BEING WITHOUT LIVING

After much prayer, the Lord whispered in my heart to write about life, especially what it is to be alive, or to just exist or to be. Before you read the article Being Without Living, I recommend you spend time in prayer so the Lord may open the ears of your heart to hearing and heeding the Word of God. Feel free to use these teachings in your church or home Bible study. My prayer is that they will help you to grow in the Lord.

Introduction:

I think it is safe to say that from time to time every living human being has wrestled with the question, "What is life?" within the depths of their heart. To begin this study let's define the word life. Living (life) is the fact that a person is endowed with a divine capacity which allows him or every present thing that we know or can see, to be alive; to be able to move or exert some autonomous motor functions in response to a reaction surrounding the facts of life. For example, man will move from place to place to look for food and rest within his surroundings or natural dwelling in response to his need of hunger and shelter.

The Beginning of Life

By reading Genesis we can find several passages which speak and reveal to us the manner in which God, the Author of all life, has demonstrated to us His power found in His Word. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God's spoken Word had and still has power to change non-existent matter into existent matter. Whatever He commands to live, will become life. In the beginning, the powerful operation and effect of His Word can be seen in the creation of plants and animals, fish, birds etc. and finally man. All of them are the pure manifestation and proceeds from the Word of God.

Read Gen. 1:20-25. God commands, the waters to be filled with live animal abundance and the air with birds and the land with livestock. Then we are faced with a great mystery. After God had created something from nothing, He realized nothing He had made resembled Himself. So in Gen. 1:26 God says," Let us make man in our image, according to our resemblance, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle on the earth, and over all reptiles that crawl on the earth."

All things which are seen and unseen were created by the Word of God. Keep in mind the words <GOD SAID> in Genesis. It is here where we find the splendid authoritative role that the Word of God has. For all things spoken by and through His Word appeared immediately as He commanded them to be. Please read and analyze with me Gen. 1:3-4.

Did you notice that creation was an act of faith for the Trinity? The Bible plainly tells us, "God saw that the light was good." This demonstrates or shows to us how God was blessed in seeing the effect of His powerful Word. The Word, meaning Jesus who was before the foundation of the earth was made, transformed things that were not and made them be or exist by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity in action brought forth the water, the firmament, the elements of the heavens and all other parts of creation. Everything that God created was wonderful. It was the first (fruit) yielding of the power of His spoken Word.

Now continue reading Gen. 1:4-26. The conclusion of the fifth day tells us that God saw what he had created and it was good. (Gen.1:25.) It would appear that God had a moment to pause, reflect, and consider what he just finished working on. Up to that point, the spoken Word had not yet created anything in the image of God. We realize God, drawing from His intelligent, artistic, and perfect aspect of Himself as Father, consulted with His Son and the Holy Spirit and decided to create MAN in His image. This was the last action of God's entire six days of creation.

God's Intimacy Towards Man

Was it possible for God to find one species among the animals He had created to take the place of a human being? - No.- Why? Before the creation of man, all things were created by the power of God's Word <AND GOD SAID>. These things were not fashioned by His intelligence as in the case of man. You can see the human race was specially created in God's image for a purpose - the man would have dominion over all God's creation and would worship, adore, glorify, and love his Creator with his whole heart Gen.1:27 tells us that, "God created man in his own image (His likeness), in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." However, man, the intelligent being made in the image of God, lost his blessing and purpose in life when he chose to follow the lie of Satan. For Eve, the question presented to her by Satan was a difficult one, " Did God really say?" Gen. 3:1 It is obvious that Satan knew Eve was not with her husband Adam when God was giving him the command to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is probably why Satan did not use this particular temptation on Adam. He knew God said, "Don't touch!" Instead that serpent Satan snuck up on Eve with the tricky question. Eve tasted the forbidden fruit but God's grace was still prevalent for her. Sin did not take effect until Adam bit into the fruit. When Adam took the fruit and ate it, sin entered the world. It is because of this disobedience that all mankind are born in sin and are in need of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us that man was formed out of the dust of the earth. Gen. 2:7 The Hebrew word yatsar [tyaw-tsar'] reveals to us how man was created. The word asserts and confirms to us that God fashioned man out of the dust of the earth by using His own hands. Another powerful meaning of the word tells us that God pressed the dust of the earth, fashioning it to look the way mankind looks today. So, throw away Darwin's evolution theory along with the Big Bang theory into the garbage of hell and thank God for making you in His image. You look just like Him. You are wonderfully and fearfully created in His likeness.

After God had fashioned or pressed the dust, the final product of the work of His hands was a man made in His own image; a likeness of God but devoid of His Master's characteristics. God must have been surprised the man He had fashioned by His hands was not moving like the former creatures He had created by the power of His spoken Word. It looks to me as if God had to do some soul-searching. I will ask you to also do the same as you continue to study this lesson with me. Do you really understand how valuable your life is? Think long and hard on this question. It is vital that every man - you - have the spirit of God present in your being.

