Title: Level 6: Book 2

Subtitle: Other Literal Bible Lenses from a Level 6 Perspective

By D Owen Kaiser

For Copyright by Picture Perfect Books

All rights reserved by Picture Perfect Books in every format

Biblical quotations are from two versions and are almost always adjusted to read easier.1. The Authorized King James Version in the public domain.2. The New Testament Reflection - Copyright August 10, 2015 by Picture Perfect Books. Used with full

permission.

Table of ContentsPreface: 3Introduction: 4

Chapter 1: The Origin and Definition of Evil 5Chapter 2: Further Questions on The Nature and Origin of Evil 13

Chapter 3: Delegated Authority 19Chapter 4: God’s Delegation of Authority: The Best New Lens 35

Chapter 5: Good and Bad Dominion and Questions about God’s Delegation 45Chapter 6: Authority and Evil 53

Chapter 7: What We Can Miss in Genesis 1 – 3 65Epilogue: 80

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Preface:

As the title indicates, this book is a follow-up to my earlier book, “A NEW LEVEL: BOOK 1”, which examined a number of passages and subjects with “new lenses” based on reading the Bible literally. This book continues that literal approach, and delves into challenging passages and subjects, which can be even more difficult to take literally. It will suggest the most important new lens that we need to see the Bible more clearly and move up to Level 6.

The third part of the earlier book described the world’s deepest problem affecting the core being of every human, and God’s complete solution to that problem. The personal choice to believe into Christ is necessary to enter into that solution. Many encouragements to believe were offered. Many excuses were addressed, hoping to spur a person to choose to believe into Christ Jesus.

But there is another excuse, a common one, maybe the most common excuse used for not believing God or His solution. That excuse is the problem of evil in the world. That problem is why many reject God or anything related to Him, including “His supposed solution to His idea of the human problem.”

This book begins by explaining God’s solution to the problem of evil. It takes six chapters to describe its origin, its definition, and the responsibility for it. It requires some length because we have had many questions, from the many explanation attempts we have heard, and from the many ways we and others have dealt with the problem of evil in our world. In addition, Chapters 3 – 6 detail the necessary answer to an “unsolvable” problem of theology.

God’s solution is an explanation; it is an answer to the problem of evil. It answers the biggest “Why?” – how the good God of the Bible and evil can and do co-exist. It is not an assertion of the logical possibility or plausibility of how God and evil could co-exist, nor does it merely provide a likely scenario of such a co-existence … the answer explains how and why God and evil actually do co-exist in experience and in understanding.

It is God’s answer; it is in the Bible. It is a practical answer, which could solve the problem of evil for every thinker – it makes sense rationally and spiritually. We can understand the existence of evil in our world, while God is good and all-powerful and all-knowing and wise and all the Bible declares Him to be. People can know the Bible’s answer to the problem of evil, since the Bible’s solution does not appeal to God’s hidden, inaccessible wisdom and knowledge beyond that of any human. Most who have personally thought about the problem will be able to understand God’s answer. Yet, it is a new idea, so our minds need to re-orient and accept literally what God says in the Bible.

The reality of a solution to the problem of evil means that it cannot be an excuse for unbelief, nor a reason for choosing not to believe into Jesus Christ. Those who reject God’s solution to their deepest need, are alone responsible for that choice, and must accept the unpleasant consequences for making that choice. Blaming God or anything else or anyone else cannot help. Plus, now the existence of evil in our world shouts that God’s way is good and right and must be chosen.

Many will write off any potential idea that the answer is in the Bible and that it is God’s answer. They might say that such an answer is circular, that God defending Himself in the Bible is not a satisfactory solution. Yet, they have considered many answers from God in the Bible to date and have found problems with them all. No unbeliever has turned back from the opportunity to show the inadequacy of other Bible solutions. The solution in this book can be a new target for philosophers, logicians, scientists, theologians, and others, who go to the heart of the answer given; and do not merely focus on picky details or proceed on some tangent that avoids the solution described. If you fail to show the inadequacy of the Bible’s solution here, and instead fall back to dismiss the ideas as being “circular”, it will be a confirmation of the adequacy of the Bible’s solution.

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Introduction:

God revealed the solution to the entire problem of evil in the Bible. He provided a logical answer for the philosopher, a practical answer for the existentialist, and a theological answer for those believing in God as the Spiritual Creator of the physical universe. The answer is a coherent and intellectually satisfying solution that reflects the reality of our lives on the earth and honors the Bible-taught character of God. Again, the solution does not appeal to unknowable details in God’s vast, wise purposes that are beyond us, but instead, it makes obvious sense of the world that we know and live in, for example the reality of our world that good and evil are different, and that the good is better.

The solution to the problem of evil in a world created by the good God of the Bible has been missed for 1000s of years, even though 1000s of great minds have analyzed it in detail from every perspective possible. It seems to me that answer has been impossible to find because evil has not been defined in a way that makes a solution possible. The definition(s) of evil have resulted in questions that do not have clear answers. Changing the definition of evil, changes the questions, and the solution quickly becomes clear. Chapter 1 of this book describes evil and its solution.

A standard definition of evil might be an undesirable state, including evil both as immoral human actions or attitudes and as natural or catastrophic events, such as various disasters, tragedies, genetic problems, and diseases. The breadth and scope of what can be called evil by religious and non-religious, in theology or atheism, by earthly or cosmic forces, is vast. The possibilities of undesirable situations that describe some form of evil seem endless.

Explanations have usually begun by narrowing the focus to a small number of practical cases, dreadful situations or events, such as the mistreatment of a helpless child, that any person with any sensibility would call bad / evil / wrong. With Biblical definitions of God as a good and powerful, it is then asked, “Why?” “Why or How a good God could permit such senseless evil in the world?” There is no definitive answer to that, because the question does not fit the reality of what the good God created. The examples use real tragedy, but the follow-up questions do not apply to the world we live in. They are the wrong questions. When evil is defined more foundationally, the questions change to ones that have answers – answers that apply to every perception and problem of evil.

Responsibility is another part of the solution God provides, and this involves solving what has endured as an “unresolvable” theological problem. The Biblical truths of God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility, have been seen to be parallel truths that never come together in ways a human can understand. This book brings them together in a God-declared solution applying to humanity, the Bible, our world, and to God.

Chapters 1 and 2, consider the solution to the problem of evil and only touch on responsibility. Chapters 3 – 6 deal at length with the Biblical resolution of God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility. These chapters extend the foundation laid in the previous book and join with some of its themes to build further structure. God provides and reveals these crucial answers to us when we read the Bible literally.

New lenses will be needed to see the solution to the problem of evil. Just as the dark view of Jonah was accurate but not clear, we have had a dark view of evil that is accurate but not clear. We cannot see the entire solution through these dark lenses. We do not observe how evil refers to many different things, some of which are amoral, which are actually a good part of God’s creation. We do not focus clearly on the necessary distinctions; we do not see the essential aspects of evil. We need a clearer lens.

Also with God’s sovereignty, we lump its different aspects together – we need a new lens to see that, in the Bible, God’s sovereignty is total and entire, but not one huge monolithic authority. Our view of it needs to be sharper so that we can experience and think more clearly about human responsibility. We miss much when we hold God to what we understand to be His sovereignty, and refuse, for example, to see Him limiting Himself.

The new lenses are in the Bible, taken literally, and wearing them helps us understand the Bible and our world more clearly, even if we do not yet know how every verse fits into the whole. The clearer the lenses, the better the solutions possible. Down through the centuries of the Bible being printed and accessible to an ever growing portion of the planet, God’s people seem to have gone back and forth on if and how to take the Bible literally. In this book, all of it is taken literally, beginning with Isaiah 45:7, one of the most difficult verses in the Bible to take literally.

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Chapter 1: The Origin and Definition of Evil

The Assumed Reality: Evil exists in our world and we wonder why.We all experience evil, and at times choose it. Most of us hate evil, but a few embrace it and even call it good. Others might believe that there is no real standard, that what is called “evil” is no better and no worse than what is called “good”.

But we can know why evil exists. There is a definition of evil that yields answers to why evil exists and how a good God is involved. It explains evil’s origin and Creator. It also explains why God apparently does nothing about it and does not seem to care about the evil that strikes us and our world. The explanation is clear in the Bible when we read and receive it literally and entirely true.

The Biblical Reality: Evil exists and God created it.God Himself says: “I create evil” in Isaiah 45:7. Here is the entire verse, more precisely from the Hebrew:“Making light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil. I Yahweh doing every one of these things.” Notice how God immediately emphasized that He personally is the One doing these things; this is not merely the message or opinion of a human prophet.

God’s creation of evil is not figurative language. The Hebrew word for “create” is used more often in Isaiah 45 than in Genesis 1 – six times, three of which refer to events described in Genesis 1, events of God’s initial creation of our universe, the earth, and all life. Isaiah 45 is literally true, just as Genesis 1.

Believing Isaiah 45:7, we know with certainty “the origin of evil” – God created it. But our intuition shouts: “No!” “How could a good God create evil, which is not good?” It appears to be logical nonsense that must be rejected, even if the Bible literally says it.

Religious people object to this answer for various other reasons, including one or more from the following list: Some who believe the Bible literally do not believe these words at all. They will say that “create” really means

“allow”, and some even reverse the text, declaring, “God doesn’t create evil.” It is more palatable to them to say that God allows evil, a statement which reflects the very wrong assumption that He could prevent it, if He wanted to. The error in this assumption will be addressed as we continue.

Others who believe the Bible interpret the word “evil” to mean “calamity”. They prefer to say that God creates calamitous events. This interpretation honors the Bible since the Hebrew word for “evil” is widely used and its broad meaning includes “calamity” and many similar words, as well as many synonyms for evil. My response is yes and yes. I have a “both – and” approach to the truths of the Bible, and am confident that God creates both evil and calamity and everything else meant by this Hebrew word.

We do not need to narrow the meaning of the Hebrew word in order to make sense of this verse: its message is clear just as written. So we take a deep breath and believe what it says. It is true and it is good as we shall see.

Some separate “evil” and “calamity”. They deny that God had any part in creating “evil”, but say that “calamity” describes God’s necessary judgments upon sin, upon sinners, and upon the evil in the world.

Some refuse to accept that an entirely Good and Holy God would ever create evil or have responsibility for it, either as evil or as calamity.

Some say that evil only exists as a way to describe the absence of God or of good, which is all that God created.

Many put the full responsibility and blame for evil’s existence upon fallen humans and/or Lucifer.

Most of these objections are based on or express certain truths of scripture, truths which we all should believe, but not necessarily as taught, and not necessarily all parts of the doctrine or worldview attached to the teaching or teacher. We must accept and believe the clear Bible expressions, and not disagree with any. Properly describing and defining evil

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requires believing the entire Bible literally; it is not enough to base a teaching on some Bible passage(s) while needing to ignore another. For me, answers to the above objections are satisfying, coherent, and clear, while believing Isaiah 45:7 and all of the Bible just as written. (A New Level: Book 1 has an appendix on how I read and believe the Bible completely literally.)

The Reality – made more difficult, yet more real: God continues to create evil.That God creates evil every moment is clear from Isaiah 45:7 taken literally. God’s expression of all five of His actions are in the active participle form, one of which is “creating evil”. God is not only the initial creator of evil, but He is also creating it every moment.

Many of the objections listed above would be intensified at the very thought that God might continually create evil. Yet, this is the word of God Himself; we can and we must believe it. The Bible’s answer to the problem of evil includes an explanation of God’s creation of evil every continuing moment.

Solving the Problem of Evil has been Difficult:From my viewpoint, the solution to evil has been hard to find because:1. We have not properly defined or distinguished the different aspects of evil, or its many categories. We see random

or accidental tragedies, natural disasters, the horrific evils of the Hitler or terrorist sort, along with evil done to innocent babies, children, or any undeserving person. We see bad actions, bad people, and bad events in nature, in family, anywhere in the world, and we call it all evil. We may include bad choices or just those deliberate acts that damage life, property, or relationships. We also realize that most or all of us have made such choices on occasion, so our answers can become personal or conflicted. There are moral and amoral aspects to evil, and both immoral and amoral sources behind evil deeds or events. It is a huge conglomeration.

Different individuals offer different answers and descriptions to the question, What is meant by evil? usually with a variable part of the examples above, or, answering more ambiguously, “I know evil when I see it.

2. We easily assume evil cannot be understood. After 1000’s of years of 1000’s of great minds pondering the question and not solving it, is there any expectation of finding a real, satisfying answer now, or here?

3. We too easily accept the place of evil in our world. We stop trying to understand it at a practical level. We lose interest in opposing it for at least two reasons: 1) we do not know how fight evil without stooping to the level of evil-doers, and 2) we think it impossible to oppose or correct evil and its effects in our piece of the world. We thus can give evil a practical omnipotence that it does not have.

Even so, most of us still want to know: “Why? Why does evil exist?“ It is such a common question, even though we may tire of asking or discussing it, thinking there is no real answer beyond personal impressions. “How can evil and God exist together? What is the source of evil? Why does evil seem to fill and mess up our world?” These and many other variations of the problematic question remain troublesome … but there is an answer.

So far, from Isaiah 45:7, we have a good God creating evil, which is, to many, an impossible conundrum. In order to understand the why of evil, we must answer the what. What is evil? and What does God create when He creates evil?

Describing the Reality of Evil:Evil has three key aspects. Identifying these will help us solve the problem of evil. Three different nouns are used below. Evil is each of the following:1. Evil is the option to good.2. Evil is the consequence of choosing a bad option.3. Evil is the choice of a bad option.

Some may use a different word, but the three aspects should be clear. Adding adjectives to the bolded nouns, the definitions can be expanded somewhat. Evil is:1. The bad option – the alternative to good.2. The destructive consequence – the result of choosing a bad option.3. The wrong choice – the act of choosing a bad option.

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The adjectives, “bad”, “destructive”, and “wrong”, are variable. As we experience evil today, we find a range of adjectives to describe each of the three nouns, from extremely good to severely bad. The adjectives can be helpful in addressing the problems that we currently have with evil in our world, but only the nouns are needed to answer the questions we have about evil.

This answer is part of our experience. Although the solution to the problem of evil makes rational sense to thinking people, it is not a matter of thinking. Evil is not considered here as a philosophical idea, or a metaphysical concept, or something unseen and untouchable that only elite scholars can grasp. That would leave me out. Instead, the answer deals with the practical evil we constantly face and experience in our lives and in our world.

Also, we note that God did not need to create good. His good works are the expression of His good nature. His creation of the universe, the earth, and all life upon earth was good. God characterized it as very good. Before any evil consequence entered the universe or the earth, everything was entirely good. Like the Eternally Good Creator, good exists without evil, both practical good that we observe and abstract good that define and perceive individually. Anything good does not need evil to give it meaning.

Evil, on the other hand, requires good in order to have meaning, to have a definition - evil exists only as the option to good. The Bible does not teach good and evil to be necessary to each other, nor to be independent entities. Good and evil are not equivalent concepts or realities, and they are not engaged in some cosmic battle on earth or anywhere.

Neither is evil a visible item, it is never embodied as a type of being or situation. It is the same with good. The fruit that was the bad option for Adam, could today be eaten as a good healthy food for many people all over the world. No thing, no person, and no situation is always a bad option with evil consequences – though the devil, and any other fallen angel, will always point anyone who listens to the worst option possible.

The Bible’s account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden shows each of the three nouns defining evil. The situation then on earth was simple, which helps us focus and separate the human part from God’s part. Initially, Adam had just one bad option, which had pre-defined consequences should it be chosen. This makes both the problem and its solution easier to see than it is in our complex world, with many good and bad options, with correspondingly helpful and harmful consequences, all interacting and adjusting, making them hard to distinguish.

God’s Creative Part:God created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God commanded Adam not to eat from this tree. It was his only bad option.

God also created the consequence of death which would happen if, and only if, Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. It is likely that Adam did not understand why the fruit was forbidden, what the death was, or why it was bad.

This simplicity enables us to resolve and answer the problem of evil. With Isaiah 45:7, we are given a significant and very practical way to understand evil. God creates #1 and #2 above. He creates evil both as the option to good, and as the consequence for choosing the bad option. Neither of these two involve morality/immorality; they are amoral and involve no moral wrong. Since we naturally assume that evil is immoral, this may at first seem illogical and impossible. But it is neither wrong nor inconsistent for the good God to create the evil that He creates. In fact it is good, a part of the way the created world works.

It is also necessary. Since God is good, entirely good, and all that he does is good, evil could not exist if He did not create it. It is not part of the purely good God. Any option to God or to His good creation would not exist if God did not create it separately. Both the evil, as the option to good, and the consequence that happens when the bad option is chosen, must be created. As the universe and matter are created and thus not a material part of God, so the evil.

Good too is God’s continual creation of evil: creating bad options and consequences, personal and situational for every human since Adam. Only the wise, almighty God could do so in ways that are appropriate to our unique personality,

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life perspective, present circumstance; appropriate also to the good option(s) we have, to why we are here, to where we are going, and to His wise purposes. God honors human freedom and potential when He creates bad options for us.

When God creates evil, He creates two somethings: the bad option and the consequence. Both the fruit tree in the Garden of Eden and the death are specific instances of the evil God creates. While the tree and death are evil as option and consequence, they are not evil in every instance – they are not evil in themselves. Neither the tree nor its fruit are evil; not even death is evil; e.g. the death of His saints is precious to God in Psalm 116:15.

Evil cannot be defined as an absence of good, and it is the same for light and darkness in Isaiah 45:7. God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all, therefore, as with evil, if darkness were to exist, He needed to create it; and He did. Darkness is not the mere absence of light; the darkness God creates is a something, a something that scientists have recently identified. This darkness hides light, but does not absorb or interact with it. And God is also continually creating this darkness, maybe to fill an expanding universe.

When God created our universe, He established some options as good or bad because of the ordered structure of the created world, with its reliable natural and spiritual laws to follow or to oppose. These, for example: falling from a height, do not need a word from God for us to learn that they are harmful. It is not clear if Adam had options to act on the wrong side of natural laws before his initial disobedience, or if options yielding the disruptive effects of natural law were also a consequence of his initial disobedience.

The Human Choosing Part:In Genesis, before He created options precisely for them, God created humans in His image, with the ability to freely choose from options. This is important. It fits with our personal experience, with the reality of our world, and with the teachings of the Bible. Being free and able to choose, requires having options from which to choose. Humans have both good and bad options, correspondingly yielding blessing or cursing when chosen.

This is the essential human part: the choice from among options. It is #3 in the description of evil above. Having the freedom to make right or wrong choices is one expression of what it means to be human. By God’s creation, people are free to choose from among any option before them, or even to reject them all.

When we consider our options, many are restricted from us, and many are determined for us. Birth location, parents, culture, other people, and God, in His creation of bad options, affect the options available to us. Additionally, some of the choices we make are influenced through outside pressures or manipulation. Unique for every person are the set of options, the life situation, and the person’s own development, character, and personality. Nevertheless, all of us have the inherent ability and freedom to choose from available options. That every human has the same ability and freedom is universal and unchanged, as well as logical and practical.

God determined the first bad option for Adam’s free choice. He planted a garden, which had two trees in the middle, and He put Adam in the garden to take care of it. We note that after planting the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, God commanded him not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. First the options, then the qualifying of the options in a commandment.

For Adam, every expression of his life was an equally good option until God told him that eating from that tree was a bad option; it became the only wrong choice that Adam could make. God declared this commandment to Adam before making Eve to be Adam’s wife. This man could have continued to live indefinitely on an entirely blessed earth by choosing only the many good options. God had created him innocent and sinless, and had given him a perfect and pristine natural environment. He had every advantage, but it was not enough to live perfectly.

The first evil consequence, attached to that one bad option, was that Adam would surely die; death would enter the world. God Himself created that consequence, actually vast consequences, which Adam did not understand. God clearly declared that these would happen if Adam chose the bad option. That choice would involve more than eating: in his mind and heart, before he could disobey God’s direct command, God’s way must be devalued below the action of eating the forbidden fruit. Even the consideration that the bad option was appealing and its serpent-promoted results attractive would not damage Adam’s world. Only his choice to eat that forbidden fruit would result in the death entering his world.

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But Adam and Eve made the wrong choice; they chose the bad option They did it on their own. They did not involve God in their conversations or considerations, when they decided to eat.

The Consequences: By choosing wrong, Adam released into the world the consequences that God had created and attached to the choice of the bad option: death, decay, and corruption immediately entered the earth. Adam’s seed was corrupted with him, and from then on to the present, every conception by the human male seed, the first living cell of every person, has been corrupted.

This ongoing corruption was part of the consequence created by God. There are also long-term effects from Adam’s first wrong choice: the God-created consequences, which includes “calamity” and all other manifestations of evil that have been seen in our world throughout history. Chapter 7 lists the immediate consequences of Adam’s sin as God describes them in Genesis 3 along with a number ways the consequences of that sin have been misunderstood.

Responsibility: God’s and Human’s:Humans are responsible, first, for every personal choice made. Although God creates our bad options, He does not require, prevent, force, or interfere with any choice made by any person. Humans choose. The reality of this world is that each one of us freely makes choices, and that we are entirely responsible for each choice made. God is not responsible for any human choice. He never, for instance, causes anyone to touch a hot stove. God causes no human choice, good or bad. Even accidents are caused by human choice, or a complex interaction of many human choices over an extended time frame.

God’s continual creating of evil is specific to each person and situation according to His wisdom and perfect knowledge of all that is in process and intended. By this, God adds to the uniqueness of every person’s potential in choosing from available options. Choices remain … regardless of the restrictions or limitation of options, even if we seem to have only internal options like choosing our mental response and heart attitude; we choose our own direction. The responsibility is our own

We can extend human responsibility to the effect(s) of every choice made, but not all choices effect something visible. Prior to the action of eating the forbidden fruit, Adam made unseen choices, including abandoning God’s commandment, and choosing to hear and accept his wife’s urgings. After his internal choice to eat, Adam actually ate the forbidden fruit. Choices that lead to actions and the actions themselves produce results, internal or external, not immediately seen or noticed, affecting ourselves or others.

While God creates the effects of wrong choices, He is not responsible for what happens in the person or in the world. Beginning with God’s first words to Adam, no effect could ever exist in the world without human choice – humans are entirely responsible for what happens. Good choices and good actions produce good results. God built this reality of cause and effect for both good and bad into the universe. God entrusted to humans the freedom to bless or to curse the world.

In summary:God is responsible for 1. The amoral “evil” option,2. The amoral “evil” consequence appropriate to each “evil” option,3. Humans created in His image with the ability and freedom to choose between options, and4. The ordered world, in which, the corresponding effect for each human choice must happen in the earth.

Humans are responsible for:1. Each choice made,2. Every action taken, and3. Every effect of every choice and action, both good and bad, help and harm, blessing and cursing, etc.

The tragic evidences of evil are everywhere in our world, but God is not responsible for any of it; humans are. It can seem unreasonable and cold-hearted to declare human responsibility because evil crashes into our lives in tragic and

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unexpected ways that can be very personal. But it is not God’s fault. At every point during and after completing His creation, the good Creator declared every part and all life to be good and very good. Yes, He created the bad option and its consequence, but the world could have stayed very good if Adam had never chosen the bad option.

Ours can be good too. God made a world with great potential, both for evil and for good; a world of cause and effect, of choice and consequence. People have chosen the direction; human choices in the past have resulted in the world we live in today, a world of tragedy and triumph, a world of problems to solve and advantages to enjoy. We live in this world; and, knowingly or not, restricted or not, each of us makes our own choices that affect the world close to us for good or for evil, and to a lesser degree also the world outside our direct influence. God is good in creating such a world.

Personal responsibility for each choice means that no person can blame God or any other person(s) either for a choice or for its result. The interaction of choices of multiple people means that responsibility for most effects will be shared, but we willingly take our share of responsibility. As we go forward in our lives, neither claiming to be a victim nor blaming anyone else, we embrace better ways, and act to bless our world, and make choices to stay out of harm’s way.

Considering God’s Continual Creation of Evil:How might God continue to create evil options and the appropriate consequences? Accepting what God said in Isaiah 45:7, means that God, at every moment, creates unique and personal bad options to the good ones we have. To consider this, we look at Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, and part of his story from Genesis 4.

God had communicated to Cain and to his brother Abel, that it was time to make an offering. Cain offered first, then Abel. Next we are told that God accepted Abel and his offering, but that He did not accept Cain or his offering. We then learn that Cain choose to reject God’s rejection, and became angry and dejected. We also learn that Cain knew what was right; he knew what he needed to do to make an acceptable offering. Reading into the context somewhat, we can examine some unique, personal choices that God might have created for Cain.

Where did Cain get the idea to offer the wrong way? I believe God created that evil option for Cain, and it is likely that Abel also had a bad option. Next for Cain was a God-created bad option to reject God’s rejection. Cain chose that option and then the following bad options to be angry and dejected. This soon gets complex for anyone but God, who saw Cain’s heart, knew his personality, and so much more. Was Cain’s anger and depression a choice or a consequence or a progression of both? In any case, Cain’s downhill slide could have been averted at any point if he had chosen and acted upon a good option before him; if he had humbly submitted to God’s way, and repented to make the offering he knew to be right.

Although, we cannot determine or specify exactly what God created for Cain as bad options and harmful consequences in any particular circumstance, it is helpful to consider what God might have done “in creating evil” for Cain. We also observe that choosing the good option was not only right per God’s instructions, Cain could have chosen that good way at any time.

It helps to know that many of our bad options and their potential consequences are created by God, especially for us personally. Does God want us to choose the bad options He creates for us? No. Quite the contrary. God’s action always directs us toward making choices which we know to be right. For Adam and Eve in this pristine garden, only one option tested their relationship with the God Who made them. Had Adam or Cain communicated with God about their options, before making their choices, they might have chosen differently.

God walked and talked with Adam in the garden; then, even after sin, He walked and talked with Enoch and others. Having an intimate relationship with humans is still one of God’s desires; it is a major part of the reason we were created in His image, and it is the main thing that fulfils us. Having options should drive us to God. We act best when we talk with God about each situation; when we receive His wisdom and guidance; when we embrace His direction and follow it.

Summary:

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The Biblical reality is that evil exists because God creates it, yet He is not responsible for any of the evil we see. Knowing its three aspects, the three nouns defining evil, and properly dividing the responsibility for evil between God and humans, we should be able to embrace the reality of the Bible’s teaching. We accept the fact that humans freely choose from options and that human choices have caused all the evil that we experience.

The description of evil, the free ability of humans to choose from options, and the responsibility humans have for every choice, all ring true inside, because they fit with the way we live, and with the way the world works, whether or not we accept God or the Bible. But we stand securely when we believe what the Creator told us in the Bible; when we believe that God means what He says; when we believe that, in the Bible, He accurately describes the reality of our world and how it works. This stand, this belief is always best for us. It gives us a foundation to think and to act in harmony with God and the world.

The Bible defines many good options and how we can choose more of them in order to expand life and blessing in our world. Right words and right actions are very important for us, as responsible people, to shape our world. The Bible also details many wrong words and wrong actions, which we do well to avoid since they bring the evil consequences that damage our lives and more. Honoring the Bible is a key part of relating properly to God; we honor everything He says to us in the Bible, and to us personally.

This chapter has outlined the “big picture” of the answer to the origin and problem of evil in this world created by the entirely good God. It makes our “whys” manageable, yet many questions remain. Knowing some basics about evil, does not answer why God created our world to work this way, or keep us from imagining other types of worlds that a good God could have, or should have created. This and other questions will be considered in the next chapter. Not every relevant question of every person will be considered or answered, and no question will be fully answered, but we do not have to know everything in order to avoid evil and choose what is right.

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Chapter 2: Questions concerning The Nature and Origin of Evil

Some questions were raised in Chapter 1, but many others will be considered.Question: Even knowing why evil exists, we still want to ask, “Why did God create evil at all?”

The simple answer, previously mentioned, is that neither the bad option nor the evil consequence could exist if God did not create them. God is entirely good. Evil is not found in God. If any option to God or good, if any evil or wrong were to exist, then God must create it; it cannot be a part of Him.

This applies to God’s continual creation of bad options to the good options for each person; they would not exist if God did not create them. If God were to stop this ongoing creation of bad options and their consequences, then the only bad options would come from the pre-defined natural and spiritual laws that allow, for example, the harmful effects of a fall from a ledge or the fall precipitated by pride. This certainly includes much in attitude and action, as the Book of Proverbs would show. But with no bad options created, would Cain, for example, have had the option to reject the way he knew to be right?

Another part of the answer is God’s desire for relationship. This is why humans are created in His image. People and God can relate to each other, and do so intimately. The nature of that relationship would be different without the continually created bad options and their evil consequences. It might even be robotic. We would not have the same need to draw near to God for wisdom.

God knows the kind of relationship He was making possible, and how to give it the best potential, but it is clear that the free ability to choose options is essential. Before we choose good, we learn more of God’s ways. We choose God’s way in relationship, or we reject God and His way for the inevitable evil results that will come to us and our world.

Question: Why is evil so compounded in our world? why are there such horrible effects that seem endless and seem to worsen? and Question: Why did God create such a severe consequence – the death that entered the world – to that first bad option given to Adam?

At least one part of the answer, for me, has to be the great potential for the human as created by God – a potential that must be at least as high for good as it is for evil. This goes for the world itself: although we view this world as being tragic and hopeless, being on an ugly downhill path sinking deeper into tragedy, I believe that the God of the Bible sees a hopeful potential for the world to be able to experience blessings beyond its tragic potential. Although it may take some judgment of evil and Jesus actually reigning on earth to see that fulfilled, even now, God has really good plans for us and for our world.

With the potential for good, we should consider that the severe consequence of death and decay could be countered. Although, these effects cannot be avoided, good and blessing are available for the choosing. Maybe we could and should live our days with hope, and confidently seek the blessed ways of our God.

More on this question as natural evil is considered, but again, all answers must be based on the clear Biblical reality that God creates evil, both as an option to good and as a just consequence for choosing the bad option. It is clear in the Bible that God, Who is both Good and Almighty, creates evil. We believe it and start there.

Questions: How can the God of the Bible be good? Is not this God, flooding the world or authorizing genocide, a bad or evil God? Who wants to serve a God responsible for creating a world that becomes such a mess, and even worse at His direction?

The answer to the question is that God is entirely good. The answer to why the world is messed-up is a proper understanding of responsibility, both of God and of human. When we look at the tragic chaos of our world, it is proper to conclude that something went wrong, but that something is not the good God; it is human choices over the millennia since Adam’s first wrong choice.

Two wrong responses to the world being a mess are: 1) abandoning the good Creator God, or 2) creating a mythological god imagined to be higher and better than the lower, inferior deity that created this second-rate

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material world. Instead, we seek the good God and choose the good options that end, and even reverse the effects of evil in our world.

Question: Why did God create any bad option or evil consequence? or the potential to rank one good option as superior to another?Question: If we had an infinite number of equally good options, would that not be enough to honor the freedom God created in us? the freedom to express ourselves and make choices?Question: Could God create evil, but not give humans or any other being the ability or freedom to choose the bad option?

