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Jesus the Righteous Judge Subdues the Earth I. OVERVIEW: BEHOLDING THE BEAUTY OF JESUS AS BRIDEGROOM, KING, AND JUDGE

A. We saw glimpses of the beauty of Jesus as Bridegroom, King, and Judge at His first coming, however they will be openly revealed at His second coming. Jesus was mostly revealed as Son, Servant, and Sacrificial Lamb at His first appearing. Though Christ has always had the legal authority as God, He did not yet have the conditional authority as man to fully exercise the headship positions of Bridegroom, King, and Judge until after His death and resurrection.

B. Bridegroom, King, and Judge are all positions of authority and headship. The power of these truths when we abide in them it that our hearts are secured with loyal devotion, affectionate obedience, and victorious faith.

1. Bridegroom: Jesus delights in relating to and partnering with His people. The Spirit will use the

revelation of Jesus as the Bridegroom to establish the first commandment in first place in the Church worldwide before Jesus returns.

2. King: Jesus is revealed as the One who possesses all power and authority and anoints His

people with power. As King, He heals and restores individual lives, every sphere of society in every nation, and even the earth itself (i.e. atmosphere, agriculture, and animals).

3. Judge: Jesus is revealed as the One who subdues the earth, confronts sin, establishes righteousness, and defends and secures His people by removing everything that hinders love.

C. The power of these truths is not in the acknowledgement of them, but in abiding in them. We experience the power of these revelations when we use these truths as on-ramps to pursue the heart of God.

D. How we relate to God changes as we learn to live from the understanding of who Jesus is:

1. We relate to Jesus as a Bridegroom by embracing holiness with affectionate obedience, knowing that it is His kindness that leads to repentance, He is washing us with His word, is patient with us, and is jealous for our full devotion and freedom to love.

2. We relate to Jesus as a King by recognizing that He's been given all power and authority and He training us to share that power and authority eternally with Him. Our obedience in this life is rewarded with greater honor and leadership opportunity in the age to come.

3. We relate to Jesus as a Righteous Judge inviting Him to confront our areas of iniquity and

compromise in order to establish righteousness and voluntary submission to Him and His kingdom. As Judge, are have assurance that He defends us and protects us from our enemies.

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II. INTRODUCTION TO JESUS AS JUDGE:

A. There are different ways to think about the idea of God as judge. The first is in the context of the

courtroom, whereby God sits as the supreme judge over all the universe. Daniel 7 describes this: Daniel 7:9-10, 22 - I watched until thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow and the hair of his head was like pure wool. … A thousand thousands ministered to Him, ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated and the books were opened… the Ancient of Days came, and a judgement was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

B. The second expression of God's judgement is in the enforcement of Gods righteousness by subduing all that opposes Him. In other words, Jesus zealously upholds God's righteousness by releasing judgement on everyone and everything opposed to God's righteousness. God releases judgements to subdue peoples and nations in order to bring people into God's righteous ways. Is. 26:9 - When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.

Psalm 47:3 - He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. Psalm 144:2 - He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I

take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.

Rev. 19:20 - Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

C. As Judge, Jesus is deeply committed to removing all that hinders love, establishing righteousness, and defending His people from their enemies

D. This is one of the most confrontational, and therefore uncomfortable, expressions of Jesus's heart.

E. Generally we readily embrace the truths that God forgives, heals, and has good plans for us. But the truth that Jesus is more committed to God's righteousness than my personal comfort, desires, or pleasures is less attractive to our natural man. He's more committed to God's righteousness that He is to our approval of Him. No one enjoys being confronted or subdued unless they already live from a revelation of the beauty of Jesus as Judge.

E. However, it is precisely because of His commitment to God's righteousness above everything else that we find salvation in His Name. Our salvation is rooted in a revelation of God’s judgement. It was God’s judgement upon His Son that opens up to any of us a door of reconciliation with the Father.

III. SUBDUING THE LAND

A. From the very beginning God was looking to work through a man to subdue the earth.

B. The Scriptures challenge the idea that the whole world was in perfect harmony with God before the fall of man. Gen. 1:28 - And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue [kabash] it, Kabash: assault, bring into subjection, force into bondage, subjugate, trample under foot

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Strong's > Hebrew > 3533

C. This implies that the earth needed subduing. So here's the question: If everything was originally created in perfect harmony with God, then why did it need to be subdued?

