TheStory of God and Humanity
Steve Clinton
begun August 21, 1969 latest version July14, 2009
Prologue
In the beginning God (Gen. 1:1) “existed” as one “being” (entity, mode of reality, non-contingent existent) in three “persons” (Mt. 3:15-17), having absolute union of persons and minds, without mixture and without confusion, and a deep relational fellowship of passionate love, perfect communication (John. 17:5, 24), total intimate unity, absolute righteousness, and glorious light. This Trinity existed, and still exists, “in” a “spiritual” plane, a place which really exists, in more ways (probably ‘dimensions’ in our terms) than we do, and includes elements of these human dimensions, as well as much more, which we cannot now perceive (but we will).
God’s being, as perceivable by and communicated to created beings, combines physical light (Ex. 24:10,17; 34:29-30; Luke. 9:29-32), which manifests His moral perfection (holiness Hab. 2:20), “intelligent” life (mind, emotions, will), spirituality - which is the fundamental constituant of all reality, and three persons with distinct personalities. We are forced by our language to use the word “he” or “she” when referring to the persons. We do not have a third person word in English that is gender inclusive or neutral. Philosophically this could be called idealism or personalism, but those human schools of thought only captured, at best, a tiny part of who God is. Eastern Orthodox theology celebrates the mystery of who God is without trying to comprehend it all. The Western theologies try to capture more specific information, but always fall far short. We sometimes truely know what we know but we never know exhaustively what we know.
God “had” interpersonal “interactions” we would call fellowship, decisions, love, and communication (John. 17:24; Eph. 1:4; I Pet. 2:20). There was time, of a sort - sequence, before and after, but in the perfect fellowship of eternity (ages long existence in many dimensions, at least eight) it was probably not in the terms of time which are now meaningful to us, that is, our sense of history or linear time or even the time of general relativity which only pertains to a few of the materials things of our presently experienced universe (90% of which we cannot see [according to the Princeton Physics Group, March 17, 2006]).
One of the persons, whom we call the Second Person, had aspects of existence which we call both godliness and humanity. Of course there was no tension or contradiction in the Second Person; He is the God-human. In all three persons there is wisdom (which we sometimes call by the Greek name, Sophia), and love and joy forever.
Chapter One: A Wonderful Creation
God “decided” (for some reason, which includes joy) to create a sphere of existence for the Second Person of the Trinity to “be” in (Col. 1:15-20), that is, to be incarnated: an altered state showing His humanity and deity in a different way (“beyond,” “outside,” or “within” are not really meaningful terms here within the perfect fellowship of the Trinity). This new sphere would combine infinite and finite elements, which are structured in at least six interwoven dimensions which are preceivable to us now: personal, mental, moral, spiritual, social, and physical, according to God’s plan (Eph. 1:9), which reflects His own ‘will to power’ and acting from His inner nature [Rev. 4:11] of love and justice. The Second Person was involved in the planning, decision making, and development of all things. Thus, the universe was created “by Christ and for him.” (Col. 1:16) This constantly expanding universe in all its dimensions is the ideal place where the Second Person can engage in loving relationships of joy, discovery, exploration and passion, forever. It is not the abode of God (the highest heaven- Ps. 9:11; Dan. 2:22; 1 Tim. 6:16), which has at least two other dimensions.
This universe, our universe, was created with at least sixseparate but interacitve dimensions of existence:
physical (space, linear time, and matter),
spiritual (immediate person to person, person to world, and person to God),
mental (perception, reflection, integration, memory),
moral (innate ideas, moral ideals, inner integrity and righteousness), and
social (interpersonal capabilities of discernment and cooperation).
personal (integration of life; a great deal more than what we now call “personality”)
This creation was in keeping with God’s nature and His attributes of love and joy and service to each other. It was according to His wisdom and perfect will, who is the creator of all that is. It continues to hold together in the multi-dimensional form it has because He causes it to hold together (Col. 1:17). He can and does change elements, at will. All the universe is moment by moment under His soverign control. Some of these instances leading to change we call “answers to prayer.”
There were billions of consequences of His initial creative actions, as there are consequences for our actions also. Since He “extends” through our universe and time, as well as having the reality of being present in each and every part of time and space, He knew all the parts and all the consequences of His creation intimately. This laid the foundation for what we call knowledege of reality and middle knowledge of truely possible worlds. But we know so little of what is, and what is possible. This universe was the perfect place for the ongoing rich life of the Second Person (Isa. 45:18). The universe has far more capacities and capabilities than we know of now (Num. 22:28-32). It is much more than physical, and all the parts work together in a harmonious reality – how could they not do so?
