Section 912
I. Here is a declaration made by Jehovah himself, either of man’s present, or of his past condition
And the Lord God said, Behold the man is become as one of us. In which may be considered, 1. The person speaking, the Lord God. 2. The persons spoken to, to whom the man is said to he like; or, who are the Us, here mentioned. 3. The persons spoken of, the man or the Adam. 4. The mat ter contained herein, and the manner in which it was delivered.
1. It may be proper to consider, who it is that speaks these words; and we are told that it is Jehovah Eloim, the Lord God. And the Lord God said. By whom I understand, the second Person in the Trinity, the promised Messiah; who continues speaking from verse 8. This was the sense of the ancient Jewish church; as is manifest from their Targums, or paraphrases on this book. Verse 8, is thus paraphrased by Onkelos. And they heard the voice of the Word of the Lord God, etc as it is also by Jonathan ben Uzziel. Verse 9th by the Jerusalem Targum, thus, And the Word of the Lord God called unto Adam, etc As is verse 10th, both by Onkelos and Jonathan, after this manner: And he said, I heard the voice of thy Word in the garden, etc. Now this was no other than the same person whom the Evangelist John, in the beginning of his gospel calls the Word; of whom he says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And thus the Jerusalem Targum paraphrases the words of our text: And the Word of the Lord God said, Behold the man which thou hast created, etc Besides, the person here speaking, appeal’s in such character, and performs such offices, as manifestly discovers him to be the Messiah; who here gives a specimen of all his three offices of King, Prophet, and Priest. He acted the part of a Judge, in arraigning his creature man at his bar; proceeding in a legal way against him; convicting him of his treason, and then passing sentence upon him: which is one branch of Christ’s Kingly office: For the Father Judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. He acted the part of a Prophet, in the discovery he made of life and salvation to fallen man, through the promised seed: and who so proper a person to do this, as the Son of God; who was privy to all God’s counsels and resolutions concerning it? by whom it was to be effected, and who was to be the great Prophet in Israel, by whom Grace and Truth were to come. He also acted the part of a Priest, in making coats of skins and clothing Adam and his wife with them. These were the skins of slain beasts, which, very probably, were slain in sacrifice, and were typical of Christ, the great sacrifice; who, as the great High Priest, made reconciliation for sin, and brought in everlasting righteousness; in which robe of his he enwraps all his people.
Moreover, I make no doubt, but this glorious person, appeared in a human form, to our first parents in Eden; and there brought them the messages of grace: for, not to insist upon the audible voice they heard, and the interlocutory discourse which passed between them; why may it not be supposed that he appeared in a human form, to our first parents in the garden, as a preludium of his future incarnation; and for the confirmation of their faith in it, as well as he did to Abraham in the plains of Mamre; and to Jacob, when as a man, he wrestled with him, until break of day; and as well as to many others? And, perhaps, it may be a rule which will admit but of few, if any, exceptions, that wherever, in the Old Testament, we read of God, speaking with an audible and articulate voice, or appearing in any visible form, that the Son of God, the promised Messiah, is there intended; and it may be, our Lord has respect to this, when he says to the Jews, speaking of his Father, Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. (John 5:7) And, indeed, who so proper to speak, or visibly to appear, when there was any necessity for it, as the Word, who was to be made flesh, and dwell among us. From hence may be observed,.
1 st. The existence of Christ before his incarnation. The followers of Socinus deny this: and assert, that he did not exist before his taking flesh of the virgin But this truth appears from many undeniable instances. He existed in the times of Moses, and the Prophets; was before Abraham; as he himself says, Before Abraham was, I am. (John 8:58) He existed in the beginning of all things; for, In the beginning was the Word. Nay, he was before all things: and by him all things consist.
2 dly. The true and proper Deity of Christ. That the person here speaking, is truly and properly God, is manifest from that awe and dread of his majesty, which fell upon our first parents: from his perfect knowledge of Adam’s case, and of the condition which he had brought himself and his posterity into; the authority which he had exercised in the arraignment and trial of man; the discovery he made of the way of life and salvation, by the seed of the woman, which before was a secret hid in God’s heart from everlasting; to all which may he added, that he is expressly called Jehovah Elohim, the Lord God, in the words of our text; which is a name that belongs to none but the most High God. See Psalm 83:18.
