Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture were inspired by God. Because there was no New Testament at that time, and even the book of Revelation had not been written, so the Bible in this statement should refer to the Old Testament. But Christians believe that both the Old and New Testaments are “…given by inspiration of God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work” of good deeds. ” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The church of God is a group of blessed people gathered together. Most churches emphasize God’s love, because the scriptures make it very clear, “By this everyone will know that you are me, if you have love for one another.” disciples. ” (John 13:35) But often, they forget to share that God is a righteous God. Here we will briefly explain how God’s justice is achieved in the New Testament.
First, we know that the Bible never uses the word ‘Trinity.’ We have discussed this topic before in a booklet, explaining the meaning of the word, answering a question that someone might ask, and explaining why creation are participated by all three persons of the Trinity. Due to time constraints we will not discuss this point here, but will point out how you can download this booklet for free, at this moment available only in Chinese but will be translated later. Second, we talked about righteousness as the foundation of God’s throne, and related discussions mentioned before. Third, we briefly discussed the definition of sin, demonstrating that sin is equal to disobedience to God. Fourth, we set out the reasons why everyone needs salvation. Fifth, let’s look at how Jesus got rid of sin and thus completed salvation. Sixth, we explained that we must be in Christ and used examples to illustrate what it means to be in Christ. We saw how God accomplished His justice and why God had to let Jesus be crucified. Finally, from the perspective of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and logic, we all come to the same conclusion: ‘Adam was holy when he was created.’ This also explains why man’s holiness is completely different from God’s holiness. If people see this and still insist that ‘Adam has nothing to do with holiness,’ this would be a great sin, because it is tantamount to telling God that your salvation plan is imperfect, and therefore it is blasphemous. We also discussed why it was wrong for someone to say ‘Adam was neutral.’ We also saw that even if it is based on the Bible and is logical, people can still choose not to believe it because people have free will and any concept cannot be forced. In the topic-wise Bible Study, we are trying to describe the logic based on biblical words and use objective methods to explain what the Bible actually says.
1. Why does the scripture say that God is a Trinity?
We just mentioned that Christians believe that both the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God. If we really believe this, we will not discount the words of the Bible and will look at what God wants to tell us through the Bible. First, we see the Bible never uses the word ‘Trinity,’ but we can draw this conclusion from the scriptures. We have talked about the Triune God before in this booklet “Looking at God’s Will from Genesis Chapters One to Three.” That is to say, the scriptures make it very clear that “the Father, Jehovah, the Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit” are all Gods, but they are one God. In fact, in Genesis 1:1, it is already hinted that God is a plural but one God, because the subject noun is plural and the verb is singular. We point out that the same statement is also made in the New Testament scriptures. In [Note 4.6] of the booklet, we briefly discuss the concept of God as a Trinity. In [Note 4.7], we discussed a question one might ask, which is, why three and not four or more. In [Note 2.4], the Bible tells us that creation involves all three persons of the Trinity. Those who are interested in this topic can go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” to download this booklet for free. The Gospel is “…Freely you received, freely give.”(Matthew 10:8) We must do the work of the Great Commission. (See Matthew 28:18-20)
2. Righteousness is the foundation of God’s throne
The Psalms say at least twice that righteousness is the foundation of God’s throne. That is, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You.”(Psalm 89:14) and “Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.”(Psalm 97:2) We can see God’s righteousness everywhere in the Old Testament. We talked about “1026 There is love in righteousness in the Old Testament,” because the New and Old Testaments are the same God, so we also shared “1027 Examples of living out love in the Bible” and “1025 There is righteousness in love in the New Testament.” Those who are interested in these short articles can go to the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click “On spiritual understanding about life”.
3. Definition of sin
Let’s look at this verse first, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”(Genesis 1:27) So Adam and Eve originally had the image of God. Although God’s command to Adam was very clear (see Genesis 2:15-17), they still chose to disobey God and ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 3:6) . “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”(Romans 5:12) Adam sinned because he disobeyed God, which means “disobedience to God means sin.” So does sin mean disobeying God? We can look at its logically identical statement, that is, is it true that “obeying God means it is not a sin”? Of course it is right. How can obeying God be a sin? So sin and disobedience to God are equal.
4. Why does everyone need salvation?
We see that “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.”(Genesis 5:3) So Seth had the image of God that was stained by sin. We are descendants of Adam, just like Seth, we were born with the image of God that was stained by sin, so it is said, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:23) That is, everyone needs to get rid of sin, which means that everyone, without exception, needs salvation. In other words, the plan of salvation is to fulfill God’s original will, to get rid of sin, to restore us to the image of God when Adam was created, and to choose the fruit of the tree of life, because Christians are to be in Christ and have chosen that fruit of life, Jesus Christ, reaches this point in Christ.
Some people may ask, why do we say this? We know that Jesus took on human form, so He was fully human, but there is one big difference from us, that is, He was conceived and born by the Holy Spirit, starting from sinlessness. If He had sinned, He would have been no different from ordinary people and would have had the image of God tainted by sin. Otherwise, He would not have been full human being. But He did not sin, He thus only had the image of God. In other words, He was restored to the time when Adam was created, who was created in the image of God without sin.
