Nothing to say, yet
Transcription
In this recording, Philip Black discusses the image of God and the condition of the earth when God created humans. He emphasizes that humans are meant to reflect God's image and represent Him on earth. He mentions that the earth was chaotic, covered in water, and lifeless before God created humans. He also talks about the adversary, who opposes God's will, and the responsibility given to humans to make the earth habitable. He explains that humans are both spirit and flesh, with the spirit coming first. He emphasizes the importance of humans reflecting the image of God and not being deceived by the adversary. He concludes by discussing the kingdom of God and the need to focus on God's kingdom rather than religious institutions. Hello, this is Philip Black, and once again this is Voice to Humanity, and I'm grateful to be here once again to be able to share with you what I believe the scripture is revealing to us concerning the image of God. That man, as he said, is supposed to be a reflection of his image and a representation of him in the earth. And as we have read earlier in Genesis 1, and I would like to reiterate once again, the condition that the earth was in when the Father looked down from heaven, which we say is, yep, God and Elohim and Hebrews, the condition that he found was one of chaos, a world covered in water, totally dark, there was no dry land, and no light. And I know the scripture emphasizes the fact that it was empty and not more, I mean, empty and more, excuse me. But also there is another symbolic thing that we need to see here, and we'll see this symbolism throughout scripture, is that the earth was also lifeless, if we were to use the term to say dead, that it was a symbolic representation of a grave, that the water covering the earth. So I would just like to reemphasize the condition of the earth when the Father began to consider the image of God in the earth. Now it doesn't clearly say this, but it is implied in scripture that whomever was given the responsibility to make the world a place that was inhabitable, that it was not fulfilled. So it implies to me that whomever had a responsibility, that that responsibility was now removed and placed in the hands of whom God would desire to place in the earth as his representation, which would be the humankind. Now we know throughout scripture, there is always a reference of the adversary. The adversary is the one that scripture says was the current prince of the power of the air. The one who opposes God, because that's what adversary actually means. It means one who opposes the will of God. That's what the word Satan means, it means adversary. It means enemy of God. It means the one who opposes his will. So now that he's chosen another representative in the earth, this is the reason why scripture says that the earth groans and travails but a manifestation of the sons of God. That's another term we will cover later, which is also connected with the image of God. So I would like to put those things in our minds as we continue to discuss this topic, so I can kind of summarize and make the connection as we continue to study in this session, which is session five. So we are going to continue to read in Genesis 2. And I'm going to read Genesis 2. Alright, so now I will continue reading. And I'm going to read from Genesis 2, beginning with verse 1. And I'm going to read several verses and then make comments after the reading. And the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array. And God completed on the seventh day the task he had done. And he ceased on the seventh day from all the task he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. For on it he had ceased from all his tasks that he had created to do. This is the tale of the heavens and the earth when they were created. Now this version I'm using is different from the King James. I'm reading it because I think it reads and makes things a little bit clearer than the King James. This is from Dr. Alter, the Jewish Hebrew Bible. On the day the Lord had made heaven and earth, no shrub of the field being yet on the earth, and no plant of the field yet sprouted. For the Lord God had not caused rain to fall on the earth, and there was no human to till the soil, and the wetness would well from the earth to water all the surface of the soil. And the Lord God fashioned the human and the humus from the soil and blew into the nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living creature. And I'm going to stop there. The reason I'm stopping here is because I want to bring out a couple of points. First of all, remember when we start talking about the fact that man made in the image of God was made first in spirit form, not in the human. The body had not been created yet. So here these verses emphasize that. It says here before there was any plant in the ground. Also we know that when God says in the beginning he calls forth all the living creatures, but there was not yet anything formed in the earth. And it also goes on to say the reason why, because there was no human to till the soil. So that also reiterates the fact that man, the human, as I have to be careful with that the humankind, of humanity, was not yet in bodily form. So as we just read that in verse 7 that he fashioned the human, and that's what it says, human, because that means we're not just talking about a male or a gender or a female gender, we're talking about the human. He formed them from the breath, excuse me, he formed them from the soul, and then he breathed into them the breath of life, and the human became a living creature. So as we see what took place here, as we have tried to illustrate throughout Genesis 1, this is where the Father begins everything in the spirit realm. That's why in Jeremiah, he speaks to Jeremiah and says to Jeremiah, Jeremiah I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. So that should be something that each one of us need to realize, that the spirit form was first, not the flesh. The flesh is an instrument for humans to be able to connect with the earth. That is the reason we have five senses. We have five senses in the sense that we will have to be able to identify things that are harmful to this body, that can destroy it, and identify things that are useful to this body to help it sustain its life. He gave us five senses so that we can be able to navigate with sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste. These are things that are given to the body to relate to the earth. Not to the spirit, but to the earth. This is how we relate to other human beings in the earth. So this is something that we need to understand and separate, that we are human and we are spirit, but the spirit comes first. And the body is supposed to reflect, as a mirror, the spirit man, not the natural man. And this is the problem with us understanding what our responsibility is as humans. Now if you are an adversary, in which we know that there is an adversary that is out to oppose the will of God, it would be very beneficial to confuse, or to cover, or misrepresent the purpose of a creation. What do I mean by that? Because of the fact that we are spirit and flesh, there must be a benefit for deceiving someone. And that benefit would be not to the creator, but to the deceiver, the adversary. So the adversary will have every incentive to distort the purpose and the reason for the image of God in the earth. As we will see later when we read the scriptures of what happens and causes man not to reflect the image of God, but to begin to oppose it, to be an instrument that would now begin to facilitate, excuse me, to facilitate all kind of opposition. It will facilitate now man's ability to now bring chaos, and I mean chaos by disorder, because whenever there is order there is no chaos, so there is harmony. So that's what I really mean by the word chaos. That would bring chaos once again to this peaceful creation that he has just completed. Now why would a human that has been given the task to rule over the works of his hands, over the works of chaos to maintain order in the earth, would suddenly decide to oppose it? And that's what we will discover why humans, as it says in scripture, all have sinned and fallen short. This is why this is a problem, and we will see it throughout scripture where the human being stops reflecting the image of God. And so until the next session of what is man, is he in the image of God, we will continue this discussion in chapter 2 of Genesis, and we will see what unfolds, and as we see it I hope that we recognize and understand the horror that must have, I would say, perplexed the heavenly host when it saw what took place later on in Genesis 2. And I hope that we will begin to appreciate and ask the question ourselves, what is man? Is man in the image and likeness of God? And then say, Lord, how can I become the image and likeness of God in the earth? And until next time, I hope you tune in, because I believe that this will be able to set us free from a lot of doctrine that we've been taught. A lot of things that have been emphasized that does not emphasize the kingdom of God. For this whole lesson, this whole message, is about the kingdom of God. It is not about the kingdom of men. And this is why this is in opposition to the kingdom of God. When we emphasize our own religious groups, we make them kingdoms. We cause them to be in opposition of the kingdom of God. And what do I mean by that? Here's what I'm saying. John the Baptist and Jesus preached one message, and that message was, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. At no time and no place did you ever hear Jesus or the disciples preach about any denomination, any religious sect, any institution. The message is always about the kingdom of God. And why is that? Because it was God who created the heavens and the earth. It was God who gave dominion and authority to the human. So it is always about his image and his kingdom rule over the heavens and the earth. Until then, this is Philip Black once again signing off from the Voice of Humanity, and hope that you will join us once again in the upcoming series. Until then, may God bless you. May he enlighten your understanding as you continue to seek him. In Jesus' name we always pray, for that name is the name which all authority is given. Amen. Until then, we'll see you later, Voice of Humanity.
