PART 8 TESTIMONY

PART 8 TESTIMONY?????????????????????????????????

God Made Me Like This

As I was working on this study, I took a break and turned on my favorite morning news station. The panel had a guest who claimed to be a Christian and disclosed that he was married to someone of the same gender. He went on to say something like, if anyone has an issue with this, then go to God because He made me like this. This resonated with me in the sense that this statement sounded right, and I’m sure those that listened to it agreed, but I have learned over the years that Scripture should give us the answers to any question or comment that has any connection to do with God. So, let’s see if what was said is indeed supported by God’s Word.

Many of us are familiar with the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. Let’s begin by going to this book.

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Genesis 2:7

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God made Adam’s body from the dust of the ground. I wouldn’t even begin to try to figure that out. And then it says He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. The word breath refers to the breath that causes man to live, or in other words, it was the breath from God that caused Adam to live or become a living soul (a living creature).

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But there is something else that God did to man when He made him.

Do you know what this was?

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Genesis 1:26a

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:…????????

He made man after His image and likeness. The word image conveys to us the nature of Adam’s soul in that it was not corrupt, and as to its moral disposition, it could be otherwise called original righteousness. The soul of Adam was created in the moral image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.99

Genesis 3:8a And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:

After Eve was made from Adam’s rib, we are told that both of them were placed in a geographical location called the Garden of Eden, where Scripture suggests they communicated with God and subsequently shared in His wisdom, love, truth, etc. Along with this, we are also told that they were made in the likeness of God. This word likeness refers back to the word image and describes it as being a resemblance in any quality, internal or external. So, as Adam and Eve responded to God’s communication inwardly, they revealed His characteristics outwardly in their bodies.

Are there any other verses that give us more insight into man’s nature at the time when he was first created?

Yes, there is. Further information is found in the book of Ecclesiastes.

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Ecclesiastes 7:29

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

This verse tells us that God, as the creator of human life, made man upright. The word upright means that he was possessed of [the] ability to choose and follow what was just and right.100 How did Adam know what was just and right? He knew what was just and right because he communicated with the one God who was, is, and always will be just and right in the Garden of Eden.

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Did man remain upright, or in other words, did he remain made in God’s image?

To answer this, we must go back to the sad story that took place after Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, which tells us that both of them were instructed not to eat from one particular tree in the Garden called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What we have come to learn is that an angel, who we now know was the Devil, was also on the earth at this time in the exact geographical location with the purpose of causing one or both of them to disobey God’s command. Through his cunning, he deceived Eve into eating from this tree. She, in turn, convinced her husband also to eat from it.

As a result of their disobedience, there was one major impact that would affect all of their descendants. Do you know what this was?

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Romans 5:12

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

By one man, Adam, sin (human depravity) entered into the world. In other words, every human being born after that fateful decision would have a fallen nature passed onto them. Therefore, the uncorrupt moral disposition that characterized Adam and Eve’s original nature became corrupted with a nature that sins.

Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

And thus, mankind was no longer made in God’s image but after the image of Adam, which is a morally depraved image. While his son would be born with the likeness (outward features) of his father and mother, his soul would be subject to moral disorder. And subsequently, a person’s sinful character would be formed and described in the following manner according to Webster’s dictionary. The peculiar qualities, impressed by nature or habit on a person, which distinguish him from others; these constitute real character, and the qualities which he is supposed to [possess] constitute his estimated [character] or reputation. [Hence,] we say, a character is not [formed] when the person has not acquired stable and distinctive qualities.101

However, some may argue that every human being is still made in the image of God at birth. Is this true? Please go to the book of Colossians, and we’ll find out.

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Colossians 3:10

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

The words of him that created him are to be taken as an analogy of the spiritual man or born-again Christian to Adam in the Garden of Eden before the fall. As Adam was created in God’s image so the new man, the new creation, the Christian at the new birth, was recreated in God’s image.?

So, to say that God initially created mankind in body and soul after His image and likeness is correct. To say that the nature that I now possess, along with its propensities and inclinations, is from God is incorrect. Therefore, the insinuation by the person running for political office that God made him gay is unscriptural. However, what we can say is true in this sense is that the whole universe of things was made by Christ. And all created beings are without independent existence apart from God.

Some insinuate that there are other verses that support the conjecture that God made them in whatever way their actions indicate. Let’s begin by going to the book of Psalms.

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Psalms 100:3

Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

This verse talks about the Jews who Know (to know by experience) that the Lord (Yahweh) he is (the one true) God. We are then told that Yahweh made them and not they themselves. This means that "Jehovah constituted us as a nation, His chosen people,"102, and not we ourselves (how altogether of God's grace, not of our working even in part103).

As we can clearly see, these verses do not pertain to Yahweh, making each of those who are members of the Jewish nation in a certain actionable way. The next verse that we will look at tells us that God created a nation of people whom He would mold into a certain form.

