One day, mankind will come to understand the fantastic opportunity that was set before them. The Creator gave man a perfect environment after Satan had rebelled, causing the earth to have become without form and void. Satan, as Heylel, had rejected God’s government and chaos and confusion was the result (Genesis 1:2).
As God considered the creation of man in His image, He moved to clean up the earth to provide a “very good” environment for man to live in. “You sent forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth” (Psalm 104:30). In reproducing Himself in His own image, God made man of matter so that he could develop the character and nature of God over a human lifetime before being changed into eternal spirit.
A purpose given to man was to restore the government of God over the earth. By working with God’s creation – having dominion over it and subduing it – mankind would develop God’s mind and character. At the same time, the whole earth would develop into a garden of Eden. Man was placed into the garden of Eden when he was created as it was the prototype of how the earth was to become under his management. “The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. … Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it” (Genesis 2:8, 15).
Adam and Eve – the parents of all mankind – allowed the hostile, rebellious nature of Satan to influence them to also reject God’s government. The result is: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil, you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; for from dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17-19). Without God, life was not going to be easy and would be devoid of purpose. We need to be mindful of this important background as we observe our worldly environment.
Man was made to have a special relationship with his Maker. He was made in the form and shape of God and given a spirit to make this relationship possible. Very few people know or understand this. “At that time Jesus answered and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes’” (Matthew 11:25). God’s truth is revealed.
By rejecting God and His revealed knowledge, man can only assume that all that exists is physical matter. Man is regarded as solely physical and in the process of evolving. This denies the existence of God.
In the garden of Eden, man took to himself the prerogative to govern himself independently of God. “So he drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24). Without God’s Spirit, man is incapable of governing himself in a manner that produces harmony, peace, and happiness. Man’s mind is a mind of, “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like … “ (Galatians 5:19-21). Within these qualities we can observe the conduct and functioning of many of the present-day news makers.
As you regard the current chaos of human government around the planet, please keep in mind that we live in a world cut off from God. We must resist Satan’s pull to think that man can solve his problems. Within the Church, there is a tendency to regard any leader who takes a stance against the liberal drift of society as a leader we should uphold [Populism is a form of human government]. If within that “leadership” we can behold, “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness” then we are seeing the mind of the flesh that has no regard for God or godly morality.
At this point in time, man is demonstrating his inability to govern himself in any positive or beneficial way.
Godly government will involve “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control … “ (Galatians 5:22-23). The only minds that can demonstrate those qualities are minds with God’s Holy Spirit. You are a leader in training – training to administer God’s government over this earth under Jesus Christ.
As we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We are to govern ourselves now in order to govern with Christ tomorrow.
Brian Orchard
