Man's Sin and Saviour by E. J. Hibbard

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jul 12, 1910

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 37, No. 27.

Man's Sin and Saviour

By E. J. Hibbard

I. Man in Creation

THE human mind naturally inquires about the origin of things. It asks first and especially concerning the beginning of the globe on which we live. And, since man himself is superior to all else which occupies the earth, his own parentage is of paramount interest.

Whence then came the first man? and what was he like? Was he evil of nature, and brutish in form and feature? or was he of noble bearing, symmetrically organized in body and mind?

The sacred books of most if not all heathen nations have discoursed upon the subject of creation; but in a manner so vague or so absurd as to merit only contempt from all who are possessed of ordinary common sense. It is therefore not worth while to consume time and space to even mention these vagaries.

On the other hand, Evolutionists endeavor to account for creation quite apart from the Creator. Knowing as they do that the ancestors of Americans and Europeans were, a few centuries ago, only barbarians and savages, while now we can boast of the best forms of civilization, they reason that all mankind has thus progressed from the earliest dawn of the human race; yes, and still back of that, by way of the "ape route," from the lowest forms of animal and vegetable life.

But no one has ever been able to account for the origin of life itself, by any of these processes, and so has not succeeded in ruling out the idea of the Creator; or, as some are pleased to term Him, a great "First Cause."

And while the theory is, that somewhere there must have been a "missing link," the most ardent advocates of the theory admit that the "link" is still "missing." We can trace the toad from the egg, through the "polliwog," until the legs form and the tail drops off; but not so from monkey to man. With over four thousand years of experience with monkeys and apes, not one has ever developed into a man. But it must be admitted with shame, that some men have degenerated to a plane not far above that of the ape. If the theory, therefore, were that apes and their like were degenerate men, I should see more in its favor than in the supposition that men are finely developed apes.

The only thing, then, which gives the slightest show of reason to the Evolution theory, is that above mentioned; namely, that some of the most progressive peoples of modern times can trace their ancestry to the savages of the German swamps and forests. It is true that in the providence of God these have made progress in many ways. But they were civilized by the very ones they conquered; and if advancement has been made in the matter of morals, it is easily traced to the influence of Christianity upon the individual heart.

And how about China and India, whose civilizations began not far from the time of the patriarch Abraham? How about Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon? They have every one been on the downward course. They have retrograded as surely as we have advanced.

The ancient Vedas, or sacred books of the Hindus, date back to near the time of Noah. These contained, in the main, the true idea of God, and of the origin of man; also of sin, and sacrifice for sin. But to-day the gods of India are as numerous as its inhabitants. And the degradation of her people, notwithstanding over a century of Christian endeavor and a half century of British rule, is almost past belief. So also is China, and the other nations which have taken a like course.

Modern Nations Retrograding

And close observers say that even such nations as have, during the past fifteen hundred years, been making progress in civilization, are worse now, morally speaking, than they were half a century ago. They tell us that modern science and invention have not lessened dishonesty nor decreased crime. They also say that knowledge itself, unless seasoned by that which God alone imparts to such as believe and obey Him, results in making men wise only in the way of evil. These facts are so patent that all who read the daily papers must know them, tho some may be loath to acknowledge as much.

But how about primitive man, the father and head of the human race? Was he inferior, or superior, to the best the world has since produced? The answer is found in the fact that there have been from the beginning to the present, but two real, genuine men; namely, Adam and Christ. For thus it is written, "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord [Christ] from heaven." "The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." 1 Cor. 15: 47, 45.

And thus it stands: Adam was the first man; Jesus Christ was the "second man," and the "last Adam." It therefore follows that between the first man, Adam, and Jesus our Lord, there were no men after God's idea of man. And since Christ was the "last Adam," it also follows that no men from the birth of Christ to the present have ever reflected the glory of that first product from the hand of God, the masterpiece of his Maker, the head of the human race.

Christ was originally "the brightness of

His [the Father's] glory, and the express image of His person." Heb. 1:3. So also, in the beginning, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." Gen. 1:27. And tho Jesus Christ was the Son of God direct, and from an eternity of the past, according to the Scriptures, yet He delighted to call Himself "the Son of Man." And from the human side of His nature, He is traced, in Luke 3:23-38, back in unbroken line of descent, and by this is found to be "the Son of Adam, which was the Son of God."

The First Man

It has been thought by some that the record in Genesis 1 refers to a prehistoric and pre-Adamic race; that the man created from dust, mentioned in Gen. 2:7, and spoken of as "Adam" in verses 19, 20, 21, and 23, is not the man who was created in the image of God; that Genesis 1 refers to a first creation, and Genesis 2 to a second. But such talk is all folly; for have we not already found (1 Cor. 15:45) that the "first man" was "Adam"? And this could not be if there was a man created before him. The omission of the fact, in Genesis 2, that Adam was created in the image of God, is well supplied in Genesis 5, verses 1 and 2. The reading follows: "This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created."

If anything were still lacking to prove that the first man was in every way superior to any who have followed, save Jesus only, it would be abundantly supplied in the fact that the entire work of the Gospel is for the purpose of restoring the image of God in man; and Adam had this at the outset.

