Genesis 3:2-6
“The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’
“The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Emphasis added.)
Genesis reveals the Serpent’s ploy for destroying God’s human image and likeness. He gets us to doubt, question and disobey God’s Word. The Word is Creation’s ‘Head,’ or Life Source, but demonic lies ‘decapitate’ us by causing us to suspect and question God’s motives toward us, and His willingness and ability to fulfill His promises. So the real issue, as God sees it, is the conflict between the Truth of His Word, and the lies the Serpent foists upon us to deceive and deprive us of that Truth. This is what Genesis means by the conflict between ‘Light and Darkness.
And so, just as it happened with the first two humans, we who are their Sin-corrupted, deeply disfigured and mortally wounded descendants, also have a natural tendency to assume that God is not being entirely honest with us…that He doesn’t really love or like us, nor does He have our best interests at heart. Furthermore, we tend to seriously doubt that He is as powerful and capable as He claims to be. So we feel justified and rightfully compelled to ignore, disregard, reject and disobey the Word He sent to us.
Thus did the Serpent befog Eve’s mind with doubt and mistrust against God. Then he got her to take the next step…to ignore and disobey the Authority of His living Word. So our first parents were led to believe that they could have ‘better ideas’ that would enable them to pursue ‘alternate routes’ to success and well being. But what they actually did was to surrender the Authority over the Earth that God’s Word had entrusted to them. Adam gave it over to the Serpent, under whose influence they placed themselves. And so, after they decided to believe and obey the Serpent, instead of God’s Word, Sin dragged them and the Earth, over which they had lost their authority, under his malevolent, destructive domination.
As long as we abide in the state of mistrust of and opposition to, God’s Word, we see ourselves as autonomous, independent agents. So we develop ‘minds of our own’ and begin to rely on our limited perceptions of Reality in hopes of rearranging the world to which our fall into Sin has done so much damage. And so instead of being led by God’s Word, we’re driven by our delusion-based opinions and desires. That’s how we become the image and likeness of the Serpent. But to operate at that level is to fall far below the original standard and truth concerning Humanity and what we were actually created to be and do. We were made to reflect God, not to rely on our own hunches, perceptions, feelings and opinions. We are not the true primary and ultimate source of truth and direction. God’s Word is the true Source and Authority.
When we ignore and disobey God’s Word, we become ‘Humanists,’ worshippers of ‘Man.’ We believe that human intellect and wit are the true, ultimate measuring devices of all things. And we reserve to ourselves the right to direct and manage our lives and judge for ourselves, what is true and false and ‘good’ and ‘bad.’
Nevertheless, God is Perfect and His Perfect Word will stand forever. His Word became flesh so that He could serve as The Standard of True Humanity, against which God will judge every other human being. We will be judged by whether or not we have repented of our rebellion against God’s Word, and whether or not we have realigned ourselves with the Word, who became one of us to serve as our Covenant Representative. He is the only Human in whom the Father is well pleased and perfectly satisfied:
Matthew 17:1-8
“…Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, ‘This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!’
“When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, ‘Get up, and do not be afraid.’ And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.”
2 Corinthians 11:12-14
“But what I (Paul) am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (Amplification and emphasis added.)
Isaiah 5:20-24
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!
“Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the Law (the revelation given in the Torah) of the Lord of Hosts and despised the (living and written) Word of the Holy One of Israel.” (Amplification and emphasis added.)
The Legacy of the Fall Is at Work Today
If you were to randomly interview 100 people on a busy street corner and ask them to describe their relationship (if they have any) with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, how many different viewpoints do you think you’d encounter? You would see that most people assume that it is up to them to decide for themselves whether or not they will have a relationship with God and what the extent and conditions and limits of that relationship are to be. In this era, that attitude is considered to be ‘normal.’ It is standard human ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ to be like that. And whatever tries to prevent us from acting as the measure of all things is considered to be grossly intolerant, controlling, evil and offensive.
