As Christians our faith tells us that Christ died as payment for our sins.

We believe He actually rose from the grave as proof that He was indeed sent by God. Yet it is also our conviction that, upon this resurrection event, not only were the sins of mankind atoned for but through Christ a second Genesis began.

Paul explains, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). The word Adam means “man” and is representative of “mankind.” There are now two Adams or two species of man. The first species of man is the descendant of sinful Adam. His life orbits around his carnal or “natural” desires. He carries both the DNA of Adam’s nature and the consequences of Adam’s sin. This natural man is focused upon fulfilling the needs of his soul. He is indeed a “living soul,” but he is controlled by fears, physical needs, intellect boundaries, cultural environment and sin.

The second species or race of man is Spirit-centred. His thoughts, dreams and experiences originate primarily from the Holy Spirit who lives in union with him. The highest aspiration of the Spirit-centred man is not on attaining natural successes but upon attaining conformity to Christ. While the first man lives to receive from the world around him, the last species of man, the Christ-man, lives for what he can give to those around him: he is a “life-giving spirit.” The first Adam engendered descendants with problems; the spiritual descendants of the last Adam, Christ, provide the world with answers.

New Creatures
While men divide over many things — culture, skin color, language or social status — from God’s view mankind is only truly divided into two subsets: those controlled by their souls and those controlled by the Holy Spirit. One race is dead in sin; the other is alive in Christ. One species of man is destined to perish; the other will live forever. Just as the first Adam passed sin, weakness and death to his children, so the second Adam, Christ, passes virtue, power and eternal life to the children of God.

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15).

You see, we are not merely men of flesh temporarily acting spiritual, but we are spiritual beings temporarily living as men of flesh. If you have received Christ into your life, you are part of the second Genesis. You possess a new nature, which is the actual life of Christ’s — a life-giving Spirit.

By Francis Frangipane
Used by Permission

Francis Frangipane
info@frangipane.org
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Listen to the blessing of the Lord in Timothy 4:22. “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.” “But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, ‘O God, God of the spirits of all mankind…‘ ” (Numbers 16:22).

I bless you in the name of the God of the spirits of all mankind. The Lord who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundation of the earth is forms the spirit of man. He stirs up your spirit and moves your spirit. In his providence he watches over your spirit, so commit your spirit to your Father and creator (Psalms 35:15). I bless you with the knowledge that God gave you life and shows you his unfailing love, and he preserves your life and times by his care (Job 10:12).

Beloved child, listen with your spirit to 1 Corinthians 15:45. “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.”
1 Corinthians 6:17 states, “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.” Our Lord Jesus prayed for you, that you may be one, just as the Father was in him and he is in you. Be blessed, for the Lord Jesus has given you the glory that Father God gave him, so that you may be one as they are one (John 17:20-23). I bless you with uniting yourself with the Lord Jesus, with being one with him in spirit and being life-giving to all you meet. I bless you with spiritual fervor, that you may speak and the things of God and be diligent and enthusiastic in serving him, being one with him and devoted to him in spirit, soul, and body (Acts 18:25, Romans 12:11,
1 Corinthians 7:34).

“The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joint and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” I bless you with being able to distinguish your spirit from your soul, differentiating between the thoughts of your spirit and the attitudes of your soul. I bless you with responding to situations and circumstances from the depths of your spirit, not from your soul. I bless you with being humble, contrite, and repentant, so that you will be revived and renewed in heart and spirit by the Holy One, who inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). When you are overwhelmed and your spirit grows faint, I bless you with assurance that he knows the way you should go (Psalms 142:3). I bless you with the confidence that when you call for help, and the Father of your spirit hears you, because he is close to the brokenhearted and rescues those who are crushed in spirit (Psalms 34:18).

 I bless your spirit with being refreshed by others who are faithful to you, and I bless you with often refreshing others in their spirits (1 Corinthians 16:18, 2 Corinthians 7:13). I bless you with the spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline given by God, not of timidity or fear (2 Timothy 1:7).

I bless you with glorifying God in your body and your spirit, which are God’s, because you are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20 NKJV). I bless you with praying and singing and praising God with your spirit
(1 Corinthians 14:14-16). I bless you with exalting the Lord and rejoicing in God your Savior with your spirit, as you celebrate his choosing you and recall all the great things he has done for you (Luke 1:46-49). I bless you with worshiping the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). I bless you in the name of the God of the spirits of all mankind.

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