Sunday: Instead of Hiding
Read Genesis 3:1-11. Why would God have asked Adam, “Where are you?”
Typical stories of the Fall depict the fruit as an apple. But that’s not what the text says. It was simply the “fruit of the tree” (Gen: 3:3). The kind of fruit doesn’t matter. Eating from this tree was forbidden because the tree stood for something.
Image © Krieg Barrie at Goodsalt.com
It stood for the temptation to push God aside and to declare, “I can be the measure of my own life. I can be God to myself. I have authority over the Word of God.”
And, sure enough, when the snake, or “serpent,” got Adam and Eve to eat the tree’s fruit, their lives skidded off course. And then, when they sensed God nearby, they tried to hide “among the trees of the garden” (Gen: 3:8).
How strange that God would ask Adam, “Where are you?” God certainly knew where he was. Perhaps the Lord asked the question to help Adam and Eve realize just what they were doing – hiding – as a result of what they had done. That is, He was helping them see the sad results of their actions.
Read Romans 5:11-19, where Paul, many times, directly links what Adam did in Eden with what Jesus did on the cross. What should this tell us about how Jesus came to undo what Adam did?
One could argue that the plan of salvation is God’s response to Adam and Eve’s answer. They were hiding from God in the shame and the guilt of their sin, and God came to rescue them. In our own ways, we, too, have done the same thing, and Jesus has come to rescue us. Hence the question “Where are you?” could be asked of us, as well. That is, where are you, in your sin and guilt, in relationship to Jesus and what He has done to rescue you from it?
| Whatever else Christian education entails, why must it entail, even emphasize, the fact that our natural state is to hide from God, and then point us to Jesus as the solution? |
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It is so wonderful to know that the Almighty, All Powerful, loving Creator wants to have a personal intimate relationship with me, and you. He wants to dwell/live with us!
He created us humans for His pleasure, Rev 4:11 KJV, and even when humans disrupted the original close connection He came looking for them. Gen 3:9
In the garden of Eden the LORD walked & talked with Adam & Eve.
Abraham had a close relationship with the LORD which directly impacted his life.
After the Exodus the LORD told Moses to let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them Ex 25:8
Through the Prophets He offered His Everlasting Covenant which was
and explained how, saying I will put My Spirit within your hearts Eze 36:26-28
Then best of all He sent His Son, the Word who became human and dwelt among us John 1:14, John 14:23
After Jesus returned to heaven He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, John 14:16-17, 2Cor 6:16, 1Cor 3:16, Eph 2:21-22
His and our ultimate goal - we will dwell with Him in the New Jerusalem
To me this is the Good News - the restoration of a close personal relationship with our loving Saviour and the fringe benefit is a character re-created in His image.
More Good News: Not only does the LORD want to dwell with us He has made it possible, He died to wipe away all our sins, He justified us, made peace between us and God, reconciled us to each other. Not only that, He has made it possible for our hearts to be re-created so we can live a life like His. We must count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God!
It is really difficult to hide these days in our modern society. If you have a mobile phone it keeps handshaking with the nearby network towers, and you only need to have contact with three of them to have an exact position. Earlier this year I had to travel to Sydney for a medical appointment. From the time I left my car in the car-park and walked to the train platform I had passed more than a dozen security cameras, all of them recording everyone who walked that way. I stopped counting after that but I am sure there were a lot more on the train and in the streets of Sydney. Not only that, I used my Opal Travel Card for the train and bus, so if someone really wanted to see where I had been they could reconstruct my journey quite easily. I am reminded of the text in Hebrews:
Now I know I am using the text our of context, and yet at the same time, it is a reminder that we are constantly watched. It also provides a framework for thinking about our witness. There are those who are afraid of the fact that they are recorded on so many security and transaction devices, yet for the most part, we have nothing to fear if we are not trying to hide something. Likewise, if we are living in Christ we have no need to hide and our lives may indeed light the parthway to Christ for others. In Christ we have something to "unhide" for!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matt 6:24
Our friend owns the world and sees us. Ps 50:1-15
Instead of Hiding
There are several games children play with each other or adults. One such is hide-and-seek. You hide yourself behind something somewhere, then others go looking for you. They call your names to see if you will answer by mistake. But you can hear them talking and know where they are and how close they are to you. But while you are hiding many times you can only hide so far as is possible.
Another game is peekaboo, played with infants. You hide your face, pops back into the view of the other, and says peekaboo, I see you.
The motto of each game is- while you are trying to hide from others, you are in plain site.
Can humans hide from God- No.
Can humans hide their sins from God- No.
Can we hide anything from God. No. Bible says, nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Heb 4:13-16.
Adam and Eve in their holiness, righteous, perfect state didn't know what sin and nakedness felt like. They had a covering on their bodies like the angels and held open communion with God. Holiness beheld Holiness, Perfection beheld Perfection etc.
After sin entered into their lives, they were no longer holy, perfect, righteous. Those were gone leaving them naked and afraid. Shame, fear, anxiety, blamed etc appeared. The light and voice that spoke comfort before now became harsed and stern. Gen 3:10.
Solution- stay with God, abide in his presence and be a fried of God. Call upon him in time of joy and trouble. Ps 50:15.
What I have done in my own sinful ways- I am not like Adam and Eve when they were perfect, holy and righteous. I am a sinner and ask the Lord to help me live a sinless life. Reading his words and feeding on Him daily. Being confident of this very thing, that he began a good work and can bring it to completion until I see my Jesus in the first resurrection. Phil 1:5-6
There is nothing we can hide from God. He knows everything about our lives. The best to do is to leave the steering wheel in His hands!
