis 48:3-4: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’

This is God's plan for his people, for Israelites He said through the writings of Moises in Leviticus 26:9 ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you.

This kind of words will never departed from the mouth of God for His people, for us. This is what God wants for us, to be fruitful and to multiply through God's help. We cannot do it alone. Being wicked and corrupted is the reason to be fruitless in life, instead of your possession will multiply it will diminish, or ruin or will destroy because satan and evil forces are free to do it in your life because you are not shielded by God. 

What does it mean being wicked and corrupted? It is being described in 2 Timothy 3:2-9 that in our time, men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters or a person who expressing excessive pride in oneself,  proud, blasphemers whose disrespect and not honoring God, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers or the person who attacks the reputation of another by slander or libel, backbiter, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty or arrogantly superior, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. They resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their foolishness will be manifest to all. These are the wicked acts, and corrupted heart and mind. Those Sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers,  men who practice homosexuality, those thieves, those greedy, or drunkards,  revilers or person who uses abusive language, swindlers and other with similar evil doings  will meet their judgement and punishment. That is why we need God so that we can live a righteous life, like Noah. Live with God. Be fruitful in any areas of your life with God, in your carreer, in your relationship, in personal life, let God be the center of all of it. Let God make you prosperous and multiply your prosesions and surely it is insured and protected against wickedness and corruption.

II. GEN. 8:18 GO OUT FROM THE JUDGEMENT OF SIN AND EMBRACE A NEW LIFE WITH JESUS

        As our title says, now we are in a New Life in Christ, Do Not Return to Corruption, do not return to our wicked and sinful life. In Genesis 8:18, God said to Noah that they can live again in their new spared life along with his households and animals, so Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. 

There were only Eight people saved and emerged from the ark. So few numbers of survivor in the judgement of God. They are lucky, among the billions of people and only Noah and his family were saved, that's why there's so few numbers of saved Christians. Surely the judgement will fall because of breaking the law of God and living in wicked and corrupted life, but God did warn the people so that they will choose to be saved from judgement. Noah preached the word of God to the people in a dacades, but the people chose not to believe in him and stay in their sinful way of life, likewise people now adays are hearing about the repentance to their sin to spare their lifes into the judgement and punishment but who listens and obeys are few.

Christ was resurrected on the first day of the week, the eighth day of the old week; thus, the number eight signifies resurrection. Since all the believers, the components of the church, were included in Christ’s resurrection (Ephesians 2:6; and 1 Peter 1:3), they are the resurrected people. Hence, the living of Noah and his family after the flood signifies the living of the church in Christ’s resurrection. This is a seed of the church life. Noah saved by the ark and Christians are being saved by Christ Jesus. Eight persons were in the ark when it passed through the flood and when it came to rest on the mountain. Thus, whatever the ark experienced, they also experienced by being in the ark. This illustrates how the believers, by being in Christ, were crucified with Christ and also resurrected with Christ. Because we are in Christ, His experience has become ours.

How to embrace a new life with Jesus? First,  by being in Christ - in 1 Corinthians 1:30 states, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—". It means we as believers, as the new creation, are in Christ and have Christ wisdom. We need to renew our minds, to change our mind into Christ minds. We need the wisdom of Jesus; Second, in Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. God chose us for the purpose to be holy for God is holy. God wants us to be holy, as His saints, without sin and blemishes. Because unholiness will separate us to God. Jesus washed away our sins when we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. Our sin is being paid by Jesus at the cross. Jesus took the punishment and judgement that is rightfully for us because of our sins because we are a sinner. Third, now we are crucified with Christ as Romans 6:6 says, "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." We are no longer a slave of sin. Like Paul who before a sinner before God says in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.) Fourth, we are resurrected with Christ , like a new life of Noah, we have a new life with Jesus. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above..." -Colossians 3:1.

Now I say, live a new life in Christ, and do not return to sinful life, amen.

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