But only people who ignore or reject the real, true, Living God entertain such assumptions. They do it out of ignorance. They’re like people who have never personally experienced a hurricane, earthquake or tornado. So their ignorance causes them to believe that such things do not exist! And because they have not yet been pierced, penetrated and impregnated by the lightning bolt revelation of God’s Life and Light, their delusive beliefs keep them trapped in the coils of the Serpent.
And that is the mentality, attitude and lifestyle that fallen flesh calls ‘My Life.’ But according to God’s revelation, that is not life; it is actually living death! It is a state of decapitation from our Life Source, and not true life at all. And that delusion is what the Cross of Yeshua, our Covenant Representative, must execute and destroy in us before we can be saved, redeemed and restored to our image and likeness of God destiny. Scripture reveals that a demonic spirit of rebellion and radical independence from God is what causes us to be ‘naked’ before our Creator. That is why the Blood of God’s Eternal Lamb must expose and overcome that spirit, and cover and atone for our nakedness with His Righteousness! This is revealed through the representation of the blood of the sacrificial animals prescribed by God in Scripture. The sacrifices of those innocent, Sin-less lives prophetically reveal God’s living Word and what He was sent to be and to do on our behalf! He is ‘The Eternal Lamb’ who was slain on our behalf, before the foundation of the world. And it is Salvation to us when we embrace Him as our Eternal Blood Covenant Representative and Redeemer!
So the Word of God led Israel out of Egypt and into the Wilderness of Transition, to reveal Himself to them. And the children of Israel were in for the mother of all boot camps! God had to give them training and revelation that were absolutely shocking and jarring so that they could undergo a desperately needed shift in reality and in their perceptions and thinking:
Exodus 13:1-16
“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Sanctify (reserve and set apart) to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.’
“Moses said to the people, ‘Remember (take to heart seriously and preserve the significance of) this day in which you went out from Egypt, from the house of slavery; for by a powerful hand the Lord brought you out from this place. And nothing leavened shall be eaten. On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. It shall be when the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, that you shall observe this rite in this month.
“For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread (signifying perfect Righteousness and freedom from Sin’s radical independence from God), and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders. You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt (because you belong exclusively to Him). Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year.
“Now when the Lord (who is your absolute Lord, Master and Owner) brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, you shall devote to the Lord the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the Lord. But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the Lord killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” (Amplification and emphasis added.)
Now the revelation of God’s ‘Firstborn’ emerges again. We’ve seen that in the Biblical, Hebraic mentality and culture, the firstborn is responsible for seeing to it that the ways and commands of the Father (God) are proclaimed, protected and observed by the rest of the Family. The firstborn demonstrates the Father’s ways and His will through the example of his own life. In this way, the Father’s ways are passed on to the siblings. And they have something to grow up into, the Standard set by the Father and the level of growth and maturity and responsibility that will fulfill the Family’s purpose and maintain the Truth, Reality and Value that it is to embody.
Israel is the ‘firstborn nation or family’ in relation to all other nations or families of the earth. Regardless of what sort of response Israel gives to God’s Word, she will serve as a positive or negative model and object lesson for the rest of mankind. But ultimately…God’s living Word, who became one of us to serve as our Covenant Representative…He is our True Teacher. He is the True Israel and the Message and the Instructor who will live out and fulfill God’s Plan to remake and restore His Father’s Creation to Perfection. And He will do it in the name of those who are His. In His Perfect Humanity, He serves as their Eternal Covenant Representative and High Priest before Almighty God. And whoever embraces and follows Him on those terms, will be included in His Ultimate Triumph and Glory.
So the Word made flesh is ‘The True Firstborn’ of God. He represents every other human in existence and sees to it that our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom and Household and Interests are maintained, protected, proclaimed and reinstated over all of Creation. And it is His image and likeness that we were intended and created to be:
Romans 8:28-30
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be The Firstborn among many brethren; and these (true disciples of His Word) whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified (restored fully).” (Amplification and emphasis added.)
