Adam and the Faith given by God
mmo...@essex1.com
Hello,
Many of you may be wandering about the fundamental structure of Christianity, our work on earth, and how we relate to God. I have contemplated these mysteries today, and hopefully I will have something valuable to contribute regarding the issue.
First of all let us consider the work of Adam. Genesis 2:15 tells us that the reason why God put man in the garden of Eden is to take care of it and to toil in it, but after this happened God brought animals to man to see what he would name them. The point in this story is that Adam is charged with being a protector and processor of the things that god’s creation produced. Adam was made by design and intention to be the one who guards what God has provided as well as to process God’s creation into something usable. Overall, much of Adam’s work was in the naming of the animals and this work allowed Adam to understand the differences between things and to recall those differences as well as to assign attributes to living things according to Adam’s observation and experience with those living things.
In other words Adam saw a wolf lets say, and then he was able to upon observation say that a wolf has a tail and stands on four legs and such and then latter Adam saw that type of creature namely a wolf and would perhaps seen it snarl and would have understood it to have those qualities as well. The point is that Adam’s work was thus to be observing of creation, and not only that but also Adam was able to upon observation manage God’s creation in such a way as to make a product or to increase fruitfulness. The work of Adam pleased God and he was happy with it, and you might ask why.
The work of Adam was to mimic the work of God, and it showed Adam at the center of everything that God had created this was just like God is at the center of all creation. Adam was truly the son of God having the life breath in him thus being filled with the Holy Ghost (this is a assumption that I am not fully committed to) while working out God’s plans by looking at nature and discovering what God intends for everything in nature and how those things are supposed to interact and such. Adam thus truly had the same role on earth as what Christ would latter have (the difference is that Christ from birth had to hold himself back from complete knowledge being known at all times in order to make decisions by observation), and it is no wonder that Christ is considered the second Adam.
According to Genesis 2:22-25 "Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame." (NIV) What is important to note about this fact is that Christ death on the cross thus was the second Adam having a part taken away and infused into a new creation, and thus the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ made God’s people by redemption and reversing the curse of the fall. For this reason Jesus Christ left his Father in Heaven, his Mother on Earth (this being the decent into Hades for three days), and became (as a result of the resurrection) united to his wife the New Jerusalem so that they may be one flesh. Truly when the curtain around the ark of the covenant that is according to Hebrews to be the body of Christ was torn thus Christ’s body was torn at the same time exposing God’s inner most parts, and not only that but also the coverings than man used to hide his sins became destroyed as well exposing the sins of man before God. Overall, the result of the crucifixion of Christ is that man and Christ had been left completely naked both being completely exposed to one another thus reversing both the hiding that man did from God and the driving out that God did to man from the garden (remember when he died they said he was a righteous man).
Remember the story of the good shepherd whom leaves his multitude of sheep to find the one lost sheep as well as the references to those whom shepherd their flocks by night. The point in such matters is that they are acting as a good episkopos (this being a guardian of shepherd often translated as Bishop), and more importantly we are shown that the desire of the good shepherd is to not let one whom has been entrusted to him be lost. Overall, we learn of the episkopos from the story of Adam, Noah, David, Moses, and such, but this role was only truly fulfilled by Christ when we gathered the lost sheep to himself by his death on the cross.
We thus see Christ fulfilling the roles of Adam, and these roles are those of being the guardian of creation, the judge of creation (just as Adam named the animals and thus knew the difference between a sheep and a goat), and being the mate for his wife. In this way Christ fulfilled all three roles of profit (the one who issues God’s judgments), priest (the one whom unites both God and man), and king (the one whom is the guardian over creation). Overall, Christ is thus the second Adam that brings all of creation into harmony, and not only that but he also works to make the Father’s will and desires known.
