226. THE WHOLE TRUTH…

(The Abundant Life Series – Batch 2)

How did everything come into existence? Where did human beings come from?

It is not true that mankind evolved from monkeys and that everything you see around you in all its beauty and splendour, came into existence with a big bang. It is basic common sense to realize that mankind is way too intelligent to have come from an animal and everything in the world is too symbiotically connected, to have just come coincidentally out of nothing.

THE TRUTH IS humans, the earth and the Universe were all created by deliberate design. They were all planned for and created by GOD (Genesis 1:1-31).

Who is God?

It is not true that God is whoever we choose to worship or who we choose to create to fit our lifestyle here on earth. It is not true that there are several gods and that once a we have faith in something, this is okay. It is not true that the Bhuddist god or the Hindu gods or the Muslim god or the Greek gods or the gods that humans have created for themselves over the years out of silver, gold, wood and other material or any other man-made idea is god. God cannot be found in the moon or the stars or the sun or in a woman called Mary or in an elephant or in a cow or in any other animal.

There is a lot of mystery surrounding God as we do not know everything about him. Indeed, it is impossible for a mere human being to know and understand everything about God because HE IS GOD. Our knowledge of him is therefore limited to what he has chosen to reveal about himself.

No man has ever seen God and lived. However, throughout the ages and time, God has chosen to reveal himself to man through different means.

Today, in our time, he has chosen to reveal himself to us through a book which he inspired men to write, a book which gives valuable insight into what took place historically, lets us know with certainty what will take place in the future and enables us to understand what is happening today. This book of truth is called the BIBLE and in it is contained what God wanted it to contain.

As a starting point therefore, what we know about the one true and living God is what he has chosen to reveal to us in the Bible. All other books touted as books from God were written by human beings without the inspiration of God and are therefore false.

THE TRUTH IS that there is only one true God, the Creator. Everything else outside of him that is being regarded as a god is false and if worshipped by humans, this amounts to idolatry in his eyes (Isaiah 45:5-22; Isaiah 46:5-10; Isaiah 40:10-26; Isaiah 44:6).

These are some of the characteristics that we learn from the Bible about the one and only true God:

1 – The true God is THE CREATOR.

He created you and me, the earth, animals and the entire Universe, including those things that exist that it is not possible for the human eyes to see, like angels (Genesis 1:1-31; Isaiah 45: 11-12; Psalms 24:1-2);

2 – The true God is ONE AND ONLY.

He has no equal in his greatness. He and he alone is at the very top of the world’s hierarchy. He is the supreme and absolute ruler of everything created because he is the one that made everything. (Isaiah 45 :5-7; Isaiah 46:5 and 9; Isaiah 40:22-25; Isaiah 44:6);

3 – The true God is ALIVE.

He is not dead, he is not a statue or lifeless like the idols that some human beings choose to worship. He was alive before the world was created and even from the very beginning, he is still alive and will still be alive when he chooses to bring this world that he has created, to an end (Isaiah 44:6, 9-20; Psalm 145:13);

4 – The true God is HOLY.

(Psalms 99:9; Isaiah 40:25);

5 – The true God is IMPARTIAL.

He is not influenced by how much money a person has or the colour of a person’s skin or his race or his social position in life or his career or his status as a celebrity or homeless person or how much good he has done or how high he is esteemed by other human beings. He views all men as equals and has no respect of persons (Romans 2:11; Isaiah 40:15,22-23; Acts 10:34; Colossians 3:25);

6 – The true God is TOO GREAT AND HOLY TO BE REDUCED TO A MAN-MADE IMAGE OR AN IMAGE OF CREATION.

While people in the past Bible days have heard God speak directly, no human has ever seen him while alive, so no one knows what he looks like. It is not possible therefore to make anything to resemble him or to represent him or to take anything that he has created and worship it, as this will not be an accurate depiction of him.

Therefore, any image or object made by human beings to represent God or anything he created that is esteemed by human beings as a god, (irrespective of its form) is idolatry in God’s eyes and displeases him.

Human beings have no right to make what they think God looks like and to esteem it as God and worship it. They have no right to take any part of God’s creation, whether it be the sun or the moon or an elephant or a cow or anything else and worship it as if it were God. This is a sinful practice and very, very displeasing to the ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, as it robs him of the glory which HE deserves.

