A CHANGE OF DNA

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“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.”

1 Corinthians 15:45

When God created Adam, he gave him pure DNA, without contamination, which placed man in a lineage superior to that of every other creature in the universe. God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26a). Adam’s genetic code came directly from God, the Trinity itself! God elevated man to the same level of authority as Himself, and man became superior to every other creature. This meant that the blood of royal lineage ran through his veins. However, when Adam sinned, his genetic code was radically altered. He lost his purity, his holiness, and all the privileges that he previously had as a son of God. His sin was a form of spiritual suicide because it killed his own spiritual nature. Since we are all descendants of Adam, the mark of this same curse has come on all of us too. To save us, God needed to do a miracle.

The Apostle Paul said, “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’, the last Adam, a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). For redemption to take place, it was necessary for Jesus, as the Son of God, to come and reverse the curse of Adam. This is why He was not conceived by a man, rather the Spirit of God directly came to the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus came as the only opportunity of redemption for those who would believe in Him. He came with a new genetic code, because pure royal blood flowed through his veins. Jesus knew he was born to reign. He also understood that before this would happen, he had to offer his life for the redemption of the world. The first Adam was an earthly man, yet the last Adam came from heaven. The first Adam gave us the image of sin; while the last Adam shows us the way to the glory of the heavenly Father. The first Adam can never enter heaven. The last Adam, by his own blood, entered the holiest place in the Kingdom of Heaven.

To receive Jesus in our hearts as our Savior is to receive a new genetic code — and this is like receiving a visa to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Remember what Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).”

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“After twenty-one years of being a Christian I went through an experience that became the source of my brokenness. I lost the electoral vote to be in the Senate of my nation in 1994. It was a painful experience, but through it I understood the reality of what the Bible says ‘…unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24).

I was by all appearances living a successful life: the wife of the pastor of one of the biggest churches in Colombia, a beautiful home with wonderful daughters, a senator of the republic, with no financial problems and so on. However, I had not experienced brokenness. I decided to return to Congress, and in the elections of 1994 success seemed guaranteed, with a strong likelihood of winning a seat. Nevertheless, to everyone’s surprise and my own personal disappointment, I lost by a hundred votes. I think that was the first time in my life that I felt truly frustrated and defeated. Jacob went through a brokenness that only lasted a night where he fought with an angel until he obtained his blessing. However, my brokenness lasted almost a year, during which time God dealt very seriously with me. I would spend entire days in my prayer room. Sometimes I became depressed and I would see my spiritual enemies mocking my situation and this really bothered me. Through reading the Bible, God helped me to understand that my ego was too big, and that it needed to die. I had no desire to speak to anyone except Cesar, though I did not tell him what I was feeling like inside, because brokenness is something you experience alone with the Lord. I repented and recognized that I had been living through human strength and not through the spiritual “strength of God. I had to acknowledge that I was nothing, and I had no strength without Him. During this whole time I heard the voice of God telling me, ‘Daughter, I have brought you to this place so that from now on you will listen to My voice. Everything you have lived through until today has been to prepare you. From now on your ministry begins!’ In other words, He changed my DNA.” (Claudia Castellanos)

TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I am the fruit of the love of Jesus. His grace reached out to me in order to give me His life and now I am a new creation.”

Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume One.

TODAY’S BIBLE READING

    • Old Testament: Genesis 3 & 4; Psalms 2
    • New Testament: Matthew 1:18-25; Acts 1:12-26

A CHANGE OF DNA