In the beginning, God spoke the world into existence ex nihilo - - out of nothing. The second chapter of Genesis says this same all-powerful God then planted a garden, formed a man, and breathed life into the man's body. He could have spoken the man alive and the garden into existence, but instead, sowed seed and made "every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, " to "spring up." (Gen. 2:7-9). Then with dust from the earth, he gave shape to man. God's breath filled lifeless lungs with life-giving spirit and so man is forever nephesh - - life, vital breath, soul. Man was not made from nothing; his physical body was formed from the stuff of earth and animated by the breath of Heaven - - an amalgamation too grand to comprehend.
In the beginning, God lived on Earth. He worked with his soil, and he walked with his image-bearers. The English Standard Version of the Scripture states Genesis 1:7 and 8 this way: "And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day." There is debate as to the nature of this "expanse." I won't pretend to know, or even have an opinion as to what is was. Was it solid or liquid? A sort of giant terrarium? A bio-dome? Not a clue. But, I know from Scripture that it was here and it was Heaven. I love that the ESV capitalizes Heaven. That uppercase 'H' causes the gears of my brain to whir. A proper noun - - a real place like Canada or Ohio. When God created Earth, He created Heaven as well, and they were one place.
In the beginning, heaven and earth, man and God coalesced. Everything existed in a God-made oneness. A close friend of mine said, "God is always coming down to us." What an accurate and glorious truth! Ephesians 1:10 tells us, "And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - - everything in Heaven and on Earth." (NLT) Colossians 1 says Jesus is the great reconciler, knitting all things, whether on Earth or in Heaven, to God. Man's rebellion caused God to shut the door to the garden he had planted - - no more access to the Tree of Life. The first man and woman were expelled from paradise and entered into the trials of life on a planet corrupted by sin. This corruption was all-inclusive. Pain became front and center in childbirth and in our efforts to obtain nourishment. Pain is now a prerequisite for life. Spiritual and emotional frustration, pride, contempt - - so many poisons entered into our relationships. There would be no more surviving by reaching out and reaping what the Lord God had sown. Man would eat only by the sweat that comes from laboring against thorns and thistles. And the body formed from dust would return to dust. The fusion of Heaven and Earth was torn. Mankind and his planet-home now stood on the edge of an uncrossable chasm.
In the beginning, God planted a garden. The Bible gives no indication that this garden ceased to exist. God's people wanted to get back; to walk again with God on Earth; to be the caregivers of His creation. The Way back was proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. Prophets shouted, wept, and pleaded then grew silent - - four-hundred-years-worth of silent. Then Heaven's voice became incarnate. The Voice spoke to Zechariah at the birth of his son, John the Baptist, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David . . . " (Lk. 1:68-69) The Voice spoke to Mary, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - - the Son of God." (Lk. 1:35) The Voice spoke to the Shepherds, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Lk. 2:10,11)
In the beginning, God spoke Earth and Heaven as one. In the Word to Zechariah, Mary, and the Shepherds there is evidence, once again, of this convergence. The Lord God would be the God of a people. God would visit earth to perform a heavenly feat - - the redemption and salvation of human beings. God would come through a human bloodline and would, indeed, be a human. A girl would be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and God would once more plant a garden, a Tree of Life on Earth, sowing his seed in a human womb. A child would be born possessing all the bodily needs and functions of any other child, but this one would be called "holy - - the Son of God." Angels came to the earthiest of earthlings - - shepherds, to proclaim that the anointed one of God would be born in the city of an earthly king.
In the beginning, God came down to us and proclaimed for centuries that He would make a way home for us. Christ, the Way, came telling people that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. In his flesh, Heaven had again come near, approached, drawn close to mankind and to Earth. This wasn't an invasion or an intrusion. Jesus didn't just step into Earth's time and space; he traveled the birth canal, nursed at a mother's breast, worked at carpentry alongside a father. His flesh was stabbed and bled and when he released his nephesh, his heart stopped; his lungs no longer took in air. Jesus became like us and, when he rose from death, he became like we will be.
In the new beginning, at Christ's return, God will again come to Earth. John describes what he saw in Revelation 21:2-3, "And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.'" This city will not be made from nothing - - it will be made of the children of God, and at its center will be the Tree of Life, Jesus Christ. Together, the people of God and the Savior of mankind will stand on real feet and legs on a real Earth. God will re-unite Heaven and Earth and will live on his new planet with the people he has redeemed.
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