God has chosen not to reveal what he looks like to humanity and he expects us to worship him without creating something or some form by which to worship him through. He has said in his Word the Bible, that he is a Spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. He knows that as human beings, it is possible to worship him by faith without seeing him with our eyes because he made us with that ability.

Bhuddist images, images of elephants, mother Lakshmi, images of something made to represent Mary, shrines, images made to represent Jesus and all other man-made images or things that were created by God that are worshipped by humans ARE ALL IDOLS. They are not alive, they do not see or hear or breath and are therefore useless (John 4:24; Isaiah 46:5-9; Isaiah 40:18-26; Deuteronomy 4:15-19, 23-24; Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 44:6, 9-20; Leviticus 19:4; Romans 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Corinthians 10:14; Acts 17:29);

7 – The true God is a SPIRIT.

Another reason why we cannot create or use an image to represent God is because unlike us, where we walk around with our soul and spirit in a temporary physical casing or jumpsuit that God has given us called a body, he does not have a physical body. He does not need one. He operates and exists without such a limitation and is a spirit. This may be hard for us to understand because as human beings, having a physical body is all we know. We were born with a body and communicate with other people who have a body. However, we cannot understand everything in this life because God has given us limited knowledge while here on earth (John 4:24);

8 – The true God is IMMORTAL and INCORRUPTIBLE.

Once again we cannot understand this as human beings, as we are not eternal beings and at some point, succumb to death. Our bodies age with time, die, corrupt and decay but remember, God is spirit. In addition, he cannot be made subject to death because death was CREATED BY HIM as a punishment to human beings for their sinful practices. This makes sense as God is the Creator of everything. He is the ultimate authority and has power over death and the grave.

As the very source of life and life itself, He gave us life and brought everything we see and even what we can’t see, into existence. It therefore follows that he reserves the right to end that existence whenever he sees fit. Whereas we operate with the threat of death over our heads, he reigns over death and therefore lives on forever (Psalm 90:1-2,4; Hebrews 1:10-12);

9 – The true God’s name is JEHOVAH

There are many different facets to God’s character and he is mentioned by different names in the Bible which reflect some of his divine attributes. However, he is known mainly by the name Jehovah (Exodus 6:3; Psalms 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 26:4);

10 – The true God has one Son, whose name is JESUS CHRIST.

Jesus is an equal part of the Godhead which comprises of three functions, namely, God the Father, God the Son and the God the Holy Spirit but operates as three in one (John 3:16; Hebrews 4:14; 1 John 5:7).

Why did God create human beings?

To be honest, I cannot say that I understand 100% why God decided to create human beings. We have only what he has chosen to reveal to us in the scriptures. Of a right, God is so great, that it is disrespectful to demand an answer of him as to why he chose to create you and me and human beings in general.

To use a human example, it would be considered disrespectful for a child to go to his mother and demand to know why she brought him into this world. When we are born and we grow up, we don’t feel the need to go to our parents and demand that they tell us why they decided to give birth to us. We accept the fact that we are alive (an awesome gift in itself) and we move on from there.

In Isaiah 45:9-10, God rightly said:

  • “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Or thy work He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith unto his father What begettest thou? Or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?”

As human beings therefore, we do not have a right to fully understand God’s rationale for our creation. It would be totally disrespectful for us to demand to know why he chose to create us. By God’s mercies though, he has left the BIBLE, a book of infallible truths, for us to study and learn more and more of him. From the recorded experiences in the Bible of human beings and God’s dealings with them from the beginning of time and throughout the years, we can gain some insight (as God has chosen to reveal to us), as to why we were put here on earth and what God expects of us.

First of all, it brought joy to God to create all that he did. Genesis 1:31 states that after having created everything, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” This sort of reminds me of the pride we feel as humans, when, after we have laboured on a school or work or house project and after all of the long hours and sacrifice, we finally finish the product and stand back and take it in and feel pride in our creation. In the same way, in the beginning when God created everything, the Bible tells us that he took a look at all that he had made which he spent six days to create, and he was pleased with the quality of the finished product.

Apart from all that God created though, he formed something that was very special and of great value in his eyes: human beings. We know that we are very special (based on how he has valued us) as, unlike everything else he created, he chose to make human beings in a special way in his own image (what an honour!). He also chose to give us intellectual capabilities and to allow us to rule over everything that he created on earth. (Genesis 1:27-29; Psalm 8:3-8). (Note that it was never God’s intention for human beings, who he gave such authority and dominion on earth, to bow down and worship and serve any animal, item or creature.)

