HEAVEN CALLS by Marvin, a 274 page novel
CALL OF FREEDOM
I've bundled up against the drifting snow.
I've felt the driving rain hit my face.
And choked on mounds of swirling dust
A blowing in the wind.
I've seen the leaves fluttering around.
I've watched the clouds rock 'n roll.
And heard the windmill pumping
A blowing in the wind.
Now here's to rumpled hair and bulging clothes
Dried skin, weary legs and toes
I've known the freedom of the air
A blowing in the wind.
Where e'r the wind does blow, oh Lord,
Where e'r the wind does blow.
Your Spirit moves among us
Just as the wind does blow.
John Marvin Blundell
HEAVEN CALLS
Copyright 2010
John Marvin Blundell
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any electronic system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission from the author. Brief quotations may be used in literary reviews.
Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Bible with permission from Zondervan Publishing under the fair use policy.
ISBN: 978-0-615-35428-6
First Printing: April 2010--300 copies
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010903936
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marvin Blundell
6163 470th Lane
Hay Springs, NE. 69347
308-638-7420
blundell@gpcom.net
Printed in USA by
Morris Publishing
3212 E. Hwy. 30 Kearney, NE 68847
800-650-7888 www.morrispublishing.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Copyright ii
Table of Contents iii
Acknowledgements iv
Introduction v
Chapter 1 The Call 1
Chapter 2 The Routine 9
Chapter 3 Work Well Done 17
Chapter 4 Temptations 27
Chapter 5 Bedroom and Negligees 37
Chapter 6 Alone at Home 43
Chapter 7 To Honesty 49
Chapter 8 To a Bright New Day 57
Chapter 9 From Students at Risk 67
Chapter 10 From Conflict Resolution 75
Chapter 11 To Dinner Out 83
Chapter 12 To Promises 93
Chapter 13 From Trouble 103
Chapter 14 To Asian Itinerary 113
Chapter 15 Bangkok 125
Chapter 16 Night Lights 129
Chapter 17 Phnom Penh 147
Chapter 18 To Break Time 163
Chapter 19 Ghosts in the Closet 169
Chapter 20 Faith and Doubts 177
Chapter 21 To Confession 209
Chapter 22 From Life Cut Short 217
Chapter 23 To Cabin Fever 233
Chapter 24 To Moving On 241
Chapter 25 Tears 255
Chapter 26 Final Words 261
Bibliography 275
Endnotes 277
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I appreciate those who have read all or part of the raw manuscript and offered suggestions along the way. My thanks go to Joyce Harmsen, Fred Blundell, Norma Boehler; Otis and Joyce Anderson; Ray Edwards; Mike Kuiper; Leona Wyatt; Eric and Tina Martin; and Dean Krueger. Their response led to the story in its present form. My thanks also go to the tutors from Long Ridge Writers Group who patiently guided me through the writing of numerous short stories and added editorial comments until I reached the last lesson. Thank you to all the friends over the years who have shared with me marriage stories. Thank you to Dr. Saucy, my theology professor at Talbot Seminary, for your class in angelology.
INTRODUCTION
You may discover a character much like yourself or somebody you know in this story. However, the characters are all fictional except for Somaly Mam, who founded AFESIP in Cambodia. Her experience in Cambodia comes from information adapted from the AFESIP website and the Somaly Mam Foundation. I am indebted to them and the people at NightLight. The stories of the young girls in Thailand are true as told by Jean, a fictitious character. FIFE, a fictitious organization replaces NightLight. The philosophy and mission of FIFE is different than NightLight. There is also an actual account of cyber-bullying included from another source.
As you read the story you will find a mix of fact and fiction. The story line is fictional. However, my desire was to write a story that was believable. The fictional characters are normal people who have real life experiences which affect their lives in various ways.
The clandestine characters surrounding Ol’ Hairy will be understood by readers to be either mythological or personifications of the spirit world. In the same way Ol' Hairy's enemy may be considered to be either mythological or historical. My sources for the nature of these creatures are documented in the endnotes with additional reading in the bibliography.
Throughout the novel you will find yourself evaluating, or judging what is fact and what is fiction as in everyday living. Whether it is an issue of philosophy, work ethics, theology, or marital problems, you will be involved.
Years ago as a recent seminary graduate I ended a sermon on divorce with the words or thought, “Who knows what God will forgive?” That idea stuck with me through thirty-five years as a farmer/rancher and into retirement. With that thought in mind, my conversations with divorcees and my personal experience with divorce I wrote “Heaven Calls.”
Originally this was intended to be a short story, a mystery. That never happened. As I wrote, the story took a life of its own. I was schooled to prepare an outline of key events in preparation to writing and to write the climax before the rest of the story. In truth, I did not know where the story was going or how it was going to end. An event in a friend’s life provided the pivotal point. It brought the end into focus. Once I adapted that into the story, I knew where the story was going.
The call goes forth in the routine of life when work is well done, where temptations loom from bedroom and negligees and while at home alone. It is a call to honesty and a bright new day when facing students at risk and the need for conflict resolution. It is a call for dinner out and promises for improvement, and away from trouble. It calls for an Asian itinerary including Bangkok with its night lights and Phnom Penh. It is a call for break time and to reveal the ghosts in the closet. It includes faith and doubts followed by true confession. It calls from a life cut short, to cabin fever, and to moving on. It is a call that brings tears and final words. It is when Heaven Calls.
THE CALL
CHAPTER 1
Clouds shut out the early morning sun. A stiff, cold northwestern lake wind blew the last of the leaves from the trees. A squirrel on the limb of the old walnut tree sat huddled next to the trunk. Ralph thought he saw a flake or two of snow sailing in the wind. In November snow was not unusual. He turned from the window. The pillow framed Lydia's beautiful face surrounded by soft, rich auburn hair. Peace and contentment spread across her face. The age lines along her brow reminded him of the silent ripples on the lake.
"What are you staring at?" Lydia rubbed her eyes.
Ralph flushed. “My beautiful wife." He sat down on the bed next to her and began caressing her brow and flowing hair.
"What time is it, anyhow?"
"It’s early. I didn’t sleep well, too many worries. I decided to give up and get up."
"Oh Ralph!" She felt the coarse hair on his arms under the stroke of her hand.
He melted to her touch. Lydia flung the covers back and over. Their arms slid into a long embrace. Yesterday's trials disappeared for the moment. They were young, newlyweds again.
Broken clouds allowed the sun to send forth its radiance into the cold November morning. After stacking the plates Lydia wiped away the sticky crumbs from home made cinnamon rolls. From the box on the counter Ralph retrieved a list of donors and a stack of thank you cards. Life would go on, but first they needed to finish the business of a funeral.
Ralph and Lydia pulled their chairs up to the table to review notes and cards of sympathy from those who knew Billy. The first letter was from the mortuary. It contained more cash and checks for the memorial. Ralph listed the donors and totaled the amount. They knew that other money had been deposited directly into the McCovy Memorial account at their bank. The list of those donors could be obtained from the bank when they made this deposit. So far, they knew that over a thousand dollars had been given towards FIFE and AFESIP.
"Do you remember that girl at the Tom Dy Center who didn’t know the whereabouts of her brother?" Ralph reflected. He sipped some coffee from his cup.
"How could I forget? She was the one that gave me this new hair style." Lydia flicked the hair away from her ear with her hand. "She reminded me of Josey."
"Could we match the memorial funds so those like her can help their brothers or families?" Ralph asked.
"A couple thousand dollars will go a lot farther over there than here. I like the idea."
When the 'thank you cards' to the donors of the memorial fund were finished, they tackled the pile of cards taken from the flowers. "People were very kind to us." Lydia said while neatly stacking the cards. "I never realized we had so many friends."
"We usually see a few of them where we work. There isn’t much contact with friends away from work. Maybe we should socialize more."
"I don't like phony parties." Lydia quipped. "Doing things with people that we care about is okay. I don't like parties for the sake of having a party."
"Is that all? We have only four cards left." He swallowed the last of the now cold coffee.
Lydia licked the stamp for the last addressed envelope. "It’s almost 2 o'clock. We have a house to clean yet."
The closet was full of outfits to wear. Lydia wanted one that would fit her mood and be appropriate for the evening. Saturday night out had become a special time together. Ralph insisted on going to the Bread Basket. She really didn’t mind. She missed not having a glass of wine with her meal. However, the quiet, peaceful atmosphere with an air for cleanliness was worth it.
"Lydia, do we have a Bible around here?" Ralph stood at the foot of the stairway.
"Why do we need a Bible? We aren’t going to church."
"Do you know how many stones it took for David to kill Goliath?"
"Oh, that question they always ask." Lydia came to the top of the stairway still undecided about what to wear. "He used five stones. Don't you remember the little song that Billy used to sing, 'Only a Boy Named David.' He took five stones."
"I remember. ‘And one little stone he put in the sling,’ He only used one of those stones to kill Goliath, didn’t he?"
"You couldn’t find the story in the Bible anyhow." Lydia went back to her task at hand.
Ralph knew she was right. Not only couldn’t he find a Bible, he had no idea where to look for the story. Korina said he should read the Gospels. How would he find them? He couldn’t remember how she described them. Boy, he knew the in's and out's of business where he worked, but nothing about the Bible. Maybe he should find one and just read it from beginning to the end.
No parking place could be found near the Bread Basket. Ralph drove around the block looking for one. When they entered the restaurant it was obvious why a space to park was so difficult to find. Nearly every table was full except one towards the center of the room and another in the far corner. They chose the table in the far corner on the edge of the crowd. Although the house was full and several families had small children, it wasn’t a noisy crowd. The linen table cloths with candlelight gave the dining room a proper, polite atmosphere.
The Saturday night special this week was manicotti, crepe pasta rolled and filled with meat and spinach. Ralph looked hard at the lasagna, and then opted for the special. Lydia chose the fettuccine alfredo, pasta covered with white cream sauce. She ordered it with rock shrimp. They chose red grape juice to drink. A sliced half loaf of fresh Italian bread with butter, garlic and spices on each slice came with their meal.
Sparkling goblets filled with transparent red juice reflected the warm glow of the candle. The blended aroma of fresh bread and garlic teased their appetites. Ralph and Lydia waited patiently.
"I was wondering why you don't serve wine." Lydia asked the waitress when she sat the steamy plates of food in front of them. "This is the only restaurant where they serve fruit juices as drinks."
The waitress looked around at the busy tables. "It is unusual alright. Maybe you will understand. The owners lost both their son and daughter in a head on collision with another car. The driver of the other car survived, but was convicted of driving while intoxicated. They were in the process of buying this restaurant at the time of the fatal accident. Their response was to clean out their store of alcoholic beverages and never serve them again." She paused, "Please excuse me, I have another order ready to go."
"That seems like an extreme reaction." Lydia said. "People can drink responsibly without over-doing it."
Ralph's mind returned to the autopsy report. "Which drink is the one that crosses over the line? Is it the first one, second, or third? If I don't take the first one, I will never need to worry about the second or third or however many it takes. It does seem extreme, but what would we be willing to give up in order to have Billy with us?"
"Let's don't go there. Our food is getting cold." Lydia responded.
The last slice of buttered garlic bread with a sip of juice satisfied Ralph's hunger. He rolled the remaining juice around in the goblet watching its mellow glow. "I’ve been thinking. Cromwell has offered me the promotion. If I take it, we would have to move to DC. There would be a sizable pay increase. I would also be frequently traveling overseas monitoring our import sources and seeking new ones. He wants to know if I will accept the promotion by December 1. I could commute back and forth on week ends until we find a house in DC. Of course, you will have another six months of school to finish out."
"Well, what's the problem? It's more money, nice prestige and maybe a beach front vacation home somewhere, everything we dreamed of."
"Remember when you took that teaching job three years ago. We needed it to pay for Billy and Rosalie's college education. After that we talked about giving money to some charities. Rosalie still needs help paying for her college education. We have enough saved for that."
"So you are saying that instead of a vacation home we should give that money to help the disadvantaged children like we saw in Asia." Lydia envisioned undernourished, straggly haired and poorly dressed dark skinned children running in and out of her cabin by the lake.
"Something like that. Billy wanted to help the disadvantaged in the Third World countries. Maybe that should be our new dream."
Lydia exclaimed. "Are you losing your mind?"
Ralph’s head began jerking, short quick jerks like he was trying to shake off a headache. "I," his eyes squinted and rolled like he was trying regain his focus, "think we should go . . . "he started to stand and fell face down on the floor.
On the other side of the river he walked into a virgin rain forest, a Garden of Eden, an amazing land shrouded by fruit and nut trees, towering timbers bursting with the symphony of birds, chattering monkeys and squirrels, tall luscious ferns, flowers with every color and shape of blossom imaginable, passive lions, tigers and even skunks. A distant voice called, “Come, my son.” He looked and saw the grasses parting leaving a straight path as far as his eye could see. His foot touched the trail and suddenly he glided effortlessly towards the sound of the voice amazed at the magnificence of his surroundings. He could have stayed in that paradise. It would have been enough to have leisurely absorbed the beauty of it all. However, there was no stopping.
A massive gate, encased in walls reaching high and wide loomed before him. Two angels guarded the gate with drawn swords. His feet landed, not on dirt and rocks, sod or pavement, but on a fiery, glowing, golden path leading to the joining of the two massive gates. The gates were not of wood and iron. They gave off a soft reflection of milky white light like the brilliant moonlight on the snowy hills, forest, and meadows of Ohio. Are these the pearly gates he had heard about? Again he heard the voice, “Enter, my chosen one.”
The angels lowered their swords and the gate quietly opened for him to step through. The gates closed shutting out the sounds of the garden. Now he heard the sound of voices singing in jubilation and praise.
“Ralph! Welcome home.” Somebody spoke at his side. Startled, he looked and saw a form of a man with different qualities than he had ever seen before. His face, his hands, body and feet had the appearance of man, except that he could see clear through him. He held out his hand as if to acknowledge the greeting and then quickly withdrew it. It had been changed and looked like that of the stranger.
“What has happened to me? My hands and feet, they look different” He stared at the stranger.
“You left your earthly body outside the gate. The body you now have is immortal and incorruptible. It is made for heaven.”1
Ralph turned towards the stranger, “So this is heaven! And, who are you?” He asked.
“Barachel (Ba-rach-el). It means ‘blessed of God.’ I was sent to bring you to the throne of God. But, first I would like to hear your story. I have been aware of you since you dated Lydia. People on earth are a mystery to me and the rest of the angels. We long to hear the story of how God influenced the lives of men, women and children so that they arrived in heaven.”
“Ba-rach-el must be a name from long ago. How long have you been here?” Ralph wanted to know.
“Almost forever!" Barachel explained. "We don’t have days and nights up here. There is a constant brilliant light and songs of gladness and praise to God on his throne and to his Son at his right hand. From my creation, my beginning, I have been with God serving him. Not everybody here serves God. Before man was created, some of the first beings created rebelled against God. Now they wreak havoc on the earth.”