3 dly. That what is said in those words, Behold, the man is become as one of us, whatever is meant by them, (which we shall hereafter enquire into) is certainly true; seeing it is the Lord God who says it: as also, that the prevention of man, from eating of the tree of life, mentioned in the latter part of the verse, was for man’s good, and not his hurt: seeing it is the Lord God, who brought the message of grace unto him, and clothed him and his wife with coats of skins, who prevented it.
2. The persons spoken to, are next to be enquired after; or who are intended by the Us, to one of whom the man is said to he like. And,
1 st. Some Jewish interpreters, who are also followed by some Christians, say, that these words are spoken Regio more, after the manner of kings, who in all their edicts and proclamations use the plural number. But this aulic way of speaking, did not obtain very early in the eastern nations; and, perhaps, was first introduced by the Romans. Nor can any instance he produced in the sacred writings, of any one man, though ever so great, proud, and arrogant, speaking only of himself in the plural number. And as for those Scriptures, which are commonly insisted on, they are rejected by a learned Jew, (R. Aben Ezra, in Genesis 1:26) as false witnesses. Besides, when princes do issue out their mandates, edicts, and proclamations, it is with the advice of their privy council; which is the reason of their using this way of speaking: so that this subterfuge is like to do but little service to the antitrinitarians.
2 dly. Others would have the angels here meant, to whom the Lord God thus speaks. But these are not his associates and companions; much less of equal dignity and authority with him. They were never made his privy council. He did not advise with them; nor were they assisting to him in the formation of man: neither was it after their image and likeness that he was created. They are God’s servants, to do his will; are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. But,
3 dly. By the Us in our text, I apprehend, we are to understand the three Persons in the Trinity, Father, Son, and Spirit: the same Us, who said, Let Us make man in Our image; after Our likeness. This way of speaking is also used by our Lord, John 14:23. Jesus answered and said unto him, I any man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him: where two persons, at least, his Father and Himself, are intended. This being the sense of our text, makes it appear that the doctrine of the Trinity is no novel doctrine. It is not only the doctrine of the New, but also of the Old Testament, It is true, it is more clearly revealed in the New Testament, than it was in the Old; though even there we have abundant testimonies of it. Nothing does more fully and compendiously contain it, than that form of words prescribed and used in baptism, Matthew 28:19. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Nor is there any greater evidence of it, than at our Lord’s baptism, recorded in Matthew 3:16, 17. Hence it was an usual saying of the ancients, Go to Jordan, and there learn the doctrine of the Trinity. But though it was more manifestly discovered, in the New Testament; yet it was not unknown to Moses and the Prophets: nay, it was revealed to our first parents in Eden’s garden.
3. The person who is spoken of, is the man. We read of two Adams in Scripture, the first and the second. The first man is of the earth, earthly; the second man is the Lord from heaven: the true Messiah, sent from thence to be the Redeemer of lost sinners. Agreeable to this, some Jewish writers had a notion of two Adams; the one heavenly, the other earthly: the one, as one with God from eternity; the other, as not only another person, but another thing from God, and rejected by him.
