Genesis 1:1" In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.3 And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. 26 Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' "The creation was the birth of everything and even meek earth was born at that time. Part of the birthing process was when the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and created light. Light was "goodness" and goodness is what God bestows when he enlightens! Shortly thereafter the first man was born. He was made in the image of God and was named Adam. He was born "good" because at that time he was the Son of God! His birth was part world and part Spirit. His was a virgin birth just as was Jesus because the world (dust) was without sin and had born no man before him!
Because we are of the seed of Adam, he is the father of all. In fact because Adam is the seed of God, we are Sons of God when we leave behind our step-father! There is much speculation who "the Sons of God" were. Some say fallen angels, some say sons of Seth, but others say kings who declared themselves divine. In essence they were supposed to be demon-filled men. My speculation is totally different! It may be that Sons of God are Adam's righteous heirs who married the daughters of men or sinners!
Regardless, we were made in the image of God and as such we have a living soul. Adam's soul was full of the Holy Spirit until he sinned. Being Sons of Adam we are born with an empty soul, but God's grace is to return his Holy Spirit to that empty cup just as he did Adam's (Genesis 3:20) when God shed blood on their behalf to cover their sin. We are surely the Sons of God who is our true Father. Satan stole us away, but the Father's desire is to restore our original position. As such those "born-again" are adopted as Sons of God, thus restoring what was at Adam's birth! Adam was born in innocence. He was merely returned home to his Father by grace. We were born in sin and were more as Sons of Men. God's adoption restores to us as Sons of God because we become children of God!
Hence, Sons of God may have been those who were righteous and the daughters of men, were those who were unrighteousness, given the precedent that it is women who first cause the chaos which leads to sin . Once these "Eves" initiated sin, then the men followed and the earth became corrupt.
The message throughout scripture is that corrupt or sinful people are sinners and walk in darkness. They return to the original state of the earth before God said "Let there be light!" Adam was born in light, but chose darkness. We are born in darkness, but must chose light!
Adam was born of the spirit and dust. He was reborn by grace. His second birth was one of grace, but Adam was in fact "born-again". He was taken from darkness and the light was restored. He lived as a Son of God thereafter as far as we can tell!
On the other hand, in the womb is darkness. We all are born there and because of Adam we are also Sons and Daughters of men, and have the propensity to sin. That genetic trait is so powerful that all men have sinned and come short of God's glory! "Glorification" is the time after death that those born-again get a perfect body which will never again sin nor die! That's when our bodies are reborn to match the birth of our spirit! We change from Sons and Daughters of men (sinful) back to Sons of God (righteous).
There are two births and two deaths. All those born will suffer death. We all are mortal. Those who are never born again will suffer a second death. Their souls will die. Actually it's not eternal death, but eternally dying!
There is one difference between those who were merely born and those reborn. All are born are in darkness.
Luke 1:78 "...because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”God's light is available to the world because God so loved the world. His love of his creation is mercy. It is said that the "sunrise shall visit us from on high". This is prophecy that Jesus will come down from heaven. Jesus is the Sunrise. Sunrise first came to earth at the creation! He is the Light of the world! (John 8:12). Jesus came to guide everyone to peace. That's where Light resides. That's the kingdom of God where the Light always shines!
Those who "sit in darkness" are still in the world. Alone there without Light they are in the "shadow of death". What they need to be Sons of God again is his Light, the Holy Spirit coming down on them and bestowing light where there is darkness. It's the same Holy Spirit who was there in the beginning at the creation, giving light to the earth as the world was born. The light is symbolic of birth and life because without life there is no hope ever to be Sons of God and dwell forever in his Light!
Genesis 1 is the story of the birth of mankind. It's then that we became part of God's plan. Yes, before you were ever born God knew you. If you resulted from an unplanned pregnancy, the lack of the plan was from the daughters of men. God still planned you! What did he have in mind? For you to become sons and daughters of God!
He loved those who sinned before the earth was reborn by water as it was in the time of Noah. God took the offspring of the Sons of God and the Daughters of Men and saved some. The earth was born in Genesis 1, became dirty with fornication against God, died by water and then the world was reborn as it was washed clean from sin. Noah and his sons were restored as Sons of God and the creation started anew. The earth was reborn and had a second chance because God so loved the world!
That background brings us to us! We are of the daughters (and sons) of men. Because we are of men, we are in darkness. Sin is the darkness in which all people live as they are born into this world. We all walk in the shadow of death because everyone is a sinner. We sin because we are sons and daughters of man (Sinful Adam). When we are born we are born merely of the water, but when we are reborn it's of "the water and the spirit" (John 3:5). (For there is no salvation without the shedding of blood which was necessary even for Adam!)
If we look back on the creation story, the earth was born when the Holy Spirit came upon the face of the waters and light shined forth, emanating from God who gave life to the earth. When we are born we too are born of the water, just as the earth was born! However, water destroyed the earth, but it was cleansed by the same water which destroyed it. In the end it was God's Holy Spirit who rebirthed the earth. We are to be reborn likewise: by the water and the spirit. You see, the first birth of the earth was by water and such was it's second birth. The first birth of the earth was by the Holy Spirit and so was it's second birth! It works the same way for us!
