The Road Back Home: The Epic Revelation of God’s Heart

By Joseph Cavon and Karyn Cavon

Do you desire to know and experience God's exhilarating journey for creation? The Bible reveals God's magnificent plans for his dominion and most valued treasure, mankind. However, because of its many complexities, most miss the big picture of Scripture, focusing on obscure doctrinal details, and consequently are confused about their own role and God's purposes. This book was written as a tool to assist in overcoming these difficulties by presenting the structure of the Bible through analyzing three fundamental plans of God--his original plan for mankind, which was corrupted by sin, his salvation plan that triumphed over sin, and his restoration plan that is steadily returning creation to its genesis. By first accurately examining and gaining a solid grasp of the flow of Scripture through these plans prior to delving into its many doctrinal details, one can far more effectively comprehend its essential message and the intentions of God's heart toward his people. This book's intended audience is not merely new believers in Christ, but also those who have been Christians for many years without yet obtaining a firm proficiency of God's comprehensive message, necessary for healthy growth and fruitfulness. Come, then, and experience the epic revelation of God's heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Aug 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9781666776539

Joseph Cavon

Joseph and Karyn Cavon have served as missionary church-planters in Ankara, Turkey, since 2003. Throughout these years, Joseph has labored as an evangelist, teacher, and pastor at three different indigenous fellowships while Karyn has used her spiritual gifts in evangelism, discipleship, and compassionately ministering to her Turkish siblings. They have three grown children, two boys who grew up in Turkey from a young age, and one daughter who was born in Ankara in 2004.

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section 1

God’s Plans Stated Simply

chapter 1

The Structure of The Bible—Why It’s Important to Know

To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love. —A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

There is a desire placed deep within the hearts of certain people by their Creator. It is a most incredible gift that is known by few and is given by the grace of a loving Father to his cherished child. This desire is like a seed that takes root in rich soil and grows strong into an all-consuming yearning to know truth, to know God in all his fullness, and it cannot, simply cannot, remain unfulfilled. The child of God must learn, must grow, must mature into all that God has purposed him to be. Furthermore, there is an awakening that marks the birth of this desire, which is the commencement of a person’s journey to truly know God. This quickening of the soul is a newly perceived understanding of a somewhat abstract concept; it is a dissatisfaction, a disgust, a heaviness and anguish, concerning the presence and evil workings of personal sin and the general malevolence that exists in the world around us. Just as a blind person may grope around in a suddenly unfamiliar place, searching desperately for something to grab hold of to find secure footing and stabilize his unbalanced body, so, too, the awakened child is prompted by this overwhelming grief of sin to seize upon a stable truth to steady his quivering soul. The Father of all grace is always quick to provide the answer, and at once the child will see the incalculable riches of God in all his glory. The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth . . . For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace (John 1:14, 16 NASB; see also Acts 10:44–47).

Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matt 13:45–46 NKJV). Abraham and Moses experienced this glory of God and his kingdom (the pearl of great value) and willingly gave up all to follow after him. Moses lived for 120 years, and his life was neatly divided into three equal parts of forty years for us to examine. In the first forty years, Moses lived as a prince of ancient Egypt, the greatest empire on earth of its day. He lived in a great palace, had inexhaustible riches, and was provided the greatest education; he had it all, as the world system would say (Exod 2:1–10). But when he saw sin and moved against it, he was forced to escape as an exile into an arid region of the desert of Midian where he lived out the second forty years of his life as a shepherd (Exod 2:11–25). The world system would say that Moses lost it all at this point; they would say he was a fool. This was not the end, though, for when God had finished preparing Moses for the work of shepherding his people, at eighty years of age God called and commissioned him for his final forty years of life, which was a life of constant heartache for the prophet. From that time on, Moses lived the remainder of his life in a miserable, hot, and thirsty land with well over a million stiff-necked, complaining adversaries who often desired to kill him, the very one who cared for them, prayed for them, and pleaded with God for their very lives on many occasions (Exod 15:22—17:7; Num 11–14, 16–17). What do you think the world system would say today about someone who lived a life like Moses? Probably something like, How pathetic! He had it all and lost everything. Could you imagine having that kind of wealth and then just giving it up and walking away? And for what, for a bunch of ungrateful backstabbers! What a loser! Moses didn’t give heed to the mockery of the world system though; rather he steadfastly lived his life in pursuit of God because he loved and valued him above all else. His relationship with his Creator was his supreme delight; God was his heart’s treasure. He didn’t need or want anything from the world because he already possessed the greatest wealth. And when he breathed his last on this earth and awoke in the presence of his Maker, he heard these words, Well done, good and faithful servant . . . Enter into the joy of your lord (Matt 25:23 NKJV). Moses had spent his life as a living sacrifice unto God, doing the work God had called him to do; he loved what God loved, he hated what God hated, and he patiently and lovingly cared for God’s people with his whole heart. Moses certainly gave up all to purchase the pearl of great value! Concerning this, the author of Hebrews wrote, By faith, when he grew up, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be ill-treated with the people of God than to enjoy sin’s fleeting pleasure. He regarded abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes were fixed on the reward (Heb 11:24–26 NET). The apostle Paul also wrote, saying, The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Rom 8:16–18 NASB).