Based on what God has revealed in the Bible, it is my humble understanding that human beings were created for the following reasons:

  • To experience life – Life is a wonderful thing, a gift from God. Genesis 2:7 states that “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.’’ As human beings it is no wonder that we love life so much and try our very best through exercise, diet, medicine and everything that our money can afford us, to hold on to it. We generally agree that it is a priceless gift. In Ephesians 5:29, it states that “no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it…” Indeed, human beings do commit suicide but it is not because they hate their lives. It is the circumstance surrounding their lives that they hate and because they love their lives so much, they decide (which is warped thinking), that the best thing they can do to prevent it from continuing to endure hardship and pain (which they believe is unfair to their lives) is to end it.
  • To have abundant life – God did not just create us to experience life but to also enjoy it to the fullest. There are different qualities of the life experience and God wanted the very best quality for us. (Psalm 36:7-9). However, God in his wisdom knew that human beings could not enjoy life to the fullest and eternally, outside of him. That is, abundant life (which continues on for ever, even beyond physical death on earth) could only be experienced when human beings had a close relationship (fellowship) with their Creator, God himself, that which he made freely available to human beings through his Son Jesus Christ (John 10:10). For, it is in him that we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28). This leads us to the third reason why God created human beings.
  • To have a close relationship with him – God never intended to create us and just leave us to our own devices. In keeping with his divine purpose, he wanted to have a close relationship with us, very much like the relationship an earthly father and his children share. He wanted us to commune with him, talk to him, obey him (because he knows what is best for us and the way that we should take so as to avoid trouble) and love him because he loves us.
  • To bring him pleasure and to promote His glory – Although we are mere human beings when compared to the greatness of God, for some reason, he has a special love for us and takes pleasure in our existence when we reciprocate his love for us and obey and serve Him, not for what he has to offer or how he can provide for us but because we love him, fear him and want to honour him with our obedience, as Lord. This brings Him glory. That God delights in those who love him and serve him was evident when God expressed how pleased he was with Job, a man that the Bible describes as perfect and upright, one that feared God and avoided evil (Job 1: 1,8). Admittedly, it is a bit difficult to understand how such a mighty and great spirit as God is, could take pleasure in mere human beings but it is true. In Job 7:17, Job rightly asked “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning and try him every moment?” David also asked the same question in Psalm 8:3-9. He wrote, “When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him?” In Isaiah 43:7, he said through his Prophet, “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

To sum up the great question of why God created human beings, it is best to use an earthly example:

As human beings, most of us tend to want to have children. No matter how much money we have, how many friends, how much power and influence in our career and social positions, there is a void seemingly, that only the birth of a child can fill.

When we do obtain that child, we are proud of what we have brought into the world. We tell other people that the child looks just like us or resembles us in some way or other. People even comment that the child is ‘the split image of so and so.’ We take pleasure in that child we have brought into the world, as it says its first words, takes its first step, the kind of pleasure that only a parent can experience from having a child.

We want to have a close relationship with that child, we want that child to come to us with any problems it may have, we want to fiercely protect it and to keep it safe. We love providing for it, whatever it needs and even if it requires a sacrifice on our part, be it food, clothes, shelter, toys, books or whatever. We want that child to have the best life it can possibly have and we ensure that there are ample opportunities for it to have that. We want it not just to exist but to fulfill its full potential.

We love that child because it came from our bowels but as much as we love it, we demand that it obey us, not because we like power but because we have more knowledge and experience than that child and we know what is best for him. If we see a kettle on the stove that has just had water boiled in it, we would warn the child not to touch it because we know it would burn that child. That child may choose to obey or may give in to temptation because the kettle is all shiny and bright. If it does, as much as we love that child, it will still have to suffer the consequences of making that wrong and disobedient choice. That child, to the hurt and dismay of the father, will experience the pain of a burnt finger.

From this example, we can certainly understand a bit better why God created human beings. In fact, he has given us several earthly examples that serve as analogies of heavenly truths, not just in terms of the beauty of a Father-child relationship.

The key lies in recognizing that God never intended to be some distant figure. He intended human beings (his special creation which he chose to make in his image and likeness) to have a relationship with him, the type of relationship that a loving Father has with his children.