“Why does God tolerate them in heaven?” Ralph asked.
“They don’t cause trouble in heaven, just on earth. In heaven they know that they have been defeated and must submit to God.2 However, on earth the battle rages for the loyalty of man. You were, like all mankind, a trophy sought by both God and his enemy. That’s why the stories of those who are won over to God’s side are so fascinating.” 3
“What happens to those who are loyal to God’s enemy?” Ralph felt that somehow he should know the answer to his question, although it wasn’t talked about among his friends on earth.
Barachel’s gaze dropped and his face became serious. “Mankind’s loyalty on earth determines with whom he will spend his afterlife. Those who refuse loyalty to God spend their afterlife with his enemy. Man’s destiny is determined by whom he serves.
“Ralph, I have watched over your wife Lydia from her first breath. As you know, she was born premature. When you came into her life during her second year in college, I became interested in your part of the story, especially the last few years of your marriage. You can tell me about your early years in the future. Come! Tell me on our way to the throne.”
"But, my life was not unusual. I mean, I went to work, came home, ate supper, watched TV or read the paper, went to bed, and woke the next morning to eat breakfast and go to work again. It was the routine for nearly every man in Quasitown and elsewhere. Lydia was no different than other wives in Quasitown. She stayed at home, raised our children, cleaned house, cooked meals, went to bed and began the cycle again the next morning. I don't understand why our story is important."
"Ralph, no two people are the same. No two married couples are the same. Yes, they may have a few similarities. Circumstances and environment make everybody's story unique. You said that your story is like nearly every man's in Quasitown. But, you were the only one married to Lydia. You were the only one driving from your home on Maple Street to work at Bells Foreign Imports and with that mix of employees. You have a unique history from birth to college to marriage to death"
"If you insist. . . . But, I still think its humdrum!"
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
QUOTES FROM "HEAVEN CALLS"
Heaven Calls" is a novel that I have written. It should be available in early June. The following are excerpts from the story.
Barachel’s gaze dropped and his face became serious. “Mankind’s loyalty on earth determines with whom he will spend his afterlife. Those who refuse loyalty to God spend their afterlife with his enemy. Man’s destiny is determined by whom he serves. [P. 7]
"When the present conditions become the results of tradition, your future in business and in your private lives soon turns to boredom. There must be the vitality of dreaming great achievements in the future. Without dreams, your company will perish!" [P. 19]
Stunned, I sat staring at the flickering candle. It reminded me of our marriage. It too, was flickering in the breeze about to go out, but for now it still had a glow. Could it be saved? Why didn’t I see this coming? What was I doing? I knew where my focus had been for the past five years. That was no consolation. Right now I was facing the biggest crisis of my life. Could Lydia and I ever be happy together again? Both of us had found exciting friendships with the opposite sex, friendships which had obviously grown into emotional affairs, almost physical affairs. [P. 53]
We sat staring at each other. Our hands cautiously touched as our hearts reached out in search of hope and, dare we wish for it, love. Emptiness, rejection, desertion, anger, revenge, hopelessness, futility, frustration, sorrow, and compassion swirled in our minds like mighty waves of an ocean continuously crashing on a flat, sandy beach. There was no place to hide, no security, and little hope of survival. [P. 54]
The candles burnt short from the fire of the previous night still sat on the table like giant chess players in a stalemate. One was Lydia and the other me as we stood in a stalemate in our marriage. [P. 57]
"Loss of a loved one by separation, divorce, or death creates a vacuum in the heart, the inner self. How would you feel if you lost Lydia or one of your children? So it is when we sin. We loose connection with God which in turns creates a vacuum, emptiness, a deep longing in our hearts. Sin has separated, divorced us from God. Spiritual death is the final separation from God. Jesus restores our connection with God." [P. 136]
"There is a difference in believing there is a cure for cancer and actually taking the cure. In both cases we can say, 'I believe there is a cure for cancer.' Believing that Jesus exists or once lived on earth is different than believing in Jesus and taking the cure. His cure satisfies the hunger, the emptiness, left by sinning. Sin addicts try to fill that void with more sinning." [P. 136]
The many times clouds of life had blocked my view haunted me. There were the high, fluffy clouds; the rolling wind clouds; the dark, stormy clouds; the cold, layered clouds; and clouds flashing with lightning. Somehow the clouds represented the obstacles of life. How difficult, nigh impossible, it was to see beyond the obstacles to how life should be. [P. 162]
She pulled the pillow over her head to shut out the noise. So many temples in Thailand and Cambodia had richly ornamented rooms inside and were crowned by golden spires. The people devoutly crowded into their temples to worship while crime, poverty and abuse reigned outside. In America it was no different. There were many humble churches in the country and the city. There were many staid old churches like the one down the street. There were modern, elaborate churches and great stone cathedrals. Lots of people went to church while crime, poverty and abuse reigned outside. What was there to gain by going to church? [P. 164]
Sound science includes teaching the scientific method of investigation; the experiments and findings of the application of the scientific method; and the inter-relatedness of the natural phenomena. [P. 179]
Is that any different than saying that it all evolved by natural selection, chance? One person claims chance is the cause for this world and the universe. Another one says that there is an intelligence that designed this world and the universe. Both agree that somehow this world and the universe, as we know it, came into existence." [P. 179]
"If there was an all powerful, loving God, as Christians describe him, why would he allow thousands to perish in a tsunami? Why would he allow genocides in Africa and Cambodia? Why would he allow thousands of babies to be aborted every year? If he is so powerful and loving why doesn’t he prevent wars and disasters which kill millions of people?"
Mr. Peters lunged on as if on a crusade. "Why would a loving God send people to hell, if there is such a place? Why do his people lie, cheat, abuse, and divorce like the rest of the people? If there is a God, why can't science find him and prove his existence?
"I don't need a God to be a moral person. I don't have to go to his book and discover how I should live, what morals I should have, and what is right and wrong. Any rational being can discover that by considering what is best for the community.
"Only people who don't want to think, or can't think need a God to tell them what to do. Only people who can't stand up and face the world need a God for a crutch. Only people who are insecure and sickly need a God." [P. 180]
"What is meant by sin?" Pastor Grover said. "Defeat comes to mind. When I am defeated, I have failed. What have I failed? Defeat in a sporting event means that I failed to be the best. Depending upon the event, either I have failed to be the best or my team has failed. Which means that, according to the scores, I and my team came up short. Suppose I interview for a job. There are numerous applicants. I have made it to the last round of six applicants. Furthermore, I have studied for the job, trained in the skills for the job, and am physically fit for the job. However, I am defeated. I come up short and fail to get the job. This failure, this defeat, is much like sin." [P. 182]
"Okay, it will be tough. Please don’t make it easy. Help me to know where to put the boundaries instead of expecting me to fall." [P. 197]
Now, pain and sorrow were gripping my soul. Did God come with a moment of light, only to depart leaving behind the depths of darkness? Where is God when you need him the most? [P. 224]
Somebody drops out of school, disappears, or dies is like one less fly. A house full of family and friends come to the funeral. A week later life is back to normal for them and those lost like Billy are forgotten. [P. 228]
The world doesn't stop for anybody regardless of how big the crisis. It rushes on. True, life must go on. Life goes on ready or not. Man is adrift at sea; lost and alone; a lot of talk, and not much soul. Just keep afloat and keep paddling to who knows where. If somebody drowns along the way, never mind. There's nothing that can be done about it. [P. 228]
"His life flowed out to his friends, like the ripples in the water. His death affects people the same way. He eventually blends into the sea of life." [P. 234]
Lydia sunk into her desk chair. Scattered among the student=s desks bits and pieces of paper gave evidence of another day at school completed. The empty silence of the classroom brought memories of the sun setting on Lake Milton. The scampering of squirrels, the twittering of the birds, and the noise of boats faded away as light gave way to dark. Even the night had a life of its own. The stars, the moon, the howling coyotes, the wind rustling dry autumn leaves clinging desperately to their former source of life, the rhythmic slap of water on rocks and logs along the shore, that was a symphony of nature. [P. 244]
Sometimes the truth is harsh. Deceit never pays in the end. [P. 247]
I read through the internet messages dealing with each appropriately. It was a little like life. You go over the past and toss out what is useless, look at the present to see what demands action, and glance at the future to prepare for what is coming. It's all in a lifetime, or is it all in a days work? [p. 249]
Sorrow shared stirred a release much deeper and far stronger than comforting words from the presence of a friend. Friends take the hand of the sorrowful, lift them up and help them confront the days ahead. They may know the grief, but it is not their experience at the moment. Comfort and strength are the offerings of a friend. [P. 260]
Plans are like dreams. We make plans and hope that is how it will be. Like dreams they don't always happen the way we hoped. It is not unusual for our plans to slip away into thin air. Man makes plans, and God determines his ways. It’s hard to know what his plans are for us. It’s hard to see life through his eyes. We need to see life one day at a time. [P. 263]
"Marriage is the uniting of man and woman into one team. They together face the complexities of life, as a team, and not as individuals. Forces in this world strive to destroy that unity and often succeed. As it says, ‘be on the alert for your adversary the devil like a roaring lion seeks whom he may devour.’ and again, ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in high places.’
“What if in the course of life, we took the other road? What if the obstacles we faced would unite us hand in hand to confront the forces which divide, devour, and destroy? What if we laid the problem out on the table in front of us and combined our energies to resolve the problem, instead of fighting and blaming each other?
“A husband and wife need all the help and support they can find to overcome the obstacles which threaten their unity. Does a uniting with God through Jesus Christ enhance their chances?" [P. 268]
"Heaven Calls" will retail for $14.95 plus packaging, postage and sales tax when applicable. Write, e-mail,telephone, or leave a comment on this post for your copy. This is a limited printing.
Barachel’s gaze dropped and his face became serious. “Mankind’s loyalty on earth determines with whom he will spend his afterlife. Those who refuse loyalty to God spend their afterlife with his enemy. Man’s destiny is determined by whom he serves. [P. 7]
"When the present conditions become the results of tradition, your future in business and in your private lives soon turns to boredom. There must be the vitality of dreaming great achievements in the future. Without dreams, your company will perish!" [P. 19]
Stunned, I sat staring at the flickering candle. It reminded me of our marriage. It too, was flickering in the breeze about to go out, but for now it still had a glow. Could it be saved? Why didn’t I see this coming? What was I doing? I knew where my focus had been for the past five years. That was no consolation. Right now I was facing the biggest crisis of my life. Could Lydia and I ever be happy together again? Both of us had found exciting friendships with the opposite sex, friendships which had obviously grown into emotional affairs, almost physical affairs. [P. 53]
We sat staring at each other. Our hands cautiously touched as our hearts reached out in search of hope and, dare we wish for it, love. Emptiness, rejection, desertion, anger, revenge, hopelessness, futility, frustration, sorrow, and compassion swirled in our minds like mighty waves of an ocean continuously crashing on a flat, sandy beach. There was no place to hide, no security, and little hope of survival. [P. 54]
The candles burnt short from the fire of the previous night still sat on the table like giant chess players in a stalemate. One was Lydia and the other me as we stood in a stalemate in our marriage. [P. 57]
"Loss of a loved one by separation, divorce, or death creates a vacuum in the heart, the inner self. How would you feel if you lost Lydia or one of your children? So it is when we sin. We loose connection with God which in turns creates a vacuum, emptiness, a deep longing in our hearts. Sin has separated, divorced us from God. Spiritual death is the final separation from God. Jesus restores our connection with God." [P. 136]
"There is a difference in believing there is a cure for cancer and actually taking the cure. In both cases we can say, 'I believe there is a cure for cancer.' Believing that Jesus exists or once lived on earth is different than believing in Jesus and taking the cure. His cure satisfies the hunger, the emptiness, left by sinning. Sin addicts try to fill that void with more sinning." [P. 136]
The many times clouds of life had blocked my view haunted me. There were the high, fluffy clouds; the rolling wind clouds; the dark, stormy clouds; the cold, layered clouds; and clouds flashing with lightning. Somehow the clouds represented the obstacles of life. How difficult, nigh impossible, it was to see beyond the obstacles to how life should be. [P. 162]
She pulled the pillow over her head to shut out the noise. So many temples in Thailand and Cambodia had richly ornamented rooms inside and were crowned by golden spires. The people devoutly crowded into their temples to worship while crime, poverty and abuse reigned outside. In America it was no different. There were many humble churches in the country and the city. There were many staid old churches like the one down the street. There were modern, elaborate churches and great stone cathedrals. Lots of people went to church while crime, poverty and abuse reigned outside. What was there to gain by going to church? [P. 164]
Sound science includes teaching the scientific method of investigation; the experiments and findings of the application of the scientific method; and the inter-relatedness of the natural phenomena. [P. 179]
Is that any different than saying that it all evolved by natural selection, chance? One person claims chance is the cause for this world and the universe. Another one says that there is an intelligence that designed this world and the universe. Both agree that somehow this world and the universe, as we know it, came into existence." [P. 179]
"If there was an all powerful, loving God, as Christians describe him, why would he allow thousands to perish in a tsunami? Why would he allow genocides in Africa and Cambodia? Why would he allow thousands of babies to be aborted every year? If he is so powerful and loving why doesn’t he prevent wars and disasters which kill millions of people?"
Mr. Peters lunged on as if on a crusade. "Why would a loving God send people to hell, if there is such a place? Why do his people lie, cheat, abuse, and divorce like the rest of the people? If there is a God, why can't science find him and prove his existence?
"I don't need a God to be a moral person. I don't have to go to his book and discover how I should live, what morals I should have, and what is right and wrong. Any rational being can discover that by considering what is best for the community.