In light of this, let’s make our discussion more personal. What about you? Do you feel heaviness and anguish at the presence and evil workings of personal sin in your life and the general rancor that exists in the world around us? Do you see the glory of God and understand the pearl of great value that has been freely offered to you? Are you ready to pay all just to hear those wonderful words, Well done, good and faithful servant, and to enter into the joy of your Lord? Like the seed that takes root in the rich soil, do you desire to grow strong and mature? Do you yearn to know truth, to know God in all His fullness? Like Moses, do you regard abuse suffered for Christ to be greater wealth than all the treasures of the world system, because your eyes are fixed on the reward of standing in the presence of the majestic King for all eternity? Do you exclaim in your heart as the apostle Paul did that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us? (Rom 8:18 NASB). If so, this book was written to assist and encourage you, our siblings in Christ Jesus, and to help equip you for your pilgrimage on this earth. God’s plans are a road map for us to see the end from the beginning (Isa 46:9–11). His word does answer the great questions of life, such as: (1) Why do I exist? (2) What is life all about? (3) Is there an eternal heaven and hell? God did not create man and leave us uninformed of his intentions and endeavors but has fully disclosed to us his wonderful purposes for life. However, to know God’s eternal plans, we must obtain our answers through his revealed word and not from the minds of mortal men that are united with this corrupt world and the evil forces that currently control it. This world is, as it were, under a shroud of darkness; this is a cursed world that is full of sin with sinful ideas and warped assumptions and teachings about God and eternity. Therefore, if we only look at what is important and meaningful through the lenses of our temporal lives here on earth, live in agreement with the doctrines of sinful men, and set our life goals according to this present evil era, we shall be sorely disappointed, to say the very least, when we enter into eternity.

This book was written to help the student of Scripture understand the big picture of God’s word and thereby answer many of these most important questions in life. Let’s briefly introduce the answers to these questions directly from God, that is, from his word, that we will expand upon in far greater detail throughout the chapters of this book:

1.Why do I exist? What is my overall purpose in life?

•You were uniquely created to glorify God through a special relationship with him. The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise (Isa 43:21 NASB; see also Isa 43:5–7; Pss 86:11–13, 96:1–6; John 4:23–24; 2 Thess 1:10; 1 Pet 2:9–10; Rev 5:8–14).

2.What is life all about? What is my personal function in life?

•You were created to govern earth under God’s ultimate authority. Then God said, ‘Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth’ (Gen 1:26 NASB; see also Gen 1:27–28; Dan 7:27; 1 Cor 6:1–3; 2 Tim 2:12; Rev 5:9–10).

3.Is there an eternal heaven and hell?

•Without any doubt, both exist and both are eternal. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. And those who have insight will shine like the glow of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever (Dan 12:2–3 NASB; see also Matt 8:11–12, 19:28–29, 25:34, 41; John 15:4–8; Rom 2:5–10; Rev 14:10–11).