One more thing though: While the earthly parent-child model is useful in us obtaining a better understanding of why God chose to create human beings, it is not perfectly representative or complete in its entirety as an explanation. For, God also created human beings to worship and serve and praise him. Children are definitely required to show respect and honor to their earthly parents and to obey them, provided that their authority is in keeping with God’s will. Ephesians 6:1-3 makes this clear. There is no worse thing than an ungrateful child that turns his back on his parent, after all that that parent has done for him.

However, while children are to honour their parents, they are not to reverence or worship them, as that glory belongs to God and God alone. Their parents are not ultimately responsible for their existence. God is. He is the one that is worthy of being praised and worshipped, as if it had not been for him, no human being would have life.

God therefore expects and rightly so, that, given the fact that (1) he is God and the Creator of everything living, that (2) he is all powerful, all knowing and everlasting, that (3) he gave us the priceless gift of life, senses and the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the beauty and splendour of what he has created and (4) given his magnificent power and also that (5) he loves us, we (mere human beings) will be in awe of him, humbled by his love as the CREATOR toward us. Also because he is so holy and wants the very best that life has to offer for us, he expects that we will gladly serve him, obey him, show him the reverence and respect he deserves, praise his wonderful name and live a life of humility and gratitude to him each day.

For all that God has done for us, this is a reasonable expectation from the one who has created us. In simple terms, we ought to worship and praise him for who he is, all that he has done and wants to do for us. He is “…the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…which is, and which was and which is to come, the Almighty.”(Revelations 1:8).

No elephant, cow, sun, moon, stars, woman named Mary, statue or image, deserves that kind of reverence. Our earthly parents don’t deserve that kind of worship. Only God (and his son Jesus Christ) are worthy of such adoration and glory. For, as Paul rightly stated in Acts 17:28 of the Bible, “In him we live, and move and have our being…For we are also his offspring.”

What went wrong? Why do most humans have no relationship with the true and living God?

When we read the first two chapters of Genesis which tells us the true story of how human beings were brought into existence, we learn that after God created everything on the earth, it was perfect. Sin had not yet entered the world and God had a close walk and fellowship with the two people who he created. Talking to them was a normal thing and God even brought the animals he made to Adam, giving him the privilege of naming them.

What then destroyed the fellowship and close relationship that human beings had with God? Why did God distance himself from human beings? Why is humanity in such a mess today?

Something obviously went wrong since then. Human beings went from knowing there was a true and living God, knowing who he was, communicating with him maybe on a daily basis and living a life of peace, to getting to a point where there is now evil and unrest and mayhem and sorrow of every kind, some people believing that there is no God and others, that there is a God but they have not a clue who he is. (Psalm 53; Acts 17:23-31).

In Genesis we learn that God, like any good parent, gave Adam an instruction for his own well-being. However, Adam’s wife Eve chose to listen to the devil who had disguised himself as a serpent, over God. She believed what the devil told her about the fruit of a tree in the garden where they were, that God had specifically said she and Adam should not eat. Being deceived, she ate it. She then made matters worse by giving Adam some of it to eat and he willfully disobeyed God by eating it.

Since sin (which is like an ugly, destructive monster that keeps on growing and growing) exists whenever we do something that God has said not to do, when Adam and Eve made the choice to disobey God, the world changed forever. Sin now had licence to enter the world and since that time to now, it has continued to lodge here, growing bigger and bigger and bigger, and creating havoc, heartache and pain wherever it goes or is entertained.

Given that God is holy, he hates sin. Therefore, although he loves human beings, when Adam and Eve disobeyed him and allowed sin to enter the world and their lives, they were no longer his perfect creations. Sin was now in their DNA and would always be there, like an infection or disease, that would be passed down to their children and to all future generations.

Given that God hates sin, he put Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden where he had initially placed them and pronounced a punishment over their lives. He informed Eve that from that point, whenever she or future generations that came from her, gave birth, it would be painful. He also told Adam that the ground from which he would need to depend to work and to eat, would now be cursed and that he would eat from it in sorrow, all the days of his life. I take this to mean by extension, that working for a living (which was always the main responsibility of the man in a home), would not be easy but difficult.

Given that he had warned Adam before that if he ate the fruit, he would die, after Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s clear command, they and their future generations (including all of us) became susceptible to the awful curse of death. From the time we are born therefore, our days are numbered on this earth and due to the curse from the disobedience of our ancestors, we all must die. The only persons that will not die are those that God meets alive at the end of this world when Jesus returns to judge it of sin and those that God took from the earth while they were still alive and took to heaven, namely, Enoch and Elijah.