"Only people who don't want to think, or can't think need a God to tell them what to do. Only people who can't stand up and face the world need a God for a crutch. Only people who are insecure and sickly need a God." [P. 180]
"What is meant by sin?" Pastor Grover said. "Defeat comes to mind. When I am defeated, I have failed. What have I failed? Defeat in a sporting event means that I failed to be the best. Depending upon the event, either I have failed to be the best or my team has failed. Which means that, according to the scores, I and my team came up short. Suppose I interview for a job. There are numerous applicants. I have made it to the last round of six applicants. Furthermore, I have studied for the job, trained in the skills for the job, and am physically fit for the job. However, I am defeated. I come up short and fail to get the job. This failure, this defeat, is much like sin." [P. 182]
"Okay, it will be tough. Please don’t make it easy. Help me to know where to put the boundaries instead of expecting me to fall." [P. 197]
Now, pain and sorrow were gripping my soul. Did God come with a moment of light, only to depart leaving behind the depths of darkness? Where is God when you need him the most? [P. 224]
Somebody drops out of school, disappears, or dies is like one less fly. A house full of family and friends come to the funeral. A week later life is back to normal for them and those lost like Billy are forgotten. [P. 228]
The world doesn't stop for anybody regardless of how big the crisis. It rushes on. True, life must go on. Life goes on ready or not. Man is adrift at sea; lost and alone; a lot of talk, and not much soul. Just keep afloat and keep paddling to who knows where. If somebody drowns along the way, never mind. There's nothing that can be done about it. [P. 228]
"His life flowed out to his friends, like the ripples in the water. His death affects people the same way. He eventually blends into the sea of life." [P. 234]
Lydia sunk into her desk chair. Scattered among the student=s desks bits and pieces of paper gave evidence of another day at school completed. The empty silence of the classroom brought memories of the sun setting on Lake Milton. The scampering of squirrels, the twittering of the birds, and the noise of boats faded away as light gave way to dark. Even the night had a life of its own. The stars, the moon, the howling coyotes, the wind rustling dry autumn leaves clinging desperately to their former source of life, the rhythmic slap of water on rocks and logs along the shore, that was a symphony of nature. [P. 244]
Sometimes the truth is harsh. Deceit never pays in the end. [P. 247]
I read through the internet messages dealing with each appropriately. It was a little like life. You go over the past and toss out what is useless, look at the present to see what demands action, and glance at the future to prepare for what is coming. It's all in a lifetime, or is it all in a days work? [p. 249]
Sorrow shared stirred a release much deeper and far stronger than comforting words from the presence of a friend. Friends take the hand of the sorrowful, lift them up and help them confront the days ahead. They may know the grief, but it is not their experience at the moment. Comfort and strength are the offerings of a friend. [P. 260]
Plans are like dreams. We make plans and hope that is how it will be. Like dreams they don't always happen the way we hoped. It is not unusual for our plans to slip away into thin air. Man makes plans, and God determines his ways. It’s hard to know what his plans are for us. It’s hard to see life through his eyes. We need to see life one day at a time. [P. 263]
"Marriage is the uniting of man and woman into one team. They together face the complexities of life, as a team, and not as individuals. Forces in this world strive to destroy that unity and often succeed. As it says, ‘be on the alert for your adversary the devil like a roaring lion seeks whom he may devour.’ and again, ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in high places.’
“What if in the course of life, we took the other road? What if the obstacles we faced would unite us hand in hand to confront the forces which divide, devour, and destroy? What if we laid the problem out on the table in front of us and combined our energies to resolve the problem, instead of fighting and blaming each other?
“A husband and wife need all the help and support they can find to overcome the obstacles which threaten their unity. Does a uniting with God through Jesus Christ enhance their chances?" [P. 268]
"Heaven Calls" will retail for $14.95 plus packaging, postage and sales tax when applicable. Write, e-mail,telephone, or leave a comment on this post for your copy. This is a limited printing.
Friday, January 15, 2010
ADOPTION LETTERS
Lord God in heaven,
Here I am in a place I did not choose. I feel alone, rejected, and hopeless. This world uses and abuses me. It talks about love, but its all about them. It accepts the rich and famous, the athletic and good looking, but turns away when trouble surrounds them. It promises happiness, security, and plenty, but criticizes those who don’t measure up. This world has lots of troubles. It is not a loving family.
Please choose me for adoption. I want to be part of your family like your Son. I want to share in the riches of your kingdom alongside your Son. I want to experience your love, the love you revealed through your Son.
It is because of sin that I am not a part of your family. You accepted the death of your Son as satisfying payment for sin in hope that all people would want to be adopted into your family. So, here I am, Lord. I want to be a part of your family.
I hope you choose me,
Orphan Child
Dear Orphan,
Everything is in order for your adoption. The fee has been paid. Your records have been updated. All that is needed is your commitment.
I would like to tell you a little about the family. My Son is responsible for making your adoption possible. He came to your home and lived there a while. When he saw your condition, he burst with love for you. I told him that it would cost his life to make your adoption possible. He was willing to pay the price. It was hard for him near the last. He pleaded with me hoping it might be possible to find another way. There was no other way. So he continued as we had planned.
He paid the price and I rewarded him with life and a special position with me in heaven. He is now your mediator. Whenever you want to talk with me or ask me something, he comes to me representing you. He wants only the best for you. There will be times when what you think is best for you is not the best. You must trust him to know. He loves you too much to give you less than the best. However, you will be tested to see if how much you really trust him.
Remember, as part of my family you will be treated like my Son. You will be wise to follow his example. Remember also that he is the one who made your adoption possible.
Love,
Your Father in heaven
Father in heaven,
In the orphanage our superiors expect us to behave according to the rules. They seem to have a rule for everything. I don’t like being forced to follow all of their rules. I want to do what I want and not what they demand. It would be nice to be free, to be me. Will it be different in your family?
I really want to be part of your family. But, you say that I must make a commitment before the adoption can take place. What is this commitment?
You said that I would be wise to follow the example of your Son. But, how will I know what he has done in a given situation?
I hope my questions don’t discourage you from adopting me.
Hopefully,
Orphan Child
Dear Orphan Child,
Let me assure you that your questions will not discourage me from adopting you. Keep asking them. It is one way that I know how much you depend upon me. As your Father, I want to take care of you in every way and that includes helping you find the answers to your questions. I enjoy hearing your voice every time you talk to me.
The way of the orphanage is your old world. You learned to live and survive in it. You also discovered its pleasures. It is your old world and you must leave it behind. There will be times when you wish you could just go back to it. But, I will want you to push forward.
In my family you will have a new attitude about life. I expect your conduct and your words to be motivated by the love which my Son has shown for you. Rules will not be seen as demands upon you. When motivated by love, rules become guidelines for pleasing my Son. When you please and honor him, you also make me proud of your adoption. Your purpose as my child is to bring glory, praise, and honor to my Son.
One way to honor my Son is by following his example. You can learn what he has done in a given situation by considering the testimony of those who knew him while in the orphanage. Their testimonies are known as the Four Gospels in the Bible. Read and meditate on them. At times you may respond according to my Son’s attitude displayed in more than one situation. There are also members of my family today who can help you understand what my Son would have done in a your situation. But, don’t forget to ask me!
Your commitment must be to my Son as your brother and to me as your Father. You must commit yourself to leaving behind the ways of the orphanage, to becoming a new person by the changing of your attitudes adopting those of my Son, and to learning and putting into practice the ways of my Son as others who know him have done.
Love,
Your Father in heaven
Father in heaven,
I am overwhelmed. You expect to see many changes in me. Becoming a part of your family looks nigh impossible to me. I don’t know where to begin or what I will become. I must learn a new way of thinking and behaving and forget my old ways. Who will help me?
I am glad that you have adopted me into your family. But, I feel like a newborn who must learn to sit up, to crawl, to stand, to walk, and to talk again. All this gives me hope that my life will be different and better than it was before. I know that I will need lots of help to really become one of your children.
Hopefully,
Orphan Child
Dear Orphan Child,
You are right. This will be a long, sometimes difficult, but rewarding process. You will notice many changes happening to you as you grow more mature. Don’t worry! I chose to adopt you and make you one of my own. I began the process and will continue it to the end.
In the end, you will be so much like my Son that people may comment that you are just like Jesus. Then the adoption process will be complete. In the meantime, I am sending my Spirit to live in you. He will teach you, guide you, and comfort you. You trust me and he will do his life-changing work in you. Old things will pass away and all things will become new. He will eventually mold you into the image of my Son.
There is one more thing you should know. I have a gift that I give to all my adopted children. It is like an inheritance, except you can have right away. I give eternal life to all my adopted children. If you should die some night while in your sleep, your body will be left in bed but the real you will come to be with me forever. Death no more has power over you. It is a passing into my presence. You will understand this better as you get older.
Love,
Your Father in heaven
My Father in heaven,
You are the greatest! There is nobody like you. Here, take my hand. Let’s go. I’m ready to be called a child of God.
Thank you,
Your Adopted Child
Here I am in a place I did not choose. I feel alone, rejected, and hopeless. This world uses and abuses me. It talks about love, but its all about them. It accepts the rich and famous, the athletic and good looking, but turns away when trouble surrounds them. It promises happiness, security, and plenty, but criticizes those who don’t measure up. This world has lots of troubles. It is not a loving family.
Please choose me for adoption. I want to be part of your family like your Son. I want to share in the riches of your kingdom alongside your Son. I want to experience your love, the love you revealed through your Son.
It is because of sin that I am not a part of your family. You accepted the death of your Son as satisfying payment for sin in hope that all people would want to be adopted into your family. So, here I am, Lord. I want to be a part of your family.
I hope you choose me,
Orphan Child
Dear Orphan,
Everything is in order for your adoption. The fee has been paid. Your records have been updated. All that is needed is your commitment.
I would like to tell you a little about the family. My Son is responsible for making your adoption possible. He came to your home and lived there a while. When he saw your condition, he burst with love for you. I told him that it would cost his life to make your adoption possible. He was willing to pay the price. It was hard for him near the last. He pleaded with me hoping it might be possible to find another way. There was no other way. So he continued as we had planned.
He paid the price and I rewarded him with life and a special position with me in heaven. He is now your mediator. Whenever you want to talk with me or ask me something, he comes to me representing you. He wants only the best for you. There will be times when what you think is best for you is not the best. You must trust him to know. He loves you too much to give you less than the best. However, you will be tested to see if how much you really trust him.
Remember, as part of my family you will be treated like my Son. You will be wise to follow his example. Remember also that he is the one who made your adoption possible.
Love,
Your Father in heaven
Father in heaven,
In the orphanage our superiors expect us to behave according to the rules. They seem to have a rule for everything. I don’t like being forced to follow all of their rules. I want to do what I want and not what they demand. It would be nice to be free, to be me. Will it be different in your family?
I really want to be part of your family. But, you say that I must make a commitment before the adoption can take place. What is this commitment?
You said that I would be wise to follow the example of your Son. But, how will I know what he has done in a given situation?
I hope my questions don’t discourage you from adopting me.
Hopefully,
Orphan Child
Dear Orphan Child,
Let me assure you that your questions will not discourage me from adopting you. Keep asking them. It is one way that I know how much you depend upon me. As your Father, I want to take care of you in every way and that includes helping you find the answers to your questions. I enjoy hearing your voice every time you talk to me.
The way of the orphanage is your old world. You learned to live and survive in it. You also discovered its pleasures. It is your old world and you must leave it behind. There will be times when you wish you could just go back to it. But, I will want you to push forward.
In my family you will have a new attitude about life. I expect your conduct and your words to be motivated by the love which my Son has shown for you. Rules will not be seen as demands upon you. When motivated by love, rules become guidelines for pleasing my Son. When you please and honor him, you also make me proud of your adoption. Your purpose as my child is to bring glory, praise, and honor to my Son.
One way to honor my Son is by following his example. You can learn what he has done in a given situation by considering the testimony of those who knew him while in the orphanage. Their testimonies are known as the Four Gospels in the Bible. Read and meditate on them. At times you may respond according to my Son’s attitude displayed in more than one situation. There are also members of my family today who can help you understand what my Son would have done in a your situation. But, don’t forget to ask me!
Your commitment must be to my Son as your brother and to me as your Father. You must commit yourself to leaving behind the ways of the orphanage, to becoming a new person by the changing of your attitudes adopting those of my Son, and to learning and putting into practice the ways of my Son as others who know him have done.
Love,
Your Father in heaven
Father in heaven,
I am overwhelmed. You expect to see many changes in me. Becoming a part of your family looks nigh impossible to me. I don’t know where to begin or what I will become. I must learn a new way of thinking and behaving and forget my old ways. Who will help me?
I am glad that you have adopted me into your family. But, I feel like a newborn who must learn to sit up, to crawl, to stand, to walk, and to talk again. All this gives me hope that my life will be different and better than it was before. I know that I will need lots of help to really become one of your children.
Hopefully,
Orphan Child
Dear Orphan Child,
You are right. This will be a long, sometimes difficult, but rewarding process. You will notice many changes happening to you as you grow more mature. Don’t worry! I chose to adopt you and make you one of my own. I began the process and will continue it to the end.
In the end, you will be so much like my Son that people may comment that you are just like Jesus. Then the adoption process will be complete. In the meantime, I am sending my Spirit to live in you. He will teach you, guide you, and comfort you. You trust me and he will do his life-changing work in you. Old things will pass away and all things will become new. He will eventually mold you into the image of my Son.
There is one more thing you should know. I have a gift that I give to all my adopted children. It is like an inheritance, except you can have right away. I give eternal life to all my adopted children. If you should die some night while in your sleep, your body will be left in bed but the real you will come to be with me forever. Death no more has power over you. It is a passing into my presence. You will understand this better as you get older.
Love,
Your Father in heaven
My Father in heaven,
You are the greatest! There is nobody like you. Here, take my hand. Let’s go. I’m ready to be called a child of God.
Thank you,
Your Adopted Child
Thursday, January 7, 2010
INTRODUCING "SLOPPY TALK"
There comes a time when we need to ask ourselves what are we really saying and what are we hearing. We talk like we know what we are saying and find that what we are saying has a different meaning to those who are listening. Two closely related phrases used in and outside of the church have given rise to what I call: “Sloppy Church Talk.” The church is confused in their usage of these phrases. Sometimes they are used one way and sometimes the other way and both ways in the same context. Church people should understand these phrases and use them appropriately. However, they seldom show concern for the appropriate usage of “children of God.” and “the image of God”
SLOPPY CHURCH TALK:“CHILDREN OF GOD”
We are all children of God This is a common idea today. However, it is erroneous to say that a person is born into the family of God by natural birth. The family of God is not man’s, any man’s, natural family. By the same token, human beings are not naturally children of God nor sons of God. This is sloppy talk. People are adopted into the family of God.
Adoption describes the legal action whereby a person, usually a child, is taken into a family, not his own, with the purpose of treating him as, and giving him all the privileges of, a child born into that family--an outsider becomes and insider by due course; one who once was not becomes one who is; one not born into the family becomes one who enjoys all the rights and privileges of those born into the family.
Before proceeding farther, there is another possible usage of the phrase. It could be used as “children of god,” meaning children of one of a number of gods? With that perspective, “children of whatever god” could refer to all people. However, in the church the question is asked in the context of “the God,” one and only God. Are all people children of God?
The phrase, “children of God,” is found in the Bible. Sons of God is often used instead of children of God depending upon which translation is being read. What does it mean where it is used?
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Evidently, not all people are peacemakers for they are designated as sons of God. They are a distinct group, the opposite of war-mongers and those who cause divisions. They are reconcilers.
What are the opposing factions in need of reconciliation or peace? In the eyes of the world the list would seem endless from the lack of harmony in families, schools, churches, the workplace, communities, politics and international organizations to warring gangs, terrorists, tribes and nations. Great is the need for peacemakers including a peacemaker between man and God.
What is Jesus talking about when he distinguishes some people as peacemakers? Is there a clue in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount?
“You are the light of the world. . . .Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew :14-16). Peacemakers are lights shining in this world. Men see their good deeds and praise God, who is in heaven, not the peacemakers. Peacemakers bring praise to the Father in heaven, not themselves. This is not natural for human beings. Peacemakers bridge the gap between fellow man and man and God.
