Spiritual Growth Manual Session 1 Lesson 4

Understanding how to grow up spiritually

Session 1 Lesson 4

Introduction: Everything living is proven by its growth. We were raised from death to life, therefore we must grow. We entered this new life as seeds or children and once admitted into this new life, what is required next is growth. [John 5:24; Col.1:13; 1Pet.1:23 and 1Pet.2:2]

God’s purpose in recreating man

After the fall of man, God decided to take his desire farther than before with man. Even though Adam was described as the son of God in Luke 3:38; the best he experienced of God was the fellowship he had with him as a friend or companion. I believe before he grew enough in understanding to recognize that he was actually a son of God, he had already lost his place.

A critical look at Gen.3 especially verses 1-7 and verse 15 reveals as follows:

·        The man did not really understand that he was already like God because if he did, he would have done his job of keeping the serpent out of that garden as soon as he began to tell them they would become what they already were [Gen.1:26-27; Ps.82:5-7].

·        In Ps.82:5-7, we see that when people do not realize their place as gods, they suffer like mere men. Eve was obviously deceived because she did not have as much light as Adam and sadly, Adam not realizing the gravity of the situation, complied with the enemy and thus lost his place. See Ps.49:20; 1Tim.2:14 and John 8:32.

·        The result of this was that the devil stole man’s dominion as god of this world. Man who was god of this world became a slave to the former wanderer who had lost his place in heaven and thrown to the earth where he had no physical body to operate legally in. When man yielded to his lies, he was able to start ruling over the man. This granted him access to a body with which to operate on earth. He does this by binding people with fear and possessing or oppressing them to carry out his desires to kill, steal and destroy. This explains the evil in this world today. See 2Cor.4:3-4; Eph.2:1-3; Rev.12:7-11, Job.1:6-7; Lk.4:6 and Job 2:1-2.

·        When God told the serpent he would eat dust and later called man dust, man became food for the devil. This is what authorized the devil to kill, steal from and destroy the man because of the man’s sins. Every religious war you see today is born out of the fear of punishment by false gods and a false promise of sensuality that will never happen like having many virgins to marry in “heaven” etc. See Gen.3:14, 19; John 10:10.

·        God’s reaction was prompt and very definite. When man fell from grace, he already had a plan made before the foundation of the earth because he saw what was coming. He used the opportunity of man’s sin to declare his intention to totally humiliate his archenemy in Gen.3:15 when he said the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent. See Rev.13:8.

·        Note that the seed of the woman is the same person as the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. He appeared on earth as Jesus Christ when He became flesh. See John 1:14; Rev.13:8 and Rev.5:9; Isa.7:14; Matt.1:18-23 and Luke 1:26-35.

·        God’s desire this time was to spiritually birth man just like Jesus was conceived without the involvement of a man. This new birth would only require the preaching of the word of truth. Just like Mary received the word of God through the angel and the word became flesh in her, God wants to birth new creations just by people believing His word without having to go through the process of physical conception. These new creations would be spirits living in physical bodies and housing God at the same time. This is the greatest mystery unleashed by God. It is called the mystery of redemption. Jn.1:14; Ez.36:26-27; Heb.10:15-17 and 1Cor.6:19; John14:17; 2Cor.5:17 and 2Cor. 6:16.

·        By the mystery of redemption, Satan was totally humiliated and man was given a greater place than he had before and raised up to sit with God far above principalities and powers. The desire of the devil that brought him down was to sit like God but God rather gave it to man. This explains his bitter hatred for mankind forever. Isa.14:12-15; Eph.1:19-23; 2:5-6; 1Col.2:14-15; Rev.1:17-18 and Heb.2:14-15.

·        By the mystery of redemption, God now has a family He can call his own. All who are born again belong to this family. Some have already gone on to heaven and the rest of us are presently on earth. This is why Apostle Paul calls us God’s family in heaven and on earth. See Ephesians 2:19; 3:13-14.