The story of salvation

How it started

Now, the story of salvation started way back, way back from when there were only two people on the
entire earth. They were a couple, husband and wife, man and woman whom God himself had enjoined together to dwell equally on the earth (Genesis 2:24).  Now these two people lived in a garden called Eden which God had made for the man (Genesis 2:15).  Now before God had made the woman for the man, God and the man, named Adam, had such a wonderful relationship in the garden.  Just as a human father and his young son would have great time being in one another's presence, so also was the relationship between God and the man(Genesis 2:19-20).  Adam was obedient to his father and the father treated him with such royalty, like he was the only person in the world.  Adam obeyed his father’s command that he should not eat of the tree that was in the midst of the garden. Surely Adam may have been tempted to eat from the tree but Adam was obedient to his father and Adam BELIEVED that the father would not keep any good thing from him(Psalms 84:11). Adam knew without a doubt that God loved him.

God gave Adam a woman

Now because God is loving, compassionate and understanding he said to himself, I am spirit and Adam is flesh so maybe Adam would love to have someone beside him who is also flesh. Someone who would think like him, feel like him and relate to him also as he is.  So God took a rib from Adam and he made the woman.  So now Adam had two friends.  He had God who created him and breathe the breath of life in him and who gave him dominion over all things on the earth, and who also gave him the woman for a help meet(Genesis 2:18).  He now also had the woman for companionship.  Adam could talk to her, walk with her by the lake, he could pick the beautiful roses and smell the aroma of it with her, they could eat of the same fruit of a tree and correspond with each other how it tasted.  So God, the woman, and the man all had a very loving relationship.  A relationship that was based on trust and faith, and the man and the woman totally reliant and dependent upon God.

Adam falls from grace with God

Now as Adam and eve abided in the garden, the woman became more and more curious(James 2:14-15) about the tree that was in the midst of the garden that Adam told her that God told him not to eat.  So one day the woman went and stood by the tree and she asked the serpent.  Can I eat of this tree?  The serpent answered and said Genesis 3:1 "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." So the woman therefore because of the lust of her eyes(1 John 2:16, James 2:14-15), chose to believe what the serpent had said to her and ignored all that her husband had told her and all that God had told her.  So she ate of the tree that was in the midst of the garden, she also gave the man of the tree to eat and he did eat also, ignoring what God had told him.

The man and the woman ran from God

Now when Adam and eve had both eaten of the forbidden tree, they were instantly transformed from what they used to be (Genesis 2:17).  Instead of them running to God they found themselves running away from God(Genesis 3:8-10).  So when God came into the garden, he called out, “Adam”, where are you my child.  Genesis 3:10 “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”  So Adam told the truth about what happened and he told God that the woman whom he gave to him did eat of the forbidden tree and gave him also to eat.
Therefore God was angry with all three of them, the man, the woman and the serpent.  So God placed a curse on the serpent.  And to the woman he said Genesis 3:16 “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” So because God saw that the woman was the weaker vessel than the man and that she is susceptible to deception(1st Timothy 2:13-4), he put the man in charge over the woman.

Now with Adam, God was deeply hurt and disappointed. God remember the great fellowship that he had with Adam.  He remembered how Adam trusted him, depended upon him and BELIEVED him. God knew that Adam knew without a doubt that he would not keep anything good from him.  Therefore Adam did not eat from the forbidden tree because he told him not to. He and Adam were inseparable before he gave Adam the woman. God must of thought: after all that I did for you Adam, I created you, I gave you the whole earth to have dominion over it, you had everything at your disposal, you had life easy Adam. I thought you knew that I love you Adam.  So God said to Adam, Genesis 3:17 "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."  Yes, God said to Adam, the luxurious life that I gave to you, I am taking it away from you.

God gave Adam a pass

But because God is loving, forgiving and understanding, God said to himself that maybe it is because I am a spirit and Adam is flesh and the woman is flesh(Genesis 2:23) why Adam hearkened to the woman and ignored my command that I gave to him.  Maybe Adam can relate to the woman better than he can relate to me.  So God came up with this excellent idea.  I am going to make myself become human like Adam and I will prove myself to Adam that I really love him. I am going to prove to him that I would not even withhold myself from him, due to the abundance of love that I have for him.  So God set his plan underway to prove to Adam and his descendants how much he loves them.

The father of faith

So later down in human history God appeared to a man named Abraham and said to him Genesis 12:1 "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."  And Abraham with great FAITH, without any evidence of what god had told him(Hebrews 11:1) got up and did what God told him to do(Hebrews 11:8-10).  Now God was truly impressed by Abraham's FAITH in him but there were still some more test that God had for Abraham to see how much he BELIEVED him.