Peacemakers live according to the law, Law. Those who do not live in harmony with the law become enemies of the lawgiver whether that be the government or God in heaven. Furthermore, a peacemaker will observe every nuance of the law lest he become an enemy of the lawgiver. Jesus was, is, the ultimate peacemaker. He did not live to abolish the law, but to fulfill every jot and tittle down to the smallest letter and the least stroke of the pen. Peacemakers abide by the law.
“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. . . .unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19-20)
The law will be obeyed by peacemakers. This makes it difficult for a human being to call himself a peacemaker.
Furthermore, a peacemaker will not be angry with his brother but rather he will settle matters quickly before the matter goes to court (Matthew 2:23-26). They will not break their promise, their covenants or contracts, their marriage vows, etc. Their “Yes” will be “Yes,” and their “No” will be “No.” They will be people of integrity, wholehearted and honest above reproach (Matthew 5:27-37).
If that is not enough, peacemakers will not resist an evil person; will give more than requested; will love their enemies; give to the needy; pray and fast in private; store up treasure in heaven; not worry about food, drink, or clothes; resist judging others knowing that by the same standard they will be judged; seek the blessings from their Father in heaven; treat others like they want to be treated; and, live so that they are rewarded by their Father in heaven. To sum it all up, a peacemaker will hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice.
The Apostle Paul summed it up this way: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ [the Peacemaker] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [peacemaking]; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting mens’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18-19).
Those who have been given the ministry of reconciliation are distinct group. They are a new creation with a new mission. “For Christ loves compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly view. Though once we regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (II Corinthians 5:14-16)
When Jesus spoke of peacemakers in the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, he was not describing the world’s view. He was describing his own role as peacemaker which would be given to those who received him as such.
John, the Beloved, wrote: Yet to all received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12).
Those who become children of God are the ones adopted into the family of God. They are given the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as the only begotten Son of God. They become peacemakers whom Jesus called blessed sons of God.
In the first letter (epistle) of John, he says more about sons of God and children of God. “How great is the love of the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But, we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2) [The King James translation uses “sons” instead of “children” of God.]
John continues: “This is how we know who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother” (I John 3:10). “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands” (I John 5:1-2).
It should be obvious that according to John’s writings the children/sons of God is a distinct group of people in contrast to sons of the devil, and those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ born of God. The children/sons of God is exclusive and does not include all men, women and children.
In Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 there is a reference to the sons of God. Here the sons of God are contrasted with the daughters of men, revealing that all human beings are not “sons of God.” There is a debate about the exact identity of those called “sons of God” in these verses.
The phrase, “sons of God,” is used twice in the book of Job. “One day the angels [Hebrew–sons of God] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them” (Job 1:6). These are all beings created by God and accountable to him. It is a unique designation of sons of God. Here the reference is to heavenly creatures, not human beings. A similar reference is in Job 38:7. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? . . . On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone–when all the angels [Hebrew–sons of God] shouted for joy?” The angels [sons of God] were present before God created the earth, when He laid its foundations and before man was created.
The prophet Hosea wrote: “After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them ‘You are not my people’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God’” (Hosea 1:8-10).
In a future day the Israelites [not all men] will be blessed and called “sons of the living God.” See Hosea 4, especially verses 4-7. This restoration of Israel is portrayed by Hosea’s love for Gomer while she sought another man and became an adulteress (Hosea 3).
Children of God are children of the resurrection, according to John 20:36-38. “Jesus replied, ‘The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worth of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”
The Apostle Paul emphasized the difference between those who are the children/sons of God and those who are not.
“For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not received a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of Sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory’ (Romans 8:14-17, see also Galatians 4:5).
Are all men children/sons of God? They are not according to the Apostle Paul: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected . . . creation itself will be liberated from the bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:9-21). If creation is waiting for the sons of God to be revealed, then certainly not all men are sons of God.
Abraham had two sons: Ishmael, born by Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah, his wife, and at the will of Sarah; and, Isaac born by Sarah after she was well past childbearing age but according to the promise of God gave to Abraham and Sarah.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son” (Romans 9:6-9)! In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
He continued the description adding another distinctive characteristic in Galatians 3:26-29. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
The last nail in the coffin is found in Philippians. Again the Apostle Paul wrote: “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:14-15).
Children of God, sons of God, as it pertains to man on earth is only possible through adoption. No man, woman, nor child born of earthly parents is a child of God by right of birth. Each person must be adopted into the family of God.
In Romans 8:15, which was quoted above, the word “sonship” can also be adoption. “But you received a spirit of adoption [sonship]” and became a child of God.
Adoption is a process, not an immediately completed transaction. A child is selected for adoption. A fee is paid to the guardian of the child. The child submits to the new family. Over time, the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the new family are realized by the adopted child. These become the lifestyle of the child. The adoption process is finally fully realized when the child’s identity is that of the family and the inheritance granted to the adopted child is the same as that of the natural child.
Consequently, the Apostle Paul wrote: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have been the first fruits of the Spirit, [have experienced the beginning of the adoption process] groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-23).
Adoption is not for all people. People who are selected sometimes rebel. Such was the case for Israel. “For I [Paul] could wish myself were cursed and cut off for the sake of my brothers, those of my race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen’ (Romans 9:3-5).
Israel was adopted collectively as a people, a nation, not because they deserved it. It was the promise to Abraham from the Lord. “I will make unto you a great nation, and I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2). “He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them!’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15 :5-6). Not all who are descendants are considered children of Abraham and not all Israel [another name for Jacob, Abraham’s grandson] are Israel. Israel is God’s adopted nation but not all Israel acknowledges that adoption.
“Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come” (Romans 11:25). Israel had been dispersed throughout the world because of this hardening. Nevertheless, “God gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). He is merciful and Israel will still come to full adoption. This is seen as previously quoted in Hosea, which is quoted by Paul in Romans 11:26-27.
The Apostle Paul repeats the concept of Romans 8:15-17 in Galatians 4:5-7. In Galatians it is linked to birth of Jesus Christ. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons [adoption]. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you an heir.”
God’s son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our adoption. It cost him a cruel death on the cross in order that people could be adopted into the family of God. Death could not hold him in the grave. He was resurrected unto life and after forty days ascended into the heaven into the presence of his Father. Likewise, the adopted children/sons of God will die. Some will die a cruel death. But death will not hold them. They will be resurrected unto life everlasting in the presence of their Father in heaven. They will be co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
To the Christian church in Ephesus Paul writes:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given s in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:3-6).
In the Garden of Eden, God created man in his own image and likeness. God did not give birth to man and make all mankind his descendants, sons of God. He created him. Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, gave birth and all mankind are their descendants. However, before giving birth they disobeyed God contaminating their descendants with a sin nature and losing the image of God. The only way to restore the image of God is by adoption into the family of God made possible by the price paid by Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son.
Adoption describes the legal action whereby a person, usually a child, is taken into a family, not his own, with the purpose of treating him as, and giving him all the privileges of, a child born into that family--an outsider becomes and insider by due course; one who once was not becomes one who is; one not born into the family becomes one who enjoys all the rights and privileges of those born into the family.
Before proceeding farther, there is another possible usage of the phrase. It could be used as “children of god,” meaning children of one of a number of gods? With that perspective, “children of whatever god” could refer to all people. However, in the church the question is asked in the context of “the God,” one and only God. Are all people children of God?
The phrase, “children of God,” is found in the Bible. Sons of God is often used instead of children of God depending upon which translation is being read. What does it mean where it is used?
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Evidently, not all people are peacemakers for they are designated as sons of God. They are a distinct group, the opposite of war-mongers and those who cause divisions. They are reconcilers.
What are the opposing factions in need of reconciliation or peace? In the eyes of the world the list would seem endless from the lack of harmony in families, schools, churches, the workplace, communities, politics and international organizations to warring gangs, terrorists, tribes and nations. Great is the need for peacemakers including a peacemaker between man and God.
What is Jesus talking about when he distinguishes some people as peacemakers? Is there a clue in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount?
“You are the light of the world. . . .Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew :14-16). Peacemakers are lights shining in this world. Men see their good deeds and praise God, who is in heaven, not the peacemakers. Peacemakers bring praise to the Father in heaven, not themselves. This is not natural for human beings. Peacemakers bridge the gap between fellow man and man and God.
Peacemakers live according to the law, Law. Those who do not live in harmony with the law become enemies of the lawgiver whether that be the government or God in heaven. Furthermore, a peacemaker will observe every nuance of the law lest he become an enemy of the lawgiver. Jesus was, is, the ultimate peacemaker. He did not live to abolish the law, but to fulfill every jot and tittle down to the smallest letter and the least stroke of the pen. Peacemakers abide by the law.
“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. . . .unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19-20)
The law will be obeyed by peacemakers. This makes it difficult for a human being to call himself a peacemaker.
Furthermore, a peacemaker will not be angry with his brother but rather he will settle matters quickly before the matter goes to court (Matthew 2:23-26). They will not break their promise, their covenants or contracts, their marriage vows, etc. Their “Yes” will be “Yes,” and their “No” will be “No.” They will be people of integrity, wholehearted and honest above reproach (Matthew 5:27-37).
If that is not enough, peacemakers will not resist an evil person; will give more than requested; will love their enemies; give to the needy; pray and fast in private; store up treasure in heaven; not worry about food, drink, or clothes; resist judging others knowing that by the same standard they will be judged; seek the blessings from their Father in heaven; treat others like they want to be treated; and, live so that they are rewarded by their Father in heaven. To sum it all up, a peacemaker will hear the words of Jesus and put them into practice.
The Apostle Paul summed it up this way: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ [the Peacemaker] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [peacemaking]; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting mens’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (II Corinthians 5:18-19).
Those who have been given the ministry of reconciliation are distinct group. They are a new creation with a new mission. “For Christ loves compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly view. Though once we regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (II Corinthians 5:14-16)
When Jesus spoke of peacemakers in the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, he was not describing the world’s view. He was describing his own role as peacemaker which would be given to those who received him as such.
John, the Beloved, wrote: Yet to all received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12).
Those who become children of God are the ones adopted into the family of God. They are given the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as the only begotten Son of God. They become peacemakers whom Jesus called blessed sons of God.
In the first letter (epistle) of John, he says more about sons of God and children of God. “How great is the love of the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But, we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2) [The King James translation uses “sons” instead of “children” of God.]
John continues: “This is how we know who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother” (I John 3:10). “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and every one who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands” (I John 5:1-2).
It should be obvious that according to John’s writings the children/sons of God is a distinct group of people in contrast to sons of the devil, and those who do not believe Jesus is the Christ born of God. The children/sons of God is exclusive and does not include all men, women and children.
In Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 there is a reference to the sons of God. Here the sons of God are contrasted with the daughters of men, revealing that all human beings are not “sons of God.” There is a debate about the exact identity of those called “sons of God” in these verses.
The phrase, “sons of God,” is used twice in the book of Job. “One day the angels [Hebrew–sons of God] came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them” (Job 1:6). These are all beings created by God and accountable to him. It is a unique designation of sons of God. Here the reference is to heavenly creatures, not human beings. A similar reference is in Job 38:7. “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? . . . On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone–when all the angels [Hebrew–sons of God] shouted for joy?” The angels [sons of God] were present before God created the earth, when He laid its foundations and before man was created.
The prophet Hosea wrote: “After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. Then the Lord said, ‘Call him Lo-Ammi, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them ‘You are not my people’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God’” (Hosea 1:8-10).
In a future day the Israelites [not all men] will be blessed and called “sons of the living God.” See Hosea 4, especially verses 4-7. This restoration of Israel is portrayed by Hosea’s love for Gomer while she sought another man and became an adulteress (Hosea 3).
Children of God are children of the resurrection, according to John 20:36-38. “Jesus replied, ‘The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worth of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”
The Apostle Paul emphasized the difference between those who are the children/sons of God and those who are not.
“For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not received a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the spirit of Sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory’ (Romans 8:14-17, see also Galatians 4:5).
Are all men children/sons of God? They are not according to the Apostle Paul: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected . . . creation itself will be liberated from the bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:9-21). If creation is waiting for the sons of God to be revealed, then certainly not all men are sons of God.
Abraham had two sons: Ishmael, born by Hagar, the handmaiden of Sarah, his wife, and at the will of Sarah; and, Isaac born by Sarah after she was well past childbearing age but according to the promise of God gave to Abraham and Sarah.
The Apostle Paul wrote: “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel, nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son” (Romans 9:6-9)! In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
He continued the description adding another distinctive characteristic in Galatians 3:26-29. “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
The last nail in the coffin is found in Philippians. Again the Apostle Paul wrote: “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:14-15).
Children of God, sons of God, as it pertains to man on earth is only possible through adoption. No man, woman, nor child born of earthly parents is a child of God by right of birth. Each person must be adopted into the family of God.
In Romans 8:15, which was quoted above, the word “sonship” can also be adoption. “But you received a spirit of adoption [sonship]” and became a child of God.
Adoption is a process, not an immediately completed transaction. A child is selected for adoption. A fee is paid to the guardian of the child. The child submits to the new family. Over time, the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of the new family are realized by the adopted child. These become the lifestyle of the child. The adoption process is finally fully realized when the child’s identity is that of the family and the inheritance granted to the adopted child is the same as that of the natural child.
Consequently, the Apostle Paul wrote: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have been the first fruits of the Spirit, [have experienced the beginning of the adoption process] groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-23).
Adoption is not for all people. People who are selected sometimes rebel. Such was the case for Israel. “For I [Paul] could wish myself were cursed and cut off for the sake of my brothers, those of my race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen’ (Romans 9:3-5).
Israel was adopted collectively as a people, a nation, not because they deserved it. It was the promise to Abraham from the Lord. “I will make unto you a great nation, and I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2). “He took him outside and said, ‘Look at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them!’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15 :5-6). Not all who are descendants are considered children of Abraham and not all Israel [another name for Jacob, Abraham’s grandson] are Israel. Israel is God’s adopted nation but not all Israel acknowledges that adoption.
“Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come” (Romans 11:25). Israel had been dispersed throughout the world because of this hardening. Nevertheless, “God gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). He is merciful and Israel will still come to full adoption. This is seen as previously quoted in Hosea, which is quoted by Paul in Romans 11:26-27.
The Apostle Paul repeats the concept of Romans 8:15-17 in Galatians 4:5-7. In Galatians it is linked to birth of Jesus Christ. “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons [adoption]. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you an heir.”
God’s son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for our adoption. It cost him a cruel death on the cross in order that people could be adopted into the family of God. Death could not hold him in the grave. He was resurrected unto life and after forty days ascended into the heaven into the presence of his Father. Likewise, the adopted children/sons of God will die. Some will die a cruel death. But death will not hold them. They will be resurrected unto life everlasting in the presence of their Father in heaven. They will be co-heirs with Jesus Christ.
To the Christian church in Ephesus Paul writes:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will–to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given s in the One he loves” (Ephesians 1:3-6).
