And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

We know that God set a plan of making His kingdom before creation. Therefore, we know that the way for a man to gain the eternal life was already set by God before creation. Adam fell into temptation and rebelled. Adam was from dust and Christ is from heaven. We believe that Adam could not gain the eternal life by works of the law in the garden of Eden. Theologians and ministers say that there was no death in the garden of Eden. But that does not sound logical. When God gave Adam a warning concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam understood the meaning of death. If he did not, he committed a sin of ignorance, not a wilful sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve willfully sinned against God despite His warning because they wanted to be like God by rebelling against Him.

Faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Adam and Eve did not have faith in God. Faith is the work of the Spirit. Faith is tied to the true knowledge of God. Those who have faith in God love Him and His neighbors. It is only logical to say that Adam and Eve were born upright but could not overcome the temptation because they did not receive the Spirit. In contrast, Christ was publicly baptized with water and the Spirit before the temptation in the wilderness so that everyone would know that He is sent by God to fulfill the law. Christ is our way to salvation and the eternal life.

Adam and Eve were from dust. Their fall teaches us the necessity of being born again of water and the Spirit. Although we must be born again, the rebirth means the new creation. Returning to Adam’s pre-fall status is not God’s will. Most theologians and ministers who claim to hold the Reformed faith/theology believe that Adam had the Holy Spirit and was righteous. They focus on his sinless status before the fall. But they fail to see why Adam fell. Hence, they fail to understand why the Son of God is also the Son of Man.

In this passage, Christ refers Himself as the Son of Man but also the only begotten Son (of God). Christ’s two natures are not separated. Christ, the Son of God, became the Son of Man so that Adam’s descendants can become the adopted children of God. This is the kingdom. This is God’s ultimate will. All children of God know and love God. We obey Him. But we do not put our hope in the law. We do not see that the law was given for us to gain righteousness. Christ did not come to keep the law to gain righteousness either for Himself or for the church. Rather, Christ came to fulfill the law and gave us the new command (John 13:34). This is the law of the liberty. We do not gain righteousness by keeping the new command. Rather, we keep it because we are the new creation. We are one with God through water and the Spirit.

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. The Pharisees emphasized that all must keep the law. They misinterpreted the OT. They put all their hope in the law. They focused on people’s will and efforts to keep the law. But they failed to see why God gave them the law. Why did God give the Israelites both blessing and curse in the Book of Deuteronomy? What do we need for us to know, love, and obey God? Therefore, he could not understand what Christ told him.

Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (vv. 10-12)

Christ is symbolized as water. Christ is water that turns into blood. Water is Truth, the Word of God. Unless one dies with Christ and is born again, there is no eternal life. All saints receive the Holy Spirit as the seal. He constantly teaches and guides us. He never leaves us. By faith we, who live in 2023, are united with Christ. And the Spirit initiates faith in us. Therefore, it is only logical to say that the saints were chosen before creation to receive the Sprit at an appointed time.

…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Since Adam and Eve were from dust and were unfaithful to God and rebelled against Him, who on the earth can keep the law and gain eternal life? And who can earn faith by works? The law, including God’s command to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, was not given for us to gain eternal life. Eternal life is God’s work.

But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

The old covenant and the law were tied to the temple that was in Jerusalem. And Christ said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) The new covenant is not continuation of the old covenant. However, theologians and ministers stubbornly hold the false doctrines simply because they do not understand the differences between Adam and Christ.