Adam (or “man”) was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)
Whom Jesus identified as a “Spirit” (John 4:24). However, when Adam “sinned” (exercised His
will against God’s), He died immediately—in his “spirit”, as acknowledged by
the fact he no longer had communion or fellowship with God.
But there’s a kindred topic that needs to be addressed: the desire of man to enter the “spirit world”
on his own and God’s strong prohibition of the same. Perhaps this can be symbolized by the fact
God “drove out the man; and He placed
cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree
of life” (Genesis 3:24). Forbidding
Adam access to the “tree of life” is obvious and a mercy. Not so obvious is the fact Adam was prohibited
access to the site where the Spirit’s (God’s) anointing was both pervasive and
powerful.
For Adam and Eve to have entered the Garden in their sinful
state would have been akin to an unprepared person entering the “Holy of Holies”—resulting
in immediate death, because of God's holy, spiritual, residue. Still, Adam (and
Eve) carried vivid memories of the relationship with God they once had. But they must wait for God to unfold a “safe”
way for all mankind to find a way back to Him. It would take centuries.
Meanwhile spiritual developments were taking place in other
ways definitely displeasing to God “when
the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to
them. Those were the mighty men who were
of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4b).
This type of union was forbidden and fruit of such a union was not
supposed to be, but for now we’ll take it at face value, admitting its
existence. So offensive was this to God
and so potentially damaging to the human race, perverting the purposes of God,
so as to not allow a vessel God could use to introduce His Son into the human
race, God determined to destroy mankind, “But
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:9).
Through Noah and his sons God would re-establish mankind on
the earth. But too soon, that old
lusting for invading the “spirit realm” on man’s terms manifest itself with the
Tower of Babel. “And then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower (for
“tower”read “ziggurat”, always a site of ungodly spiritual communion) whose top is in the heavens; let us make a
name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole
earth” (Genesis 11:4).
God would have none of it, lest by his own hand man pervert
the human race by opening “a door—a wide door” through which unclean spirit
entities could gain free access to the human race. “And the Lord said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one
language, and this is what they begin to do (build a tower, again, read “ziggurat”); now nothing that they propose to do will
be withheld from them. Come, let Us go
down and there confuse their language that they may not understand one another’s
speech” (Genesis 11:6&7).
Still, God has a program to get man back into fellowship
with Him (in the spirit realm) and establishing “covenant” with Abraham is the
next step on the agenda facilitating this process. In about 430 years, under the leadership of
Moses with establishment of Tabernacle worship, a way (the only safe way)
was opened for man to again have fellowship with God. There was a “catch”, it had to be on God’s
terms.
Too frequently even the Children of Israel, with undeniable
evidences of God’s presence with them, sought to gain entrance into the “spirit
realm” by other means; hence, their continual falling into idolatry.
Then came Jesus, through His death and resurrection and
subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit, making possible restoration of the type
of fellowship Adam initially had with God.
Game on?
No comments:
Post a Comment