In the Beginning
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In The Beginning
The Eternal Purpose
God's Desire for Fellowship
The only begotten Son and the first begotten Adam's race redeemed by God's grace. Christ the second Adam Lucifer's fall and exile from heaven. The cessation of angelic creation. The creation of Adam. A & E's fall and exile from Garden. Nee c. 7, pp. 108 ff. |
The Aftermath: Notice the steps that plunged the human race into sin. First Satan insinuated doubt about the Word of God: "Has God indeed said?" He misrepresented God as forbidding Adam and Eve to eat of every tree. Next, Eve said that they were not to eat or "touch the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden." But God had said nothing about touching the tree. Then Satan flatly contradicted God about the inevitability of judgment on those who disobeyed, just as his followers still deny the facts of hell and eternal punishment.
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It All Started Here
"In the beginning" (Genesis 1:1) (John 1:1). Interestingly, the Old Testament (OT)
Genesis 1:1; and New Testament (NT) Gospel John 1:1, begin with the same phrase—"In the Beginning"; both signify new beginnings through divine intervention. God in the OT account of creation, and Jesus, revealed in the NT narrative as Christ, the anointed one. There is yet another creation instituted by Christ in the NT, which is, "...a new creation:" spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. " (Born Again) To understand this new creation, we must travel back to Genesis to examine the account of Adam and Eve, as it all began there. Following the completion of the heavens and earth, God needed a caretaker for the great garden Eden. —(Gen 2:5. "...And there was not a man to till the ground.") —(Genesis 2:7) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul —Adam. Sometime later, God-realized Adam needed a helper. —(Gen 2:18) And the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help [mate] for him." So, God, created Eve from Adam and together they went about their daily tasks helping each other tend the garden, eating of the abundance of it, and fellow-shipping with God. The only exception to eating the fruits of the Garden was God's instruction not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that stood in the middle of the garden, or they would die. Adam and Eve dutifully obeyed their creator. Fast forward an undetermined amount of time, and one day there came Satan disguised as a serpent engaging Eve in conversation. He was a sly one, quick of wit and convinced Eve she would not die but she would be enlightened and be as the gods, possessing knowledge God had forbidden. Eve, persuaded by the serpent's twisted truth, disobeyed God's command and after eating the fruit, she offered it to Adam convincing him it was good to eat. The effects were immediate. Their eyes, now open to the new knowledge of good and evil, prompted them to make coverings of leaves for themselves from the plants in the garden that they might hide themselves now recognizing their nakedness. That day the human race became tainted, and now all their offspring would inherit and be subject to the consequences of their disobedience. |
Who Lied? Did God lie to them, did He deceive them? No, it is not in His divine nature —(Titus 1:2). But He told them they would die and yet they lived. Let's examine the consequences of their disobedience and see.
The first thing God did was make coats for them from animal skins. This was the first instance of innocent blood being shed and the animal skins became their covering for their now recognized nakedness. God then exiled them from the garden forever, thereby separating them from Himself and the original relationship they enjoyed with Him in the garden. They did not die physically, they died spiritually. The relationship with the Father they previously enjoyed ended. Now all of Adam and Eve's offspring, the whole of the human race, would enter this world in a devoid state of this hereditary nature and broken relationship with God. —(John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.") We are first born in the flesh with a spirit that is not alive to God because of original sin. How then can this be remedied. Emnity We all start out in life at war with God. Although we may not have been aware of this, we were enemies of God: •"You . . . were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works" (Col. 1:21). We were disobedient by our very nature: •"the sons of disobedience . . . by nature children of wrath" (Ephesians. 2:2-3). Yet, God had a plan that through His Son, He made possible a way and offered everyone forgiveness and reconciliation. New Beginning Jesus said, in John 3:3, "...except a man be born again; he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven." The word 'see' translates; awakened to, understanding of, or be aware of. Therefore, Christ says in order to restore the spiritual relationship with God lost by Adam and Eve in the garden you must be re-born (spiritually). The first birth is of the flesh, our natural human birth, the second birth (Born Again) is the awakening birth of our spirit to God. Thus re-establishing the spiritual relationship Adam and Eve lost through their disobedience, exile from the garden, and separation from God.--"God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth." —(John 4:24 KJV) God provided the first blood sacrifice for Adam and Eve by way of an animal sacrifice in the garden when He provided them animal skins to replace their coverings of leaves. "And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." —(Hebrews 9:22 NASB) |
Just as the OT begins with "In the beginning", so John's Gospel begins the same. The first blood sacrifice for the remission of sin was in Genesis, so the last blood sacrifice for the remission of sin was made by Christ, "once for all" in the New Testament thus ending the need for further sacrifices. Christ endured the sacrifice of His own life and blood making this possible through His crucifixion and resurrection for all of humanity. --"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" —(Matthew 26:28).
The Apostle Peter speaks of the means to a new relationship with God, which is the new creation mentioned in (2 Corinthians 5:17), —"Therefore, if any man [is] in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new" . We must be born again to "see". To be awakened, as Jesus said in John 3:3, into a spiritual relationship with God. To receive and understand concepts and principals of a spiritual nature and relationship. To reorder our nature back to how God intended it to be Spirit, Soul, and Body where our relationship with God takes priority. Jesus then went on to say -- ". . .Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5 KJV). Notice the difference between verse 3, "see", be awakened to; and verse 5, "enter", gain actual entrance. Therefore, entrance into heaven, the Kingdom of God, can only come this way. No other! You can't walk, talk, buy, or work your way into heaven. How to be born again? —Peter instructs us in —Acts 2:38 "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." • Acknowledging our sinful nature, • Willfully determining to give up the old life of flesh to follow God, in spirit through repentance. • Asking God's forgiveness for past sin and • having restored the lost spiritual relationship with our creator God, • Being baptized for the remission of sin, • beginning a new spiritual walk of faith with Jesus, • Receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives • Being adopted into the family of God, • thus beginning Kingdom Living Now here on earth awaiting Christ's return for His Church. —(Galatians 3:26) For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For, a systematic look go to--Why Born Again |