On Earth as It Is in Heaven Pt 1 By Myles Munroe

Jesus taught His followers to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-10).

With these words, He was calling on His Father to once again restore His Kingdom rule and culture on Earth as it had always been in Heaven—and as it had been in Eden at the beginning. What was God’s Kingdom on Earth like? What was life like in Heaven’s earthly outpost, God’s “Garden colony” on Earth?

Essentially, Eden was a direct reflection in the natural realm of Heaven in the supernatural realm. For one thing, it had land—territory. Every kingdom must have territory, for without territory there is nothing for a king to rule over. Although invisible, the supernatural realm of Heaven is vast and infinite— much larger than the natural realm visible to human eyes. Eden was a physical realm with physical territory. That is why God did not create man first. He created the Earth first so that man would have territory to rule. Adam and Eve ruled Eden and the entire created order, just as God ruled in Heaven.

Second, Eden shared a common language with Heaven. Any nation or kingdom needs a common language or else it will begin to lose national and social cohesion. Adam and Eve shared a common language with their Creator. They conversed openly and easily with Him in a completely transparent relationship and always knew exactly what He expected. All that changed when the pretender took over. Even though all humans spoke a common language with one another for many centuries—until God confused their speech at the Tower of Babel (see Gen. 11:1-9)—they lost their ability to understand and speak God’s language, the language of Heaven. That is why, when we are outside the Kingdom, we do not understand what God says and no longer know what He expects. One characteristic of Kingdom life is that we can speak and understand the language of the Kingdom in a way that those outside the Kingdom cannot.

Eden also shared the laws and constitution of Heaven. These were not written down anywhere, because God had inscribed them on the hearts and minds of the human couple He had created. They knew what He expected and demanded. They understood how He wanted them to live and what He wanted them to do. God’s instructions were simple: Be fruitful, multiply, fill the Earth, and subdue it. He placed only one restriction on their activities, and it was for their protection:
“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17).

Aside from this one prohibition, they were completely free. In the beginning, Eden operated under Heaven’s moral code. Every nation must have a moral code, or else the people will become a law unto themselves and do whatever they want, resulting in chaos, disorder, and anarchy. At first, Adam and Eve had no consciousness of a moral code; they lived in perfect harmony with God. There was no lying, or stealing, or murder, or sexual immorality, or any other corrupt behavior that characterizes life in a fallen world.

However, when the pretender’s trickery and deceit led them to disobey God’s one restriction, they discovered immediately the full weight of the Kingdom’s moral code as it pressed down on them, producing a deep sense of guilt and shame.

Eden and Heaven also shared common values. Part of being a citizen of any nation is agreeing with the expressed values of that nation. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the most important value is obedience to the will of the King. Through their disobedience, Adam and Eve revealed that they no longer shared the King’s values, which is why they had to leave the Garden. The disobedience of Adam and Eve violated not only the Kingdom’s moral code, but also its customs and social norms.

On Earth as It Is in Heaven Pt 1 By Myles Munroe

The Creation of Man By Paul Washer

The Scriptures teach us that man is not an accident or the result of some mindless process, but the creative work of the eternal God. After God had created all other creatures, He formed the first man Adam from the dust of the ground, breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and he became a living being. From Adam, God then formed the woman Eve to be both a companion and helper to Adam. They were commanded to multiply and fill the earth which had been placed under their dominion. All mankind finds its common ancestry in this union of Adam and Eve.

Unique among all other creatures, only man and woman were created in the imago dei [Latin: imago, image + dei, of God] and granted the privilege of living in personal and unbroken fellowship with Him. The Scripture is also clear that they were created by God and for God and find meaning for their existence only in loving Him, glorifying Him, and doing His will.

These truths are of great importance for us in that they define who we are and the purpose for which we were made. We are not the authors of our own existence, but we were brought into existence by the gracious will and power of God. We do not belong to ourselves, but to God who made us for His own purposes and good pleasure. To seek to separate from God in any way is to sever ourselves from life. To live independently of His person and will is to deny the purpose for which we were made.

 

Note: God does not say, “Let there be,” as with the rest of creation (1:3, 6, 14), but “Let us make.” This communicates the idea of greater personal relationship. The phrase “Let us…” has been interpreted several ways:

(1) Some say it is a plural of majesty. They assert that it was common in the ancient world for royalty to speak as a plurality. One main problem with this view is that the Hebrew plural of majesty is used only with nouns—not with pronouns like “us.”