The goal of these ideas would be a world with no evil, a world preferred by many. Either there are no negative consequences for actions or nothing can be done to cause them. These worlds, and others we may imagine, worlds with no potential evil, sound quite nice but they are not our reality, and thus we can only speculate about them.

Not creating evil would mean that human freedom would be limited to equally good options. Not having the ability to choose against good, or not having evil consequences for wrong choices, or not having the freedom to be bad, or not having to deal with evil in our world are possibilities that we consider attractive from our place of freedom in this world created as it is.

When considering such possibilities, many questions are raised: Would we have a real choice? Would we have the same potential for good while not being able to make wrong choices? How would it change people, culture, family, relationships? What would be a virtue, or praiseworthy in such a world? What would be a challenge? What would responsibility look like? Could we be the same kind of person in a world without actual and manifest evil, as well as the potential for more evil as bad or worse than what we see? Would we be able to grow and mature as persons? or would we be some kind of permanent perfection? or something else? Would it be possible for humans to experience being the image of God?

Determining whether such a world would be preferable might be difficult. Not only do we want to be the same kind of a human that we actually are, but we want the same kind of world that we now have, just without the bad. Our desires for a better world are greatly influenced by the one we have. It seems unlikely that we could live in a different kind of world and remain the same kind of human. We can second guess God, but we can only imagine and speculate since we live in the world as it has been made.

And we experience the world as God made it work. If we do not like things about this world we live in, we could help bring it more in line with God’s desires by changing our part of the world, using God-honoring methods, and choosing good options. In addition, the Bible has much more that offers hope. God and His plans for us give us great potential. We can have a positive perspective and live our lives with hope; we can increase blessings all around us, both now and for the future. God has good plans for our world, and we can be a part of them, or not.

Question: Are those who do not choose their situation responsible too?Actually, none of us chooses much about our circumstances, at least for the first years. Our parents, their circumstances, our home, our city, our country, and more is not chosen. While we are young, many options will be limited by those necessarily having some control over our lives, such as at home or school. Those limits are reduced for most of us while we age. But even while young, even while limited, each individual has a measure of freedom to make choices and is responsible for those choices.

We can think of horrible situations, perpetrated by some who coldly do evil, seeking money or power, they absolutely mistreat others. We cry … and ask: Why? Thinking of a child slave, for example, makes normal people weep. Most of us see it as an unimaginable tragedy – a child never having had helpful training, still very young, being abused, having every external action determined by someone else. Yet, even such a helpless person, so completely enslaved, chooses internal attitudes and responses. Essential details of God’s good ways are part of every person born, and we can choose those ways or not.

More common and somewhat less tragic are limitations of personal freedom by an authoritarian government, controlling relationships, some “Type A” business leaders, along with others. Those who severely manipulate and

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abuse people under their control are making very wrong choices for which they are responsible. Those who are manipulated remain responsible for each external and internal response. No bad response yields good results. Regardless of how difficult another makes our lives, wrong choices are never justified.

Question: How do we explain natural disasters and other evils that have nothing to do with human choice?The following lays the groundwork in explaining that all of the evil we see today, including natural disasters, has been caused by human choices and their consequences from the ancient past.

Disasters, huge unexplainable events, have complex, natural causes that likely began long ago, and are ongoing. Think of the possibilities for physical upheaval when the continents move, more clearly seen deep on the ocean floor, and press against each other according to the orderly operation of various physical laws and natural processes that have continued for centuries and millennia. Many of today’s earthquakes or volcanoes have been caused in part by this ongoing movement. In Book 3, we will consider ancient source events that may have caused a huge initial impact, with the continuing severe, but lessening, impact we witness today.

More generally, we can be consistent and Biblical to say that all evil in the world results from the wrong choices of humans. This is not a mere guess. Looking into history, we can see, that for many millennia, evil consequences, personal, social, physical, etc. have accumulated and interacted together … as have the blessed results of humans choosing the good options.

The possibilities are endless. One choice can affect many people; a single person or situation can be affected by the choices of many people long dead and still living. This complex massing and interacting of choices and consequences in today’s world cannot be understood definitively, as we would desire, in order for us to know “why” this or that event happens. But we know that, even if we cannot point to a specific cause, humans are responsible for it all, good and evil, blessing and ruin. Each person makes choices with effects, for which that person is responsible, even though most effects have shared responsibility, shared with others having made choices which have had broad or ongoing effects. Regardless of the causes, going forward making right choices, honoring God and His ways, forgiving and being forgiven, acting in ways that are blessed, etc. will improve our world.

Questions: It sounds mechanical. Is God simply a rule-enforcer? Once He guaranteed that the proper consequence happens when humans make a choice, does God have no further part in what happens on the earth? does He then sit back and watch?

These are good and valid questions, but they have the simple answer – No. Two activities of God that are clear already are: continually creating the bad options and their consequences for every person, and continually enforcing the law that every human choice causes a pre-determined consequence.

God is active on the earth, and His activity is much more than mechanically enforcing rules, more than watching His creation, more also than creating bad options and consequences. God is active even while humans are entirely responsible for every effect that happens on the earth. Coming chapters will develop an answer that is extends to specific events declared in the Bible and witnessed throughout history.

Question: Why does God allow so much evil to happen and to continue?This common question assumes that God, being Almighty and Good, can prevent or correct any evil that exists. This assumption leads to the unanswerable question, “Why does He not do so?” The assumption is wrong and we should challenge it. Instead, we tend instead to stumble with answers invoking God’s unknowable purposes and unsearchable wisdom.

Again, God is not responsible for any human choice, but as listed in Chapter 1, He is responsible for 1) the options, 2) the results, 3) the human ability to choose among options, and 4) the assurance that every choice has the proper effect. The practical result of His fourth responsibility is that God does not, and will not prevent evil effects from happening, but will instead make sure that wrong choices yield damaging results. It is true, Biblically, practically, logically, in every way, that God neither causes nor allows any evil on the earth. God enforces human responsibility.

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Of course, more in line with His nature and His desires, the Good and Loving and Almighty and All-knowing God enforces the blessed results when we make good choices. Additionally, He provides and repeatedly offers us a secure place of refuge, the secret place of the Most High, where evil cannot come near us or our home. Regardless of its power or its source, no evil consequence can penetrate that secure place.

Turning the spotlight around we ask, “If we think a good God should stop evil … what about a good human who makes choices and is actually responsible?” Since all evil is in the earth because of wrong human choices, simply making right choices would immediately reduce the amount of evil in the world. From this, we might better ask, “Why do good humans allow evil in the earth?” The question is appropriate because our choices not only lessen evil effects, but they also increase good effects and give them momentum. Some of those good effects can even fix things that were broken by the evil resulting from wrong choices.

A more complete answer, which we must have, requires the concept of authority: the subject of the next three chapters. Without this, we will continue to ask why an Almighty, Loving God cannot or simply refuses to stop at least horrific and unexplainable evil, affecting the innocent and the good. We rightly deem such events to be an evil that a good God should prevent. So, we will see that on the earth for both God and humanity, the extent of responsibility fits the extent of authority.

Questions: Did Satan or Lucifer create any evil? how did that being come to have the option to rebel against God? was that option “automatic” as an alternative to serving God? what was this evil option?Question: Is not Satan responsible for much evil in the world?

Satan or Lucifer will not be seen much in this book, just as that evil being is rarely seen in the Bible’s Old Testament. Our most powerful enemy is an intrusion into our God-created earth, not an integral part of it. When appropriate, this book will mention how this great spiritual enemy is able to impact the earth so significantly without being a part of how our world was designed to work.

First, the answer to the second question is: No. Humans are entirely responsible for the evil in the world. Satan loves to do evil to God’s creation. The enemy opposes God; and wars against His people in every way possible. This enemy has had great influence, has done great evil on the earth, and will suffer eternal torment in the Lake of Fire … but humans are responsible for all the evil entering the earth, which includes giving place or opportunity for the devil to harm people and situations on the earth.

Next, the answer to the first set of questions is more difficult. I will give my answer, based upon pertinent teachings that I have heard and seen in the Bible. 1) Before creation, Lucifer or Satan was the highest angel in rank, in ability, and in beauty. 2) The angels had the option to serve God or to rebel against him. 3) Committing just one act of rebellion would doom an angel to eternal punishment. An angel had no forgiveness, and no second chance after choosing to rebel. 4) Lucifer led one third of the angels in rebellion against God, and they were all thrown out of heaven, with most still awaiting final judgment. 5) Lucifer now leads his angels, we call them demons, against humanity, to influence and persuade humans to ignore, doubt, oppose, rebel against, and blaspheme their Creator God and serve demons as their master.

Based upon these teachings, my basic answer to the first set of questions above is No, Lucifer did not create the option to rebel against God. It was not an automatic, built-in alternative to serving God. It always existed as an option created by God for every angel to make its choice. But with the powerful Lucifer over them, none of the other angels would attempt rebellion against God on their own. It was only when Lucifer decided to ascend above God, that other angels followed, maybe seeing possible success as a group led by Lucifer. Only God, not any other being, creates evil options and consequences.

There are many other questions, and few facts. My answers are not complete, and partial answers will not be satisfactory, but they can be a foundation for further understanding. To head off some objections, I would ask, If an evil option was found independently, possibly by Satan or Adam, would not our reality then be a struggle of good versus evil? But if so, should not an Almighty Creator quickly and easily put down anything independent of Himself and His creation? something He did not create? something for which He has no responsibility? and then repair the damage, and continue? In the Bible, God clearly states that He creates evil. The Bible states no other origin of evil. Sticking with the Bible is always a good idea.

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Some say that if God made the judgment that all evil was to be destroyed, He would also need to destroy every person infected with the evil, independent or not. Maybe so, but the problem, that every person conceived normally is infected with evil, has been completely solved: God sent Jesus to solve it, as Part 3 of Book 1 describes at some length. Every believer into Christ Jesus is “uninfected,” newly conceived by the Word of God, born again from above, and made a new creation, the righteousness of God in Christ. At any time, a punishment carried out against all evil would likely include all unbelievers, still corrupted and not born from above, and end the opportunity for belief.

Question: Does God influence the choices humans make? to what degree?The answer is complex, but first a simple answer: Yes, He does, but always for good, and always respecting the freedom He created as an essential part of being human. The world as created and the human as created have built in tendencies toward good. Then every influence of God on people making choices supports making the good and right choice. Most, if not all, innately want blessings for their lives – and all of God’s desires and actions are for the same. Every contact with God, any and all activity of God in the life of every person, is for good.

God’s consistent influence for good is more effective for those who know Him. In His communications with His believing children, in His relationship with us, and in all His works, God sees and guides toward His good and wise and unchangeable purposes. His children respect God’s good ways, talk to Him about their options, and seek always to live as God directs.

Even though He creates bad options for people, anyone making a wrong choice has no help from God in doing so. People, who like Cain persist in making wrong choices, who continually choose bad options and see evil happen around them, who may even delight in the evil effects of their choices, these people act against every influence that God might have in their world. They may not care that they are also choosing to receive God’s wrath poured out, sooner or later. Certainly, God will receive glory in just judgments such as this, but He is not causing or encouraging their wrong choices or bad behavior.

This simple answer does not seem to apply at all times, such as when God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. God’s action influenced Egypt’s leader and he repeatedly refused to let the children of Israel make a short trip to worship their own God. Pharaoh’s choices were not only bad for him, but they also brought multiple devastations upon the land of Egypt. In addition, his choices added severe trouble for the children of Israel, whose slavery in Egypt became even more oppressive. God not only created bad options especially for Pharaoh, but He also influenced his heart so that he chose those bad options. The pressure on Pharaoh became intense, and it seems that he would have yielded to Moses’ and Israel’s request much sooner, if God had not continued to harden his heart.

None of this influence appears to be toward the good. Would Pharaoh have a valid complaint that He was not free to make a right choice, and thus not responsible for the damage that continued to pile up? We seek God for a better understanding and trust His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.

We know that God does right and good, all the time. We believe that He knows every past and present event, and has all of His purposes in view. His influence on Pharaoh was an imperative for Him. The situation of His people, the need of His people, their dependence on Him to help them, His developing plans for His people, and more had all come together so that God acted in powerful and dramatic ways over an extended period of time.

The Bible describes these events in some detail, enabling us to see more of the big picture. Genesis ends and Exodus begins in Egypt with the family of Israel, who was formerly named Jacob, and was a grandson of Abraham. They were greatly blessed there while Joseph was alive, but over time, their situation changed from blessing to repression. A later Pharaoh began to fear Israel’s swelling population, so he had all their male babies killed at birth. He also made them slaves and increased their labors, intensifying the torment of their slavery. The people of Israel sighed and cried aloud, a shriek of anguish for any and all to hear. Who could hear and know their suffering other than their Egyptians masters, their neighbors, and hopefully also their God?

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Yes, their God noticed. Their cry came up to God; this desperate cry out of their severe bondage was a groan that God heard. Although the children of Israel did not know it, His hearing was but the first of God’s four significant reactions to their loud cry. They are:1. God heard their groan: one, united groan from a large multitude of His people in slavery, 2. God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all long dead but not forgotten,3. God saw the children of Israel, and4. God knew.

These four show part of God’s perspective and provide some reasons for God to act so powerfully in redeeming the people of Israel entirely out of Egypt – entirely out; God’s plan of deliverance was not a few days of proper worship once in a while, when a Pharaoh might permit. He remembered His covenant. He knew His people. He saw their circumstance, that it was not according to the covenant that He had made with their patriarchs.

To accomplish entire deliverance, God dramatically called Moses and multiplied plagues upon Egypt. To lead His people permanently out of Egypt, He chose the Pharaoh and hardened his heart, seeing him to be the right man at the right time to lead Egypt, the leader who would be disposed to resist every type of persuasion, just the right options created for him, until he lost his own son and ordered Israel to go and worship. And even then, Pharaoh was the leader who would chase this band of slaves, these would be worshippers, and drive them across an arm of the Red Sea into the Sinai peninsula and into complete freedom from Egypt’s controlling power. God’s plan for His covenant people was taking shape. He had every reason to exert His influence and manifest His power so that Israel might take this huge nation-forming step on the way to the fulfillment of all His blessed plans for them in the world.

A significant part of the complexity in God’s influences on the free choices of humans, comes from the interworking of human responsibility and authority with His purposes for humanity and the world. Authority and responsibility will be considered next in Chapters 3 and 4. It is a foundational theological matter that is difficult, so it is examined at some length. The authority question must be resolved before we can definitively discern responsibility for evil. Chapters 5 and 6 bring the ideas of evil, responsibility, and authority, as described in the first four chapters, together to offer a more complete expression to God’s solution to the problem of evil.

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Chapter 3: Delegated Authority

The Almighty, Sovereign God over all decided to delegate authority over the earth … to humanity. As a result, humanity is responsible to subdue and to take responsible dominion over all the earth, and over all living animals.

God is indeed Sovereign over all. He always does as He pleases. He was pleased to create the universe, to create the earth as a special place to be inhabited, to create all life, and to create man, the pinnacle, created in His own image and likeness, created male and female.

The Wise, Sovereign God had good reasons for creating: His reasons and designs were established and laid out before He began creating, and His unchangeable and unstoppable purposes will all be accomplished. The nature of evil, humanity’s deep problem, and its solution in Christ Jesus, were also set in God’s mind and heart before the creation of the universe, before the creation of the first human.

Bible believers emphatically believe in the Sovereign God, Who does just as He pleases, as Psalm 115:3 says. Additionally, 115:16 starts: “The heavens are the Lord’s. We know what that means. God has full control of the heavens; He is in charge. His authority is complete and entire. No being or power will ever challenge His authority over the heavens. Period.

Yet, the Sovereign God then did something not emphatically believed. It was done as a part of creating of the universe, the earth, and all life. It was done before He saw all of His creation to be “very good”. Briefly summarized in the second phrase of Psalm 115:16, God gave the earth to the children of men.

The Sovereign God, Who does as He pleases, to Whom the heavens belong, was pleased to give the earth to the children of men. God made the earth and He owns the earth, along with everything in it. Since it all belongs to him, He can, logically, give it away if He wants. And the Bible says He did just that. God, the owner and creator of the earth, gave it to humanity.

But we have trouble believing that the children of men could receive and possess and exercise authority in the earth in the same way that the Lord does in the heavens, so we look for differences. Here are four: 1. The Lord owns both the heavens and the earth. (Psalm 24:1) The children of men do not own the earth, which

God gave them.2. God decided this delegation before creating humans, and He did it on His own, immediately after creating them in

His image. Humans had no input then, and have never had any ability to change or refuse what God did. No human decision can ever alter God’s giving of the earth to the children of men.

3. God’s purposes are unchangeable and inevitable for both heaven and earth. Human purposes are fallible, conflicted, and far inferior to God’s purposes. The more we align our purposes to God’s good purposes, the better it is for us and for our life and work on the earth.

4. God is God, and we are not. He is more than wise and able enough to handle not only the heavens, but every other area of responsibility as well. We might add that humans are not wise and able enough, but that would contradict the wisdom of God in creating the earth and humans just the way He did, and then giving the earth to humanity.

Therefore we ask, what do the children of men get when the Creator-Owner gives them the earth? To answer that we go back to Genesis 1, God’s first word on it. God clearly declared, just before ending His creation week, in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping ... [animal].” Then in verse 27, He creates man as planned. And, in verse 28, God followed through with His plan: And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every animal on the earth.”

In these verses, God shares His plans to create man and to give him authority to take dominion … and then God does it. In fact, He plans His creation of man, so that man could take dominion over the newly created earth; God designed man for the very purpose of taking charge on the earth. Notice the five specific areas of authority designated with five

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uses of the word “over” in verse 26. After God creates humanity male and female in His image, so that they would be able to handle this great authority, He immediately He talks to them and directly delegates great authority to humanity in verse 28, making five commands, imperatives, actions by which they are to exercise their five areas of authority. These commands are:1. & 2. Be fruitful and multiply: LIVE! Be blessed in this world.

3. Take Dominion: Humanity is responsible to take dominion over all the earth and all life on it. God spoke to them, to male and female, not just to Adam. God did not give dominion to a special class of people, to male only, to female only, to “elite” humans, to strong humans, etc. God told humanity and all humans to take this dominion.

4. Replenish the earth: Humanity is responsible to care for the earth and all life in a sustainable manner, protecting and preserving its environment in the broadest of applications and understanding. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, according to our authority, we determine to leave our planet and life here at least as good as we found it.

5. Subdue the earth: Tame the earth, including life on it. God later says that all earthly things are under humanity’s feet and that animals will be afraid of humans. Humanity has complete control; it can and must control the earth, but responsibly so that all activities replenish it, as #4.

Additionally, God, in His Word, confirms and even expands human authority. Here are four of the major passages:1. Genesis 9:1,2 – “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish

the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon every animal on the earth, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand.”

2. Psalm 8:4-8 – “What is man, that you think of him? and the son of man, that you visit him? For you made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.”

3. Hebrews 2:5-9 “For not to angels did he subordinate the planet intending, about which we speak, But the place someone testified saying, What is a human that you remember him or a son of a human that you visit him? You decreased him a short something beside angels; to glory and honor you crowned him and appointed him upon the works of your hands; You subordinated all beneath his feet, for in subordinating to him the all, nothing did he abandon to him an unsubordinated thing; But now, we do not yet see the all having been subordinated to him.”

“But we see Jesus … “ Jesus. Son of Man. The Second Adam. A representative of the human race who established a better basis from which to exercise human authority, since “… we do not yet see … ” humanity from Adam, as a rule, exercising its authority well and subduing all things.

4. I Corinthians 15:27, 28 “For he subordinated all things under his [Jesus] feet. but whenever he should say that all things have been subordinated, a clear thing that [it does not include] the one who was subordinating the all to him, But whenever the all should be subordinated to him, then also he, the Son will be subordinated to the one who was subordinating the all to him in order that God may be the all in all.”

With these responsibilities, God crowned humanity with glory and honor, on the earth, lower than the angels. Everything on the earth is under its feet. That is authority; that is control; nothing on the earth is outside humanity’s authority or control. God said it, did it, clarified it, repeated it, and expanded His delegation to humanity.

This explains Psalm 115:16: The heaven’s are the Lord’s, and the earth is for the children of men. As the Lord does whatever He wants, whenever and wherever He wants in the heavens, so humanity and humans do whatever they want, whenever and wherever they want on the earth. While God does not stop us, conflicting human authorities collide.

The Lord’s purposes are all good and unchanging, and He always advances them. Humanity and humans have varieties of purposes at the same time. These are often contrary and restrict good progress that can be made on the earth. In fact, progress was extremely rare for 2000 years, until Abram heard God, and humans began to realize that receiving and adopting God’s good purposes for the earth and for their lives is the best way to advance.

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We notice that in no place does God limit the authority and dominion He delegated to humanity over the earth. Not in Genesis 1, not in the confirming passages, and not in any other passage. He repeats many of the phrases and adds new information, but never limits the delegated authority. It may not seem like humanity is so completely in charge, because humans have not handled this authority very well, but God’s delegation is not the reason.

Even more, God never, in any Bible passage, takes this authority from humanity; never does He transfer it to another such as angels or Satan; and never does He take it back for Himself. If God were to change the authority structure He so clearly delegated, and then confirmed in various ages and contexts, would He not make that change just as clear? would He not just as clearly designate the new authority? and the change in responsibilities for humans? If humanity was no longer in charge, why would God not, in the Bible, declare the changes in authority, make it obvious, and then confirm it as He did with the authority He gave to humanity?

Because teachers and preachers do not proclaim this delegation, readers here will object. Two types of objections are:1. It is figurative fantasy. Reading these verses literally sounds unreal: five specific areas of authority and

responsibility? Five commands on exercising this authority? God never intended a human or group of humans to do this; He was showing humans how far below Him they are; how inadequate for life … how much we all need God, just like the first human needed Him. And Adam failed, even though was far more special to God than any of us. The earth that humanity supposedly controls is a complete mess.

And so it goes … once we leave a literal Bible behind, there is no end; we can, and we do imagine all sorts of interpretations in the light of the way we see our world. We can use the Bible and create for ourselves a more perfect world, with more perfect creatures on it, and even a more perfect God, far above culture or evolving with it. Without the literal Bible, our understanding is largely based on our limited personal perspectives. But that is backwards, and is the real fantasy. Carried hither and yon by our own ideas, we have no anchor.

But the Bible is neither figurative nor fantasy. We read it literally, just as it is written. We anchor ourselves in the Word of the Almighty God, Who includes us in His plans, which are greater, and which come with more resources than we can imagine. We adopt His thoughts as our thoughts and His ways as our ways. If He thinks bigger and it makes us uncomfortable, we grow into His ideas, seek His plans, and walk in His ways, believing that they are right. If He delegates complete authority over the earth to humanity, we gain everything by letting God be God, not by doubting, or second guessing Him, or fictionalizing His word to us.

2. We are told that God is in control on the earth. This is the more common objection held by God’s servants who read the Bible literally. They insist that we must have misunderstood God’s delegation to humanity, and think of many Bible passages declaring God’s control on the earth, being certain that if God ever delegated any authority over the earth, He got it back when Adam sinned.

There are many areas of agreement. Ministers on the radio and TV, sometimes worldwide, and others having popular ministries or websites have much to teach us about God and His Word. Over the years, I have learned wonderful Biblical truths from many of them, but have exalted none of them above the Bible. God’s whole truth is found in the whole Bible, not in any individual teacher or widely accepted teaching.

The reader should know that many teachers who say that God is in control on the earth, have better credentials than this lay author with a teaching degree, plus a few Bible and language classes in the years following. Working mostly as a computer programmer, I have some lay ministry experience, but nothing paid. I have great respect for pastors and other types of ministry leaders and personnel, but have experienced none of the responsibilities or pressures of their work. As an adult, beyond church activities, I did not get out much and never really had a relationship. God deals with me deeply, but mostly in private.

The reader can rightly wonder, “Who is this author that I should accept his presentation of these critical Bible teachings. Let me answer, “Nobody. I have no credentials, no qualifications, and no experience in theology, philosophy, science, or any other necessary discipline. I am entirely an average middle-class American who plods along, hopefully at God’s direction. If you do not find these truths in the Bible, as taught by the Holy Spirit, there is nothing in me to authorize anyone believing them. But I find them in the Bible, so I write.”

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The bottom line for me is that God Himself strictly limited His activity on the earth when He put humanity in charge over all the earth. Below are my brief responses to statements that might be made by a Bible believer who disagrees with my bottom line:1. Objection: Your Biblical basis incomplete. You leave out many passage teaching that God is in control on the

earth.My response: Dozens of these verses grouped topically, will be examined in light of God’s delegation of control of the earth immediately in Genesis 1. I believe each of these verses literally in text and context, and I believe each one support human earthly authority.

Many Bible passages show God doing great things, and we see that throughout history and today: God acts mightily in the earth after having delegated dominion to humanity. My questions are: “Does His activity on the earth mean that He is in control? Why is God able to do what we see Him do? Is human activity important, even to authorize God’s activity?” That sounds extreme, but, if He actually put humanity in charge, it is necessary.

The closer we look, the more we notice human activity in a passage and its context. Another question, “Does God stop being God if He limits His own activity on the earth?” Of course, God never stops being God, so the question might be, “Could the Sovereign God truly delegate authority over the earth?” One strong Bible believer assured me that it was not possible; after all, Who can handle any of God’s authority?

2. Objection: God never gave humanity entire dominion. The phrase “over all the earth” means the location of land animals, one of three locations of the world’s animals over which dominion was given. Then in Genesis 9, God delegates certain types of authority over people, including establishing governments over nations, but God still keeps the main authority to set them up and take them down.My response: How does the Bible interpret “all the earth”? In Psalm 8, dominion is commanded over the works of God’s hands, which should include the earth, and then declares that “all things” are under humanity’s feet. This is quoted in Hebrews 2, where humanity should have subjugated all things, but did not, so Jesus, the Son of the Human, did. In its contexts, “all things” refer to all the earthly creation.

(God’s special interest in nations and governments is a subject in Book 3.)

3. Objection: God gave humanity real authority on the earth, but not control. Another version of this is that humanity is a steward of God’s earth, but God is still Sovereign on earth.My response: Distinguishing God’s control from human authority and responsibility is not easy. It is difficult to identify: 1) What are precise definitions that show the differences, including what Genesis 1 means when God tells humans to take dominion and subdue the earth? 2) How? in what way does God limit human authority on the earth? The Bible does not limit it in the above passages, or in any other passage, certainly not directly and not with clarity. 3) Which Bible passages teach this distinction and these definitional or functional differences between human authority and God’s control?

These questions also apply to stewardship. It must be clear where a caretaker has authority to care for the owner’s things. Stewards might maintain, supply, defend the owner’s property and possessions and more. Would it not make sense for the owner to tell the steward to take dominion, replenish, and subdue all those things? To do a stewarding job properly requires proper authority. Owners might direct, instruct, or even change stewards, but most would not do the steward’s job.

Genesis 1 and the confirming passages are clear in defining human authority. If God is in control on the earth, if human authority is to be qualified, where is this described in the Bible?

Some passages show God overriding the desires, or activities, or powers, etc. of a person or group. One answer is that, while God’s purposes never change, human purposes can be different and in opposition each other. God’s actions can be contrary to some humans, but a blessing to others. In general, those who believe God and act in line with His purposes are more likely to be blessed.

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4. Objection: If humans have such control on the earth, God’s purposes may not be accomplished. It is thought that if any part of their fulfillment depends on people, it will never happen.My response: God is God and will fulfill all He has planned. Also, humanity has responsibility and authority to take dominion on the earth. Both of these are Biblical and true and we can believe both, even if we see conflicts and have unanswered questions. We see that God’s purposes are not at risk because He decided to give the earth to the children of men. As much as we exalt God and His inevitable purposes, they do not happen without human involvement or outside its authority over the earth.

In delegating control of the earth to humanity, God limited Himself, but in His wisdom, He gained something far better: possible relationship with free men and women, created in His image and exercising great authority. It is in this relationship that people learn to love and live; this relationship gives people the privilege to know and embrace God’s ways, to walk in them, and to give life a purpose that corresponds to a part of God’s purposes.

5. Objection: God is in total control, but He allows both human choice and all sorts of evil to happen?Allows is the key word in this and many similar objections. Most often the appeal is made to God’s unsearchable wisdom to explain the unexplainable, especially on why evil happens to undeserving people and why His own people undergo severe tests and suffering.My response: This appeal to God’s hidden and higher wisdom and ways is no answer. How are we humans made responsible for evil that God “allows” to happen; that only He can prevent or change, and that God’s wisdom in allowing it is always best for us? Believing this, we take responsibility and give God glory for allowing evil and suffering, knowing that He has higher purposes, of which we can know only a fraction.

Yes, we do not know much about what happens in our world, and yes, it is always good to trust God in every circumstance, but it should be the faith expressed and lived in a real relationship with God Who reveals much to us by His Spirit. To be made responsible for what we do not control and could not have changed in any area, is frustrating. On the other hand, having real dominion, we can trust God for His best, including His grace for us to choose ways of life and blessing, as He instructs, regardless of how difficult our life situation may presently be.

From Chapter 2, when we ask why God allows something to happen, we make the assumption that He could prevent it if He desired. The assumption is false. In Chapter 1, humans were shown to be responsible for every manifestation of evil on the earth, and that will be expanded further. But, since God delegated earthly authority, only humans have the authority to prevent evil from happening.

Along with most readers, my primary interest is: “What does the Bible say? the text, the context, and the whole.” Another important question: “For any Biblical idea, which parts of the Bible teach something different, to the point where some verse(s) can be interpreted literally, while others must be ‘adjusted’ in order to fit?” For me, the goal is to read and believe every passage literally, and if something does not fit, work to understand it clearly and to adjust or change as needed. This is a high goal, so I give extra attention to all verses that seem to contradict a teaching.

Reviewing Bible Verses Given as Support for The Idea That God Is In Control In The Earth:Many people do not like the idea that humanity is in charge on the earth, and especially not the corresponding idea that God, Who remains Sovereign over all, is not, and does not need to be, in control on the earth. They think that many verses counter and even overwhelm the clear descriptions of delegated dominion over all things found in the passages listed earlier in this chapter. Is this an assumption from hearing the “God-in-control” message in so many teachings?

Verses from the Bible in two website lists, “God is in Control” and “Sovereignty”, are far more than most people could easily recall. Each list has the top 100 verses, as voted by website visitors – there is some overlap in the two lists. The following paragraphs address most of these verses in groups by topic, and present their message to be compatible, and usually more meaningful in the light of humanity having God-given dominion over all the earth.

Two main ideas about the delegation perspective are:1. When God delegates authority, He does not become any less God. God can and does act as God on the earth, but

it does not mean that He is in control.2. There is a human part in the events surrounding God’s works in the earth. Humans in charge can authorize God to

act.

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Job and Jonah: Several verses on the lists concern Job or Jonah. Four chapters of Book 1 describe new lenses through which to view these men and important events in their lives. Their own choices and actions determined what happened to them, and how God dealt with them.

