Debrecen Messages #7 – The New Man: God’s Visible Image and Rule on the Earth

In Debrecen #7, Gene Edwards brings the entire Debrecen series to its theological and experiential climax. This message reveals why God created, what Genesis 1 truly points to, and who now bears God’s image on the earth.

The teaching begins by returning to a foundational truth: everything that happened before creation was hidden at the moment creation began. Christ before creation, the Lamb slain, the book of life, the choosing of a people in Christ—all of it became mystery. Genesis 1–2 does not explain these realities openly; it hides them in symbols, shadows, and images.

Gene Edwards emphasizes that Genesis 1–2 contains no sin, no fall, and no damage. Everything is declared good—very good. These chapters reveal God’s intention, not humanity’s failure. To understand them, Scripture must be read backward—from Christ to Genesis—not forward from Adam.

At the heart of Genesis 1 is a staggering declaration: “Let us make man in our image… and let them rule.”
This was never about an individual. It was always about a corporate humanity—a them, not a him.

A major revelation of this message is that the new man precedes the old man. The new man was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. The old man—the fallen Adamic humanity—was crucified before he ever appeared in history. The cross did not react to the fall; it preceded creation itself.

This overturns conventional thinking. The new creation is not God’s backup plan—it is His original reality. Adam is a picture; Christ and His body are the reality.

Gene Edwards traces how all creation points to Christ:

• Light reveals Christ
• Trees reveal Christ
• Fish reveal Christ
• Birds reveal Christ
• Cattle reveal Christ as servant and sacrifice

These are not metaphors invented later—they are shadows of realities that existed before creation.

The message then moves to the earthly life of Jesus Christ. For a brief moment, Genesis 1 became visible reality. God walked the earth in a man. The image of God was seen. Dominion was exercised. The serpent was defeated. But there was still one command left unfulfilled: “Be fruitful and multiply.”

That command was fulfilled at the cross and resurrection. Christ, the true seed, fell into the ground and died. On resurrection—and ultimately at Pentecost—He multiplied. A them appeared. The Ecclesia was born.

The church is not an organization, meeting, sermon, or system. It is the visible image of the invisible God, moving on the earth as Christ once did. Where the church truly functions as a body, Christ is seen. Where believers merely sit and listen, Christ remains hidden.

This message makes a bold claim: until Christ returns, the church is God’s visible image on the earth. She bears His likeness. She exercises His authority. She displays His life—not as individuals, but corporately.

Gene Edwards concludes with the burden that fuels his life and ministry:
God will have a visible people who show forth His Son.
Not someday.
Now.