We will now look at the second line, the line of Christ. In the Bible, there is no person, thing, or matter that is more important than Christ. Christ is the highest and greatest center in the Bible. Now we will see how the line of Christ runs through the entire Bible.
In the creation of all things, God did not use any materials; He used only His word. Hebrews 11:3 says that the universe was framed by the word of God. Psalm 33:9 also says, “For He spoke, and it was; / He commanded, and it stood.” This speaking is the word of God, and the word of God is Christ Himself (John 1:1). Therefore, all things came into being through Christ. The first thing that Christ as the Word of God enabled was the creation of all things in the universe. The creation and the existence of all things depend upon Christ being the Word of God.
There was light on the first day of creation, and there was a greater light on the fourth day of creation. In the New Testament this light typifies and symbolizes Christ (John 1:4; 8:12). In God’s creation, first there is the word and then there is light; only then can life come forth. Just as is in the old creation, so it is in the new creation. When God regenerated us, the Lord Jesus came first as the Word of God, then as the light of life, and as a result we received life inwardly.
We all know that among all things, there is only one kind of life that is like God—the life of man. God created man in His own image and likeness. In Genesis 1:26, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Our refers to the Triune God. Then verse 27 says, “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” His is singular; it undoubtedly refers to the second of the Trinity—the Lord Jesus. Colossians 1:15 clearly says that the Lord Jesus is the image of the invisible God. For God to create man according to His image means that He created man according to Christ. Therefore, in God’s creation Christ is not only the Word and the light, He is also the image of God. God created man according to Christ so that Christ would be manifested in the entire universe, that is, so that the image of Christ would be seen everywhere.
In typology, Adam is the head of all of God’s creation. God set Adam as the head over all things to typify the Lord Jesus as the Head over all things. However, as the head, it was not good for Adam to be alone; he needed a counterpart. At this point the church in type is mentioned.
According to the account of creation in Genesis 1, when God created everything, including man, He set man as the head over all things; however, this head over all things needed a counterpart. Adam waited until a counterpart was produced from within himself. This counterpart was not created by God apart from him; Adam’s counterpart was a part of him, taken from within him. Adam’s rib became his wife, Eve. This shows that in the universe Christ is not just the Word, the light, the image of God, and Head over all things; He is also a universal Bridegroom to gain a glorious counterpart, who is the church. The church is a part of Christ, having been taken from within Him.
After God’s creation was completed, Satan came in to damage, causing man to fall and become lost. Thus, God promised that Christ would come to redeem man.
Christ is spoken of in Genesis 3:15 as the One who would destroy the serpent (Satan). He is the seed of the woman, the One who would destroy man’s enemy, Satan.
Adam sinned and, being conscious of his own shame, he sewed leaves together to make loincloths to cover his body. However, God made a coat of skin to clothe him (v. 21). We believe that the skin must have been taken from a lamb. Before the skin was made into a coat, the lamb must have been slaughtered, thus shedding its blood. This shows us that in God’s promise of redemption to man, the Lord Jesus came not only as the seed of the woman to deal with the enemy, Satan, who damaged man, but also as the Lamb of God to become our righteousness so that we could put Him on and become acceptable to God in Him. In the redemption promised by God, on the one hand Christ is the seed of the woman to deal with the enemy who damaged us, and on the other hand He is the Lamb of God to be our righteousness.