In the Garden of Eden, God created man in his own image and likeness. God did not give birth to man and make all mankind his descendants, sons of God. He created him. Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, gave birth and all mankind are their descendants. However, before giving birth they disobeyed God contaminating their descendants with a sin nature and losing the image of God. The only way to restore the image of God is by adoption into the family of God made possible by the price paid by Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son.
Friday, December 25, 2009
LOST: THE IMAGE OF GOD
There is something in that which is considered impossible that induces me take on the challenge of it being possible. Such is the question of true humanity. In a culture struggling for sexual identity the quest for what is truly man and what is truly woman has become high priority.
Into the search I want to bring the First Adam from the Garden of Eden and the Second Adam from the Cross of Calvary. The First Adam is the husband of Eve in the creation story. The Second Adam is Jesus of Nazareth from the Gospels. True humanity must be the gift to Adam and Eve when they were “created in the image of God” which they experienced before their disobedience to God’s instructions. True humanity must also be in the character of Jesus who was God incarnate, in the bodily form of fallen man.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:12-17 about the contrast of the First Adam to Jesus Christ, the Second Adam. Here are verses 12 and 17 which specifically address that contrast:
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. . . .For if , by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."
A parallel exits between the two Adams. In Genesis 1:26 we read: “The God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. . . .” And again in verse 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female he created them. More detail is given in Genesis 2:7. “And the LORD GOD formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”
What was lost when the First Adam sinned is regained in the Second Adam. Sin brought death when Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of the serpent. Jesus Christ brings life through his death and resurrection. The Apostle Paul continues in verse 21: “so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Likewise in Colossians 1: 15, 19 and 3:10 we read: “He (refers to the Son in the previous verse) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. . . . For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him. . . .and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” And again in Hebrew 1:3 we read: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all thing by his powerful word.” Another reference in Romans 8:29 reads:“For those who God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, the he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
More could be said about the claims of Jesus to be God, equal to the Father, and at one with the Father. These verify the proposition that Jesus is the image of God.
The parallel between the First Adam and the Second Adam is that both were in the image of God. Which raises two questions: (1) What was lost when Adam and Eve sinned which Jesus Christ restores? (2) What is the image of God that they both had? Both questions beg for the meaning of “the image of God.”
What did or what does Jesus Christ restore to humanity? He restores eternal life as seen in John 3:16 and as already quoted in Romans 5:21. Eternal life is in contrast to death. However, all die as a result of sin. Even Jesus Christ died as a result of sin. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed,” according to I Peter 2:24. Going back to Romans chapter 6 and verses 4, 8 and 23 we read: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Verse 8 reads: Now if we died with Christ, we believe the we will also live with him.” Verse 23: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ restored eternal life to those who believe in him. Adam and Eve sinned which brought death while the sinless Son of Man, Jesus Christ, restores life. Is this eternal life the “image of God?” It was Adam’s when he was created and it is the gift to man when he believes in Jesus Christ.
What died in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve’s relationship with God died. They became separated from God, and lost intimacy with God. In fact, they hid from God and made leaf garments to cover their nakedness. A death of relationship took place. No longer could God freely relate to humanity.
Death of relationship is also seen in the punishment received by Adam and Eve. Eve will have pain in childbearing but will have a strong desire for her husband and he will rule over her. Adam’s relationship to the earth changed from ground which yielded food in abundance to ground which yielded thorns and thistles. He would sweat and toil for food from his fields and eventually return to the dust from which he was made.
Cain and Abel are another example of death of relationship. Two brothers who probably grew up as buddies find jealousy resulting in murder. In their effort to restore a relationship with God they both offer sacrifices from their labors. Cain offered a sacrifice from his fields. Abel offered a sacrifice from his flocks. The Lord was pleased with Abel’s offering, but not with Cain’s offering. Cain became angry and plotted to kill his brother while they were out in the field together. He succeeded. Harmoniousrelationships between man with fellow man and man with God died. They needed to be restored.
Jesus Christ became the mediator between God, the Father and man. John 14:13-14 reads: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus Christ became the reconciler between the Father and fallen man. His teaching revealed to the people the nature of God and how to please him. His death on the cross removed the obstacle of sin so that people who believed in him would be restored to harmonious relationship with the God, the Father. Those who believed in him were given the Holy Spirit from God to be ever present in them, to lead, comfort, teach, and bring glory to Christ. (See John 14-16)
The first 10 chapters of Hebrews describes what Jesus Christ has accomplished as the Great High Priest, the mediator between man and God. The Most Holy Place in the earthly tabernacle represents the place where God dwells. Hebrews 10:19-22 offers this summary:
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."
I Timothy 2:5-6 reads: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time.”
This supports what is written in John 14:6 which reads: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus restores a harmonious relationship between humanity and the Father, Creator, in heaven.
What does a harmonious relationship imply? When there is harmony, communications flow effortlessly. Communication with God is restored to the ease which Adam and Eve experienced before their sin. The sin barrier has been removed by Jesus Christ. When there is harmony, a strong, close, loving friendship becomes possible. The relationship with God turns from being the opponent to being the ally. When there is harmony, there is order. Order will again be restored to creation when Jesus Christ rules Supreme. After the fall of man and continuing through today, death has brought chaos upon the earth. Man kills man; man kills animals; animals kill man; animals kill animals; and plants are destroyed by man and animals. All creation waits for the day of restoration when the Son of Man reigns.*Jesus Christ restores freedom to obey God. In Romans 6:17-18, 20-23 we read:
"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. . . . When you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those thing result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
The serpent in the Garden of Eden knew what it meant to lose his freedom to obey God. Before the Garden of Eden he had rebelled against God. There was no turning back. Consequently, he comes to the Garden and encourages Adam and Eve to go against God and eat from the forbidden tree. If he succeeds, and he does, man in the image of God also loses his freedom. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, they lost their freedom to obey God. Their heart turned away from obedience to God to rebellion against God. They became slaves to sin.
That is not to say that they could no longer obey God. The foundation of their being changed from obedience to rebellion. Home base, their starting point, became rebellion against God. This they would need to overcome. Years of offering sacrifices did not change their rebellious nature. Trying to obey the Law given to Moses did not change their rebellious ways. Adam, the symbol of all mankind came to a crossroads. He could choose to obey God or to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience to God. The road he chose determined the nature of his descendants. Mankind would have a rebellious nature, or a sinful nature as the foundation for his life. Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, defeats the power of sin and restores the freedom to obey God. Man faces the choice at the crossroads again. This time with presence of Christ within he has the power to choose obedience unto life, instead of disobedience unto death.
What the First Adam lost by disobeying God, the Second Adam restored by obedience to God, his Father. The First Adam was tempted and lost. The Second Adam was tempted forty days in the wilderness, time again throughout his life, and faced the ultimate of temptations during the last week of his life before dying a horrible death on a cross. He went obediently enduring the scoffers, the lies, the torment and torture to his death on the cross. The sins of the world laid heavily upon the shoulders of the sinless Second Adam when he went to the cross. The penalty of sin is death. He suffered death for all of mankind. He was God incarnate who could walk on water, heal the sick and raise the dead. Nevertheless, he refused to use his supernatural powers to escape the death that was necessary to destroy the power of sin upon mankind. If he had died and remained in the grave forever, the power of sin would not have been conquered. He was God incarnate and exercised his power over death. He lives. The Second Adam lives today to restore the “image of God” to his believing followers. Although tempted in every way, he would not yield to Satan. Now he restores to those who believe in him the “image of God” which First Adam lost in the Garden of Eden.
The image of God is not a form because God is a spirit (John 4:24). God himself commanded that no idol in the form of anything in heaven and earth be made and worshiped. It is impossible to draw a circle which contains God. The image of God is not a two-legged, two fisted, upright being with a head upon its shoulders.
The image of God is not the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Only man was created in the image of God. All animals have breath. All plants and animals have life. If the breath of life is the image of God, then reason says that all living, especially man and animals, have the image of God. That would border on pantheism, god is in all things. Once again, only man was created in the image of God. Man was uniquely in the image of God.
The image of God must be restored to man through Jesus Christ. If the image of God is present in all of mankind, would God send anybody to eternal damnation? Would this be a reason to believe in universal salvation? Everybody would have a little of God in them and therefore be saved in the end. Man without Christ today does not have the image of God!
The image of God must be: (1) Eternal life; (2) Freedom; and (3) Harmony. These are characteristics of God, but not all-conclusive. What God has revealed about himself, his characteristics, is in the Bible. Yet He remains indescribable. We know only in part.
True humanity was the First Adam before his disobedience. True humanity is the Second Adam who refused to disobey God, his Father, even when facing a cruel death on a cross. His victory over the power of sin restores true humanity to those who believe and follow him. This is the first step in discovering the real man and the real woman. The real man and the real woman have the image of God stamped upon them.
The second step in discovering sexual identity as real men and real women, true humanity, is to hear the voice of God speaking through his revelation to man, the Bible, and describing men and women with their shortcomings. First and Second Adam did not have shortcomings. What is lacking is needed to discover sexual identity. Harmony between man in the image of God and God makes it possible to know and be real men and women.
Those who believe and follow Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, are in the process of being restored to the image of God. Romans 8:29 says that they are being conformed unto the image of the his Son, Jesus Christ. Their struggles sometimes end in failures. However, upon confession of their sins they are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. They are promised to be like Jesus when they arrive in heaven.
OBJECTIONS and OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
1. (Genesis 5:3) When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
This repeats similar language used to describe the original creation of man. Adam passed down to his son his likeness and his image. Did Adam pass down the same image he possessed when God created him? Adam passed to Seth, his son a fallen image of man. He passed to Seth, his sinful nature, not the image of God.
2. (Genesis 9:6) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; or in the image of God has God made man.
Adam was uniquely created in the image of God. As such, he is to be respected and protected. Man was not created to destroy his fellow man, shed the blood of another man. However, in his fallen estate Cain murdered his brother Abel. In his fallen estate, man sheds the blood of his fellow man, murders other men.
3. (I Corinthians 11:7) A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but a woman is the glory of man.
I and II Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth, the believers who are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Do people rebelling against God, glorify God? The church consists of a holy people, not perfect, but a people called out of the worldly way of living into a life that brings glory to God.
4. (I Corinthians 15:45-49) So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
Adam was a mud-sculpture before he became a living being. We bear his likeness. The last Adam, Jesus Christ came from heaven to be born of woman. Believers will bear the likeness of Jesus Christ.
5. (Colossians 3:9-10) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. This is the conversion of the old self and its practices. The sinful nature changes into a new self which is being transformed by the renewing of the mind into the image of its Creator.
6. (Hebrews 1:3) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
This states that the Son is the exact image of God both in his radiance and his glory.
7. (Hebrews 10:1) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
The word “shadow” is sometimes translated as “image.” Was man created as a shadow, or image, of God? The law came after Adam’s disobedience. If fulfilled it would provide a “shadow” of what man was intended to be. Nobody was able to keep the whole law until Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, came. He is the only one who could, would, fulfill the law including every jot and tittle.
8. Did the saints of the Old Testament, such as those who are listed in Hebrews 11, have the image of God?
Yes, they did look forward to the coming of the Messiah, the promised Son of David. Today, believers look back to the coming of the Messiah described in the Gospels. Today believers have the presence of the Holy Spirit within them to transform them into the image of Christ, who was in the image of God. OT believers were being transformed by their faith and obedience to God.
Enoch and Noah were righteous men who were different from the status quo. Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were different from the status quo because of the faith and obedience to God. Kings like David, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah were different because they did what was right in the eyes of God. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi didn’t preach and teach like the status quo because the relayed the word of the Lord. There were unusual people. There was Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah and many more. All these exhibited faith “yet none of them received what had been promised. God planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40) All that they had was the promise. They had their eyes upon God and their faith in his promise. They lived accordingly.
Enoch walked with God. Noah and Job were righteous men, blameless among the people. Abraham heard the voice of God, left Haran, pleaded for the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, and laid his son on an alter as a sacrifice to the Lord. Isaac and Jacob believed the promise given to Abraham. Those who had the law that was given to Moses offered their sacrifices for transgressing the law, for their failure to be perfect according to the law. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for their sins and our sins. He fulfilled the law to perfection and then died paying the penalty for mankind’s transgressions. Through him the image of God is restored.
How did the OT saints know to have faith in God and to obey Him? They were aware of the fall of Adam and Eve. Their fall was a failure to obey God. They also knew of God’s preference for the offering of Abel and the sin of Cain. From the line of Seth, Cain’s youngest brother, came descendants who obeyed God. Noah was from the line of Seth, and those who lived after the great flood. Obeying God when he revealed himself to them created an accumulation of God’s laws to live by.
The law of God projected into their minds the ideal man. The ideal man would obey all the law of God and trust God in all circumstances. However, they learned that they could not obey the law of God. The sin nature inherited from Adam and Eve made it impossible to be perfect. They had to wait until the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed for their sins.
The image of God present with the OT saints would be limited to their desire and success in obeying the law of God and trusting God in all circumstances. That may be the reason why all kings were compared to King David, a man after God’s own heart. In the minds of the Israelites he was the closest to the ideal man of anybody of that day.
Why don’t all people have the image of God according to their good works which are pleasing to God? It is probably safe to say that every person does something that is pleasing to God in the area of good works. However, nobody is capable of trusting and obeying God without failure. Furthermore, people who depend on their good works to please God are not trusting God, but rather are trusting their abilities and determination. Their faith in God is limited by their performance which is not perfect. Early in the OT the offering of a sacrifice to God came into vogue. Cain killed Abel because God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice. But, the first sacrifice was when God took the skins of an animal to clothe Adam and Eve as an act of love. The Bible is silent as to how Cain and Abel thought that a sacrifice to God would win his favor. Noah offered a sacrifice to God after departing from the ark. Abraham was familiar with the meaning of the sacrifice. Somehow these pre-Mosaic people realized that a sacrifice was necessary to win God’s pleasure. See the story of Noah’s sacrifice in Genesis 8:20-21.
They were also aware of God’s compassion. From the provision of skins for covering of Adam and Eve through God’s protection granted to Cain and the deliverance of Noah and his family during the flood. Their was growing evidence that God was full of mercy and compassion. They could have faith in him.
What can man do to be reconciled to God? A sacrifice seemed logical. If man could slay an animal without blemish, a prized possession, perhaps reconciliation would be achieved. The sacrifice was an admission of man’s shortcomings, his sin and ingratitude. It was like a confession of sin punctuated with the shedding of blood. The sacrifice resembled the seriousness of the confession. However, it became easy to make the outward appearance of confession by offering a sacrifice while remaining unrepentant in the heart, the inner self. Jesus Christ became man’s sacrifice for sin by his death on the cross.
People can do their good works but what sacrifice do the make for their shortcomings? Whom do the trust? Whom do they obey? The OT people believed the promises concerning the coming of Jesus Christ. What were Adam and Eve’s thoughts when God said to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel?” The serpent would have offspring and the woman would have offspring. The offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent’s offspring but, the serpent’s offspring would also strike or bruise the heel of the woman’s offspring. Somehow the woman’s offspring would make the serpent’s offspring pay for what had happened in the Garden of Eden, but not without suffering caused by the serpent’s offspring. This finally makes sense during the last week of Christ’s life including his death on the cross. Christ was bruised, wounded by the offspring of the serpent, rebellious people. However, Christ crushed the head, or defeated the serpent’s offspring by his resurrection from the dead.