Now, another time when Abraham was very old and stricken in years, God promised him that he would give him a son through his wife Sarah, who would also possess the land which he told Abraham to leave his country and to sojourn to. And even though Abraham knew that he and his wife was old and have long exceeded the age of child bearing, Abraham still BELIEVED the words that God told him.  And for that God said yes, this is a righteous man.  But there was still one final test that God had for Abraham.  God wanted to see what Abraham would do if he had to choose between his God and another flesh like himself.

So God said to Abraham Genesis 22:2 "take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the
place afar off. 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father: and he said, My father: and he said, here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 22:9 And they came to the place which god had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 22:10 and Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 22:11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 22:12 And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” 

So therefore Abraham pass the big test. See, unlike Adam, Abraham listened to the voice of God rather than to let his affection that he had for his own flesh and blood influence his actions.  Abraham knew that even if he would have killed his only Son Isaac, God was more than able to bring him back to life so that all the promises that God made to him would come through (Hebrews 11:17-19). Abraham knew that it is impossible for God to lie(Hebrews 6:18) and that God had already told him that this same son Isaac will be heir of the promises that God had made to him, and that the seed of the woman which he promised his fore parents Adam and Eve would have come through Isaac's seed(Genesis 17:19).  So after this test God was sure that Abraham was FAITHFUL to him and he BELIEVED that there is nothing that God cannot do.  And for this God said to Abraham Genesis 22:16 “By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 22:17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”  So Abraham became the father of faith, because he received the death and resurrection of the seed, Jesus Christ through a figure(John 8:56, Hebrews 11:19).

GOD ADOPTED A PEOPLE AND TRIED TO SHOW THEM WHO HE IS

Now after Abraham had died, God began to fulfill his promises to Abraham, he also renewed the promises with Isaac, and with Jacob that they will possess the land which he swore to their father Abraham that he would give to him for a possession,  and also that through their seed will the seed of the woman promised to their fore parents Adam and Eve be born (Genesis 26:3-5,Genesis 28:13-14). So Abraham seed began to multiply greatly and they went into Egypt and came out a great nation just as God had told Abraham. Now after God had led them out of Egypt with many sign and wonders, (Jeremiah 32:21, Acts 7:36, Exodus 19:4, Deuteronomy 7:18-19) he adopted them and made a covenant with them.  So this covenant was made with seeds of Jacob(called Israel by God), who was the seed of Isaac, who was the seed of Abraham.  In this covenant, God gave to children of Israel the 10 commandments along with many statutes and judgments, and all the people said in one accord that they would do all that God had told them(Exodus 24:7-8). But God knew that they would not keep his covenant
(Deuteronomy 31:16). God was trying to teach them through the law who he is and that they are not like him (Galatians 3:23-24, Galatians 3:19). They and the rest of the world alike are all descendants of Adam in his fallen state(Roman's 5:12, Roman's 3:23).  So instead of us running to God and doing the things that are pleasing him, we are inclined to run away from God and do things that are not pleasing to him (Isaiah 53:6). The image that Adam was created in had departed from him when he ate of the tree of knowledge and good and evil and we have inherited a rebellious nature from him.

THE SEED HAS COME.

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:14 And the Word was made 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."  There is no occasion in human history as significant as that time, about two thousand years ago when God dwelt among men in likeness of men.  So much so that human history is divided as such. All the years before he came is referred to as BC or Before Christ and all years subsequent to his arrival is title as AD or Anno Domini, which is Latin for 'in the year of our Lord'.  Jesus' birth (Christmas), death and resurrection (Easter) are two of the most recognized occasions in the world. They were testified beforehand through
prophecies and have been greatly reverenced subsequent to their occurrence.

WHY DID HE COME

God's main purpose on earth was to prove to Adam and by extension all human beings that he is our creator and that he truly loves us(Roman's 8:31-39).  When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden tree, they became mortal beings (Genesis 2:17). The bond that they had with God was broken.  Naturally God would have been more displeased with Adam, because he was created first and therefore would have had a longer relationship with God.  Adam and Eve clearly knew that they should not have eaten the fruit and they also clearly knew the consequences of eating the fruit.  God therefore would have been justified in letting them bear the consequences of their choices.  But because God loved them so much, immediately after they sinned, he set out a plan to lay down his own life so that they and all their off springs may have the opportunity, through choice again, to be redeemed and reconciled to him.