God’s Purposes: Three well-known and important verses on this subject are, first, Romans 8:28. The reality that God works all things together for good, happens for those in relationship with God, those who love Him and are called ones according to a purpose. Loving God has to be a choice. Accepting God’s call and walking in His eternal purpose has to be a choice. God’s work for such people is not evil, but good, actual good from a human perspective. Can an event be “bad” to most people, but believers call it “good” because it happened to someone loves God and is called? Answering “Yes” but saying only God understands, robs “good” of its meaning for us.

Next, as described at some length in Book 1: Chapter 7, Ephesians 1:11 says that God’s eternal, unchangeable purposes, to which the earth and all humanity are destined, happen according to the counsel of God’s will. God’s purposes are all to be accomplished, and God’s will is the way, or the how, or the path by which they proceed. With humanity in charge, God makes His will known every moment, to those who are listening. His will is done by humans who choose to hear His voice, embrace His will, and walk in His ways on the earth.

This is the best way to exercise authority and dominion. Best on every level: for God’s purposes, for the world, and for the person. Jeremiah 29:11 makes clear that God plans for each person to have a fulfilling future that gives a blessed hope, with good happening and not evil. Every one of us will need to grow into this plan, so we first grow in loving Him and His will at all times.

Other verses speak of God’s purposes as unchangeable and inevitable. All who believe the Bible should rejoice in this; believing in God’s delegation of authority does not challenge this great truth. As His people, we honor God and His purposes; we build upon the relationship and calling identified in the previous verses to be in tune with His purposes at all times.Job 42:2: I know that you can do everything, and that no thought can be isolated from you.Proverbs 16:4: The LORD has made all things for himself: even the wicked for the day of evil.Proverbs 16:9: A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.Proverbs 19:21: Many plans are in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.Proverbs 21:30 There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.Isaiah 14:24, 27: The LORD of hosts has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: 27) For the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?Revelation 13:8 And all will worship it, the ones residing upon the earth, of whom has not been written the names in the scroll of the life of the Lamb having been slaughtered from world’s origination.

Every purpose of the Lord will stand and be entirely carried out. No human plan, whether supportive or oppositional, can annul or turn any of them at all. Of course, many will oppose God’s purposes, but they will get no help from God or His people in doing so, and their efforts will fail. So we entirely submit to God and His purposes, and we make sure that our will, our plans, and our calling all line up with them. We choose no wicked way or course of life, but choose to want exactly what God wants. We get our plans from God, so that we know the Lord is establishing our steps according to His good purposes. Job learned and we know that He can do all things, so we trust Him, His purposes, and His power.

God’s Purposes – Personal: God has pre-prepared good works for His people to walk in; God has worked in us the will and the power we need in order to live a life that pleases Him. Specifically, for the Philippians, belief and came with suffering. Paul too embraced His calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ, and all that came with it. As such, all believers know that God is working all things together for good.

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We can know specifically how to work out our salvation, what our calling is, and what it might bring to our lives, but God is not making it happen – not directly; we make the choice to live responsibly before Him. Although we could choose otherwise, and could say no to God’s call and God’s direction and God’s provision, instead, by His grace, we walk every step with Him.

Ephesians 2:10 For of him we are a workmanship; we were being created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God pre-prepared in order that we should walk in them.Philippians 2:12, 13 … as you always obeyed, …, with fear and trembling fashion your own salvation, 13) For God is the one operating in you both the to determine and the to operate on behalf of the delight.Philippians 1:29 Because to youP it is granted the on behalf of Christ, not only the to believe into him, but also the to suffer on behalf of him,Titus 1:1 Paul, servant of God- but apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of chosen ones of God- and recognition of truth, the one according to piety,

Providence: The events in the life of Joseph, and those leading to the cross of Christ are listed as evidence that God is in control. Certainly, God accomplishes His purposes in marvelous ways, but His servants also act in submission to Him, and in concert with Him. We do not see God overriding human authority. Joseph entered into God’s covenant purposes to make the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a great people and nation. God’s purposes for Jesus to redeem a corrupted humanity were supremely momentous, and the Son of Man used his authority to join with God in what He was doing. God worked out both events with humanity in charge.

They both demonstrate the Providence of God, examples of God working all things together for good. His special attention to humans who know and serve Him, means He could move mountains on behalf of His promises and covenant to them, but does not usually need to do so, even though His work in the lives of Joseph and Jesus are both high purposes worthy of mountain moving works. God acted mightily in both lives, and humans participated.

How does God do this with humanity in charge? Of course, none of us can fully answer this, but we can know more than often expected. First, we look at parts of the big picture in the Bible. God orchestrates people who seek His ways, and directs according to His knowledge of them and the circumstances. God prepares many who listen, like Joseph’s Pharaoh or Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro. As described in chapter 2, the hardening of the heart of Moses’ Pharaoh by giving him bad options to choose was important for Israel’s entire deliverance. We rightly observe and read and wonder at the greatness of how our God brings surprising circumstances together to accomplish His purposes on the earth. He is wise and His providential working of His purposes having a large impact, involves far more people and takes far more time than we could know or expect.

Genesis 50:19-21: And Joseph said to them, Fear not: for I in the place of God? 20) But as for you, you purposed evil upon me; but God purposed it for good, to do, as this day, to revive many people. 21) And now, fear not: I will sustain you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke heartfully to them.Acts 2:23 This, the one having been defined in counsel and foreknowledge of God a relinquished one, you were taking through hands of unlawful ones, you were spiking; you executedActs 4:27-28 For they were gathered upon a truth upon your holy lad Jesus whom you endued, including Herod and Pontius Pilate, with nations and peoples of Israel, 28) To do whatever your hand and your counsel predefined to happen.

God Higher: Many verses declare God to be higher – higher than anything or anyone. He is incomparable. He made the heavens and dwells there high above the earth and its inhabitants; no one attains His glory; no one knows perfectly like He does; no one else has power of life and death or can heal or can take out of His hand; He alone can make it rain. This is our God, the God of every Bible believer. God being so great does not automatically mean that He is in charge on earth.

As in Isaiah 55:8, 9, we all agree that God’s thoughts and ways are higher and better than those of any human. Some will say that they are so high that no humans can know them, but according to I Cor 2:10, God reveals them unto His children, and Deut. 29:29 tells us that there are secret things belonging only to God, and revealed things belonging to

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people. In order to take charge of our world, we need to know God well enough to receive His thoughts and ways as our own. We have access to His high and holy presence, and we enter, being open to learn His plans, and trusting Him to reveal how we can be a part. Fruitful human authority is exercised in lock-step with our great God. Attempting to take dominion in a personal, earthly way, without God, without knowing His higher and better ways, will fail sooner or later.

Deuteronomy 32:39 See now as I, I, he, and no god beside me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: and not one snatching from my hand.Isaiah 40:22 The one sitting upon the circle of the earth, and the ones dwelling as grasshoppers; the one stretching out the heavens as a curtain, and he spreads them out as a tent to dwell in,Isaiah 55:8, 9 For my thoughts not your thoughts, neither your ways my ways, an oracle of Yahweh 9) As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.Jeremiah 14:22 Anything among the vanities of the Gentiles showering rain? or the heavens give torrents? Not you he, O LORD our God? and we will gather to you: for you have made all these.Romans 3:23 For all sinned and are lacked of the glory of God,1 Corinthians 13:12 For momentarily we look through a mirror in an enigma but then face toward face; momentarily I know out of a portion but then I will recognize according as also I was recognized.

Words: Words are amazing, and not just the words of God: “the power of life and death is in the tongue.” Proverbs 18:17. Of course, God’s word is better, accomplishing exactly its purposes, since He is pure and good and unchanging in all things He desires and speaks. But all words, the words of God and of people, have power in the earth when they are spoken in the earth, as the analogies in Isaiah 55 indicate.

Lamentations 3:37-38 Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Isaiah 55:10, 11 For as the rain and the snow come from heaven, and do not return there, but has watered the earth, and germinates it and grows it, and it gives seed to one sowing, and bread to one eating: 11) So is my word that comes from my mouth: it does not return to me empty, but it does what I desire, and it effects what I sent it.

Jesus: The verses below tell a small part of Jesus’ special character and work. Jesus is the manifestation and demonstration of God, He is the Eternal Word. And then, from the moment of his conception as an uncorrupted human, Jesus was special on the earth, and as the Son of Man he lived without sin. Even more, when he finished the work of redemption and was raised from the dead, everything changed for humanity. Jesus had all authority both in heaven and on earth..

Seeing “humanity in charge”, we see that Jesus was conceived as a human, so he could have authority on the earth and fix what Adam broke. As a human, as the Son of Man, Jesus lived and took our sin and died with it; a redemptive death – it was his singular mission, his alone; no one else could have had or will ever have one like it. Yet, we all, every believer is sent into the world as Jesus was (Jn 17:18), and, going forward, being made the righteousness of God in Christ, we can live as Jesus lived (II Cor 5:21; Gal 2:20).

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus was approaching, he spoke to them, saying, Every authority was given to me in heaven and upon earth.John 1:1-18 1) In beginning wasI the λογοςS and the λογοςS wasI toward God and God- wasI the λογοςS 2) This one wasI in beginning toward God. …John 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, What thing I do, you have not perceived momentarily, but you will know after these things.John 14:5 Thomas says to him, O Lord, we have not perceived where you travel, and how are we able to have perceived the way?Hebrews 1:3 Who being effulgence of the glory and impression of his substance, plus bringing the all to the rhema-word of his power, through himself he was making a cleansing of our sins, he did set in right side of the Majesty in high places.

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Hebrews 12:2 Analyzing into the pioneer and completer of the faith, Jesus, who for the joy pre-laying to him, endured a cross of shame, he was despising, plus in right side of the throne of God did he set.Hebrews 10:5 Consequently, entering into the world he says, A sacrifice and an offering you did not determine, but a body you perfected to me;Revelation 1:1-20 1) Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to show to his servants which things it is necessary to happen in haste; and he signified, he was sending through his angel to his servant John 2) Who witnessed the λογοςS of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, including whatever things he saw. … 5) And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn out of the dead ones, and the ruler of the kings of the earth: to the one who was loving us and was bathing us from our sins in his blood, 6) And he made us kings and priests to God and his Father: to him the glory and the dominion into the eons of the eons. Amen. 7) Behold he comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him and some who pierced him and will bewail upon him, all the tribes of the earth. Yes, Amen. 8) I am the Λ and the Ω, beginning and end, says the Lord, the one being and the one was and the one coming, the All-dominant …

Fear: This group of verses give reasons not to fear.Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not dread and do not be dismayed, since with you: the Lord your God, in every place you go.Psalm 23: “The Lord: the one shepherding me; I do not lack. He rests me … He conducts me … He returns my soul … He guides me … I do not fear … they comfort me … you furnish me … you anoint me … ” Psalm 27:1 Yahweh: my light and my salvation; from whom do I fear? Yahweh: fortress of my life; from whom do I dread? Psalm 34:4 I sought Yahweh, and he responded, and from every one of my frights, he saved me. Psalm 56:3 A day I fear, I trust in you. Psalm 118:6, 7 Yahweh: for me; I do not fear. What can man do to me? Yahweh for me, in helping me, and I see in ones hating me. Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, as I with you; do not dismay, as I your God; I encourage you, yea, I help you, yea, I sustain you with the right hand of my righteous. Isaiah 43:1 And now as Yahweh says, one creating you, Jacob, one forming you, Israel: Do not fear, as I have redeemed you; I have called with a name; you, for me.Mark 5:36 But Jesus immediately was hearing the λογοςS being spoken, he says to the synagogue-ruler, Do not fear, only believe.Mark 6:50 For they all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he spoke with them, and says to them, Be encouraged: I, I am; do not fear.2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give to us a spirit of dread, but of power and of love and of composure.1 Peter 3:14 But if you also might suffer because of justness: elated ones; But do not fear their fear, not even should you be troubled,1 John 4:18 Fear is not in the love, but the complete love throws the fear outside, because the fear has punishment, but the one fearing has not been completed in the love.Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell toward his feet as a dead man. And he placed his right hand upon me, saying to me, Do not fear, I am the first and the last

By command or exhortation, many of these verses tell us not to fear, and give reasons not to fear. They include: 1) The Lord is with me … the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. 2) The Lord is my light and my salvation. 3) The Lord is the strength of my life. 4) The Lord heard and answered me 5) The Lord is trustworthy. 6) The Lord is on my side and helps me triumph over those hating me. 7) My God is with me to strengthen me, help me, and uphold me. 8) God made me, redeemed me, and called me. 9) The spirit we have from God has no dread, only power, love, and composure. 10) It is either love or fear, not both. 11) Jesus is the first and last.

These are all great reasons and help us not to fear. Fear is so destructive; most severe is that it makes living by faith, trusting our Lord, almost impossible. In the list, all but two of reasons are personal, and result from a relationship with God … good reasons to seek a more intimate relationship. Some of these verses contain divine commands not to fear, and some give human declarations of actions to take instead of fear. Reasons 5 & 11 encourage making the nature and character of our Lord and God our focus, which is great. Regardless of all, we personally know and trust this God … or not.

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“Fear not” verses are popular on the “God is in control” list, implying a confidence not only that can God handle any obstacle or opposition, but that He will also do so, whatever it takes, because He is in control. We should, therefore, trust Him, and not fear. Amen to that! God’s power and presence and deity are clear, but there is no indication, nor have I heard many teachers mention that deliverance from fear is certain for His people, much less for those who do not trust God.

Additionally, these verses do not say that God has the authority or control on earth. Instead, they encourage us to take responsibility, and to embrace God and His assurances. We become active participants with God in these ways and we live without fear. To enter into this reality, we trust Him personally as our light, our salvation, and the strength of our life, as One Who is trustworthy, as One Who is present everywhere, as One Who fights for us, strengthens, helps, and upholds us, and as One Who gave us His mighty Spirit and Jesus, the first and the last. Fear cannot abide with such a faith; we take charge of our world and trust God.

In general, the “humanity in control” kind of trust has more confidence that God will help than does a “God is in control” kind of trust, which gives God the option not to help if He thinks best. Of course, either way, God may not provide as expected, but if I am in charge, I am more ready to say that something is wrong and to seek a solution. Since God has assured me that I should not fear, I communicate with my Father to find what is wrong … maybe I must wait longer in faith, or maybe I misunderstood His desire, or maybe I went off track, or something else, but I cannot write it off to God’s unsearchable wisdom. I am willing to go on without knowing, but taking my responsibility and authority and dominion seriously, I do not drop it unless He tells me to. God and I talk about needs and His supply, and if it does not come as expected, I ask Him, “Why?”

Worry: Related to fear is worry: being full of care for our life or what might happen in our world. Care can be good. God’s care is always good. But the cares we carry can become debilitating. The answer is to give God each care and to pray for peaceful resolution as God directs.

If we see God in control, we are assured that He is on top of every situation, therefore we can have peace knowing that He will handle it. Peace and trust in God is good, but, by contrast, seeing humanity in charge, we notice that we make that choice to trust God, or not. We can live in peace without worry, or not. Peace is not a quiet resignation to circumstances; it is more of a rest that God provides abundantly in them; peace is a quiet assurance that we are with God as His plans move forward and are accomplished regardless of my circumstances.

Nearly every one of the following verses have an imperative, a command for us in difficult times. Only a few of these verses even mention that God will do something in response to our active trust in Him. Quite often, in relationship, God will give us direction, something to do that will directly address what we are worrying about. Living without worry is up to us; we know God, we know that He is guiding us, and we know that He is more than sufficient for the steps ahead.

Psalm 27:14 Wait into Yahweh; be strong, and he encourages your heart; and wait into Yahweh.Psalm 55:22 Fling your burden on Yahweh and he sustains you; to eternity, he does not give the righteous to waver.Psalm 94:19 In a multitude of my cogitations within me, your solaces delight my soul. Matthew 6:34 Therefore you should not care into the tomorrow: for the tomorrow will care about the things of itself. Enough in the day: its malice.Luke 12:22-26 Then he said toward his disciples, because of this I say to you, Do not care in your soul about what you should eat; not even to the body, what you should wear. 23) The soul is more than the food and the body than the clothing. 24) Consider the ravens that they do not sow they do not even harvest, to which is not a closet not even a barn, and God nourishes them. How much rather do you surpass the birds? 25) but who out of you caring is able to add upon his stature one cubit? 26) If therefore, neither for a least thing are you able, why do you care about the remaining things?John 14:27 Peace I abandon to you, my own peace I give to you, not according as the world gives do I give to you: let your heart not be troubled, let it not even panic.

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Philippians 4:6-7 Care about not one thing, but in every thing in the prayer and in the request with thanksgiving let your petitions be communicated toward God, 7) And the peace of God, the peace being superior for every mind, will garrison your hearts and your mindsets in Christ Jesus.1 Peter 5:6-7 Therefore, be humbled under the dominant hand of God ϊνα he should exalt you in season; 7) Every care of you, you were casting upon him because it matters to him about you.

All Things Possible:Here are several amazing “God can do anything” verses to which each of us should add a hearty AMEN! Like Mary in Luke 1, we believe and trust Him without hesitation; we embrace what He says, and act upon it with confidence that all things are indeed possible with God.

Jeremiah 32:17: Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, you made the heaven and the earth with your great power and with your outstretched arm. It is not difficult to you – every word.Jeremiah 32:27: Behold, I Yahweh: God of every flesh; to me is any word difficult?Matthew 19:26 But Jesus was looking onto, he said to them, With humans this is an impossible thing, but with God it is all things possible things.Luke 1:37: Because every rhema-word will not be impossible with God.

Character of God: The Character of God is not in question. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and holy. He does as He pleases. His ability to limit His use of power is a part of His Omnipotence, not a challenge to it. His ability to change His mind is a part of His Omniscience, not a challenge to it.

The seemingly contradictory aspects of God’s character are evident in His choice to delegate control over the earth and to command humanity to take dominion and subdue the earth. If we humans created in God’s image are free to choose evil and remain in charge, then God, being Who He is, must be able to limit His work on the earth and change His mind. To do so does not make Him less God, and it does not give humans any ability to act outside the areas specifically delegated; humans will never be able to control God or the heavens.

Of the many verses in the Bible, these verses from the two lists describe the unchanging character of God:Exodus 4:11 And Yahweh says to him, “Who has put to man a mouth? or Who puts him speechless, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? the one not I, Yahweh?Job 23:13 And he is in union, and who makes him retreat ? And his soul desires, and he does it. Psalm 29:10 Yahweh has dwelt on the flood; and Yahweh dwells as king forever.Daniel 4:35 All the ones residing on earth are regarded as nothing, and he does as he pleases with army of heaven, and ones residing on earth, and no person that arrests with his hand and says to him, “What have you done?”Romans 11:36 Because out of him and through him and into him the all, to him the glory into the eons. Amen.1 Timothy 1:17 But to the King of the eons, to an incorruptible, unseeable, alone wise God-, honor and glory into the eons of the eons. Amen.1 Timothy 6:15 Which he will show in own seasons: the elated and alone Potentate, the King of the ones reigning and Lord of the ones lording,Hebrews 4:13 And it is not a disappearing creation before him, but all things naked things and having been neck-bare to his eyes toward whom to us the λογοςS.James 1:13 Let no one being tested say that I am tested from God: for God is an untriable one of evil, now he tests not even one;

Almighty: Several verses from the two lists declare that God is Almighty, that nothing is too hard for Him. The Bible also states this in other passages. God kills and give life; His acts cannot be altered or undone by anyone, even those having delegated authority; He rules over all nations and kingdoms with unstoppable power; He delivers and saves, and the victory is His, regardless of human weaponry.

To see God’s clear delegation of dominion and authority to humanity, does not require reducing or limiting God’s power. We see God’s selective use of His power: Hannah’s praise, for instance, shows that God’s power to give and take life is for the lowly and desperately needy, and against the oppressor and the wicked.

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Also, in facing a confederacy of enemies, King Jehoshaphat led Israel to fast and seek the Lord. In one of the Bible’s great prayers, the king expressed the nation’s entire dependence on their Almighty God to remember His promises, to notice and to judge the enemy they faced. Jehoshaphat ended, “… we have no might against this great company … neither do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” God answered … King Jehoshaphat believed His astonishing word and set the choir in front of the army to praise their God … II Chronicles 20 is well worth the read.

This is typical. God’s Almighty power is available for his entirely dependent people who desperately need Him. This quality is not typically associated with taking dominion, but we must pity humans who attempt to exercise authority in pride and self-confidence. Let us live in humility and God-confidence.

1 Samuel 2:6 Yahweh causing killing and living, causing descending low and he ascends someone. Job 12:13-16 “With him wisdom and might to him prudence and understanding. Behold, he breaks and it is not built; he closes upon a man, it is not opened. Behold, he holds in waters and they are dried, he sends them and they turn upon earth. With him strength and support to him one deceiving and one causing deceiving. 2 Chronicles 20:6 And he says, “Yahweh, God of our fathers, not you the God in the heavens? And you rule in all kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are strength and might, and none to stand upon you. Proverbs 21:31 Appointing a horse for the day of battle, and to Yahweh the victory.Isaiah 43:13 Therefore I, he; and none delivers from my hand; I work, and who turns it back?” Zephaniah 3:17 Yahweh your God in your midst a mighty one he saves; he rejoices upon you with joy; he engraves with his love; he rejoices upon you with singing.

Creator: Many verses describe God as the Creator of heaven and earth, something every Bible believer should embrace wholeheartedly. In recognizing the earthly authority of humanity, we see and serve the Creator of all. As Hebrews 11:3, the things we see were made out of things that do not appear to us. There is more than what we see. Our universe also has a set of laws that is not natural/physical, we can call them supernatural or spiritual. Our Creator is responsible for and uses them all. A miracle, rather than a suspension of natural law, should be seen as the manifestation of another kind of law interacting with and sometimes superseding the natural laws and the physical world.

Colossians 1:16 expands creation: not only is what we see created, the unseen is created as well. The expansion here also includes four types of authority – the complexity of created authority should not hinder our efforts to understand it. God created and delegated more areas of authority than just humanity over the earth. After the flood, God told Noah to establish human government. In addition, God takes special interest in the rise and fall of nations. Some of His interest in and instructions for other authorities like governments and nations is the focus of the list of verse references below.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Psalm 104:24 How your deeds multiplied, Yahweh; in wisdom you have made every one of them; your creatures fill the earth.Isaiah 45:7 Making light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil. I Yahweh doing every one of these things.John 1:3-4 All happened through him, and without him not even one thing happened which has happened. 4) in him life wasI and the life wasI the light of the humans,Colossians 1:16 Because in him the all was created, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the seeable and the unseeable things, whether thrones whether lordships whether beginnings whether authorities, the all has been created through him and into him,Hebrews 11:3 In faith we comprehend the eons to have been perfected in rhema-word of God, into the thing not out of things appearing, the things being looked at to have happened

Governments and Nations: (to be considered in Book 3.) 1 Chronicles 29:11-12; 2 Chronicles 20:6; Ezra 6:22; Job 12:23 Psalm 22:28; Psalm 46:10; Psalm 103:19; Psalm 66:7; Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 41:2; Jeremiah 27:5-8; Daniel 2:21; Daniel 4:17; John 19:11; Acts 17:26; Romans 13:1-2

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Maintain: These verses show that God keeps everything working on earth. The physical and spiritual laws ordering our planet and the universe were established by God, and those laws never change. God maintains them directly and actively every moment, or indirectly with an order built into the universe, permanently establishing their constant operation from the beginning, or a combination of direct and indirect maintenance.

We can be certain that the earth is now and will be ordered, always reliably, giving science its foundation. Natural laws of this world are not random, and neither are spiritual laws. Situations we face may be complex, but God always understands and guides. We can know God and learn His ways. He knows all the causes, and the best solution, and the laws that work best for us. He maintains their constant operation.

Genesis 8:22 Unto every day of the earth, seed and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night do not rest.Job 12:10 In his hand: the soul of every alive creature and breath of every flesh of man.Proverbs 15:3 In every spot: both eyes of Yahweh, watching evil and good.Ecclesiastes 7:13, 14 See deed of God; for who is able to straighten what he has warped? 14) In a day of good, be a good man, and in a day of evil see even this against that has God made, upon a cause, the man does not find after him – nothing.Matthew 10:29-30 Is not two sparrows sold for a penny? and one out of them will not fall upon the earth negative of your Father 30) But of you also the hairs of the head are all ones having been numbered.Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things and the all has commended in him,

Support, Protection, Refuge:Other verses from the two lists, referenced below, show that God supports His people in many ways, using various expressions. He knows and does not forsake those who trust Him; He sends His angels to help; He confirms His covenant; He fights for His people; He is a refuge, fortress, deliverer, shield, and more to defend and protect His people. He guides; He gives favor; He gives His Spirit; He gives strength; He multiplies grace, mercy, and peace; He forgives; He assures His people of His never-failing presence; He supplies every need; He finishes what He starts in His people, and so much more throughout the Bible.

God provides all, but not all the time, and not “randomly” helping one and not another according to His unsearchable wisdom. Yet, no one can one selfishly call for any of this support. Instead, God provides it assuredly for those who believe Him and trust Him in a relationship of clear communication. We are not able to fully describe the effectual difference between those people or situations benefitting from God’s help and those not receiving it. A person’s humble cry, the effective intercession of some unknown believer, and many other actions are unknown to us. In the Bible and in our lives, we cannot know all the human activity that God sees, and to which He responds. But we know, not only that God cares, but that He also responds to us when we know and seek Him. We relate to God more closely that we might know Him better, not merely in order to get provision and support.

Exodus 17:16; Deuteronomy 8:18; Psalm 9:10; Psalm 34:7; Psalm 46:1; Psalm 91:4; Jeremiah 10:23; Daniel 1:9; Zechariah 4:6; Matthew 6:12; John 16:33; Romans 8:38, 39; Philippians 1:6; 4:19; 2 Timothy 1:6; Hebrews 11:1-40

God Saves / Redeems in Christ:Salvation – Eternal Life – Righteousness – and so much more are all of God. No person can earn or even contribute to the new birth and life God that gives to those who believe into Christ. Over and over in the Bible, human belief is the responsible choice, which is not a contributing work. The choice is made when a person’s “conscience” is confronted with the fact that God condemned sin, the sin that corrupts every human, the sin that Jesus carried to the cross. And so, when God condemned that sin to die, Jesus died too. Each person can then make the good choice and personally believe that God condemned and mortally punished the sin and death that corrupted her or him at conception, and exchange it for the righteousness of God in Christ … or we do not believe and remain corrupted inside. The saving work of God then follows as a product of a life being remade and of God’s continuing work in us, while we work out this glorious salvation. (The life-giving and saving works of God are expanded in Chapters 16 and 17 of Book 1.)

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Some segments of Christianity consider the required belief itself to be a contributing work unless God is its only source. To them, free choice is a slave to sin, which makes this belief is impossible unless God gifts a person with faith to believe.

On the other end, some religions teach that belief is not enough, regardless of how we come to believe. They teach that human effort in doing right and being right contributes to, and is even necessary to the saving work of God in our lives. So many good people believe this and are encouraged to live better in this faith. But, in most of these teachings, humans are also able to stop believing or behaving, and so to lose the life and salvation “earned” by their faith and works.

But a better life, cannot change anyone corrupted by the sin which has been passed to every person at conception. This internal, root change requires God’s work, and a person’s believing choice into God’s solution. Most of the benefits (listed and expanded in Chapters 18-20 of Book 1) of this believing choice, including life, adoption, justification, and righteousness, are never taken away or lost in any Bible verse. Salvation, described in Chapter 17 of Book 1, can and should be experienced, but that happens when people make the right choices following becoming new creatures in Christ.

The verses below, describe a great “all-of-God” salvation, with the essential fact that entering into it always requires belief. Each person with new life in Christ has believed. Each person conceived and born again by the word of God has taken personal responsibility and has believed.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world thus: his alone-happening Son he gave in order that every one believing into him should not perish, but may have eternal life. 17) For God did not send his Son into the world in order that he may judge the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him.John 6:37 Every thing which the Father gives to me will arrive toward me, and the one coming toward me no, I should not throw out outside.John 6:44 Not even one is able to come toward me unless the Father who was dispatching me should draw him, and I will stand him up in the last day.John 6:65 And he said, Because of this thing I have affirmed to you that not even one is able to come toward me unless it may be, having been given to him out of my Father.Acts 13:48 Now the nations hearing rejoiced and glorified the λογοςS of the Lord and believed, whoever wereI ones having been arranged into eternal life.Romans 8:29, 30 Because whom he foreknew, he also predefined conformed ones of the image of his Son into the to be - him, a firstborn one in many brothers. 30) But whom he predefined, these he also called; and whom he called, these he also justified; But whom he justified, these he also glorified.Ephesians 1:4 According as he chose us in him before origination of world, us to be holy and unblamable ones down before him in loveEphesians 2:8-9 For in the grace you are ones having been saved through the faith, and this thing not out of you, of God- the contribution, 9) Not out of works in order that not anyone should boast:

Future: Below are a few of the Bible verses indicating that God knows what will happen before it happens. This will be addressed in Book 3. Some questions to think about now are: The future: does it exist already? God declared the coming of King Cyrus over 100 years before he was born!

How can God declare it in advance if the future does not exist? how do we have free choice if it does already exist?

God’s foreknowledge: is it God, determining the future, always knowing what will happen because He established everything permanently before the beginning of time? or is it God seeing into future events, an advance knowledge of everything that will happen by free human choices? or is it God knowing all the laws, all the free choices of everyone in the past, both producing this moment and setting the next in motion, and the ones after that?

In the last case, we would ask how God might know far into the future or how He can declare what will happen at the end of the world, for instance. If choices are truly free, might not the short-term direction adjust over time to make more distant details unknowable, even for God Who will nevertheless accomplish all His purposes? The Bible does provides additional ideas on this which will be addressed in the next book, ideas such as providence,

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the power of words, the preparation of the world for Jesus’ coming and ministry, and more. The Bible says much about God’s ways of working in the world and of accomplishing His purposes.

Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my embryo; and every one of them were written upon your book, days formed for me, and not one in them.Isaiah 43:9 Every one of the nations have been gathered together, and were assembled as peoples. Who among them declares this, and makes us hear first things? They gave their witnesses, and they prove, and they hear, and they say truthfully.Isaiah 44:28 That says of Cyrus , My shepherd , and he shall perform all my pleasure : even saying to Jerusalem, You shall be built; and to the temple, Your foundation shall be laid. 45:1 Yahweh says to his anointed, to Cyrus, I have held his right hand to subdue nations before him; and I will loosen the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shutIsaiah 46:9-10 Remember first things of old; as I God, and not again God, and none as me, declaring first, last and antiquity, things not done, saying, ‘My counsel stands, and I do my every desire,’ 2 Peter 3:2 To be reminded of the rhema-words having been pre-affirmed by the agency of the holy prophets and the agency of our apostles commandment of the Lord and Saviour:

God Chooses: Common translations of Psalm 135:6 clearly speak of God’s activity on the earth as well, unlimited by nothing, not by Himself, nor by His delegation of authority on the earth to humanity … I took careful notice, believing every word. Others, who are learned in the original Bible languages, have reviewed and verified the following technical data. Hebrew verbs do not speak to tense, such as identifying whether an action is past or present or future, as do Greek and English verbs. Categories of action defined by Hebrew verbs are: Simple, Intensive, Causal, and Reflexive action. Within these categories, an action might also be identified as Completed or Uncompleted action (Perfect and Imperfect). The context and these grammar detail help in determining more about the tense of the action.