Since Adam and Eve sinned, the whole world has been enveloped in darkness, although people born into this darkness think that how the world is is normal, much like a man born blind thinks that his reality is normal. Mankind has generally lost their way, them being born distant from God, the only effective guide. While people are physically alive on earth, the sin disease has made them spiritually dead, much like the tail of a lizard that has been cut off from the lizard itself, which is its life source. It may look alive for a while as it beats up and down but it is dead and inevitably because it is disconnected from the life source, it will lie still.

Sadly, human beings are in such a predicament today, that they now live life without truly understanding why they were created and who created them, behaving as if they are accountable to no one and that God does not exist. They have even come up with the big bang theory as a ridiculous way to try to pretend that God, their Creator, does not exist, so that they can pretend that they are accountable to no one and so can do whatever they want.

Even their understanding has been darkened, so that when they hear the truth about God and his Son Jesus, they take the view that this is foolish talk and because their hearts are full of the sin disease, they do not want to hear it.

Because sin and darkness have been in abundance on this earth, the devil has been thriving, as he loves everything that is opposed to God. God is light (1 John 1:5) but he (the devil) is darkness and since sin entered into the world, he has been placing all sorts of thoughts into the minds of people and causing them to do all sorts of wicked things, to their own detriment and to that of others.

Given that God hates sin, as much as he loves human beings still, he has distanced himself from his creation because they are all born filthy with sin in his eyes. Worse yet, as time progresses and sin and darkness grows in this world and in the hearts of mankind, God, who is holy, becomes more and more distant to us.

This does not mean that he is any less powerful or that we are not still accountable to him. We are in a state of rebellion where we do as we please and God has said in his Word that he intends to judge us one day, at a time that he has appointed for the judgment of the world. He has made it clear that no one who has ever lived will be able to escape that judgment, as, when he comes, he will raise up all who died so that they can face him and account for their deeds while they lived, whether those deeds were good or evil. In Hebrews 9:27, it states “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Mankind has therefore forgotten his maker to his detriment, as one day, if he does not return to God and apologize for his sins while he is still in the land of the living and before the end of this world, he will be sent to hell by God, a place that God prepared for the devil and his demons. God loves mankind yes but he cannot allow them into his perfect heaven with the sin disease in their DNA.

How can we escape hell and go to heaven to be with God when we die or when He returns?

Despite how much we and our ancestors have messed up and how sin-infected we are (we were all born in sin and shaped in iniquity), God has never stopped loving us and never stopped wanting to restore the relationship he once had with the human beings he created.

Since he has said in his Word that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and he cannot go back on his Word, since we were so full of sin, death was the penalty that had to be paid as a consequence.

In mercy and love though, God devised a plan to save mankind from spiritual death, which follows physical death. Spiritual death means eternal separation from God and eternity spent in hell forever. The plan of God involved Jesus Christ who was and is absolutely sinless and holy, coming down to earth in human form (as a baby and through the passage of an imperfect sinful virgin woman) and allowing himself to be taken and killed by wicked human beings, so that his perfect blood could be shed.

Once this was done, heaven’s plan was that those who believed on Jesus and the testimony, that on the third day, he rose up from the dead, if they then confess that he is Lord with their mouths (which he is), they will be redeemed or bought back from this world of darkness, sin and the devil with the very blood of Jesus. They will then be adopted into God’s family and be followers of Jesus Christ (so they call them Christians).

Such people would then be moulded into the character of Jesus Christ so that they will resemble him more and more each day and would now, having darkness removed from their eyes, hate sin and love righteousness. They would no longer be walking in darkness but in God’s light. They will also now have an inheritance reserved in heaven for them when they die or Jesus returns (whichever is sooner) and will get to live with him there forever. For, when Jesus, who was perfect, died, God’s wrath against this wicked world was pacified and a door of opportunity to all who would come was opened. That is, those that believe in their hearts, that Jesus died but did not remain dead but rose up again on the third day, just as he had said he would do and as a result of this belief, confess the truth that he (Jesus) is indeed Lord, get to be set free from their sin condition (because Jesus forgives them) and get to be clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus (because he washes them in his perfect blood). As human beings, we can’t see the actual washing with our limited human vision but God has let us know that it happens every time a person believes from the heart in Jesus’ resurrection and confesses that Jesus is Lord and God does not lie.