God then created finite beings (personal, spiritual and physical entities of various kinds) to populate this universe. These other entities also partook of the dimensions, although in different means and degrees than that which had been planned for the Second Person (who had not yet taken up existence/residence in this universe, but visited it from time to time;who Abraham and the Hebrews knew as ‘the angel of the Lord’). At the top of the hierarchy (in terms of beauty, power, righteousness, and personality) of this group of created beings were the messengers and servants of God, now called angels.
God knew (intellectual apprehension, including prehension and middle knowledge) everything that would or could happen in this universe and knew what He wanted (volitional direction) to have happen in this universe for all the years to come for finite existences (those who have a beginning). The universe has both an experienciblepresence and a fixed purpose; how could it not, given the nature of its creator? He also knew how much freedom and creative power (far more than we think about or actualize) He wanted to give the various creatures and what the consequences of that freedom would be (Rom. 8:28-31) (much greater than we typically allow for). He who works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11), even the freedom of His creation, was willing to accept the consequences of His decisions and of human actions, in fact He loved them. Determination and freedom are both real. Love and justice are both real. All things are relational, incarnational, spiritual, unified.
All the beings capable of sufficient physical, mental, moral, spiritual, and personal ability to function semi-independently, and therefore of purpose (will), fellowship and communication, functioned as semi-autonomous agents within a fellowship and harmony modeled on those of the creator, a multiplicity in unity. They were to be a total community in unity. God structured a hierarchy of existence, intimacy and authority for all beings, which culminated in the love, glory, peace and fellowship of His own interactions and expression of His being. None of the beings in the universe underwent decay or death (Gen. 3:22). This was the beginning.
Existence went on in this way for at least tens of thousands of years, perhaps millions of years, we can not know at this present point of limited dimensionality and limited knowledge of history.
One focal plane of this existence of beings in a small corner the universe was on Earth (for some reason we don’t now know). Every element of creation had ontological ‘being in-itself’ and ‘meaning in-itself’ and each had its relation to everything else, and had a meaningful present and teleological purpose in the plan of God. In human terms, realism is the only way to approach the multiplicity of existence.
One of the angels, the most beautiful and powerful of all of them, was put in charge of this world (Ezek. 28:13-15; 2 Cor. 4:4), to rule it and to prepare it for the Second Person. This angel, whowas named Lucifer (light bearer was his name/title/function/nature before the angelic fall - Isa. 14:12), decided that he could be more than he was (a wrong kind of pride and unconsciousibleambition); that he could be like God in all ways (Isa. 14:14). Of course he could not. But he led some of the angels, and other lesser beings, in rebellion and revolution. We might call it wrong thinking based on wrong ambitions, leading to catastrophic consequences. Somehow this angel had a perverted view of reality. His “worldview” was deficient in some ways and imaginative beyond reason in others. It was a choice he made.
God removed this first angel from authority, emptied (Gen. 1:2 removed the order and beauty of) the world over which this angel had been given control, and left him and the fallen angels alone for a long time to let them observe the consequences of their actions and to deeply reflect on the meaning and purpose of their existence. Various creatures inhabited the earth, but they now underwent decay and death; the angels were forced to observe the consequences of their rebellion, but were not permitted to die from decay, or from shame.
One day (in a term meaningful on one of the planets, around one of the billions of suns, within on of the billions of galaxies within the universe) God came to Earth and reconstructed a part of it in order that it might have integrity of existence, beauty, compassion, and purity, and no longer undergo decay. From the ground of this recreated place, called Paradise, Eden, or simply “the garden,” He created a human being (Gen. 2:7). This being had the possiblity of interacting in the six dimensions but did not use all of them initially. Development of finite creatures takes time, apparently.
The being, a human, was like God in many ways and he and his kind were destined to be the brothers and sisters of the Second Person. With that destiny, there was much they could grow to become. God had a plan for that. As with the angels, so with mankind. Reality has a specific form and presents itself to us with certain opportunities and limitations. God maintains control but wants us to make decisions and take actions. One specific set of reality conditions is changed and another, new, set is presented. Our choices make real differences. If our perception of reality is correct and our choices are righteous, then we and reality move forward in an integrated, fulfilling way. Sometimes we have a modicum of controlbut God is always in overarching control of all reality. God did not explain to the other beings what He was doing (actions always speak louder, and tell the truth more, than words).