Abraham received the promise that his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars in the heavens. Abraham had two offspring–Ishmael, the results of his own efforts through his wife’s maidservant and, Isaac, according to the promise through Sarah, his wife. Nevertheless, Abraham believed the promise from God in Genesis 15:4-6; 16:1-4; and 21:1-7. The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:16 that the offspring of Abraham was Jesus Christ.
David received the promise that he would have offspring whose throne of his kingdom would be established forever and that his house and his kingdom would endure and be established forever before God in II Samuel 7:12-16. The people began looking for the descendant of David whose throne would be established forever. The longed for the promised Son of David because they believed the promise.
Other promises were received and proclaimed by the prophets pointing to a person who would be coming to rule the people of God forever. He would rule with mercy and justice.
People may practice good works, but fail to believe the promises. They do not have faith in God’s promises. They do not have faith in God.
The OT era is recognized by the people’s dependence upon the Law. Previous to the Law given to Moses, people accumulated a knowledge of “the Law of the Lord” through their experiences and those of the predecessors. The Law had the same effects as the Mosaic Law. It must be obeyed, which proved to be impossible since the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Hence, they learned that blood sacrifices were accepted by the Lord. God. All this was to no effect without faith.
Before Moses repeated the Law to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, he reminded them of the Lord God and all the great events they and their predecessors had witnessed. (Deuteronomy 4:32-39) He exhorted them to have faith in the Lord God who had intervened with mankind in this way. If there was no faith or fear in the Lawgiver, the Law could be disregarded. The first requirement in obeying the Law was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Failure to love the Lord your God, etc. and strive to obey the law would be idolatry. The Law would be greater than the Lawgiver. Likewise, for any who thought that they obeyed the law in its entirety, their works of obedience would be more important than the Lawgiver and become idolatry. They would have been guilty of breaking the first of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Law was impossible to obey. Therefore, the prophet Micah said, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Nothing is more humbling than standing justly accused of breaking the Law. So, act justly–obey the Law. Love mercy–you will need it. Walk humbly–you are guilty of breaking the Law. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” For the OT saints the reason for obeying the Law was the faith, love, respect, and fear that they had for the Lawgiver.
The faith, love, respect, and fear for God motivated the people to strive to obey the Law and to offer sacrifices in recognition of the failure, their sin. However, sacrifices could be offered which lacked significance. The offering of sacrifices also required faith, love, respect, and fear of God. It could not be done lightly without heartfelt repentance. King David wrote: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) The sacrifice could easily become just another chore to do and thereby become idolatry. The giver could boast in his works instead of the Lord God. It could be offered as an easy payment for the sin with no more effect than the practice of penance or it could be offered with a broken and contrite heart in the fear, respect, love and faith in God.
Faith was as necessary for the OT saint as it is for the believer in Jesus Christ today. When the Lord spoke to Noah, he had faith, love, respect, and fear for the Lord and built an ark according to the instructions he received from the Lord. Abraham heard the Lord speak , believed and acted accordingly. Likewise for all the saints listed in Hebrews 11 and all those unnamed saints whose acts of faith are given. This is a faith based on the testimony of others, as well as on personal experiences. This faith projected them into the future to act according to the unseen. The Apostle Paul says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Yes, the OT saints could have had the image of God in them. However, their standard for the image of God would have been the ideal man who completely obeyed the Law as a result of his faith, love, respect and fear for God. Who was their ideal man? The closest to it may have been King David. However, King David was an adulterer and murderer. He did not completely obey the Law. He is described as a man after God’s own heart. His attitude towards God was one of humble submission even when he sinned. More accurately, their ideal man was the promised Son of David recognized in the NT as Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate in the form of man. It is Jesus, the Son of David, whom believers are being conformed to. He is the one who restores the image of God to man. In him we recognize the very image of God.
The OT saints had the image of God to the extent that they had faith in God, obeyed God, and believed the promises concerning the future Son of David who was to reign forever. They looked forward to Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8; see also Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12 and Matthew 22:37) To this extent it could be said that OT saints revealed the image of God. However, all they had were the promises and the Law. They did not have God incarnate to recognize what the image of God would be. Their mission as a people of God was to tell the wonderful acts of God to their children and to the surrounding nations. Today, the wonderful acts of Jesus, the very image of God, are to be told to the children, neighbors and surrounding nations. It is difficult to recognize the image of God in the OT saints without first seeing the image of God in Jesus Christ.
I would like to say that OT saints had the image of God in them. But, according to the previous description of what is the image of God, it discourages that option. If the image of God is being restored to believers in Jesus Christ in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, then how could that image be found in people prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his death, and resurrection? Unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the conclusion must be that the OT saints did not have had the image of God being restored in them.
9. Does man having lost the image of God and now regaining it through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior change the significance of the Gospel?
Pascal is attributed this statement: “There is a god-shaped vacuum in every man which only God can fill.” That god-shaped vacuum could easily be the image of God which was lost when First Adam sinned. It is restored by the Second Adam. Jesus makes man complete. The curse of sin is vanquished. Now man can have freedom to obey God; have a harmonious relationship with God, his fellow man, and creation; and have eternal life in the presence of God.
10. The image of God is what makes mankind unique among all creation.
Certainly, it made Adam and Jesus Christ unique among all creation. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus was (is) the exact replica of God, in human form. Between Adam and Jesus Christ the complete man made in the image of God was lost.
Assuming that when Adam sinned the image of God was lost. What then would make mankind unique among creation?
(1) Man was a special creation of God. Man was made from what existed, from the dust of the earth he was formed. Then God gave him life. He blew into him the breath of life and man became a living being (soul). If that was how man became a living soul, it would stand to reason that all which had life also has a soul. God also formed out of the ground the beasts of the field and the birds of the air (Genesis 2:19). They also have the breath of life Man is not unique in the sense that he has life. He is unique because God made him to be different than monkeys, apes, gorillas, squirrels, pigs, sheep, etc.
(2) Man was ordained as ruler over all the living creatures on earth (Genesis 1:28). This was not lost when Adam sinned. However, it became more difficult. The living creatures became rebellious towards man.
(3) God communed with Adam and continues to do so throughout history (Genesis 2:16; 3:8-19). However, man’s communication with God became more difficult because of sin, although God could directly and indirectly speaks to man at any time. Mankind in his rebellion had difficulty in listening and heeding the message. God continues to be involved primarily with man while man deals with the rest of creation.
(4) Richard Deem wrote about the “image of God” with the title “Mankind
Created in the Image of God is Unique Among All Creatures of the Earth” found on the Evidence for God website. He actually dealt with the uniqueness of mankind among all the creatures of the earth. The uniqueness was due to the “image of God.” However, he never dealt with the theological implications when he linked uniqueness and the “image of God.” He listed seven categories which were unique to mankind: creativity; consciousness; personality; abstract thinking; body, soul, spirit; moral judgements; and social skills and learning. Each was confirmed with scientific evidence.
Mankind is unique among all the creatures of the earth. So are the elephants. That is why they are elephants and not mankind. Elephants exist in ways that man cannot. They are unique. The same can be said about every species. If they were not unique, the would blend with one of the other groupings. Which is to say, the uniqueness of man, monkeys, apes, gorillas, squirrels, pigs, sheep, etc. exists because that is the way God created them.
Into the search I want to bring the First Adam from the Garden of Eden and the Second Adam from the Cross of Calvary. The First Adam is the husband of Eve in the creation story. The Second Adam is Jesus of Nazareth from the Gospels. True humanity must be the gift to Adam and Eve when they were “created in the image of God” which they experienced before their disobedience to God’s instructions. True humanity must also be in the character of Jesus who was God incarnate, in the bodily form of fallen man.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:12-17 about the contrast of the First Adam to Jesus Christ, the Second Adam. Here are verses 12 and 17 which specifically address that contrast:
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. . . .For if , by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."
A parallel exits between the two Adams. In Genesis 1:26 we read: “The God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. . . .” And again in verse 27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him; male and female he created them. More detail is given in Genesis 2:7. “And the LORD GOD formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.”
What was lost when the First Adam sinned is regained in the Second Adam. Sin brought death when Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of the serpent. Jesus Christ brings life through his death and resurrection. The Apostle Paul continues in verse 21: “so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Likewise in Colossians 1: 15, 19 and 3:10 we read: “He (refers to the Son in the previous verse) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. . . . For God was pleased to have all his fulness dwell in him. . . .and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” And again in Hebrew 1:3 we read: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all thing by his powerful word.” Another reference in Romans 8:29 reads:“For those who God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, the he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
More could be said about the claims of Jesus to be God, equal to the Father, and at one with the Father. These verify the proposition that Jesus is the image of God.
The parallel between the First Adam and the Second Adam is that both were in the image of God. Which raises two questions: (1) What was lost when Adam and Eve sinned which Jesus Christ restores? (2) What is the image of God that they both had? Both questions beg for the meaning of “the image of God.”
What did or what does Jesus Christ restore to humanity? He restores eternal life as seen in John 3:16 and as already quoted in Romans 5:21. Eternal life is in contrast to death. However, all die as a result of sin. Even Jesus Christ died as a result of sin. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed,” according to I Peter 2:24. Going back to Romans chapter 6 and verses 4, 8 and 23 we read: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Verse 8 reads: Now if we died with Christ, we believe the we will also live with him.” Verse 23: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Jesus Christ restored eternal life to those who believe in him. Adam and Eve sinned which brought death while the sinless Son of Man, Jesus Christ, restores life. Is this eternal life the “image of God?” It was Adam’s when he was created and it is the gift to man when he believes in Jesus Christ.
What died in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve’s relationship with God died. They became separated from God, and lost intimacy with God. In fact, they hid from God and made leaf garments to cover their nakedness. A death of relationship took place. No longer could God freely relate to humanity.
Death of relationship is also seen in the punishment received by Adam and Eve. Eve will have pain in childbearing but will have a strong desire for her husband and he will rule over her. Adam’s relationship to the earth changed from ground which yielded food in abundance to ground which yielded thorns and thistles. He would sweat and toil for food from his fields and eventually return to the dust from which he was made.
Cain and Abel are another example of death of relationship. Two brothers who probably grew up as buddies find jealousy resulting in murder. In their effort to restore a relationship with God they both offer sacrifices from their labors. Cain offered a sacrifice from his fields. Abel offered a sacrifice from his flocks. The Lord was pleased with Abel’s offering, but not with Cain’s offering. Cain became angry and plotted to kill his brother while they were out in the field together. He succeeded. Harmoniousrelationships between man with fellow man and man with God died. They needed to be restored.
Jesus Christ became the mediator between God, the Father and man. John 14:13-14 reads: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Jesus Christ became the reconciler between the Father and fallen man. His teaching revealed to the people the nature of God and how to please him. His death on the cross removed the obstacle of sin so that people who believed in him would be restored to harmonious relationship with the God, the Father. Those who believed in him were given the Holy Spirit from God to be ever present in them, to lead, comfort, teach, and bring glory to Christ. (See John 14-16)
The first 10 chapters of Hebrews describes what Jesus Christ has accomplished as the Great High Priest, the mediator between man and God. The Most Holy Place in the earthly tabernacle represents the place where God dwells. Hebrews 10:19-22 offers this summary:
"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."
I Timothy 2:5-6 reads: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time.”
This supports what is written in John 14:6 which reads: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus restores a harmonious relationship between humanity and the Father, Creator, in heaven.
What does a harmonious relationship imply? When there is harmony, communications flow effortlessly. Communication with God is restored to the ease which Adam and Eve experienced before their sin. The sin barrier has been removed by Jesus Christ. When there is harmony, a strong, close, loving friendship becomes possible. The relationship with God turns from being the opponent to being the ally. When there is harmony, there is order. Order will again be restored to creation when Jesus Christ rules Supreme. After the fall of man and continuing through today, death has brought chaos upon the earth. Man kills man; man kills animals; animals kill man; animals kill animals; and plants are destroyed by man and animals. All creation waits for the day of restoration when the Son of Man reigns.*Jesus Christ restores freedom to obey God. In Romans 6:17-18, 20-23 we read:
"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. . . . When you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those thing result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
The serpent in the Garden of Eden knew what it meant to lose his freedom to obey God. Before the Garden of Eden he had rebelled against God. There was no turning back. Consequently, he comes to the Garden and encourages Adam and Eve to go against God and eat from the forbidden tree. If he succeeds, and he does, man in the image of God also loses his freedom. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, they lost their freedom to obey God. Their heart turned away from obedience to God to rebellion against God. They became slaves to sin.
That is not to say that they could no longer obey God. The foundation of their being changed from obedience to rebellion. Home base, their starting point, became rebellion against God. This they would need to overcome. Years of offering sacrifices did not change their rebellious nature. Trying to obey the Law given to Moses did not change their rebellious ways. Adam, the symbol of all mankind came to a crossroads. He could choose to obey God or to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience to God. The road he chose determined the nature of his descendants. Mankind would have a rebellious nature, or a sinful nature as the foundation for his life. Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, defeats the power of sin and restores the freedom to obey God. Man faces the choice at the crossroads again. This time with presence of Christ within he has the power to choose obedience unto life, instead of disobedience unto death.
What the First Adam lost by disobeying God, the Second Adam restored by obedience to God, his Father. The First Adam was tempted and lost. The Second Adam was tempted forty days in the wilderness, time again throughout his life, and faced the ultimate of temptations during the last week of his life before dying a horrible death on a cross. He went obediently enduring the scoffers, the lies, the torment and torture to his death on the cross. The sins of the world laid heavily upon the shoulders of the sinless Second Adam when he went to the cross. The penalty of sin is death. He suffered death for all of mankind. He was God incarnate who could walk on water, heal the sick and raise the dead. Nevertheless, he refused to use his supernatural powers to escape the death that was necessary to destroy the power of sin upon mankind. If he had died and remained in the grave forever, the power of sin would not have been conquered. He was God incarnate and exercised his power over death. He lives. The Second Adam lives today to restore the “image of God” to his believing followers. Although tempted in every way, he would not yield to Satan. Now he restores to those who believe in him the “image of God” which First Adam lost in the Garden of Eden.
The image of God is not a form because God is a spirit (John 4:24). God himself commanded that no idol in the form of anything in heaven and earth be made and worshiped. It is impossible to draw a circle which contains God. The image of God is not a two-legged, two fisted, upright being with a head upon its shoulders.
The image of God is not the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). Only man was created in the image of God. All animals have breath. All plants and animals have life. If the breath of life is the image of God, then reason says that all living, especially man and animals, have the image of God. That would border on pantheism, god is in all things. Once again, only man was created in the image of God. Man was uniquely in the image of God.