Colossians 1:15-18
“He is the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all Creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also Head of the Body, the Church; and He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, so that He (the living Word of God) Himself will come to have First Place in Everything.” (Emphasis added.)
Being Truly Human
So God reveals in Genesis and Exodus, that although we are used to assuming that we are captains of our own souls and controllers and architects of our own destiny…in Reality, we are utterly bankrupt and helpless in ourselves. Nothing we think we can be or do or have, could possibly originate with us. We are pure creatures by essence. Everything about us is a gift that comes to us from the one and only true, living Creator of all things. This is authentic Truth and Reality! True Humanity cannot be known or defined in itself, independently of God. We’re made to be His image and likeness! So we can’t have true knowledge or understanding of what we are or what we’re made to do, unless we know Almighty God! So the real issue is not about which of us is God…nor is it about whether God or we have the authority over us. The issue is: are we going to be truly human, or not? Will we agree to be what we really are, or not? This underlies what the Word of God made flesh was reiterating to His New Covenant disciples when He said these words:
John 15:4-6
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am The Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING! If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” (Emphasis added.)
This basic fact is not up for discussion or argument. Just as there’s no such thing as a branch that can be independent of and live apart from its vine, so is there no such thing as a radically independent human! But that is exactly the delusion that the Serpent has hypnotized the fallen children of Adam to believe. The fallen world system is so convinced that the Serpent’s lies are true, that they whip themselves into a frenzy trying to make the lies work and existence without the Life of God’s Word working in and through us, to succeed. But the result of that kind of striving is inhumanity. And it always brings with it destruction and desolate frustration.
So, until the world is truly penetrated by delusion destroying, life-transforming revelation of God through His living Word, men will be blind to the truth about themselves. They will continue to wallow in demonic delusion and maintain their pantheon of false gods. Nevertheless, there is only one real God and true Source of life. And He sent His Word to reveal Himself so that His absolute Authority over all of Creation can be re-established. The Fullness of the Restoration we’ve been discussing will most certainly take place in God’s good time. All Creation will be brought back under His Authority and Dominion. Yeshua’s Kingship will be fully restored and established forever. And nothing that dares to stand in His way has a chance of prevailing. The inevitability of this Truth coming to pass is like an enormous glacier… moving relentlessly in Creation’s direction. Nothing standing before it even comes close to being big or strong or independent enough to stop its inevitable advance.
Isaiah 9:6-7
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His Name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His Government or of Peace on the throne of David and over his Kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this!” (Emphasis added.)
This is the heart, the true essence, of mankind’s relationship with the Creator of all things. He owns us totally. Without Him, we wouldn’t even exist, much less be able to do or have anything! This is what the Bible goes to great length to reveal and emphasize. The eternal Salvation of Humanity depends on whether or not men and women get this right. There is no debate. This is Eternal Truth. To argue against Eternal Truth is utter futility. God is warning us that this is how it will be when we enter eternity. Our Messiah will be King of kings and Lord of lords, whether we or anyone else that He has created, likes it or not.
To reveal all of this, God chose Israel to serve as His instrument and role model for all the rest. That’s why He led them out of Egypt. They had to learn all about God’s Reality and Authority first, so that later, God could reveal Himself and teach His ways to the rest of the human race, through them. So God began to establish His Word’s Dominion over them, to drive home to the world, the truth of these unchangeable, inescapable facts:
The living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one and only God. He alone is absolute Lord, Master, Owner and Provider of all Creation. There is no other like Him; nor will any other ever take His place. All worship, authority and obedience belong to Him alone.
God began to establish this Reality and Truth in fallen human minds and lives from the beginning. This is revealed in Genesis. And He continued to bring this revelation forward in Exodus, and throughout every other book of the Bible and every era of human history. So the life of every human being in existence will, in the end, prove that everything revealed and commanded by the Word of God is true and will be fulfilled.
