It began one day in a Garden…

and then…

by Ken Pullen

Monday, November 15th, 2021

ACP — A Crooked Path

All Scripture referenced in this piece is from the English Standard Version unless noted otherwise.

PERHAPS OF INTEREST:  I owe the nudging needed to come to understand how to complete this which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago Selfishness Abounds; Vanity, Foolishness in Demanding Jesus Return Now! – A CROOKED PATH to the pastor, unbeknownst to him, teaching the Sunday school class my wife and I attend. It is evidence that in studying all of God’s Word we only come to understand truly each individual part, passage, verse, and book. For nothing within the Word of God can be neglected, or removed from another part, or thought to be so different, so isolated from the one major theme.  Every jot and tittle is contained within with purpose as breathed out by God — the Triune God to select men for any and all to have an opportunity, for our coming to hear that Word and to either believe and obey [not in part but in whole] or reject. Either turn to the Lord or flee. To either be saved, obedient, and serving, or still rebellious and self-centered just as what took place in that Garden one day not really that long ago [in the scope of eternity not even a blink of God’s eyes].

To the walking dead, which all of us were at one point and the overwhelming majority remain.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 3:36

It began one day in a Garden and everything that has happened ever since is a result of that one conversation that one day. And the choices made freely as a result of that conversation.

High-mindedness. Self-centeredness. Refusing that which has been said directly, clearly as to how to live and trusting the vaporous lies that lead to death instead.

Rebellion. Selfishness. Hating the truth and gravitating to lies and myths [just another word for more lies].

Loving to be seduced rather than told a truth plainly and living accordingly.

All leading to death once life has been given.

The wages of sin are death. Someone has to pay. And those accumulating — EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US, every person who has ever lived, is alive, is yet to be born belong to this group — those wages think they can ignore the consequences. The payout. Well, most refuse at this point in history for what has been indoctrinated that there is such a thing as sin. The teaching is such a sin. Imagine that? Men and women are birthed in sin and consumed continually in evil.

Not being negative as the world would like to label this. We ought not to look at things through the wicked and distorted eyes of men, lacking good clear vision — but to look at things through the eyes of God. And the closest we can come to that is by spending time, diligently, daily, continually, consistently in the word of God. Taking time to meditate — think quietly, undisturbed — on what is read.

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Genesis 6:5

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Genesis 6:11-12

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.

Psalm 14:1-3

All since that one day, that one conversation in a Garden. A place, a time unlike any other on earth since then.

Oh, various worldly philosophies have arisen to tap down, soothe the foolish, dead, lost dark hearts and minds of men and women since then. The prevailing one adopted is that people are inherently good. Basically good. Only a few bad apples in the bushel basket.

What a rotten lie and delusion that one is.

The pursuit of personal pleasure rather than the pursuit of and obedience to God.

Or, that while human beings do have many weaknesses, foibles, problems, and even sicknesses within that it is man and woman that can fix these things within human beings. [How can the part that is broken somehow repair itself to perfection and operating glory rightness as if never broken?] Common sin and wickedness are not like a common illness that a doctor, an operation, a prescription can remedy.

The loving of the lie, being seduced, being disobedient, loving rebellion foolishly labeling it freedom, loving the turning from God and to evil changed everything. Forever.

As God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit — the Triune God all three distinct individuals comprising the One True God though most men and women can’t conceive such a Being, and no one truly can and no one truly will until those who truly believe, are obedient and fight the good fight until the end attaining the reward of heaven, eternal life will finally come to learn, see, and live it out WITH God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit — in the presence always with the Triune God from that point onwards. Forever.

What’s that? “Seems like such a long time ago? Can’t be true? Can’t be relevant in these oh so most advanced, sophisticated days, it all must be different now, eh, right?”

It was as if it happened yesterday afternoon. Wrong and wrong again. As the Lord revealed to King Solomon and in Solomon’s great wisdom saw and knew — there is no new thing under the sun.

No matter what the calendar may reveal.

