The Genesis of Eternal Life

An arrangement of verses

Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash

The following is an arrangement of verses from the NIV Bible about how God created man and how He planned our adoption so that we might be brothers and sisters of Christ. In order for these verses to fit together smoothly, I’ve had to add words, change verb tenses, and alter pronouns. Such changes are in brackets; deletions are indicated by ellipses. References are footnoted throughout.

*Note: I have used some artistic license in the arrangement of these verses, and while it is all scriptural, it’s always a good idea to check your own Bible for the original context.

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Creation

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.¹

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, [and] in our likeness.”²

[And the Spirit said, “Just as You, Christ, are] the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,³ [and in You] all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, ⁴[so let us form] the man from the dust of the ground, and breath into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man [will become] a living being.”⁵

For by [Christ] all things [would be] created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things [would be] created by Him and for Him.⁶ And God placed all things under [Christ’s] feet and appointed Him to be head over everything.⁷

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him,⁸ [as] it is written, “The first man . . . became a living being,⁹ [Thus, God] chose [man] in Him before the creation of the world. . . . In love [He] predestined him for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will. ¹⁰

[Then] the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.¹¹ [And God told man,] “Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”¹²

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The Two Become One

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”¹³ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”¹⁴

[Thus,] the head of the woman is man¹⁵ for man did not come from woman, but woman from man.¹⁶ [But] as woman came from man, so also man [thereafter would be] born of woman ¹⁷ because she would become the mother of all the living. ¹⁸ And for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.¹⁹

[And Christ said to them,] “I have given [you] the glory that [God the Father] gave me, that [you] may be one as [the Father and I] are one— I in [you] and [God] in me—so that [you] may be brought to complete unity.²⁰ [May you] grow to become in every respect the mature body of [mine, for I am] the head . . .²¹ So [you] are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”²²

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A Problem With Dust and Flesh

Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. ²³ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day. ²⁴ [They saw that] God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.²⁵

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. ²⁶ [They saw that they had yet to] become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ²⁷

[They wondered,] “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?²⁸ . . . Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ²⁹[We] are like grass, and all [our] faithfulness is like the flowers of the field³⁰ for [that is] how we are formed . . . The life of mortals is like grass, [we] flourish like a flower of the field³¹ until [we] return to the ground, since from it [we] were taken. For dust [we] are and to dust [we] will return.”³²

[But Christ said to them], “If only you were to Me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother’s breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me. I would lead you and bring you to My . . . house—she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.³³  Then I [would] pour out My thoughts to you, I [would] make known to you My teachings.³⁴ You [would] be like God, knowing good and evil.”³⁵

“[But you who] live according to the flesh have [your] minds set on what the flesh desires; [you are not like] those who live in accordance with the Spirit [who] have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”³⁶

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How Could This Be?

[So the man and woman said to each other, “How can we be like] that which was from the beginning, which we have [not] heard, which we have [not] seen with our eyes, which we have [not] looked at and our hands have [not] touched? ³⁷ [That] life [has not yet] appeared. . . . [Who can] proclaim to [us] the eternal life, which was with the Father? . . . [Who can] proclaim to [us] what we have [never] seen [or] heard, so that [we] also may have fellowship . . . with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ?” ³⁸

[God answered,] “Surely [you] are My people, . . . so [I will become your] Savior.³⁹ My own arm [will achieve] salvation for Me.⁴⁰ The Word [will become] flesh and [make] His dwelling among [you.] [You will see] His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. ⁴¹ [So that] to all who . . . receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He [will give] the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.⁴² . . . just as [you] have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall [they] bear the image of the Heavenly Man. ⁴³ And I will put My Spirit in [them] and move [them,]⁴⁴ the Spirit of [My] Son into [their] hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”⁴⁵

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The Son Came Down

[Therefore,] when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that [mankind] might receive adoption to sonship.⁴⁶ For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God [did] by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. ⁴⁷ Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity. ⁴⁸ For this reason He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. ⁴⁹

[And mankind beheld] His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth⁵⁰ [because He], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.⁵¹

[Through this ordeal, He prayed,] “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted [me] authority over all people ⁵² [so that] to him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations . . . just as I have received authority from [You].⁵³ I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.”⁵⁴

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The Son Suffered and Died

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless . . . God demonstrates His own love for us in . . . while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁵⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.⁵⁶ Yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.⁵⁷

[But] it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer. And though the Lord [made] His life an offering for sin, He [would] see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord [would] prosper in His hand. [For] after He [had] suffered, He [saw] the light of life and [was] satisfied. By His knowledge, [God’s] Righteous Servant [justified] many, and [bore] their iniquities. Therefore [God gave] Him a portion among the great, and He [divided] the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death.⁵⁸

This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He took many captives and gave gifts to his people.” ⁵⁹ So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. ⁶⁰

[Thus] God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁶¹ In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God . . . should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what [Christ] suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are [now] of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, “I will declare your name to My brothers and sisters. In the assembly, I will sing your praises!” ⁶² [And] to him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. ⁶³

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Conclusion

[This then is how] Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which he is the Savior. ⁶⁴ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. ⁶⁵

1. John 1:1-3

2. Genesis 1:26a

3. Colossians 1:15

4. Colossians 2:9

5. Genesis 2:7

6. Colossians 1:16

7. Ephesians 1:22a

8. Genesis 1:27a-b

9. 1 Corinthians 15:45

10. Ephesians 1:4a & 5

11. Genesis 2:15

12. Genesis 1:28d & 29b-c

13. Genesis 2:18

14. Genesis 2:21-23

15. 1 Corinthians 11:3b

16. 1 Corinthians 11:8

17. 1 Corinthians 11:12

18. Genesis 3:20b

19. Ephesians 5:31

20. John 17:22-23

21. Ephesians 4:15b-c

22. Matthew 19:6

23. Genesis 2:29

24. Genesis 3:8a

25. John 4:24

26. Genesis 3:7a-b

27. Ephesians 4:13c

28. Psalm 24:3

29. 1 Corinthians 15:50

30. Isaiah 40:6c

31. Psalm 103:14-15a

32. Genesis 3:19b-c

33. Song of Solomon 8:1-2

34. Proverbs 1:23b-c

35. Genesis 3:5b

36. Romans 8:5-8

37. 1 John 1:1a-c

38. 1 John 1:2-3

39. Isaiah 63:8

40. Isaiah 63:5c

41. John 1:14

42. John 1:12-13

43. 1 Corinthians 15:49

44. Ezekiel 36:26-27a

45. Galatians 4:6b-c

46. Galatians 4:4-5

47. Romans 8:3a-c

48. Hebrews 2:14a

49. Hebrews 2:17

50. John 1:14 b-c

51. Philippians 2:6-8

52. John 17:1b-2a

53. Revelation 2:26, 27c

54. John 17:4-5

55. Romans 5:6a

56. Colossians 2:15

57. Isaiah 53:4b

58. Isaiah 53:10-12c

59. Ephesians 4:8

60. Ephesians 4:11-13

61. Ephesians 2:6-7

62. Hebrews 2:10-12

63. Revelations 3:21

64. Ephesians 5:23b-c

65. 1 Peter 1:3-4a

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