Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Christ’s Reconciliation (Part 1) 

      The Scope of Christ´s Redemption (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The scope of Adam’s transgression has been described as universal, that there was no aspect of creation not impacted and altered by it.  Adam’s transgression turned the entirety of creation into something God had not created it to be when He pronounced it very good after the sixth day.  Not only did man and all his progeny, including us, fall with him and in him, but, also, all over which Adam had been given dominion fell also.  Continue reading “The Scope of Christ’s Reconciliation (Part 1) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 2) 

The scope of Adam’s sin reached much farther than just our first parents.  The moral contaminant called “sin”, though not a physical entity but a moral one, somehow affixed itself to the psyche, or the human spirit, or Adam and Eve, and was, then, passed on to every succeeding generation.  How this could be without having physical characteristics such as we see in the genes and chromosomes, we do not know.  Continue reading “The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 2) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 1)

      The Scope of Adam´s Transgression (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

We would be the first to admit that there is much we do not know nor understand about our first parents’ initial disobedience and rejection of their Maker’s authority.  We do, however, know something firsthand of the consequences thereof.  And, what are those consequences?  Well, for starters, we are going to die.  Yes, die.  We are all infected with a terminal moral disease called “sin”, and it will kill us all, just like it has already killed the billions who have gone before.  Continue reading “The Scope of Adam’s Transgression (Part 1)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Alternative to Substitution 

      The Alternative to Substitution - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The principle of substitution has been briefly examined and has its origins in the early chapters of Genesis.  It was in chapter 3 that God Himself provided a substitute to answer to the guilt of Adam and Eve.  He did so in the innocent animals He obviously slew so as to provide coats of covering for the nakedness of our first parents.  But, why should there be any substitution?  Continue reading “The Alternative to Substitution “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Institution of Substitution (Part 2 )

      The Institution of Substitution - Part 2 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Hebrews 10 informs us that it was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  These were innocent animals.  We would also call them “dumb” animals, and they were dumb…dumb in the sense that they had no idea what was going on or why when their very life was taken from them.  They were unintelligent participants because animals have no sense of morality.   They act only from instinct.  Why couldn’t innocent animals take away the sins of humans who offered them as their substitute? Continue reading “The Institution of Substitution (Part 2 )” →

Marv Wiseman

The Institution of Substitution (Part 1) 

      The Institution of Substitution (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

When Adam and Eve attempted to clothe themselves with fig leaves, it was an obvious admission of guilt.  Adam and Eve’s fig leaf fiasco was a self-help attempt to cover their guilt, but guilt can never be removed by the offender.  Only the offended party can remove the offender’s guilt.  In their case, the offended party was the very God who created them, and only He could remove their guilt and affect reconciliation.  Continue reading “The Institution of Substitution (Part 1) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 3) 

      The First Revelation of God´s Grace (Part 3) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

While we cannot be dogmatic about our understanding of human composition, it does appear to best fit the biblical model.  To repeat from an earlier session, it was noted quite clearly in Genesis 2:7 that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.  The equation would, then, appear to be the physical body plus the breath of life God breathed into it together comprise the human soul.  Continue reading “The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 3) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 2) 

      The First Revelation of God´s Grace (Part 2) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Adam and Eve, because of their willful sin and disobedience to God, not only hid from Him but attempted to cover their nakedness with an assortment of fig leaves.  There’re multiple things here we do not understand.  Their anxiety over their exposure of their private parts caused them to fashion the fig leaves to cover their nakedness.  Continue reading “The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 2) “ →

Marv Wiseman

The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 1)

      The First Revelation of God´s Grace (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The perpetual reality of the God of creation being a gracious God who is kindly disposed to His creation is not only evident through human history, but it is found to surface as early as Genesis, chapter 3. And, why there? Because it was there, in Genesis 3, that the desperate need for the grace of God was first manifested. It came hard on the heels of our first parents’ moral failure and rejection of their Creator’s authority. Continue reading “The First Revelation of God’s Grace (Part 1)” →

Marv Wiseman

God’s Spirit to Man’s Spirit    

      God´s Spirit to Man´s Spirit - Pr. Marv Wiseman

If God is spirit and non-physical, and the Bible says He is, and if man, as God created him, has a non-physical spirit element to his being besides his body, and the Bible says he has, is there some way God connects with man that is also spiritual?  The Bible says there is.  So, what would this connection provide?  What would be its purpose?  It would appear to be one of communication.  Connection and communication are…well, connectives, are they not?  Continue reading “God’s Spirit to Man’s Spirit    “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Spirit of Man and Animals 