Just from the answers to these questions alone, do you see why understanding the details of these concepts are of the utmost importance? Each person’s individual response to these truths will determine his eternal location and condition. There are eternal consequences for those who reject God’s direct commands and for those who flagrantly disregard their God-given purpose and responsibilities. Likewise, there is eternal and great reward in following God in obedience, honoring our Creator, rightly reflecting his great glory in the darkness around us, worshiping him in all his splendor and majesty, learning from him, and proclaiming his deeds and greatness among the lost of the world. Indeed, the Christian’s life even now has a sublime and deep satisfaction through understanding our relationship with God and in the uniting of our lives together with him; it is a truly glorious elation to which a mere wielding of words cannot do justice. Trying to convey this experience to an unbeliever is like struggling to explain the concept of color theory to someone born blind. King David penned an incredible treasure as he labored to describe his intimate relationship with God, as he wrote:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Ps

23 NIV

)

Succinctly, this is the enormous divide between Christianity and all religions—Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship with our Creator, God. With this truth in mind, let’s consider the following three questions:

1.What is the main objective of every major religion of the world?

•It is to enter into a form of eternal bliss. For example, the Zoroastrians and Muslims call this eternal bliss Paradise; the Buddhist calls it Nirvana; the Hindu calls it Moksha.

2.In each of the major world religions, how is this main objective achieved?

•The simple answer is, by doing good works. If your good works outweigh your bad, that’s the best chance a person has of obtaining eternal bliss (we will discuss this concept in detail in chapter 3).

3.Because eternal bliss is the main objective of all major religions, what might a person think who leaves one of these world religions to become a follower of Jesus, that is, to become a Christian?

•Before answering this last question, bear in mind that when a person becomes a Christian, he is told that he has already obtained eternal bliss (salvation) through Jesus; he has passed from death and into eternal life. So, what might this person conclude? The most common answer is, I have arrived! Nothing remains to be completed.

Regarding salvation, this last statement is absolutely correct because for a Christian eternal bliss is assured; we have indeed arrived and can be thankful and joyous in the knowledge of our eternal security. However, there is much more to life than salvation from this present world and entrance into heaven in eternity. This salvation is not the main objective; it is merely the beginning of God’s plan for man; it is the first step of true life. Salvation was the necessary act for God to accomplish prior to enabling man to rightly undertake the work that he has prepared for him (this is a topic that we will study in considerable detail in chapter 6). Therefore, when a person comes out of a world religion and becomes a Christian, he can be easily deceived into thinking that there is nothing left to do in life but to wait for death and go to heaven. This is such a sad mistake that many people often make, not realizing that even now God has such an exciting purpose for their lives! That is why it is so very important to know God’s word, so that we can truly understand what life is all about and then take our rightful places in God’s plans.

Now that we have established why it is important to study God’s word, the obvious question before us is, How should we study it? In the preface we wrote, This book is not unique, in the sense that one will not find new information about God’s word within its pages; we have simply endeavored to unfold and express God’s word from a wide-angle perspective that presents his purposes and plans most clearly, namely, his original plan, his salvation plan, and his restoration plan. The following section expands on this idea of how to optimally study God’s word from a wide-angle perspective.

How to Study God’s Word: Structure before Details

In order to best understand the foundational truths of life, there is a big picture for us to see in Scripture. We call this big picture the basic structure of God’s word, and it is this framework that we should strive to learn at the very onset of our journey, before delving into the details of the Bible. Why? It is an axiomatic truth that in order to best understand any concept, a person must rightly discern the structure of the information provided before there can be an accurate understanding of the details. That is why universities have one-hundred-level courses like Biology 101 or Architecture 101. They are designed to aid the student in understanding the structure of scholastic disciplines, prior to diving into their details, by providing a wide range of basic information that reveals their essence, contribution, and function. Academic curricula, therefore, always begins with big picture, one-hundred-level courses that build a strong, scholastic foundation in order to avoid the confusion that is inevitable if advanced material is studied too early in the education. From this starting point, the chosen discipline is studied in ever-greater detail by subsequent upper-level courses (two-hundred-level, three-hundred-level, four-hundred-level). Likewise, without a solid grasp of the big picture of God’s word, one will always be confused about the most basic doctrinal issues. To illustrate this point more clearly, let’s look at the following examples from architecture and navigation.