(2) Some say that God is speaking to angels. If true, this would imply that angels are also made in God’s image, something that is possible, but not explicitly stated anywhere in Scripture. Also, in v. 27, there is a singular Creator and not many: “God created” … “He created” … “He created.” This could not be if the ‘us’ referred to God and angels. Furthermore, in the final judgment, human believers are the judges of angels (I Corinthians 6:3), and it would be very odd for creatures to be judging their creators.

(3) Some say it is a reference to the persons of the Trinity taking counsel with one another. This last interpretation is the most likely, as we have clear texts in Scripture demonstrating that the creation does indeed involve the Father, the Spirit (Genesis 1:2) and the Son (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16). This explains the plural “Let us…” in v. 26. It also explains why there appears to be only one Creator in v. 27: God is one divine Being who nonetheless exists as three divine Persons.

 

Note: God did not say, “after their kind,” as with the rest of creation (Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24-25), but “in our image.” Humanity is unique among creation in that it alone is said to bear the imago dei. The image of God may refer to the following:

Personality: Adam and Eve were personal and self-conscious creatures. They were not mere animals driven by instinct or machines programmed to respond to certain stimuli.

 

Spirituality: The Scriptures declare that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), and so it is reasonable to expect to find this same attribute in man who was created in God’s image. Adam and Eve were more than animated clay; they were spiritual, endowed with a genuine capacity to know God, fellowship with God, and respond to God in obedience, adoration, and thanksgiving.

 

Knowledge: In Colossians 3:10, the Scriptures describe one aspect of the image of God as having a true knowledge of God. This does not mean that Adam and Eve knew all that can be known about God—a finite creature can never fully comprehend an infinite God (Psalm 145:3). Rather, it means that the knowledge they did possess was pure or unalloyed.

 

Self-Determination or Will: Adam and Eve were created with a will; they possessed the power of self-determination, and they were granted the freedom to choose.

 

Immortality: Although Adam and Eve were created and therefore had a beginning, and although every moment of their very existence depended upon the kindness of their Creator, they were endowed with an immortal soul—once created, it would never cease to exist. The immortality of the soul should lead all men to consider carefully the awesome responsibility of self-determination. Since the soul is eternal, the choices we make will bear eternal consequences from which there may be no escape.

 

Note: Man and woman were given the privilege and responsibility of ruling over all creation as vice-regents of God. Their rule was not to be independent of God’s, but in perfect conformity to His will. Therefore, they were to exercise their rule with loving kindness for the benefit and care of a good creation and for the glory of God.

-The Truth About Man

The Creation of Man By Paul Washer

Understanding God"s Work of Creation Pt 2

Did God create human beings with a soul inside them?

Genesis 2:7, King James Version 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 soul.

A human being is a soul; he does not have a soul residing inside him. The Hebrew word translated “soul” is nephesh, which refers to any air-breathing creature. It is translated “creature” in Genesis 1:24; 2:19; 9:10, 12, 15 and 16. Notice that in the New King James Version of Genesis 2:7, it is translated “being.”

The idea of an immortal soul inside each person is not biblical, but is actually of pagan origin. A soul is mortal—it can die and does die (Ezekiel 18:4). Not until the resurrection will we have immortality (1 Corinthians 15:52-54).

Why did God make Eve from one of Adam’s ribs?

Genesis 2:21-24 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.  Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

God made Eve from Adam’s side so they would think of their marriage as being united as “one flesh” and strive for marital unity, harmony and love (Genesis 2:23-24). And God intended for marital relations to enhance and strengthen that oneness (1 Corinthians 6:16; 7:1-5).

What is meant by God creating man “in His own image”?

Genesis 1:26-27 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.”  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

“Likeness” and “image” literally mean resemblance. However, greater meanings are implied, since man was made to be far superior to all other creatures, having Godlike qualities, even being able to have “dominion,” or rule, over all other creatures.

As we progress through the Bible, we learn more and more about humanity’s awesome potential and purpose. In the New Testament, we learn that God’s purpose for us is to be conformed to the spiritual character image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 15:49).

 

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Understanding God"s Work of Creation Pt 2