      The Spirit of Man and Animals - Pr. Marv Wiseman

According to Genesis 2, God made a body for Adam from the dust of the ground.  He, then, breathed into that body the breath of life, and man became a living soul.  The breath of life breathed into Adam was that which actually enlivened him, or animated his body, which was, otherwise, lifeless.  In Scripture, the words used for air, wind, breath, and spirit are the same.  James 2 mentions the body without the spirit is dead.  Continue reading “The Spirit of Man and Animals “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Spiritual Resides Outside of Science 

      Spirit Resides Outside of Science - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Mankind the world over has enjoyed the benefits derived from scientific achievements, especially over the past few hundred years.  “Science” simply means “to know” or “to understand”.  In general, science has to do with knowing and understanding the physical laws of our world and how they work.  When we are able to transfer that knowledge into work-producing inventions, a society progresses and standards of living are raised, and it’s truly wonderful and universally beneficial.  Continue reading “The Spiritual Resides Outside of Science “ →

Marv Wiseman

Human Intuition Versus Animal Instinct 

      Human Intuition vs. Animal Instinct - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Romans 1 declares that God has communicated to man the fact of the Creator’s existence so that man is without excuse for his denial or rejection of that Creator.  Precisely how God communicated that to man, we do not know.  We only know He did because He said He did.  He says “that which may be known of God is manifest, or declared, in them, for He has shown it unto them.”  How did it get in them?  Or us?  Continue reading “Human Intuition Versus Animal Instinct “ →

Marv Wiseman

Human Volition and Original Sin 

      Human Volition and Original Sin - Pr. Marv Wiseman

An important part of what makes us human is that we, through our first parents, Adam and Eve, were endowed with the capacity of volition.  This means we possess the power to make choices, to exercise our will, to do a thing or not do a thing.  This freedom of choice is a necessary component of our humanness.  But, with the capacity to choose, there are equally necessary consequences resulting from those choices.  Actions are always attended by results, good or bad.  Continue reading “Human Volition and Original Sin “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Divine Rationale for Creation 

      The Divine Rationale for Creation - Pr. Marv Wiseman

It might be expected to be found at the beginning of the Bible, but it isn’t.  It’s found at the ending.  In Revelation, chapter 4, in a single verse often overlooked, we find the most succinct expression of why God created anything and everything.  This alone, in the final analysis, provides us with the only true rationale behind the creative acts of God. Continue reading “The Divine Rationale for Creation “ →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 4)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 4) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The first man, Adam, was the father of us all.  He alone, by primogenitor, became the federal head of the entire human race.  It is not an exaggeration to note that the entirety of Adam’s posterity was literally in his loins.  The genetic cessation that began in this one man, Adam, is now realized in every living human being, as well as every human who has ever lived that is now deceased.  Does the Bible actually teach this?  Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 4)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 3)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 3) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The biblical record of the making and creating of man in Genesis 1 and 2 is thoroughly engrossing.  God made Adam physically and created Adam spiritually.  His body was the material, and His spirit was the immaterial.  Together, they constituted the human soul.  This combination, and it alone, is peculiar to human beings, separating humans from all other biological life produced by God.  Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 3)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 2)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 2) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The question has been posed regarding how God, who knows everything including the future, could be responsible for having created as He did and whom He did when He knew the course they would take; of course, diametrically opposed to His own nature and character.  Why did He instill the ability to make moral choices in the angel Lucifer, who would, then, become Satan?  Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 2)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 1)

      The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 1) - Pr. Marv Wiseman

The disastrous results of the original rebellion of our first parents is incalculable.  Their sin resulted in the moral and spiritual contamination of themselves and all their descendants.  Disease and death are the predictable and inevitable realities every generation since the first have suffered.  The question almost automatically surfaces: If God knows everything, Continue reading “The Necessity of Human Volition (Part 1)” →

Marv Wiseman

The Biblical Validation of the Human Spirit (Part 3)

      The Biblical Validation of the Human Spirit - Part 3 - Pr. Marv Wiseman

Our Lord Jesus Christ, in telling the Samaritan Woman at the well in John, chapter 4, that God is Spirit, clearly established the concept of spirit or non-materiality.  Other passages, like James 2, inform us that the body without the spirit is dead, and Paul the apostle reminds us of our spirit component by asking, “What man knows the things of a man, except the spirit of man, which is in him?”  I Corinthians 2.  Add to these compelling passages that verify the spirit part of our nature the encounter Christ had with Satan himself. Continue reading “The Biblical Validation of the Human Spirit (Part 3)” →