An example from architecture: If we were to take a person to a construction site and show him a door, just a door, and ask him to tell us what the building is going to look like when it is finished, would he be able to describe it? Of course not. Why? Because the door is just one of a great many details that will come together to finish the building. It is a very small piece of what the building will ultimately be. Granted, there is some good and quality information that can be gathered from the details of the building, such as the door. For instance, the person could look at the craftsmanship of the door and perhaps understand if the finished building will be of good quality, medium quality, or poor quality. He could also tell us if the door was constructed to be an interior or exterior door. However, he could never describe what the finished building was going to look like. He could never answer questions like, What will be the building’s main function (an airport, a hospital, an apartment building, government offices)? What will the building be constructed of (steel, concrete, wood)? What will the building’s dimensions be? Will it be a green building, or will there be active heating and cooling systems? A person cannot deduce vital, big-picture information about the building from a single detail such as a door or even through a collection of finishing details.

However, suppose we were to show a person the building’s structure—its concrete, steel, or wooden frame with its foundation, supports (walls and columns), and a roof—from those structural elements he would be able to perceive the big picture of what the building will be. The look of the building will gradually change as more of the details are added, such as the siding materials, windows and doors, paint and trims, much like adding muscles and skin to a skeleton. But the principle is this: No one can see the big picture of any concept by looking at the minute, individual details only. The function of the details is to couple them with the structure so that the final product can be perfectly understood. Without the main structure, a person cannot see the building itself; it is completely hidden until the designed framework is erected.

An example from navigation: This last example helps us to understand how confusing it can be for a person to process information without first having the big picture in focus. Let’s say you wake up to find yourself in an unfamiliar area. How can you find where you are? Well, let’s say you have your smartphone on you, and you open up your navigation app to see where you are. This is what you see:¹

All of this is great and accurate information, but you still have the same problem because this location is utterly unfamiliar to you; for you it is an unrecognizable area even though there are many details for you to study. In order to get your bearings, what can you do? You can zoom all the way out so that you can see the big picture, something with which you are familiar. Now when you zoom out, this is what you see:

Now there are a lot of familiar places (the continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia), and you can clearly see that you are somewhere in the country of Georgia—that’s the big picture. Now that you have your bearings, you can find more details that will make sense to you. You can do this by zooming into Georgia and discovering what city you are in:

Now you can understand where you are located—Tbilisi, Georgia.

At this point in our discussion, you may be thinking that this topic of structure before details makes sense when it comes to architecture and navigation, but what is the great importance of understanding this concept as it pertains to studying God’s word? There are several problems that result from not understanding the big picture of God’s word, but the greatest of these is this: When a person hears the gospel message and comes to faith, he has learned only enough information from God’s word to take this important first step of becoming God’s child. At this point, most new Christians will immediately enter into the mid-stream of an ongoing Bible study before understanding the big picture of the Bible; they jump right into the details of God’s word before ever seeing the big picture. A few examples of the details of God’s word would be concepts like election, Christian liberty, or God’s sovereignty vs. human freewill. Consequently, many Christians become extremely confused about a great many biblical truths, such as, Can a Christian lose his salvation? or What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Our point is this: Just as a person cannot know what a building will look like by only studying the fine details without seeing the structure of the building, so also a person cannot understand the extent of God’s eternal plans by studying the fine details of the Bible before understanding its structure (this only serves to create confusion). Just as in the example of the maps above, the big picture of the Bible will give you your bearings—an understandable, solid ground with which you can begin your journey. Once you get this big picture, you can slowly zoom into more and more details; that is, you may enter into the two-hundred-, three-hundred, and four-hundred-level classes. Through this process of learning, the difficult meanings of the details in God’s word will fit neatly into place and be much more easily comprehended.

Chapter 1 Conclusions

1.There are many incredibly important questions about man’s eternal condition that should be answered in this life. The answers to eternal questions cannot be provided through man’s intellectual discoveries; they can only be provided by God, who is eternal; these answers must be discovered from God’s revealed word.

