LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2013, Page 93

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Convention Essay
❹ Baptized for Life Together

BY THE REV. DR. STEVEN P. MUELLER, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF CHRIST COLLEGE
AT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, IRVINE, CA
65th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod | July 24, 2013

I

n the beginning of our human story, there was koinonia—life together.
The Lord God brought all things into being by His powerful Word and
decreed His satisfaction. Light was good (Gen. 1:4). The seas and dry earth
were good (Gen. 1:10). Plants and creatures were good (Gen. 1:12, 25). It was
all very good.
But embedded in the story of creation, we find the first “not good.” It occurs
not in the fall but in the description of humanity’s creation in Genesis 2. This
“not good” is Adam in isolation. Genesis 2:18 says, “It is not good that the
man should be alone.”
This is no verdict of sin or of imperfection. Genesis 1:27 has already
revealed that God was creating humanity as male and female.
There is nothing lacking. Rather, God pauses to teach. Humans
were never meant to live in isolation but in relationship. Neither
Adam nor Eve was humanity by themselves. Together they were
“very good.” And, lest we miss the point, Genesis draws the line
straight to us, with words that our Lord Jesus repeats:
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold
fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24).
For a time, they were truly one. Adam and Eve shared holy life
together, and they had koinonia with the Almighty, who walked
with them in the Garden of Eden.

Koinonia Was Destroyed by the Fall
So quickly the story turns. When our first parents listened to the
voice of the serpent, doubted God, and sought to know not only
good but evil as well, this perfect life together was shattered.
They had lived in Paradise: all of their needs provided; living in
holy innocence; enjoying the presence of the Lord God; fellowshiping freely with Him. But as they rebelled, they were driven apart.
They saw their nakedness in new ways and so covered themselves
with leaves—clothes creating a barrier between themselves. They
saw God in tragic new ways, hiding from His presence that once
filled them with joy.

relationship of husband and wife grew strained and challenging.
Ultimately, a return to the dust.
Life together was shattered.
Soon they would discover that they were even pulled apart from
their own selves. Confusion. Pain of body and mind. Doubt. Fear.
Despair.
God provided His Holy Law, in part, to help hold things together.
It revealed God’s will that they live in appropriate relationship
with Him and with one another, but it was, and is, received by
fallen humanity as brutally crushing condemnation and an unattainable goal.
From generation to generation, Adam’s children have borne the
curse. Each inherited that brokenness, and each rebelled against
God of his own accord, reaping the fruit of lonely sin and wickedness. As humanity multiplied, the effects of life apart were manifest
again and again.
Cain murders Abel. Brother turns against brother and family against
family. Nations divide, scatter, and live in friction and hostility.
Jews, called to be a blessing, live in tension with Gentiles. People
against people. Race against race. Male versus female. Young versus
old. Insider against outsider. Divisions go on and on.
We excel at creating schism, hatred, and discord. We are suspicious
of the different—and suspicious of those who seem the same. How
readily we divide into us versus them. Partisanship, factions, power,
and selfish control.

As they speak, their brokenness becomes clear. Adam blames Eve
and God, who gave her to him. One flesh is ripped apart as he tries
to deflect responsibility. Eve blames the serpent. Neither owned
up to his own guilt.

In the end, it comes down to one fundamental division: ME and
everything else.

God’s righteous judgment shows the extent of isolation. Distanced
from creation, the earth became difficult to tend. Toil replaced the
joy of productive, satisfying work. Childbirth brought pain. The easy

We create that sad reality but don’t like the result—alone with
the one person in existence who truly repels us above all others.
Alone with ourselves.

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