Now the question is, which of these two Adams is here meant? The above said Jewish writers understand it of the heavenly Adam; and take the words to be the words of the Lord God, directed to the angels; declaring to them, after the miserable fall of man, the mystery of his redemption, and who was to be the author of it, viz. the Adam that was with God from eternity; who was one with him, and in all things like unto him. The latter part of the text they interpret, of the prevention of this heavenly Adam’s immediate entrance upon the work of Redemption; which was deferred to a longer time; and say, that an angel was dispatched, as a messenger, to acquaint the fallen Adam of it, lest he should be pressed down with overmuch sorrow, for being the cause of ruin to himself, and to all his posterity. In which account, though there is something fabulous, yet it shews, that the ancient Jewish church had some notion of man’s redemption by Christ, as the second Adam. He, however, is not intended here; but, by the man, we are to understand our first parents, Adam and Eve, who both are called by this name. Genesis 5:2. Male and female created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. They were both created after God’s image and likeness; and both fell in the transgression. But,
4. The matter contained in these words, and the manner in which they are delivered, are next to he considered. The generality of interpreters understand them as an irony, or sarcasm; a flout or jeer at man’s deception by Satan; who told our first parents, that they should he as gods, knowing good and evil: by which deceitful bait they were drawn into transgression, and ruined. Now whatever hidden meaning Satan might have in this speech of his to them (which might be like those ambiguous oracles of his, by which he imposed upon the Gentile world), yet it is certain, that our first parents understood it, of an equality with the most High God; which became a snare, and proved their ruin. He might indeed, mean, that they should be as angels, who are called Elohim, Gods, in Psalm 8:5; and so Jonathan, in his Targum, paraphrases Genesis 2:5. And perhaps, Satan might design such angels as he and his company were; which was verified. For, by their sin, they came to have the woeful experience of good and evil; even as those apostate spirits had. Yet, I say, it is manifest, that Adam and his wife understood him otherwise. Now the Lord God here is supposed to upbraid man with it, and in an ironical way says, Behold the man is become like one of us. As if he had said, “See how much like a God, like one of us, the man looks; as Satan falsely promised him, and he vainly expected. See how he stands before us, with his coat of skin upon his back; and before he had that, he was obliged to sew fig-leaves together to make aprons, to cover his nakedness. Behold, how he is filled with shame and confusion for his folly. Does this man look like a God? Is this the Divinity that was promised, and which he affected? This is he, who aimed at a more exalted station than that in which he was created: but how is he sunk into the lowest condition of life!” So that the words seem to be much like those which were spoken by Pilate (when Christ was brought, clad with a purple robe and a crown of thorns upon his head, who then said to the Jews, in a sarcastic way, Behold the man!). (John 19:5) Not that we are to imagine, that the Lord God here rejoiced at man’s misery, or insulted over him in it; for he had compassion on him; remembered him in his low estate; and, in his love and pity, redeemed him. But he took this method, to bring man to a thorough conviction of his sin, to shame, and true repentance for it: as also, more fully to lay open the devil’s treachery; the crafty wiles he uses to deceive mankind; that so our first parents might not be ignorant of his devices. Though I must confess, I can scarce think that the wards are to be understood ironically: for it is not very easy to imagine, that our great Messiah, at his first entering on his office of publishing the gospel, should, as one expresses it, “Complete his first sabbath, with a jest on poor man’s misery.” Seeing, as the same author observes, “We don’t read of another, broken on his poor church, in all his ministry.” I am, therefore, most inclined to think, that those words are spoken seriously, and express real matter of fact, and may be understood, either,
As a declaration of man’s present state and condition; who, though fallen from a state of innocence, must now be considered as believers in Christ, and as restored and renewed by grace; so that he may well be said to be, as one of us. For,
1. Adam stood clothed with Christ’s righteousness, which was typified by the coats of skins, which the Lord God made for them; on which account he appeared as one of the Trinity, even as the Lord Jesus, whose righteousness was put upon him; for he who hath that imputed to him, is righteous, even as he is righteous. There is so much likeness between Christ and believers, on that account, that he end his church are called by one and the same name. See Jeremiah 23:6. and 23:16.
2. Adam being now renewed by grace, was conformed to the image of Christ, who is the first-born among many brethren; which is what all the elect of God are predestinated to, and therefore, as one of us. This new creation image is wrought by the Spirit; and is increased by those transforming views he gives us of the glory of Christ’s person, and will be completed in the other world; when saints shall be like him, and see him as he is.
3. Adam must now he considered as in union with the Father, Son, and Spirit, as all believers are: which union is so strict and full, that he might well he said to be, as one of us. It is expressed by Christ, in such terms as fully evince it, John 17:21. That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us. The meaning of which will more fully appear, when we are removed from this state of imperfection.