See what God declared, "Make the man to our image, according to our resemblance." Gen. 1:26 Does this Biblical passage bring curiosity into your life? Remember that when Adam was being created, he was inactive (a lifeless clay) under his Creator's shadow being contemplated. Adam was the first being of all God's creation resembling Him, or again, made in His image. For God, this image of Himself had to be perfectly made, reflecting all His divine character on the earth. This creature had to look exactly like God. He had to walk in righteousness like Him and be able to live in perfect harmony with his Creator.

What is an image?

The word selem (seh'-lem) is the Hebrew word that defines the English word image. An image is something suitable made to represent the exact figure of a primary object - of the same form, or of the same resemblance.

Adam resembled God when in the state of lifelessness but he was not identical to the full divine character of God which is - possessing the ability to live and exist, and be able to exert some bodily and intelligent moves. Remember that God said, "According to our resemblance." One of God's great attributes of His deity is life-giving or His ability to make thingsexist. This was the part that was missing in the man God had fashioned. Having seen the inactive state of man, God, by faith, poured Himself into Adam and put him into action. God breathed His life into the man and the man was brought to life or madealive. Adam cameto be. This is why faith is the cornerstone of every believer in his walk with God. God requires faith from us because he made us by faith according to His image. This is why the Bible tells us without faith we cannot please God. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb 11:6
When God breathed His Spirit into man, the clay fashioned in God's image became alive and was endowed with God's capacity of reasoning, thinking, free will, and the ability to desire. The life of God filled every fiber of his being. Man became a living soul! This is what makes us different from all other species of living creatures. Every living creature acts only on instinct; human beings act on reasoning.

The final result of this breath of life excited God. I'm sure God must have stood back and admired the man creation. God had witnessed the lifeless clay that was laid under His shadow become what He purposed. Adam could talk, move, run, and see where he was going without stumbling. God was happy! Note that all other preceding creations were "good" before God's eyes but in the case of man, God demonstrates the biggest sense of satisfaction by the words "very good" "God saw all that He had made, and that it was very good." Gen. 1:31 What an awesome discovery. It is the breath of God, His Spirit in us that makes us live. Are you surprised to discover that every person on the earth has God's divine presence living in him? In order for us to maintain life in our souls, we must live under the wisdom and protection of the Almighty Creator. How is it then, that man could have voluntarily extricated himself from the One who had given him dominion over all things? God did not ask too much from Adam. He required two things from him - obedience and love toward his Creator in exchange for the whole earth and the beauty he would eternally enjoy in the Garden of Eden. God asks of us the same thing - obedience and love. Surely that is not too much.

Death in the Garden of Eden

The Bible tells us that Adam lost life in the Garden of Eden. The result was death - Adam became naked since he lost the covering of the Presence of God and shame covered him. This shows us that after the fall, man not only lost the confidence that God had given to him, but he also lost all of God's promises. Adam was chased out of the garden full of guilt. (Gen. 3) Sin brings shame and shame produces guilt in a person's heart because of rebellion. Adam's relationship, his friendship with God, his purpose, and all other reasons for his existence were severed and totally destroyed. Satan sat on the corner of the garden and laughed. This is how man and woman were spiritually killed before their God. They no longer had life before God. Their reason to exist was destroyed by their selfish desire of wanting to know good and evil or becoming like God. Satan placed a root of bitterness and ingratitude in Adam and Eve. They were not satisfied! The desire to want to know evil consumed them to the point where God could not comprehend what was happening in the man He had created in His own image. How could the man freely choose to accept and follow the lies of Satan so blindly? Adam lost the Presence of the Lord in his spirit. It is sad to say that this is how many people in the world are living today, far away from God.

For Adam, it was necessary to escape and hide from God's eye because Adam and Eve had betrayed their Creator. From the outside, Adam seemed to exist or be alive because he was still moving, but inside he was absolutely empty,desolate,crushed andfull of evil because God's Presence or life was no longer in him. With the fall, Adam became like an empty shell. Only God alone would be able to fill that void again. Corruption took over and fear established itself in them to the point that their spiritual nudity distressed their existence in God's garden. The purity found in God's Garden of Eden became for them God's throne of judgement. Gen. 3:7 The same thing happens to everyone who is living in sin today. People feel a sense of emptiness - fear encompasses their souls. They are not sure what will happen. Their lives are not anchored on the solid rock, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

This is how the man and the woman lost their spiritual life before God, their Creator. They became dead before His Presence. What a loss they must have felt. Living alone in a garden without God's Presence. The good news for you and me today is that we do not have to live without the Presence of God. He has provided a perfect solution to the problem of sin. It is JESUS, God's only begotten Son who is able to cleanse a heart of all sin, iniquity, and unrighteousness. 1 Jn. 1:9The Bible tells us that everyone who chooses to live in sin is considered dead before God. God views sin as a moral condition which deteriorates mankind's purity because of listening to Satan's lies. Sin must be washed away by the blood of Jesus, our sacrificial Lamb in order to have peace and feel safe.