Since that one day in the Garden, nothing has changed. One iota. Not really though it appears so much has changed. Other than an increase of knowledge by man due to our initial disobedience nothing else has changed. All that has ever changed is technology. Our ability to do things, build things, make things, change the physical and material world — but nothing inwardly. Not one iota of human nature has changed since the very nature Adam and Eve were created and then whenever that say they arose to determine to disobey God and believe the devil and please their own natures and desires.

Not fair, you may think or say?

God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit created man and woman, apart from the angels, apart for anything else for companionship, for friendship, with man and woman. Creating living beings unlike any that had been created. Given the freedom of choice within their natures. Given a mind, unlike any other created being.

And folks will say, again, not fair, as God expected, demanded too much.

God required only one thing to obey. All else was available. Including eternal life at that point, no death on earth, no weeds, no pain in childbirth — NO DEATH — just obey one simple command. Don’t eat of a certain tree. One tree. And, of course, in the true constant rebellious disobedient nature of woman, or man they did the one thing they were told not to do. Like a child. Like every man, woman and child have always done since that one day in the Garden.

We chose this before the foundation of the world, yes, for we were there in God’s mind, God’s all-knowing knowledge that very day [more on this, oh the most important part of this as we move on so don’t stop now!] would come as the Godhead is outside of time. The Triune God knew before the foundation of the world They created how we would behave. Foolishly. With nothing but self-centered evil in our hearts. Foolishness. Wickedness. Rebellion. Rejecting the truth of God and embracing the lies of the prince of the power of the air, for Satan is very real and there is a kingdom of Satan’s this every material earth, for a season.

There are only two distinct and real realms. Two distinct and real kingdoms. One of God. The other of Satan.

For the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of this world being the kingdom of Satan;

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Matthew 12:24-28

And from the apostle Paul;

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Colossians 1:13

The beginnings of hope from the rebellion and disobedience of our forefathers and mothers;

“…to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Acts 26:18

The people of this world are enslaved. Which we all were at some point, yet most remain for all of their breaths and heartbeats on this temporary realm, while remaining the walking dead unto their eternal second death is enslaved. Ironic with all the talk, writing, and further misinformation and ignorance pertaining to human slavery revived. Oh, the repulsion to slavery from all those in an eternal slavery leading to their eternal death! Ironic were it not so tragic!

Sealed into slavery and eternal death by our disobedience to God. And His one simple command. We could not obey even one thing. And as a result, death was brought into the world.

By us. And death is the domain, the doing, the realm of Satan. Not of God. God did not bring death into the world. Satan did and the disobedience of man did. Yet how many immediately turn to God and utter, “Why did you let ________ die!?”

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,

Hebrews 2:14

Do not blame God!

For anything. Especially not for the consequences of our unbelief, our rebellion, our sin, our foolishness, and wickedness. God has no part in any of that. We have done, we do all this to ourselves. Yet so many blame God.

Certainly not for death.

Death is our doing. And our undoing. Death is Satan’s doing.

Not God’s doing.

One of the things that greatest pains me to hear or read is someone blaming God, such arrogance and foolishness. Blaming God for something that occurs on this earth. The audacity and foolishness. The arrogance and evil of men and women to somehow imagine they are on par with God. That they can contend with God. That they can question and debate with God. That we can lower God to our wicked feeble human level. And especially blaming God.

I have heard “It isn’t fair of God…” or “Why does God allow…?”

More times than I can count men and women blame God for anything they don’t like or agree with. Be it one of their loved ones not being saved, to a storm, to a flat tire, to a pandemic — you name it and sinful, ignorant, arrogant foolish blind lost in utter darkness men and women are always blaming God, claiming God is not fair. And this comes from the mouths and hearts of far, far too many professing to be disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Who are we, any of us to say God is not fair? To blame God for our sin, for the sin of those we know and love? For an event taking place on earth either naturally, or due to our sin?

Is the physical climate changing? Yes, it is. But as I’ve written previously not mainly due to the internal combustion engine, fossil fuels, cow farts, or plastic straws but due to the massively escalating sin of men and women and the Great Falling Away, the rise of so many false teachers and a turning to sin and away from God. Those who are familiar know I am a firm believer not only in every word within the Word and of the Lord Jesus Christ, but that the people “have been given over to reprobate minds” wickedness, unrighteous minds Given over BY GOD due to their lust for, love of wickedness and sin and their utter rejection of God and His Son. I believe we are living the words of Romans 1 ESV or Romans 1 KJV.

