By Chester Leverette (Contributing Writer)
Hello The Source Readers!
My name is Chester Leverette, and it is a privilege and an honor to be blessed by GOD to write about my Father’s business and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ from a Kingdom perspective.
I will be submitting devotional writings on a regular business with the hope of uplifting your spirit and strengthening your love and trust in the Lord.
Part 2
What Was Lost Through Adam and Restored Through Christ
Since mankind was formed in the image and likeness of God, humanity was created to manifest God’s presence on the earth. God’s primary purpose was for the earth to reflect heaven. He desired to establish His Kingdom on earth through mankind, allowing the unseen realities of heaven to be demonstrated in the visible world.
God’s intention was to colonize the earth with the culture, character and government of heaven. Mankind was created to serve as God’s representative, exercising His authority while living in fellowship with Him.
However, mankind’s disobedience changed everything.
Because Adam, the first representative of the human race, sinned against God, he forfeited the authority and dominion that had been entrusted to him. God, in His love and mercy, determined to restore what had been lost. This raises an important question: What exactly did mankind lose, and what did God come to restore?
The root cause was sin. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2)
Through Adam’s disobedience, mankind lost the manifest presence of God: His favor, intimate fellowship with Him, and, most significantly, participation in God’s Kingdom. So, Adam did not lose heaven, he lost a kingdom.
A kingdom is the domain or territory governed by a king. Since Adam was created in the express image of God, he was commissioned to represent God’s Kingdom on earth. Through sin, that Kingdom authority was surrendered. Adam did not merely lose a religion; he lost the authority God had entrusted to him as Heaven’s representative on earth.
God’s Plan of Restoration
Because mankind could not restore itself, Jesus Christ came into the world to restore humanity to its original position in God. Jesus came in the form of a man to restore mankind to the image and likeness of God. His mission was not simply to establish another religion, but to recover what had been lost through Adam’s disobedience.
God’s plan of salvation was accomplished through Jesus Christ, who is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Adam’s sin brought separation from God, yet the love of God has never been separated from mankind. According to Roman 8:38-39, Paul’s response to the question of what can separate us from the love of GOD, the answer is: nothing. Neither death, life, angels, rulers, present or future circumstances, powers, heights, depth, or any other creation can separate believers from the love of GOD. God immediately began His redemptive plan.
The Apostle Paul reminds us: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
(Romans 3:23). Yet the very next verse gives us hope: “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:24)
Paul continues: “Whom God presented as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness because in His forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.” (Romans 3:25)
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ made reconciliation with God possible. Through His blood, mankind can once again be restored into God’s Kingdom.
The Apostle Paul also writes: “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
All of Jesus’ statements were profound and were not just subjective, but commandments. In Matthew 4:17 his instruction was “to seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and these things shall be added.” This commandment is pivotal for mankind’s eternal existence and this is the only message that he preached. Through Christ, we exchange our sin for His righteousness. The penalty of sin is removed, and we are restored to right standing with God.
Chester Leverette is a resident of Lexington, North Carolina. Through various churches, he has gained vast knowledge of the inner workings of ministry and developed a love for teaching others about the Kingdom of God. Chester’s initial sermon (2007) was conferred by S. T. Green at New Hope Holiness Church. Chester attended classes as a Bible college student at Love and Faith Ministries under the leadership of Michael Thomas.