All mankind is born in sin - headed towards destruction. We are born alive yet we are born dead in sin. Sin leads to spiritual and physical death. If you try to save yourself or try to convince God that you are good, it won't work because the Bible says that man's own righteousness is as filthy rags in comparison with God's ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Why? It is because Jesus accepted to be sin for us in order that we may be the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21 Jesus choose to die for mankind in order that we could live again. "For the wages of sin, is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:23

Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, every person living in sin today has no argument or thoughtful excuse which could justify his unrighteous behaviors. Rom. 1:20 There is no other provision a man may use to defend himself before the throne of God against the sins he has committed which constantly accuse him before the Lord. Adam willingly chose to sin, "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."Gen. 3:3

Our loving God did not deprive man of anything. If you think that God was not fair in Adam's judgement, you must realize that God was a loving, open, and honest God. He did not deprive man of anything. Nor did He keep Adam from enjoying the beauty of the garden or keep secrets from the man. God in no way caused man to fall by Satan's tricks. Everything was explained to him by his Creator and God had one hundred percent confidence in the man that He had created. Since Adam was made in God's image the man would be able to detect any lie from whomever would dare come to challenge him. Was Adam's knowledge fit for the test?

Let us examine Adam's perfect divine nature

After Adam was created, God tested him. This was so God would reassure Himself of man's competence and the divine aptitude that He had put into the man. How did God test the man? He brought all the animals He had created and passed them in front of Adam to see what he would name them. Gen. 2:19-20 The man gave names to all the cattle, birds of the sky, and to all the animals of the field. The man Adam passed the test because God could have objected as Adam was naming the animals. If for example Adam had named the lion a chicken, God would have stepped in to correct Adam. However, the Bible tells us that whatever the man called each living thing, that was its name. With this ability to reason and choose you can see that the man was not ignorant. He was perfectly created. The man himself chose to lose his own life. It was not God's fault as many people think. After receiving the command to not touch or eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam chose to disobey. Eve did not force the fruit down his throat either. She was not strong enough to do this. What else could God do to help this man? God had given him everything he needed to maintain life. Adam chose to exist through sin instead of life by the power of God his Creator.

Every human being who is living today might appear to be alive but they are not living at all. They are alive in the flesh only - because they are full of sin, they are dead. That human being has absolutely no life before God. No one as far as God is concerned should ever be considered alive without God's Presence in him. Adam became alive only when the breath of the Lord was blown into his nostrils. This same principle applies to every person who is living on the earth today. Satan continues to deceive people by allowing them to go to church on Sunday, and say, "God knows your name and your weakness so don't be afraid. Everything is okay; you'll get to heaven. Don't worry, keep sinning."

If you are in sin you better repent. I can assure you that Satan is deceiving you by telling you that God understands. Satan is very clever and very cunning. He has made man believe that sin is just a "weakness." Through this lie, he has caused thousands to live in constant defeat - without peace. So many are slowly sliding to hell on the Church pew. Satan whispers the same cliche again and again into the mind of man, "Has God said?"

Dear friend, if your life has not yet been transformed through Jesus the only Savior, (Acts 4:12) then you are lost. You are considered dead before your Creator. Your name does not exist in the Lamb's Book of Life. You need to repent and ask Jesus to come into your life. The apostle Paul tells us in Rom. 8:6 that "to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." If you are living in sin according to your flesh or carnally, as the Bible calls it, then your spirit is dead. On the other hand, if you live according to the spirit then your flesh is buried in Jesus Christ our Savior and you automatically inherit the breath of life that is found only in Christ. "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." 1 Cor. 15:21

Jesus is the breath of life that God breathes into those who believe in Christ Jesus and accept to be born again. Jn. 3:3-8 So those who exist without confessing and repenting of their sins are being without living. They are dead because of rebellion against God. For those who have already repented by asking Jesus to forgive their sins, they are living with being because their sins are blotted away by the washing of the blood of Jesus. Jesus Christ died on the cross in order that man could once again be a living soul. Call on Jesus today and you may enter God's covenant of eternal life through Jesus. Yes my friend, just as a stone exists without life, being for mankind is not living unless the Spirit of God through the blood of the Lamb makes you eternally alive. This is living! Jesus defined life in these few words: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3

Would you give Him your heart today? He will cleanse you and make you whole! Amen!

By Rev. Abella Kasheke, Th.D.
(March 2000)