2.When a person enters into a right relationship with God, what we call salvation, he has taken his first step in true life. From this starting point a new Christian should be committed to the diligent study and application of God’s word that is able to progressively develop him so that he will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ (Eph 4:13b NLT). The study and application of God’s word can accomplish this because all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work (2 Tim 3:16–17 NLT).

3.In order to establish an understandable, solid ground with which a new Christian can begin his journey, his commitment to diligently study and apply God’s word should coincide with a careful study of the big picture of God’s word, the structure of the Bible, prior to delving into its details and complex Biblical doctrines. Through this process of learning, the difficult, complex concepts that are derived from the details in God’s word will fit accurately into place and be much more easily comprehended and cherished.

With these thoughts in mind, let’s proceed to chapter 2 where we will explore the structure of the Bible, providing it in its most basic form.

1

. Images courtesy of openstreetmap.org.

chapter 2

The Structure of the Bible—In Its Most Basic Form

If you have a Bible that’s falling apart, you’ll have a life that is not. —Adrian Rogers

When a believer does not understand the big picture and the essential message of God’s word, it is difficult, if not impossible, for him to remain passionate about his relationship with the Lord; this is especially true during the trying times of life. It should never be this way, friends, for God has given us much to dwell on, much to fix our gazes upon, much to relish that keeps us desiring more and more! And he, in fact, revealed these things to us to elicit adoration that would bubble up in our hearts and be expressed in boisterous praise to his glorious grace. God’s word is, indeed, more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb (Ps 19:10 NASB). Sadly, so often people come into the very presence of God by opening his word, only to read it by ritual habit. The mantra has become, A chapter a day keeps the Devil away. This approach misses the point of reading and savoring God’s word in order to nourish a true relationship with our Father. How can one come right into the presence of God without any excitement whatsoever but merely with a dull sense of duty that the Bible must be read in order to be affective in one’s life? May this never be the case for any of God’s true children! With this in mind, let’s continue now in our endeavor to learn the big picture of God’s word together in order to draw on that portrait during life’s most difficult times, contemplating all God has done for us and all that he is, considering the passion he has for us as revealed in his plans, remembering our relationship with him, and so fueling our own passion afresh.

The main structure of God’s word in its most basic form can be found in the following four statements:

Statement #1: God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in them (time, space, and matter)—God is, has always been, and always will be the sovereign Lord (ruler) over everything he created.

Statement #2: God gave mankind rulership of planet Earth to reign over all of it under his ultimate authority.

•We call this God’s original plan.

Statement #3: Man rebelled against God’s authority by willingly following Satan. Man forfeited his rulership of earth at that time, relinquishing it to Satan, the one he chose to follow in rebellion.

Statement #4: God responded (and is still responding) to sin and man’s rebellion with a plan to restore the rulership of earth to mankind under his ultimate authority.

•We call this response God’s restoration plan (which can only be achieved through his salvation plan).

These four statements, then, form the basic understanding of the three major plans of God that will ultimately come full circle and restore his original plan upon their completion. At this point, we urge you to carefully study the illustration provided at the end of this chapter as it reflects graphically these four statements and should be an effective visual learning tool to use in conjunction with the written explanations provided in this chapter.

When some Christians read these statements, they will become uneasy or even upset because in them there is not any mention of some of the most major and beloved doctrines of the Bible, such as the atoning work of Jesus on the cross, his resurrection, or the commencement of the New Testament. How can we possibly assert that these four points are the main structure of God’s word and not acknowledge these very important doctrines? No doubt these doctrines are incredibly important, and they all play a major part in God’s plans. However, when we break down God’s word to the most basic structure, these important doctrines, as we will see, are the details that, in order to be best understood, need to be viewed within the overall big picture of God’s word.

Let’s explain this in a little more detail. As an example, think of the doctrine of salvation, that is, how God dealt with mankind’s sin problem in order to restore mankind to a right relationship with him. Do you see that salvation is something that was necessary to accomplish in order to restore mankind to the rulership that was lost? Sin had to be dealt with first, before God could restore mankind to a place of rulership. Salvation is, therefore, one of the most important details that God has accomplished to restore his original plan. That is why we said in chapter 1 that salvation is the first step to true life—it is not the end goal, but a beginning for the Christian.