5. How Jesus got rid of sin and completed salvation
We know that “…God so loved the world, …”(John 3:16) Because of God’s love, He wants to save everyone who is stained by sin, but He cannot allow us to truly die physically, because after death, people will no longer be in the world. Yes, He wants us to be saved while we are on earth, and at the same time, He must fulfill His righteousness. But our old self is only worthy of death and cannot be repaired or improved. This is just like what the book of Romans says, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.”(Romans 7:18) How is this possible? But “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)
Let’s first look at the life of Jesus and see how He got rid of sin? He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 1:18-21). He started without sin, which is completely different from us starting with sin. He took “the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”(Philippians 2:7) Since He was made in human form, He was fully human, that is, as capable of sin as a human being. But He obeyed God throughout His life as the verse says, “…I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. …”(John 14:31) That’s why the book of Hebrews says, “For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.”(Hebrews 4:15)
In Jesus, we see that He in human form obeyed God and got rid of sin. Therefore, He restored the image of Adam on earth when he was created, completed God’s original will, and accomplished salvation.
Some people may think that only the precious blood of Jesus can take away sins, because the scripture says, “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.”(Hebrews 10:11-12) Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross and shed His precious blood. This is obviously right. We also know this when we look at this scripture, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.”(Hebrews 10:19-20) So why do we say that Jesus obeyed God and could take away sin? We cannot find such words in the Bible, just like we cannot find the word Trinity, but the Bible definitely has this concept. Let’s look at Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, “And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.””(Mark 14:36) If it were according to His will, He would not have tasted the bitter cup of the cross, but He obeyed God, “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”(Philippians 2:8) Didn’t He shed His precious blood to take away sin by obeying God?
6. We must be in Christ
Because our old self is only worthy of death, it is only when we are fully united with Jesus Christ in Him that it is possible for us to put away sin. This is what God did, ‘He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”(2 Corinthians 5:21) That is, Jesus substitutes for us, so Paul would say, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”(Galatians 2:20) We see how Paul lived! That is to say, we need to become a new man, as the book of Ephesians says, “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”(Ephesians 4:20-24) This is not like wearing clothes that can be taken off but put on externally. We all have the indwelling Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16, Romans 8: 11), but to be transformed from the inside out, just as Paul said, we are to be conformed to the image of Jesus (see Romans 8:29). What God looks at is Christ, not us. For example, Jesus Christ is holy, and we enjoy His holiness in Christ. It does not mean that we must first be holy before we can be in Christ, but in Christ we will gradually be transformed and truly become holy.
Some people use a piece of paper in a book to explain being in Christ. If the book is there, because the paper in the book is inside the book, it must be in the same place. If the paper isn’t in the book, it could be anywhere! When the book represents the sinless Christ, and we are the piece of paper, to be sinless in the eyes of God, we must put to death our old self in Christ. The scripture says, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”(Titus 3:5) As we shared last time in “1087 Conforming to the image of Jesus and its practice,” the renewal of the Holy Spirit is completed in Christ. To believe that Christ is the Son of God in the sinless Christ Jesus is to choose the fruit of the tree of life and to fulfill God’s original will. We say again that Jesus took away sin while on earth, thus restoring Adam to the sinless image in which he was created.
Let’s now take a look at why God had to let Jesus be crucified? There is one God in both the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”(Hebrews 9:22) “Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood.”(Hebrews 9:18) In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, …”(Romans 3:25) “and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:12) “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”(Ephesians 2:13)
From a human perspective, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”(Ephesians 1:7) This is because “… To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father…”(Revelation 1:5-6) Therefore, the church of God is a group of graced people gathered together, which is what the Acts of the Apostles says, “…the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”(Acts 20:28) We have just discussed that everyone needs salvation. If a person thinks that he does not need salvation, it is impossible to obtain salvation!
Know this, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”(Romans 8:1) We are in Christ, just like that piece of paper that has to be stuck in a book. Therefore, we must first be one with Christ, and we will naturally become one! It must be this way, not just the superficial unity, otherwise the unity may not be possible when something happens! The scripture makes it very clear, “so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, …”(Romans 12:5). This does not mean that each of us must be the same. Each one still has his or her own characteristics. As the scripture says, “For the body is not one member, but many. …If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.”(1 Corinthians 12:14-18) But we must be like Paul said, “make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”(Philippians 2:2) This has to happen if everyone is conformed to the image of Jesus, and works together for the Kingdom of God. We must take up our cross and follow Jesus, as the scripture says, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”(Matthew 16:24-25)
This is saying that we must put our old self to death. Anyone who loses his soul life for the Lord will gain eternal life. This is on the one hand, but on the other hand it is to be martyrdom for the Lord without fear of death. In Christ we should already know where we’ll go, so how can we be afraid of death? It’s not that there is any benefit in not being afraid of death alone. In a saying, a hero’s beheading is just a scar as big as a bowl. Do you think such a hero is afraid of death? It seems a good place for us to emphasize one point here. That is, it seems that we are just putting the Bible verses together, but we do not just put the verses together casually. We must first see if the Bible has the concept before we can put the corresponding verses together to illustrate this point.
7. ‘Adam was holy when he was created’ from the perspective of the Old Testament, the New Testament and logic.
Let’s look at another related topic, which is whether Adam was holy when he was created? Looking at the Old Testament, the New Testament, and logic, we will all come to the same conclusion, ‘Adam was holy when he was created.’ Now let’s start with the Old Testament. We see that God’s image includes holiness, because He Himself said, “…I am holy…”(Leviticus 11:44). Adam was created in the image of God. Why would anyone think that Adam had no part in holiness when he was created? However, human holiness is different from God’s holiness because humans have free will and can still choose to disobey God and sin. However for God, “…He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13) Therefore, God’s holiness cannot sin. Here we want to emphasize something that everyone already knows. That is, Adam was only created in the image of God. It is not that Adam is exactly the same as God. This is impossible. He is just a man and cannot be God. Some people say that holy people will not sin. Look at the example of Adam to see a counterexample! As we shared earlier, sin is disobedience to God, not unholiness, but unholiness is indeed a sin.
If anyone still has doubts about Adam’s participation in holiness when he was created, let’s see what the New Testament says? The book of Hebrews says, “Pursue …the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) In the book of Genesis, it is said, “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”(Genesis 3:8) This does not say to hide from God’s voice, but to hide from God’s face. This sentence means that they have seen God’s face before they were defiled by sin, so they must hide from God’s face now. Notice that the Lord said to Moses, “…You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”(Exodus 33:20) However, Adam was able to survive after seeing the face of God. How could he have no part in holiness before he sinned?
Some may still have doubts, but this verse clearly says, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”(John 1:18) Indeed, people who have been tainted by sin have never seen the face of God, so Moses could only see His back (see Exodus 33:18-23). What we are talking about here is Adam at creation, Adam before he was tainted by sin, not Adam after he was tainted by sin.
Finally, from a logical and objective point of view, we will find that saying that Adam has no part in holiness means that God’s salvation plan is imperfect. Why do you say this way? As mentioned before, in human form, Jesus obeyed God and eliminated sin, restored the image of God like Adam, and completed God’s original will. If Adam had no part in holiness, how could Jesus be holy if he restored the image of God like Adam? But we know that Jesus is holy. Doesn’t this mean there is an obvious contradiction in the plan of salvation? Since God’s plan of salvation is perfect, we cannot make such mistakes! Says the plan of salvation is imperfect. So from a logical point of view, the Bible also says that Adam participated in holiness when he was created. This is really similar to the word ‘Trinity’ which is not used in the Bible, but indeed the Bible has such a concept.
We have looked at this issue from three aspects: the Old Testament, the New Testament, and logic, and we have all reached the same conclusion: ‘Adam was holy when he was created.’ God tells us through the Bible is really consistent! Since people has the free will, one cannot force people to think an issue one way or the other. But if a person knows this and still insists that Adam had no part in holiness when he was created, this is a sin of blasphemy against God, not an ordinary sin, but a major sin, and he must repent in the same way as a major sin. Let us emphasize again. This is really similar to the fact that the Bible does not use the word Trinity!
Some people say that Adam had not eaten from the tree of life when he was created. This is correct, but it is wrong to conclude that Adam was neutral and therefore not holy. Because the words of the Bible clearly say that Adam participated in holiness, this conclusion conflicts with the words of the Bible and is therefore an incorrect conclusion. In other words, this is a subjective view. In fact, the scriptures say very clearly, “For each tree is known by its own fruit. …”(Luke 6:44) If a wrong conclusion is bad fruit, then you know it is a bad tree. At this time, there are only two choices for seeing the tree, which correspond the viewpoints of subjectivity or being objective. In this case, the only way to conclude that saying Adam had no part of holiness when created is subjective! The Bible never says that Adam was neutral at that time. In fact, even if Adam was neutral at that time, he could still have holiness but not other characteristics of God, such as being able to perform miracles. Didn’t Adam have free will then? We see that free will comes from God. Because God has absolute sovereignty, of course He has free will. Adam was in the image of God, so he certainly had free choice, so he could choose to disobey God.
So even if it is based on the Bible words and is logical, people can still choose not to believe it, because people have free will, which is inevitable. It is also because Adam had free will at the beginning. Although God’s command to him was so clear, he could choose not to listen. Here, we are imitating Jesus’ attitude towards the young ruler (see Mark 10:17-22). At that time, He said and called, but did not interfere with his free will choice even He loved him. Therefore, we just shared it! Because logic is an objective tool, the topic-wise Bible study is not to seek agreement with what we see, but to try to describe the logic based on biblical words and use objective methods to explain what the Bible actually says.
(Verses refer to those in NASB unless otherwise specified.)
(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)
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