It began one day in a Garden…

In which the Creator(s) of all things both seen and unseen, known and unknown — God the Father [to those who believe in Him and obey Him], the Lord Jesus Christ [to all who believe in Him and obey Him], and the Holy Spirit [to all who believe in Him and obey Him] the Triune God — knew before They said, “Let there be…” and it was so, They knew the way Their creations, man and woman would go.

They knew it would then BEGIN IN EARNEST…

…that God would come to earth in the embodiment of man, except for our sin, in the Lord Jesus Christ, FULLY God, FULLY man though that may be beyond our feeble and limited comprehension we need to FULLY believe this beginning as the only acceptable way to the forgiveness of our innate rebellious natures, our penchant for lying, stealing, murdering, coveting, lusting — our sin. Both original as our forefathers passed down to us for we are all their heirs, and for each of our individual sins once we are born into this sinful realm, this lost and corrupted world, this sinful flesh.

A whole lotta sin going on.

And what do we thepeople — sinners — do? Why we’re always are blaming God! Mocking Jesus! Denying the individual Holy Spirit and the Supernatural power of the Spirit of God, denying and or perverting the inerrant infallible living and active Word of God. God’s WORD. Not man’s. GOD’S WORD. Breathed into the spirit, the mind of men to flow out their physical hands. To any and all. Available to any and all. To read, MEDITATE UPON, BELIEVE, OBEY, and LIVE OUT. WORKING out the FAITH. Through obedience to the Triune God.

No excuses. No debating. No altering adding to or omitting from. No changing the unchangeable God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and Scriptures.

So, what began one day with one conversation in a Garden…

…among the only living human beings on earth, created by God yet in their rebellion listening to and believing the lying conversation of the devil…

…began in earnest…

In Bethlehem, throughout Judea and the lands of Israel, to the Cross, to the death, to the resurrection from death conquering death according to God’s eternal Word and promise.

To begin within the heart, mind, spirit, and soul, and thus within the body of an individual to hear, BELIEVE, confess their sin, to repent, to take up their cross and to follow, serve, become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ making Him not only their Saviour, but LORD of their life.

It began one day in a Garden, it began again in the New Adam, it begins in each word read, meditated upon, preached, spoken believed and thusly transforming the hearer that believes and lives out their faith bearing fruit. Through faith showing the working of that faith, by the working out of their faith revealing the inseparable melding of faith and works. Not by works, nor by faith alone. For in a garden, a tree that does not bear fruit is of no worth and will be cut down and tossed into the fire, and only those that bear fruit will live in the Garden to come — heaven, in eternal life with God the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and all the heavenly hosts.

Receiving the reward. And, yes, dear ones, it is a reward for belief, for faith, for demonstrating belief and faith, for OBEDIENCE just as an earthly father rewards their child, their children for listening to them, believing them, revealing in how they live that belief and faith, in OBEYING the words of instruction given to them by their father.

People are repulsed by our natures to obedience, obeying, submission. But unless submitting? Obeying? Living obediently according to the Word of God? The future for any individual such as that is an eternity in the depths of hell. Believe it or not. Hopefully, come to believe it before having to learn throughout eternity that the Word of God IS inerrant, IS infallible, IS living and active.

It may be difficult to submit. To believe. To fight the assumed comfort which is really tumult, pain, suffering, uncertainty, disappointment, and all other things given by the sinful world — but it is going to be far, far, FAR more difficult to reside for eternity in hell with the knowledge you had the truth and rejected it. You had the way to eternal life and all that holds presented to you, but you rejected it. Mocked it. Laughed at it. Pushed it aside, and instead, thinking you were so alive yet in truth being nothing more than among the walking dead ingesting the lies and darkness, the eternal death this world offers, and all it can truly offer.

