I have a desire to write a book that will help believers, especially
new believers, to possess fundamental understandings of the foundation which
they have in Messiah. When the need for
such a project began to percolate in my soul the question of where to begin
became primary.
It seemed an obvious
answer at first that I should begin at repentance from dead works and faith
toward YHWH. This is the place of the divine spark when men are born again from
above and where men become disciples of Messiah. However as I prayed and sought
what YHWH would have me say it became obvious that it was needful to go back
further.
After all when the scripture speaks of our salvation it
states that Messiah was slain before the foundation of the world. This
understanding of where we came from to understand where we are going is not
without its difficulties. For one many a great mind has tried unsuccessfully to
give a definitive explanation of man’s inception and though I love to think and
study my mind is an amateur by comparison. A second hindrance is the
combination of perception of me and my reader as to what is true about will,
fate, and sovereignty on an all-inclusive scale.
These considerations, though they are unarguable, have been
trumped. To the first YHWH has responded that it is to be no longer I who am
working but Messiah in me so my life is not my own but His shared in me. To the
second it has always been those with ears to hear who have heard, and it is
YHWH who is the teacher not the mouth speaking. So I will begin…
YHWH uses the name ELOHIM when He speaks of being the
creator. A lot of speculation has been had over the nature of this name being
plural; think of Him saying we instead of I. John in His commentary beginning his
gospel says “In the beginning was the word and the word was with YHWH and the
word was YHWH” this statement is meant to give additional understanding to the statement
of Moses which it echoes “In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the
earth.”
Understanding Elohim is not as complex as theologians,
historians, and YouTube would make it out to be. It is not a word left from a
time before monotheism; to quote Moses “YHWH is our Elohim, YHWH is one”. Often
in scripture we see parables used to convey understandings so let’s use
ourselves to understand since we are made in His image.
You are a three part
being body, soul, and spirit.
•Body-that part of you consisting of matter by which you
affect the physical and are affected
•Soul-that part of you we call consciousness (mind &
heart) thought, will, and emotions
•spirit-that part of you called life: vitality, energy,
force, presence
You however are one being.
At this point I would understand if the mind begins to drift
to the various beliefs on the nature of the Godhead but I would ask that such
thoughts be suspended for the time being. Our goal is to understand only at
this time how redemption begins before “in the beginning”. In the witness of the apostles we see YHWH
revealed as the Father (generator), the Son (the physical body of the living
word), and the Spirit (the Fathers life within the Messiah before death and
bringing forth the resurrection). When
we take this understanding back to before anything existed other than YHWH we
arrive at Elohim.
Let us return to the example of ourselves. If we determine
to make a new work; then we will first in our mind determine its design,
purpose, and limitations. With said work completed in our mind we use our
energy to use our body to bring the work into physical existence. This example
of course is flawed because I am finite causing me to not foresee problems, have
limited energy, and limited skill.
So at the start of creation before anything except YHWH
exist
•The Father conceives His work of creation within Himself
•The Spirit (breath) begins to move so as to energize the
word
•The Son (living word) forms substance as it is given
substance
*It should be said that the breath and the word are not created
for they have always been the Father; they are simply revealed.
Since the lamb was slain before the foundations of the earth
we know that YHWH made salvation before there was transgression; not only this
but He knew all who. The question has been posed many times “why did YHWH make
Adam in such a way that He could fail?”
I do not pretend to have a complete answer but perhaps a
starting point of consideration.
Everything that Elohim spoke into existence was a reflection
of Him in some way; after all everything that He spoke had its source in Him
and from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Adam was not spoken into existence
but was formed of the creation and YHWH breathed into Him and he became a
living soul. This means Adam was the first physical creature to be one with the
Father.
If we can extract from our thinking the fable of Adam and
Eve being childlike, naive, and unwitting then it becomes possible to understand
that their temptation was much different than we have assumed. It has long been
propagated that Adams temptation was akin to a child being deceived by the promise
of candy only to find their selves taken captive by an evil taskmaster. The
temptation of Messiah as a mature, capable, and adult participant is the true
way to consider Adam.
Yeshua was not without the ability to choose to do things
His own way; however He instead chose to trust, depend, and expect the Father
to live and work through Him. YHWH choses to be who He is and as such those in
His image also can chose to be who YHWH is or choose to seek after a self who
is separate from the life of Him.
•temptation of body
Adam & Eve in a
lush garden saw a fruit that was edible and chose it over YHWH’s provision
Yeshua in a barren wilderness and a starvation state chose
to trust in YHWH to provide for life
•temptation of the soul
Adam and Eve found the fruit appealing and chose it over what
they had been taught.
Yeshua when tempted to obtain recognition of himself as
Messiah chose to depend on YHWH
•temptation of the spirit
Adam and Eve chose to define and generate for themselves
good and evil over knowing YHWH as their maker.
Yeshua tempted to obtain the whole earth which He came to
redeem by his own actions; He chose to expect YHWH to do the work through Him.
Men tend to see that everything was perfect and man ruined
it and that now YHWH is doing damage control. With this perspective they see the
time of man as rocketing toward an end. Perhaps YHWH provided grace before
transgression so that which He had formed and breathed into would have a
certain eternity.
This redemption is given to those who repent of Adam’s self-reliance
and place faith in YHWH’s salvation. Next we discuss the mistake of "original sin".
