Follow in His steps

1 Peter 2:21
To this you were called, … that you should follow in his steps.

I was listening to a radio preacher today covering 1 Ptr 2. He talked about following in the steps of Christ.

Jesus was the second Adam. (1 Corinthians 15:45-47) The thought that struck me at that time is that we can choose to follow in the steps of the second Adam which is obedience in Christ, or we will follow in the steps of the first Adam in disobedience.

Selah, Think on these things.

Creation

Most people think that in Genesis 1 God created light, God created the land and the seas, God created plant life, God created the sun and the moon ... etc.

If you will read Genesis 1 carefully, that's not what it says. In verse 1, God created the heaven and the earth. In verse 21 God created "the great crocodiles (interesting translation), and every living creature that moves ...And in verse 27 God created Mankind in his image.The definition of 'create' I learned many years ago was 'to bring into existence something which had never before existed.'

In verse 3 God said, Let there be light. So whatever light consisted of had already been in existence before, but had been destroyed in the war between verse 1 and verse 2.

In verse 6 God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. Nothing new had to be created for this.

In verse 9 God said Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together. So in verse 6 and 9, day 2 and the first part of day 3, God just rearranged what was already created and brought forth by His Words.

In verse 11 God said Let the earth bring forth grass ... He formed plant life. But He didn't create anything here. So these things also must have existed in the First Heaven and Earth.

In verse 14 God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven. And the sun and the moon and the stars were set in their place and set in their courses. Plant life needed light, but not the light of the sun and the moon on that first day of life.

In verse 20 God said Let the water swarm abundantly with moving creatures that have life, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And the waters and the skies above were populated.

In verse 24 God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the earth after its kind. And the lands were populated.

In verse 26 God said,Let us make Mankind in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, 27 So God created Mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.

Finally God creates something new! What is the "image of God"? God is spirit (Jn 4:4). He does not have a physical body. What God created on the sixth day is a man with spirit. (Unfortunately, Adam and Eve gave up that spirit in the Garden of Eden when they chose to disobey God's only commandment.)

Light

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light and there was light.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; ...
1:16 And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars also.

So God called forth light on the first day and he made the sun, moon and stars of the fourth day. So what was the light? Where did it come from and what did it do?

It must have been something spiritual. Something that holds the world together. God did nothing that week without it.

Selah. Think on these things.

"Without form and void"

I mentioned last week that Gen 1:2 says that the "earth was without form and void (Hebr- tohu va bohu)." The other use of that phrase, tohu va bohu, is in Is 46:18 - "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain (tohu va bohu), he formed it to be inhabited." If it was that way, but He did not create it that way, what happened? There was a war in heaven, when Lucifer and 1/3 of all the angels rebelled against God. One theory is that that war happened between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2. I tend to agree, but I can't prove it so I will not say it is absolutely so. But, then again, there is a lot I won't express that way! :-)

Trees - Garden of Eden

I was reading an article in Acres, USA, last night and this statement grabbed my attention: "The Old English word, æppel (apple) referred to any fruit in general, not solely ..." (to what we call an apple).

There appear to be two trees in Gen 2 and 3: The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17) and the tree of life (Gen 2:9). I don't know anything about these.

That Eve and Adam ate of the fruit (æppel?) may have been the origin of them eating an apple, as in Old English. Nowhere is an apple referenced in this part of scripture.

(I can't seem to figure out how to post comments, so for this first entry I'll just add to my original post.)

From Colleen:

I’m wondering if it wasn’t a physical tree at all, rather a choice.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil: Not a tree where you eat fruit, buThe t rather a choice to trust God and obey Him, or to obey Satan.

So, perhaps a choice was given:

God told them they could eat from the tree of life: God’s ways, His instructions, His guidance, trusting Him, and doing all He commanded them; OR

God’s warning (not to eat from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil): Satan’s ways, his instructions, his lies, his suggestions, etc.

Even listened to Satan and took his advice, but that doesn’t mean it was physical fruit to eat. It was more like not acting on God’s word when the temptation came to them in the garden. Much like Yeshua was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Yeshua chose God’s words and instructions over Satan’s.

Adam and Eve chose to reject the tree of life (Christ) and ate from the wicked tree (Satan’s temptations in the garden)

In my opinion, Genesis is not talking about real trees and real fruit you eat through your body. It was talking about the choice between God and Satan.

...

The underlying message is indisputably (I hate that word, but is 'generally accepted' at least) about obedience. Eve may have been deceived, but there is no indication that Adam was.

The first recorded words from God to man were "Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it" for on the day that thou eatest thereof it thou shalt surely die." These words were spoken to Adam before Eve was made. Did he not pass the word sufficiently? Did she not hear?

But when it came to her offering it to him, he accepted and no word of objection was given in the scriptures.

His response to God: The woman made me do it.
Hers: The serpent deceived me and I ate it. (The devil made me do it.)

Jesus, the second Adam, overcame deception and temptations of the devil by feeding God's words right back at him. Our salvation is based on that decision.

More about the method of deception and the temptations later.

Let's try this again

I'm starting a Bible study. Or more (so far) like a thought for a day. I'll also try to pick up on my garden which is doing much better this year.

Books-Civil War vs Health Care Control

When I retired 2 1/2 years ago I was given a passel of books. Those of you who know me, know that I am a voracious reader. I have read almost all of those books and all other books by those authors, at least in that series.

I started again this past week "Lincoln," an historical novel by Gore Vidal. As I began reading, I began to notice the similarities between then and now.

I don't have at my fingertips all the statistics, but the root cause of the Civil War was not slavery, but states' rights. The Southern states wanted the right to determine whether or not to retain slavery as a way of life. Today's issue is federally mandated health "care."

Last I heard, 13 states' attorneys general have suits ready, if not already filed, questioning the legality of the bill under the Constitution. Many states have declared that they will not enforce this law. At what point did the Federal Government acquire the right to mandate that a citizen purchase a product or service provided by a private corporation that the citizen may not need and/or want and/or be able to afford? Do we work for them? Or do they work for us?

There has been talk among individuals of secession. There has been talk among individuals of war if this product is forced upon us the citizens of these United States. I don't know how many, if any, of the people saying these things are serious. It doesn't really matter. This issue has become one that needs further consideration rather than the standard assurance by the government that they know what they are doing and that they can do what they have never done before: run a business profitably. Or at least not at a loss.

Does anyone really know what is in this bill? The bill that the president talks about seems to be different than the one that Congress has now passed. Our "representatives" in Washington need to at least read the whole bill and consider the long term ramifications before they vote. Oops! Too late!