PIONEERS

Pioneers

 When I think of pioneers I picture wagon trains rolling across western prairies as seen in the old Westerns. However, it goes without saying that Adam was the very first pioneer. After the LORD God had formed him He put Him in His garden (Genesis 2:8). We can imagine Adam pioneering the five senses by seeing, hearing, touching, smelling and tasting things in the garden and processing the information. Adam pioneered scientific study and exploration by studying, cataloguing and naming the living creatures (Genesis 2:19-20). Adam pioneered marriage when the LORD God made a female ‘clone’ of him and married the couple (Genesis 2:21-23). Adam and Eve pioneered families by having offspring (Genesis 4:1-2: 5:3-4).

Of course, the major thing that affects us all began when Adam pioneered sin (Genesis 3). To sin is to disobey God either by failing to do something He has commanded you to do or doing something He has forbidden you to do. Thus when Adam sinned he was pioneering private interpretation of God and His revelation (2 Peter 2:20). He wanted to interpret the facts according to his own set of criteria and not God’s! All humanity has followed suit (Romans 3:23). God makes Himself known by the things He has made and by His written Word (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:20), neither of which is open to private interpretation. Thus Adam became the pioneer of every argument and every pretension that sets itself against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5).

It was only after God had confused their tongues at the Tower of Babel that the wagon trains began rolling across the earth in tacit obedience to God’s Cultural Mandate (Genesis 1:26-28; 11:9). Pioneers discovered new countries and continents as mankind began to spread and settle throughout the earth. Man even took his wagon trains to the surface of the moon and back! The Presbyterian Elder Buzz Aldrin pioneered partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the moon! The Communion elements were the first food and liquid consumed on the moon. The bread and wine proclaim the death of the One who owns all creation until He comes again!  

Enter the new Adam. Jesus Christ by His life, death and resurrection is the pioneer of the new humanity. He has redeemed His people from their sin and His creation from the adverse effects of human sin. Saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me’ He sent the wagon trains into all the world with the Good News of salvation. He has pioneered the salvaging of human beings and their planet (Colossians 1:19-20). He is the firstborn over all creation. ‘And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist’ Colossians 1:17. He is the firstfruits of the resurrection and as such He has pioneered for us the conquering of death. All who follow Him will defeat death too! He pioneered the interpretation of creation and all therein and the Scriptures. We are to interpret these in light of Him. He is the Word, the key to truly understanding all things. He is wisdom incarnate. He is reason in the flesh.

Jesus has pioneered everlasting life for all who will hitch their wagon to His train. If you haven’t done so already, join the pioneers, and follow Him into the new frontier. There is a new heaven and the new earth that need exploring.