The image of God must be restored to man through Jesus Christ. If the image of God is present in all of mankind, would God send anybody to eternal damnation? Would this be a reason to believe in universal salvation? Everybody would have a little of God in them and therefore be saved in the end. Man without Christ today does not have the image of God!
The image of God must be: (1) Eternal life; (2) Freedom; and (3) Harmony. These are characteristics of God, but not all-conclusive. What God has revealed about himself, his characteristics, is in the Bible. Yet He remains indescribable. We know only in part.
True humanity was the First Adam before his disobedience. True humanity is the Second Adam who refused to disobey God, his Father, even when facing a cruel death on a cross. His victory over the power of sin restores true humanity to those who believe and follow him. This is the first step in discovering the real man and the real woman. The real man and the real woman have the image of God stamped upon them.
The second step in discovering sexual identity as real men and real women, true humanity, is to hear the voice of God speaking through his revelation to man, the Bible, and describing men and women with their shortcomings. First and Second Adam did not have shortcomings. What is lacking is needed to discover sexual identity. Harmony between man in the image of God and God makes it possible to know and be real men and women.
Those who believe and follow Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, are in the process of being restored to the image of God. Romans 8:29 says that they are being conformed unto the image of the his Son, Jesus Christ. Their struggles sometimes end in failures. However, upon confession of their sins they are forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. They are promised to be like Jesus when they arrive in heaven.
OBJECTIONS and OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
1. (Genesis 5:3) When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
This repeats similar language used to describe the original creation of man. Adam passed down to his son his likeness and his image. Did Adam pass down the same image he possessed when God created him? Adam passed to Seth, his son a fallen image of man. He passed to Seth, his sinful nature, not the image of God.
2. (Genesis 9:6) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; or in the image of God has God made man.
Adam was uniquely created in the image of God. As such, he is to be respected and protected. Man was not created to destroy his fellow man, shed the blood of another man. However, in his fallen estate Cain murdered his brother Abel. In his fallen estate, man sheds the blood of his fellow man, murders other men.
3. (I Corinthians 11:7) A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but a woman is the glory of man.
I and II Corinthians was written to the church in Corinth, the believers who are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Do people rebelling against God, glorify God? The church consists of a holy people, not perfect, but a people called out of the worldly way of living into a life that brings glory to God.
4. (I Corinthians 15:45-49) So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
Adam was a mud-sculpture before he became a living being. We bear his likeness. The last Adam, Jesus Christ came from heaven to be born of woman. Believers will bear the likeness of Jesus Christ.
5. (Colossians 3:9-10) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. This is the conversion of the old self and its practices. The sinful nature changes into a new self which is being transformed by the renewing of the mind into the image of its Creator.
6. (Hebrews 1:3) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
This states that the Son is the exact image of God both in his radiance and his glory.
7. (Hebrews 10:1) The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
The word “shadow” is sometimes translated as “image.” Was man created as a shadow, or image, of God? The law came after Adam’s disobedience. If fulfilled it would provide a “shadow” of what man was intended to be. Nobody was able to keep the whole law until Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, came. He is the only one who could, would, fulfill the law including every jot and tittle.
8. Did the saints of the Old Testament, such as those who are listed in Hebrews 11, have the image of God?
Yes, they did look forward to the coming of the Messiah, the promised Son of David. Today, believers look back to the coming of the Messiah described in the Gospels. Today believers have the presence of the Holy Spirit within them to transform them into the image of Christ, who was in the image of God. OT believers were being transformed by their faith and obedience to God.
Enoch and Noah were righteous men who were different from the status quo. Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph were different from the status quo because of the faith and obedience to God. Kings like David, Uzziah, Hezekiah, and Josiah were different because they did what was right in the eyes of God. Prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi didn’t preach and teach like the status quo because the relayed the word of the Lord. There were unusual people. There was Moses, Joshua, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah and many more. All these exhibited faith “yet none of them received what had been promised. God planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:39-40) All that they had was the promise. They had their eyes upon God and their faith in his promise. They lived accordingly.
Enoch walked with God. Noah and Job were righteous men, blameless among the people. Abraham heard the voice of God, left Haran, pleaded for the righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah, and laid his son on an alter as a sacrifice to the Lord. Isaac and Jacob believed the promise given to Abraham. Those who had the law that was given to Moses offered their sacrifices for transgressing the law, for their failure to be perfect according to the law. Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for their sins and our sins. He fulfilled the law to perfection and then died paying the penalty for mankind’s transgressions. Through him the image of God is restored.
How did the OT saints know to have faith in God and to obey Him? They were aware of the fall of Adam and Eve. Their fall was a failure to obey God. They also knew of God’s preference for the offering of Abel and the sin of Cain. From the line of Seth, Cain’s youngest brother, came descendants who obeyed God. Noah was from the line of Seth, and those who lived after the great flood. Obeying God when he revealed himself to them created an accumulation of God’s laws to live by.
The law of God projected into their minds the ideal man. The ideal man would obey all the law of God and trust God in all circumstances. However, they learned that they could not obey the law of God. The sin nature inherited from Adam and Eve made it impossible to be perfect. They had to wait until the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed for their sins.
The image of God present with the OT saints would be limited to their desire and success in obeying the law of God and trusting God in all circumstances. That may be the reason why all kings were compared to King David, a man after God’s own heart. In the minds of the Israelites he was the closest to the ideal man of anybody of that day.
Why don’t all people have the image of God according to their good works which are pleasing to God? It is probably safe to say that every person does something that is pleasing to God in the area of good works. However, nobody is capable of trusting and obeying God without failure. Furthermore, people who depend on their good works to please God are not trusting God, but rather are trusting their abilities and determination. Their faith in God is limited by their performance which is not perfect. Early in the OT the offering of a sacrifice to God came into vogue. Cain killed Abel because God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice. But, the first sacrifice was when God took the skins of an animal to clothe Adam and Eve as an act of love. The Bible is silent as to how Cain and Abel thought that a sacrifice to God would win his favor. Noah offered a sacrifice to God after departing from the ark. Abraham was familiar with the meaning of the sacrifice. Somehow these pre-Mosaic people realized that a sacrifice was necessary to win God’s pleasure. See the story of Noah’s sacrifice in Genesis 8:20-21.
They were also aware of God’s compassion. From the provision of skins for covering of Adam and Eve through God’s protection granted to Cain and the deliverance of Noah and his family during the flood. Their was growing evidence that God was full of mercy and compassion. They could have faith in him.
What can man do to be reconciled to God? A sacrifice seemed logical. If man could slay an animal without blemish, a prized possession, perhaps reconciliation would be achieved. The sacrifice was an admission of man’s shortcomings, his sin and ingratitude. It was like a confession of sin punctuated with the shedding of blood. The sacrifice resembled the seriousness of the confession. However, it became easy to make the outward appearance of confession by offering a sacrifice while remaining unrepentant in the heart, the inner self. Jesus Christ became man’s sacrifice for sin by his death on the cross.
People can do their good works but what sacrifice do the make for their shortcomings? Whom do the trust? Whom do they obey? The OT people believed the promises concerning the coming of Jesus Christ. What were Adam and Eve’s thoughts when God said to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heel?” The serpent would have offspring and the woman would have offspring. The offspring of the woman would crush the head of the serpent’s offspring but, the serpent’s offspring would also strike or bruise the heel of the woman’s offspring. Somehow the woman’s offspring would make the serpent’s offspring pay for what had happened in the Garden of Eden, but not without suffering caused by the serpent’s offspring. This finally makes sense during the last week of Christ’s life including his death on the cross. Christ was bruised, wounded by the offspring of the serpent, rebellious people. However, Christ crushed the head, or defeated the serpent’s offspring by his resurrection from the dead.
Abraham received the promise that his offspring would be as innumerable as the stars in the heavens. Abraham had two offspring–Ishmael, the results of his own efforts through his wife’s maidservant and, Isaac, according to the promise through Sarah, his wife. Nevertheless, Abraham believed the promise from God in Genesis 15:4-6; 16:1-4; and 21:1-7. The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:16 that the offspring of Abraham was Jesus Christ.
David received the promise that he would have offspring whose throne of his kingdom would be established forever and that his house and his kingdom would endure and be established forever before God in II Samuel 7:12-16. The people began looking for the descendant of David whose throne would be established forever. The longed for the promised Son of David because they believed the promise.
Other promises were received and proclaimed by the prophets pointing to a person who would be coming to rule the people of God forever. He would rule with mercy and justice.
People may practice good works, but fail to believe the promises. They do not have faith in God’s promises. They do not have faith in God.
The OT era is recognized by the people’s dependence upon the Law. Previous to the Law given to Moses, people accumulated a knowledge of “the Law of the Lord” through their experiences and those of the predecessors. The Law had the same effects as the Mosaic Law. It must be obeyed, which proved to be impossible since the Fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Hence, they learned that blood sacrifices were accepted by the Lord. God. All this was to no effect without faith.
Before Moses repeated the Law to the Israelites in Deuteronomy, he reminded them of the Lord God and all the great events they and their predecessors had witnessed. (Deuteronomy 4:32-39) He exhorted them to have faith in the Lord God who had intervened with mankind in this way. If there was no faith or fear in the Lawgiver, the Law could be disregarded. The first requirement in obeying the Law was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Failure to love the Lord your God, etc. and strive to obey the law would be idolatry. The Law would be greater than the Lawgiver. Likewise, for any who thought that they obeyed the law in its entirety, their works of obedience would be more important than the Lawgiver and become idolatry. They would have been guilty of breaking the first of the Ten Commandments: “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Law was impossible to obey. Therefore, the prophet Micah said, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Nothing is more humbling than standing justly accused of breaking the Law. So, act justly–obey the Law. Love mercy–you will need it. Walk humbly–you are guilty of breaking the Law. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” For the OT saints the reason for obeying the Law was the faith, love, respect, and fear that they had for the Lawgiver.
The faith, love, respect, and fear for God motivated the people to strive to obey the Law and to offer sacrifices in recognition of the failure, their sin. However, sacrifices could be offered which lacked significance. The offering of sacrifices also required faith, love, respect, and fear of God. It could not be done lightly without heartfelt repentance. King David wrote: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) The sacrifice could easily become just another chore to do and thereby become idolatry. The giver could boast in his works instead of the Lord God. It could be offered as an easy payment for the sin with no more effect than the practice of penance or it could be offered with a broken and contrite heart in the fear, respect, love and faith in God.
Faith was as necessary for the OT saint as it is for the believer in Jesus Christ today. When the Lord spoke to Noah, he had faith, love, respect, and fear for the Lord and built an ark according to the instructions he received from the Lord. Abraham heard the Lord speak , believed and acted accordingly. Likewise for all the saints listed in Hebrews 11 and all those unnamed saints whose acts of faith are given. This is a faith based on the testimony of others, as well as on personal experiences. This faith projected them into the future to act according to the unseen. The Apostle Paul says: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Yes, the OT saints could have had the image of God in them. However, their standard for the image of God would have been the ideal man who completely obeyed the Law as a result of his faith, love, respect and fear for God. Who was their ideal man? The closest to it may have been King David. However, King David was an adulterer and murderer. He did not completely obey the Law. He is described as a man after God’s own heart. His attitude towards God was one of humble submission even when he sinned. More accurately, their ideal man was the promised Son of David recognized in the NT as Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate in the form of man. It is Jesus, the Son of David, whom believers are being conformed to. He is the one who restores the image of God to man. In him we recognize the very image of God.
The OT saints had the image of God to the extent that they had faith in God, obeyed God, and believed the promises concerning the future Son of David who was to reign forever. They looked forward to Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith.
“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8; see also Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12 and Matthew 22:37) To this extent it could be said that OT saints revealed the image of God. However, all they had were the promises and the Law. They did not have God incarnate to recognize what the image of God would be. Their mission as a people of God was to tell the wonderful acts of God to their children and to the surrounding nations. Today, the wonderful acts of Jesus, the very image of God, are to be told to the children, neighbors and surrounding nations. It is difficult to recognize the image of God in the OT saints without first seeing the image of God in Jesus Christ.
I would like to say that OT saints had the image of God in them. But, according to the previous description of what is the image of God, it discourages that option. If the image of God is being restored to believers in Jesus Christ in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, then how could that image be found in people prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his death, and resurrection? Unless there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the conclusion must be that the OT saints did not have had the image of God being restored in them.
9. Does man having lost the image of God and now regaining it through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior change the significance of the Gospel?
Pascal is attributed this statement: “There is a god-shaped vacuum in every man which only God can fill.” That god-shaped vacuum could easily be the image of God which was lost when First Adam sinned. It is restored by the Second Adam. Jesus makes man complete. The curse of sin is vanquished. Now man can have freedom to obey God; have a harmonious relationship with God, his fellow man, and creation; and have eternal life in the presence of God.
10. The image of God is what makes mankind unique among all creation.
Certainly, it made Adam and Jesus Christ unique among all creation. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus was (is) the exact replica of God, in human form. Between Adam and Jesus Christ the complete man made in the image of God was lost.
Assuming that when Adam sinned the image of God was lost. What then would make mankind unique among creation?
(1) Man was a special creation of God. Man was made from what existed, from the dust of the earth he was formed. Then God gave him life. He blew into him the breath of life and man became a living being (soul). If that was how man became a living soul, it would stand to reason that all which had life also has a soul. God also formed out of the ground the beasts of the field and the birds of the air (Genesis 2:19). They also have the breath of life Man is not unique in the sense that he has life. He is unique because God made him to be different than monkeys, apes, gorillas, squirrels, pigs, sheep, etc.
(2) Man was ordained as ruler over all the living creatures on earth (Genesis 1:28). This was not lost when Adam sinned. However, it became more difficult. The living creatures became rebellious towards man.
(3) God communed with Adam and continues to do so throughout history (Genesis 2:16; 3:8-19). However, man’s communication with God became more difficult because of sin, although God could directly and indirectly speaks to man at any time. Mankind in his rebellion had difficulty in listening and heeding the message. God continues to be involved primarily with man while man deals with the rest of creation.
(4) Richard Deem wrote about the “image of God” with the title “Mankind
Created in the Image of God is Unique Among All Creatures of the Earth” found on the Evidence for God website. He actually dealt with the uniqueness of mankind among all the creatures of the earth. The uniqueness was due to the “image of God.” However, he never dealt with the theological implications when he linked uniqueness and the “image of God.” He listed seven categories which were unique to mankind: creativity; consciousness; personality; abstract thinking; body, soul, spirit; moral judgements; and social skills and learning. Each was confirmed with scientific evidence.
Mankind is unique among all the creatures of the earth. So are the elephants. That is why they are elephants and not mankind. Elephants exist in ways that man cannot. They are unique. The same can be said about every species. If they were not unique, the would blend with one of the other groupings. Which is to say, the uniqueness of man, monkeys, apes, gorillas, squirrels, pigs, sheep, etc. exists because that is the way God created them.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
ORIGIN OF EVIL
Why should anybody assume to resolve the problem of the origin of evil? Is the origin of evil a critical issue today? If it is a critical issue, then an attempt to find a reasonable explanation is in order.