God gave this being, whom He named Adam, authority over the beautiful land and its creatures, and over the land outside, where God had started the renewal process but using different means of renewal (Gen. 2:1, 5-6; 3:23). Adam lived in perfect fellowship with God and all other things (plants, animals, higher beings) which God permitted into Paradise (Gen. 1:31). We can only imagine, with longing, the joy of daily fellowship with God, walking with Him and talking with Him, in peace and love. God deeply desires (John 17:23) that we would have this fellowship with Him and the Son in the presence and power of the Spirit. He has already created this relationship for us and lets us have a taste of it now. We call this walk with God by all kinds of names based on our individual experience, ranging from “quiet time” to “experience of the miraculous” to “beatific vision” or simply “walking with God.” God has said to many people in many times, “my presence will be with you.”
One day, God asked Adam to give names to the other beings which inhabited Paradise (Gen. 2:19-20). In giving names Adam was exercising his created authority (Gen. 1:28) over the six aspects of created reality in his actions of discernment, decision making, will, and linguistics within the sphere of existence over which God had placed him in charge. This anticipated the glorious fulfillment of humanity’s eventual destiny as co-regents of this entire universe, with the Second Person, and began to prepare humanity for this destiny (John. 17:21, 23-24; 1 Cor. 6:2-3) which they would share with their elder brother.
This naming also showed the intimate connection between the various elements of God’s universe. Each entity, based on its constituent nature, is given a proper name which denotes it specifically and uniquely. In the process of naming, a proper understanding of all of God’s reality was intuitively grasped and acted upon. Reality presented itself to man (veridical knowledge, which Kant called judgment) in the six dimensions in which it and man are commonly constructed. Each person knows what to do and what is right and appropriate, because God has put a right understanding of reality in the heart of each human. Immediate experience and intuition is the best way to “know,” in the perfect place. Even now we know the things of nature and their function on sight. We know good and evil, in ourselves and in others. We recognize our spiritual capacity, but if we don’t recognize God and are not fulfilled in a relationship with Him, we fill our hearts with all kinds of things, struggling to find our real self in a relationship with the divine. In a similar way, someday we each will receive our true name from God (Rev. 2:17) and we will recognize it when He speaks it. For then, everything existed in harmony.
Adam realized during the naming ritual that there was no other being exactly like him, with whom he could fellowship. He experienced God and Paradise, angels and creatures, but he was also, in a unique way, alone. God wanted Adam to realize that this was so. Although he was fulfilled physically (Paradise), morally (goodness in himself and walk with his Creator), mentally (processing the world, ruling over the world, and naming), and spiritually (daily walk with God), no other being could fulfill his need for social intimacy (true human fellowship) except another human being, with whom he could have interactions/ relationships. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”(Gen. 2:18) This spiritual/moral judgment and awareness of the fundamentally social/ fellowship nature of humanity was in anticipation of the fellowship which will someday exist between the Second Person and all the creatures created in His image: humans. We will all be at one with the Son and with each other. Humanity was not ready for that kind of interaction; in fact we still are not (but our participation in the inner life of the Trinity has begun [John 17:26; 1 John 1:2-3; 2 Pet. 1:4]).
But for that time, and for all the time before our entrance into perfect fellowship with God, as a precursor to true fellowship, and as a symbol of what is to come for all eternity, He created another person, a woman, to give an immediate and intimate taste of the fellowship to come. And then the perfect Father brought the perfect woman in to be united, in all humanly meaningful ways, with the perfect man (Gen. 2:22). We model this in our wedding ceremonies.
Adam recognized her immediately. He made two exclamations: “This!” (WOW! in his own language); “Now!” (after all those animals; this one is different!). Then he lapsed into prose and said, “She (recognition of certain distinctiveness) shall be called woman, because she is part of man (recognition of certain similarities).” Adam knew that spiritually, personally, materially, socially, morally, and mentally this one was like him and they were destined for each other, and indeed were already, by created nature in the purpose of God, part of each other. “Fallin in love” does not begin to cover the breadth of the realization of human connection.
Intuitive recognition of the nature of reality and the true meaning of that reality was working fine. The text says, “He made them male and female.” This one, female, shares in the total life of the other, male. Together they experience fellowship, harmony, oneness, love and communication with each other and with God. In Paradise, at that time, all was well (later characterized by the Hebrew word `Shalom’ or `peace’). Humans share aspects of God’s nature uniquely from any other being; they participate in His nature in special ways. They are different than angels and than animals. But even though they knew the truth in part, they did not recognize or know the whole; that is, who they were and who they were to become as fellows with the Second Person and co-heirs of the riches of God in all the universe (Rom. 8:17; Eph. 3:6; James 2:5).