Jesus laying down his life for the sake of mankind achieved the eternal purposes of God for mankind in that

• It proves the extent to which God loves us(John 3:16, Roman's 5:8, John 15:14, 1 John 3:1, 1 John 4:9).
• 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 says that "just as by man came death, by man came also the resurrection.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."  It was necessary for God to become flesh and blood like humans so that he could have died like humans do and then through his power and glory he could defeat death in the grave and become the first fruit of the resurrected(Roman's 6:4, Acts 2:24, Hebrews 2:14).
• It brought light into the world. Ever since Genesis chapter 3 when God promised a redeemer for the souls of
  mankind, it had been a mystery how that phenomenon would manifest itself. The Holy Spirit had revealed to the prophets a substantial amount of details of what should transpire at the coming of Christ, but the way to salvation was not yet available to the world (1 peter 1:9-12).
• Also in Genesis chapter 3, when Eve believed the lie that the serpent told her she inadvertently cast God as a liar or accused him of holding back something good from her. With the death of Christ for our sake, God proved himself not to be a liar; putting the serpent to shame and relieving those who would believe in Jesus of any doubt that God truly loves us and that he is for us, not against us.

The whole idea of light, as it relates to what Jesus did at the cross is that it is an awareness of who God is(1st John 4:7,2 Peter 3:9), who we are(Roman's 3:23 Roman's 5:12, John 3:20-22),what he did for us (John 3:16, Isaiah 53, 1 Peter 3:18) and what is expected of us(John 3:17-18, John 8:24, Roman's 10:9, John 12:46-50).  God gave us a blessed hope in Jesus. From that time on man could live knowing that death is not the end of the road.

When Adam chose to hearken to eve his wife in the garden, God gave Adam the benefit of a doubt because both of them were flesh and blood and not a spirit as He is.  He also remembered the fact that he created Adam before Eve and that Adam was in the garden for some amount of time before he gave Eve to him, and yet, Adam did not eat of the tree by himself(1 Timothy 2:14) .  This was more than likely because Adam was obedient and fully submissive to God.  That fellowship was broken when Adam ate the fruit at the request of his wife Eve.  God in becoming flesh and blood like we are, and then pouring out his own life so that we again may have life, desires to have that same fellowship with us that he had with Adam in the garden before he fell from grace.  God is not looking for people that are religious or people who adheres to a set of dos and don'ts.  He desires people who will take him at his word.  In fact God esteem his word even above his very name(Psalms 138:2).

Conclusion

Everything that took place on the earth after Genesis 3, took place as a result of what unfolded in the garden in Genesis 3.  The sin that eve committed was the sin of unbelief, the sin of doubting God, the sin of not being fully dependent upon God, the same sin that has much of the world perishing to this day even after God made known to the world the righteousness which he requires of man.  Try to put yourself in the Garden and consider how you would feel if you were God and Adam and Eve believed the lie that the serpent told them. I'm sure you would have felt hurt knowing all that you did for them. That's just the same way God felt. For us to receive salvation, we now have to totally put our faith in what God says he will do. Roman's 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the GOSPEL OF CHRIST: for it is the power of God unto SALVATION to everyone that BELIEVETH; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 1:17 FOR THEREIN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH”.

According to Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, to be righteous in the sight of God the Father you must believe in him Jesus Christ. Read John 3:15-18, John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:29, John 6:40, John 6:47, John 11:25-26, John 12:44-46. Those are eight scriptures taken from just the book of John alone, where Jesus gave us assurance that if we believe in him then we are guaranteed eternal life.  There are only two ways of responding to the assurance that Jesus gave.  We could either believe his word or not believe his word.  If we believe his word, then as he said, we are assured of eternal life.  Even if we die he will raise us up again when he returns to the earth, even as he himself is risen from the dead.  If we choose not to believe, the implication of that is that we are saying that God is a liar(1 John 5:10), just as eve did in the garden.
But whereas God gave Adam and Eve a slap on the wrist when they disobeyed his words in the garden, now the stakes are detrimental to our souls.  There is no way that a man would lay down his own life for us and then in turn lie to us about what we need to do.  So God is not a liar(numbers 23:19), matter of fact, it is impossible for God to lie(Hebrews 6:18).  So whoever choose not to believe Jesus’ word is the
liar(1 John 2:22).  As Roman's 1:16 stated the righteousness of God is revealed from "faith to faith".  So therefore, our salvation is an even exchange with God.  If we put our faith in God to redeem our souls then he is faithful to do just that. If we are not faithful in him to redeem our souls, or if we doubt that he can do it, then how can he do it?(Romans 10:11-14).  God is powerful and is able to do anything for you but his power is only limited to the limit that you place on it(Matthew 17:20).

Jesus said in John 12:32  "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."  If all men knew the love that God has for us then all men would run to him instead of running away from him like Adam and even did when they had fallen from grace. So the question is. Do you believe?