The Good Of The Father (Something Happened On The Way To The Cross)

 

Then Yahweh Elohim took the human and settled him in the garden of Eden to serve it and to keep it 

Genesis 2: 15, Concordant old Testament  

Anyone who has read the beginning of the scriptures knows exactly what happened after the Lord completed His creation.  Mankind found a way to screw things up.  In what has been known in Christian circles as "The fall," man disobeyed the creator and fell for the lie of the deceiver.  That lie was that man could "Be like God" {Genesis 3:5}.  Of course, Adam could not have known at that time that he was created in the very image of the Father {Genesis 1:27}.  In reality, Adam was already like God.  He shared in all that the Father is.  For when we're told that we are created in the likeness of God, we can be assured that we share in all that He is.  Not only was Adam created in the Fathers likeness, it is God who breathed into His creation the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  It is God who took from Adam to create a "Helper comparable to him" {Genesis 2:18}.  So it is that we have Adam, created in the likeness of the Father.  Then there is Eve, created from Adam but still carrying the Fathers likeness for herself.  We can assume that this first couple lived and thrived for a brief time in the Lords creation.  That they lived daily in the presence of the Father.  How is it that we know this?  Well, after Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit, the Lord came calling.  It's here where we learn that, upon hearing the voice of the Lord, Adam answered that "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself" {Genesis 3:10}.  Take note, because this is the fracture point in Adam and Eve's relationship with God which they shared prior to their believing in the lie of the deceiver.  This is what is known as the fall.  Where mankind, lost in sin, was banished from the garden.  This is the moment which set up the coming of Christ Jesus and the restoration of that relationship which God once shared with His creation.  

"Lo!  The virgin shall be pregnant And shall be bringing forth a Son, And they shall be calling His name 'Emmanuel', "which is, being construed, "God with us," 

Matthews Account 1:23, Concordant New Testament 

For much of the Christmas season, believers all across the world will gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Savior.  The belief is that Christ was commissioned solely for the forgiveness of the sin of Gods creation.  I beg to differ.  One of the key moments in the history of the birth of Jesus comes as Joseph is visited by the angel of the Lord to announce to him the coming birth of his son.  The angel proclaims that "They shall be calling His name Emmanuel, which is, being construed, "God with us" {Matthews Account 1:23}.  Now, think back to the final days of man's time in the garden of Eden, how his own relationship with the Lord had been fractured due to his disobedience towards God.  Now, as the birth of the coming savior is announced, we're told that this child will be "God with us."  Yes, the child will save His people from their sins, but He will also restore that relationship which God once shared with His creation.  It is the Father Who, through Jesus, will once again be in relationship with His creation.  It is the Father, through Jesus, who will interact each day with His chosen disciples.  It is the Father who, through Jesus, will once again share in the day to day lives of His creation.  As we read of Jesus interacting with those around Him, remember that this is the Father living through the Son.  This is the union which Jesus speaks of related by the apostle John {Johns Account 14:20}.  Jesus in the Father, we are in Christ and Christ in us.  This is what happened on the way to the cross.  

In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~