4. Adam was now in a state of friendship with God. It is true, sin had separated chief friends, and made a breach upon that former amity, which was between God and man: but now man was reconciled to God, through the appointed death of the Son of God; who, to Adam’s faith, was now slain both in the promise, and in the type: and he was also under the reconciling work of the Spirit of God, to the way of salvation, by the promised seed. Or,
These words may he considered, as expressive of Adam’s condition before the fall; for they may be rendered thus, Behold, the man was as one of us; which, I apprehend, is the truest reading; as well as the genuine sense of the words. This sense I also find is given and approved by a learned Jewish writer; and suits man in his first creation; who was in the image, and after the likeness of God, which consisted,
1 st. In the form and constitution of his body. The body of Christ, which was prepared by God for him, is, undoubtedly, the glory of human nature; it being curiously wrought, like a piece of needle-work, in the lowest parts of the earth. That is, in the Virgin’s womb, by the power of the blessed Spirit; or in the secret thoughts of God’s eternal mind. For, in the book of his eternal purposes, all the members thereof were written, which in continuance (i.e. in the fulness of time) were fashioned, when as there was none of them, really and actually existing. Now it seems as though, according to the idea of Christ’s human body, in God’s mind from everlasting, the body of Adam was formed. Christ indeed, is said to appear in the likeness of sinful flesh; to partake of the same flesh and blood with the children, and to be made in all things like unto his brethren; but then, they are also said to be, of his flesh and of his bones. But whether it be so or no, that Adam’s body was formed according to the idea of Christ’s body, that was in God’s mind from everlasting; yet this is certain, that the bodies of the saints, at the resurrection, will be fashioned like to the glorious body of Christ, according to Philippians 3:21. And why Adam’s body may not be supposed to be formed according to the idea of it, in God’s mind, I see no reason to conclude. Wherefore, it might be very well said of him, especially in his state of innocence, before he had sinned, and his body became subject to weakness, diseases, and mortality, that he was as one of us. But this is not all that this likeness and image consisted in: for,
2 dly. It also appeared in the rectitude of his mind, for God made him upright, though he afterwards sought out many inventions. Man came out of his Maker’s hands a holy creature. God left an impress of holiness upon him; so that he was, in some measure, like him. Hence the work of renovation is called, The new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
3 dly. This image of God, in which man was created, appeared in that wisdom and knowledge, with which he was endued; of which some instances are on record: as, his giving names to all creatures; his knowing his wife, as soon as brought to him, who she was, and from whence she was taken; as also, his knowledge of good and evil, which is the particular thing instanced in our text, Behold, the man was as one of us, to know good and evil. Though I know this is produced as an objection against the sense of the words; and it is asserted that Adam did not know good and evil before the fall. It is true, he did not know evil in the same sense; as it is said of Christ, that he knew no sin. (2 Corinthians 5:21) That is, he did not know it, so as to commit it; but he knew the nature of it, its contrariety to God’s revealed will, its due desert, and wretched consequences; and so did Adam. Nay, I will venture to say, that in this sense Adam had a more exquisite and complete knowledge of good and evil before his fall, than he had afterwards.
4 thly. This image consisted also in his dominion over the creatures. He was made Lord of all, upon his first creation, Genesis 1:26. So that there appeared some resemblance of the Divine Majesty in him; which universal subjection of all creatures to him, is very particularly and beautifully described, in 8. Thus the man was as one of us; in which words there may also be a comparison of his past with his present state, though one branch of it is not expressed; Behold the man was as one of us. But what is he now? He is strangely altered; he is not the man he was: his body, which was before hale, robust, and free from all diseases, is now become feeble and languid; subject to all manner of distempers, and to death itself. It is now a mere house of clay, which has its foundation in the dust; and must shortly be reduced to its first origin. His soul, which was created upright, is now destitute of it original righteousness, and filled with all unrighteousness. His understanding, which was replete with wisdom and knowledge, is now darkened. The man that was the darling of heaven, and in perfect friendship with his Maker, is now alienated from him; and he that was Lord of this world, and had all creatures in subjection to him, is now a slave to his own lusts, and afraid of those creatures which were made for his use. A strange and sudden alteration indeed! so that man, in his fallen state, appears far from being possessed of that free-will, which the Jews ascribe unto him, and endeavour to establish from those words, Onkelos, one of their paraphrasts, rendering the words thus, And the Lord God said, Behold the man is the only one in the world of himself, to know good and evil. So much for the first part of the text, which contains a declaration either of man’s past or present condition.