This is the third and last in this series tagged ' The Original Design'. We have seen the equality, mutuality and purpose of mankind [i.e. Adam - male and female] in God's ordinance and institution called Marriage. We have also seen how the institution got corrupted. Amongst everything else, they went from 'assured and secure':
" Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." Genesis 2:25,
To 'ashamed and defensive':
"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves." Genesis 3:7
The sin-problem they introduced came not from the Tree they ate from in Genesis 3:6 but from their disobedience to God's word. God had said:
“...You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16 -17
As I have stated in my other teachings, we know the tree was not harmful because as recorded in Genesis 1:31,
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. …"
The adversary (in the form of a serpent) did not tell an outright lie when he said to the woman (Eve):
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Rather he deceived the woman and tempted her to eat off the tree by playing on her ignorance and naivety. She did not understand the human (her) composition and the centrality of God's word to their(her) survival.
You see, everything that God (YHWH) created was created and given the ability to be living, i.e. alive, by the life-essence contained in God's speech which is carried by his breath.
"God made all things through the Word. God did not make anything without him. It is the Word who caused everything to live. …" John 1:3 -4a EASY
Adam (Mankind) varied from all other earth creatures because his essence/soul/spirit came directly from this word-carried-in-the-breath of YHWH.
"Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 NIV
Therefore, while the body (flesh i.e. outer man) depends on nourishment from products of the earth, the inner Man (i.e. soul/spirit) depends on a union with the word of God to thrive.
Jesus Christ at his temptation (by the same adversary who tempted Eve) thousands of years later, affirmed this Truth:
“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’Matthew 4:4
This was the very same lesson God had been trying to teach Adam (the human) by the instruction not to eat from the tree in the garden.
" but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
And it is the same principle he was training the ancient Israelites to grasp:
"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." Deuteronomy 8:3
A lie can be defined as the opposite of the truth. But deception is not the opposite of Truth. It is the twisting or rearrangement of Truth to facilitate an alternative to Truth's aim. Eve was deceived to think YHWH was keeping something good from them, but rather, YHWH was training them to understand and function in their design. The thriving of the Marriage institution depended on his instruction (word). The order and cycle of life depend on his word. The human spirit lives on his word. Till mankind understood and freely trusted this design, they could never truly be the heirs of ALL creation as he made them be.
Adam's disobedience led to him losing authority. A restructuring was required. 'Order' by law and consequence (punishment) was instituted in Genesis 3:19 and by Moses in Exodus.
But God's perfect solution was on the way:
"The Word became a man. He lived among us. We saw his great glory. He has the glory of the Father's one true Son. He is full of God's grace and truth." John 1:14 EASY
God's solution is a new type of Human who did not just have his life essence from God's word but was that word itself. This new human would take the place of the very first Adam (i.e. the human- male and female) and serve that punishment to its maximum. This would permit God as a Just God to declare the human race free from their guilt.
So, since the payment for their sin was to be death, The Word who is now human (i.e. Jesus the Saviour) would have to die in every way. And so he did.
"After Yeshua (Jesus) had taken the wine, he said, “It is accomplished!” And, letting his head droop, he delivered up his spirit." Jesus in John 19:30 CJB
His body died, his spirit died and therefore his soul died and all went to hell. [Matthew 10:28, Acts 2:31-32, Revelation 1:18]. Since the payment had been made, Hell and Death couldn't hold him any longer. So he rose from the dead with a new life straight from a delighted YHWH! God's rescue plan had worked.
"But after his death, God caused him to become alive again. God saved Jesus from the power of death. It was impossible for death to keep hold of him." Apostle Peter in Acts 2:24 EASY
This freedom and new life is now offered to the offspring of the original Adam [mankind] by YHWH.
"[L For; Because] The ·payment [wages] for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of ·life forever [eternal life] in Christ Jesus our Lord." Paul in Romans 6:23 EXB
Jesus, therefore, is the start of a new type of mankind: Those who trace their lineage not by fleshly confines but by the lineage of trust in the New Adam - i.e. the word of God who became human - Jesus our Savour.
"But some people did accept him. They believed in him, and he gave them the right to become children of God. They became God’s children, but not in the way babies are usually born. It was not because of any human desire or plan. They were born from God himself." John in John 1:12-13
That is why the Apostle Paul said :
" So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
Since we are not to regard anyone from the old Adamic(creation) point of view, life is redefined and the Marriage institution is rebooted. But both still derive their sustenance from the word of God - i.e. Jesus Christ.
"Christ died for all so that those who live would ·not continue to [no longer] live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised from the dead." 2 Corinthians 5:15
"God did not send his Son into the world because he wanted to punish people. He sent his Son to save the people in the world from punishment."John 3:17 EASY
"John [the baptister] told people about the Word. He shouted, ‘This is the man that I told you about. He comes after me. But he is greater than I am. He was already there before I was born.’ The Word is full of everything that we need. We have all received one good thing after another good thing. God gave his Law to us through Moses. But Jesus Christ brought God's grace and his truth to us. Nobody has ever seen God. But God's only Son has shown God to us. He is very near to the Father, and he himself is God." John 1:15 -18 ERV
" But remember this: we all belong to the Lord. Men and women need to help one another. They can not remain separate. It is true that God used part of the man to make the first woman. But it is also true that women give birth to men. Remember that all things come from God himself." 1 Corinthians 11:11-12 EASY
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