In the Image of God

Thus Paul exhorts the Ephesian church, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation [manner of life] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4:22-24. And the Colossians he enjoins that they "lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him." Col. 3:9, 10.

Any man, therefore, who is in character after the image of Him that created him, will tell no lies. The devil is called the father of lies; but of God it is written that He "can not lie." It is likewise stated that those who have "put off the old man," and have put on the "new," are free from "fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry." They have likewise "put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication," out of their mouth. Col. 3:5, 8. And if all this must now be done in order that we may bear the image of our Maker, surely that man who in the beginning was created in His image, was entirely free from the character-deformities mentioned above, and with which the world is reeking in this our day.

But this is not all. The character being restored, there is yet one thing lacking,—our bodies as well as our characters have likewise been defiled; and these must be made to conform to the divine pattern. "For our conversation [manner of life, or "citizenship"] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body." Phil. 3:20, 21. This completes the image or likeness of God in man. It is therefore plain that the first man, Adam, and likewise his wife, were created in physical form and character like unto that of their Creator. This is the record as found in the Word of God. Such a record is worthy of our divine Master and Lord. But the theory of Evolution disputes the record as found in the book of Genesis, and likewise disputes every line of the Gospel in reference to man's redemption. But the Bible record is true; and happy is the one who accepts it just as it reads.

The Superiority of the Primal Man

We now repeat our first question: "Whence came the first man? and what was he like? Was he evil of nature, and brutish in form and feature? or was he of noble bearing, symmetrically organized in body and mind?"—He was the latter, and not the former.

And not only was he the superior of all who have followed, in that he was created without sin, or any natural tendency toward sin; but he was superior in knowledge to any that have followed, with the exception of that One before mentioned. For "out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them; and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

At this point some one may say, I do not see anything remarkable in the fact that Adam named every living creature; that seems a small matter to me. Indeed! Do you know of a person who can do as much to-day? Suppose Adam's naming of "every living creature" consisted only in the matter of pronouncing the word which gave the correct name to each animal, large and small, which inhabits the earth; each fish and reptile whose home is in the sea, the lake, the river; every fowl, bird, or insect which flies in the air; would it not reveal a knowledge almost beyond our powers of comprehension?—Indeed it would.

But Adam did far more than this; because a "name," in the Bible meaning, comprehends a word, or a series of words, which expresses definitely and exactly the leading characteristics of the object thus identified. One case in point will serve to illustrate: The Lord had commanded Moses to return from Midian to Egypt for the deliverance of Israel. "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM. . . . This is My name forever, and this is My memorial unto all generations." Ex. 3:13-15. This is to say, "I am that which I am." "This is My name forever." And this principle was so instilled into the minds of all the ancients (and it is even found among some modern peoples), that the names they gave their children were meant to express as nearly as possible the character of each. And with some, when the character changed, the name was also changed: Jacob became Israel; Abram became Abraham.

To say, then, that "whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof," is in other words to declare that the name Adam gave expressed the main characteristics of every living thing—every species on earth—of beast and fish and fowl. Thus Adam never had an equal in the knowledge of zoology, ichthyology, or ornithology; and he understood all these sciences (not by their present names; but the facts were his) more fully than any, and I dare also add, all who have succeeded him. Adam was neither an ape nor a brute-like cave-dweller; he was in every way worthy of his Maker, a man in the image of God.

Allow one other thought upon this marvelous feat of our forefather Adam: It does not read this way: "Whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that became the name thereof;" but this is the reading: "That was the name thereof." God was their Maker. He it was who had named them before He brought them before Adam to see what he would "call" them; and this noble offspring of God, this first father of our race, never missed, in a single instance, of calling

each living creature by the correct name, even the name which was its before Adam was asked to name it.

He was likewise the greatest landscape-gardener the world has ever seen. God "planted" a garden, and Adam "kept" it. He knew the secret of the life and growth of every tree and vine and plant. He also communed openly with his Maker and with the holy angels, and obtained further knowledge first-hand.

God likewise made him "an help meet for him," not as it is so often misquoted, "an helpmeet," or "an help-meet for him." What is a "helpmeet" anyhow? What does the word mean? It has been used so often that lexicographers have actually attempted to define it as "help-mate" or something of the sort. But the simple statement is, "I will make him an help meet [proper, fitted] for him." And a help proper for such a man as we have here found described in the Word of God, must have been able to enter into and appreciate every thought which occupied his master mind. She was likewise, as well as he, made in the image of God; and God called their name Adam — both the man and the woman. God made man in His own image — male and female; it takes the two to comprehend the term "man." The one without the other is but half a man.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." "And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good." Gen. 1:28, 31.

The entire earth was covered with a carpet of green, interspersed with majestic forests, and fruit-trees for man and beast. From a central fountain in the Garden of Eden ran rivers in four directions to water the earth. The air was vocal with birdsongs, and fragrant with the perfume of a million varieties of flowers.

Two giant intellects, with mind and body in harmony, equally balanced, without any natural tendency toward evil, happy in their Creator's love and in their affection for one another, stood our first parents, Adam and Eve, at the dawn of their creation.