First Sin

What Is Man?

Ken

Why has God gone through so much trouble for us? In our vanity, we like to think of ourselves highly; but, look around, are there not more than a few, who have done more impressively than ourselves? “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3 NKJV).

Humans, as remarkable as they are, one would think, cannot be as fascinating as the vastness and scope of the material universe, which God created, in its microcosm and macrocosm. And yet, “what is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:4). Lucifer, as the apex of God’s moral creation, became perplexed, when he pondered how the Son was eternally begotten of the Father. “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You” (2:7). Aren’t sons inferior to their fathers? “Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9). So, how could the Eternally Begotten Son of God be equal to the Father? And, how could that Son expect his (Lucifer’s) worship? Even further, how could he (Lucifer) prospectively degrade himself to serve yet-to-be-created humans, who would be “a little lower than the angels” (Psalm 8:5; Hebrews 2;7, 9)? “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Did it not consternate Lucifer to learn of the Almighty’s plan for angels to be used to minister as servants to the lowliest of humans? “For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12). It must have been so, since he cited that very Scripture back to Jesus, when he was tempting the Son of God in the wilderness. “And said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, and, In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6).

It appears this very thought may have been more than Lucifer could tolerate. “For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Could this have been the Original Sin of Lucifer before Eve then Adam committed the First Human Transgression? Any wonder the devil hates us so? “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1Peter 5:8-9). And, notice how he appealed to Eve’s sense of wondering why the Almighty would forbid eating only of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17). The Serpent desired that she would succumb exactly as he had failed. After all, the epitome of sin is seeking what God informed us wasn’t ours to possess, nor loving Yahweh for choosing it so, nor trusting the LORD for limiting us so. Lucifer wanted God’s position; but, it is impossible for the creature to become the Creator. Eve wanted to know what God knew about good and evil; but, it is impossible for the creature to handle knowledge too high for them. Neither did they trust Yahweh enough for limiting them nor loved Him enough for choosing it to be so.

“LORD, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me” (Psalm 131:1).

Never did God owe anyone the opportunity to repent; not you, nor I, nor Lucifer. If God owed anyone a Second Chance, then Salvation would be a strict matter of justice, and not the Unmerited Favor of a gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

As an archangel, Lucifer was a “covering cherub” (Ezekiel 28:16), yet he was tasked to be among the “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). With no second chance to reconsider, he refused. His disdain and dread of the Blood of Jesus lies in his contempt of Jesus taking the form of a man, then substituting Himself as a sacrifice for sinful humanity. Flesh and blood were always the intention of the Godhead manifesting Jesus as the Eternally Begotten Son of God. This was unacceptable to Lucifer. Our second chance opportunity to repent is the very point of agitation for Satan, where “God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” (2Peter 2:4).

What is Man?

  1. Humanity was created for God’s own ends. “The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom” (Proverbs 16:4).
  2. God does not become more profitable because of anything humanity can do for Him. “Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?” (Job 22:2).
  3. Humans are not worthy of God’s honor. “What is man, that You should exalt him, That You should set Your heart on him?” (Job 7:17).
  4. Humankind are God’s creation to be commanded. “I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded” (Isaiah 45:12).
  5. Jesus the Messiah is our Creator. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). The Spirit of Yahweh is our Creator, since it takes faith to be saved and to receive the revelation of the Divinity of the Spirit and Son as our Triune Creator. “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life” (Job 33:4).
  6. Though the material universe was created ex nihilo (out of nothing), which is miraculous, Adam was created directly from dirt, also a miracle. “And 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 being” (Genesis 2:7).
  7. God created us in His likeness, more specifically, He created us with the moral capacity to choose to reflect Him, or to reject Himself, a capacity difficult to imagine. “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth” (Genesis 1:26).

God created the first human, whom we know as Adam, which is also the same Hebrew word for man (1:26). Therefore, God named the human he created Adam, expecting Adam’s obedience (Isaiah 45:12), just as parents expect obedience from their offspring (Ephesians 6:1), whom they name. Adam expected obedience from his wife, whom he named  (Genesis 3:20), just as obedience is expected by husbands of their wives (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18), who receive their married name from their husbands.

Father, we take great delight in looking to You as our Father. We acknowledge You as so much greater and higher than us that none is higher than You. May Your purposes be performed in us and through us. May we be privileged to understand somewhat of Your plan that we may cooperate with Your plans and prophecies. May the Son of Man return soon as KING of Kings and LORD of Lords. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Why Are People So Easily Fooled?

Ken

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24 KJV). How could Lucifer — the highest of Yahweh’s created beings — choose himself over the Most High God? No sin had ever been committed, so he couldn’t blame anything or anybody but himself for doing it. Yahweh gave Lucifer the capacity to choose, just as He has given us the same ability. “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27). Pride is glorifying self instead of God, “who is worthy to be praised” (1Samuel 22:4; Psalm 18:3 KJV). Five times, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) was recorded by Yahweh as not having said out loud, but only voicing in his heart, “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (14:13-14). He wanted what only the Almighty was worthy to have — the praise, honor, and glory for being the first, the highest, the most powerful, the wisest, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Righteous Judge. He refused to give Yahweh the credit for being Yahweh. “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour” (Romans 13:7). Whenever anyone willingly does not acknowledge self-evident truth about the Most High God, they commit the sin of pride, and take that glory for themselves. Again, pride is essentially glorifying self instead of God. 

Okay, so why are people so easily fooled? And, why will they be ensnared by the Antichrist to worship him as God Almighty? Because they have been willing to give someone other than Jesus Christ the glory for being the True Seed of the Woman (Genesis 3:15). But, you say, How can we know that Jesus Christ is the prophesied seed? Because He fulfills all the prophecies concerning the Messiah, e.g., Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:4; Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Isaiah 53; Malachi 3:1; et al. Which means whoever will be sitting in the Jerusalem Temple at the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Daniel 9:26) proclaiming himself as God (Matthew 24:15), is an impostor — the Antichrist. Paul tells us, “10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2Thessalonians 2:10-12).

They had “pleasure in unrighteousness” (2Thessalonians 2:12), since they did not “judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24), because, like Lucifer, they sought their own glory, for they were speaking on their own authority. “If anyone wants to do God’s will, he will know about My teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from My own authority” (John 7:17 NET). Notice the relationship of the one who does not speak on his own authority and the one who sent him. The righteous relationship stems from seeking to honor God and not himself. “The person who speaks on his own authority desires to receive honor for himself; the one who desires the honor of the one who sent him is a man of integrity, and there is no unrighteousness in him” (John 7:18 NET). Both the Antichrist and those deceived by him speak on their own authority, as Lucifer did with the First Sin. 

Father, teach us to beware of speaking on our own authority that we would not be deceived by the claims of Antichrist and the Antichristian system of the world. Give us strong understanding of You and the strength to withstand the wiles of the Devil. Lord Jesus, return quickly to deliver Your faithful followers. In Jesus’ powerful name, we pray. Amen.