THE TEMPORARY SEPARATION

God is never surprised or caught off guard regardless of what religion teaches. We have been taught through the ages that God is OMNISCIENT - having all knowledge, as well as possessing omnipotence and is also omnipresent. The question is, was he caught off guard by what we call “the fall”? Some, I suspect think that he was. Perhaps it may take you by surprise to suggest that it was predetermined by our Father in his infinite wisdom and knowledge.

Since God, is present every place and has power without any limits, why did he allow Adam and Eve to eat the one fruit they were forbidden to eat? In fact his command could be taken as an enticement. Why could he not have fixed the problem right then? Zapped the serpent! Let the fruit shrivel in their hands before it could be bitten! The answer that the vast majority of Christianity teaches, and the world has latched onto this concept, is “free will,” or “free moral choice,” but is it the correct answer even though there appears to have been an element of choice?

John Gavazzoni has said: “Just what does the evangelical community mean by the doctrine of free will? I'll boil it down for you: The doctrine essentially insists that God sovereignly ceded over to man a core element of divine sovereignty, that being the determination of our eternal destiny. In effect, the doctrine of free will proposes that God decided that man should have the autonomous right and capacity to have things his (man's) way, and that God Himself would be bound to respect man's decision, even if it went against His desire, will and purpose for man.” End of quote.

We do need to be careful that we have a balanced view of both the sovereignty of God and man’s ability to choose. The will of God reigns supreme, the will of man does not. Whatever freedom mankind may seem to have in making choices, in the end comes down to accountability. As Romans 14:12 says, “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” [NASU] This statement is made following the discussion on matters of conscious. And in 1 Peter 4:5, “but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” [NASU] Any freedom of action taken is accountable to God, and any freedom of action ultimately works within the sovereignty of his purposes.

We must realize that our Father did have advance notice, not that he needed it, of what would happen in the Garden of Eden with the result of all mankind becoming sinners by nature, and he clearly planned to deal with it. Let us look at Revelation 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:19-20 to see a record of his foreknowledge.

The following are quotations of the relevant part of Revelation 13:8 from various translations, the last one being from Kenneth Wuest’s New Testament.

• All on earth will worship it, except those whose names the Lamb that was slain keeps in his roll of the living, written there since the world was made. NEB.
• Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. NKJV.
• written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. NASU
• the Book of the Lamb who has been offered in sacrifice ever since the creation of the world. Weymouth NT.
• Belonging to the Lamb who has been slain {in the mind and purpose of God} since the time when the foundations of the universe were laid, and who is looked upon {by God} as the slain Lamb at present. NT by Kenneth Wuest

We also find this prior knowledge and determination of God with regard to our need of salvation and redemption when we consider 1 Peter 1:19-20 from various translations.

• The price paid in precious blood, as it were of a lamb without mark or blemish - the blood of Christ. Predestined before the foundation of the world, NEB.
• but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, NASU.
• but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, NKJV.
• but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation the world. ESV.
• but with the precious blood of Christ--as of an unblemished and spotless lamb. He was pre-destined indeed to this work, even before the creation of the world, Weymouth NT.

These verses from make clear that within the wisdom and knowledge of God, he was fully prepared to take care of the need of man for a Savior, yet in his timing, and with a larger goal in mind.

One must wonder why God our Father allowed sin and the subjection of man to it to become a reality, unless there was a need within Deity (not the archaic word Godhead) for it to happen. What possible need could the God-family have in this? Rather than attempt to put God into oneness, two-ness, or three-ness boxes, I used the term - God-family. We are well aware that God IS Spirit, who has revealed himself as the Father, who is revealed to us as Son in the humanness of Jesus the Christ, as well as demonstrating the capacity of Motherhood in the name El Shaddai beginning in Genesis17:1-2. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, "I am El-Shaddai—'God Almighty.' Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants." NLT (New Living Translation).