Belief and obedience in the Word of God, in all that is within the Word of God. Submission. Repentance which requires acknowledgment of being a sinner undeserving of anything good from God even though He does bestow goodness on sinners and the wicked in this earthly realm for the season each may be in the flesh [anything deemed good comes only from God]. Belief, obedience. Submission. Living out faithfulness. Bearing fruit. Being bold in and with the Word and in the ways of the Lord against the wiles of the devil, against the ways and teachings of this world is what is required to avoid that eternity of pain, suffering, and remorse for rejecting, refusing, mocking the truth of God, of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit, of the whole of the Word of God.

It began one day in a Garden.

It began and continued one day on a cross on a hill outside the city of Jerusalem.

It began on the Third Day upon witnessing the empty tomb.

It begins in each heart and spirit in hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, following, serving, and living out the faithful discipleship in the Lord Jesus Christ. The essence of the gospel.

We’re all sinners. No one is exempt. No matter what lies, what cunning seductive lies the world may teach. No matter the degree of delusion a person is under. No matter their position in life. That pastor you adore and idolize is a sinner. Still. Until they are no longer in the flesh. In fact, if motivated in their heart by money, adulation, worldly success, comfort, not making sacrifices, no abiding in the Word, not staying on the straight and narrow? They could easily be even a greater sinner than imagined. Or more than you or I.

Yet we are all sinners not deserving the free gift of grace. Not deserving eternal forgiveness, eternal mercy, eternal love, and eternal life. We all deserve nothing more than the firey painful depths of an eternity in hell. For our sin. Not just the sin of Adam, or our forefathers, the original sin. Each of us has sin enough to condemn us.

Only through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and all of the Word of God, and our living out of that faith, evidenced by the fruit we bear, by our being visibly, audibly renewed of mind and spirit, transformed from how we were while among the walking dead in utter darkness do we, can we, justify our being saved by the shed blood of the Supreme Sacrifice of our Lord and our OBEDIENCE to Him, our DISCIPLESHIP to Him, our love and obeying of our Father in heaven.

Love, yes, love. Not as the world knows and defines the word.

As the Word speaks of and defines the word.

But God…

By Grace Through Faith

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:1-10

Contrary to the intellectual debaters not having childlike faith, the contenders, those thinking highly of themselves, thinking they need to fight for God acting as if God is impotent rather than Omnipotent, causing dissension and divisions in stating there are contradictions in the word of God — where not one contradiction exists if one would only take the time to know the CONTEXT, take time to MEDITATE upon PRAY upon, study rather than merely read, go that extra mile in their walk to come to truly know there is no opposition within the Word from the apostle Paul, to James, to Peter, John or the Lord Jesus Christ, to any prophet contained any place within.

Faith Without Works Is Dead (Knowing that the book of James is written to believers)

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

James 2:14-26

Let’s end with this, to take up something else later, Lord willing;

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:5

Now, enough time was spent here. Run to God. Then stop and pause. Find a quiet place and immerse yourself in His Word. In quiet. Someplace silent and private. Read God’s Word aloud. Listen. Pause. Meditate upon what is read. And repeat. Daily. Continually. Consistently. Without omitting or adding to.

FURTHER READING:

Worthy Christian Books – Read Christian books for free!

My thanks to that pastor we know, and whose Sunday morning class we attend prior to service for sourcing all the following out and making this much easier for me;

Psalm 51:5

Isaiah 64;6-7

John 8:7

Colossians 1:13

John 5:19

John 7:7

John 8:44

John 14:17

John 15:18-19

John 16:20

John 17:14

Acts 26:18

2 Corinthians 4:4

1 John 2:15-16

Job 1:12

Job 2:6

1 Corinthians 10:13

Revelation 12:12

Revelation 20:3

Hebrews 2:14

Romans 16:20

Revelation 20:10

Jeremiah 17:9

Genesis 6:5

Genesis 8:21

Matthew 15:8

Romans 6:6

Romans 6:12-13

1 Corinthians 6:13

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Romans 8:5-8

John 3:36

Romans 1:18

Romans 5:9

Romans 12:19

Ephesians 5:6

Colossians 3:5-6

Revelation 14:19

Revelation 15:1

Revelation 15:7

Revelation 16:1

Revelation 19:15