The Rose of Sharon
Chapter One
The Mystery of God’s WillSix-thousand years ago before the foundation of the world, God hovered in the complete expanse of space. This space was totally void of any shape or of any living thing, that is, until Jehovah God spoke. By the power of His spoken words, God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in it "…And God saw that it was good [1].”
Can you imagine what it would have been like, if the experience was possible, to be able to look over God’s shoulder while He hovered in the expanse of nothingness speaking His creation into existence?
Every time I read the Genesis account I can almost hear God’s resonant and booming voice as He spoke everything into being: pointing in one direction and slowly exclaiming “…Let there be light…” He then points in another direction and speaking like thunder, He creates the firmament; yet again, pointing somewhere else and with authority speaks water, land, and the animals into existence. Then for His ‘pièce de résistance’—He created man.
Man hasn’t had the best track record as far as holiness is concerned since his creation, and given the way he has ended up, have you ever wondered why God would even want to create man in the first place. I know I have.
Better yet, have you ever wondered why He created the serpent, let alone letting it wander around in the Garden of Eden with the ever-present possibility of meeting up with and devouring Adam and Eve?
Perhaps that’s your question as well. It stands to reason that if there were no serpent, then there would have been no need for an apple eating decision. If there was no decision, then there would have been no bite. If there was no bite, then there would be no sin. We’d all have lived happily ever after—and forever I might add, in the full power, glory, and presence of almighty God. End of story.
Did God Make a Mistake
Do we really believe that God made a mistake?
God knew all along that man would fall because He went to the end of His plan while devising it, and then went back to the beginning to put it all into motion [2].
We can read the entire Bible and surely most readers will conclude as to what God’s plan was by virtue of context. Context is everything when reading Scripture. God has a time for all things [3] and it is why (throughout the Bible) that He spoke to man in parables.
God Has a Plan
So…what was God’s original plan for mankind? [4] The answer lies in the creation itself.
First John 4:8b tells us that, “…God is love.” Can you imagine what it would be like to be Love and not have anyone to love or love you back? We can only speculate as to how God felt before He created the heavens, the earth, and then man. As evidenced by His Word, God is emotional [5] and as such we have to assume that since He created us, He needed somebody on which to lavish that love.
Christ also needed a Bride with which to lavish His love. This, however, presented two problems: Number 1, Jesus was Spirit and therefore needed a spirit for a bride. Since God was the only entity in the universe at the time, He would have to create one, and number 2, He needed the spirit to love Him with its own volition because without choice, you render love meaningless. The new spirit needed choice.
God Puts His Plan in Motion
Since God is spirit [6] He would have to create man [7] in His own image. We learn in Genesis 1:27 that God first created man as a spirit. According to His plan, when God created man, He also created the female at the same time. God created them as one; Genesis 2:2b declares it so. As spirit, the male and female walked in the true image and likeness of almighty God. The essence of woman was now in man.
However, God was only just beginning. He was a third of the way there and man would be His best creation yet. Step one was complete; He had created man and woman as spirit. Now all He had to do was give them choice so that His Bride could love Him of her own volition. Enter the serpent.
[1] First stated in Genesis 1:10 (Genesis 1: 4)
[2] Romans 8:29, 30. That is why it is important to pray God’s will.
[3] Ecclesiastes 3:1; Ephesians 1:10
[4] Ephesians 1:9-11
[5] Scriptures on God’s emotions like money changers table, Jesus wept, admonishing Pharisees, etc
[6] John 4:24
[7] Generic term for mankind, meaning man AND woman.
Copyright © James C. Lindquist 2005