The birth of the earth was when the Holy Spirit shined light on the face of the waters. That light brought life not only to the inanimate, but to Adam as well. Light is life. Darkness is death. Before it was born the earth gestated in darkness, albeit for a short gestation! When God made the earth alive it came out of darkness and was in the light. When Adam was "born" his birth took what had been dark (the earth) and he was made alive in the light. The light was the medium of the Holy Spirit both for the original earth and for original man!
The original man is back in town. We have looked for him, and he is us! Actually, the Holy Spirit shows that we are that we need to be reborn! He shines just enough light that we see ourselves in the darkness. John Wesley called this light "prevenient grace". It's the same light on the earth as it emerged from darkness and it's the light when the rains subsided with Noah! Light shines forth God's love "for he so loved the world" that he created it and renewed it. He "so loved Adam" that he made him and rebirthed him! He so loved us that we were born and given the chance to be reborn! All we have to do is to revert to the womb of God; realize that our nourishment and dependence is solely on him; that we can never save ourselves from death and that salvation is only by the blood of Jesus.
This "blood" is the water which saves us. It must be Jesus' blood which was mingled with water (John 19:34). Anyone can cleanse us with water, but only Jesus can by water and the blood. It's the realization and acceptance of this notion that gives birth. One passes from death unto life, from darkness to light, by this realization! When we are "enlightened" with that truth, we are "born again". Jesus' blood and water cleanses us from our sin just as mere water did for Noah and mere blood did for Adam. We get both to become Sons of God again!
Look at scripture to see how Jesus describes this second birth:
John 3:3 "Jesus answered him (Nicodemus), “ 'Tuly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.' 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.' 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world... "Jesus was born as God's Holy Spirit hovered over the dust (Mary). Just as the first Adam was fathered by the Holy Spirit and virgin dust, so was the second Adam. Mary was a daughter of men as well and as such her composition was dust. Jesus was the Son of Man and the Son of God! Can you see God's plan from day 1 of the world for his Son? The difference is that Adam had to be born again whereas Jesus need only the first birth because he never ever walked in darkness! Satan even tempted Adam and Jesus with the same darkness, but for Jesus the Light was Almighty God shining forth through the shadow cast by Satan!
The "Son of God" is Jesus Christ. It's trust in and acceptance of his propitiation of blood which makes us born again. Just as with Adam and the world of Noah, all past sins are forgiven and a new creation emerges, still able to sin, but empowered to resist sin just as Adam and Noah was! By accepting Jesus Christ he becomes our brother whose Father is God. In fact Jesus is both God and brother to us as we too are restored as Sons of God!
As the light is reflected off the face of the water, a new life-blood is given to us. The blood of Jesus dripped off the cross, dribbled onto the dust onto the Sons and Daughters of men, who "bit the dust", so to speak. The dust, was cleansed by the Son of God once and for all. Water can no longer destroy and it too has become a symbol of life just as it was for a reborn earth!
You see? Just as the earth and Adam were born into "goodness" when the Holy Spirit shined God's light on their face, we too are born "good" when we are reborn as the light shines right there in our newborn faces! God cleans the sin and makes us "good" in his eyes! We are already born as sons and daughters of men (of the flesh), but are reborn as Sons of God (of the Spirit)!
Luke 23:43 "And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two."As the world became restored by the shedding of blood, man was given a second chance, just as they were when God shed blood for Adam and when Noah's world was reborn. On all those occasions that was by grace; because God so loved the world!
Notice that when Jesus died the earth returned to darkness again as sin fell on Jesus shoulders! Adam's sin was there. The sins of daughters of men were there, my sins were there and so were yours! The Holy Spirit shined light on the face of the earth again and it was reflected from the water and the blood as light was restored again the ninth hour! What happened to Adam and to those in the time of Noah were symbolic of what Jesus would do when he provided light to create a new earth! Someday glorified bodies will join our reborn spirit and live in this new kingdom... the kingdom God where God's light always shines!
Let's move further into the light! We are to be separate from darkness (be sanctified). Adam was given a command when he walked in the light with God. He failed to show love for God by obeying that one command. When he disobeyed, Adam stepped into darkness. When the Word shed innocent blood for Adam (the first time death came) Adam was made alive again. He was reborn. God EXPECTED him to be righteous by obedience. It seems that Adam did so! God gave commands to test our faith. If we love him we keep his commands!
John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments."When we keep God's commands we walk in the light. We step out of the darkness of sin and behave like Sons of God! We are to be holy because our Father is holy. When we are born again, we are emancipated from the part of Adam who was born to daughters and sons of men and are adopted as Sons of God.
The light is important in our rebirth. Unless were are enlightened we can never be born again. That spark of light when we realize the truth is the moment we step from the birth canal of darkness into the light if God! We all must be born again to be saved from the second death! Can you save yourself from eternal damnation? Sane people can only answer "No!". Who then can save you? God said that only by the blood of Jesus can anyone be saved. If you buy into that this instant and then trust Jesus to follow through with his promise, then you have seen the light and as the Holy Spirit gives you birth, you meekly crawl out of the shadow of death. Right that instant you are innocent and are as the little children. When you are reborn the slate is washed clean and your innocence restored as the light dims the shadow of sin!
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