Gods Unending Love

Part Two

 

In part one; we learned that God loved all that He had created. (Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31) God had created the perfect universe meant to last for eternity. He placed His crowning creation, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and with one restriction gave them authority to maintain and manage all that He had created. (And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:16-17)

 

  • John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
  • Revelation 19:11-14 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.
  • John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
  1. God breathed the breath of life into mankind at the time of his creation.
  • Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. [Since mankind did not die physically it is obvious that he died spiritually.]
  • For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James 2:26

 

In one rebellious disobedient act Adam and Eve brought judgment by God and separation from God upon all of His perfect creation. (Genesis 3:1-24)

 

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

 

Through their sinful act Adam and Eve forfeited the presence of the Spirit of God in their body but God mercifully preserved the likeness of their Body to be handed down to those who would someday, by God's redemptive gift, welcome the Spirit into their heart.

  • John 14:17 "even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

22-24a. So he drove out (garash) the man. This was a necessary and merciful act. The Lord could not allow rebellious man access to the tree of life. With loving care he kept Adam and Eve away from the fruit that would make them immortal and thus perpetuate the terrible condition into which sin had brought them. From the lovely garden he drove them out into an unfriendly wilderness.

  • NOTE: God has not stopped loving the Spirit filled world that He created. Because of mans sin He is now forced to deal with the people He created in such a way that will provide them an opportunity to be redeemed and restored their original relationship with Himself.

 

24b. Cherubims and a flaming sword. The Hebrew interpreter, Rashi, claimed that these instruments were "angels of destruction," designed to destroy anyone who sought entrance. Hebrew kerubim indicates divinely formed figures that serve as bearers of the deity or as special guardians of sacred things. In one instance they are shown upholding the throne on which God sits. In another, they are used to describe the dread inapproachability of Jehovah. In general, their function seems to be to guard the sacred habitation of God from encroachment or defilement. The tree of life was perfectly safe with the cherubim standing guard at the gate. And sinful man was safe from the harm that could have come to him had he not had the majestic protector.

 

24c. The flame of a whirling sword (mithhapeket). The way back into Eden was guarded not only by the cherubim but also by a revolving sword like flame. This gave further assurance that man would not make his way to the tree of life. Though man's paradise was closed to him because he had become a sinner, Jehovah did not forget his creatures. He had already made provision for their triumphant return.

 

God's unending love for the Spirit fill world that He created included the preservation of the body of the original man. And will, by an act of is unending love once again inhabit the body of the man He has created. He will restore all creatures to their original form.

  • Isaiah 11:1-10 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious."

 

In Genesis 4:1-2 we read that Adam and Eve began to reproduce offspring in their sinful image and likeness. (Verses 3-7) and in verses (8-12) the first murder and further judgment by God is recorded. In (verses 13-16) God demonstrates leniency to Cain for the murder of his brother Able. In verses 17- 25 The sinful nature of Adam and Eve was passed down until we come to verse 26 when Enosh was born to Seth. (And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:26)

  • Men began to call upon the name of Jehovah. It was a never-to-be-forgotten experience when, under the encouragement of Enosh (or Enos), men began to call upon (or with) the name of Jehovah, the covenant God. Enosh, who was prominent in the line of Seth, was the originator of public prayer and spiritual worship. In it, the ineffable name of the eternal God was used. There was hope for a better day through Seth's descendants. Later, Abram (Genesis 12:8; 13:4) and Elijah (1st Kings 18:24) would call on the name of the Lord. The Lord promises to be near to all who call on Him (Psalm 145:18).

 

God continues to this day to love the Spirit filled world that He created and provided for a sacrificial worship system in the Old Testament that would remind His people of the devastating sin that had been committed against their creator. Good's plan included a day in the future that He will reclaim that which Satan has stolen from Him and will restore for eternality that which He had originally created.

 

The story of God's redemption is found in the New Testament and will be included in the subject of the lesson with the same title.