Introduction to God and His Plan
God is tri-personal (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) as the One and Only Supreme God. (John 5:7-9) Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who came in the flesh as the Son of Man to die for our sins on the Cross (Matthew 16:13-17) and was resurrected on the third day. (Corinthians 15:3-4) Jesus Christ is the Only Way, Truth, and eternal Life. (John 14:6) Jesus, now glorified, pours out in believers, the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father. (Acts 2:17-33) The Message of the Cross is the power of God to be saved, to overcome, and to Live. (Corinthians 1:17-18) Our Lord Jesus is coming again soon—very soon. (Revelations 22:12-14) The Bible is the inerrant written Word from God, (2 Timothy 3:14-17) which is totally inspired by God.
What the Bible shows about the attributes of God:
- Self-existent (I am who I am) (Exodus 3:14)
- Omnipresent (He is everywhere and is all in all) (Psalms 139:7-18)
- Omniscient (He knows all; past, present, and future) (Psalms 90:1-2)
- Omnipotent (He is all powerful, there's no power greater) (Ephesians 1:18-23)
God's Creation
God is the Creator and created living things and creatures:
- Plants, stars, earth, etc. (Created life in physical bodies only, substances) (Genesis 1:1-19)
- Animals (Flesh and blood body with soul only) (Genesis 1:20-25)
- Adam was made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27) with body, soul, and spirit (as God is tri-personal) (Thessalonians 5:23)
- Man was given dominion over all the earth and creatures (Genesis 1:28-30)
- Adam received God's breath(His Spirit) (Genesis 2:7) and had God's character (Galatians 5:22-23)
Man is creation, and God is Creator. Man was not and never will be God. (Corinthians 15:45-50)
Man was created with a free will (the two trees represent man's free will choice) (Genesis 2:9;15-17)
Why did God give man a free will choice?
God didn't create Adam or any of us like a robot with on-off switch to automatically love Him on command: "Now you love me-now you don't". God created us to freely choose to serve and obey Him (Joshua 24:14-15), which is to love Him, as "LOVE ALWAYS REPRESENTS A CHOICE".
The Fall of Man
The Fall of Adam and Mankind (Genesis 3:1-10)
- God gave Adam one command (Genesis 2:16-17) with the choice to obey or not
- Serpent's (Satan's) voice to the woman (Genesis 3:1-5) (The lie to oppose God's Word)
- Woman lusts for fruit that God commanded not to eat (1 John 2:15-17) and choose the world (Genesis 3:6):
- Woman "saw" it as good for food (lust of the flesh)
- Pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes)
- Desirable to make one wise (pride of life)
- Adam chose to also eat of the fruit, which opened their eyes to good and evil (Genesis 3:6-7):
- Man knew he was naked and tried to cover himself (Genesis 3:7) (Man lost innocence)
- Man hid himself from God (Guilty conscience and tried to hide from God) (Genesis 3:8)
- Man was afraid of God (Fear entered into man's heart) (Genesis 3:10)
God's Judgment for Actions
God brings accountability (Genesis 3:9-13) and gives opportunity for repentance to Adam and woman. In turn, Adam blames the woman God gave him (Genesis 3:12) and then the woman blames the serpent (Genesis 3:13).
God's Judgment and curses for disobedience (Genesis 3:14-19):
- Curse on the serpent (Satan) (Genesis 3:14-15)
- Curse on the woman (Eve) (Genesis 3:16)
- Curse on the man (Adam) (Genesis 3:17-19)
- Drove them out of garden of Eden to keep them from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24)
Man's Heart (Spiritual) Condition after the Fall
The choice "IF" given to Cain by God (Genesis 4:6-7), and we then witness the fruit of actions and condition of man (Lying and murder) (Genesis 4:8-9). It represents the Heart (spiritual) condition of mankind (Genesis 6:5-6).
Has man's heart condition improved (Genesis 6:5-6) over the last 6000 years since Adam?
Has Technology improved man? It enslaves man more and makes us more dependent on the world, not God. Has Medicine improved man? Abortions, euthanasia, and cloning show that man tries to act as god, but produces only death. Has Man's rights and freedom improved man? Man is able to choose pornography, homosexuality, and drugs more easily and freely. Has Peace and safety increased? Terrorism, wars, and rumors of wars continue to increase. Has Love increased and improved mankind? Lawlessness will abound and the love of many will continue to grow cold.
Adam's Inheritance to Mankind--Fallen Heart Condition
Can man improve his heart condition?
- Sin entered the world through Adam (Romans 5:12)
- Man is born into sin (Psalms 51:5)
- Man's fallen heart condition is the problem (Jeremiah 17:9)
- Man cannot change his heart condition (Jeremiah 13:23)
- Man's fallen nature is now in the image and likeness of fallen Adam, not God (Genesis 5:2-3)
Separate Natures of God and Man After the Fall
- Differences between the nature of lamb (Spirit) (Galatians 5:22-23) and the nature of pig (Flesh) (Galatians 5:19-21)
- Man is blind to God's nature and the image of God (Corinthians 4:4)
- Man is blind to his fallen condition, which separates us from God (Revelations 3:15-17)
- Man lives according to the flesh (Colossians 3:5-8)
Fallen Man Lives for Himself, but Serves the Ruler of This World
- The sin of "I, me, and myself" began with Satan (Isaiah 14:12-14)
- Self minded, self willed, self exaltation, self pity, self love(Matthew 16:21-26)
- Like father, like son (John 8:42-44)--the fruit does not fall far from the tree
- Man has chosen the world to satisfy his own lustful desires (John 8:42-44)
- Man thinks that he's in control, but Satan deceived whole world from start (Revelations 12:9)
- Kingdom of this world (Matthew 4:8-9) belongs to Satan (Luke 4:5-6)
- Ruler of this world (Satan) is judged at the Cross of Christ (John 16:11)
Man is Desperately Sick and Needs God's Help
The HEART transplant by God (Ezekiel 36:25-27)