Crucial to our understanding is that God’s action in both Psalm 115:3 and 135:6 below is completed action, “has pleased” and “has done”. Had one or both of these verbs shown Uncompleted action, or simply not Completed, there would be reason to conclude that these two verses say that God’s activity in every current age is as He pleases on earth as well as in heaven. Instead, Psalm 115:3 and 16, used in the first part of this chapter, both have completed action. In addition, Psalm 135:6 and the following verses describe God’s work in bringing the new nation of Israel out of Egypt into the land promised in His covenant with Abraham. God’s actions are identified as completed with two participles adding to what He then did. It is important to know which of God’s works in the Bible are completed works.

In the verse from Acts, God defines the times and pre-arranges the borders of nations, and we believe it. Again, God has special interest in the rise and fall of nations which will be addressed in Book 3. Then, Romans 9:11 tells us that according to His choice, God called Esau and Jacob before they were born. A nation too grew out of the family of each son, with Esau serving Jacob / Israel for most of their common history. Here we see God’s purposes for nations in the future.

Psalm 115:3: And our God in the heavens: every thing he has pleased, he has done. Psalm 135:6: Every thing he has pleased, he has done, in the heavens and in the earth, in the seas and all deeps. Proverbs 16:33: In the lap, someone throws the pebble, and from Yahweh every verdict.Acts 17:26: Plus he made out of one blood every nation of humans to reside upon allS the face of the earth, he was defining seasons having been pre-arranged and the limits of their habitation,Romans 9:11 For of them who were not~ yet being reproduced, not~ even were performing any good or evil thing, in order that the pre-putting according to the choosing of God may stay, not out of works, but out of the one calling,Romans 9:18-21 Therefore he pities whomS he determines, but he hardens whomS he determines. 19) Therefore youS

will affirm to me, Why does he still blame? For who has resisted his want? 20) Undoubtedly, O human, who are you S, the one replying to God? the sculpture will not affirm to the one who was sculpting, Why did you make me so? 21) Or the potter does not have authority of the clay, out of the same batch to make which indeed a vessel into a valuing, but which into dishonor.

Again in Romans 9, God is choosing and deciding, and doing so on His own, without human help or input. God’s delegation of authority on the earth does not change or limit His wisdom, knowledge, or character of choosing and

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acting right in every circumstance. Unlike any or all humans, God has a perfect knowledge of physical and spiritual laws, a perfect knowledge of how people have chosen and acted from Adam to the present moment. More specifically, God knows those who have called upon Him, who love Him, and who are called according to His purpose … as here God remembered His covenant with the children of Israel. The clash between Pharaoh and Moses provides the backdrop for Romans 9:18ff. That clash was summarized in Chapter 2 above: God heard the desperate cry of His oppressed and covenant people and acted mightily to separate them and to make them a nation.

Summary: This chapter began with five passages where God in the Bible has commanded humanity to take dominion and to subdue the earth. In none of them is that authority limited – it was actually expanded from its creation week declaration. In no other Bible passage does God declare any change to human authority over the earth; God does not take any of it away, nor does He share any of it with any other entity, not even with Himself. Now Jesus has completed his mission. He is a human who finally handled the authority properly and then received all authority in heaven and earth, believers are actually seated with Christ in heaven and are authorized and equipped to battle spiritual enemies. This authority had not been previously delegated.

As I write, many or most believe God has all authority and cannot see any person or place that is not under God’s control, even if He delegates. The standard belief is that God could limit Himself … but to completely delegate control of the earth to humanity is beyond belief. He alone is God … not humanity or any human. They notice the Bible declarations of His almighty power and His expression of that power on the earth in the lives of humans. They see God acting on His own, in the open or behind the scenes, with unstoppable and unavoidable purpose and control, wisely carrying out His plan and purposes for the earth. They know that human plans are certain to fail when they conflict with God’s. Therefore, most say that man, created by God, cannot be in control on the earth.

So this chapter then looked at dozens of those verse in groups, showing that their truth can be believed in light of God’s delegation of authority over the earth to humanity. Yes, many of these verses exalt God – to which we all say, “Amen” – but they also include human involvement, exercising authority.

What is at stake? If God reserves for Himself any single ability to act on the earth without regard for the authority He has given humanity, that validates every expression of the “Why God?” question, whether asked by a humble believer or an antagonistic atheist. If the Bible does teaches humanity’s earthly dominion, and people do not believe it, they continue to ask the “Why God?” questions, and have no clear answer. But the Bible does not answer these question, and cannot since they are sourced in wrong beliefs. We can say that God’s ways with us are unknowable, and it certainly is true that God knows all and we do not, but it does not mean He has authority on earth, or that He will not reveal what we need to know.

Even if no one could know any of God’s ways, it does not alter the Biblical reality of human control on the earth. We still have the ability and the responsibility to seek God and to receive answers that will help us and others live the life He has set before us. God is indeed unsearchable, and far above all that exists and all that we could ever know, yet He put humanity in charge on the earth. When we ask God, “Why?”, it is not a complaint; we seek answers to what happens around us and instructions on how to make it better.

What follows: The next chapter considers how differently we see items of major importance when we view them through the two different lens: the historically common lens that God is in control everywhere at all times and this new lens of humanity having dominion and authority over the earth. Chapter 5 looks at the proper exercise of human authority. Chapter 6 integrates the ideas of God’s creation of evil with those of human authority on the earth for a more complete solution to the problem of evil. Chapter 7 summarizes many crucial truths from Genesis 1 – 3; truths that must be precisely accurate lest we go astray as we proceed through God’s revelation in the Bible.

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Chapter 4: God’s Delegation of Authority: The Best New Lens

This chapter describes the changes to almost everything a Bible believer sees when believing God’s delegation of earthly authority to humanity. Book 1 described many new lenses through which to see various Bible events and ideas. All are valuable, but none has a greater impact than this one:

The Most Important New Lens: Humanity has God-commanded Dominion over all the earth The view that entire authority over all the earth was delegated to humanity on the sixth day of creation and has continued through all of human history right up to the present dramatically changes everything. This new lens was needed and used to comment on some of the groups of verses in the preceding chapter. The focus here is on five major areas: 1) humanity, 2) God, 3) Jesus, 4) the Bible, and 5) events happening on earth. Each of these will be examined looking through the new lens and then through the common lens.

The Common Lens: God is in Control over all the earthThis is the lens that nearly all of God’s people have used since Adam. Through it, we see God over everything in heaven and on the earth, nothing is excepted. The underlying belief is that God is able and ready to do anything He wants, whenever He wants, wherever He wants. God, when so acting, often will but does not need to consider a human or humanity at all. This lens gives a very different view of the five areas to be examined.

1. Viewing humanity:Same view: Through each lens, humanity and individual humans are at their best when relating closely to God. Although the two lenses have differing perspectives on this, we all know that we will experience our best possible life when we yield ourselves to Him. We are grateful that multitudes of God’s people have done this throughout the millennia, and continue to do so.

The Bible declares every person to be responsible at every moment. By command and exhortation, by warning and cautioning, by selection and decision, by persuasion and urging, by reproof and correction, by exoneration and blame, by justification and condemnation, and by so much more, all Bible believers see people responsible for choices made.

This is also the perceived reality through either lens. We make choices all day every day, as though we were free and able to decide what we do and to choose the direction of our lives. In addition, it seems true that every choice matters and that we are responsible for the effect of our choices. For all of us, the Bible and our perceptions agree that we have choices to make, and that we are responsible for our choices, and for what happens because we make these choices.

New Lens: Every person is seen to have authority over her or his world. Each one has been created in God’s image and is fully capable of exercising this authority and taking charge. This is how we will view ourselves and everyone else, regardless of age, social status, nationality … regardless of anything, even religion. We certainly recognize specific situations, needs, limitations, advantages, restrictions, and more; actual circumstances may be very different, but God’s creation and delegation are higher realities for everyone. We view ourselves and every other person as responsible and capable.

Viewing each other as fully capable encourages treating each other with mutual respect. In relating to any other person, we do so as equals and honor the life, responsibility, authority, and ability possessed by each one. When another in our world needs help, maybe lots of help, we can offer our hand to lift and help, and do so with the same respect we have for anyone. Those with bad, ulterior motives, who ask with laziness or an unnecessary dependency, or who help with controlling, manipulative ends, will be sorted out while we do the right thing in the right way.

Again, we who believe and trust God, give Him control where we can. First, we use our authority to yield control of our own lives to Him; this is the best way for any and all humans to exercise their authority. As we all have had examples of this commitment – in addition to my family, important examples for me include a pastor, a college

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friend, and a deep teacher: Oswald Chambers – we become examples to help others do the same. Yielding to our almighty God and His good and wise ways is a good idea for each of us. Second, where possible, we extend this and give God control of others under our authority or influence, such as a family or business. We yield these areas to God, still recognizing that each person has authority and is responsible to yield their own personal control to God.

Additionally, we recognize that humans compete for authority, having different goals and methods. What happens then? Humans being in charge results in complex interactions of people taking dominion differently. Therefore we ask, “How does God choose or respond when there are competing human authorities?” Since God actually delegated, since God does not act against or usurp human authority, in general, He allows human choices and actions to play out and does not react or make a choice.

In specific, we call to mind President Abraham Lincoln’s response, when he was asked if God was on his side: “Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Lincoln’s response expresses why humans, who take the time and effort to know God, to learn His ways, to embrace His purposes, and to act accordingly, these are the ones who receive His resources, walk in His ways, and experience more success. They, with their whole life, are on God’s side, exercising their authority in concert with God’s desires, and with other humans who relate to God in this way. Since no person fully understands God’s purposes or how to live in them, we may not always experience what we think of as success, but there is no complaint because our first interest is God. We learn more and continue to grow in our knowledge of Him and His ways.

Common Lens: God, not humanity, is in charge, yet people are seen as responsible for choices made. But the common lens does not reconcile these two ideas: God as Sovereign over the earth and humans as responsible. The two teachings are sometimes said to be on parallel lines that meet only in the unfathomable mind and heart of God.

If God is in control on the earth, there are many questions about the freedom to choose from options and actual responsibility. It feels like we are free. In our experience and in the Bible, we seem to have options from which can freely choose. But is it true? Here are further questions: If God has complete control, How much of our lives does He control? How much choice do we really have? to be good? or to be bad? Is our free choice just an illusion? just a persception of freedom?If we say that God knows every “free” choice we will ever make, Are we really free to make the choices we make? Even more, do we have any real power or freedom to act on our own? Are all our choices, and actions, pre-determined directly or indirectly by the God Who knows everything that

will happen and is in total control?

These are hard questions, and they get more complex when we add the clear Biblical and practical idea of responsibility. If our choices are not free, can we be responsible for them? If we are responsible, did not we chose to act as we did? Is it possible that humans alone are responsible for the bad on the earth, while all the good is from God?

Resolution is difficult with the view that God is in full control on the earth. Because people have at least the appearance of the free ability to make choices that matter, and for which each has apparent responsibility, we must wonder about the extent of God’s control over events that happen on the earth, and especially over people and their daily activities.

There is still more complexity when we add authority and ask: Can we be responsible for choices or action without having authority? or If I have no authority to alter what I

do, how can I be responsible for what I do? Do we have some authority, or none? maybe over the choices and actions of our personal lives?

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Can we define a dividing line between God’s authority and any that we may have? can these authorities overlap?

These are but a few of the hard questions that show how conflicted and confused we can become when we see humanity through the common lens. How do authority, responsibility and blame, the free ability to choose, the choices, and more apply to humans? How are each defined in general and in specific? and how do they fit together? How many answers do we have when believing in God’s complete and active control over every event?

Since we have so many questions, the common lens sees the ways of the Sovereign God as beyond our understanding, and is content not knowing answers to such questions. That would be okay if the Bible taught it, but the Bible teaches God’s delegation of authority to humanity. In addition, the Bible rarely appeals to God’s unsearchable wisdom as an answer. The immediate context of two verses often used to make this point, actually include a surprising message. Although Deuteronomy 29:29 begins, “The secret things belong to God”, the verse continues, “but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children… ” Also, I Corinthians 2:9 says, “Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him.” Although we know this, we rarely remember that verse 10 continues, “But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit … including the deep things of God.” These contexts correct the idea of God’s inaccessible wisdom by declaring that He reveals answers to his children. While wearing the God-in-control lens, it may be easy to trust God while not knowing why, while not seeking Him for answers that He can and will reveal.

Again, we see our greatest potential and fulfillment in committing to God personally. Whether or not we are freely doing so, we believe that God is entirely good and right in all. If He says it is best for us to fully trust Him in every situation, every moment of every day, then we do it. We agree with what God says and act in the ways He says are right, whether or not we can be sure about the responsibility and authority questions. It is always good to yield to God.

When we view others through the common lens, it is hard to truly consider someone apart from the Sovereign control of God, with all people destined to their place. One has a blessed life as God’s servant, and another has a cursed life; one person is honored and another lives in disgrace. Although we may see them as responsible and able to choose differently, we may also think that they are just living the life that God has planned for them. We could even look at a person’s life or activities and predict the quality of his or her relationship with God. We want to help people, but may wonder if God wants that too. We may wonder about an exhortation to trust God – or any exhortation. Is the response pre-determined? Does it not require a measure of free choice, of authority to choose, in order to hear and adjust as exhorted?

2. Viewing God:Same view: Every Bible believer respects God for Who He is: the creator of our universe and all life. He is Almighty, Holy and Good, Just and Merciful, Loving and Gracious, Wise and All-knowing, Gentle and so much more. This view of God is clear in each of the two lenses.

We all also know that the whole earth shall be filled with the glory of God; the name of the LORD is majestic in all the earth.

Through each lens, we can notice that God’s activities fit into His purposes being fulfilled, and make more of His ways known. He is God and we as humans can get in step with Him and promote His work … or we can be left out.

New Lens: Yet, through the new lens, we see that God, Who does all things well, put humanity in charge on the earth: a mandate to take dominion and to subdue the earth, an authority that God never limited, changed, or took back. Thus God, by this action of His, is not in charge on the earth, except where people have put Him in charge of their lives, their work, and more. Ultimately, God is Sovereign, and as a CEO in a large company can replace a manager who fails to do the work properly, but He has limited Himself and does not do an incompetent manager’s job. God does not say, and the Bible does not say that God intervenes on the earth if any person fails to do his or her job properly.

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Through the new lens, we see God’s great and matchless activity on earth, and know that He always respects the authority He delegated to humanity. He cannot decide to act or intervene simply according to His unsearchable wisdom or an impromptu “whim”, deciding to help this one, but not that, just as He wills. If He were in charge, He certainly would and should do so because so much is broken. He has limited Himself and His work on the earth by commanding humanity to take dominion here. Since He delegated that authority, and since He is not in charge, He needs clear reasons to act; a human or group of humans must authorize God’s activity on the earth. Thus God’s work on earth is not random or arbitrary, even if it appears to be, we can seek and find many answers to why God acts as He does.

Of course, we will never learn all the answers, so we also realize that God’s work on earth is never guaranteed for any person, even while having authority over the earth. While we learn much about God’s work, there are many factors that we will not see. Every situation, every person, and every process is unique, and only God knows it all, so we look to Him for wisdom and guidance in each situation. God communicates with those who hear Him on the proper manner to pray and work in a time of need, to learn and trust Him as He instructs, and to walk and work as He directs. While there is no formula, relating to God in this way increases the likelihood of seeing God act on the earth. For example, in two successive battles with the Philistines, Israel’s powerful neighbor, the young, new king David prayed before each conflict and received instructions from God. Israel routed the Philistines both times as David followed God in two very different battle plans.

Yet, it is guaranteed that God’s purposes will be accomplished on the earth, even with humans in charge, even though most people do not care to participate in God’s plans, and even though many others strongly and actively oppose them. For instance, we remember how Pharaoh’s opposition actually aided God’s long-term plans. God redeemed His people completely out of Egypt, in part because this obstinate Pharaoh refused to let the children of Israel take a few days to worship. On the other hand, more positively, God finds those who desire His purposes to be entirely accomplished, those who seek Him, intercede in the gap, and receive assignments from Him. In the long-term, God’s purposes advance to their inevitable fulfillment on the earth over which humanity has authority.

Common Lens: God is seen to be in charge on the earth. Even though it is not Biblical, as described in Chapter 3, there are many reasons for this view.

First, because God is great and has all power and all authority, we ask, How could He not control everything on the earth? He is God and we are not. Neither can any other power or entity challenge God or any of His power and authority. Everywhere in the universe and outside of it, in heaven and on earth, God is God and there is none else. All of this is Biblical, so it has been easy to take the step and to declare that His activity is not limited anywhere, by anyone, at any time, and find it impossible to say that God would, or could delegate real authority.

We view God to be charge on the earth also because everyone who believes God and the Bible believes this too, or because it is what my preacher declares or this special teacher says. We know no one who has taught anything else about God. We assume that it must be true; yet, have we examined it? Take another look at the Genesis 1 foundation and the supporting passages highlighted in chapter 3 of this book. Ask if the Sovereign God Himself could delegate some authority in such a manner that He is not directly in charge there. Believing something because everyone believes it, or because respected and honorable teachers teach it, is a good start, but it should not be settled unless it is clearly Biblical.

Another reason so many wear the “God-is-in-control-on-the-earth” lens is that God appears greater if He has more authority. We can assume that God gets more glory if He does need anyone else. This too sounds true … but is it? It encourages suggestions such as: “I want to think that Jonah was swallowed by a tuna, because then it is more of a miracle.” They see God’s work of redeeming Israel out of slavery in Egypt as His own idea and work; He did not need to hear the cry of His people in order to remember, and to act according to His covenant, and to redeem them from bondage. The desire to make the activity all of God, all out of His own determination, seeks to maximize God’s involvement and to maximize God’s glory in everything, at all times. Of course, seeking God’s glory is one of our highest desires, but we must not gloss over a Biblical context or ignore any of its clear teachings in order to do so.

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This reason is accompanied by the tendency to minimize human effort or actions, thinking, for example, that God would get less glory if He responds to His people believing, praying, or crying out, or otherwise expressing their need of Him. In God’s redeeming Israel out of Egypt, this common lens either does not see or greatly diminishes the effectiveness of the groan of the children of Israel enduring slavery in Egypt. Extremes negate more, such as relationship, prayer, and aspects of the nature of the human that God created. Does the Bible teach an almost unnecessary place for human activity? only important because God chose us to participate with Him at times? Does it teach us to discount the mention of people acting so that we more highly magnify God’s work?

Also, if we see God to be in control, we do not need to ask why this or that event happened. God willed it, or did it Himself, and that is enough for us. Questioning God is uncomfortable, and it may be seen as an expression of unbelief. A mature faith trusts God in any circumstance, which of course is true for any Bible believer, but trusting God for answers to hard questions can seem improper. It seems useless, for instance, to ask: “Why does God not deliver or protect people caught in a natural disaster or violent action?” because God is acting entirely according to His wise, unseen purposes.

But, with the common lens on, how well are we able to relate to God about things that happen, to find out and even adjust, when the circumstances are extremely difficult and without natural explanation? With the view that God’s purposes on earth are fulfilled in the exact way and time that He determined from the beginning, nothing else can happen; every event and every step has been eternally established in the heart of God. It is seen to be anathema for me to write, as earlier, “… a human or group of humans must authorize God’s activity on the earth … God’s purposes will be accomplished on the earth, even with humans in charge.”

To me, the “God is in complete control on the earth” lens gives a distorted picture of God. It ignores or explains away or restricts the Biblical understanding of God’s delegation of authority, described and often confirmed in the Bible. Most who wear the common lens certainly love God and His Word, and are committed to serve Him. We all want God to be God and to be great, but we must believe all that the Bible says about Him. According to what the Bible literally says, seeing God’s delegation is seeing a better picture of God. The new lens is so different, Book 1 was not ready for it. Wearing the common lens is the biggest reason that God’s people who believe the Bible cannot move up from level 5 to a level 6 understanding of the Bible and its literal truths, per the analogy in the prefaces of Book 1.

3. Viewing Jesus:Same view: We all agree that in significant ways Jesus was not like us. Unlike every other human, he had a miraculous conception in Mary’s womb; unlike the rest of us, he was not conceived with a corrupted nature; unlike us, he could and did live a sinless life; unlike any other human, he had a special, redemptive mission and purpose for his life on earth. He came to do and did what no other human could, because of what every other human needed. In this, he is not an example for us; Jesus is the only Messiah, Sin-bearer, Redeemer, and Saviour needed to rescue the human race and every person from its corrupted nature. He completely fulfilled his mission; his work is done once and for all; it will never be repeated. His effective death and permanent resurrection sets Him apart. And He will return; Jesus will come back in the sky, and immediately be recognized world-wide, like a flash of lightning spread over the planet. All will have a clear view of Him. No imposter claiming to be Messianic can do any of this.

New Lens: Through the new lens, prior to his resurrection, we see Jesus as human, living and acting with the same authority that God delegated to every other person in the human race. In his life, we see him walking on the earth as all other humans, exercising the authority given to humans.

Jesus referred to himself the Son of Man. Many called him the Son of God. He was asked and never denied being the Son of God, being so conceived from before creation, believing God’s promise to David in II Samuel 7:14 and God’s declaration by David in Psalm 2:7 that he was the One Who would be born to God and Who would have God as His Father. Jesus acknowledged that these passages referred to him. But it was as the Son of Man that he was born to Mary, and it was as the Son of Man that he lived on the earth and carried out his unique mission.

Part 3 of Book 1, laid out how Adam, as the representative of humanity, brought the corruption of sin and death into the world, and how Jesus, the Last Adam and the final representative of the entire human race, solved the

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corruption problem, and did so as a human. As a human, as the Son of Man, Jesus fixed what Adam, the first human, broke.

Through this lens, when we view Jesus’ life before the cross, we see him doing things that we could do if God so led. We do not see the day by day activities of Jesus to be beyond us. Of course, none of us has a mission anything like that of Jesus – we have our own unique mission – yet, we can and we should walk in our calling with the same authority and resources that Jesus had and used.

As God directs us, we take dominion over our world and we often do what Jesus did. He said that believers could do all he did, and greater works too … and why not? He knew God’s plans for redeemed humanity; by Jesus’ work we can be made the righteousness of God, given the Holy Spirit, raised and seated with Christ in heavenly places, and more. All this provides much more position and ability to take dominion and to subdue our world than believing humans had before Christ. He also prayed for his disciples, and all believers. He sent all of us into the world just as his Father had sent him … asking also that all be one with each other and with his Father and himself. What is holding us back?

Common Lens: Most of what the Bible recounts of Jesus’ activity on the earth is seen to be the expression of Him being the Son of God. Through the common lens, when we read about Jesus doing miracles, perceiving motives, knowing God’s purposes, redeeming humanity, and more, we see Jesus as the Son of God and as God the Son. We also believe that he was indeed the Son of Man, and that he needed to be human to represent the human race in redemption, but we see that it was the Son of God, Jesus the Eternal Son, actually doing the marvelous works. Now … since we are not God, and since we do not have Jesus’ mission, we do not consider it possible to do the works Jesus did prior to His resurrection.

4. Viewing the Bible:Same view: Through both lenses, all believers viewing the Bible’s events see God active, doing many mighty works, doing them on the earth, and doing them for and against people. All who read it see God acting as only God can in the pages of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and we rightly praise Him for His greatness and goodness. The new lens does not change this.

This book is written mainly for those who believe the entire Bible literally. New lens or common lens, we all believe every word of the Bible. We all want everything we say or do to be Biblically accurate, at least not in opposition to a clear teaching of the Bible. This is an honest and heart-felt desire of those wearing either lens. Nevertheless, the two lenses have very different views of the Bible.

New Lens: When the Bible records how God acted on the earth, it also speaks of the way humans authorized that activity. We read the Bible and see God act in the light of His delegation of authority to humanity. We notice the human activity and its necessity for God acting as He does. This is the big difference the new lens makes.

Just as it is impossible to penetrate the depths of God’s knowledge and wisdom as He advances His purposes, it is impossible to know, as God does, all of the human factors He notices and considers when acting as He does. But we know that those factors are there, and we look for them when read of God’s activity.

In many passages, we clearly see a significant human part. Three examples are: Abram, in Genesis 14, taking a few hundred men from his ranch to rescue his nephew Lot, who was captured by a federation of four area kings; a young nation of Israel defeating an ambushing army of Amalek when Moses’ hands were held up by Aaron and Hur in Exodus 17; and the sun stopping at Joshua’s intercession, allowing him to complete his victory over five attacking nations in Joshua 10. Through the new lens, we both consider the importance of human activity and we praise God for His mighty works.

Other passages require closer examination. Book 1 expanded on important events in the lives of Jonah and Job showing how the actions of these two men were an integral part of God acting as He did. It was according to the intercession and prophecy of Jonah that God acted, first for Israel’s blessing, and then for Nineveh’s destruction, which did not happen after the people and king of Nineveh repented. And Job was not a pawn in a heavenly chess

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match between God and Satan. To encourage Job to move out of a fear-based relationship with God back to a faith-based one, God showed Satan that Job was in his power … Job’s fear had brought down the protective hedge.

God performed many mighty deeds over many months when redeeming His people out of Egypt and made them a nation. It is widely known and praised as one of His greatest works on earth. With the new lens, we notice additional Biblical details often overlooked when wearing the common lens: human activity as essential to God’s actions. In the prior centuries, God made, established, and confirmed His covenant and promises with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Also earlier, Joseph expressed and encouraged faith in God’s covenant by telling the people to bury his bones in Canaan. We notice also the desperation of the people themselves in advance of God’s activity, and the powerful, authoritative actions of His prophet Moses throughout the deliverance process, Additionally, to effect entire deliverance for His people from Egypt and its power, God chose the stubborn Pharaoh.

So much came together when God redeemed His people, both human authority and God’s mighty deeds. Through the new lens we see God’s awesome activity to be more than an intervention according to His wise determination of the right time for redemption, acting without consideration of human authority; we notice how human actions authorized them.

In the Bible, while looking for and noticing essential human involvement associated with God’s marvelous works, we see some previously unnoticed details and some familiar details in a new light. There are covenants, prayer/intercession, words, desperate trust, and more to notice in the lives of people in the Bible who receive the benefit of God’s work on their behalf. In an earlier account in Egypt, we see the slave-criminal Joseph, who was astonishingly exalted to be Pharaoh’s vice-ruler, become one who knew God’s ways, heard His voice, embraced His call, and following His guidance. In every circumstance, including some very difficult ones, Joseph developed to become an integral part of God’s purposes being advanced on the earth. In delegating authority, God decided and established human involvement, so we look for it and find more than we expected. It can be a fresh and edifying interaction with God’s word.

God’s purposes include people, and He guides His people to a greater participation with Him in His ways. For another example, God called a reluctant Gideon, who responded by taking step after God-directed step into a place of great dependence on God, Who then responded by giving Israel a great victory over superior forces. With the new lens, we see God’s activity, perspectives, details, and contexts that we might otherwise miss. This encourages us to enter more deeply into the text, to observe those having a thrilling walk with God, people relating to Him, gaining a better understanding of what He plans to do, and then experiencing the same in our lives. We meditate on how God and people work together.

Common Lens: Through this lens, when reading and meditating on the Bible records, we see God’s activity in the light of His Sovereign control over the earth and everything else. God is God, of course, therefore He does whatever He pleases on the earth and in the heavens; He does it whenever and however He thinks best. With this view of what we read, God is not seen to adjust because of the activities of this or that woman, it matters little if this or that man is not prepared for what He is about to do. The effect of God’s activity on humans is clear: humans must adjust when God moves, but any effect of human activity on God is little noticed and under-appreciated.

Such is the filter of this lens: in the Bible and elsewhere it is “All of God and none of man”. Maybe some would not say “none”, but generally this idea is assumed to be Biblical, spiritual, and true. People are in the Bible, so we ask what the common lens notices about them. All agree that we must act according to God’s will and purposes revealed in the Bible, but we do not see there that humans may affect the speed, the process, or any other aspect of the accomplishment of God’s purposes; He is orchestrating everything. All agree that every one of us desperately needs God, and so Bible events can be filtered to see God acting to bring us out of our desperate condition to love and trust Him with all of our heart, mind, and soul. Certainly God does this, but are we missing something? Does human activity make any difference, even when God rescues individuals?

How do those who believe that the Bible is literally true, also believe that God is in control? How is God’s act of delegation in Genesis 1, and confirmed throughout the Bible as detailed in Chapter 3, viewed while wearing the common lens? Ideas already considered include, limiting the scope of the delegation, saying that it was lost after

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Adam’s disobedience, or saying that the delegation of responsibility and authority did not include earthly control. Additionally, the word “allow” is embraced, so that God, having all authority on the earth, can disapprove of events or actions not in line with His best ways.

One way to (re)interpret Genesis 1 is to go backwards through the Bible. Start with Revelation and see God bringing about the destruction of so much before the return of Jesus as King, which culminates in the new heavens and new earth. Add in the great redemptive work of God’s grace – its effect in the Epistles and its passion in the Gospels. Then, take the many passage showing God acting as only God can: being God, being Almighty, and being unsearchable in Wisdom. Finally, bring these teachings back to Genesis 1 to (mis)interpret God’s act of delegation, along with its later confirmations, so that God is seen to be in complete control on the earth.

But if the Bible does not say, if God in the Bible does not say that He in charge on the earth, how do we bless and glorify our almighty God when we say what the Bible does not say? and ignore what it does say? Since He is so great, the common lens must see Him to be in charge, and we do not need to think of God’s delegation of authority when read the Bible.

5. Viewing events on the earth:New Lens: While reading the Bible in the light of humanity having dominion is important, not everyone reads and considers Bible passages. But everyone lives on the earth. All of us view events in our world, and experience lots of them personally. We need the new lens to see them clearly. Knowing that humans have authority and knowing that we are responsible for everything that happens, for actions and reactions, even for things apparently not under human control; we are more likely to take dominion, and to make our world better.

Of course, God acts mightily in big and small ways on the earth all day every day, but through the new lens, we know that there is a human part. Just as in the Bible, where humans are in control and authorize God’s activity, so it is on the earth. As a result, when seeing current or historical events, not only do we see God’s activity and ask: How was God involved? or Why did God do that? but we also ask, Why was God able to do that? or How does that fit with His delegation of the control of the earth? These are all good questions. Answers that we find will aid us in understanding this world, how God made it to work, and how we are to live in it and take dominion.

Seeing human activity behind every situation on earth, we also ask, Why did humans allow this to happen? Seeking answers enables us to find more of the causes and assess more clearly what we can do to improve our life or situation. Finding causes can be difficult since many actions of many people from many times and locations usually work together to produce this moment. One or several actions may be an obvious part of the cause of an event and rightly receive more focus, but, since the cause typically includes the effects of many more choices, we do not assign blame or guilt. We acknowledge that we know very little about the multiplied actions upon people and by people that also converged at this moment and work together in complex ways.