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Isaiah 43:1

But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

The book of Isaiah embraces all that was seen during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and [Hezekiah,] that is, during the whole prophetic life of the prophet.104 This includes the whole collection of prophecies delivered in the course of his ministry.105 In this instance, he is communicating the thoughts of the Lord to the children of Israel who are currently under captivity to Babylon.

They are reminded by God that He created (brought them into existence) and formed (to mold into a form) them. In order to mold someone into a certain form, they would need to believe in the one who desires for changes to take place in their life and subsequently obey his instructions as delineated in the Mosaic Law.

The psalmist also assured them that they had nothing to fear. Their God will see to it that they will be redeemed (ransomed by means of a price) from their captivity and restored again to their homeland. The price will be the destruction of Babylon in the place of the ransomed captives.

Those who claim that God made them a certain way believe that their perspective is supported by the verses found in Psalms 139.

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Psalms 139:13-14

For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.?I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

This psalm has been attributed to King David. However, there are certain aspects that appear to indicate that it was written by someone else either during the Babylonian Captivity or after it ended. "In the first twelve verses of this [psalm] the author celebrates God's perfect knowledge of man's thoughts and actions; and the reason of this wonderful knowledge, namely, that God is the Maker of man.106 Now, let’s take a look at these verses.

This person goes on to say that God hast possessed (owned; created) my reins (kidneys; the whole body; conscience; personality; inward parts). There it is. What meaning should be used when talking about this persons’ reins? I would say that it depends on the context or what do the other verses that accompany it talk about.

He goes on to say that God has covered (woven) him in his mother’s womb. The word woven means that God had put his parts together, as one who weaves cloth or who makes a basket.107 With this additional insight, we could suggest that the word reins refer to either the whole body and/or the inward parts.

However, he that said God made him in a particular way would say that God has possessed (created) his reins (his personality).

This appears to be a possible conclusion, but unfortunately, it doesn’t take into account certain things. One of which is that the person who wrote this psalm was not only Jewish but someone who believed in Yahweh as He revealed Himself to him as his ancestor Abraham.

Romans 4:1-3?What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found??For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.?For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abraham, as to what he achieved by his flesh (circumcision), was found not to be justified (declared righteous; accepted as righteous) by his works (his own efforts). However, because he believed God (of trust in and acceptance of God's blessings108; of his unwavering assurance that what God had promised he would perform109, i.e., that he would be a father of many nations; that his posterity should be like the stars of heaven110, and that unto him and his descendants would be given land for an inheritance), it was counted unto him (put to his account; credited to his account) righteousness (to regard and treat him in connection with this as a righteous man; as one who was admitted to the favor and friendship of God110; a seal of righteousness was put on him).

Abraham, at one time, was an unbeliever whose sin nature characterized his thinking, speaking, and actions. And at some point in time, he believed in what God declared to him and subsequently in Him as the one true God. This caused him to become a new person, one who had become a friend of His. So, with these thoughts in mind, we could say that the Lord possessed (owned; created) his reins (his personality).

What this suggests is that the psalmist’s personality was owned and thus created by Yahweh through cultivation and development by means of many areas such as obedience in following the godly instructions given by Israel’s leaders along with adherence to the tenets of the Mosaic Law. This tells us that the psalmist’s new personality was formed by the appropriation of divinely instituted principles.

We could conclude that at birth, sin or the sin nature is passed on. However, when someone believes in Yahweh in the Old Testament or repents to God the Father and believes in His Son in the New Testament, they become a new person whose new personality is developed as they appropriate God’s perspective for spiritual growth.

Now that we know what sexual practices are condoned by God and which ones are not, along with the fact that all of us have a sin nature that has inclinations and passions in many areas, especially in the sexual realm, which is the result of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we have a significant question before us. How do we as Christians learn how to no longer be in subjection to the cravings and desires of our flesh? We’ll find this out in the next chapter.

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Endnotes

99Adam Clarke's Commentary.

100 The Pulpit Commentary.

101American Dictionary of the English Language. 6 October 2021 <https://www.webstersdictionary1828.com>.

102 Bible Exposition Commentary/Old Testament, 2004. BIBLESOFT. WEB. 2 October 2021 ?https://www.biblesoft.com>.

103 Jamieson, Faucet, and Brown Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2005. BIBLESOFT.

WEB. 2 October 2021 ?https://www.biblesoft.com>.

104Barnes.

105Adam Clarke’s Commentary Pc Study Bible version 5, 2004. BIBLESOFT. WEB. 3 October 2021 ?https://www.biblesoft.com>.

106Adam Clarke's Commentary.

107Barnes.

108Weust’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament.

109Barnes.????????????????????????????

110Weust.

111Barnes.

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