July 7th, 2015, Kichijouji Bible Study
Gotthold Beck
Genesis
3:1 Now the Shining One was more clever than any animal of the field that the Lord God had made. It asked the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You are not to eat from any tree of the garden’?”
3:2 “We may eat from the trees of the garden,” the woman answered the serpent,
3:3 “but as for the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You are not to eat from it, nor are you to touch it, or you will die.’”
3:4 “You certainly will not die!” the Shining One told the woman.
3:5 “Even God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you’ll become like God, knowing good and evil.”
3:6 When the woman saw that the tree produced good food, was attractive in appearance, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. Then she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate some, too.
3:7 As a result, they both understood what they had done, and they became aware that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
3:8 When they heard the voice of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, the man and his wife concealed themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
3:10 “I heard your voice in the garden,” the man answered, “and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid from you.”
3:11 “Who told you that you are naked?” God asked. “Did you eat fruit from the tree that I commanded you not to eat?”
3:12 The man answered, “The woman whom you provided for me gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate some of it.”
3:13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What did you do?” “The Shining One misled me,” the woman answered, “so I ate.”
3:14 The Lord God told the Shining One, “Because you have done this, you are more cursed than all the livestock, and more than all the earth’s animals, You’ll crawl on your belly and eat dust as long as you live.
3:15 “I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.”
3:16 He told the woman, “I’ll greatly increase the pain of your labor during childbirth; it will be painful for you to bear children. “Your trust turns toward your husband, yet he will dominate you.”
3:17 He told the man, “Because you have listened to what your wife said, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you. You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labor for the rest of your life.
3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you’ll eat the plants from the meadows.
3:19 You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you’re buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You’re made from dust and you’ll return to dust.”
3:20 Now Adam had named his wife “Eve,” because she was to become the mother of everyone who was living.
3:21 The Lord God fashioned garments from animal skins for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
3:22 Later, the Lord God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won’t reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever―”
3:23 therefore the Lord God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken.
3:24 After he had expelled the man, the Lord God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery whirling sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.
[International Standard Version]
I would like to continue the discussion today as to what the intention of the Lord is. His intention is actually summarized best in verses 16 to 18 of chapter 3 of the Gospel according to John. I know you all know these verses by heart but why don't we read them together again?
John
3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his unique Son so that everyone who believes in him might not be lost but have eternal life.
3:17 Because God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s unique Son.
So, said Jesus.
Indeed, it is the intention of the Lord that all humans have eternal life. The Lord attempted to give eternal life to Adam and Eve while they were in paradise through the Tree of Life, which was the symbol of eternal life.
However, the Lord did not urge Adam and Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life. The Lord actually never forces us to do anything. If Adam and Eve had eaten of the Tree of Life every day, they would have had the Life of God.
That is to say, if Adam and Eve had had faith, they could have received the life prepared for them, the life being Jesus himself. If Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit from the Tree of Life, they would have been transformed to the image of Jesus day by day.
This exactly was the intention of the Lord God. It makes us realize the greatness of the grace that the Lord God offers to us. However, because of the sin and arrogance of human beings, the fellowship between Adam and God was severed.
The connection between Adam and the fountain of life was cut off. There used to be a fellowship of faith and love between them, but it was transformed to a fellowship of fear and shame. And because of his sin, he was now connected to the devil.
Adam was captured by the power of the devil. When Adam knowingly surrendered himself to this enemy, the devil was able to legally control Adam. Because of his sin, Adam died within himself. He was drawn away from the Lord and entered the darkness. The eyes of Adam were now blinded to the Lord and his new nature made him dead to the Lord. The soul of Adam was no longer guided by the Lord. In the body of Adam, the root of death began to grow.
Now, the fall of Adam affected the whole human race. According to clearly defined laws of inheritance, the entire human race is destined to have a life filled with sin. When we think of this, we realize the serious consequence this failure brought to the entire world.
Today, I would like divide the discussion into three parts. Firstly, Adam’s unimaginably desperate situation. Secondly, the difficult question which cannot be explained by words. Thirdly, a wonderful way out which is beyond our expression.
Adam was made a slave of the devil. He came to understand good and evil but he did not have the power to do good yet. After all, Adam ended up a sinner. He had to stand before the judgment of God and curse of the Lord.
At the same time, the earth was cursed too. The land did not harvest as much as it used to. Since that time, all humans have to work every day to exhaustion for their food.
The eyes of Adam and Eve opened and they came to realize their sins. Now, they were ashamed of themselves. However, Adam and Eve did not come close to the Lord and confess their remorse about what they had done. Instead they sewed fig leaves and made loincloths to cover their naked bodies.
Genesis
3:7 As a result, they both understood what they had done, and they became aware that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Adam and Eve attempted to obtain salvation by their deeds. I would say that since then, all human beings have been trying the same thing. In order to hide their sins and debts, they make clothes to cover their bodies. That is to say, they do good deeds, hide their true self and expect that it will satisfy God.
This is an utterly meaningless and useless thing to do. All those who do not believe in the Lord are in exactly the same situation as Adam, which is unimaginably hopeless as clearly stated in the Bible. It is hopeless regardless of whether they realize it on their own or not.
Those who do not have Jesus are separated from the true living God and have unknowingly become slaves of the devil. Until they come to believe in Jesus and know him from experience, they are dead in the eyes of the Lord God and they have little or no connection to him.
Those who do not believe in Jesus are less sensitive to their true intentions, emotions and desires, which makes them easy to control by the devil or their own ego and sins. All human efforts we make with intent to obtain the true salvation are totally pointless. How unbelievably hopeless our struggles are!