If we see humanity in charge, we can also ask, How could humans use their authority to fix that troubling situation? If we take dominion over our world, we should make it better. When we see our God-given authority and expect to subdue our world, we look for our part in God’s solution, expect God’s resources, and take the steps to get there as He directs. There is no excuse since God communicates with us. He gives a way to be involved in a solution to a problem He points out, and continues to confirm and to clarify it as we walk in the steps He guides, and use the resources He provides. We ask for and receive God’s kingdom on earth and His will done on earth as it is in heaven.

As God guides, Bible believers with the new lens can also act with good effect in response to tragedy, human caused or natural disasters, or to any other bad event. First, as we are able, we join in the effort to mitigate the tragedy and meet the immediate needs of the victims and their world. But we know, too, that these events have causes, sometimes simple but usually very complex in the wrong choices of many people. We always exercise our authority with God’s good purposes in view and make choices that yield blessings and good. Our work will benefit others, and we also will benefit from the effort of others who see and solve problems we miss, even unrealized needs for which we did not know we needed help. More people consistently making the right choices will, sooner or later, improve, and even reduce, the cursed, tragic situations that we notice or experience.

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As we take dominion over our world to see and to solve problems impressed on us, condemnation of another person remains God’s arena. He alone knows all about the heart, the choices and their consequences that have caused any particular circumstance, and only His judgment is just. We have neither the authority nor the knowledge to assign blame. When we make our judgment, our assessment when we see evil or wrong situations, we bring what we see to God. From Him we find out if and how directs us to respond. We then embrace that guidance and act accordingly, always with respect for those who are victims, those who are part of the solution, and those who are part of the cause.

With the new lens, we are to subdue the earth, at least our individual part of it; the earth is not the boss. We replenish the earth as well, and God directs us in that too. God did not identify what activities or processes must happen in caring for the earth; He did not identify a goal or state of the environment that must be attainted; so we stay attentive and flexible to His direction. No person or group can claim special insight into how the earth is to be treated in every case. Creating rules that are at once difficult to implement, of an uncertain foundation, of questionable value, of untested effectiveness, or even oppressive over spheres of dominion that others possess – any of this is unwise. We look to God to determine how best we are to both subdue and replenish our part of the world.

Common Lens: Seeing God in control on the earth, we have different questions and different confidences. We commonly hear when bad events happen, “Why did God allow that to happen? Through the common lens, it is easy to think that He is God and surely He could prevent such evil and cause something else to happen. Generally the response is to declare that God is God: “What He allows to happen and Why He allows it is His own business.” He does all things well, and we can never understand His ways. Then, of course, what happens is best; what happens is seen to be God’s will. He is All-powerful and All-wise so we know that only God really knows the good reasons behind every event. This teaching encourages trust in God, with or without any answers to: Why?”

This viewpoint often causes people to hesitate fixing “bad” situations on earth for two reasons. First, why should anyone try to fix what is broken if God allows or directly causes it? Without authority, without any true ability to effect change, why would we attempt to better our condition on earth. Situations determined by God are the way they are supposed to be; they do not need to be fixed, or if they do, God will fix what He wants, when He wants, how He wants.

Second, attempting to fix or better a situation may imply that what happened was not best, or not right, or that it should be changed. We might be inspired to solve a problem for others after experiencing it personally, and even say that God Himself gave me a desire to make a part of my world better, and on that basis, go forward. But still we wonder how much we really did on our own if God is in complete control on the earth, since He could have stopped me or my desire, or might not have allowed me to act on the desire to help. Is all that happens “set in stone” by God’s direct decree or possibly by His knowledge of an unchangeable future?

It is hard to avoid such questions about the implications of God’s absolute control, dominion, and authority on the earth. Those seeing God in control of everything on the earth, know that He also determines the options and the outcomes, the plans and the performances, the resources and the results, of the life of every person on the earth. What can we really change?

A Review of What is Unchanged when looking through the new lens:Through either lens we see God to be God and ultimately Sovereign and in control of all. Whether He chose to delegate or not, whether He is in control on the earth or not, God is seen to be Almighty and Good and deserving of all glory. God is understood as the absolutely unlimited spiritual Being, Who created everything else; all others are responsible to Him, and no other being or power can limit Him.

Through either lens God has good, unchangeable purposes that He will accomplish as He thinks best. In addition, we all see that it is best for humans to submit to the Almighty, Creator God and to His ways.

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We also see Jesus, having an absolutely unique, necessary, and unrepeatable mission on the earth. And finally, we all see the Bible literally in everything it says, and the absolutely true word of God, in which God is always Almighty, active, and good.

The Bible specifies major areas under God’s dominion, authority, responsibility, and ownership. These are not and will not be delegated to humans or usurped by any being or power. The Eternal God reserves for Himself: Authority over the heavens. Psalm 115:16 declares that the heavens are the Lord’s.

Authority as sole and Omnipotent King over His kingdom. Psalm 103:19 declares that God’s kingdom rules over all. It is not an earthly kingdom, nor a kingdom confined to the created universe. It includes the heavens and the entire universe and every creature in them. God’s kingdom can come to earth, as we regularly pray. Also, while on the earth, we can take a position in God’s kingdom and live according to the laws of that kingdom.

Ownership over the earth. Psalm 24:1 declares that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.

Authority over the heavenly angels. Psalm 103:20, Isaiah 45:12; Hebrews 1:14 and other passages declare that angels work for God’s purposes and His people on the earth, but at God’s bidding. Humans actively seeking God and His purposes will often receive angelic aid, but we pray to God, not to angels; we ask God, not angels, when we need help.

It should be noted again, that the powerful angel Lucifer or Satan, and the other fallen angels (demons) have never had authority over humans, but humans having authority on the earth can yield themselves to fallen angels who seem more powerful and able to do more. These evil forces could even control nations when human leaders yield themselves, as apparently happened in every nation in Jesus’ day.

Essentially, God as the unlimited Sovereign God, has eternally had all authority and power, until delegating authority over the earth to humanity. He keeps to Himself all authority, dominion, and responsibility not specifically delegated.

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Chapter 5: Good and Bad Dominion and Questions about God’s Delegation

Chapter 3 detailed the Biblical foundation for human control of the earth, and Chapter 4 examined how differently we see humanity, God, Jesus, the Bible, and events on the earth, when we wear the lens of God’s delegation. This chapter has the three sections: 1. Properly taking dominion.2. Wrongly taking dominion.3. Seeking an accurate view of God’s delegation of authority to humanity.

1. Properly Taking Dominion: Responsibly:

Those using Biblical authority Biblically, use it responsibly with a selfless care that improves everything under their authority, including people surrounding them, situations they experience and encounter, and the earth itself. In taking dominion and subduing the earth as God commands, we ignore no need and are available to make anything better as God directs. From our lives and family to the world around us, we solve problems, secure lives, shield situations, and more; everything can become more and more blessed. In addition to Biblical wisdom being a great help, we in the 21st century know more about how the world works and have more tools to solve problems responsibly on an ever larger scale.

According to God’s Purposes: But the best way to take dominion over our world and subdue the earth in a lasting way is to get in step with God’s purposes. We can know them, as is clear in I Corinthians 2:9ff. His purposes are not known naturally, but spiritually. God’s Spirit reveals to His people the deep things of God and of our world. We can know things to come and be led into all truth by God’s Spirit, given to all believers.

When God informs us about His purposes, and when we exercise our authority accordingly, He works with us. Even when we, as God’s servants, are opposed by other humans or powers with authority, we know that we are on the team that will prevail, since everything continually progresses toward the fulfillment of God’s purposes. In addition, this gives purpose to our life, and with it perseverance and permanence.

According to God’s Direction:His ways are high above us both in quality and in morality; His ways are always good and they always work best. And these too are known spiritually. When we communicate with God, when we enter into His presence when we become aware of some of what He is working on, He will show us how we can be a part of what He is doing. He will show us how to address problems in our world, beginning with ourselves. Generally, as we fix things close to us, we will see that others in our world have needs which we then bring to God for His insight and wisdom and plan. In so doing, we go forward, confident both of our direction and of God’s support with the necessary resources. We walk by faith. Many problems we are led to address will not be easy or quick to fix, but God is bigger … and we trust Him, and walk with Him.

Humbly Respecting Others with Authority:As we fix the world close to us, we see other needs. We also see others as responsible and take note of their authority to act right or wrong, to walk with God or against Him, to solve problems or to cause harm, or to do nothing. When we notice needs along with the authority and responsibility of others, God may guide us to encourage and work with them.

Importantly, we learn how to love our enemies, bless those who break and curse our world, and pray for those who oppose us. When others attempt to use their authority to harm their world and us, we do not fight or harm them, God is the one Who defends us and fights our enemies; He can frustrate evil intentions or cause them to boomerang. Therefore we trust God to fight against all types of oppressors, while we make Him our refuge and do the work He has set before us with focus and productivity.

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Properly exercising authority is not a solo expedition. We learn how to recognize others being directed by God, and how we might support them as God directs us. Human control on the earth is a team effort or even better, a task of the entire Body of Christ, the Church, an organic unity headed by Jesus Christ; the Church is not simply an organization like a corporation or government. We work together. Despite what we see and have seen throughout history, God’s plans for the Church are good: The Church will be Powerful – the gates of hell will not stand against the Church that Jesus is building. The Church will be United – a healthy body functioning as one. The Church will be Pure – as a washed, chaste bride without spot or wrinkle. The Church will offer Praise to the God Who calls and shows mercy. The Church will be a Sanctuary of God’s Presence.

Other Bible passages tell us more about God’s great plan for the Church of those who believe into Christ Jesus. As God’s people, none of us should be on the defensive about our call or place in this world. Desirably, we work together with God, taking dominion over our world, in general as He has commanded us, and in specific as He directs us.

PersistentlyTaking dominion is a responsibility that God has never taken back from humanity, but individual humans have been unfaithful, or have improperly handled responsibility. Sometimes God has a replacement, such as King David, who proved qualified to succeed King Saul. Sometimes more drastic measures are needed, or some less visible. To achieve nothing of the potential of God’s calling and delegation is a sad result of failing to exercise authority. This is different than staying in the shadows as God’s servant, taking charge as He directs even though few know about it.

Regardless of the notoriety or the size of our influence, we endure as God’s servant, knowing His purposes and His ways for us. We walk in them faithfully as He guides, trusting Him to provide as we go forward. Fast or slow, in public or in private, as part of a team or in solitary obscurity – none of that matters as long as we are walking with God, hearing from Him, embracing His direction, and so taking dominion of our world.

HopefullyGod is the one delegating authority to each of us individually as well as in a group. He is Almighty and Good and Wise. Our world will change and even be fixed as we receive His direction and resources, as we live in His purposes, as we join with others following God. If the way is long, if the road is rough, if the ups and downs wear us out, we keep going. We wait on the Lord; we believe His plans for us and for the wicked; we expect our world to change for the better.

2. Wrongly Taking Dominion: People sometimes ravage the earth, not caring to leave the places they touch better than before they touched them.

This is wrong.

Many do not respect the authority and area of dominion given to another. This can be expressed by forcibly taking control of another person or situation or entity. Such activity cannot last and does not demonstrate the meekness that Jesus showed in accomplishing a mission far greater than that of any other person ever born.

Many others do not attempt to take charge of their world, or even of their own lives. Reason include not knowing or not believing they have this God-delegated dominion.

Some simply do not want the responsibility. Humble believers naturally agree that “power corrupts” and want to avoid any corruption. Even though Jesus is an exception, and even though we know that we have the Spirit of Christ, we also know that people, including God’s people, do not always handle authority responsibly. In addition, for some it is work and, although they could control their world, they prefer to allow another person to be responsible for the details of their lives.

Some take charge out of pride. Fame is not an object of those who exercise authority from God. No one truly taking dominion desires to be known, much less exalted as a special person. We all have the same responsibility

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to fix and to bless our world. If some do not do it, the loss is in their world. Anyone who gloats over others is not properly handling authority – exalting ourselves is not God’s way, and will not have God’s blessing.

The power potential for exercising authority is great as Jesus showed. Power did not corrupt Jesus because he stayed intimate with God, and that is our only protection from this temptation. We take dominion over our world because we believe and follow God. Being selfish or greedy for power or other gain will make us an enemy of God, and we will receive His opposition instead of the resources which He makes available when we need take charge properly.

There is also the danger that people who learn about God-delegated authority, seek authority on their own, not according to God’s purposes and not in God’s way. The label “Dominion Theology” has a reputation of being used to justify ideas and teachings that suggest a greater or otherwise different authority than God defined in the Bible. Promoting this can build wrong expectations and foster corrupt ideas about dominion such as expansive, subversive, retaliatory, manipulative, violent, criminal, and oppressive intentions and actions, which completely ignore the character of God and His Word.

3. Seeking an accurate view of God’s delegation of authority to humanityThere are still many questions.

Does this book describe humans getting too much authority, more than God actually delegated?Chapter 3 quoted many scriptures in an honest attempt to describe God’s delegation, exactly as specified in the Bible. No scripture, and not one passage in apparent disagreement was ignored or passed over.

Further details of what the Bible says about God’s purposes are seen when we add Isaiah 45:18, where God Himself, Who created the heavens and formed the earth, says that He did it with a purpose: “He formed it to be inhabited.” In Genesis 1, after forming the earth and nearly all life to inhabit it, God spoke His purpose to create man in His image and likeness. Humans were designed and then created to run the earth and to take dominion over flying, water, and land animals, and over all the earth.

God did what He planned to do: creating man and commanding him to subdue the earth and all life on it. He explained it clearly; He confirmed and even expanded this authority. He did not leave anything open to guesswork.

Since Genesis 1 mentions only Adam, who soon sinned, and not any other person or group, did God give authority only to Adam?

Did God give authority only to humanity as a whole? to Adam as the representative of the human race, but not to Adam personally or any other individual?The confirming passages do not mention Adam. Adam was commanded to take dominion as the representative of the human race, and God gave him work as an individual. Even after the curse, Adam could work hard and eat … or not.

In Genesis 9, God spoke to Noah and to his sons, and repeated three of the five commands carrying authority over the earth, also saying for the first time that the animals would be afraid of him. In Psalm 8, David is speaking to God in praise for the qualifications of “man” or “mankind” who was created to take dominion over God’s works, adding, for the first time, that God had put all things under his feet. Psalm 115:16b mentions the children of men and Hebrews 2 quotes Psalm 8, emphasizing that all things were to be in subjection to humanity and under its feet. Both Hebrews 2 and I Corinthians 15 mention Jesus Christ taking dominion.

Some of these passages refer to individuals and some to humanity as a whole and some to Jesus Christ. We believe all of them, and embrace all of them to be accurate. Together, the passages show that humanity is in charge of the whole earth, and that each individual shares this responsibility: every single one of us is responsible to take this God-given dominion over our part of the world, starting with our own lives and extending to areas over which we justly have responsibility. Taking charge there, we bless our world, and learn to do it in concert with others.

How long did or does humanity have its authority?

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The initial delegation in Genesis 1 is before Adam’s sin, and after it, the confirming passages use similar words and expressions: to Noah immediately after the global flood of God’s judgment, by David after Moses and God’s choice of Israel, and in Hebrews after the life and ascension of Jesus Christ. Humanity has always been and is continually in charge. At the end of time, I Corinthians 15: 20-28; 45-49 shows humanity’s authority still in force as the risen Christ, the Son, the human representative, the second Adam, fulfills all of humanity’s delegated duties by having put all enemies and powers under his feet and yielding all earthly power back to God the Father.

Does God place conditions on the authority or dominion He gave humanity?From Genesis 1 through the entire Bible, no passage describing humanity’s authority over the earth has even one condition. God never once expressed this authority in the context of any type of conditional contract. His confirmation to Noah was immediately after Noah sacrificed clean animals to God and after God promised never again to mortally judge man or the earth. But God did make a change. After confirming the original authority over the earth, God told humans to mortally judge other humans for taking another’s life. God commanded human government, which will be examined in Book 3. Next, God actually covenanted with Noah’s family never to destroy the earth with a flood – the rainbow seen after rain would assure that. In this covenant, God restricted Himself alone; no condition was place on Noah or any human.

Keeping authority was never conditional for humans; it was never restricted. No one ever gained, maintained, or lost it by any act or status that can be imagined. God, and the entire Bible, never put a requirement upon humanity or upon any human in order to have or to keep this authority.

Can God take back the authority He gave?The Bible may not answer that question directly, but it never shows God taking back any of the authority that He gave to humanity; He only confirmed it. God never took it back from humanity in general, nor in particular from Adam, nor from any other person – not immediately after Adam’s sin, and not later. Those like King Saul, who misuse their authority, may lose position or status from which to exercise their authority, but not the authority itself.

Of course, only God could change or take back the authority, but if He did so, it would be a highly significant act. It would mean that the earth has a new authority. It would also mean that humanity has a new position and new responsibilities. Without guessing what those new things might possibly be, we know that it would be an important event, and that the new situations would have to be clarified … by God … in His Word. It would not be hard to find such an event in the Bible, had it occurred.

Did Satan get authority when Adam fell?As powerful as they seem to be, Satan, fallen angels, and demons do not have and have never had their own authority on the earth. The only power Satan and demons have to act on the earth is from humans yielding themselves to them. At no time, did God give any authority to Satan. And neither did Adam. When he sinned, Adam did not deal directly with the serpent. God did, but He judged the serpent; He did not reward it with any kind of authority.

Book 1 has two chapters that describe how Satan received access to assault Job. It was not authority, and the access was not from God: Job himself opened the door. An objective of demons is to destroy what they can on the earth, but they cannot even do that without a human, or a group of humans giving them access and allowing, or even authorizing it. Knowingly or unknowingly, many persons and / or groups join in and give demons the right and the opportunity to control them and wreak havoc in all or part of their world. But again, people do not lose their authority; they can at any time take charge of their own lives and yield to God (best) or another.

Satan, the father of lies, made the claim, to Jesus, that all of the earthly kingdoms were in his power to give to Jesus. If that was true, it did not come from God. It is reasonable to consider that, in that day, the human leadership of every nation had yielded to Satan. Even in our world today, we can see or imagine that happening in many nations.

Can God intervene on the earth at will?

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All agree that all of God’s actions are better by far than those of any human, and this includes God’s delegation, which is better than that done, for example, by the CEO of a corporation with many large projects and tasks to allocate. When someone proves unwilling or incapable of doing the work given them, the CEO or another officer does not intervene by stepping in and doing the work. Instead, officers, managers, or workers are demoted or replaced and the work goes on with others doing what needs to be done. This is even more true of God. The Bible gives no situation and no instance where God stepped in to do what a person failed to do. Of course, corrupted humans could not fix the sin problem, so Jesus, Son of the human, the second Adam, came to do that, fulfilling a plan which God had before creation.

What part does God play in what goes on in the earth?Asking this can seem like blasphemy. In one sense, what can we know about the activity of the Almighty Creator in any sphere? In another sense, it is anathema to imply that God is a mere actor here on earth, doing what has been scripted by humans who have authority. Who is any human limit the Almighty God? Of course, no one can write God’s script or tell God how to act.

Even though God chose to put humanity in charge, He is not merely watching what happens on earth. When God delegated authority, He Himself placed a limitation on His own activity on the earth, but it will not prevent Him from accomplishing all His purposes for humanity and the earth. We do not limit God, and neither does our authority and activity; the fulfillment of God’s purposes is certain. The earth, humanity, the entire universe, and all that exists, exists because of God and His eternal purposes. We can, however, by unbelief or inaction put ourselves in a place where God will not, even cannot act for us as He would desire, and as we might hope.

To be our best, we participate with God and choose to take part in His plans for the earth. We do so as He directs us. We place ourselves under God’s control and relate to Him as children of a caring heavenly Father, and as friends, also as servants, and even buddies with God. As we communicate with Him about what we notice, about what concerns us, about a situation we think needs fixing, and as we learn from God if and how we are to be a part of His purposes to remedy it, we act in the light of God’s purposes and have increasing effect.

Therefore, as we walk in His ways, He acts in our world – He fights our enemies; He provides resources; He sends His angels to minister to us; He fulfills His word, His covenants, and His promises as He performs all His purposes. Any and all of these and more can be a source of direction and give us confidence that God is guiding. Like-minded family and others support us while we take dominion as God directs. Importantly, God lives in us by His Holy Spirit, Who Himself will act mightily, and Who will greatly and graciously gift and anoint us to act as He guides. We learn to walk in God’s Spirit.

Does God have any control over what happens on the earth?Ultimate control – yes. Direct control – no. God delegated all earthly authority, control, dominion, responsibility, etc. to humanity, and only to humanity; He reserved no direct control over the earth for Himself, and shared none with any other being, entity, or power.

God Himself, Who knows how to delegate, planned humanity’s specific authority, and then told Adam he was in charge. God specified five areas of authority, and delegated it with five commands to guide the exercise of authority. God delegated all direct control to humans; the only context of this divine act of delegation was His now completed creation work.

We may object, but God knows what He is doing; He knew that just as some people may choose to exercise their authority as servants of Satan, many people will also want to serve Him in their place of authority. They will worship Him as Abel, walk and talk with Him as Enoch, and find grace in His eyes, as Noah. Then there is Abraham, Moses, King David, the Apostle Paul, and multitudes of others well-known or unknown who have related to God in humble submission.

Step by step, God communicates His ways and His will to His servants, who keep His ways in their hearts, and do them. In this and in many other indirect ways, God exercises His ultimate control over what happens on the earth … and His purposes advance. He is flexible, guiding His servants who get to know Him, but letting many others

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walk away from participating in His plans. We will not doubt God’s ability to accomplish all His purposes, even while humanity has dominion and control over the earth.

How will God accomplish His purposes if an infected humanity is in control on the earth? does He not require direct control in order for His purposes to be done? Part of the answer is that He is God. If He thinks that all His purposes can be fulfilled while He delegates the authority over the earth, and is pleased to do exactly that, I will think the same way. Obstinate Pharaoh and helpless slaves are examples of God doing glorious works on the earth while respecting widely differing people and circumstances and responding to a freely choosing humanity having dominion over the earth. His ways are endless and wise. If we had God’s perspective, we could watch multiplied examples throughout the ages where God moves His purposes forward with a corrupted humanity in charge on the earth. We do not see as God sees, but we can read the Bible, examine history, and analyze current events through this new lens. With this perspective, we can see many examples of God’s purposes being advanced on the earth.

Did sin or other actions of humanity affect its authority?The first sin had a great impact on humanity and the earth. But never, at any time, did Adam, as the initial representative of humanity, give away or transfer any or all of his authority over the earth. There is no indication otherwise. There is nothing in the words of God, in the words of the Bible, to indicate that a person, group, or humanity as a whole could do or say anything to lose any of this authority. Each is free to use or misuse authority. Exercising authority effectively is related to properly handling it, especially as God’s servant. But the fact of authority is unchanged.

Why has it never been evident that humans are taking care of the earth? Why has the earth been in such a mess from Adam’s day?The authority-confirming passage in Hebrews addresses this. Expanding on the Psalm 8 confirmation: “You have put all things under his [humanity’s] feet”, Hebrews 2:8 says, “ … For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him.” “But … “ the verse closes, “… we do not now see all things put under him.”

This passage acknowledges that humanity had not accomplished the purpose for which God had created it. By not taking good care of the earth, by not seeking and embracing God’s way, humanity never fulfilled its responsibility to take proper dominion. We wonder if anyone was ever effective in their God-commanded dominion in any area of responsibility, even in a small pocket, in a family or group, even for a small time.

God’s solution is in verse 9, which begins, “But we see Jesus” who, like humanity, as the author continues, “was made a little lower than the angels … crowned with glory and honor …”. God did not abandon his design for humanity; He incorporated it into a bigger, far-reaching plan that would not fail. Even if all the offspring of Adam failed to do their job, Jesus, the Son of the Human, would take the dominion that humanity had not taken, and do even more. He establishes believers in an even better place of authority: raised with him and seated with him in heaven, with even better resources: a new life made the righteousness of God in Christ and indwelt with God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus, Son of Human and Son of God and the Head of the Church of believers, fulfills God’s bigger plan for humanity to take dominion over all the earth. He does this with us who live in Him; we reign with Jesus.

If that is so, why is the world worse than ever, 2000 years after Jesus lived – after 2000 years of believers reigning with him? It sounds like a fairy tale when compared with reality.

First, we examine if the world is worse. After the extremely bloody 20 th century, mass evildoers cannot easily hide in the days of the internet and camera phones. Of course, there are serious problems world-wide, but people expect better and can instantly communicate their expectation with the world, exposing the evil they see and promoting the good they desire. Even with the serious social divisions, with seemingly opposite perspectives, with powerful promotions of evil, with differing standards of judgments, and more … even so, to me, there is evidence of good progress.

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Second, to date, we have not really known about God’s delegation established in Genesis 1, and confirmed in many passages throughout the Bible. Neither have we known how to exercise our God-delegated authority properly; seeing God in charge of all on the earth tends toward a passive expression of authority.

We must learn both what God has delegated to us and how to use it. We can be sure that this authority is unconditional and that it is part of the way God setup the earth, therefore we will never lose any of it; any of us can always exercise all of it properly. Even though most have not often done so, the world is coming to a better place, however slowly.

Does this fit with Sovereignty?God’s Sovereignty is not in question here … it is on display. The God Who does as He pleases, chose to delegate authority over the earth to humanity. His choice to do so is being emphasized because the Bible emphasizes it, because we rarely hear and consider this amazing act of God, and because we can have a difficult time processing the two facts that God is Sovereign and that humanity is in control on the earth. Since the Bible clearly teaches both, we believe both … and we find that they fit together nicely; they are not parallel truths that only come together in the mind and wisdom of God. Certainly, the All-knowing God has not revealed every answer; but He has given us this answer, so we believe it.

What does not fit is the common teaching that God Himself alone is in control and Sovereign everywhere, including on the earth. It does not fit with the truth of the Bible, nor does it fit with the reality of our lives or the world itself. This teaching results in many questions that the Bible does not answer and that no human can answer. For God to be in control on the earth does not make sense Biblically, or logically, or experientially.

God’s ultimate Sovereignty and control fit well with the control that humanity has on earth. By His own choice and act, God Himself is not in direct control of the earth. Once we see through the lens of God’s delegation of control to humanity on the earth, we will be able to see more clearly.

Does God have to share glory with humanity? or

Is this making man to be like God, which was the temptation of lucifer and of Eve.

Does the common teaching simply refer to the fact that God is ultimately Sovereign and in control of everything? God’s ultimate Sovereignty is indeed a fact, and it is taught by godly, honorable, Bible-believing servants of God. We see and hear and read it on TV and the radio, in books and blogs, and other media. In general, we can all learn and be edified by many of these wonderful, well-expressed Biblical truths, proclaimed and taught from the Bible believed to be literally true.

Almost always, however, specific mentions of the Sovereignty of God in context, in expression, and in impression refer to God’s activity on the earth, to His being in control of what happens here on earth, and to His ability to do whatever He wants, wherever and whenever He wants. Hearers, too, almost always receive the “God is Sovereign” teaching in their personal contexts of life on earth, whether that is specifically taught or not.

Many rest on God’s ultimate control when speaking of difficult situations, such as sin or evil; do they also teach that God controls the sin of the sinner? This again raises the question, “Who is responsible for what?” Possible perspectives range from the Sovereign God controlling and responsible for every detail, to the Sovereign God in control, but not responsible for events or actions caused by people, and finally to Genesis 1 where the Sovereign God works with humanity he commands to take dominion.

This book promotes the literal Bible teaching that human choices make the difference between blessing and cursing; that humanity has complete, direct control on the earth; that the Sovereign God, Who has ultimate control of everything, delegated earthly authority.

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The fact that God is ultimately in control of everything is a definition of God. But how He exercises His Sovereign control is not a part of the definition. He could maintain control of all the earth and of all life on it, or as we know, He could delegate some authority. If He chooses to delegate, we do well to acknowledge that He is God and can do so at His pleasure.

Are “in control” and “in charge” different?These two phrases express two aspects of authority, and are usually distinguished in this book. “In charge” expresses authority. Someone “in charge” is responsible. “In control” expresses more of the power and ability to exercise authority. Someone “in control” can make it happen. In delegating, God did not limit either the authority given to humans, or their ability and their responsibility to exercise it.

This fact, leads to another fact – no one can give away any personal authority. God delegated it and no one can undo God’s work. Every person on earth remains in charge of her or his life. Yet, any person can use that authority to give another being or entity control over his or her life or world. In this case, another power would be able to control a person and the areas over which they have authority, but that person could, at any time, take control back and exercise it personally or yield it to another.

Some might say that “God is in control” while “humans are in charge”, but that only happens when a person yields control to God – a highly recommended way for any person to exercise authority. Such a yielding of control is done on a person by person, or possibly a group by group basis. Yes, God is ultimately both “in control” and “in charge”; without any doubt, His purposes will all be accomplished on the earth. But always, on the earth, humanity is both “in charge” and “in control” and, by God’s command, required to take dominion over all the earth, to replenish and subdue it. God Himself also said and repeated that He put everything under humanity’s feet. That is control, with authority, but on the earth only.

Do we lose too much? What happens to the valuable applications of teaching that God is Sovereign on the earth, such as finding comfort, rest, and a place of trust in the watching, knowing, caring, and controlling hand of God Who is working out all things wisely and purposefully. Think of I Cor 10:13 where God tempers the testing and provides an exit so that we can endure temptation.

Yes, these are great benefits for believers, but none of them requires God controlling everything on the earth; they are all assured in the Bible. Finding comfort and rest in God requires that He offers it, and He does. Trusting in the all-knowing, loving hand of God requires that He is Who He says He is, and that we are seeking Him and being led by Him. Trusting God in times of testing, believing Him for an exit and the strength to endure the test, is a privilege that believers have, a privilege forfeited by those who do not watch for and do not run from idols.

We will likely get even more benefit if we ask, “How does God work all things together for good with humans in charge?” or “Why is that declaration in Romans 8:28 for those who love God and are called according to His purpose?” With humans in charge, we do not need to appeal to God’s unsearchable wisdom for what is “good”. With humans in charge, we do not have to meekly accept something that the Bible declares not to be “good”, we have authority to change it Hopefully, we will see many great benefits in believing the Bible’s clear message that humanity is in charge on the earth.

Embracing this Reality:It bears repeating that this delegation of dominion to humanity was the act of the Sovereign God Who does as He pleases. In the very beginning, He was pleased to give complete authority over all the earth and all the animals to Adam, to humanity, to the children of men. God made humanity responsible for the earth and its condition; and that includes us. We have this work, these responsibilities and opportunities, and we have what we need to carry them out. So we figure it out in relationship to our Father in heaven. As ones who are in charge, we do our God-given work.

??We have all this responsibility upon us with the object to be good. The Bible exhorts us to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, and more. The Bible expects us to live in love, by which we fulfill all the commandments, which include: to worship God, to honor parents, and to abstain from adultery, stealing, murder,

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lying, and coveting. Not only the Bible, but the Sovereign God in control also commands our goodness, spelling out grave consequences for not being good.

