Divided, We Fall

Often, when bad things happen--we find ourselves shocked that the person we knew would do something so heinous. The truth is, there is an explanation for it and it lies in the makeup of mankind.

Man is a trichotomy. God intended for us to be a trichotomy--we are spirits, that have souls and bodies. We are made up of all three. We can't exist without all three, but failure of one or the other to function according to the original plan can wreak havoc; and not simply on ourselves, but those who come in contact with us. The intent of God was to have a man and a woman "made in His Image and after His Likeness". God is One! "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD..."[Deuteronomy 6:4, The Shema]. And that is His plan for us--that we would be one, as He Is One. There is a difference in original nature and the sin nature that exists in every man, woman and child after the fall of mankind. Now, we have the opportunity to be one again, as at the beginning, but it is not automatic, or by birth. 

How is man like God? God Is Father in Creation, Son in Redemption, (and since Pentecost) the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer. That's how we are in His Image, but the likeness ends there, without the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, guiding, teaching the believer to live and walk circumspectly. Yes, it's a lot to grasp--in fact, impossible to grasp without faith. 1 Timothy 3:16 sums it up. "And without controversy great is the mystery of Godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into Glory." By the way, His Name Is Jesus. The gargantuan difference between God and man are perfection and wholeness. Because God is perfect in every way, it is impossible for Him to sin, to err, to lie and I love this one, to remember our past sins, once He has forgiven us of them! And, there is "wholeness" in God--the very essence of His Image and Likeness is whole. There is nothing broken, disjointed, or unfaithful in God; and there is complete unity in the Godhead. There is no battle going on in Heaven between Father, Son and Holy Spirit about Who is the greatest or the least (as there very likely would be with humans). They Are ONE.

We, too can be one. Jesus prayed, "Neither pray I for these [the disciples] alone, but for them also which believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou has sent Me." We can have unity (not necessity to have uniformity! We're adults.) with one another.

But then, we also, need some unity within ourselves in order to truly be in the Image of God--whole. "Whole" comes from the same root word that we get "Integer" and "Integrity". Integers are "whole" numbers, right? Integrity, like wholeness and integers (from the Oxford Dictionary) is: "the state of being whole and undivided; the condition of being unified, unimpaired, or sound in construction. We tend to think of integrity (regarding people) only in the sense of honesty, strong principles and moral uprightness. Clearly, the root word "integritas" suggests otherwise. 

Back to the beginning...God created trichotomous beings in His Image and after His Likeness, who were whole--like Him. He also gave them free will. They could choose to remain whole or they could choose to live outside of the will of God. I think we all know what they chose. In mercy, God banished them from Eden to keep them from eating from the tree of Life which would then plunge them and all of mankind into living forever in this sinful state, without the reprieve of death. Death can be merciful. Remember, when sin came, so did sickness, shame and every evil and hard thing; even good things were marred by the effect of sin. The nature of the whole of creation was affected, nothing was left untouched by the far-reaching hand of sin. Could God have intervened? Absolutely! And, Absolutely not! In the sense that He had the power to interrupt the plan of satan and stop His creations from sinning, absolutely. But, on the other hand, absolutely not because He had already imbedded in His plan that mankind would have the right to choose, no matter what. God has never taken that choice away from any of us--even though we often deserve it. God's word really is His bond!

And so, mankind was left with this conundrum. Naked and ashamed, but not without hope👏; still not abandoned by His Creator. He always had a plan. He knew before He made the man and the woman what they would do; and He still made them. The heart of God is not like ours--there are definite differences. He made Himself a Man, and became our Redeemer [Philippians 2:4-8]. He fixed our mess, giving us the opportunity to once again choose our destiny. We still have free will! We can choose life and wholeness or death and separation from God, eternally. He has done everything to provide life, freedom and wholeness for all who desire them. He gave all of Himself for all of us. Now, you choose. "What must I do to be saved?" Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:45-47; Acts 2:37,38; Acts 4:12; Acts 8:14-17; Acts 10:42-48. 

O, to be like Jesus.




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