Biblical Message

 

 Our motivation is to boost our faith, to encourage each other, to lift each other up on a daily basis through the Word of God.

The Bible reminds us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV).  The Bible also tells us “ it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him” (Hebrews 11:16 NLT). God sees our heart.

For the record, in the Bible, from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:25, we read the story of creation in 6 days or in 6 stages. It is important to note that after God created man on the 6^th day, which is the last day of creation, or the last stage of creation, God ended His work, and God rested on the 7^th day.

 

So, why did the Almighty God rest just after creating man? Let us find out from the following verses in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 1:26-31, Genesis 2:1-8).

 

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;"

^{27 "}So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” 

“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”  

“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.” 

So, God created man to be like Him, to have His nature, to have His character. God gave man full dominion over the earth. Then, God planted a garden, and He put man in it for man to take care of it. We can see that God, the Creating Father, after laying down the foundation of creation, gave the earth to His children so that they could join Him in His work and continue the work of their Father.  The Loving Father could now rest, expecting His children to carry on the work that He started.

 

However, the Father knew that His adversary, the devil, was out there, enraged, mad. So, to protect His children from that enraged enemy, the Loving Father gave His children specific instructions about what to do and what not to do. Furthermore, every single day, the Father fellowshipped with His children in the splendid Garden of Eden. There was a loving relationship between the Father and His children.

Then, a tragic event happened that interrupted that special relationship. God's children disobeyed their Father's instructions by believing the lies of Satan, God’s enemy. God's children committed sin by transgressing the Word of God. They committed sin by doing what God said not to do. In our daily life, we commit sin when we do whatever is contrary to the Word of God. Verse 1 John 1:8 says that "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us."  Yes, " We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"  (Romans 3:23). Keeping God’s Word in mind constantly is necessary.  How crucial it is to know the Word of God.

 

As the result of sin, the children of God lost their divine nature and could no longer fellowship with God. They fell in the trap of Satan who used deceit and craftiness to rob God's children of their dominion over the earth. God's children lost their dominion over the earth. The children of God, now conscious of their sinful nature, and guilty, were shameful to come in the presence of God and fellowship with Him in the Garden of Eden. They were hiding from God for they were ashamed to stand in the presence of God. They got thrown out of the Garden of Eden to a suffering world. They fell from their glorious position with God to become slaves to Satan in a deprived and suffering world.

Sin destroys. Sin kills. As says the Bible in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

God, out of love for His fallen children, by His mercy and grace, provided the Way, in the Person of Jesus Christ, His Son, to restore man as a child of God through a wonderful plan of redemption discussed on the next page.