If we only look at the detail of salvation outside of God’s overall plan (the big picture of the Bible), then salvation for some people will become an end in and of itself. However, if salvation is the end, then why should Christians need to do anything other than wait for their time to die and be ushered into the presence of God? Why would God instruct his true children to:

1.Continue in good works? (Titus 2:14; 3:1,8,14)

2.Be a preacher, teacher, or evangelist? (Eph 4:11)

3.Walk as children of light? (Eph 5:8)

4.Be transformed by the renewing of your mind? (Rom 12:2)

5.Put to death the deeds of your body? (Rom 8:13; Col 3:5)

6.Walk in the Spirit? (Gal 5:16)

Because salvation is not the end, it is the first step of true life. At salvation God places us into his family, gives us his Spirit (power and wisdom), and changes us through sanctification to be more like Jesus; we are then able to begin, continue, and complete the work he set aside for us to do. This work has several facets:

1.The ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17–21)

2.The ministry of warning and teaching (Col 1:28)

3.The ministry of encouraging the church (1 Cor 12:7, 14:12)

4.The ministry of serving each other in love (Gal 5:13; Eph 4:12)

In the main structure of God’s word, we can see that he has given us this work in order to be his representatives on earth (2 Cor 5:20; Ezek 33:1–11), that through us he would increase his family while simultaneously training up his children to be the rulers he created them to be; he is teaching us how we must rule creation under his ultimate authority.

The Structure of the Bible: A Slightly Broader View

Many of the concepts of God’s word can be extremely confusing for people, especially for those who have not studied it deeply for many years as others have. Therefore, it is our intent to address these difficult concepts at different levels and from multiple perspectives in order that they can be more easily grasped by all who venture to continue in this study. Furthermore, whereas the concepts are defined in very basic terms in this chapter, in sections 2 and 3 of this book, specifically in chapters 4 through 9, we will increase the amount of details to a much greater extent in order to produce and convey a full picture of the structure of the Bible. At this point, though, let’s consider each of the four statements mentioned at the beginning of this chapter by adding slightly more information to each of them.

Statement #1

God created the heavens, the earth, and everything in them (time, space, and matter)—God is, has always been, and always will be the sovereign Lord (ruler) over everything he created.

Firstly, we must understand that because God created everything, he is therefore the supreme ruler over everything; everything belongs to him. Everything means everything: planets, stars, life (bodies and souls), air, seas, minerals, lands, nations, possessions material and non-material, things seen and unseen; everything belongs to God (Deut 10:14; Job 41:11; Ps 24:1, 89:11).

Secondly, when God originally created everything it was all perfect and there was not any corruption or defilement; sin had not yet entered into creation (Gen 1:31). It was the work of both Satan and man that introduced sin into the world (Gen 3:1–6). Sin is what destroys everything, and it came into God’s perfect creation (his possession). Sin is a most interesting subject and we have, therefore, dedicated chapter 3 to study it in greater detail. For now, it is sufficient to understand that sin corrupts and negatively affects everything (except God) and that God has no part with sin—sin must stay completely outside of God. As the apostle John so clearly stated in 1 John 1:5b (NKJV), God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

Thirdly, because there was no sin at the time of the original creation, there was perfect fellowship between God and man. God walked side-by-side with man in the garden of Eden, and spoke with him face-to-face; there was perfect harmony and pure fellowship.

Lastly, because God is the rightful owner of everything, he can do as he desires with what is his, and he chose to give a governing authority over this one planet and all that is within it to his most special creation, man. That leads us to statement #2.

Statement #2

God gave mankind rulership of planet Earth to reign over all of it under his ultimate authority—God’s original plan.

This concept is referred to in theology as coregency. God has remained in total control of all that he created, but he gave man control under his authority to rule, or govern, the earth according to his design and will. This last part is very important because God did not give man the right to rule the earth according to his own dictates. God has always been an engaged ruler that actively manages his creation; this engagement of God with his