Today's lesson invites you to "Read Romans 5:11-19, where Paul, many times, directly links what Adam did in Eden with what Jesus did on the cross. What should this tell us about how Jesus came to undo what Adam did?"
I commend the lesson for presenting this passage for study. When you read this passage, you will notice repetition and progression of thought developing a very central 'doctrine' to the Christian faith with respect to unpacking the detail of salvation. And then you come to the punchline in verse 19.
What do you notice is the stated avenue through which the many will be made righteous?
Does Philippians 2:3-11 further unpack this same obedience - or are these two passages unrelated?
How about Isaiah 53 and its culmination at Isaiah 53:12? (Keep in mind the occurrence of the Hebrew idom of 'permission as causation' when reading the Old Testament).
These passages were eye-opening for me and have continued to be so.
What do you find in your investigation?
Phil - to answer your first question: "What is the stated avenue through which the many will be made righteous?"KJV Rom.5:19 - My answer is: "..so by the OBEDIENCE of the One shall many be made righteous.
The answer to the second: Truth will reveal itself eventually; it cannot be supressed by man for ever through distortion and miss-interpretation in order to cover up previous errors.
From early time on forward, man in the position of responsibility to teach Truth was/is always tempted by self-seeking, self-empowering, self-serving controll. Jesus Christ, now in the form of the Holy Spirit, the ultimate Teacher of God's message which frees mankind from man's prefered definition/interpretation of sin, redemption, righteousness, sanctification and dependence on man for Truth, has finally come to set the record straight!
We praise God, the Light of God's Truth and Righteousness will always win when given an honest 'hearing'.
"There is no fear in love." 1 John 4:18
"For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops." Luke 12:2-3
The lesson writer brings up a great point: “Hence the question “Where are you?” could be asked of us, as well.” Do we still sincerely ask ourselves this question or have we become comfortable as we sit back in our cushioned ‘judgmental chair’ and let the world go by? I hope not!
The question at the end of the lesson should make us take pause! We have nowhere to hide, all our thoughts, feelings, intents are laid bare before the eyes of the One who created us. Why would we want to take this fact lightly since our Salvation depends on it? 1Samuel 16:1-14 KJV (14) “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him (margin:that is melancholy)”
Yes, Jesus Christ has *paid the price*, we are *covered* by His Righteousness, but it is up to us to whole-heartedly walk by Faith the Way of Truth, Light and Life. Should we be half-hearted in this walk by Faith, it will cause serious problems – Rev.3:14-22 KJV.
Do we allow ourselves to become complacent as we express our love for Him when loving one another and run the risk to be separated, finding ourselves among the ‘goats’ who do not serve rightly, lovingly our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through their faith and obedience to His teachings? - Matt.25:1-46 KJV
God knew us before we were in our mother's womb. If he knew us before we exist then even trying to fathom the idea of hidding from God.
God's question "Where are you?" would have helped Adam and Eve realize what they were doing, and perhaps consider why. God never condemns, but will always help us to see that we condemn ourselves. This vital insight is what every sinner needs in order to realize their need for the Remedy.
Romans 5 tells us exactly what is written for all to read and understand: Adam's and our need is great, and the infinite price was paid. Jesus alone has "made satisfaction" for sin, but this only helps those who believe and receive Him as Lord and Savior. This receiving will be seen by faithful obedience to all that He taught. This is the meaning of "follow Me".
Not sure if the sinner's tendency to hide needs emphasizing at all since none are ignorant of their own experience. As the wise man wrote: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion"(Prov 28:1). Better to emphasize the Solution in Christ, who said “and I, if I be lifted up...will draw all to me”(John 12:32). He teaches nothing about emphasizing man's guilt. In fact, doesn't He teach that this work is accomplished in all sinners via the Holy Spirit(John 16:8)? Study His response to the sinner in John 8:1-11, as well as John 3 & 4. No condemnation or emphasis on guilt, only the Solution being emphasized and graciously offered.
I'd like to solicit this community's help in answering some analytical questions based on Gen 3 and Rm 5. My only stipulation will be that responses be supported by at least one passage of Scripture (more will be ok, not less😊).
I believe that Scripture states a clear biological connection between Adam/Eve in Gen 3, and myself and all the rest of us in Rm 5:12. Rm 5 continues to delineate a clear, similar--though "extra-biological"--connection between Christ and all the rest of us (Rm 5:18). While I might not be able to understand all the details of BOTH connections, if Scripture presents it to me, I see it as an opportunity to gain an educational advantage. Scripture does not present us with useless information.
What can we learn and apply to our actual living by answering the following questions, based on Scripture's foundation:
1) Gen 3:6 (NKJV) says that Eve "SAW" the tree as being "GOOD...PLEASANT...and a tree DESIRABLE to MAKE ONE WISE..." What enabled her to "see" what she did?...a) her eyes, b) her heart, c) her gut, d) her brain (remember to provide AT LEAST ONE supporting text).
2) Was her "sight" mechanism...a) the same, or b) different from our modern mechanism of "sight"?
3) Why is there discord between her "speech/knowledge" in Gen 3:2-3 and her "sight" in Gen 3:6?
4) What enabled her to "speak/know" what she said?...a) her mouth, b) her tongue, c) her heart, d) her brain
5) Review question 3, and answer which was truthful?...a) her "speech/knowledge", b) her "sight", c) both
6) I have experienced the "Eve syndrome" (knowing and saying one thing but acting opposite to what I know and have said)...a) never, b) seldom, c) frequently.
7) Answering the above questions was useless...a) True, b) False