Idolatry

Through the one act of sin, man lost the glory and image of God and the dominion over the Creation.  Satan then took the throne vacated by Adam and Eve and exercised his dominion over the earth and death filled the world. (Heb 2:14,15)

“....sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death come to all men, because [in Adam] all sinned...” (Rom 5:12).

All the generations following Adam and Eve have inherited their fallen nature.  All have come under the power and dominion of Satan.

“As for you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.  Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” (Eph 2:1-3)

 

Temptation

God gave Adam and Eve authority over all the earth and told them to keep it under His dominion.  To keep them safe from Satan and his evil spirits, God planted two special trees in the garden where Adam and Eve lived.  God called them ‘The Tree of Life’ and ‘The Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil’ (Gen 2:9,17).

The Tree of Life represented the Life and Authority of God Himself – so in eating its fruit, Adam and Eve would be filled more and more with God’s strength, love and glory.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented Satan’s life and authority and as long as Adam and Eve did not eat its fruit they were safe from the evil spirits which filled the earth.  The dominion of the whole Creation would always be theirs if they obeyed their loving Creator God.

However, Satan deceived Eve.  He told her the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil wasn’t really bad – rather it would make them like gods.  She believed the lie and ate the fruit of the Tree, Adam although knew that it was a lie, also ate of the tree (1 Tim 2:14).

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it” (Gen 3:6)

Lucifer

God created many wonderful things before He created heavens and the earth.  Among them were the angels – spirit beings whose purpose is to fulfil God’s will.  Angels worship God and serve Him continually (Rev 5:11-14).

However, when Lucifer one of the great leading angels, understood about God’s plan to create man, be rebelled against God.  He wanted to be above God’s Throne.  He wanted the position and authority God had planned for mankind.  He wanted to rule all creation from above God’s Throne in Heaven.

When Lucifer rebelled, God cast him out of Heaven.  At the same time, one-third of the angels joined in his rebellion and were cast out with Lucifer (Rev 12:4).

“How you have fallen from heaven,O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth,you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart,“I will ascend to heaven;I will raise my throneabove the stars of God;I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.^c 14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;I will make myself like the Most High.” (Isa 14:12-14)

Lucifer was cast to the earth, where he is now known as “Satan” or “The Devil”.  Separated from the glory of the Creator God, he has lost the beauty and light he had once had and became evil an full of darkness.

The angels who fell with him also lost their glory and became evil spirits in God’s newly created world.  But Satan’s evil ambition did not change and so he set about with another plan to try and usurp God’s Throne...he went after the man God created.

 

We Are In His Image

God has a reason for creating us.  He had a wonderful plan and purpose for mankind.  Because God is love, He desires to have beings of like-mind, and like-heart with whom He could share His life....all that He is and all that He is involved with...who would rule the heavens and the earth with Him like sons.  So He created man – in His own image.

“Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them

Man was made last of all the creatures: this was both an honour and a favour to him. Yet man was made the same day that the beasts were; his body was made of the same earth with theirs; and while he is in the body, he inhabits the same earth with them. God forbid that by indulging the body, and the desires of it, we should make ourselves like the beasts that perish! Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made. Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him. God said, Let us make man. Man, when he was made, was to glorify the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. It is the soul of man that especially bears God's image. Man was made upright, Ec 7:29. His understanding saw Divine things clearly and truly; there were no errors or mistakes in his knowledge; his will consented at once, and in all things, to the will of God. His affections were all regular, and he had no bad appetites or passions. His thoughts were easily brought and fixed to the best subjects. Thus holy, thus happy, were our first parents in having the image of God upon them. But how is this image of God upon man defaced! May the Lord renew it upon our souls by his grace!