Note on goodness: Often through the common lens, only God’s children are able to be good, as described in the context of Romans 3. Using a more general definition, the new lens respects all as ones having authority to do good and to fix the problems in their part of the world. With any definition, being good or blessed can never be a qualification for eternal life or salvation. Book 1, part 3 describes the universal sin problem and its only solution in Christ Jesus.

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Chapter 6: Authority and Evil

With the foundation laid in the first five chapters, we continue answering the “unanswerable” question: “Why does God, being Almighty and Good, neither prevent nor correct the evil that exists in our world, in this world He created for us?” First, a summary of essential truths laid out thus far.

God Himself declared in Isaiah 45:7 that He creates evil. That of course seems crazy, but it is in the Bible, so we believe it, and begin to understand when we define evil carefully.

Since evil encompasses so much, and since almost everyone has a different way to describe it, Chapter 1 addressed the question: “What is evil?” and identified three aspects of evil:1. Evil is the option to good.2. Evil is the consequence of choosing a bad option.3. Evil is the choice of a bad option.Adding adjectives to the bolded nouns, evil is:1. The bad option – the alternative to good.2. The destructive consequence – the result of choosing a bad option.3. The wrong choice – the act of choosing a bad option.

Having this description of evil, we consider what evil is not. Evil is not a being; it is not some anti-good entity; it has no embodied source like a demonic creature. Evil has no eternal property; it has not always existed; it is not self-existent or independent. Evil was created as an alternative to good, and therefore it has no meaning apart from God and the expressions of His goodness, such as in creation.

By contrast, according to the Bible, God is and has always been Good; God and goodness existed without evil. Evil exists as a part of God’s good creation of the universe, the earth, and all life. Of course, evil can be very bad. Horrific consequences, or the people whose choices helped cause them, such as the Holocaust and Hitler, are seen to be evil, along with heart-rending occurrences that we cannot explain such as a baby with cancer. Describing evil with the three aspects above, in no way lessens the tragic evil that manifests on the earth.

Chapter 1 of this book continued to describe who is responsible for each of the three aspects of evil. When God created evil, He created and is responsible only for the first two, which are amoral.God is responsible for:1. The amoral “evil” option,2. The amoral “evil” consequence appropriate to each “evil” option,3. Humans created in His image with the ability and freedom to choose between options, and4. The ordered world, in which, the corresponding effect for each human choice must happen in the earth.

The option to good is itself neither good nor bad. Likewise, the consequence for each choice made is neither good nor bad. Both are amoral, or without morality. Although they may seem threatening, although they are aspects of evil, the bad options and the destructive consequences are not in themselves immoral. They are a part of our God-created world, and as such, the option and consequence can be considered good. Humans as created are also good, as is the ordered world.

We separate the option from the act of choosing it, and know that the consequence is never manifested without the choice. Therefore, as created by God, humans are responsible for:1. Each choice made,2. Every action taken, and3. Every effect of every choice and action, both good and bad, help and harm, blessing and cursing, etc.

We could say that God is responsible for His choices as well. He did choose to create evil as an option and a consequence. He then chose to create humans with the ability to choose bad options, and also made certain that every wrong choice would yield consequences that harm the world of the human. But God never chose evil, and He never forced any person to choose any evil option.

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From the Bible’s perspective, we are who we are, and we live in this world that God designed, and it is all good, or at least it was when He created it. Of course, many would wish that God had made a different kind of world, specifically one without evil in it. Yet, from the perspective of the world we have, from our place in this world as created, we can only speculate what a “better” world might look like, having never seen any other kind of functioning world with life. This was one of the questions about evil addressed in Chapter 2.

Beginning with Chapter 3, this book examined the question of earthly authority. Since humans have both the ability to freely choose among options and the responsibility for every choice, it makes sense that humans also have corresponding earthly authority. But human experience includes much that seems to be outside the control of any human, especially natural evil. It seems our reality is a mixed bag.

Following the literal Bible, in Genesis 1 God delegated authority and control over the earth to humanity. Is that still true or was there a change? Did humanity lose its delegated authority, or its responsibility to take dominion over the earth as God commanded? Many of these ideas and questions were addressed in the previous chapters, which showed that the Bible declares God’s delegation and humanity’s authority over all the earth and then consistently confirms this delegation; never is this crucial position of authority lost or given to another. Humanity remains in control on the earth.

The truth of Genesis 1 and its confirmations in the Bible means that God is not in control on the earth. Again, we find this truth difficult because we know that God can do anything, and that His kingdom rules over all. But, being God, He would also know how to delegate. If He desired and decided to command humanity to take dominion and to subdue all the earth, He can do that, and we do not fight or argue against that. If God gave humans authority and made them responsible to exercise it; if God chose to put all things under the feet of humanity, as the Bible says in Psalm 8, Hebrews 2, and I Corinthians 15, we accept that. Humanity, by God’s own decision and plan, is in charge on the earth.

In making a distinction between the authority, being “in charge”, and the ability to exercise authority, being “in control”, it is important to remember that no person can give up or give away the authority that God delegated. Each one of us is always “in charge” of our life and parts of our world. We can, however, give away the control; we yield it to another, to God is recommended, to another human or the devil is possible. In so doing, we allow another to exercise authority over us and our world, but we still have our authority, so we could, at any time, take back control or give it to another. God made this world for humans and gave them entire authority over it; no one can lose their personal authority or have it taken away.

Now, moving forward, we merge the description of God’s creation of evil with His “permanent” delegation of authority over the earth to humanity. Since both are Biblical, we can say without question that humans, with the choices we make, are responsible for every expression of evil on earth. God is responsible for none of it. We might also say that humans have allowed every expression of evil on the earth – even natural evil as we shall consider in Book 3.

It makes no sense to ask, “Why does a good God allow this or that evil to happen on the earth?” God “allows” us to have authority and commands us to take dominion; any evil happening here is our responsibility. Because He put us in charge, God cannot directly intervene to stop any evil on the earth. He may not like what we humans are doing with our authority, or the fact that we are causing so much evil, but He must let us be bad. It is not His fault if innocent people are struck with tragedy; He is not responsible to stop any evil that humans cause. We are … and we can.

This is a huge responsibility, but we trust God, Who created us for the purpose of taking dominion and subduing our world. And, God will help us. We call upon Him; we receive His input, His activity, and His resources in any circumstance. Although we humans are fallible and limited, we are in charge; it is up to us to block the expressions of evil on the earth, especially close to us. In addition, in our part of the world, we can stop evil’s advance, prevent its effects, and repair the damage it causes or has caused. We can. God has declared it and described it, and provided all we need, even a secure place to be protected while we live and work. Humans are responsible.

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Next, we consider the responsibility that individuals have here on the earth. Not only are we responsible to make right choices and to act right – yes, far easier said than done – we are also responsible for the three areas below. When evil happens in our part of the world, then …1. We accept our part of the blame for it,2. We fix it … correcting both the effects of evil in our world and the evil itself, and3. We better protect our world from future effects of evil, as chapters 5 and 11 of Book 1 began to describe.

1. We Accept Blame:We do so because we are responsible when evil harms our world; we do so because we are able to fix and protect our world, as the next two sections describe. Humanity and humans are entirely responsible and entirely to blame for evil on the earth. God is not responsible for any evil on the earth, and gets no blame.

If we ask, “God, why?”, the general answer is that some humans caused the evil and some humans allowed it to get into their world. We blame humans for every entrance of evil. If we want specific answers, we listen to God in relationship, and we attend to the situation, to surrounding events, and to past events. It is right to trust Him and pour out our hearts to Him when evil strikes. It is right to seek God for wisdom and more, as we take responsibility for our lives. But we know that He is not responsible for any harm done to our world.

We may find it hard, as responsible humans, to accept blame. Our objections include: We had no idea we were so responsible. God can handle it better. So much seems out of control, or out of our control. There is so much for which we are not responsible. We are not up to this fight against evil, and do not think we can do anything about it.

Many of these difficulties are, in fact, reasons to accept responsibility, and the blame when we do not properly take charge.

If we had not known that we are responsible, we now know: We learn together; we begin to understand; we receive the extent of our authority and responsibility, enabling us to subdue the earth. This work is part of the reality of the world God created. Having this work is unexpected, and it is hard, and it is extremely important. Focus, time, and effort are needed to do this job successfully.

The idea may be new and we may wonder where to start. Also, many of us are already stuck in trouble, which may seem to be normal in our lives… so we take a deep breath and face our situation, sometimes being already guilty, and we accept that. We also accept the responsibility for our part, for our actions, and we accept our ability and responsibility to solve our problems. Even if we see just a portion of the trouble, we can start. If we then are able to call upon God; if in relationship we ask Him what to do about our specific need, we are well on our way.

God is bigger and better and wiser: Looking at the bigness of God, and then assuming we cannot handle authority and responsibility is a trap. We confuse ourselves in considering how much more capable God is to handle the job. So here it is – the clear comparison: God is bigger. God does many mighty things here on the earth in our time that we see or hear of. He seems to

help many people in ways that we could never approach. What can we do in comparison? Our abilities and efforts pale before God’s active power. Even if we are responsible, God is far more suited to the task.

God is better. He is loving and selfless, but we are selfish and falter in our care for the people and situations in our world. God sees the true need at all time, but we see mostly external problems and needs. Unlike us, He knows what is right. So we wonder, if we attempt to solve problems, will the solution be right, or even work?

God is wiser. God knows the best direction and the best means to accomplish what is good and right. What if we try to do something not in line with God’s plans? something God may not like? something that God knows will produce more harm than good for us and our world?

Amen! These valid concerns are reasons to run to God for help. It is all the more important because we have authority from Him and are responsible to subdue our world, so we should not abandon that to let Him take care of it (He won’t anyway). God’s amazing character and deity should encourage us, not disparage or intimidate us.

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Any person who has run to God, who has yielded control, is free to call upon Him as Father, and then live out our lives as He guides. It is a fulfilling life that seems rare, but more and more humble people all over the word live out such a relationship. Each person handles responsibility and authority differently; we do not blame anyone, certainly not someone who has yielded to God.

Thinking about exercising such authority can be intimidating. We do not want to do something wrong, or contrary to His plans. We might think it safer to do nothing than to be in error, which would seem to be inevitable for anyone attempting to take dominion over their world. Many want God to be in charge of everything since He could handle situations far better, and since we could settle into a life of loving and obeying God as best we can, rather than exercising authority and taking responsibility. Having lived with the “God in control” mindset, we might remain convinced that God retains oversight and exercises practical authority on the earth, even knowing that He has delegated authority to humanity, and to us as individuals.

Although God owns the earth and its fulness, nothing on the earth is God’s to handle. The reality, again, is that our God, Who does as He pleases, both commanded humanity to subdue the earth, and gave it the authority and ability to do the work. It is clear, not confusing: God cannot be blamed for anything that goes wrong, since He is not responsible here.

Therefore we believe the Almighty Good God and we accept the dominion He has commanded. Yes God is bigger and better than we are, but instead of expecting Him to intervene, we learn how to relate to Him as we exercise the authority He delegated to us. The sooner we accept the responsibility God has given us, and the blame as needed, the sooner we make certain we are exercising our authority at His direction with His help.

So much seems out of control, or out of our control. Individually, we cannot be responsible for so much that happens on the earth: Are some events and situations in the world unpreventable, or even inevitable? It would seem so … but we notice them, and realize that we are responsible to take dominion and subdue the earth. And then we realize that we have a way to respond to those things that seem outside the control of any human.

We see a bigger picture. Events outside our direct control, are still under human control, and humans are jointly responsible for all the evil on the earth. No situation is viewed as hopeless or inevitable. Because we are in charge, and because we relate to our Father in heaven, we can analyze what we notice with God’s wisdom, and act with God’s direction. We learn how to face and to address the situations we see, however global, however remote, however desperate. As a part of the human race, we accept authority, and with it we share both the responsibility and the blame for the bad events around us and all over the world. We see a bigger picture.

With God’s guidance, we develop a plan; we see the necessary resources already in possession or available; we expect strength and support, therefore we willingly take responsibility for events close to us. We do not care about blame for bad situations; we exercise our authority confidently as God’s servants. Staying in touch with God, we trust that our actions have a wide impact, affecting what we have noticed though it sometimes seems far from our location and apparent influence.

As our Father in heaven give vision and direction, we also take responsibility for the future prevention of evil in our world and beyond. We do not control everything, but we join with others. Together we control more and can improve more. Therefore we accept blame for what is not right world-wide, as well as what is not right in our part of the world.

Of course, only God can see the entire picture, observing every event on the earth, noticing every consequence, seeing every right and wrong choice made all over the earth for many millennia. With a God’s eye view, we could see that many choices have long-term consequences, and that the impact of all choices interact and accumulate. We would more clearly understand that our world today is affected by the interworking of an abundance of effects caused by the choices of many people from the ancient past right up to the present. While individual choices have effect, most effects have been caused by a broad history of choices. Because of this, even while personally accepting blame, we realize that assigning specific blame for any single evil to one person is nearly impossible.

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We are not up to this fight against evil: Of course not, at least not on our own. Only those embracing their God-delegated authority, only those with a relationship with the God Who is more than able to help, only those with a confidence to face anything seen to be wrong … only these are up to this fight.

Evil has gained a strong foothold all over the world: the history of society and culture may be saturated with evil; greedy and manipulative rulers and elite power brokers may be firmly in control; respected leadership of governments, businesses, religions, various media, forms of entertainment, educational institutions, scientific disciplines, and more may be corrupt and controlling.

But we notice … something catches our attention … maybe small, maybe big … a situation we want to see corrected … From a position of great authority and from a relationship with the Creator we see evil in our world. It does not intimidate us. We are not afraid of naysayers nor of condemnation. We have the best guide and the best resources. And we go forward.

2. We Fix What Is Broken:This too is part of our responsibility. If we can be blamed for a situation, then we must have authority and ability to fix it. First, we consider what is broken. What types of problems are we responsible to fix? To help answer that, here are some examples from the Bible: Cain offered an unacceptable sacrifice and his ensuing actions made the problem and his life worse. (Genesis 4) When the settlement of Abram and his nephew Lot became too small, Abram’s solution was extremely gracious

and God followed that by making even more promises to the father of faith. (Genesis 13) When returning to Canaan from Gaza, Abraham’s son Isaac re-dug two wells that the local herdsmen then claimed

for themselves. He simply went further and dug a third well, and praised God for making room for him. God then confirmed to Isaac that the promises He made to his father applied also to him. (Genesis 26)

Jacob took from his older twin Esau both the birthright and the blessing due the firstborn, and Esau sought revenge. When they finally met about 20 years later, all was well; Jacob was humble and Esau had plenty. (Genesis 25,27,28,31,32)

Joseph, for being “overly” good, was sold into slavery by his brothers and then put into prison by Potiphar. Continuing to grow in being his best, he was exalted to be 2nd in command of Egypt. (Genesis 37,39-41)

A 40-year old Moses fled far into Sinai after his murder of an Egyptian taskmaster did not lead to Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt. (Exodus 2)

David was left to care for the sheep, while the rest of the family went to sacrifice with Samuel. David delivered food to his older brothers in Israel’s army, and was reprimanded when he asked about Goliath being allowed to defame Israel. He acted responsibly where he could, and was exalted both to be anointed by Samuel and to defeat Goliath. (I Samuel 16,17)

While working for the King Artaxerxes, Nehemiah heard about Jerusalem: its people in reproach and its wall completely broken. He prayed out of his grief-stricken heart, which the king noticed. When the king questioned him, Nehemiah shared the nature of his grief. When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, Nehemiah asked leave to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and encourage the people. The king graciously granted his request, and Jerusalem’s wall was built in less than two months. Stunning! (Nehemiah 1,2,6)

Queen Esther was confronted with the choice to make request for her condemned race, or to play it safe in the palace. She requested days of prayer and fasting, and then faced her problem with wisdom and grace. (Esther 2-8)

Daniel, a special trainee in a foreign land, was required to eat a diet that would defile him. He asked for a test period to eat only “pure” foods, after which he and three friends were granted an exemption.

Mary received Gabriel’s announcement that she would conceive a child by the Holy Spirit. She believed the “impossible” word and endured the shame of her “impossible” pregnancy and gave birth to Jesus.

It is recorded three times that Jesus faced serious opposition in his public ministry with meekness and humility. Whether an intent to push him off a cliff (Luke 4), or to stone him for blasphemy (John 8,10), he was not harmed until it was time for him to take our sin

During his first missionary trip Paul and Barnabas preached to Gentiles and many believed into Jesus. (Acts 13,14) While the church had previously accepted Gentile believers after Peter’s visit to Cornelius (Acts 10,11), many Jews required that Gentiles believers also live as Jews and even be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas objected to that, and all travelled to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostolic church leaders about the matter. When the leaders made their decision, Paul and the believers submitted to it. (Acts 15)

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Onesimus, a runaway slave, met Paul and believed. Paul then sent him back, with a letter to his believing master Philemon.

This is a small sampling of problems faced by people in the Bible. Two in this list improperly addressed the problem they faced: Cain and Moses. Cain knew what to do, but instead he pouted and whined and decided to kill his brother Abel, who had offered an acceptable sacrifice. Moses, an Israelite, was raised as a member of the royal family in Egypt. When he began to notice his kindred Israelites in great distress under Egyptian slavery, he acted on his desire for their deliverance and privately killed one of the harsh Egyptian taskmasters. Not only was he seen, but the Israelites did not see him as a friend or deliverer, so he fled the country. In just these two examples, we see at least four counter-productive ways to deal with the problems in our lives: pouting, whining, killing, and fleeing.

Fortunately, the Bible provides many examples of people who fixed, at least in part, the problems they faced. Abram, trusting God to bless him, allowed Lot to have his choice of lands. Isaac, meekly choosing to yield two wells that he dug, was thankful that he did not have to contend for the third well. Jacob, seeking appeasement, humbly offering a large gift to Esau, had a peaceful rendezvous with his formerly vengeful brother. Joseph, never blaming, never vengeful, continued to hone his administrative skills and rose out of much unjust treatment. David too, humbly doing his job, being his best, was eventually exalted. These, along with Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Mary, Jesus, Paul, and Onesimus are just a few Bible personnel who provide good examples for us to consider as we face life’s challenges.

Most Bible characters were both good and bad examples, to which many of us can relate. As we write our own story, as we learn from their experiences, as we encounter our own problems and challenges, we seek God for wisdom and for help to face them. We become God’s servants, walking by faith, step by step, without wavering, and have an ever increasing impact, fixing more than we thought possible.

But to start – so much in our world needs fixing – we ask God where to start. Hopefully, we all know Him and relate to Him as Father. Any believer can ask and humbly listen for direction appropriate to her or his individual life and faith. Smaller issues will often be addressed first. Solving them happens best as we follow God, Who guides clearly and provides sufficiently. When we see one matter resolved, our lives and world will be more blessed. It encourages us to hear God’s specific and general direction, and then move ahead with Him in fixing the next problem, and the next … His Word lightens both the next step and the path ahead.

With God, the objective is always good, and the process is always truth-based, so we trust Him. We know that by following Him, we are seeking the right objective in the right way. Remembering the big picture, we understand that our life and world is impacted by much that outside our control … still we proceed.

We may not be able to fix many of those things directly: much about our culture, such as the business environment or the government over us, will not be under our immediate authority. Yet, we pray. Situations that need correction, institutions that are not right, or other huge broken parts of societies may get and keep our attention. So we ask God about them, and seek Him to know if He is leading us to be a part of changing something big. God may guide us to others or to resources that we can access, or to an effort we can join. As God works in like-minded hearts, as we become ready to work with others, even with some who may not know Him, we go forward. And we pray.

Opposing Evil:Often, to fix what is broken, we will face evil. We will want to do more than react to the evil that continually breaks our world. As we notice the potential evil or evil intentions that mess up the world around us we will want to act in ways to reduce or eliminate sources of evil.

Opposing evil, we remain God’s servants, seeing what God sees to be evil, taking our stand against exactly that, and opposing it only as directed. The clear principle described in Chapter 11 of Book 1 is that God fights evil and evildoers. We, on the other hand, love our enemies, bless and do good to those cursing and hating us, and we pray for evildoers to repent and not oppose God. Additionally, we can and should call upon Him to severely punish evil in our areas of authority. Though we do not fight our own battles, we put on God’s armor and stand up to the evil, never backing down. It is evil that must retreat. If we trust God, as Jesus did, God can and will fight for us.

The Psalms have many great truths about God and evil that we can believe and sing and pray. Here are some:

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Nations and kings that oppose God are the subject in Psalm 2. God laughs at their futility. Being angry and displeased with them, He makes their situation miserable, and sends His Son to break them and dash them in pieces.

The Psalmist does not fear multitudes speaking against him in Psalm 3 because he knows that God exalts him. He also calls upon Him to break the cheek and the teeth of the ungodly; God delivers and blesses His people.

In Psalm 7, God judges the righteous but is always angry with the wicked and, if he does not repent, He will cause the wicked to fall into the very trap he sets, and to be struck by the very evil he intends for others.

While God is a refuge for the oppressed in Psalm 9, He turns their enemies around; He rebukes the ungodly; He destroys the wicked; He causes them to sink into the pit they dig, and to be caught in the net they hide.

Psalm 10 closes by saying that God’s actions for the oppressed and against the oppressors are designed so that no human on earth ever oppresses again.

In Psalm 11, the Lord judges the righteous, but hates the wicked and the violent. Their portion from God includes snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest.

In Psalm 34, the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off any memory of them. The righteous are entirely delivered, but evil itself will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be desolate.

Psalm 35 is prolific here. Evildoers devise damage to those who are at peace; they rejoice when the good have trouble; they reward evil for good; they speak falsely against the righteous and seek their soul. But the Psalmist calls upon God to plead his cause, to defend him with shield, to fight against those fighting him, to send angels before them and behind them so they can neither advance nor retreat, to cause them to fall into the very destruction they planned for others, and to throw them into confusion, shame, and dishonor.

Psalm 37 bring much together. God’s servants are not to fret or worry because of evildoers and their apparent or temporary success. Rest in the Lord and wait for Him with patience and meekness as Jesus did, without anger or wrath. For evildoers shall be cut off; the wicked shall be removed from their place; the Lord will break the arms of those who aim weapons at the upright.

This small sampling from just nine early Psalms could be multiplied. They illustrate that the wicked are in a precarious position, because of God and His purposes. On the other hand, our love and prayers for their repentance and right living should be real and passionate. But so should our faith that evil and evildoers be completely stopped from impacting our world. We believe God’s words and plans. As the Psalmists prayed and believed, so we take God’s side against evil, and we actively trust Him to do the fighting and deliver us. Only then is it not a fair fight. Only then are evildoers doomed. This puts us in the stronger position, from which we do good to the wicked and desire that they repent from opposing God and His people and His truth.

Perseverance is needed: Even with all our delegated authority, and even being entirely responsive to God our Father, we will not be able to repair every break or solve every problem … but we expect to. We may not see God defeat every evil that we see and stand against … but we do not retreat. Some reasons we are unable to fix every problem may be clear or common: the failure to believe we have the authority to correct what we see; the failure to attempt or to work for a solution; the failure to communicate with God our Father about the evil in our world, which leads to other failures such as attempting to fight or fix the wrong problem, or not using God’s resources and going to battle on our own. Any of us can experience these on occasion.

Still we go on, learning more, being better, accepting our place as God’s servant, accepting His direction to fix our lives, the world around us, and even larger evil. We seek our Father God and receive His correction and direction. We follow Him, and draw upon the resources He provides. Entire trust in God, clearly hearing Him, embracing every word He speaks, and acting as He guides are qualities that are integrated into the lives of those who make a difference in their world.

3. There is a Protected PlaceWe remember that Job, who had entered into place of entire blessing, lost almost everything. While he was in that blessed place, he did not remain in the protected place. For a while, Satan was kept out because of the hedge surrounding and protecting Job. Then God pointed out to Satan that parts of Job’s life were not protected … and Job was at fault. (Book 1 has Job’s story in chapters 4 & 10.) Whether he knew it or not, Job was in a place of protection … but later he was exposed to the attacks of Satan. The reason: his faith relationship with God changed to a fear-

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based one. Two lessons: 1) Protection is not assured either by a life of constant service to God or when God is blessing abundantly. 2) Protection is precarious at best, when a person is gripped by fear.

Does anything assure protection? God often declares that He is a refuge for us and that He provides a secure place of protection for His people. That should be assurance enough. If we do not enter and remain in that place, which is described in Psalm 91 and elsewhere throughout the Bible, we are to blame. Although I do not want to add guilt onto the devastation experienced by people who are assailed by troubles like those listed in 91:5,6, neither do I want them to stay when a place of safety is near. Assault by trouble is not okay if God provides a refuge from it. The context says that we are not to fear these types of evil and that we can experience freedom from them touching us.

Yet, evil is all around us and so much in our world is broken, so we focus on our authority and responsibility to do what we can to make our world better. Psalm 139 closes with an excellent way to relate to God in every circumstance: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” We accept God’s searching. We notice any wicked way he may expose. And we embrace everlasting ways. God wants to guide us in ways that have staying power, and we want that too.

One of the everlasting ways is to enter into the most High God as our refuge, where we experience safety and rest. While we can and we should live there, few seem to know of its existence and even fewer find and daily open the door identified in Psalm 91:2. It says that we are to declare that God is our refuge and fortress. The declaration is not magic words; some will say these words out of fear, as Job may have prayed, “O Lord God, thank you for such abundant blessings. Please protect them from thieves and vandals and murderers and dangerous weather. Please do not let anything bad happen to anything or anyone here.”

Instead, the declaration in Psalm 91:2 is an expression of our active faith and place in God. A sample declaration of active faith could be: “O Lord God, thank you for such blessings. We honor You as the giver of every good and perfect gift. Again this day, we take our place in You as our Refuge and Fortress. We trust you to continue to bless us with protection and deliverance from evil of every kind. We trust you as our refuge, and believe your word that no evil will come near us or our home. And we trust you to guide us deeper into you, the God Who provides. etc." This kind of declaration is personal and will be more specific for each person. But we should believe and express this daily, as it is included in the Lord’s prayer. Who would not want such protection? God offers it. He put us in charge of our world, so we are able to live in that fortress.

Maybe we wonder why this secure place of refuge in God is hardly known or rarely taught. Could it be that whenever we hear of amazing deliverances, they are communicated as special acts of God? possibly for special believers or circumstances, for which we join in praise, but do not feel like we deserve the same kind of special treatment. Random deliverance, according to God’s wise understanding of His purposes, is believed. But God promised something far more dependable. God not only promises and provides entire deliverance from any oppressive situation at all times (e.g. Psalm 34), but He also provides a permanent place of protection (e.g. Psalm 91). Yet it seems that such complete safety is neither the experience nor the expectation of anyone we know or have heard about.

We have had many examples of what happens, and how we are to respond when we are assaulted with tragedy and trouble, but few, if any, from someone living securely in God as a Refuge safe and free from any and all evil, at all times. We have had much good teaching about how to suffer well as God’s servant, but almost none on how to trust God as our Refuge and Fortress where evil cannot touch us. As believers, we should and we can honor God and His work in us at all times and in all circumstances, including when trouble assaults us, but … does it honor God to accept a place of trouble when He has provided safety? He has declared Himself to be a secure refuge for us. Are we responsible to enter into the secret place of the Most High God as our refuge and fortress? Are we responsible for what happens to us if we are not there? If Psalm 91 is true, the answer must be Yes, we are responsible. We really do have every advantage, and we can avoid blame by accepting this place of protection.

Blessings with Protection: Being secure is a great blessing, but God has provided much more: He is good and guides into good ways that lead to life and abundant blessings. Job was still blessed when he lost his protection, but only temporarily. If we seek and attain blessings without security, they are at risk. But, in living with God as our refuge, none of our blessings are susceptible to random or to normal disruptions or destructions.

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We enter more completely into the blessings God has designed and desired for us, as we yield to God in relationship, as we seek His ways and choose to walk in them. Our experience or feelings may tell us that blessings are not deserved, even though God often states His desire to bless us. Taking charge, at God’s guidance, we are not content in being less than He wants us to be. Believing, but not complaining, we increasingly experience what God desires for us.

The Problem of Evil from Four Perspectives: The four perspectives can be considered worldview lenses. They are somewhat arbitrary in order to contrast different views of God, origins, and responsibility in the different worldviews, along with different views of evil, whether explaining it or dealing with it practically. The ideas below are necessarily simplified and summarized.

One word has been chosen to identify each of the four perspectives. The four words, which are not official terms, are:1. Naturalist:

- Entirely natural origins.- No God and No religious text.- The past and the future, along with all human choices are determined by natural laws and processes.

2. Humanist: - Entirely natural origins.- No God and No religious text.- The past and future are not determined, and humans freely make choices.

3. Sovereign: - The universe and all life are created by God. - Believe the Bible literally.- God is in control on the earth. - Human choices and everything that has happened and will happen have been determined by God according to

His unchangeable purposes, or His foreknowledge of a future that is also unchangeable. This book specifically challenges this sovereign perspective. (Islam largely fits here: Allah is its Sovereign God and the Quran is its text.)

1. Delegated:- The universe and all life are created by God.- Believe the Bible literally.- Humanity is in control on the earth, because God delegated that authority.- While God has unchangeable purpose that will be accomplished on the earth, specific events have not been

determined; from the beginning, up through the present, and into the future, humans have freely made choices and continue to choose freely. This book promotes the delegated perspective.

Philosophically Explaining Evil: 1. From the naturalist perspective, all that exists, including evil options and consequences, has originated in random

natural processes as the universe evolved. The origin of evil and its appearance on the earth and in human choices, are all a part of the course of existence which has been predetermined by the natural laws. There are no specifics as to when or how or what was the initial “creation” of evil in the universe. There is no way to know if we can identify evil and differentiate it from good, much less if we can or should deal with or correct the evil in our world. And there is no way to know if evil, however it is defined, can or should be eliminated.

2. From the humanist perspective, there is natural evil, such as harmful disease, weather, or tectonic events, which results from natural processes at work in and around our planet. There is also evil, such as slavery and murder, which results from bad human choices. This type of evil has origins somewhere in the evolutionary development of human life, intellect, and possibly morality. There is hope in the evolutionary future that human choices will improve and be more responsible so that “moral” evil can be eliminated. There is also hope that future humans, by choices and by technology, will be able to limit the occurrence and impact of natural evil.

3. From the sovereign perspective, the originator of evil is generally believed to be Adam or Lucifer. Since God is not responsible for evil, He could not have originated it. To be consistent with idea that everything is determined by God, natural evil and moral evil owe their continued existence to God’s own wise purposes, which He is

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working out in humanity and on the earth. A part of God’s purposes is to fully deal with evil, punishing evildoers and eradicating evil, while providing the new heavens and new earth for His people.

4. From the delegated perspective, God created evil as an option to good and as a consequence when any human chooses evil. Because God also put humanity in charge on the earth, every original and continuing manifestation of evil, natural and moral, is a result of human choice. This perspective agrees with the sovereign perspective on how God will deal with evil and evildoers.

