The never-ending experiment… (pt 5)
In previous discussions, we explored God’s divine order and the truth of humanity made in His image. We understood that humanity is fundamentally created to be in relationship with God. When God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), it was an indication that the essence of our being comes from God. True wholeness and purpose can only be found in our relationship with Him. However, in part four, we focused on the impact of sin. We learn that because of Adam’s disobedience all of humanity inherited a sinful nature. When God said, “you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17), we learn in Scripture that this is a physical death and spiritual death. The physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body and the spiritual death is separation of the spirit from God Himself.
This inherited sin nature pulls away from alignment with God that leads us to operate within a corrupted world where Satan actively flexes his power and influence over the people. We see this all around us, and throughout Scripture, people worship false idols, such as gold, silver, wood, stone, money, power, pleasure, and other pursuits that become the focus of our lives, drawing our attention and devotion away from God. There’s also pride, an excessive self-love and arrogance that disregards God’s authority, and rebellion, a defiant opposition to God’s will, as well as other sins.
Earlier, I mentioned the ongoing struggle between good and evil. When God breathed the breath of life in Adam, he became a living creature. It is that breath of life that sustains all of humanity. When sin separated us from God, it left a brokenness that we constantly crave to fill. We are created to be in relationship with Him, and without that connection to our Creator, we desperately try to fill this brokenness with anything the world offers. But these worldly solutions only lead to further destruction. This is because what we are feeling is spiritual brokenness, and only spiritual restoration and redemption can truly make us whole.
Scripture warns us, “…Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Satan doesn’t appear with horns and the theatrical gimmicks that the world often portrays. His schemes are in a way that imitate God and His ways. The world will tell you that you are created in God’s image, and in that same breathe it’ll show you their god, Satan. This is why it is vital to your existence to utilize those skills — thinking critically, researching diligently (or should I say studying the Word of God), and leaning on His wisdom for knowledge and understanding — to be able to discern what is good because it is the dialogue in the garden and the choice that follows it that sets the stage for the ongoing struggle between good and evil. As Scripture declares, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8)
Throughout the Old testament, there were several prophets, who have been chosen and called by God to deliver messages to His people about the coming Messiah. Then, keeping His promise, the New Testament unfolds with God coming to earth in the flesh. The Gospel of John begins with a powerful declaration:
1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:1-5)
It is identified that the Word is he, existing with God from the very beginning of creation. He is God, the work of creation was through him, he is the source of life and the revealer of truth. Further into the Gospel of John, it states, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
The Son of God is Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh. This understanding helps us to grasp what God spoke in Genesis, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). He was referring to the Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—three distinct persons as one God, all equal in power, glory, and eternity.
Though life was created through Jesus, he is the suffering servant. He lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21), ministered to people on repentance and about the kingdom of heaven, healed the sick, blind, deaf, and lame; and performed miracles. All of this led up to the appointed time of his crucifixion (John 12:23 - 26). Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the shedding of his blood serves as a propitiation for humanity’s sin, satisfying God’s righteous anger and justice. Jesus came to make right the wrong, and it is through faith in him alone that we can be made righteous; no human works could’ve made us right with God. Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and his second coming are the very path leading us back to an eternal life. To continue in the Gospel of John:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:16-18)
When we can recognize and accept God’s love of restoring us to Him through the atonement of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can then fully surrender at His mercy in repentance and turning to Christ. When we can recognize and accept Jesus’ resurrection, meaning that though his death was witnessed, it couldn’t hold him because he rose, and his ascension, meaning that he was taken up to heaven and now sits at the right hand of our Father awaiting for the right moment of his second and final return, we can then push on in faith knowing that when he returns those who remained faithful and persevered in the faith, the living and the dead, will be taken up with him in glory. In Christ, we become a new creation, made whole and perfect in God’s sight by His grace. A transformation begins when you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. This is the beginning of your salvation, at which the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of you, purifying your heart and mind. We are declared righteous because of our faith in Christ and his finished work on the cross.
It is with this that when you are transformed, meaning born again, you transform completely in your thinking, emotions, behavior, attire, and so forth. You will no longer define yourself by the world’s shifting standards or your own flawed perceptions. Satan is no longer the god you serve. Instead, you will be reconciled with the true living God and adopted into His family as His child, among brothers and sisters in the faith who are doing the will of the Father. God calls us to be in fellowship with His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because it is only in him we are saved and led to live a life of righteousness and truth, fully submitting ourselves under the authority of Christ. We now operate within a kingdom with Christ as our King. We reflect his teachings and values as we are created for good works through our God-given gifts to build up the people of God and point others to Him through Jesus , all of which to glorify God.
The ultimate conclusion of the “never-ending experiment” is that eventually it comes to an end. It is time that we acknowledge that there are only two options: life or death; good or bad; righteousness or wickedness; God or Satan. May you obey the calling of God drawing you to Jesus, leading you to the path of eternal life.
Morgan