Only those who God sees as perfect will be allowed in heaven and no man can attain perfection on his own. He must come to Jesus and allow him to wash him in his perfect blood which was shed for his sins and to re-clothe him in HIS perfection. Those that refuse to believe on Jesus, that he has the power to save them from their sins and to grant them access to heaven, don’t get to benefit from the free gift of salvation being offered through Him, remain condemned in their sins (which is the state in which they were born) and will one day suffer the wrath of God and hell forevermore.

John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

John 3:36 also lets us know that “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

Do you want to be free of your sin disease and to have your relationship restored with God?

For you to be free from your sin filthiness, escape hell and go to heaven due to a restored relationship with God:

  • 1 – You must recognize and admit that you are an awful, filthy sinner, separated by God by the darkness of your deeds and deserving of God’s eternal punishment;
  • 2 – You must realize that without a relationship with God who is spirit, you are spiritually dead and destined for eternal damnation (hell), when God chooses to end this world;
  • 3 – You must realize that there is nothing that you can do of yourself to save yourself from this terrible and deserved end. You are powerless to help yourself or to get in God’s good graces by your own efforts or works;
  • 4 – You must believe that God, in his mercy and love toward us, knowing of what the end had in store for us and not willing to see any perish, provided a way, one way, by which the soul of everyone could be saved from hell and be reconciled with him;
  • 5- You must believe that this way, the only way to reconciliation with God and everlasting life in heaven is through his son Jesus Christ. There is no other way (John 14:6);
  • 6 – You must come humbly and repentantly, to Jesus in prayer, as a sinner, admit that you are a sinner to him, believe in your heart that although he died, he rose from the dead on the third day, went back to heaven but will return again one day, just as he said he would and confess to him from your mouth, that he is Lord. You must have a heart that no longer wants to be rebellious and under the devil’s control but surrender all to Jesus, your Creator, Saviour and Redeemer, trusting that he is able to take care of your life here on earth and in eternity and will lead you in the right path.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SOME OTHER RELATED ISSUES

Why did God create a tree of good and evil and place it in the garden?

For years, I have grappled with the question of why God decided to create a tree of good and evil and place it on the earth in the garden where he placed Adam and Eve. My human mind said that surely if this had not been placed there, that all of the problems that ensued with Adam and Eve and all of humanity would have been avoided, as there would have been no temptation on Eve’s part or any other human being, to eat of that tree which God commanded Adam not to eat of.

To me and according to my limited understanding as a mere human being, it did not seem to make sense at all but I knew that God never makes a mistake and the Bible tells us that his ways are not our ways and that his thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways which are far superior to ours are beyond our ability to find out (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-36).

I therefore had to be patient and trust that he would reveal the reason why he placed the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden, so that my little human mind could understand.

Thank God, I think I finally understand.

God created man in a special way, in his own image and he gave us the ability to reason, to think, to understand, to appreciate and to make choices. Human beings were created by God with free will. Although God could have decided not to create a tree of good and evil and place it on the earth in the very garden that Adam and Eve were placed therefore, I humbly believe that He did, so that Adam and Eve could be put in a situation where they had to make a choice, either to obey him or disobey him and therefore, prove whether they truly loved him or not.

It would not be enough to create people with the ability to make wrong and right choices and not put them in a situation where they would ever have to exercise their free will to make a decision either way.

Does this mean that God tempts human beings?

It is important to note that God does not and cannot tempt human beings. To do so would be to undermine his own will, as a human being, when tempted, is tempted to disobey God’s will and to sin by do his own thing.

James 1:13 tells us, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”

Where does temptation come from then?

If we look at what happened with Adam and Eve in the garden closely, we will see that God did not tempt them to do evil. While God was responsible for placing the tree of good and evil in the garden and informing Adam and Eve about its existence, he was not the one that actually tempted them to take of it and eat. He told them what the right decision to make was by letting them know that they were to not eat of the tree and the consequences that would ensue if they did. He did not withhold information from them but was very forthright.

The devil was the one that tempted Eve and for a moment, Adam and Eve succumbed to his deception, put God out of their thoughts and did what they wanted to do.