Practically Dealing With Evil: For the determinist:

On average, the determinism of the naturalist and sovereign perspectives leads to a more passive approach to the evils of life. These are more prone to ask, “Can I really make a difference? How can I change what will happen anyway?” From the sovereign point of view, evil is a major enemy of God, is often described in the Bible, and is always

hated. Every opposition to evil is right, even if all actions are determined. Even thinking that nothing can be done to alter what will be, it will still be right to oppose evil and pursue good.

On the other hand, many naturalists would embrace evil as an unavoidable, even a necessary part of the universe. There is no basis for morality: nothing can be labeled good or bad since every action is determined by disinterested universe of laws and process. Plus, the actions (choices) of every person are shown to be chemically determined in the brain, so that no one can be responsible and no one can be good or bad. Yet, opposing what is commonly called evil can give some people a purpose in life.

For the non-determinist:Built into the humanist and delegated perspectives are ideas that match perceived realities: choices, which can make a difference, are freely made by responsible humans. These are more prone to ask, “How can I help correct this situation?” From the delegated point of view, manifest evil is not necessary at all. Even though God created the potential,

no person is required to make a wrong choice of a bad option. In addition, humans are able to correct situations that have been characterized by evil for a long time. This is because those, who believe God and are led by Him according to His unchangeable purposes, have the resources and the wisdom, not merely to work on a problem, but even to get the job done.

From the humanist point of view, the universe will always have evil. Yet, evil is seen to be bad, and it is not embraced. Not only do real choices and actions cause evil manifestations, evil can also be avoided by making better choices, it can also be corrected or have its effects be minimized.

The humanist, who sees people as responsible and freely making choices, could have an advantage over many who believe in a sovereign God in control on the earth. Such believers may hesitate to fix something because it might be His pre-determined will: they are careful not to presume what God might want, or they might expect Him to take care of problems better, as He knows best. None of this will slow down the humanist who is eager to make the world better.

Yet humanists, not knowing or believing God or the Bible, are at a significant disadvantage. First, they do not communicate with God to find out what He wants. Someone acting to change their world in ways that do not match God’s may find their work immediately futile, or undone in the longer term. Second, even if their work is in line with God’s purposes, the unbeliever does not access divine wisdom, support, or resources that make the work more productive and of better quality. Third, they do not have the Bible, which supports clear communication with God, identifies much that is clearly evil and worthy of effort to eradicate, and provides spiritual strength and stability to stand and win when facing entrenched evil, powerful enemies, or desperate wickedness, all of which harm the world.

Using the problem of evil to reject God:

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Many unbelievers or atheists bring up the problem of evil as a reason not to believe in a God Who is in control on the earth. Their assumption of a divine inconsistency adds for them, a validation of their decision to reject God, the Bible, and any God or holy book of any religion. The God they reject is the Sovereign God Who has the power and desire to do something about horrific evil or evil of any kind, but instead allows so much evil in our world. It is evil that unbelievers hate and would prevent, if they could, if they had God’s power. Thus, their personal morality is more noble than God’s.

But they have serious issues when using the problem of evil to reject God. First, determinists not only see no difference between evil and good, but they must also see no difference between God and non-God. To be consistent, believers would be determined in their belief, erroneous as it may seem, just as much as any unbeliever is determined. Second, all honest unbelievers must admit that they also have a problem explaining evil. When comparing religious or natural thoughts, ideas, and philosophies about the nature and existence of evil, how to deal with it or find solutions for it, the Bible is shown to have the most consistent, real, and coherent understanding of all. This has been true even while believing the Bible to teach God to be in charge on the earth, Himself not only allowing evil, but also addressing and solving its reality. This answer has not been complete, but it is far better than any that unbelievers have found when they turn the searchlight inward.

Now there is another problem for unbelievers; one that has rarely if ever been addressed: the delegated perspective that God is not in control on the earth: but that humanity is in control. Therefore, God cannot act on His own to remove any evil here. Any assumed or theorized inconsistency of God co-existing with evil, however defined, no longer applies. Questions about God’s involvement in the existence and manifestations of evil in the earth are answered. The delegation perspective gives a completeness to the Bible’s explanation of evil. Additionally, it invalidates the arrogant exalting of a personal morality, which hates evil more than God. As good and powerful as He is, God’s permanent delegation of authority means that He cannot stop any appearance of evil on earth without authorization from someone in charge – a human.

The truth of reality and of the Bible is that evil manifests in our world because of human choices. This replaces the illusion that God allows evil to happen and, by extension, that He is responsible for the evil we see. Of course, there are other reasons not to believe in the God of the Bible. But using the problem of evil is no longer available. The Bible’s clear explanation of evil should instead encourage belief in its good God, Whose existence with evil is no longer a problematic issue. Then they too can deal effectively with the evil in their world; they would have far better tools in both practice and understanding.

God and Evil – A Summary: God is Good and Powerful – beyond comparison with any being or anything that has ever existed.God is pure in His goodness. No action or expression of His can be anything but good.God does no evil.God chooses no evil.God does not impose or force evil on anyone or anything.

God Creates:God created the earth entirely good.God created humans, the pinnacle of His creation, in His image with the free ability to choose from options.God created and creates evil: God has created every bad option from which humans can choose, and God has created every destructive consequence that happens when a bad option is chosen. Both are good creations of God. Both are necessary, since otherwise, humans would have only good options from which to choose.

God put humanity in charge on the earth:God commanded humans to take dominion over and to subdue the entire earth and everything on it. God put everything under humanity’s feet.God gave humans the ability to change, break, alter, correct, fix, and otherwise alter their world to be more blessed or to be more cursed.Thus, God made humans responsible for everything that happens on the earth.With authority and ability to choose good or evil, to break or fix, humans are rightly judged for the effects of their choices and actions, and can be blamed when things are not right in their world.

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As good and powerful as He is, having now delegated authority:God is not able to act on the earth without human authorization.God is not able to stop any human from choosing evil.God is not able to prevent any consequence of a wrong choice; instead He enforces consequences.Thus, God is not able to change or to fix what is broken.Thus, God is not responsible and not to blame for any of the evil on the earth.Thus, God is not responsible to fix any of this world’s problems.

This new perspective is almost unbelievable, but any answer to the problem of evil is, at best, incomplete if the Good and Almighty God exercises authority over the earth. Certainly, God acts on the earth in many mighty and amazing ways, but He does so in the context of human authority over the earth. Certainly, we want Him to stop evil, or fix it, or judge it. We think that simply because it is evil and He is good, that He should act against it. But that is not enough. The authority over the earth is not His. He will act, when authorized by a person or group with authority on the earth.

His delegation to humanity is complete and entire … “over all the earth”. If God had reserved even a small right to intervene without regard to human authority, we should ask “Who really has authority?” and “Who really has responsibility?” and “How can humans be responsible, when God could intervene at some time, in some manner, specified or unspecified?” and “Where in the Bible is God’s ability and authority to intervene defined or described?”

We should embrace the fact that humanity is in charge on the earth. The Creator established this reality on the day that He created the first human. We are each responsible for the world we live in. Each person lives in a personal world, big or small. Each person has the necessary authority and dominion over that world. This is how the Creator made the world to work. If we do not know this crucial detail, how could we confidently take charge of our world? We are His children and His servants. He provides the wisdom and instructions we need, and we can seek Him, and receive direction and resources to exercise our authority properly. It is all described in the Bible, where we find out the truth of how God made the world to work.

God is wise. He knows what He did. He never wrings His hands about how poorly humanity takes dominion over the earth. Not only does He not intervene or otherwise overrule the authority He gave to mankind, but He also does not withdraw as the strict Deist would say. In the Bible and every day throughout history to the present day, God is active on the earth. We need Him to be. And we need His wisdom and resources to handle our authority properly. But all of God’s activity in the earth is done within the authority He chose to delegate to humanity.

?where?The reality we experience, which rings true inside, is that choices matter. Even so, it does not feel like humans have control in this world. The secular world, too, seems conflicted about responsibility, as shown by two natural lenses differing with our reality. Briefly stated, these philosophical ideas believed by many are: 1) chemical reactions determine all our actions and their effects. This could be called: the “natural-law-is-in-control”. 2) random natural process are behind all that happens. This is more mystical and could be called: the “universe-is-in-control”. If we are to believe these, we also must wonder about freedom and responsibility.

There seems to be strong influence from religion, science, philosophy, and other disciplines to find reasons outside of humanity to explain what happens, but none of them – God, the natural law, the universe, chemistry, biology, or something else – can change the reality that we know and feel and experience, the reality that every one of us freely makes consequential choices, for which we are responsible. The particular reason for each of our choices is our own, regardless of how we came to have the options.

Where does the responsibility lie? In our day, we have many entities to blame, from governments and businesses to genetics and social structures and churches. We increasingly accept people claiming victim status and entitlement rights. Who talks about taking responsibility? We want life and liberty for ourselves, but who wants to work for them? or who wants to help others obtain and keep them?

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(( Where? Do eastern beliefs fit? … all is one or many gods sharing/competing responsible … ))

Chapter 7: What We Can Miss in Genesis 1 – 3

Both Book 1 and this one, Book 2, have often honed in on the Bible’s first three chapters. It has become clear that if we miss anything in beginning, if our beginning understanding is off-track even a little, our path will increasingly diverge from God’s reality and from Biblical truth. Areas impacted include an understanding of the Old Testament, the Mosaic Law, the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified, and more.

It seems easy to take away from or add to the many foundational truths in Genesis 1 – 3, since, in many ways, they do not appear to be complete, and in other ways we wonder why some passages were even written. Many who read them literally, still summarize, skip, reinterpret, combine, incorporate, and more. When making these efforts, usually with the desire to explain its teachings or truths better, important parts of the literal reading will be affected. Truths related to God’s delegation of authority are most commonly lost. The last section of this chapter identifies “wrong” ideas about Adam’s sin and its effects, usually inserted descriptions not found in the literal Bible.

We settle our minds to the fact that God meant what He said and included exactly what He wanted, especially in Genesis 1 – 3. We can trust God to be a wise author, and to clarify essential, needed ideas at the very beginning. They are the right words. They are in the right order. We begin where God begins; we trust what God told us; we learn and understand better.

The key is to be rigorously literally. That is true everywhere in the Bible, but it is especially crucial here. It is difficult for various reasons. One reason is that the style of the creation story in Genesis 1 has been described as poetry. Even if that is so, the passage reads as a record of events that actually happened as described. Reading it as poetry does not discount its value as an accurate, historical account of origins and beginnings, revealed by God.

Reading Genesis literally can also be difficult because it seems as though we have to choose between Genesis 1 and science. Chapters 6 and 12 of Book 1 were included to build confidence in the scientific reality and truth of two of the clear teachings in the Bible’s first chapter. We recall that the Bible’s first 3 verses contain possibly the best, maybe the only non-mythical account of the origins of the raw materials of the universe. In addition, the theory of biological evolution did not compare well with the theory of immutable kinds repeatedly referred to in Genesis 1. Unlike evolution, immutable kinds is a testable, falsifiable scientific theory that fits all the evidence. It even makes predictions to direct research – no appeal to the miraculous is needed or used. Much in Genesis 1 is not clear, but still today, we believe it, along with all observations of honest science. They do not conflict. Apparent conflicts require more research and better understanding.

The foundational chapters Genesis 1 – 3 contain much more that must be believed as written in order not to miss truths that develop later in the Bible. While none of the initial words, events, or truths are negated or changed elsewhere in the Bible, other texts may fill in details as needed. For instance, Isaiah 45:7 tell us that God created the darkness, which adds to what we know about Genesis 1:2. In addition, Romans 5:12-14, in the context of Jesus Christ crucified, adds to what we know about the effects of Adams’s sin in Genesis 3. (Chapters 6 & 3 of Book 1)

Two other topics or truths found in Genesis must be clear as we view the remainder of the Bible. First, God’s specific creation of humanity, and second, His delegation of authority over the earth to humanity. Both are literally true and necessary to understand the rest of the Bible. All of Chapter 4 was devoted to the necessity of seeing God’s delegation in order to view almost any event accurately.

Objective: This chapter summarizes many of the major topics in Genesis 1 – 3 describing what they are and how believing them literally is crucial to understanding God and the Bible and the gospel, as well as our lives.

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First, it should be noted that many who believe into Christ Jesus, who receive new eternal life and adoption into God’s family and so much more, still do not believe the first chapters of Genesis to be literally true. There could be a variety of reasons for this, from a conscious, reasoned choice to an unintentional assumption or being inattentive.

Fortunately for us, the gospel is simple and powerful. The gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, and risen the Son of God with power, deals so completely with the sin problem that we do not have to understand creation, delegation, the nature of Adam’s sin, or even the depth of the work at Christ’s cross in order to believe and, as a result, be re-conceived by the eternal seed of God’s word, born again to new life, and made righteous.

Topics in Genesis 1 – 3 to be considered are: Origins, The Creation Process, Immutable Created Kinds of Life, The Specially Created Human, The Human Ability to Freely Choose from Options, God’s Delegation of Earthly Authority to Humanity, Adam’s One Moral Choice, and Consequences of Adam’s Breaking God’s Commandment. What We Can Get Wrong About the Effects of Adam’s sin

Most of these have been examined previously in this book or in Book 1. The emphasis here is to show the importance of getting the first three chapters of the Bible right. We want to avoid being off track when proceeding through the Bible and through life.

Origins:God created the raw materials of our universe. God … Eternal. Everything else had an origin. Created universe … not a part of God, not an extension of God. The universe is natural and physical while God is supernatural and spiritual. The created raw materials identified in Genesis are: the space-time continuum, matter, darkness. All of this creation was ordered by physical and natural laws. Then God added light. Light was not created; as immediately necessary as it was, light was not a raw material of our universe.

God created. The verb “created” is used over 45 times in the Old Testament, most of which refer directly to some part of God’s creative work in Genesis 1. Also, Jesus and several New Testament letters refer to the Genesis 1 creation as God’s work, as an event of history, as the beginning of time, and more. Those who abandon God as Creator for science or some other substitute, not only abandon the literal reading of Genesis 1, but they also abandon the literal reading of many Old and New Testament passages, including the words of Jesus.

Even more, if God is not Creator, is He really God? God is here described as the uncaused Being Who can do anything He wants, anytime and anywhere He wants. The God of the Bible is not limited by any force or power and not limited by any space or time – so unlimited, in fact, that He is able even to limit Himself, if He should so choose. As God, He alone defines His purposes and His processes.

Those who do not see God this way, must pick and choose, in the Bible and in life, when they think that God is really God and when He is not. Believers in God, who cannot see him as Almighty Creator, will need to define who they believe the Genesis God to be, and explain the references to God throughout the Bible. They must be sure their faith is not in a God of their own creation; they must separate themselves from those who believe that humanity created god and gods in its own image.

Additionally, to read the Bible and not see, in every reference to God, the Creator of the universe and all life is to miss Him and to make the Bible a book of fables and natural platitudes. When we read the Bible, when we read of God, we should admit that none of us has enough wisdom or knowledge to decide where God is God and where God might be more of a god. We humble ourselves to believe that Bible references to God speak of the Almighty, Eternal Creator.

The Creator is also ordered in all of His existence and in His creation. The God Who created the universe we experience, has a throne and a kingdom which rules over all, including this universe. God’s kingdom is ordered by

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spiritual and supernatural laws and we pray for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven … which happens. There has always been an interaction of laws spiritual with physical and supernatural with natural.

When we consider these laws, most natural laws are easier to state and to measure than spiritual laws which also affect our visible world. For instance, consider “Pride precedes a fall”. “Pride” is usually unseen and almost impossible to measure, while a “fall” is often seen. Pride takes many forms and has a variety of consequences. Falls also take many forms and have many causes besides pride. This interaction between physical and spiritual laws is vast and complex.

Not seeing this interaction, leads to the common error about miracles: that natural laws are temporarily suspended or broken when a ‘miracle’ happens. This is not true. Miracles, unexplainable by natural laws alone, result when spiritual laws interact with physical laws in ways that cannot be observed or explained, and sometimes they supersede natural laws. For example, when Jesus’ spoke to the Sea of Galilee, telling it to be calm, the storm on the waters ended and the wind and waves calmed. In this case, the physical laws of weather were not suspended; they operated as normal. What changed was the addition of the supernatural power of the spoken word in general, and specifically of Jesus’ words spoken in faith. This power could have engaged a change to a calm the weather status or superseded a natural progression of weather to calm the storm imperiling Jesus the disciples in the boat. (Book 3 will have more on the supernatural power of words.)

The Creator creating is seen through the entire Bible. To discount it or to deny it in Genesis 1 brings trouble when reading or understanding many of the passages throughout the Bible. For one example, in Isaiah 45:18, God the Creator declares details about His creation, and a purpose for creating the earth: to be inhabited. God planned for and now honors all life on the earth. If we do not see Him as Creator, if we see life and earthly development as a result of random natural processes, then we might think Isaiah was imagining inspirational attributes of God, and encouraging us to do the same.

What do we do with Jesus, who spoke specifically of God as the Creator creating in Mark 13:19? Do we decide when Jesus spoke truth or not? Examine Colossians 1:16, for one more example. In this verse and context, Jesus is also uncreated and is identified to be the Creator of everything, including all authority structures and all laws and processes that keep the universe working and functioning reliably. What is this verse saying if Genesis 1 is a “creation fable” instead of the accurate account of God’s creative work?

The Creation Process: Reading Genesis 1 as literally true and believing every word of God’s account, we see God doing more than create. He created only two more times in Genesis 1. After creating the original universe and matter and establishing the reliable the physical and spiritual laws, God created animal life and then He created human life.

Additionally, God spoke and made. In speaking to what was already created, God directed its shape and order. In making, God worked with the existing materials to form and organize them or to bring out new features according to His wisdom and purpose. These works of God were a means of adding structure, complexity, and energy to the developing earth and universe.

God’s work in Genesis 1 was not a magic show; it was not a Poof – here! and a Poof – there! For example, on creation day 4 a note is added that God made the stars … not out of nothing and not by “zapping” them into the universe. He made billions of trillions of unique stars and star systems from the matter that was already in the universe. Scientists theorize that star formation requires something like a density wave from a super-nova to finalize the compression of a gas cloud containing cores of coalescing hydrogen and helium … but how did the first cloud compress? And then, how so many stars? every day? for even 13 billion of years? when we now see only stable clouds of gas with no cores.

There is process in Genesis 1. God worked with raw materials and laws in an orderly manner that scientists could learn to identify, describe, and measure. The earth and the universe developed according to law. The more we learn about those laws and the development of the universe, through both science and the Bible’s six-day account, the better we will understand both Genesis 1 and the history of our universe.

Repeatable observations of science reflect reality and have reasons behind them. When they seem to conflict with the Bible, we study more and observe more and measure more; we alter hypothesis to include new observations and adjust

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models to include additional facts or factors. The goal is to be accurate with scientific observations and information so that all fits together. When we get it right, both science and the Bible will agree.

As details come together, I expect science and the Bible to agree on the length of each day in the Genesis 1 week of creation. In the Bible, the context of each day happening according to both physical and spiritual laws will likely result in far different lengths for each of the six days, and we may find Day 1 to be the longest. Yet, the Bible’s daily identifying phrase “the evening and the morning” indicates that when each day is properly defined, there will be clear daily boundaries evident in the final understanding. To do this, the details God provides are examined with observations and measurements of science from many perspectives. Both in science and in Genesis, there are many gaps, and much is difficult to understand, e.g. Day 2 in the Genesis account. When the model is right, both science and the Bible will be proven right together, which will likely differ from our current understandings or interpretation of the data or of the Bible.

For one example, the length of the day may not be as black and white as it seems. We have heard that reading Genesis literally means that the creation happened in six 24-hour days. The insertion of “24-hours” to define the length of a day is a problem. The Hebrew word for day is used in four different ways in the Bible’s first 35 verses. The first two are in Genesis 1:5 and the other two are in Genesis 2:3 and 2:4.

Historically, our 24-hour day was likely not settled until centuries after the cataclysmic events surrounding the global flood in Noah’s time. Much about the regular operation of our planet prior to that remains unknown, which then was altered when the fountains of the great deep were opened and rain deluged the earth for 40 non-stop days. Book 3 will have more information about that flood. There is much to learn … and we can start by jettisoning the wrong notion that science and the Bible tell different stories. When all sources of data are respected, then progress can be made. When all researchers and analysts pool their information, then the true story will become clear. When all interpretations are pliable to the evidence, and anchored by the Bible, then better models can be built.

According the recorded lifespans of one line of Adam’s descendants, and then other genealogies and consensus dates of recorded historical events, about 6000 years of time have passed since Adam began to age. I have no guess at how much time passed before that, but note that God was the only one living to count all those minutes. Defining the 6000 years since Adam has the caveat that, until we gather more information about the early earth and interpret it accurately together, the length of the day and the year are uncertain during the first 2000 years of that history. There is maximum earth age evidence of thousands of years and other universe age evidence of 13 billion years. Again, when we get our facts right, when we do not forget to incorporate the massive changes happening with the flood, when our interpretive models improve, one detail we might find is that different dates in the evidence apply to events and situations on different creation days.

Created Life in Immutable Kinds:Genesis 1 declares eight times that life reproduces “after its kind”. Chapter 12 of Book 1 compared at some length this immutable idea with the idea that all life evolves from simple, lower forms to complex, higher forms by random, natural processes. Only one can be true. The vast ability of life to adapt and to reproduce with great variability is fully explained by the laws of Genetics – evolution is not needed to explain the adaptation and variety of life forms. The idea of immutable kinds indicate that reproductive boundaries exist and cannot be broken. All the evidence supports unbreakable boundaries. No gradual development has been observed in life or in fossils.

We depart from science and from scientific observation when we depart from the Genesis 1 description of immutable kinds. This departure is a foundational error that affects our view of the natural world as created. Summarizing from the comparison made in Book 1, biological evolution is neither testable nor falsifiable. Yet every observation of peer-reviewed science is made to fit and has been incorporated into the ever broadening theory of evolution – even the field of Genetics, discovered in the 1860s. Yet, 150 years later, biological evolution has no mechanism and not one example of any animal form naturally evolving from a lower to higher form. The theory of immutable animal kinds would have been falsified by just one such example.

We have diversity; we have similarity; we have adaptability; we have natural selection … all used as evidence for biological evolution, yet we have no evidence for gradual development, and we have no mechanism for such evolutionary change. We have Genetics with DNA, which limits variations possible to a species. We have mutations,

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which produce no feature improvement to the offspring of any animal, much less a series of upgrades to enhance a lower animal form. We have cross-breeding which has not produced any new, viable kind of animal.

Evolution benefits from a false assumption. The assumption that all of the scientific research being done over the last century and a half is finding much clear evidence, and is establishing greater proof for the reality of biological evolution. It is not. Instead, the increasing volumes of evidence are showing the impossibility of biological evolution. Yes, evolution is ever more pervasive today, and required in almost every institution of society, but the evidence requiring evolution, any evidence requiring more than the laws of Genetics, remains missing. Any foundation for the theory of biological evolution is crumbling.

The multiplied attempts to determine a possible mechanism for biological evolution have been unsuccessful. Remarkably, the answer for evolutionists is magic. Possible mechanisms now include punctuated equilibrium. This can be an egg hatching a higher life form than its parents, or the idea that fossil evidence is rare, or the idea that many gradual changes happen in a sliver of time, too short to be recorded in the fossil record and not presently occurring in nature … convenient thoughts without a shred of evidence, thoughts created to explain the lack of evidence. In contrast, no magic or mystery is needed to demonstrate the idea of immutable kinds, which has the support of all observable evidence.

It is hard to read respected scientists, and hard to hear scientific documentaries invoke the concept of evolution, or of life, or the universe itself to be the change agent. These “conceptual” agents are named when declaring evidence-free changes in nature and in the animal kingdom. It really is magical. On eyesight: “The trilobite, intent on piercing through the darkness, invented an eye using calcite … and an entirely different form of seeing was invented by the worms” or about DNA: “life has learned to learn” or in general: “the body of the universe gave birth to our bodies; the self-organizing dynamics of the universe gave birth to our minds” and on it goes, all without evidence.

Even though the theory of biological evolution is a departure from both science and observation, we are told that it is settled scientific fact. Maybe it is unfortunate that biological evolution is incompatible with the literal reading of Genesis 1 declaring that life reproduces “after its kind”. If the theory of immutable kinds were not a Bible teaching, if the Bible was silent on the idea, if it had not been repeated in the Bible’s first chapter, would present day scientists simply go with the evidence to understand and accept and teach it, instead of evolution. There seems to be such an anti-God bias in scientific thought that its adherents not only refuse to consider any Biblical account, but also steer clear of interpretations mentioned in the Bible. For another example, evidence of a global flood is found all over the world, but naturalistic scientists do not consider it. Is that because the Bible describes a world-wide flood? I say again that observable, measurable, repeatable science and the literal Bible do not conflict. It is the theory of biological evolution that conflicts with science.

While the idea of immutable kinds is supported by the reality we all observe, while the evidence supporting it accumulates, and while it is both testable and falsifiable, the scientific truth of the Bible is being confirmed yet again. We can trust the Bible of God and the God of the Bible, which is entirely true, as long as we do not try to fit everything together all at once. Much in the process of creation between origins and immutable kinds is difficult to understand. So we advance cautiously. While the Bible is true, and remains unfalsified and often verified where it speaks, it does not explain all the research. To me, it is usually our non-literal interpretation that conflicts with science. We start best when we start with the Bible, when we start where God starts, in science or in any part of life.

Special Creation of Humans:The creation of animal life was a special step beyond plant life. Then God’s creation of humans was a special step beyond animals. Humans are very different, being created in God’s image, and given life by His own breath. This, as Adam experienced, indicates the great potential for humans to relate to God. Adam walked and talked with God in a pristine environment. His contact with God included visibly seeing each other. Centuries later, in a not so pristine environment, Enoch also walked and talked with God. Their contact was not visible until God translated Enoch from the earth into His presence. The potential to relate closely with God is even greater today. Being human is the best.

Being created by God, in God’s own image, created to relate directly with God, is so important and so amazing. We are made for God Himself. As God tells us in the beginning, this huge opportunity and privilege of relating to God is one of two major reasons God created humans. Humans are blessed with all that is needed for relationship and

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communion with God. Think of the mental, spiritual, and even physical qualities that enhance the experience that God and humans have together. Individually, and as a race throughout the centuries, humans grow in mental faculties, in social contacts, and in many other ways. Rich development and growth in these areas and more enables humans to achieve much and to strive for better. And, by staying close to God, we are able to make better use of resources and the environment. As we go forward with God, our lives become ever more satisfying.

Today’s world necessitates adding that, in Genesis 1, humans are specially noted to be created male and female. Although most animals are male and female, God did not mention that fact when He described their creation. Gender identification is currently a controversial topic, and just knowing the scientific and Biblical facts will not often resolve the issue. Yet, is this fact headed for the same fate as the “immutable kinds” and the “global flood” facts? Will the “male and female” fact also be rejected because it is declared in Genesis? Will we now be required to believe a “gender science” as mythical and magical as biological evolution? Let us hope not. Life is tough enough without attempting to create and live in a new “reality”, which is actually fantasy.

Current scientific fact and the Bible agree. Both in God’s creation and in biology, we are either male or female. Every cell in our bodies shouts with genetic reality and with genetic permanence, “XY – Male!” or “XX – Female!” And also with genetic exclusiveness. God in the Bible makes no mention of any human changing from female to male or vice versa, nor does He mention any kind of gender fluidity. Even more, decades of scientific research have found nothing else in human biology affecting gender identity or orientation. Neither choice nor medicine nor operation can change what each of our cells shout.

There is confusion about that today, sometimes deep and lasting, and sometimes temporary. Reasons for the confusion are sometimes known and sometimes not known. Genetics cannot be a reason; it declares just one reality, one gender message for each of us, every day of our lives. General categories of reasons include sociological, psychological, cultural, even political or something else. It would help greatly if all boys grew up to be responsible men, able to communicate respectfully with all, and similarly for girls. Regardless of our situation, we live best and we believe best, when we take God at His word.

We live best when we agree with both God and science: every one of us is indelibly and permanently either male or female. Not some creatively described gender. It is never a choice and can never be altered. When we try to live in a way other than the way we are born, we are in conflict with ourselves. Many have adjusted and have learned to live productive, happy lives with this conflict. It is best, however, to accept our birth person, and to live that way by God’s grace. The potential in living as the human we are created is great.

But again, mental agreement is usually not enough to resolve issues and bring peace. The cold hard facts of science and the black and white declaration of the Bible agree, but they are external to what we feel. So we return to the fact that we are made to relate to God. If knowing and accepting the scientific reality seems not to help, we talk to God. Even more, we pour out our hearts to God, and He hears our cry. He does not turn His face from the affliction of the afflicted. We express our deep need and wild confusion … and the cry of our heart touches His heart. He comforts and quiets us inside. He speaks to us and assures us that we have his help and guidance to be our best. Deep inside, we are more certain of God than we are of ourselves. And we know that He is bigger and that He is better. In God, we gain hope.

Humans have Free, Responsible Choice:The other major reason for God’s special creation of the human, is that God had a big job for humans and humanity. God told humanity to have dominion over the newly created earth and everything in it. That job carried with it much responsibility and authority.

Human responsibility is exercised by making good choices, and all people are created with the ability to freely choose from among options. Authority comes with responsibility, and the freedom to choose comes with blame when making wrong choices, concepts considered last chapter. Responsibilities and abilities are personal; because of circumstance, position, location, and much more, each person has a unique set of limited options and limited personal freedom to make choices. Rare is the powerful, absolute monarch having nearly unlimited choice and freedom. But, everyone is free and responsible to make choices, even if the options are mostly tragic and internal, as for a child slave.

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A person’s choice really does matter. Every choice matters, every time. Similar young lives can take very different paths, for instance, depending on the choice of friends or activities. Additionally, current brain research suggests that choices can affect whether some of our DNA is activated, and choices can even change certain parts of the DNA and the environment in the brain. Our own choices greatly affect who we become; it is becoming clear that we are not simply a combination of nature and nurture.

Morality in Choice:We may wonder if every choice between good or bad options a moral one? While “yes” may seem to be the obvious answer, we remember that God actually creates amoral evil; the bad option and its consequence are actually a good part of creation. Of course, God does not have a moral problem since He never makes the wrong choice of a bad option. But we do choose bad options. Does every such choice show a lack of morality? and indicate sin and guilt?

Here are some thoughts. Every person has good and bad options from which to choose many times every hour. First, we can categorizes bad options as either (1) choosing contrary to the laws of the world or (2) choosing an evil option that God creates.

(1) The laws of the world include natural laws which could be broken in foolishness, in stupidity, or accidently and have harmful effects, such as putting a hand on a hot stove or falling out of a tree. Few would consider being on the damaging side of this kind of law a moral problem. Most accidents and even some dangerous or stupid habits may not indicate bad moral choices.

