Eleventh Hour Herald - "CHURCH" Part One: From EDEN to EDEN

"CHURCH" - From Creation in Eden to Bondage in Egypt.
Part 1 of a six-part series.

The Bible says that: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1. But who does it mean by "God"? The first chapter of John’s Gospel is all about Jesus Christ and verses 3 and 10 tell us that: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made," And that "He (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made by him." So Jesus – God the Son – is the Creator.

He created Adam and Eve, and their sanctuary (tabernacle, or dwelling-place) was a beautiful garden home called Eden.

There was no need for any veil to hide Jesus’ glory from them. They had His mind in them "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" Philippians 2:5, and He walked and talked with them face to face, in their little sanctuary on earth. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" Matthew 18:20. Here, in Eden, was the first "church" – the gathering of those created in God’s own image. God’s will at Creation was to dwell in His creatures individually and to be in their midst when they were together. That has always been His will through every age, and is His will for us today.

The entrance of sin changed the nature of Adam and Eve. From that time on, they tried to avoid the presence of God: "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid…" Genesis 1:8-10.

From having the mind of God in each one, Adam and Eve had given their minds over to Satan and had become his followers. Satan was thus given the opportunity of taking control of every future inhabitant of the world. But God declared: "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3:15.

Ellen White comments:
"God declares, ‘I will put enmity.’ This enmity is not naturally entertained. When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan. There exists naturally no enmity between sinful man and the originator of sin. Both became evil through apostasy. The apostate is never at rest, except as he obtains sympathy and support by inducing others to follow his example. For this reason, fallen angels and wicked men unite in desperate companionship. Had not God specially interposed, Satan and man would have entered into an alliance against Heaven; and instead of cherishing enmity against Satan the whole human family would have been united in opposition to God."
4SP 324.

They were then told of the plan of salvation which foretold the coming of the Saviour to earth in the flesh so that He could once more dwell in His people and among them "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Matthew 1:2.3.

Until that time, animal sacrifices had to be made for every sin, and these pointed forward to Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, who emptied Himself of His Divine nature to take on Himself our sinful human nature. In that nature he overcame every temptation to sin, in thought, word and act. Finally he made the ultimate sacrifice of death on the cross, to pay the debt we rightfully owe for our sinfulness.

Everyone has a choice – to go God’s way, or to go man’s way. The initial record of this choice was between the first two of Eve’s children, Cain and Abel. Cain relied on his own judgment, Abel did God’s will:
Genesis 4:3: "Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
(v4) …Abel….brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
(v5) But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
(v6) And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
(v7) If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."

Cain’s self-reliance and his rejection of God’s way of salvation led to him killing his brother.

The next installment will look at: "Church" – From Israel’s Deliverance out of Egypt to their Entry into Canaan.

Next: Church Part Two - Deliverance from Egyptian Slavery to Entry Into Canaan

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