It is an issue associated with the existence of God. Many reason that God created everything and so evil must have come from God. Why would God create evil to disrupt, corrupt, and destroy the happiness of man and the rest of creation? How could a God who is absolutely good justify creating evil? They conclude that they don’t want to believe in such a God. Therefore, how the origin of evil is understood becomes an obstacle to believing in the existence of God for a thinking person.
I never had an explanation for many years. I assumed that somehow evil came into existence in a manner that did not contradict the nature of the righteousness of God, or any of his other notable characteristics. Then I read this statement by Erich Sauer in The Dawn of World Redemption, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953, p. 49. “Man had not himself invented sin. His fall had not consisted in that he had acted from within, out of himself, purely by reason of inspiration completely his own, but in virtue of a temptation from without. Otherwise he would, of course, have become the self-originator of sin and thereby a devil.”
That statement generated the following explanation on:
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
God, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient, the Eternal (no beginning or end), the Compassionate, the Merciful created the angels surrounding his throne. It is the first revealed act of God. Following that He created the heavens, the earth, and all life upon the earth including man. Upon the angels and man God bestowed freewill. Freewill, or anything goes without boundaries, entitles angels and man to freedom, as well as, God.
God exercised freewill in all his acts of creation. Nothing could restrain him for He is all-powerful. Nothing could frustrate him for He is all-knowing. Nothing could flee from him for He is all-present. God’s creation reflects his characteristics to the level of fullness that He desired. Freewill suggests unrestrained creativity and choices. God did not create zombies or robots who could only respond to his directions. Freewill is not free if there are any restrictions. Angels and man had no restrictions upon their freewill except their dependency upon God for existence. The angelic beings and man received freewill similar to the freewill of God.
Suppose that God wanted to create himself again. He wanted a being equal in every way to himself. Would it be possible? No! Whatever He would created would be dependent upon him for its existence. God cannot re-created himself.
But, suppose Lucifer and the angels were created just like God except for their dependancy upon him for their existence, their beginning. God created them giving them a beginning. He also created them to live forever. Consequently, he created them like himself in that they have no end. In all their god-like qualities they draw near to being a replica of their Creator. However, they are forever indebted to God for giving them these characteristics.
God created a beautiful cherub who was blameless until wickedness was found in him, according to Ezekiel 28:11-19. He was also the “model of perfection, full of wisdom and beauty. Isaiah 14:12-23 calls this one who desired to become like the Most High the morning star and the son of the dawn. Both passages are understood as describing an earthly king and then going beyond that to an account of Lucifer’s, or Satan’s, creation and fall. When he rebelled, according to Revelations 12:7-9, some of the angels joined the mutiny. These created beings were exercising their God-given freewill by choosing to exalt themselves to the level of their creator, or higher. Lucifer was so near to being like God that he tried to usurp the throne of God thereby creating evil. When he made that choice, he recruited other angels to join him.
This may be more easily understood by reviewing the temptation and fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The tempter lured Adam and Eve to disobey God by promising that they would become “like God, knowing good and evil.” The beautiful fallen angel disguised as a serpent succeeded in getting created man to do the same thing he and his angels had previously tried. But, the created is never greater or equal to the creator. Not only had Lucifer tried to be greater or equal to God, his Creator, he succeeded in getting man to try the same thing. Becoming equal to God covers the temptations of mankind on earth. Every act contrary to God is a declaration that man knows better, or as much as God knows. Every act contrary to God exalts the perpetrator to challenge God’s sovereignty. Both angelic beings and man have the ability to chose loyalty to God or to usurp the throne of God.
When God moved, he acted according to his attributes and freely created the angels, the heavens, the earth and all life on earth. Did God exercise his freewill and create evil? What is evil?
Evil manifests itself in many ways i.e. murder, stealing, lying, disrespect, jealousy, envy, sexual immorality (adultery), hatred, strife, etc. These are the symptoms of evil in the world. God is good. Whatever is contrary to God’s goodness is evil. Evil is a contradiction to the attributes of God. Evil and good are mutually exclusive. However, God is all-powerful and uses good and evil to serve his purposes. Evil exists when God’s goodness is challenged. If God declared that it was good to eat strawberries, evil would say, “no, it is not!” Evil usurps God’s authority by opposing God.
Is evil the same as sin? Not exactly! There is the temptation to do evil, or is it a temptation to sin? Evil makes sinning possible, and sinning makes evil known. If evil did not exist, sinning would be unknown. However, sin is known and therefore evil is lurking in the shadows. Evil acts. Evil tempts. Evil takes on a mystical personification. Sin is sin. Sin doesn’t act, tempt or have an element of personification. Sin is the results. Sin is not shooting the arrow. It is missing the target. The target is missed because evil interfered with the shooter resulting in the sin. Where then and when did evil come into existence?
Creativity gave rise to evil. Not God’s creativity, but the creativity inherent in angels and man. The freewill granted to angels and man had the marks of Divine freewill, but was not the equivalent. Remember, that which is created is dependent upon its creator for its existence. That dependancy upon God by angels and man made their freewill less than the freewill of God.
Creativity is an exercise of freewill, the freedom of choice. God exercised these perfectly due to his attributes. Angels and man reflect the attributes of God but are dependent upon him for their existence. Therefore, they cannot fully realize the attributes of God. Although they have freedom of choice, they are limited in achieving whatever they choose. Likewise, their creativity is also limited. Lucifer created evil when he chose to usurp the throne of God. Then he poisoned mankind with it in the Garden of Eden.
Is God, who created angels and man with a freewill which they exercised creating evil, mean that God allowed evil.?
Freewill is free when those who exercise it are the only ones accountable for their deeds and choices. God is accountable for his choice in creation, but only accountable to himself. Adam did not want to be responsible for his choice. Eve did not want to be responsible for her choice. God held both accountable. The serpent, Satan, was also cursed for his deceit.
Satan and his angels tried to usurp the position of God, his throne, but did not succeed and neither did man. God held them accountable for their choices. Satan’s troupe was cast out of heaven and man was cast out of the Garden of Eden. Satan was humiliated before kings on earth–“Here is what happens to those who become proud ant strive to become equal to me.” Likewise, Adam and Eve were cast out, barred from returning to the Garden of Eden, and put under a curse as husbandman of the earth and as the companion for man and the mother of his sons and daughters. Furthermore, Satan and his followers, both angelic and human, face the ultimate destiny of the “lake of burning sulphur, the lake of fire,” according to Revelation 20:10,14-15.
However, there is a difference between angels and man. Although angels were given freewill, their fate is sealed. Angels loyal to God will remain in his presence through eternity. Those who rebel against God are cast out of his presence. The wrong choice seals their fate. They were created without fault, but when one rebelled, as did Satan, there is, was no turning back.
Adam and Eve were also created without sin. However, one man’s sin, Adam’s, afflicted all progeny and future generations of man. Descendants of Adam and Eve are all born with a rebellious, sinful nature.
God created a host of angels who could not reproduce. He denied them the opportunity to repent of a wrong choice. He created one man, Adam, and from his side (rib) he created one woman, Eve. They were told to multiply. However, their wrong choice contaminated their children and all future generations of man. Unlike, the angelic hosts, the generations of peoples who descended from Adam and Eve have been given the possibility of redemption.
Satan exercised his freewill and created evil. He carried that rebellion to earth, tempted Adam, and succeeded to get him to also rebel against God. For Satan and his angelic followers there is no possible salvation. For Adam and his descendants there is the possibility of redemption.
It is an issue associated with the existence of God. Many reason that God created everything and so evil must have come from God. Why would God create evil to disrupt, corrupt, and destroy the happiness of man and the rest of creation? How could a God who is absolutely good justify creating evil? They conclude that they don’t want to believe in such a God. Therefore, how the origin of evil is understood becomes an obstacle to believing in the existence of God for a thinking person.
I never had an explanation for many years. I assumed that somehow evil came into existence in a manner that did not contradict the nature of the righteousness of God, or any of his other notable characteristics. Then I read this statement by Erich Sauer in The Dawn of World Redemption, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953, p. 49. “Man had not himself invented sin. His fall had not consisted in that he had acted from within, out of himself, purely by reason of inspiration completely his own, but in virtue of a temptation from without. Otherwise he would, of course, have become the self-originator of sin and thereby a devil.”
That statement generated the following explanation on:
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
God, the Omnipotent, the Omnipresent, the Omniscient, the Eternal (no beginning or end), the Compassionate, the Merciful created the angels surrounding his throne. It is the first revealed act of God. Following that He created the heavens, the earth, and all life upon the earth including man. Upon the angels and man God bestowed freewill. Freewill, or anything goes without boundaries, entitles angels and man to freedom, as well as, God.
God exercised freewill in all his acts of creation. Nothing could restrain him for He is all-powerful. Nothing could frustrate him for He is all-knowing. Nothing could flee from him for He is all-present. God’s creation reflects his characteristics to the level of fullness that He desired. Freewill suggests unrestrained creativity and choices. God did not create zombies or robots who could only respond to his directions. Freewill is not free if there are any restrictions. Angels and man had no restrictions upon their freewill except their dependency upon God for existence. The angelic beings and man received freewill similar to the freewill of God.
Suppose that God wanted to create himself again. He wanted a being equal in every way to himself. Would it be possible? No! Whatever He would created would be dependent upon him for its existence. God cannot re-created himself.
But, suppose Lucifer and the angels were created just like God except for their dependancy upon him for their existence, their beginning. God created them giving them a beginning. He also created them to live forever. Consequently, he created them like himself in that they have no end. In all their god-like qualities they draw near to being a replica of their Creator. However, they are forever indebted to God for giving them these characteristics.
God created a beautiful cherub who was blameless until wickedness was found in him, according to Ezekiel 28:11-19. He was also the “model of perfection, full of wisdom and beauty. Isaiah 14:12-23 calls this one who desired to become like the Most High the morning star and the son of the dawn. Both passages are understood as describing an earthly king and then going beyond that to an account of Lucifer’s, or Satan’s, creation and fall. When he rebelled, according to Revelations 12:7-9, some of the angels joined the mutiny. These created beings were exercising their God-given freewill by choosing to exalt themselves to the level of their creator, or higher. Lucifer was so near to being like God that he tried to usurp the throne of God thereby creating evil. When he made that choice, he recruited other angels to join him.
This may be more easily understood by reviewing the temptation and fall of man in the Garden of Eden. The tempter lured Adam and Eve to disobey God by promising that they would become “like God, knowing good and evil.” The beautiful fallen angel disguised as a serpent succeeded in getting created man to do the same thing he and his angels had previously tried. But, the created is never greater or equal to the creator. Not only had Lucifer tried to be greater or equal to God, his Creator, he succeeded in getting man to try the same thing. Becoming equal to God covers the temptations of mankind on earth. Every act contrary to God is a declaration that man knows better, or as much as God knows. Every act contrary to God exalts the perpetrator to challenge God’s sovereignty. Both angelic beings and man have the ability to chose loyalty to God or to usurp the throne of God.
When God moved, he acted according to his attributes and freely created the angels, the heavens, the earth and all life on earth. Did God exercise his freewill and create evil? What is evil?
Evil manifests itself in many ways i.e. murder, stealing, lying, disrespect, jealousy, envy, sexual immorality (adultery), hatred, strife, etc. These are the symptoms of evil in the world. God is good. Whatever is contrary to God’s goodness is evil. Evil is a contradiction to the attributes of God. Evil and good are mutually exclusive. However, God is all-powerful and uses good and evil to serve his purposes. Evil exists when God’s goodness is challenged. If God declared that it was good to eat strawberries, evil would say, “no, it is not!” Evil usurps God’s authority by opposing God.
Is evil the same as sin? Not exactly! There is the temptation to do evil, or is it a temptation to sin? Evil makes sinning possible, and sinning makes evil known. If evil did not exist, sinning would be unknown. However, sin is known and therefore evil is lurking in the shadows. Evil acts. Evil tempts. Evil takes on a mystical personification. Sin is sin. Sin doesn’t act, tempt or have an element of personification. Sin is the results. Sin is not shooting the arrow. It is missing the target. The target is missed because evil interfered with the shooter resulting in the sin. Where then and when did evil come into existence?
Creativity gave rise to evil. Not God’s creativity, but the creativity inherent in angels and man. The freewill granted to angels and man had the marks of Divine freewill, but was not the equivalent. Remember, that which is created is dependent upon its creator for its existence. That dependancy upon God by angels and man made their freewill less than the freewill of God.
Creativity is an exercise of freewill, the freedom of choice. God exercised these perfectly due to his attributes. Angels and man reflect the attributes of God but are dependent upon him for their existence. Therefore, they cannot fully realize the attributes of God. Although they have freedom of choice, they are limited in achieving whatever they choose. Likewise, their creativity is also limited. Lucifer created evil when he chose to usurp the throne of God. Then he poisoned mankind with it in the Garden of Eden.
Is God, who created angels and man with a freewill which they exercised creating evil, mean that God allowed evil.?
Freewill is free when those who exercise it are the only ones accountable for their deeds and choices. God is accountable for his choice in creation, but only accountable to himself. Adam did not want to be responsible for his choice. Eve did not want to be responsible for her choice. God held both accountable. The serpent, Satan, was also cursed for his deceit.
Satan and his angels tried to usurp the position of God, his throne, but did not succeed and neither did man. God held them accountable for their choices. Satan’s troupe was cast out of heaven and man was cast out of the Garden of Eden. Satan was humiliated before kings on earth–“Here is what happens to those who become proud ant strive to become equal to me.” Likewise, Adam and Eve were cast out, barred from returning to the Garden of Eden, and put under a curse as husbandman of the earth and as the companion for man and the mother of his sons and daughters. Furthermore, Satan and his followers, both angelic and human, face the ultimate destiny of the “lake of burning sulphur, the lake of fire,” according to Revelation 20:10,14-15.
However, there is a difference between angels and man. Although angels were given freewill, their fate is sealed. Angels loyal to God will remain in his presence through eternity. Those who rebel against God are cast out of his presence. The wrong choice seals their fate. They were created without fault, but when one rebelled, as did Satan, there is, was no turning back.
Adam and Eve were also created without sin. However, one man’s sin, Adam’s, afflicted all progeny and future generations of man. Descendants of Adam and Eve are all born with a rebellious, sinful nature.
God created a host of angels who could not reproduce. He denied them the opportunity to repent of a wrong choice. He created one man, Adam, and from his side (rib) he created one woman, Eve. They were told to multiply. However, their wrong choice contaminated their children and all future generations of man. Unlike, the angelic hosts, the generations of peoples who descended from Adam and Eve have been given the possibility of redemption.
Satan exercised his freewill and created evil. He carried that rebellion to earth, tempted Adam, and succeeded to get him to also rebel against God. For Satan and his angelic followers there is no possible salvation. For Adam and his descendants there is the possibility of redemption.
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