But the laws of the world as created include spiritual laws, many identified in Proverbs. Some of these bad options are visible, external actions such as lying and stealing, while others happen internally such as pride and hatred. The harmful consequences of these bad choices have effects that are seen and unseen, and often complex when combined with the effects of other choices previously made. Many of these choices will be called evil, or sin, and guilt and responsibility for the effects are laid on the one(s) making the choice(s).

(2) Personal and present options created by God may also be visible and external or unseen and internal. These have God-created consequences that are included in the complex interplay of the effects of human choices. Choosing against God is always a bad idea and would seem always to be an immoral one.

Whether or not a particular choice is a moral one, whether or not it is easy to differentiate, there are right and wrong choices of good and bad options; choosing a good option is always right and choosing a bad option is always wrong. Whether or not morality is involved, bad choices always have bad results. Therefore, it is always best to find and choose good options; best for all life, for the world, and for the person, inside and out.

On another level, humans have a God created conscience, which is both law and judge for each person. Our conscience has the internal law and individual standard for our life and actions. In addition, as we have all experienced, our conscience acts as our judge. This internal judge does two things inside each of us: it gives us its verdict: did our choice or action meet our own law or standard? and it immediately sentences us: it praises us when we meet our standard or condemns us when we do not.

People have differing relationships with their God-created conscience. It is best to honor its voice both of law and verdict. God’s law is good and usually our internal law is as well. In general, our internal judge is good too. It is the way we are made. We live best when we accept the way we are made, and build our lives upon that foundation, to be people who bless and are blessed. Informing or reinforcing our conscience with God’s standards and laws found in the Bible, through learning and meditation and more, will be of great value.

This conscience of ours already knows more about good and evil than we realize; it is God Who initially wrote the laws on our conscience and taught our judge to honor those laws. Like it or not, all humans relate to this direct work of God inside. How we treat the voice of our conscience is crucial. Morality is likely involved when we know inside, when we know before God the choice to be right or wrong.

Making a conscious choice of a bad option with full knowledge that it will yield evil, damaging consequences, would be immoral and destructive to the present and future life and world around every one engaged in it. Those who deny

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morality or a sense of wrong, or guilt, or evil cannot hide from the way they are created, and they cannot change the very real moral implications of knowing that destructive consequences will follow a choice or action. Acting wholly evil, seemingly unable to choose well, could indicate a seared conscience or one naturally resistant to its voice as law or judge, which could result from a life marked by wicked habits, even training one’s self to choose bad options.

With a conscience, every person has an internal responsibility. It is true that people are externally responsible for choices or actions made; we often see the direct effects or impacts of choices and actions on the world and know where to place partial responsibility. But responsibility is not only for visible effects; when we act for or against our internal law or standard and are responsible. Whether or not anyone else sees or knows, our judge inside lets us know.

God’s Delegation of Earthly Authority to Humanity: This is the big job for which God created humans. It is a clear and confirmed Biblical teaching as described above in Chapter 3. In Genesis 1, God immediately told the human that He had created to take dominion over all the earth and over all life on it. When he told Adam to take care of the garden, it was an important part of his job to take care of the whole earth. This huge delegated responsibility required making right choices, as in the previous section. It should also be clear that God created humans with the ability to do their job, to handle their responsibility, to take dominion over the world as God created it.

Yet it seems easy to ignore this reality of Genesis 1. Recently, I listened to and was edified by the ministry of two highly respected Bible teachers. Both of them believe the Bible to be entirely true and both have many teachings online, including several by each on Genesis 1. Each teacher skipped, and did not teach the delegation verses surrounding God’s creation of the human in His image. Both believe God to be in control and having all authority on the earth. This has been the standard belief and teaching of Bible believers for centuries, even millennia … which is one reason it is hard to teach God’s delegation as clearly declared in Genesis 1 and other later Bible passages.

More than any other in Genesis 1, this “skipped over” truth impacts our lives and understanding. To see God’s delegation to be complete and unchanging, gives us a clarity. But the view of authority and responsibility is unclear and confusing when believing that the Almighty God must be in control on the earth. What is the extent of God’s responsibility since He cannot cause sin or disobedience? Are we responsible for actions when we have only an apparent responsibility. There are always questions, unanswerable questions, so many of them asked in previous chapters, so many that have no clear answer in the Bible or elsewhere if we see God in control on the earth.

The presently pervasive idea that God is in complete control on the earth, is not a Biblical teaching, regardless of its wide acceptance. Chapter 3 detailed the truth of God’s delegation in the Bible, and Chapter 4 described its huge effect on the views we have of people, of God, of events on the earth, and of course the Bible. Seeing God in control on the earth strongly distorted all these views, adding to the confusion and error and misapplication.

God is great, and people act. These two details are true for every believer. The difference when we believe God’s delegation is that we see people act with real authority and responsibility.1. God is great. God does not need to be in charge to act with Almighty Power on the earth. To see humanity in

charge on the earth, does not lessen any part of Who God is and Who the Bible declares Him to be. Delegation was His idea. If respecting human authority requires Him to limit His own activity on the earth, He does that by His own choice. No choice God makes can change Him. His choice to limit His activity does not reduce or alter any part of character or power. God has always been fully and completely God. He is God before and after He delegated authority and commanded humanity to take dominion over the earth.

2. People act, and they are also involved. Anytime we see or hear or read of God acting on the earth, He is working within the authority He delegated to humanity. This means that one or many people used their authority to make God’s activity and intervention on the earth possible.

To see both, humans exercising authority and the greatness of God, in the Bible and in life, provides a far better picture of the reality of our God-created world. Consider the activity of God early in the Book of Jonah. God expressly sent a storm to imperil Jonah on the ship, also a fish to swallow him and then vomit him onto shore. Jonah did not do these things, but they happened to him because he rebelled against God’s solution to the Nineveh problem.

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As laid out in chapters 2 and 8 of Book 1, Jonah effectively interceded against Nineveh so that God saw their wickedness and purposed their destruction – the just punishment stated in His word. This is what Jonah desired in his prayers. But first, God sent Jonah to warn Nineveh. This alarmed Jonah because he knew God to be merciful and gracious. While he had activated God’s just judgment against Nineveh, Jonah had also, quite unexpectedly activated God’s desires on behalf of the people of Nineveh. And he had touched God’s good and gracious and merciful character. Of course, God was still just and holy, the One who was moved to judge the wicked Nineveh, but Jonah saw that God might have another plan to deal with their wickedness – and he objected – and he wanted no part of it . He had no desire to warn them of their doom, so he fled the other way. Yet, God wanted them to be warned, and He wanted the one now fleeing, who had interceded against them, to do it. Therefore God acted on the weather and the fish to make that happen.

In this event, God’s mighty works in the earth were designed to turn Jonah around. On a broader scale, if Jonah had not interceded, God would not have had the “obligation” to destroy Nineveh, and would not have needed to send Jonah, as a better way of dealing with Nineveh. But Jonah did effectively intercede against Nineveh. For God not to turn Jonah would be to act against Nineveh for its wickedness, and overthrow it without their knowledge, without warning them. God acted so that His interceding and now fleeing servant, would return and go as he was sent.

Jonah’s story is an example of how we get a better view of earthly events, in and outside of the Bible, when we see both the greatness of God and the actions of people. To hold that God is in control on the earth is to hold a teaching that is not Biblical, and one that distorts our view of God and almost everything else, regardless of how many people believe it.

Adam’s One Moral ChoiceGod created the human and humanity in His own image and likeness for two major reasons: to relate to God and to take dominion of the earth and all life on it. Then in Genesis 2, as a part of the dominion responsibility, Adam, the first human God created, was given a specific job: to care for a garden that God had planted. Herbs and fruit trees grew in the garden, and all over all the earth. God designed animals to eat herbs, and humans to eat both herbs and the fruit of trees. Adam was to oversee the growth and harvesting of these foods. To dress and keep the garden was, for Adam, the responsible choice. In the middle of that garden, God planted and named two special trees. But God commanded Adam not to eat fruit from the tree called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God defined this bad option, making it wrong to choose it, and then clearly communicated this rule to Adam. God did this before making Adam’s wife Eve. Honoring this rule meant honoring God. Adam was created in God’s image and made to relate to God. Receiving and respecting God’s communication was part of Adam’s privilege as he related directly with his Creator. Certainly, if the subject ever came up while they walked and talked together, God would consistently reinforce His command to Adam, who likely could not fully understand “good and evil” or “death”.

Adam was given just this one command or rule; it was his only restriction. In his place as caretaker of the garden and of the whole earth, he had just one bad option, the choice of which would result in the clearly declared consequence of death. Adam would die if he made that wrong choice. In fact, whether Adam knew it or not, everything for which he was responsible, the direction of his life, his progeny, and the entire earth, would all be dramatically affected by his choice to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam, the responsible one, was also an innocent man living in a pristine environment, which included nothing to influence him toward the wrong choice.

In addition to having an external commandment directly from God, Adam had a God-created conscience, on which was written the law of God and his own internal sense of right. Adam heard with his ears and knew inside what was right and wrong. His conscience reinforced the fact that this option was a moral one: one choice was wrong and evil and would bring guilt and condemnation, while all other choices were right and good and worthy of praise. One choice would yield death and cursing, but the others only life and blessing. One choice would not please God, and all others would please Him.

Genesis does not show that Adam had a way to eliminate the bad option and give him no wrong choice to make. Regardless of how many times he did not eat from the that tree, he would always be able to make the wrong choice next time. Was it like God’s law to Moses, in which no amount of obedience to any law or to all the laws could give life or provide righteousness, since the law must be obeyed tomorrow too? Could eating from the other named tree in

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the middle of the garden: the Tree of Life have provided some unstated blessing, even life and righteousness? What would have happened if Adam had instead eaten from the Tree of Life? God said later, even after Adam’s sin, that he could eat of that tree and live forever, and possibly receive other blessings. Did Adam talk with God about this, or about any way to get out from under the commandment? Was it inevitable that Adam or one of his descendants would eat the forbidden fruit? There are many unknowns about life in the garden with God.

Even with many situational questions, Adam seemed to have every advantage – his creation, his environment, his relationship with God, his astonishing authority and ability to exercise it, and more. Yet, in Genesis, it seems that regardless of how long he obeyed, Adam was always able to make the wrong choice and release death into the world.

Certainly, choosing the bad option would involve much more than eating: Adam would have to devalue God’s way and disobey His direct command in order to eat the forbidden fruit. Yet, regardless of how he may have struggled with God’s command and consequence, no damage would have been done if he had not eaten the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. For Adam to consider the bad option to be appealing and its results to be attractive would not bring the evil consequences into the world.

Neither could Adam bring evil into the world by choosing his own way or his own object of worship. If such actions were possible to him in that entirely good earth, his home and his dominion, no evil consequences would have happened in the world. Evil would be released only if Adam made the deliberate choice of the one bad option that God had created.

That bad option and the consequences for choosing it did not come from the serpent, devil, Satan, Adam, Eve, or any other created being. When the serpent talked with Eve, he did not create a new option. The ability to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil had existed since God planted it in the garden. The fact that this action was a bad option, was settled when God told Adam not to eat of it. The fact that death would follow Adam’s eating was determined by God alone. The serpent had nothing to do with any of this. This is how God made the world to work. The wrong choice of a specific bad option already existing would yield pre-set evil consequences – no other action or event would harm the world.

Consequences of Adam’s Breaking God’s Commandment.Evil was not created when Adam chose the bad option, or when those first consequences corrupted the whole world. We imagine many evils such as rejecting God, despising Him or His goodness or His good creation, but all these evil options, with their consequences are created by God alone. No other being is responsible for the existence of this or any other bad option.

When Adam chose the bad option, he directly disobeyed God. He listened to his wife and ate the forbidden fruit. When Adam chose the bad option, the evil of the death that God had warned about was unleashed into the world, and immediately impacted the world and all life. First, both Adam and Eve noticed that they were naked and sought cover. Second, both Adam and Eve did not accept blame. This indicates that they did not accept their responsibility for their own actions, and likely abandoned for a time the responsibility that God had given them when He commanded them to take dominion over all the earth. On a personal level, they devolved to being victims. Taking no responsibility, they failed to exercise their God-given authority on a practical level.

God also declared some specific ways the death had entered into the world. He cursed the serpent and proclaimed its battle with the woman and her seed, and its demise. He also cursed the ground, in which was planted corrupted seeds. As a result, Adam all people would have to work harder at growing crops and herbs to eat. Now the work to tend the garden included pulling weeds and replenishing the soil. God also declared sorrow for the woman in childbirth. The initial effects of Adam’s sin were significant.

Additionally, God said that humanity now knew good and evil. The serpent, with a measure of truth, used this possibility to persuade Eve to eat that forbidden fruit. Knowing good and evil made humans more like God. Apparently, as first created in God’s image, humans did not have this knowledge. Was it best for them not to have it, or was there a better way to obtain it? To us, this knowledge is a factor in the responsibility to choose good options. Bad options now include the potential to actively or passively reject God and His ways.

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Tragically, this also damaged the intimate relationship with God for which they had been created in God’s image. His sin ended his ability to walk and talk with God in the garden. God did not move, but He threw Adam and his wife out of the garden and prevented access to the Tree of Life. God did not withdraw, but a relationship with Him would now become a faith-based one as experienced by Abel and Enoch and Noah, mentioned early in Genesis and recounted in Hebrews 11.

The list of consequences was already severe, but an unseen effect had the most impact: the death had entered the world. Although it was not immediately noticed, the earth and all life were corrupted. Everything had begun to die. Since all life could reproduce, it might be hoped that the death effect was temporary or limited. But no. The reproductive seed of all life was corrupted as well. Concerning humans, we learn in Romans 5 that this corruption specifically affected the male seed; every person conceived with the human male seed has been corrupted immediately at conception. Only one person in earth’s history has been conceived differently, a conception and life that made it possible for God to solve the “everything is corrupted” problem, as described in Part 3 of Book 1.

What We Can Get Wrong About the Effects of Adam’s sin:Adam’s sin was so bad that we think we are justified in blaming it for much that we see as bad or that we do not understand. Adam’s sin and its effects can be like a dark closet which stores custom, inexpressible, explanations for negative things that Adam’s sin did not cause. Most affected seems to be our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified. We may water it down, or miss its root effect, or allow it to become a sort of performance gospel.

Yet, the saving power of God is great and the drawing power of Jesus lifted up is great. We can be encouraged that almost any presentation of the gospel will be effective in people believing and becoming new creatures in Christ Jesus. People believe even when presentations are not humble and prayerful. It is comforting that we do not have to tell the gospel perfectly, but, thankfully, we can quite easily be better. The Gospel is marvelous as a whole, as well as piece by piece, but all of us can understand it more accurately, embrace it more gratefully, and communicate it more clearly.

The previous section listed many details of Adam’s sin and its consequences. Genesis 3 recounts the events and some other passages like Romans 5 that expound directly on Adam’s sin. These are true as well as horrible. But we must not add other horrible things that God did not say, that are not in His word, or that are not true. We must not make anything up, vaguely saying that Adam messed it up. The ideas below are wrong, but have been justified by pointing to Adam’s sin and hiding them in that dark closet.1. It is wrong to say that any position of authority changed.

Adam’s did not lose his authority over the earth. Nowhere does God hint that Adam was any less responsible for the earth. And his own world, corrupted and cursed with thorns and thistles, was still his responsibility, and still to be subdued if he was to eat. Certainly, Adam disobeyed God’s word and initial commandment, and in doing so rejected God’s authority over him, at least at that moment. But this rejection did not change God’s delegation of authority over the whole earth to humanity, or to him as the first human. Of course, only in submitting to God’s control would he be able to handle his responsibility well, but he still had that authority, regardless of how responsibly he acted.

And neither did Adam yield his authority to another, to the degree that such a sub-delegation was possible. Concerning Satan, Adam did not yield any control to the serpent – they never spoke to each other. The serpent deceived only Eve. For his part, Adam listened to his wife’s words and followed her in eating the fruit. Satan is powerful, but has no rightful authority over any human, and can neither take it, nor force human submission. In the Bible, no person is ever required to “get through” Satan in order to get to God. It would be a problem if someone has yielded personal control to Satan, but the solution then is to take back control and exercise authority at God’s direction.

In the New Testament, it appears from Satan’s words that human leaders of all nations were deceived and yielded control to Satan in some form. In the Old Testament, there is no indication that Satan had any authority on the earth at all. That powerful arch-enemy convinced King David that he should take a forbidden census, and God used the accuser to bring Job to nothing so that his bedrock faith in God would again manifest in his heart. Besides these two, it is hard to find any Old Testament examples of the earthly activity of Satan or any spiritual power under him.

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In sum, the record of Genesis and other restatements throughout the Bible declare the reality that humanity has dominion over the earth. When God acts with Almighty power on the earth, it does not mean He is exercising earthly authority, or intervening at His own discretion. Humans, who are in charge, authorize God’s activity on the earth. It is because He is God that this activity is so powerful, and overwhelming, and effective in advancing His purposes.

2. It is wrong to say that anything about God changed.There is a mistaken idea that Adam’s sin made God angry toward the sinful human race and that a part of Jesus’ work was to appease this God of wrath so that He could again love and be merciful and forgiving toward His creation. But this is an incorrect view of God anywhere in the Bible. God never changed when Adam sinned or at any other time. God has always been loving and kind, gracious and merciful, acting and directing His people toward the best and most blessed life possible, in addition to His being holy and just and so much more. The goodness of God is clear in many passages of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 7:6 – 12 is one example where, in the midst of directions for Israel to completely conquer the land of Canaan, Moses tells the people, “… the Lord your God chose you to be a special people unto Himself … the Lord did not set his love on you because you were [populous] … but because the Lord loved you and because he desired to keep the promise He made to your fore-fathers … “ While sin distorts the relationship that Adam or anyone else can have with God, God was not changed or restricted because of Adam’s sin or anyone else’s sin.

For another example, a favorite scholar and theologian described, in his works, how God’s holiness was broken by Adam’s sin, in some manner that I did not follow well. This unique and complex idea led him to highly exalt the work of Christ on the cross to repair that breakage as foundational to much more that Christ accomplished. While I loved how he brought every world and personal situation to the cross for explanation and resolution, I eventually tried to find out what the Bible says about how Adam or his sin affected God’s holiness. I could not find it. I could find nothing in the Bible about any damage to God at all. Nothing of His great and holy character or person or active power has ever changed. God is Eternal and eternally immutable.

3. It is wrong to say that anything changed about the way God created the human. One extra effect commonly read into the results of Adam’s sin is the loss of the free ability to make choices. The concepts of “Free Will” vs “Enslaved Will” are often mentioned. As previously mentioned, our options are always limited to some degree depending on the situation. Our age, our family, our community, our country, our work, and more necessarily limit our options. Since options of each person are restricted to varying degrees, no one has an entirely free will, yet each person remains entirely free to choose from the unique, personal options available.

Adam’s sin caused the death and corruption to be passed to all of us, but it did not require anyone to be a slave to any sin. Many chose to sin, habitually sin, even whole cultures, but no one is required to choose certain options or unable to choose other options. Nowhere does the Bible indicate anything except a free ability to choose. Most who believe that the will is hopelessly enslaved, and that people cannot choose God’s solution or believe into Christ, also believe that God must give the needed grace and faith or a person’s belief is not effectual. Yet, most of those believing that our will is hopelessly enslaved, still hold individuals responsible for their actions.

The free ability to choose God’s solution is the central human responsibility. This free ability does not discount God’s abundant grace, so instrumental both to solve the sin problem in Christ Jesus and, often with providential direction, to bring a person to a place where this choice is seen clearly and attractively. Preaching Christ crucified, lifting Jesus up, and the love of the brethren are some of the Biblical means of this grace, means that brings a person face to face with the way out of the otherwise deep and inescapable inner corruption.

4. It is wrong to say we are dead because we sin.Adam’s sin caused death to enter the world. That is the root problem. But, that death is not caused by anyone’s sin, neither is death transmitted to Adam’s descendants by sin. The transmission of the death is by the corrupted male seed of conception. Adam’s seed was corrupted with the death, and he passed that corruption and death to all his children: all his children get that death at conception; everyone conceived normally is corrupted with that consequence of Adam’s sin at conception – none of us wait till we have been born and actually commit sin. We do

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not have to watch in judgment for children to commit that first sin; they have had the death since they were conceived. (Chapter 3 of Book 1 describes this.)

This is most important because an inaccurate definition of the problem, leads to an inaccurate description of the solution in the work of Jesus. Said another way, not properly understanding the fall of the human race leads to not getting the cross right. If we do not realize exactly what was broken, if we do have God fixing exactly that when Jesus was crucified and risen, our understanding and presentation of our glorious gospel will be affected. Going further, if we miss God’s precise solution in Christ and Him crucified, as described in the Bible, the basis and object of our faith will likely be something different from God’s precise solution.

In making sins committed the focus, we easily miss the primacy of our internal corruption problem. Being dead in sins is an effect of being corrupted at conception, which happens before anyone performs any action of any kind. Sins are a problem, a serious problem, every single sin produces or leads to death, but sins are not the root problem. Sins committed need to be remitted and forgiven, but it will do no good if a believer remains corrupted inside. Of course, new life and being made a new creation are included in the many benefits of believing the gracious gospel as commonly presented. But, not often mentioned is the root problem that must be solved: the deep corrupted nature of every person conceived with the corrupted male seed. God’s solution is to exchange our core death for God’s righteousness. All other benefits need that foundation, described in Part 3 of Book 1.

Seeing acts of sin as the problem, leads to two specific problems with our gospel. First, it requires that Jesus suffer the just punishment for all sins committed, past, present, and future, and many add that it applies only to sins of those who will believe and be saved. Second, in evangelizing, it requires convincing people that they are sinners and need Jesus to pay for all their sins. There is of course truth in these. Understanding and believing this has become saving faith for millions in all ages. Again, the gospel is so powerful and broad that this message is often very effective … but can we express it more accurately?

On the first problem, the Bible never teaches that Jesus’ sacrifice provides forgiveness for future sins. In the Bible, no sacrifice ever offered applied to future sins. The expectation was always that the offeror will do better from now on. Even the annual sacrifice where Israel’s high priest brought blood into the presence of the Holy God, provided atonement only for the previous year’s sins.

But we exalt the power of the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice to remit and forgive past sins, as described in Romans 3 and Hebrews 9. It is so important to know that they are not a problem; those who believe into Christ Jesus, become an entirely new creation, made the righteousness of God in Christ. A new creation! A new conception by the word of God and a new birth into God’s kingdom. The former life is completely dealt with and no believer has any need hang on to it or deal with it in a feeble and foolish natural way. We turn our back to the past; we consider all of our pre-believing life to be dead with Christ. We go forward as ones risen and re-born to new life in Christ, having every qualification and resource to live a blessed life as children of God.

On the second problem, some will say that the unbeliever has to see that just one sin committed is enough to be eternally condemned by God. That is wrong. Corruption is received at conception. Hypothetically, a person could live entirely without sin and still be corrupted. If performance were not the focus, if we did not expect the sinner to feel like a sinner, some objections to the gospel could be eliminated. For instance, many object to being designated the sinners that they are and may find other solutions: 1) they might decide that other religions provide better approaches to solve their behavior problems, 2) they might reject the sinless Saviour who highlights their imperfection, 3) to justify their unbelief, they may use comparisons such as “my sins are not as bad as their sins” or “my sins are not as bad as they had been some years ago”.

Additionally, the gospel focused on sins is a performance gospel. A person’s performance is seen to be the problem and Jesus’ performance is seen to be the solution. We often hear that the power of the gospel is not about what we can ever do, but about what Jesus has done to deal with the sins we have committed throughout our whole life. Again, there is truth here; again this message is often effective in leading people to believe into Christ – but can the glorious gospel of Christ and Him crucified be even more effectual?

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When we focus instead on the people who sin rather than the sins of people, on the root problem rather than on its expressions in life, then the gospel solution, found only in Christ Jesus crucified, is likely to be more fruitful in eliminating objections and encouraging belief. Correctly identifying the root problem as corruption at conception, easily communicates the need we all have, explaining why none of us is right, and why none of us have any way, religious or otherwise, to fix ourselves. It more directly drives us to the one way we can be fixed, to the only solution to our problem: Jesus taking our sin, which God then judged and condemned, allowing God to give believers a new uncorrupted nature, the righteousness of God. (Again, see Part 3 of Book 1)

Conclusion:The bottom line is that Genesis 1 - 3 must be believed exactly as written. If we miss its truths even a little, if we add to or take away from its words, we can go far astray since it is the beginning and the slightest deviation will grow.

Genesis has more that must be believed and Book 3 will begin there. It describes the years after the Garden of Eden that, in 1600 years, culminated in unbridled violence on the earth, which led to God’s mortal judgment against humanity and the earth – a judgment called for by His people, the global flood. It will address the question: “Why does the Bible record just a few significant instances of God’s activity on the earth during the 2000 years between the sin of Adam and the call of Abram? It also builds on God’s word to Noah establishing human government, a look at nations and other earthly authorities, and addressing the question: “Why does God not replace tyrants or others who misuse their dominion?”

??A later book will delve more deeply into how God accomplishes His purposes on the earth with humanity in charge. Subjects such as the future, a preparatory view of prophecy, the importance of the spoken word, and more are used to show ways that God’s plans and purposes are advanced in the earth.

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Epilogue:

Considering the temptation of Jesus in the desert by the devil, I offer three encouragements:1. Live by the Word of God alone.

This book is based solely on the Bible, the Word and Revelation of the Living God. None of it is based on the opinion of any human; no preacher or teacher or Bible scholar I respect, has provided the material for this book. With everything in me open before God, every word of this book is based on the God’s Word in the Bible read literally. Even so, we do not live by answers to hard questions, we do not live by an increasing knowledge and understanding of the world, or even of God. We live by the Word of God alone.

There will be objections and there will be options. So I will ask my favorite question: Where is that in the Bible? We must make sure that what we believe and teach is Biblical; that it fits the reality God created and described for us. We do so in relationship with God to direct us into both the knowledge itself and the application of this true knowledge of God, His Word, and the world as it is.

We will have needs. Jesus’ body certainly had needs after 40 days without food, but like Jesus, we look to God and His Word to guide and provide for us in our need. God knows what our flesh needs; He knows the supply that will work best for us in our world of needs.

2. Do Not Be Eager to Take Dominion. Taking authority over our world and accepting responsibility to take dominion is good – and I would quote God at the end of Genesis 1 saying it is “very good” as a part of the way He created the world to work. But as Jesus clearly stated to the devil, there is something far more important than dominion – worshipping God. We take dominion in God’s way, as He directs us in relationship. Dominion is not the highest objective. It is well known that “power corrupts”. But God has absolute power and is not corrupted. We must be guided by our God to know how, when, and where to obtain power and then how to handle it properly.

Jesus was so guided and committed. He did not accept the devil’s shortcut to gaining all authority over the earth. For him to do so would have left him without his direct relationship with his Father, which would have been his greatest loss. But he also would have lost the full measure of what God planned: Jesus would not have gained authority God’s way and he would have submitted himself to the devil, a master that could never have given him all authority in heaven and that would never agree to let him be King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

Likewise for us. The devil’s plan pales in comparison to God’s plan; and even if it could be a great plan, the devil makes a horrible master. The cost of taking any such a shortcut is immense for us. It may offer some apparent short-term gain, but that would quickly turn into a disaster for everyone and everything we care about, and a huge loss of potential blessing. There are many wrong ways to obtain power. And there are many wrong ways to use power, and many ways to abuse it. Jesus did not take the devil’s way. Let us repent if necessary, and take back our authority if necessary, and then submit to God. Let us determine to be responsible servants of God, receiving His wisdom and direction every moment, refusing every opportunity leading away from God and the path He sets before us.

3. Do Not Test God’s Promises Without Clear Direction. God is so good. He desires to bless His people abundantly. Everything He is and everything He speaks is for our blessing. Therefore, we desire Him and we desire to make His desires, our desires. There is no need to test God or His promises selfishly. Jesus would not presume upon God’s protection; he expected it and received it as he walked in the steps he received from his time with his Father God. He walked safely through crowds that wanted to stone him or push him off a cliff … he was able to live confidently as he followed God, in His ways.

But Jesus lived and ministered with this confidence after he proved himself by telling the devil, No. It was the devil, not God, that told him incomplete words from Psalm 91, claiming that God’s angels would protect him if he jumped from the top of the temple. Wrong. No promise and no words in the Bible have that power. God will

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honor those promises when we are led by Him, not when we have some other direction, even words from the Bible. We walk with God, or we are on our own. We have the need and we have the privilege to be able to walk in safety and blessing in a responsive relationship with God our Father.

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Another question has been raised: Was it partly their own fault? were the children of Israel themselves were responsible for being in slavery in Egypt? This event is special. The Bible has much to say about it, some of which will be addressed further when describing how God works in the world as a part of Book 3.

Below are a few of the Bible verses indicating that God knows what will happen before it happens. This will be addressed in Book 3. Some questions to think about: The future: does it exist already? how can God declare it in advance if it does not? how do we have free choice if

it does already exist? God’s foreknowledge: is it God determining the future; always knowing what will happen because He established

everything permanently before the beginning of time? or is it God seeing into future events, an advance knowledge of what will happen by free human choices? or is it God knowing all the laws, all the free choices of everyone in the past, everything producing this moment and setting in motion the next moment, and the ones after that? In this last case, we would ask how God might know far into the future or how He can declare what will happen at the end of the world, for instance. The Bible does provides additional ideas on this which will be addressed in the next book, ideas such as providence, the power of words, the preparation of the world for Jesus’ coming and ministry, and more. The Bible says much about God’s ways of working in the world and of accomplishing His purposes.

A later book will delve more deeply into how God accomplishes His purposes on the earth with humanity in charge. Subjects such as the future, a preparatory view of prophecy, the importance of the spoken word, and more are used to show ways that God’s plans and purposes are advanced in the earth.

2388 13 times all Lord hardenedImperfect - caused - I & 1st Person 4:21;

Active - Simple God 3rd person 7:13; 7:22; 8:19; 9:35; Active - Intensive God 3rd person 9:12; 10:20; 10:27; 11:10; 14:8; Perfect - Intensive God 1st person 14:4;

9:2 and you continue, one hardening with them. Pharaoh Participle - caused

1st person Participle - Intensive 14:17

2 others 4:4; 12:33

7185 2 times: Ex 7:3 Imperfect - caused to be cruel (God with I and 1st person)13:15 and it is as Pharaoh had crueled to send us out

3513 10 times: Make weighty, be weighty, weigh down3 God active 3 Pharaoh active 1 passive

Simple - Imperfect - Imperative 5:9: "Let work weigh them down"Infinitive - caused 8:15: "Pharaoh sees he has respite to weigh down his heart"Active - caused 8:32 "and Pharaoh weighs down his heart" 9:34 "he weighed down his heart"

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Active - Simple 9:7 "and he weighs down Pharaoh's heart"Perfect - caused 10:1 "I have weighed down his heart"Passive - Imperfect 14:4 "and I will be weighed down in Pharaoh and all his army" 14:17 "and I will be weighed down in Pharaoh and all his army" Passive - Infinitive 14:18 "Yahweh in to weigh down in Pharaoh"

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