Adam was indeed deceived. It was because he did not know how to pray and he did not ask the Lord God how he should pray that he had to be expelled from Eden. God was compelled to do so because if Adam remained in paradise while filled with sin, paradise would have turned into hell. If this sinful Adam ate a fruit from the tree of eternal life and obtained the eternal life, paradise would have turned into an eternal hell.
Genesis
3:22 Later, the Lord God said, “Look! The man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, so he won’t reach out, also take from the tree of life, eat, and then live forever―”
3:23 therefore the Lord God expelled the man from the garden of Eden so he would work the ground from which he had been taken.
3:24 After he had expelled the man, the Lord God placed winged angels at the eastern end of the garden of Eden, along with a fiery whirling sword, to prevent access to the tree of life.
It was the desire and intention of the Lord God to let human beings have eternal lives. That is to say, the Lord God wanted humans to become his true children. For human beings to become the children of God, they need to have eternal lives. The Lord God wanted humans to choose from the tree of eternal life and become his children. However, this hope ended with the Fall of Adam. The devil must have believed that he had won when he blocked the intention of God from being achieved. He boasted triumphantly that all humans were now his slaves. The answer of the Lord God to this boast can be found in this very verse.
1 Corinthians
15:50 Brothers, this is what I mean: Mortal bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what decays cannot inherit what does not decay.
It is written in Genesis, that the Lord said, “My Spirit won’t remain with human beings forever, because they’re truly mortal.” Let us look at John, chapter 3, verse 6 and see what Jesus said to the Bible scholar, Nicodemus.
John
3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
This verse explains to us that all human beings are destined to live in their sins forever. Humans cannot save themselves. It is nothing but a lie of the devil that there is a way for us humans to save ourselves.
Humans have come to have a sinful spirit. The outstanding feature of birds is that they can fly. Fish are able to swim by nature. The significant feature of human beings is that they commit sins. It is not that humans become sinners when they commit sins, but in fact, they are all sinners by nature.
Romans
6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in union with the Messiah Jesus our Lord.
3:23 since all have sinned and continue to fall short of God’s glory.
Thus, the punishment of death can never be avoided. Adam fell into a desperate situation which was beyond our imagination. Adam was separated from the Lord God which meant his spiritual death.
It is only through their spirits that human beings recognize God. However, when they committed sins, their spirit was spoiled and stained, which made it impossible to recognize God. Adam was left hopeless in a deadly situation.
It was an absolutely hopeless and desperate situation that he was left in. “I won. The intention of God has failed and now this human has become my slave.” The devil must have been hugely pleased. However, was it really the end?
Never! The true intention of the Lord was to save this fallen and degenerate human. Then, who can save humans? For us humans, the salvation refers to the restoration of the fellowship with the Lord God.
Salvation is to bring back the fellowship in the fountain of life. When humans have this fellowship with the fountain of life, their spirit, soul and flesh will be reborn and they will be saved. Then, who is it that can save humans?
Dead men will never bring about the fellowship with the life of God. All human beings have the nature of sinners which makes them spiritually dead and thus, makes it impossible for them to save others. No human can find a way that leads to the fountain of life by themselves.
All man-made religions are struggling to find a way that leads to the fellowship with the Lord God. They are all trying to do so with their human efforts, which are absolutely meaningless and fruitless. Just like a dead man cannot climb a mountain, humans cannot get to a way that leads to the Lord God by depending on their own effort. Let me read these well-known verses from Luke, chapter 10.
Luke
10:30 After careful consideration, Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of bandits. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
10:31 By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went by on the other side.
10:32 Similarly, a descendant of Levi came to that place. When he saw the man, he also went by on the other side.
10:33 But as he was traveling along, a Samaritan came across the man. When the Samaritan saw him, he was moved with compassion.
10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 The next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll repay you when I come back.’”
In the case of the good Samaritan, when this traveler was left half dead, he could not save himself. It was a man from a foreign country who saved this traveler. People from his country or leaders of existing religions could not save the traveler from this desperate situation.
Humans can never save other humans. They need to be approached from the side of the Lord. The Lord God is searching for the ones who have separated themselves from him and become sinners. The Lord God asked Adam, “Where are you?”
I suppose that the Lord is still looking for such people today. That is to say, he is looking everywhere asking, “Where are you?” The Lord is calling people toward himself in order to save them. When the Lord God told Adam that he would be saved, he made it clear that the salvation of Adam was his desperate desire. In other words, the Lord God explained to Adam the meaning of the salvation and its effect.
Genesis
3:15 I’ll place hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He’ll strike you on the head, and you’ll strike him on the heel.
It was clearly prophesied in this verse that the savior would come from a woman, that the savior would defeat the devil and that the price of the salvation would be paid with pain.
Jesus was born from a virgin. And he defeated the devil on the cross where the price of the salvation was paid by his pain, as was prophesied. Jesus was born from the virgin. Jesus won the victory over the devil on the cross of Calvary.
The price of the salvation was paid indeed by the life of the savior and his pain. Jesus was certainly born from a virgin. Furthermore, he defeated the devil on the cross. And the price of salvation was paid with the life of the savior, by the blood he shed.
Adam was placed in such a difficult situation that we cannot even imagine it. However, the Lord promised that he would draw near to this sinner and save this slave of the devil by himself. Jesus is the Victor, who sacrificed himself for each one of us human beings.
It can be explained in simple words, but we would never be able to comprehend the meaning of this sacrifice completely while we are alive. I believe that even the devil could not predict that Jesus would sacrifice himself, that the Father God would sacrifice his begotten son. But, it was exactly what happened.
Jesus is the Victor. It is us who are given the privilege to believe in this magnificent Lord. Furthermore, it is a wonderful privilege that we are even allowed to serve this great Lord, isn't it?
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