In
the beginning God, the I AM, created everything. Before there was anything
(like water, plants, people), before there was space or planets, and before
there was even time, there was the Great I AM. In His perfect wisdom, He
devised a plan that would accomplish the sharing of His glory. You see, I AM
was and is perfect. He is supreme, sovereign, and holy. His glory was the goal
of creation. It was why He did it. His glory, although beyond compare, can be
likened to the greatest painting ever brushed on a canvas. The painting is so
majestic that it must be shared with the world. What good would it be to keep
it hidden and secret? And I AM’s glory was and is infinitely greater than any
painting. And so, He orchestrated a plan for a world (a canvas) to display His
glory and a people to behold it. I AM created a place and people for the
ultimate purpose of His glory. His plan was to fill the entire earth with His
glory.
Now
this plan, this story, does not unfold in a manner we might expect. And why
should it? Our expectations always fall short of the full and true splendor of
I AM’s glory. This plan, this story, begins in a garden-paradise like no other.
I AM created a place, a temple, to dwell with His people. That was the only way
they could experience His glory to its fullest. To be in the presence of I AM
and behold his glory in such a close, intimate way was the highest pleasure and
fullest joy there is to experience (Ps. 16:11).
I
AM’s plan, however, involved using humans not only to behold his glory but also
as the means to display His glory. Instead of actively showing His grandeur to
the world, He decided to create humans special above all other creatures. He
created them as living statues bearing His image and likeness. Like any statue,
its purpose is to reflect properly and in a favorable light the one whose image
is displayed. Thus, these image-bearers had a responsibility from the very beginning,
to reflect I AM’s glory as they were created in His likeness.
Being
created in His image also implied something else wonderful as well. They were
also placed in God’s garden-paradise as kings to rule over His perfect place.
You see, in ancient times, kings always erected statues of themselves to
display their authority. It was their way of saying, “Though I may not be here
physically, this statue of me represents my authority over this land.” And I AM
was simply doing this very thing. He would rule His creation as Creator and
King, but He would do it by means of mediating that authority through His
image-bearers. His people would have dominion over the fish of the sea, the
birds of the air, and every animal all over the land. They were the
vice-regents of I AM’s creation. What a glorious plan!
But
it doesn’t stop there. This garden-paradise-temple had borders. After all, I AM
started with only 2 humans, Adam and Eve. But I AM commanded these two to
reproduce, multiply, and fill the earth. Essentially what He was commanding
them to do was to fill the earth with more image-bearing vice-regents who would
rule God’s creation and reflect His glory as image-bearers from all parts of
His world. And so God also commanded Adam and Eve to take care of and maintain
the garden in the same way a priest would take care of and maintain a sacred
place or sanctuary, a temple. Adam and Eve were to keep it clean so the holy I
AM would continue to dwell in the midst of His people and allowing free access
to the greatest joy in the world, the presence of God. And, if evil entered this
garden-sanctuary-temple, their duty as kings was to judge that evil and as
priests to remove it. So, as time would continue and the population of
image-bearers would grow, the borders of the garden-paradise was also to grow.
The
ultimate goal meant to be achieved was for the borders of this paradise-garden
to extend so far and the image-bearers to reproduce and reflect God’s glory so
much that it would cover the entire earth! It would be full of God’s
image-bearing king-priests who would reflect the glory of God. And in that way,
I AM’s glory would fill the earth, just as He intended from the beginning. I
told you God’s plan was not how we would expect it to be accomplished.
The
beginning of the story continued with I AM, not only giving Adam and Eve this
awesome mission to fill the earth with His glory, but He also provided a way by
which they could be kings and priests in this garden-temple. God created two
special trees. The first was a life-giving tree, symbolic of the intimate
access they had to I AM’s presence. The second was a tree set aside for kings
to practice wisdom, discern good and evil, and dispense judgment. Since this
tree was special in that it was for Adam and Eve to be king-priest (and not to
provide sustenance), God commanded His people to not eat its fruit. After all,
why would they? The purpose of the tree was to be a place to judge evil as
kings and after judgment to remove evil as priests. “Eat from any tree in this
garden-paradise,” I AM said, “But from the special tree of kingly judgment to
discern between good and evil, don’t eat!” It sounded simple enough.
And
so God’s Glory Story began. Sadly, Adam and Eve would fail their mission. They
would not be kings and rule I AM’s creation as I AM would perfectly rule. They
would not judge and remove evil from the garden-temple. Instead of His
image-bearers extending the borders of paradise to cover the earth, they
themselves rebelled against God’s command to not eat from that one tree and
were exiled out of God’s presence. Cast into the wilderness. Removed from
unrestricted access to perfect and complete happiness. They lost the greatest
joy they had ever known – to be in the presence of I AM and behold his glorious
beauty.
And
you know what? As crazy as it sounds, this was all part of I AM’s perfectly
designed plan! This was ordained to happen by the limitless wisdom of I AM. I
told you He does things in a way unexpected and far better than our own ideas.
You see, He had scripted a story, albeit a long one, that would take thousands
of years to unfold. But one day, I AM’s plan to fill the earth with His glory
and bring His people into his presence to enjoy the greatest happiness there is
to know would be accomplished. I AM the supreme, sovereign, and holy God would
accomplish all that He set out to do. One day, He will be all in all. And we
will experience His glory forever and ever.
