My Glorified Body! (Part 1)
When God created Adam and Eve, they were perfect. They had everything that God created for them. When they sinned, they lost it all, including the Glory of God. Paul tells us that this is the essence of sin. Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Jesus died on the cross and returned to us some of the glory (firstfruits – down payment), but when Jesus returns at the Rapture, He’s going to FULLY RESTORE everything we lost when Adam sinned!
Welcome to Pleasureville!
God created mankind in Pleasureville! It was in the Garden of Eden that God shaped the dust of the ground and formed man. Eden means delight. God never intended for a human being to suffer. He is the best parent in all existence. What parent would want their child to feel pain?
My Glorified Body! (Part 2)
1 Thessalonians 4 gives a picture of what will happen when Jesus returns. “The dead in Christ will rise first, and those who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds and meet the Lord in the air.”
1 Corinthians 15 gives a more detailed picture of what our new bodies will be like.
The body we have now is sown in corruption (decay, perishing), but our new body will be raised in incorruption (immortality). Our current body has weakness, but our heavenly body will have power. Our new bodies will be multidimensional being both physical and spiritual.”
Redeemed Authority
Adam and Eve were created by God and were given absolute authority over this world. They were to dominate anything that would come against God’s will. When they sinned, they turned over that authority to Satan. Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection purchased back dominion of the earth. As Christians, we currently have spiritual authority through our relationship with Christ, but when Jesus returns He will restore TOTAL authority to us. God created us to rule on this earth as a chosen generation of royal priests.
Going Back Home
Six-thousand years ago, Adam and Eve got kicked out of the house! They broke the rules; they sinned. I know this may sound strange; but, because of that, you have never REALLY been home! Yes, we call our place of dwelling “HOME,” but it’s not really home. It’s temporary housing! Your true home is in Heaven with God. God wanted to live with mankind, so He created us and placed us in a garden of paradise. The reason we know He wanted to live with us is simple to see. When He created Adam and Eve, He lived with them! When we go to Heaven, we’re going to live with Jesus forever.
Redeemed Intimacy Part 1
Adam and Eve lived with God in the garden of Eden, and they saw Him face to face every day. They walked and talked with Him in perfect intimacy and ease. The relationship didn’t have the unique significance we would now appreciate, because they didn’t have any frame of reference. They had never lived without Him; so, they didn’t appreciate it as they should have. Adam and Eve obviously didn’t treasure this wonderful opportunity, because they traded it for a false promise reflected in a piece of forbidden fruit. When Jesus returns for us, we will get that incredible intimacy with God back!
Redeemed Intimacy Part 2
Adam and Eve knew God and had a brief relationship with Him, but they were inexperienced. Of course, the devil did what he does to all of us. He offered them an exchange. He offered them Something for Someone. In exchange for God the Father and their intimate relationship with Him, the devil offered them a piece of life altering fruit. His offering was the temptation for them to obtain knowledge immediately rather than learn it over eons of time as God mentored them through relationship.
Redeemed Intimacy Part 3
Why did God set Adam and Eve up for temptation and failure by placing “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” in the Garden? Why was there a tree in the garden that they couldn’t eat from? It seems like a set up to me!