The Fall, Redemption and What it Means to Humanity Part II

In part I we found that the knowledge of good and evil, coupled with mortality or death was/is the cause of most of the suffering in the world. This is at least true of all of the suffering caused by humanity against members of the human race. And furthermore, a future discussion could prove that we, via the same fallen state, are responsible collectively for the suffering caused by nature but, that is another article. This suffering stems from the greed that results from human mortality. This greed is merely the survival instinct left unchecked. This condition creates faulty judgment of what is good and what is evil in the world. Therefore, many times, when people think that they understand good and how to achieve it, they actually are clueless as to what true good is. True good is found in absolute justice and fairness. All of the great religions teach that God is good and just. Jesus stated that there is none good but God. So then, if one is to determine what is truely good, one must be in communication with God or the source of creation. Some people call it the mind at large or collective consciousness. What ever the case, the true knowledge of good can only come from the source. One finds that goodness is the nature of God.

What is the nature of God you may ask? Well, the apostle John stated that God is love. God is selfless love. The apostle Paul describes this love with the following definition: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." It seems that human nature is the opposite of these things. There is no way that natural humanity can fulfill these statements by nature, unless, they gain the qualities of God or the source. If we are made in the image of God, if we are inhabited by the divine, if the divine nature is our true nature then it should be possible for us to have these qualities.

This is where redemption comes into place. Redemption brings us back to the state we enjoyed before we were born into this world. If we are part of the eternal, and I believe we are with all my heart, then we have these timeless qualities. We need to connect with them however. The way to do that is to be able to transcend our mortality. We must be convinced, i.e., know for certain, that we are eternal. This can only be accomplished by faith. We must have faith in the eternal goodness and purpose of God. Furthermore, we must be convinced that we are children of God with a direct connection to the source of creation and the ultimate creating power of the universe and finally, we must rest completely in this knowing. It is not a mental assent. It is not an intellectual knowing. It is a spiritual knowing at the very base of our spiritual existence. It must come from the indwelling Christ/anointing.

In Part III we will look at the role Jesus of Nazareth played in this redemptive process and find out what is meant by the phrase, "the first born of many brethren."