Bible Studies . . . Jesus Christ, the Living Word proclaims that
life began very simply. God, as a potter shaped a vessel of clay,
formed man out of the elements of that which He had already
created and then breathed into the inanimate form the breath of
life. The vessel of flesh and blood, lifeless in itself, became a
breathing creature when quickened by the breath of life, the
Spirit of God. The listless structure of the human body became a
living, breathing entity because it had been energized by the
essence of all life, God. The flesh of created man and the Spirit
of Creator God set together in perfect union constituting a
living, breathing creature.
Moreover, newly formed man lived his life in simplicity. As a
child experiences life in the warmth and safety of his earthly
father, the first of mankind experienced his life in the embrace
of the love of his heavenly Father. Experiencing the fullest
possible expression of life, the original man and the original
woman encountered the days of their lives in the providential care
of God Himself. God provided all that was needed to experience the
glory of paradise.
It would not be long, however, until all would not be well in
paradise. Man desired not to live in the simplicity of the
innocence of a child enjoying the continual expression of God's
love. He began to think, using the God given freedom of his
intellect, that it would be better for him to be a god himself. He
began to believe that he himself, making God like decisions, could
direct the course of his own life. With the now perceived ability
of the freedom of choice, man would attempt to control his own
experiences. He now believed that the power of the times and the
seasons of life was within his own jurisdiction.
Paradise was soon to be no more. Man would come to trust no one.
Corruption in all forms of relationships became the way of life.
Refusing to no longer be open and honest, man began to hide his
true feelings. Others were blamed for the difficulties of his
life.
No matter how much effort he put into the experiences of living,
life seemed never to achieve the peace, the joy, or the justice he
so desired. It was as if life was escalating out of control. It
was as if life had become cursed.
Once overtaken by the temptation to experience life in the power
of the sensory network (seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and
touching) itself, life became extremely perplexing. By the use of
his own intellect and experiences, man could perceive that there
was good and evil in the world. However, he soon found that the
issue of good and evil became extremely confusing. For what he
once considered to be evil would later be determined to be good
and visa versa. In his quest for life, man would never be able to
settle upon just exactly what was good or what was evil.
It was within the use of the sensing network itself that caused
the problem. The perverted struggle of good and evil only became a
problem when the intricacies of the mind itself, through the
sensory network, began to perceive that it could produce the
essence of life by its own activity. The fruit of the forbidden
"tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (Gen. 2:16-
3:24) brought man into an endless maze, desperately searching yet
never able to fulfill his dreams, his aspirations, or his longing
for the unadulterated joy of living.
It was the consumption of this fruit of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil that brought Jesus Christ, the Living Word, into
the physical world. He said,
For judgment I am come into this
world, that they which see not might see; and that they which
see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were
with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind
also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no
sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth"
(John 9:39-41).
Jesus, the Living Word, came to
undo the alleged seeing of man, bringing man back to the innocence
of his mind.
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