The material universe is sustained by two energies moving in opposite directions. The significance distinguishes life and death, being the opposites, represented in good and bad. The bad or negative, while representing death; is harmless without being in contact with good or positive material.
The two forces of energy represent the functionality of the material universe. This can be observed in how electricity is generated. The live wire on its own carries no effect in generating power. Electricity, used in various activities is generated by utilizing positive and negative energies.
The mechanism functions according to the defined applications as long as the two forces are kept separate. They are utilized for generating electricity for whatever purpose. The engineering skill is meticulously applied, to avoid accidents. The flows, moving in opposite directions can cause an explosion, when in contact. In humanity, the positive energy is represented in the Holy Spirit, signifying life, while the negative signifies death.
When Adam was formed, God advised him to avoid taking the fruit, representing death. “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen 2:17). The reality of Adam’s death was symbolized in disobeying that instruction.
Adam had been a living soul, like any organism. What God breathed in Adam was not the Holy Spirit, representing life. That is why Adam became a living soul. The reality of Adam’s formation is clarified in Job 32:8: “But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that gives him understanding.”
The spirit, granting human understanding, is not the Holy Spirit with eternal life. Like electric energy, the human spirit is in the physical universe, sustainable in the negative energy, but with a temporary life form. Although a living organism, Adam was dust, into which God said he would return, when breathless.
“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust, you will return” (Genesis 3:19 NIV).
The live component, represented in the Holy Spirit was not accessible to Adam, whose disobedience reduced him to a deadly condition. Adam was a living soul, but, like animal species, sustained in negative energy. Living in this world, albeit, for a duration, requires hard work, but very insignificant.
“For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 2:21-23 NIV).
The above passage perfectly describes the condition of humanity. A person may be proud of his achievements, compared with others, but unaware of being dust. Death levels everything, so that there is no difference whether one dies with billions in his account, or without anything.
And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” (Genesis 3:22-24 NIV).
Banished from the tree of life, humans were condemned to remain as living souls, like animal species—alive today but dead tomorrow. After sinning, humans would fertilize the soil, like other organisms, until God’s designated time of mercy. There is no exception, depending on the person’s choice.
That describes the state of humanity, before the providential opportunity, provided through Jesus Christ. The story of Adam’s descendants leads to Noah—representing a different dispensation. However, Noah’s dispensation continued with the death attributes.
Human life on this planet has never been easygoing. Noah’s genealogy leads to Abraham’s calling. The adventures of Abraham are an antitype of Christian calling, as reflecting Christian conduct. See [Seven attributes of Abraham describe Christian faith].
To project differences between positive and negative forces, the Israelites were given laws. Such laws grant opportunities to experience happiness when strictly obeyed. God knew how unworkable those laws were, in physical matter. God’s laws are Spiritual, but humans are physical.
The two forces cannot be mixed without consequences. The Israelites were designated as God’s people and expected to live according to God’s Commandments. They received punishment for disobeying but experiencing happiness when obeying them.
Anyone can argue that the Israelites lived better than the rest of humanity. But, strict obedience causes anyone to conjecture that the Israelites lived miserably. God blessed them when obeying, but severely punished them for disobedience. This was a story of choosing between life and death.
The Covenant had demarcations between obeying God and disobeying God. These were principles represented in positive and negative energies. The choice was to either obey or disobey, as regulated according to two principles. However, the Israelites’ laws represented a standard for the entire humanity.
Contrary to what most people conjecture, human conditions of living have not changed. Any person either reaps blessings or is cursed, depending on obeying or violating those laws. The advent of Jesus did not change this reality, except that His followers would live differently.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-19).
Most of those, invalidating God’s Laws, do so on the basis of ignorance. Jesus said those laws remain valid until heaven and earth disappear. The heaven and earth disappear after Judgment Day (Revelation 21:1). This means God’s Laws remain valid, until the finalization of redemptive processes on Judgment Day (Revelation 20:11ff).
“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19-20 NIV).
The proponents of invalidating God’s laws mistake Paul’s teachings for promoting lawlessness. However, Paul’s messages were for Christians. The clear distinction is that Christianity is qualified by the Holy Spirit, without which, one is not Christian.
Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:8-14 NIV).
The Israelites’ story shows God tolerating them, short of decimating their existence, entirely. But because of His mercy, enduring forever, He constantly forgave them. The Israelites’ story carries nothing admirable.
To understand Christianity, we have to look at Abraham’s Story. He never doubted God. Abraham’s most significant test was when God asked him to sacrifice his only Son. One wonders what went through his mind when God asked him to sacrifice his only son.
“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Hebrew 11:17-19 NIV).
The most significant lesson from Abraham’s experience is that he was singularly called. The group mentality does not apply to Christianity, signified by a lonesome journey. People’s opinions carry no significance. Like Abraham, Christians take instructions from God, not from humans.
Putting too much reliance on pastors was never designed for Christians. Belonging to a Church grouping is not mandated for Christians. The referred [Seven attributes of Abraham describe Christian faith] can help believers to understand this reality.
Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying; ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king.
“Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have; cannot be my disciples” (Luke 14:25-33 NIV).
Using the above passage as a standard, how many Christians do we have in this world? Only the truth sets us free. Jesus declared: “those of you who do not give up everything you have; cannot be my disciples” (Luke 14:33B NIV).
A Christian is a new Christian; no longer governed by laws. However, non-Christians are still under the law. The multitudes following Jesus did so, out of convenience, but were not Christians.
I suppose the majority of people in denominational gatherings, are not Christians. They congregate for purposes of convenience. They might be safe, as long as not having received the Holy Spirit—the livewire.
It is impossible for God’s children to deliberately continue sinning. God’s grace, through Jesus, grants safety. Hence, Jesus set conditions, to be among His disciples. The unpardonable sin is commonly not considered by pastors, focusing on tithes more than God’s truth.
“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matthew 12:31-32 NIV).
The positive and negative energies cannot mix, without consequences. The Holy Spirit, having been withheld by God, until Jesus, cannot be randomly abused, without consequences. I have said this before and I repeat: Christianity is not something that one does, for lack of other things to do. It is the thing to do.
“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” (Hebrews 10:26-27 NIV).
The physical nature demands more than can be imagined. Without surrendering everything, it is impossible to be a Christian. It is better to be inferred to as a lunatic, for Jesus’ sake. When one gives up everything, to obey Christ, one’s life is guaranteed, through the Holy Spirit.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilization, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, bringing relief to those having witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions––leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book as a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
The Print copy is now available at Amazon.com for $13.99
Also available as an e-copy at Lulu.com for $6.99
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