This is the issue that will play itself out, as Israel follows God’s Word out of Egypt. The Israelites, like all the rest of us, had much to learn. And though the lesson was simple and clear and unmistakable, most of that first generation failed to learn it. And most of their succeeding generations failed to learn it…and most of the world has failed to learn it. But God and His Perfection and His Truth and Reality will never change!
So, through Israel, God is revealing to the rest of the world what Sin has done to us all and what it has made of our fallen, Sin-corrupted human hearts. It exposes the fact that we are, by nature, configured by Sin to be selfish self-centered, unbelieving, rebellious, disobedient, obsessed with having control. Thus we are innately manipulative and predatory in our priorities and direction. And because in our world, it is every man for himself, we as a race fight against each other and are therefore incurably self-destructive. We are the living dead human race that in its natural innate state abides in Death; and everything fallen man tries to do to exalt and enhance himself, has the smell of Death to it. None of this is a surprise to God. But, because of our profound state of hypnotic delusion, when the lies of the Serpent are brought into the Light and exposed and discredited…it proves to be a tremendous, shocking surprise to us:
Isaiah 6:1-5
“In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,
‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His Glory.’
“And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Emphasis added.)
Acts 9:1-9
Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
Lies Exposed, Truth Revealed
Can you see how shocking and tumultuous and life destroying the revelation of this Truth has to be for any fallen child of Adam? And when the Truth finally does get through and pierces and reconfigures all that is going on in our innermost being, it blows away the fog that conceals our delusions and false assumptions. It exposes and destroys the lies and false identities and deluded priorities and agendas we were so sure about in the past. Suddenly, everything in our conscious awareness is struck by lightning, and our ‘life’ as we knew it and thought it to be, dies. Then… something brand new begins to emerge and develop in its place: Light and Eternal Life replace our former Darkness and Death! But now, it is not our life that abides and works within us; it is the Life of Another…living and operating from deep within. And because of that, we will never be the same.
Philippians 1:20-21
“…According to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!”
This is the ‘lightning bolt’ of revelation that hit Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses. And God is intent on seeing to it that it hits all of the generations of Israel…and the generations of every other family and nation in existence…while there is still time for it to happen. When the time for reconciliation and salvation is over, God will judge all men and they will be forced to abide forever in the Light or Darkness they have chosen for themselves.
Revelation 3:15-22
‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me Gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
God’s living Word said the words above to people who called themselves ‘Christians’ in the days when Yeshua’s apostles were dying out. The issue in the first and second centuries was exactly the same as the issue over which God contended with the first generation of Israel’s Exodus. It is always the same, always about Darkness vs. Light; Death vs. Life; Destruction vs. Salvation, Flesh vs. Spirit and the lies of the Serpent vs. the eternal Truth of the Word of the living God.
Deuteronomy 5:1-3
“Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers (alone), but (also) with us, with all those of us alive here today!” (Amplification and emphasis added.)
Joshua 24:15
If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the (false pagan) gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Amplification added.)
Matthew 12:35-37
“The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
This is the issue over which Israel and the rest of the world continually struggle. We do as Jacob tried to do; we ‘wrestle’ with and try to contend against the inevitability of God’s absolute Authority and Supremacy. We pit our rebellious wills against His eternally Perfect Righteousness and Wisdom. Every generation of fallen Adamic flesh goes through the same struggle. So in that sense, the many (all of us) are called to become one with God. And the few, comparatively speaking, that respond to God on His terms, will be chosen and allowed to enter into God’s Presence to enjoy the full Restoration of the true, image and likeness of God’s risen, glorified Word.
Hebrews 2:9-13
“But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, ‘I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.’ And again, ‘I will put My trust in Him.’ And again, ‘Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.’