James 14 rightly concludes: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”

Freewill, choice and proving our love for God

In summary therefore, God does not tempt us to do evil. The devil does. However, God puts us in situations where we have to make a choice to either obey him and do his perfect will or do what we want to do and disobey him. He puts us in those situations because he knows that he created us with free will to either love or hate him and therefore he needs to test our love for him by the choices we make.

If the tree of good and evil had not been placed in the garden, Adam and Eve would not have had the opportunity to make a choice. From this we learn that God wants us to make a conscious and deliberate choice to obey, serve and love him. When we do this, this pleases him and brings Him glory and remember, God created us for His glory.

Adam and Eve failed the test by giving in to the temptation of the devil and making the wrong choice to disobey God. This can be contrasted with what happened with Abraham, years later.

When Abraham was ninety nine years old and his wife Sarah was ninety, God informed him that he would be a father of many nations and of his plan to give him and Sarah a child (Isaac). He told him that he would establish an everlasting covenant with that child and the children that came from that child thereafter. Abraham was assured at this point therefore, that, although he and his wife were very old, and up to that point had never conceived a child together, that God still planned to give them a son whose name would be Isaac and that Isaac would in turn have children and that eventually, there would be so much people born from that lineage, that Abraham would be regarded as a father of many nations (Genesis 17:1-27).

However, years later after Isaac had been born, God told Abraham to take that same son Isaac that he loved, go to a place called Moriah, kill him and offer him for a burnt offering. Abraham was therefore placed in a situation (one that did not seem to make any logical sense), where he had to make a choice to either obey God or disobey him.

There were all the reasons in the world, it would seem, to disobey God in this situation. After all, Isaac was the only son that Abraham and Sarah had ever had and Isaac was a son that God had decided of his own volition, to give to them. Abraham loved his son dearly and God’s command did not seem to make any sense as God had promised Abraham to make him a father of many nations through Isaac.

Despite all the reasons Abraham had to disobey God, we are told that he chose to obey him. He went to the place he was told to go, carried the wood that would be needed, bound Isaac his son, placed him on the altar and stretched forth his hand with a knife to kill him.

Up to this point, we could imagine the pain and confusion Abraham felt as he loved his son Isaac dearly. However, he loved God more and was prepared to obey him NO MATTER WHAT.

God stopped him before he could slay Isaac and provided a ram for the offering instead but Abraham had been tested and unlike Adam and Eve, he prove his love for and faith in God, over his love for the son that God gave him, by obeying Him NO MATTER WHAT.

God rewarded Abraham for his unconditional obedience by stating that “…in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Genesis 22:15-18).

It is easy to say I love God but the proof that God requires is unconditional obedience to him. This test has remained throughout time and it is what God looks at to determine whether a person really loves him and has faith in him or not. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and our faith is best manifested through our choice (irrespective of the situation), to obey God.

James 1:12 states: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

As we said before, God does not and cannot tempt us to do disobey him and do evil.

God puts us in situations where we have to make a choice. Remember, one of the main ways that we differ from animals is that God has given us free will. This means that we are free to make choices, which would involve us either obeying God or disobeying him. However, he himself does not tempt us to disobey him. He would not and could never tempt human beings to disobey him, as this would be sin and God is sinless. However, after putting us in the situation where we have to make a choice, the devil comes and tempts us to make the wrong choice, that of disobedience. Our own flesh within us also rises up with a will of its own, tempting us to do the things that displease God.

It is important to remember that one of the reasons God created human beings was for his pleasure and delight. However, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and consumed a fruit of the tree that God commanded Adam not to eat from, this destroyed the perfect relationship that God had with Adam and Eve, as he was displeased by their disobedience and could therefore no longer delight himself in human beings.

(Written a few years back, added to thereafter)

Dear Reader, if you found the above Article to be interesting, informative, edifying or beneficial, you may also be interested in reading the following:

  • Note 231 – ‘Where Does Life Come From And Where Did It Begin?’
  • Note 232 – ‘What Sin Does Once Introduced – Based On The Story of Adam & Eve And Cain & Abel’
  • Note 234 – ‘Blood – What God Requires For You To Obtain Forgiveness’
  • Note 250 – ‘The Blood Of Jesus Gives Spiritual Life’

Under the ‘BIBLE-BELIEVE Daughters of God’ Page:

  • Note 179 – ‘The Garden Of Eden And The Garden Of Gethsemane’

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply