Made New
BACK TO PARADISE

By Kelly Grōth

I’ve been asked, “If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” The first place that comes to mind is Yellowstone National Park. I would love the freedom to go deep into those mountainous forests to see and photograph the amazing beauty and wildlife: bighorn sheep, grizzly bears, wolves, elk, buffalo, landscapes with geysers, waterfalls, sunrises and sunsets. I long to experience all of it. And, yet, Yellowstone’s magnificent beauty would not hold a candle to the beauty of Eden. Eden means “delight” or “pleasure”. That’s the cradle that God placed humanity in—the great outdoors—a garden or paradise. I would love to have seen what Adam saw, the full glory of what must have been heaven on earth. The Bible says that God brought every wild animal and bird to Adam to see what he would name them, and that whatever he called them, that would be their name. (Genesis 2:19) Seeing every creature originally placed on earth, even the dinosaurs and Dodo birds, God brought them to him? How awesome would that be?

Wild Prints Magazine contains lots of beauty in wildlife and nature. And just as our premiere issue is our beginning, I invite you to take a journey with me to the beginning—that place and time where mankind’s journey first began, Eden. Yes, you’ve heard the story before, perhaps multiple times. Please come along. There’s more!

Sit beside me, and watch as God creates the first man!

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Wow! What’s He doing? A handful of dust…? For God, a very small handful. And, did you see that? God just knelt down and breathed into the nostrils of that newly formed human body! Isn’t that interesting? Did you see Him do that with any of the animals? No? Me, neither. What is it about this man? How is he different? Why were we brought in so close to observe this?

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7)

That pile of "dust" . . . that clay on the ground . . . came alive! Listen to the Creator’s notes: “And [the Lord God] breathed into his [man’s] nostrils the breath of lives”. Perhaps you think I wrongly typed “lives”. I didn’t. It’s plural in the original language. That was more than just air breathed into Adam! 

MORE THAN OXYGEN

The breath of God is what made Adam a living person. The primary thing is that breath . . . What was it about that breath? God didn’t speak this part of His creation into existence; in this, one, case He breathed it. In Scripture animals have “the breath of God” too, yet, God didn’t breathe that into them. What we see in the creation of Adam is unique, and one of a kind (as opposed to the animals). This picture of God breathing, His breath, into man is significant; it’s one of many evidences pointing towards the uniqueness of mankind. 

There is so much I could say about that breath; but this is a magazine. The abbreviated version is that, along with oxygen, God breathed spirit into Adam: 1. Adam’s eternal human spirit, and 2. The Holy Spirit: the Minister of eternal life. When you boil it all down, from his first breath, Adam was in fellowship with God. But when Adam dishonored God in sinful disobedience, the life ministering Spirit of God (being holy or righteous) naturally pulled away from Adam. 

“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:17 NIV)

THE LIFE LOST

After eating the forbidden fruit Adam went on to live many more years. (Genesis 5:5) So, the death God spoke of (in Genesis 2:17) wasn’t physical death. Physical death was incidental. The primary death Adam died had to do with relationship. Adam was “born” with an eternal spiritual nature; and, also, within him (at his “birth”) was Eternal Life, the Spirit of the Living God. The eternal life in Adam at the beginning was the result of the Spirit of God, doing what He always does in relationship, administers His life—a life of righteousness, peace and joy.

The Holy Spirit is not merely an energy or a force from God. He is God. (2 Corinthians 3:17) When Holy Spirit [God] is administering His life within someone, it means that He is manifesting His divine character in and through that person.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)

“He [God] has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:3-4)

“For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17)

PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE

Of course having the fruit of the Spirit (the divine nature) at work in our lives does not make us divine; it means that (through faith in Christ) we are in right relationship with God, and that we are (by His grace) recipients of a gift. (Acts 2:33)

So, the life Adam had, at the beginning, was the result of being in relationship with the Eternal Living God. To have eternal life means to be in relationship with God. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 italics added) If you are walking with God in Christ, you have Eternal Life [the Life Ministering Holy Spirit]; if you are not walking in Christ, you do not have Eternal Life.

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” (Romans 8:9 italic & bold added)

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Do you you have the Holy Spirit?

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“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)

WHAT IS ETERNAL LIFE?

We tend to think of eternal life in terms of existing forever. But that is not biblical. We’ll all exist forever. The eternal life we can now know has to do with the quality of existence within the Eternal Living God, Himself. We can now (through faith in Christ) experience and walk in eternal life, because the Eternal Living God can now (through Christ) live within and administer His quality of life [that is from Eternity] within us. Thus, for us, eternity and life are two separate things: one relates to quantity, the other quality. The question is not, do we have eternity; the question is, do we have Life. . . Eternal Life. . . Do we have God, Himself, living within and through us? In other words, do we have a relationship with Him?

Do you know Him?

“Whoever has the Son has life [the Holy Spirit]; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

(1 John 5:12)

WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

Perhaps your mind is overwhelmed with all of this. It can be complex; yet, it’s very simple. You can dig deep into God’s word and see the intricacies of God’s truths woven throughout the Bible. That can be very fulfilling. And, still, a child (not understanding all of this) can experience this Life in Jesus. It’s as simple as calling on His name, alone, for salvation. “Yet, to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name [Jesus/Savior: Matthew 1:21], he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) And, “For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13 italics added).

The important thing is to walk in, and grow up in, this gift God has provided. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:25) And the thing about a gift is that it must be received. You receive it by faith. The new birth, itself, is not something physically tangible that can be seen; it takes place on the inside of you. Physical baptism—the outward element of obediently entering into this covenant/agreement—makes it tangible; but it’s what takes place in your inner being that matters most. 

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One of the clearest passages in the Bible regarding salvation is Acts 2:37-41. After Peter preached a powerful message of Christ to the people, it says of those listening:

When they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (underlining added)

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YOU’RE INVITED: WHAT MUST YOU DO?

You’ve been invited, and there are some things you need to do. You will need to count the cost: be willing to put God first in all things. You will need to come to Him humbly in an attitude of repentance: turning away from any known sin, and asking Him to cleanse and forgive you, through faith in His Son’s payment on the cross. And in obedience, be baptized. As I said, the main thing is your heart, but baptism is the physical and outward way of stepping into this new life. In Romans 6:3 it says,

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

So, baptism is a burial (a separation or throwing off) of the old sinful life. It’s a dying to self. In the original language of the New Testament, the word baptism (“baptizo”) literally meant immersion. It was the same word used to describe a sunken ship, or a piece of cloth immersed in a dye. It’s the idea of being “all in”. It’s confidently coming to God because of Jesus’ payment, and saying, “Here I am God, all of me. With all of my body, soul, and spirit, I will seek (by your grace) to honor and live for and with you!”

As you lay down your life to God in this way, I can promise you, that you will find this life in God. If you feel that you have surrendered to God, but are not experiencing His presence, ask Him to show you what’s keeping you back. God will be first in your life, or He will not be yours at all.

Often times I’ve found that people struggle with forgiving. Perhaps that is true with you. If you cannot find it in your heart to forgive someone (including yourself), ask God to give you a willing heart. He will do it.

Everything must come under the Lordship of Christ: time, money, relationships, etc. He must take first place in your life or He will not be your God. Will you trust your whole life, all that you are, to Him? The Lord Jesus Christ says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB).

PRAYER

Pray something like this:

Father in heaven, You are the Judge, not me. I am willing to forgive __________. And, I come to You, knowing that I have broken Your law and that I deserve hell. Thank You that You are not only just, but that You are, also, merciful. Thank you for sending your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world to make payment for my sins, so that I, too, may be forgiven. I take Him as my Lord and Savior. Through His sacrifice, please forgive and cleanse me of all my sin. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit that I may have the power to live with You and for and You from this day forward. Help me read Your word (the Bible); to pray; and be in fellowship with Your Church, the body of Christ, that I may grow into a strong, mature Christian. And please, help me reflect Your light to the world. I pray all of this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.