The Redemption of Man Seen at the Beginning

[Aaron56]

The gap between God and man widened following the fall and with the passing of long centuries, the task of restoring man to the original intent of God became formidable. God destined the human race to come from the first man and woman He created. Consequently, the generations of man inherited the orphan culture of their ancestors. However, God continued to speak to man through natural and physical means, with the cumulative effect of preparing the world for the coming of Christ and the repositioning of man as sons of God. The work of restoring the fatherhood of God through Christ was placed upon this foundation. This work will culminate at the end of the age with the full revelation of Christ through His spiritual body.

God began creation by arranging preexisting elements.

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Prior to God’s first act of creation recorded in Scripture, some of the things that already existed were “the deep,” “the waters,” and the land covered by the waters. Prior to God speaking the words that would form the present creation, the deep, the waters, and the earth were not arranged in their present form. He commanded the dry land to appear and separated the waters with a firmament. He removed the darkness upon the surface of the deep by commanding light to appear, and He gathered the waters below the firmament into a continuous body of water, permitting the dry land underneath to appear.

God arranged the preexisting elements purposefully to accommodate the existence of man. (After the first four days of reorganizing the existing elements, He then begins to call forth acts of pure creation. Of course, all things were created by Christ, but the story of creation in Genesis begins with preexisting elements.) This manner of beginning a new creation, by reordering elements that
already exist, is the same process by which God creates a son out of one whose life has become formless and misdirected without the preeminence of His spirit.

 

[Aaron56]

The functioning of the Godhead in creating the natural world was such that the Holy Spirit was hovering over the elements as they existed, awaiting the commands for creation to issue from the throne of God. Jesus, previously known as “the Word Who became flesh,” issued the commands. The Holy Spirit executed them. And, the result was the present order of arrangement. This method of creating is a type and shadow preceding the recreation of the fallen man into sons of God.

The resulting new creation begins with a rearrangement of the existing order.

“..if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

This new creation is in contrast to one’s existence being perceived according to his fleshly or worldly nature,

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.”

The control of the soul over the spirit is undone, and the soul is placed again under the rule of the spirit. As a result, the body is liberated from its use to accommodate the sinful desires of the flesh and becomes available to the spirit to put on display the glory of God. The Holy Spirit accomplishes the separation and rearrangement of these fundamental elements of the human being into their proper order.

As in creation described in Genesis 1, Jesus is seated on the throne of God in heaven, and the Holy Spirit has been positioned to execute His commands in the being of each person in whom Christ is formed. The Holy Spirit begins by rearranging the order of spirit, soul, and body to the original intent of God.

The Holy Spirit is present in each believer, waiting to execute the commands of Christ regarding that particular person. The Holy Spirit empowers a person’s belief in Christ and transforms human nature into a divine nature. He constructs faith out of unformed convictions and brings the light of revelation to separate us from the darkness of unbelief. The divine nature of God replaces human nature and reveals the process at work in which Christ is being formed in the person.

The events of one’s early years as a believer typically elicit this massive "reformatting" of the person’s nature. Often, one will undergo a period of suffering and an apparent loss of control. The soul is addicted to control which is an illusion of reality, because one is never actually in control. The antidote to control is revelation and faith. Suffering and trials remove the soul's notion of its sovereignty by exposing the weaknesses and limitations inherent in the natural. One cannot put on display the character of Christ in any area in which the person’s soul retains its rule. As the dominance of the spirit is restored, the divine nature into which one is "born again" begins to emerge. Suffering through trials and the application of faith strengthens the spiritual convictions of the one in Christ, eventually forming a mature son of God.

 

[Nehemiah6]

This manner of beginning a new creation, by reordering elements that already exist, is the same process by which God creates a son out of one whose life has become formless and misdirected without the preeminence of His spirit.

What exactly does this mean? Is this about the New Birth?

 

[Aaron56]

What exactly does this mean? Is this about the New Birth?

Being born again is the beginning. Sanctification and maturing is the process that comes after being born again.

If you mean "New Birth" as some sort of movement I am not familiar with that.

 

[maxwel]

God began creation by arranging preexisting elements.

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Prior to God’s first act of creation recorded in Scripture, some of the things that already existed were “the deep,” “the waters,” and the land covered by the waters.

God's First Act of Creation?


1.) You are claiming God's FIRST ACT OF CREATION, was to arrange PRE-EXISTING elements.

2.) So... where did those elements come from?
A.) If God created them at a prior time, then Genesis 1:2 you're quoting is NOT God's first act of creation.
B.) If God did not create those elements, then you're claiming something else beside God is eternal and self existent (attributes that belong only to God) .... and thus undermining God's very nature, and his claims in scripture.

3.) You might want to word this differently, and perhaps offer a more modest claim.... because your claim, as currently stated, isn't going to hold up to scrutiny.


God Bless.

.

 

[maxwel]

MORE...

Aaron, I'm not trying to give you a hard time, I'm just giving you an opportunity to reword your statements.

Sometimes we have interesting ideas, and we don't word them carefully enough.

.

 

[Aaron56]

God's First Act of Creation?


1.) You are claiming God's FIRST ACT OF CREATION, was to arrange PRE-EXISTING elements.

2.) So... where did those elements come from?
A.) If God created them at a prior time, then Genesis 1:2 you're quoting is NOT God's first act of creation.
B.) If God did not create those elements, then you're claiming something else beside God is eternal and self existent (attributes that belong only to God) .... and thus undermining God's very nature, and his claims in scripture.

3.) You might want to word this differently, and perhaps offer a more modest claim.... because your claim, as currently stated, isn't going to hold up to scrutiny.


God Bless.

.

This is in my writing:

“Of course, all things were created by Christ, but the story of creation in Genesis begins with preexisting elements.”

 

[maxwel]

This is in my writing:

“Of course, all things were created by Christ, but the story of creation in Genesis begins with preexisting elements.”

Where did the pre-existing elements come from?

.

 

[Aaron56]

Where did the pre-existing elements come from?

.

Christ.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

But the story begins in a setting where things already exist. We tend to refer to the passage as “The Creation Story” yet, if we examine it, elements are already there. So the point, as I make, is that something else, beyond God simply beginning creation, is being revealed: even at the beginning, we see the process for man’s redemption.

And why not: if everything is made through Christ, such that without Him nothing would exist, then His divine template should be seen in His workmanship.

 

[maxwel]

Christ.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

But the story begins in a setting where things already exist. We tend to refer to the passage as “The Creation Story” yet, if we examine it, elements are already there. So the point, as I make, is that something else, beyond God simply beginning creation, is being revealed: even at the beginning, we see the process for man’s redemption.

And why not: if everything is made through Christ, such that without Him nothing would exist, then His divine template should be seen in His workmanship.

Hey Aaron,
Thank you for clearing up your views.

I think the confusion came when you referred to Genesis 1:2 as "God's first act of creation", when that is not actually what you believe.
The language was just confusing.

Thanks for clearing things up.

.

 

[Nehemiah6]

If you mean "New Birth" as some sort of movement I am not familiar with that.

New Birth = regeneration = being born again = being born from above = being born of the Spirit = being born of God. All those terms are in Scripture.

 

[Aaron56]

New Birth = regeneration = being born again = being born from above = being born of the Spirit = being born of God. All those terms are in Scripture.

Agreed.

Because the words were capitalized I thought they might refer to a certain movement.