Note that Noah was born just the generation after the death of Adam, and as a result his generation would have been the first for the most part to have lived without Adam bringing all of creation into God’s perspective. It was thus the cause that God had to show himself to Noah in at least enough ways that Noah would know to build a ark that would save creation from the flood that God was planning to wipe out the wicked with. Note that just as Noah became the second great episkopos after Adam by building the ark and protecting creation at sea for 40 days and 40 nights so to Jesus Christ did the same by going into the wilderness and not relenting under the temptation of Satan. Overall, the point in both Noah at sea and Christ before the devil in the wilderness is that their work protected those whom would be saved, and this was done by Noah being isolated from the blessings of God as one whom would fast just as Jesus was approached by Satan as he said to him if you are really the son of man then turn these stones into bread, as Jesus reply was, "man cannot live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Father." Overall, the point is that like Moses going into the mountains to receive the ten commandments before God and like Noah at sea they fasted from communion from God as Jesus before Satan fasted from communion with has Father, and the result was a vast milestone for life everlasting each time the fast was kept.
Why in each case did fasting have to occur before the reward of life; moreover, I think that the answer is that God was destroying the old order of things while the fast took place. For example for Noah God destroyed the earth with water while Noah fasted from reaping from the earth, for Moses God to some extent destroyed the individualism of the Israelites to go their own ways apart from God, and for Jesus God the Father destroyed the binding of youth that had prevented him from going into his ministry.
The result is that after Noah was on the sea God made the entire earth a new, after Moses received the law God made Israel a new nation, and after Christ temptation with Satan Christ became suitable for ministry. In a similar way Christ descended to Hades as if to fast, and then the resurrection of Christ occurred such that the pouring of the Holy Ghost was brought down abundantly on man. Overall, the point is that we as Christians ideally act as Adam bringing everything in creation into prospective, fasting occurs causing hard times and often alienation, and then God gives the reward such as eternal salvation by the work of Christ.
The question that remains is, "why during fasting do people sometimes yield to temptation and get punished but yet still get their reward at the end of the fasting." In other words why did the Israelites turn to the golden calf while Moses was away and then get punished by the curse of the law (if you cannot live by the law then die by the law) while at the same time the reward of the central teachings of statehood and nation forming was given. I think that the answer is that like Jesus in the wilderness when Satan says, "if you are really the son of God then turn these stones into bread" our inclination is to make something for ourselves to break our fast without God working in us to make that thing that we intend to help ourselves with. In other words sin happens when we work to make something to break God’s fast without the proper communion with God.
My point is that in a time of fasting such as the time of the dark ages many may have toward the end of that time chosen to break the fast by their own work (I do not know exactly who did what and I am just trying to explain). Like Moses going away to the mountain to receive communication from God that would form the new kingdom many broke the fast of God with the golden calf. Overall, the point is that like Moses whom thus had to develop a huge legal system and measures for atonement as a result of the fast being broken with the golden calf thus in the same way churches have had to scramble to do likewise as a result of the reformation causing a multiplicity of problems that had to be accounted for like the legal system that Moses had to thus usher in.
Just like God went away while Adam and Eve had been tempted by the snake during the fast in the garden of Eden and the fast was broken causing original sin to occur in the first place, so to happens every other sin thus causing the need for atonement. To give a more practical example many teens are told to not have intimate relations until marriage, but unfortunately many break the fast and thus commit sin and this causes a special need for redemption. In as many fasts that are broken that God has put in place man has to have a way of redemption for each otherwise he would be completely blotted out.
The work of the church thus appears to be the work of Eve working under the direction of Adam and with Adam. For every fast that God however places upon them they often break that fast and have to have a way of redemption that God also gives to them so as to not be blotted out. Overall, this way of redemption has been given to man by the Lamb of God namely Christ whom as High Priest offered himself as a sacrifice for our atonement.
Having said all of this the point is that Faith comes from God and from God alone, and he like in terms of Adam, Noah, and us shows himself or at least what he wants done and then causes their to be a fast. If we complete that fast without being unfaithful, then we get the reward. If we do not complete that fast but instead break it, then we may still get the reward but only now we are under a penalty namely a system of atonement.
Hopefully no one accuses me of voicing Roman Catholic theology, but I believe that scripture shows a clear pattern.
Thank you,
Mathew Enoch Mount
mmo...@essex1.com
Peter VanGee
Peter VanGee
Mathew Enoch Mount
I can understand the difference between subjective and objective
truth. Today many churches have completely turned to theology as
subjective truth for their salvation and church operation. Objective
truth however I would argue as you have defined it is what God can
deliver to each of us by showing himself in our lives.
My only point is that most non Roman Catholics and non Greek Orthodox
are against the idea of fasting, and they would often thus also be
against anything that had to do with fasting.
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