God’s Eternal Covenant Is Corporate, Not Individualistic
Many people truly desire to be ‘right with God.’ But in their self-centeredness, they create a ‘world’ of their own imagining that is completely at odds with the Reality of Almighty God. Thus, as a result of the lies they believe, they accept and live out the part of insecure orphans. They obsess over whether or not God truly loves and ‘likes’ them. By doing that they bring His Perfect Credibility, Loyalty and Integrity into question. But God’s actual, Word-centered view of Reality is vastly different than the self-centered view we tend to create for ourselves. The doubts and questions of these self-centered, individualistic people cannot be addressed and answered precisely and authentically as long as they remain uninformed and disconnected from God and His ways.
The question is never about God’s love for us as individuals! Even in our fallen, Sin-corrupted, ‘decapitated’ state, even when we remain His bitter enemies, God’s Love and Loyalty and Tender Mercies for each and every one of us are everlasting! In His Perfect Love He never changes! That’s never the real problem. The true problem is that we were made to be living members of the Body of His Son. He is to be our Head and our Life Source. We were made to be corporate…one with our Head, and one with each of His other members! But Sin has sliced and diced and scattered us in all directions. So the real problem is that in our natural, fallen Sin-corrupted state, we’re not truly ‘human’ according to what our Creator originally intended. As long as we remain decapitated and remain apart from our Head, He can’t share His Eternal Life with us and we can’t embody His Perfect Love-Nature, and Character and Righteousness. Instead, we operate as the Serpent’s image and likeness!
So this is a corporate Family matter. The Family has been scattered and its ability to fulfill its purpose has been destroyed. God has done everything necessary, everything possible, short of taking away the free will He gave us, to enable us to repent of our radically independent disobedience to His Word. He sent His Word to pour Himself out entirely for our sake in order to redeem and restore us, because that is what was required for us to be restored corporately, entirely. Before God’s Perfection can be at peace with us, our radically independent individualism and selfishness must die…so that the Perfect Selfless Life and Love of God can make us one with Him once more. And that is how much God loves and values us individually.
If we were ‘okay’ just as we are, and totally acceptable by God’s Perfect Standards, He would not have had to endure such agony to save us. But He did have to go to such depths to draw us back to Himself. So there’s never any question about how much God values and treasures us, even while we’re in our fallen state. If we didn’t mean that much to Him, He wouldn’t have bothered with us. He would have abandoned us to our fate. But instead, through His living Word, God poured Himself out to last drop of His atoning Blood for our sake. That’s what it took to satisfy His Perfect Justice and Standard of Righteousness, perfectly. And that is what He has done.
The Real Issue
So the issue is not whether or not God loves and likes us; the issue is whether or not we are going to be truly human or not. Will we allow God to align us with the Truth of His Word, or not? God is Perfect; so He will never allow the damage and destruction the Serpent has caused to ruin the Integrity, Wisdom and Perfection of His Creation. God is intent on fully restoring Creation, including us. He is remaking it and restoring it on every level. In the end, everything will be the image and likeness of God…Eternally Perfect!
So the real issue is…will we allow the God who eternally loves and likes us, to free us from the Serpent’s lying delusions, or will we choose to continue to believe the Serpent’s lies and side with him in the Darkness of his rebellion and opposition against the Word of God? If we choose to remain with the Serpent, we choose to reject our Salvation and Restoration. But if we choose to repent and leave the Serpent and the fallen world system he dominates and controls, then we are heeding our Father’s call to ‘come Home’ to be with Him and enjoy His eternal Lovingkindness. That is the issue. God’s Creation does not revolve around us; it revolves around His Son! And the sooner we too become as Messiah-centered as our Heavenly Father is, the sooner we will truly be His image and likeness:
Hebrews 2:9-18
“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” (Emphasis added.)
John 17:21-26
“…That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which and You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Will we allow Almighty God to give Himself to us as much as He has His heart set on doing? Or will we choose to settle for much less?