[blindchristian] [New post] Quest for Truth 139 Humanity, from Innocence to Immorality
- From: Keith Heltsley <keith@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: blindchristian@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2017 16:50:13 -0500
In a solo episode with Keith, hangout for a session in getting down to a few
basic concepts about humanity, and the initial blessings laid at our feet. If
it's all so great, then why is the world we live in so messed up? Keith also
talks about what sin is at its core, and what was lost, corrupted, and what
we have left.
One basic principle is that God is entirely good, loving, and sinless. Only
angels, and mankind can sin. Amazingly, commentaries can be vague on the
topic of sin. To figure it out, a look at the first recorded history of where
it came from, and what the world was like before and after it entered offers
some clues.
ADAM
Humanity
The first man. Creation of
Genesis 1:26-28
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens
and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the
earth."
Observations:
People are physical beings, but our spirituality is in the image of God. What
do we find him doing in these early pages? Creating, building a special
habitat, uniquely designed for humans. He laid it at our feet to rule over,
discover, and enjoy. We have his blessing, and in the physical form of male
and female, we can create human life. Try as we might to create life, or
animate life in some artificial way, it can't be done. It is so obvious and
simple to do when a male and female join together. Creating life is the
highest form that we humans can create on our own. It should be a humbling
thing that deserves our highest respect and responsibility.
Genesis 2:7;
7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
1 Corinthians 15:45;
45 Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being"; the last
Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Observations:
Skipping ahead to Paul’s writing, he makes the connection between the first,
physical, man who brought life, but also sin and death, to the second Adam.
The one who would bring spiritual life. But let's return to thug of
humanities intocense.
History of, before he sinned
Genesis 1:26-30
26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens
and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and
fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the
earth."
29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is
on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You
shall have them for food.
30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to
everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life,
I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.
Observations:
Mankind was made to rule over all life in the earth, and even the world
itself. To subdue it, discover all its mysteries. All this in a state not of
perfection, but of innocence. He was blessed, and his place was established
to learn about this amazing place, while using all it contains responsibly,
and in a manner in line with how God would be glorified the best.
But wait... there’s more...
Genesis 2:16-25
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every
tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for
in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I
will make him a helper fit for him."
19 Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and
every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would
call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its
name.
20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to
every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for
him.
21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he
slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
22 And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman
and brought her to the man.
23 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my
flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his
wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Observations:
Mankind was given food, but with a boundary. All the other plants in the
garden were fine, just don't bother this one in particular. That's it. Just
think of how long the man and woman might have continued living in innocence,
but the warning was they would surely die. Not an instant death, but one that
began its process in that instant.
The man was given work to do in this innocent time. Tend and till the garden,
discover, explore, name animals, all this to occupy his time, and do one more
thing. God let the man come to realize that as fascinating as this created
universe was, all that knowledge, and pursuit of it was unfulfilling. The man
still needed a counterpart. Someone to be a suitable fit, to keep from being
lonely. Someone equipped in a different, complimentary way to create life on
their own.
The female was created out of man, presented to him, and approved of by him.
The marriage relationship was established as good, in this age of innocence.
All these things were put in place and blessed, while humanity was in its
undefiled stage. They are created good. And they still are intended as
blessings for us. To rule, to work, to eat, to marry, and to otherwise
discover our world, they have also become objects of corruption and abuse.
Temptation and sin of man
Genesis 3:1 ;
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the
LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall
not eat of any tree in the garden'?"
Observations:
Without going into the whole ordeal of the initial sin, the lie was
introduced. Twisting God’s word, putting words in his mouth that were never
said, and the hook is set. The far reaching affects of this tiny act of
rebellion were incomprehensible by the first humans at this time.
Isaiah 43:27;
27 Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.
Observations:
Everybody sins. parents pass sin on from generation to generation. Just as
leaven works its way through the whole loaf, and is passed from one loaf to
the next, sin is passed in the same kind of way. Even someone held as a
mediator, a go to person, a coach, or whatever, they have their limitations
due to their own sin.
Subsequent history of
Genesis 3:20-24
20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all
living.
21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and
clothed them.
22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in
knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the
tree of life and eat, and live forever—"
23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the
ground from which he was taken.
24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the
cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the
tree of life.
Observations:
What just happened here? Was the sin in eating a piece of fruit? Maybe, not
exactly. Was it in rebelling in Crossing a boundary? Yes. What was lost, or
gained? A clear understanding of what morality was grasped, but that eye
opening experience came only after the deed was done, and there was no going
back on the choice. Knowing right and wrong was already in place, and the
warning God gave earlier should have been enough. A choice, the wrong choice
is all it took to plant that first seed of sin.
Sin is our intentional choice to act, and make the wrong choice, even when we
know it's wrong. Especially when we know its wrong.
Sin condemns, and requires punishment. God’s presence was removed, the tree
of life is removed, the humans are kicked out of the garden. All the other
blessings remain, but only with a degree of added work, pains, and other
problems.
Genesis 4:1,2,25;
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I
have gotten a man with the help of the LORD."
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and
Cain a worker of the ground.
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth,
for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel,
for Cain killed him."
Observations:
Sin is passed to the next generation. In the verses in the middle of chapter
4, God warns Cain over being upset over his offering. Despite the choice to
drop the anger, and live well, Cain makes the intentional choice to be angry,
and hate. The attitudes lead to being deceitful, and then to kill. One
attitude feeding the next, and ending in the act of murder. God gives a
mixture of punishment and protection.
His death
Genesis 5:5
5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
Observations:
And so it goes. The act of sin continues. It can only end in death. Our sin
is the thing that condemned us and keeps us from ever being in God’s
presence. Regardless of the deed, it boils down to having a choice, knowing
between Right and wrong, and choosing wrong. Knowing what good and evil is,
and choosing evil. Sin was passed down to us, and we pass it down to the next
generations.
Fortunately, we have a way to break the cycle, and end the problem of sin, We
can be justified, and returned to God’s good graces. Jesus paid the price to
cover sin. It’s God’s gracious gift we don’t deserve. By confessing sin in
our life, repenting from it, and turning to him in the faith we receive from
the Holy Spirit, we are assured of his eternal spiritual kingdom. A choice to
sin got us into this mess. All the horrible things in the world come from
decisions that people make. Through a choice in faith, we can claim the
promise of being included in a spiritual kingdom of life.
keith <http://podcast.heltsley.net/?author=2> | October 16, 2017 at 1:08 am |
URL: http://wp.me/p5uvFj-ae ;<http://wp.me/p5uvFj-ae>
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