D. The world was uncultivated, unruly and in need of subduing. We see obvious evidence of this through the serpent. Adam didn't introduce sin to the world, it was already present, working through creation, and seeking to devour. Adam's job was to subdue the earth and have dominion (exercise judgment) over the creatures.

E. Let's look now at Genesis 2 and see how it explains this.

Gen. 2:4-7 - This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

F. Now, if you're familiar with Genesis 1 and the seven days of creation you should have some questions at this point, namely about the order of things… Gen 1:11-13 God created the trees, grass, herbs on day 3; man was created on day 6 Gen 2:5-7 indicates that there are no plants or herbs in the fields of the earth when Adam was made

G. Furthermore, Genesis 2 suddenly introduces a pre-requisite to the plants and herbs and that is God was dependent on a man to till the earth. This pre-requisite clearly doesn't exist in Genesis 1. So what do we make of all of this?

H. Genesis 2 is an account, not of creation, but of cultivation! Notice in Genesis 2 it says that there are no fields of plants and herbs (twice). Plants and herbs had existed since day 3. It was fields (cultivated land) of plants and herbs that didn't exist until man gave himself to till the ground.

In Genesis 1 God makes the raw materials. Everything is there, but it's raw, unruly, and uncultivated.

Genesis 2 is our introduction to the assignment to subdue the earth and take dominion over it. We do this by cultivating and uncultivated land.

I. Let's keep reading in Genesis 2:8-15

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there [in Eden] He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden and from there it parted and became four riverheads…. [Phison with gold, bdellium and onyx stone, Gihon; Hiddekel toward the east; and Euphrates) Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

J. A garden is land that has been subdued and cultivated. So what's happening is that God is modeling for Adam what He wants him to do. He cultivates a piece of land to teach Adam what his assignment is. In essence, God plants the first field.

K. Adam is in Eden (v. 8) watching God plant this garden and cultivate it. He doesn't enter the garden until afterwards (v. 15)

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I imagine God saying something like, "Adam, do you see what I did? Now I want you to learn to do what I did with the rest of the land. You’re going to need help, so be fruitful and multiply"

L. The garden is a training ground for Adam. But it wasn't just about learning to subdue the land and the creatures around him. It was about learning to subdue himself. Adam, like the ground he was taken from, was an uncultivated and unruly man. This doesn’t mean Adam was sinful, he was simply immature and unruly, like a child.

M. The garden was to teach Adam how to subdue the earth. But before he would be able to do that, he had to first learn to subdue himself.

I. FOUR RIVERS, TWO TREES , AND A WIFE

A. God's original intent was for Adam to learn how to cultivate a garden, subdue the land, and then replicate it.

B. I believe the four rivers flowing from Eden in different directions is a picture. What God created in the garden was meant to grow, expand, and multiply in different directions. As Adam and his offspring multiplied, they were to follow the rivers into new territories cultivating the land, subduing the earth, and replicating the garden as it all flowed from one source. Gen 2:10 - Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden and from there it parted and became four riverheads….

C. God had even deposited some surprises in the land along the way… Gen 2:11-12 - The name of the first [river] is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stones are there.

D. God had deposited gold, precious stones, and bdellium (a tree that produces a resin, some say similar to a pearl). These were materials God wanted Adam to discover because subduing the earth wasn't just an agricultural endeavor but it included other things like building projects, manufacturing, creative arts, etc.

E. Notice what God says to Adam when He finally puts him in the garden in verse 15. Gen 2:15 - Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend it and keep it.

F. Notice God doesn't say to Adam, "Now go and get started on your garden…" Rather God charges Adam with tending and keeping God’s garden. That doesn't sound like cultivating new lands, subduing new territories… so what's going on here? Two things, I believe:

1. First, Adam's assignment to subdue the earth is connected to his mandate to be fruitful and multiply. At this point, Adam has neither wife nor child therefore his assignment cannot begin.

2. Second, Adam wasn't ready. Before Adam could subdue the earth, he had to first learn to subdue himself. This is why God put two trees in the garden.

G. As soon as God puts Adam in the garden (Gen 2:15) He begins the process of training Adam to learn to

subdue himself. Adam is an unruly man in the most literal sense…. He's never been ruled by anyone. So the question is will Adam be a man ruled by his spirit under the leadership of God, able to subdue his flesh nature? Or will he be a man ruled by his flesh nature and as a consequence violate His relationship with God.

