by Archbshop Elisha Chennaiah
One of the most profound questions in Christian theology is: Why did God send His Son into the world? What was the purpose?
The Divine Mission
God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to pay the ransom price for humanity, to restore our access to God so that we can have eternal life (John 3:16). But there’s more to this divine mission than meets the eye.
The Original State of Mankind
When God originally created mankind, He placed them in a position of free will. This means that they had the choice to do right or wrong, just as we still do today. Man was given dominion over the earth and everything in nature was in harmony. There was no sin, sickness, pain, death, hatred, or evil in natural existence (Genesis 1 & 2).
The Fall of Satan
However, in the spiritual realm, Satan fell from his position in heaven as one of God’s archangels, desiring to be greater than his creator (Isaiah 14:12-17). This is where sin originated. With him, he dragged a large number of the angels who believed his lie into their fallen state.
The First Sin
God gave mankind (at that time Adam and Eve) a very simple commandment to keep: not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is not a physical fruit, there is a much deeper meaning behind it, but that’s a topic for another time. God told them that if they ate the forbidden fruit they would die (Genesis 2:17).
Satan subtly approached Eve in the body of a serpent (which was physically the closest to a human being, but was later cursed by God and became a serpent as we know it today - Genesis 3:14) and began to plant seeds of doubt in her mind, suggesting that she would be better off eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3:1–5).
The Turning Point
When Eve began to doubt God’s word and believe Satan’s lie, it was a turning point for the entire creation. She ate the forbidden fruit and gave it to her husband Adam, and thereby the entire human race was plunged into darkness (Genesis 3:6-24). Man began to die just as God had warned. Mankind fell from its former position of heir and ruler over the earth. All the evil we see today came into existence from then (Romans 5:18).
God’s Control and Plan
Did God lose control of His creation? Absolutely not. He was in control then and still is, but allowed these things for a purpose. Before anything else existed, God dwelt alone in eternity with His thoughts. He has many qualities within Him. As Father, Creator, Savior, Healer, Comforter, Provider, and so much more, He sought a way to express these attributes…
The Purpose of Creation
God, being the object of worship, cannot be without something to worship Him. When He created the angels, they worshipped Him. But the worship of angels was mechanical. They had no real understanding or appreciation of the qualities that God possesses because they had never experienced them.
True worship comes only by experiencing the reality of God. To have beings who can worship God wholeheartedly, He created the universe and placed mankind on earth. Adam and Eve (the first humans) had fellowship with God (Genesis 3:8) but they could not yet fully worship God. In their perfect state with nature, there was nothing evil, no sin, nothing contrary.
Since creation in its perfection still did not allow for the full expression of God’s attributes, God placed man on free moral agency, knowing that they would fall if left to their own devices.
The Downfall of Mankind
This is when Satan entered in, and using his subtlety, he led God’s children away from the stronghold of God’s Word. This caused them to lose their place, resulting in the downfall of mankind. But was God afraid? No. It was all part of God’s plan to have sons and daughters who would know His reality, and know who He is and what He means to them, and worship Him…
The Lineages of Cain and Abel
When Adam and Eve fell and sin entered the world, two lineages began (Genesis 4). The family of Cain was the wicked family, and the family of Abel was the righteous family. After thousands of years, these clans intermingled so much that very few of these clans remained pure. However, God’s provision for salvation is not limited to the righteous lineage, but only to those willing to accept it (Genesis 4:6-7). Inevitably, the righteous lineage accepted it and the unrighteous lineage rejected it, with few exceptions.
God’s Grace
Although it was man’s decision to disobey God, God’s grace provided a way of escape after the fall of Adam and Eve. They had to sacrifice certain clean animals (cattle, sheep, goats)…
(To be continued…)
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