The following quotation gives some light about the name El Shaddai: “Shaddai itself occurs forty-eight times in the Old Testament and is translated "almighty." The other word so like it, and from which we believe it to be derived, occurs twenty-four times and is translated "breast." As connected with the word breast, the title Shaddai signifies one who nourishes, supplies, satisfies. Connected with the word for God, El, it then becomes the "One mighty to nourish, satisfy, supply." Naturally with God the idea would be intensified, and it comes to mean the One who "sheds forth" and "pours" out sustenance and blessing. In this sense, then, God is the all-sufficient, the all-bountiful.” (Quote from Names of God, Copyright 1944 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago)

This reminds us of Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. — So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female. [NCV] The Hebrew words used for image and likeness are similar in meaning. Man was created to be as similar to God as possible out of all of his created beings. We do not read of God breathing into the other created beings, even if the DNA was similar to that used in the fashioning of “the adam.” This wording of image and likeness is mentioned twice in Genesis 1:26-27. In Genesis 5:3 we read, Adam was one hundred and thirty years old when begot a son in his likeness and image, and named Seth. NEB. Seth was seen to be similar to his father Adam, as he probably looked like him and in time may have taken on his behavioral characteristics, just like little Susy is said to look, and talk just like great-aunt Matilda. We do know that “the adam” was breathed into to become the image and likeness of God.

Man, unlike the birds, fish and animals was given the ability to have spiritual fellowship with his creator because of the Spirit of the Creator breathed into him. In actual fact I believe that “the created” birthed from out of the Deity, or perhaps it is better to say, birthed from within Deity was destined for more than just being a being made physically from the dust because that which is birthed of Spirit is spirit.

Whatever on believes about the creation of the universes, however many there are, in the end it all comes back to faith. Did it all start from a “big bang?” If so, where did the material that exploded in the “big bang” come from? One highly educated person is known to have asked; “If there is a god then who created him?” That thinking becomes endless as it provides no answer, just as the ancient gods were said to have been the creation of other gods. In the end it still comes back to faith, BUT faith in what or whom?

Jonathan Mitchell wrote: “The church has long discussed, and most have accepted as fact, the doctrine of *ex nihilo*, that God created the universe "out of nothing." J. Preston Eby has discussed this subject, logically asking, that if before creation there was only God, of what then did God create things, since "nothing comes from nothing." Eby's logical conclusion was that God took from Himself to form, or fashion, Himself in a different form of Himself (note: "form," or, "fashion" is the meaning of the Heb. word *bara* which is used in Gen. 1:1, and commonly translated "create" – it does not mean to make something out of nothing, or, *ex nihilo*). This thought, or idea, can be seen in Paul's words found in Rom. 11:36, "Because from out of the midst of Him... [are] all things." Again, in 1 Cor. 8:6, he say, "But to the contrary, with us (or: to and for us) [there is] one God, the Father, out of the midst of Whom [are; or: come] all things (or: the whole [of the created universe])." He repeats the phrase in 2 Cor. 5:18, "all things (Greek: *ta panta*) [come into existence (following the verb “ginomai” in vs. 17)] from out of the midst of God." (Can God Die? 2009)

John Gavazzoni has said, “I dare to say that it's been shown to me, that the "material" from which God formed/fashioned/carved-out the universe, with Adam as its federal head under Christ, is not only generally speaking, God's own spirit-substance, but specifically the spirit-substance of Who He begot---the eternal Son, inclusive of His many brethren.” End of quote.

Dr Paul Brand & co-author Philip Yancy wrote in their book - “In His Image,” the following: “Somehow the essence of God entered the bodies of the first created humans, and they bore His image on this planet. For a time the two natures, the physical nature of organs and blood and bone and a spiritual nature allowing direct communications with God, fit together in harmony.” End of quote.

We do know that God spoke into being, and speaking is spirit and even Jesus said, “The words I speak they are spirit and life.” We agree with what was written to the Hebrews (1:1-3), “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” NASU.

Would our Father create a race of beings in his similitude in which he would not have a vested interest? If man was simply created as a test case, like some laboratory experiment, to see how well they would do under the hypothesis of free will, with the prior knowledge that his experiment would fail, what would be the point? Is God the ultimate sadist who takes pleasure in all, except for a tiny few, of those made in his image and likeness suffering endlessly? This is the belief that is prevalent amongst so many who profess to be Bible believers. There must be a better purpose than that! This burn all endlessly, except for a tiny speck of mankind error, is a smear on the character of Father God, and contrary to his primary nature which is LOVE.

This basic truth that must be emphasized again and again is, GOD IS LOVE! GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE SENT HIS SON! And LOVE NEVER FAILS! I like the way that Jonathan Mitchell translated 1 Corinthians 13:7. “[Love] continuously covers all mankind; it is habitually loyal to all humanity; it is constantly having an expectation for all mankind; it is continuously remaining under and giving support to all people. (or, since “all” can be neuter: It progressively puts a protecting roof over all things; it is habitually trusting in and believing all things; it is continually hoping in or for all things; it keeps on patiently enduring all things.)  Hallelujah! Let us rejoice and be glad!