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H. The two trees represent the answers to this question…

I. Did the Lord not want us to become like Him in knowing good from evil?

Hebrews 5:14 - But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

J. The trees represented two ways to become knowledgeable of good and evil. Only one of them was the

right way and trained Adam in righteousness. Adam’s sin was that he short-cut the process God had designed to train Him in knowing good from evil.

K. But before Adam faces the test, God prepares him to pass it. He gives Adam a testimony of the Lord's goodness, kindness, and faithfulness. He allows Adam to feel the longing for companionship and then satisfies Adam's longing heart for intimacy by giving him a wife.

K. This experience is meant to secure Adam's heart to the Lord. God gives Adam a testimony of His kindness right before Adam's test so that Adam will have the ability to draw from the experience the wisdom and strength needed to refuse the temptation to violate God's commandments.

L. Eve not only satisfies Adam's longing for companionship, but she represents the ability to start fulfilling Adam's assignment, namely being fruitful, multiplying, and filling the earth.

M. God was preparing Adam to trust God in the temptation by showing Adam that He was loving, powerful, and would provide Adam with everything He needed to enjoy life and be fruitful.

IV. CHRIST, THE LAST ADAM

A. God's intent has always been for His glory to be seen all over the earth and his strategy for accomplishing this has always been to work through a man to cultivate and subdue the earth until it reflects His glory. Habakkuk 2:14 - For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

B. Adam's decision resulted in a violation of his relationship with God, left him empty without any access to the Divine Nature. He was therefore no longer capable of subduing himself nor subduing the land under the righteous rule of God.

C. When God clothed Adam and Eve with tunics of skin, I believe it was a picture showing that they were now no different than the wild beasts of the earth.

D. Adam was God's chosen instrument to exercise dominion over creation and subdue it. He was now himself in bondage to creation. There was no one to cultivate the land, or subdue the earth. It was left wild and unruly.

E. From this time on, God began working a strategy to restore man to his original assignment.

G. Many years later, God planted another garden in the earth. This one He named Israel. God cultivated that garden, caused it to grow, prosper, and eventually put another Man in it. One who, like the first Adam, had both an earthly frame and a Divine Nature.

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Isaiah 5:7 - For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!

H. Jesus first coming can be compared to Adam's training assignment. Jesus was charged with tending and keeping the garden God had planted. Here also He was tested to see if He was able to subdue himself and the serpent. He denied himself, resisted temptation and bound himself with nails to the tree of life. John 17:12 - While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

I. Jesus restored the breath of life that Adam had lost and therefore the capacity of man to once again be self-governed in righteousness. Jon 20:21-23 - Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

J. In the spiritual realm, Jesus through His Church is already fulfilling Adam's assignment to subdue and fill the earth with righteousness in glory.

K. However, when Jesus comes again he will fulfill this assignment in the natural realm by bringing heaven to earth and then spreading out from Jerusalem until the earth is filled with righteousness and the glory of God. Isaiah 4:2 - In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel. Zechariah 6:12 - And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.

L. Remember the gold, precious stones, and bdellium in the land for Adam to discover? Jesus uses these to build the new Jerusalem… a stronghold in the earth to protect the garden and defend His people. Rev. 21:19-21 - The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. The word “paradise” literally translated is walled garden.

M. The walls around the New Jerusalem prevent anyone from ever entering the garden again and deceiving God's people. The serpent freely entered the garden and brought deception and defilement to Adam and the land.

Revelation 21:27 - But there shall by no means enter it anything [q]that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

O. The serpent, who with one breath subdued Adam will with one breath be subdued by the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess 2:8 - And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

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Isaiah 4:11 - But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

P. The Tree of Life is found in the New Jerusalem. However, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is

not. Through Christ, God has trained His people in voluntary righteousness and there is no longer a need to learn to subdue ourselves in righteousness.

V. APPLICATION

A. Do a word study on "Subdue" in the bible. It'll open up some interesting paradigms for you.

B. We are being trained in righteousness, meaning we are learning to subdue ourselves and exercise the

authority we've been given to teach others to do the same.

Luke 9:23 - Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 1 Cor. 9:27 - But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. Matt. 17:21 - But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Matt 18-20 - And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go [a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [b]Amen.