Covenants Of Love. Workbook 5. copyright 2006 by Glenn Davis

Transcription

1 1 Covenants Of Love Workbook 5

2 2 Covenants Of Love is based on notes and messages on Covenants and The Making Of A Blood Covenant by the Rev. LeRoy Davis Copyright 2003 by Rev. LeRoy Davis

3 3 Covenants Of Love Workbook 5 The Workbook is designed to help you come to a solid understanding of the exciting and essential subject of God s Covenants of love. To successfully complete this workbook you will need to: 1. Complete all the questions in a Section. 2. Score all questions before taking the related Review. Underline the answers in the text for any questions you got wrong. 3. Take the Review. 4. Score the Review. Underline the answers in the text for any questions you got wrong. 5. Go on to the next section and repeat. 6. Memorize selected Scriptures. 7. Before taking the Pre-Test make sure all questions in the Sections and Reviews are correctly answered. 8. Take the Pre-Test. 9. Score the Pre-Test. Underline the answers in the text for any questions you got wrong. 10. Take the Final Test. Note 1: Not all questions on reviews or tests will be taken directly from previous questions. However, reviews and pre-tests will show how well you understand the material. If you do well on them you should have no difficulty with the Final Test. Note 2: All Final Tests except the first one will include some random questions from previous workbooks to test how well the student is remembering the material. Note 3: This workbook is copyrighted and may be copied and used only by active Joshua Club members. The conditions and restrictions are listed on the Joshua Club website:

4 The Edenic Covenant The Legacy continued In workbook 4 we began the Edenic Covenant. We saw that the Testator was God and the Heir was the human race. Now we will finish the Legacy and then look at the Terms and the Seal. Part of the legacy was that Adam would be given a helpmate. The helpmate had to be of the same substance and essence as Adam. In other words, it had to be a human being. An animal would not do. The animal kingdom was of a lower nature and was not in the image of God. Adam needed someone like him. God made woman as a special creation, specifically for Adam. She was to fill his deficiency and make him complete. She was of the same order as he was and shared in the promises and privileges of the Covenant. She was in no way inferior. She was his partner and companion. Even before sin, in a perfect environment, Adam need her to be with him. Special note: This does not mean those who are single are less important or whole. A person is not half a person because he is single. He is still a whole, complete person. The miracle of marriage is not that = 2 but that = 1. [If you think that s hard to understand try the Trinity where = 1.] 1. The Testator was and the Heir was the. 2. Adam would be given a. 3. shared in the promises and privileges of the Covenant. The marriage of Adam and Eve reveals several things: 4 1. There was to be no adultery. God created one man and one woman. His plan was one man with one wife for the whole life. There was to be faithfulness to that union. No other intimate relationships would be allowed. To violate this provision is to destroy the marriage relationship. Yet you say, why? because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your

5 5 youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and wife of your Covenant. And did He not make one only though He had the remaining fullness of the Spirit? And why one? so that He might seek a godly seed. Therefore watch your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel, says that He hates divorce. For one covers his garments with violence, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore watch your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously. [Mal. 2:14-16] 2. God hates divorce because it is a violation of the Covenant made between a man and a woman. He hates divorce, but not the divorced person. Divorce, because of the hardness of human hearts, is sometimes necessary to protect the innocent, but it is not an easy solution. It is a tearing out which effects everyone surrounding the situation. No-Fault divorce is certainly not God s way of dealing with struggles and conflicts. But He answered them and said to them, have you never read that He who created from the beginning made them male and female. And He said For this reason a man shall leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So that they no longer are two, but one flesh. Then what God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce and to put her away? He answered, because of the hardness of your heart, Moses allowed you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever shall put away his wife, if not for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery. And he who marries the one put away commits adultery. [Matt. 19:4-9] (Also see Mk.10:2-6-12) 3. The marriage relationship is to be a beautiful picture our relationship with God. Read Eph. 5: The Bible continually warns those who sin, especially in the sexual area, because it sends a false message as to the character and nature of God. It tells the unsaved that God is unfaithful and cannot be depended on. We must actually reflect the image of God to those around us. Our lifestyle is to be pure and above reproach. I wrote you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an

6 6 extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. [1 Cor. 5:9-13] For this is God's will, your sanctification, for you to keep away from fornication, so that each of you may know how to possess his own vessel in purity and honour. Not in passions of lust, even as the Gentiles also who do not know God. Not over reaching and cheating his brother in the matter, because the Lord is the avenger in these things, even as we also told you before and truly declared to you. For God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. [1 Thes. 4:3-7] 4. There was to be no. 5. God s plan was one man with one wife for the whole. 6. God hates divorce because it is a violation of the made between a man and a woman. 7. Divorce, because of the hardness of human hearts, is sometimes necessary to protect the, but it is not an easy solution. 8. The relationship is to be a beautiful picture our relationship with God. 4. Because of Point Three, unfaithfulness to God is considered to be fornication or spiritual adultery. Forsaking or leaving God is the same as a husband or wife who forsakes their spouse for another person. We need to be very careful that God always has first place in our hearts. This applied not only to individuals who forsake God but also to nations which have followed God. When a Christian nation forsakes God, like many Western nations today, they have committed spiritual adultery and will face the judgment of God if there is not national repentance. O Israel, do not rejoice for joy, as other people. For you have gone lusting away from your God. You have loved a reward on every grain floor. [Ho. 9:1] And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their

7 7 whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them. So she discovered her whoredoms, and discovered her nakedness: then my mind was alienated from her, like as my mind was alienated from her sister. [Ez. 23:17-18] 5. The Mosaic Covenant, as we shall see, was like a marriage contract between God and Israel. Not according to the Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my Covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord. [Jer. 31:32] 9. to God is considered to be fornication or spiritual adultery. 10. Does the principle of marriage/adultery apply to nations as well as individuals? 11. The Mosaic Covenant was like a contract between God and Israel. The Terms And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [Gen. 2:15-17] God governs all rational beings - angels and humans - by law. He enforces His rights as Lord of all. The requirements never change and all are expected to obey them or suffer the consequences of disobedience. Sometimes we are fooled into thinking that Biblical Law is only for Christians [unfortunately there are Christians who don t acknowledge that Biblical Law is valid for anyone]. God is the Creator of all and His rules for life [Biblical Law] are to be obeyed by everyone. Biblical Law is the revelation of God s perfect standard of righteousness. In the Edenic Love Covenant, the responsibility to keep God s Law was written into life in three ways:

8 8 1. There was a natural responsibility. Because God created Adam, and everything else, Adam had a natural responsibility to obey God. Adam was to be obedient and submissive to his Creator and to act for God s glory and honour. By nature, delight in the Lord reproduces the righteousness and holiness of God. Disobedience violates man s natural responsibility to obey God s law just as adultery violates the natural pattern of marriage. 2. There was a moral responsibility. Because every good thing man has is a free gift from God, man has a moral responsibility to obey God s law. The requirements of the 10 Commandments are summarized in love God with all your heart, mind, and strength, and love your neighbour as yourself. It is immoral and selfish to reject God s law. If we are thankful for all that God has done and given us, we will obey. 3. There is a positive action responsibility. In other words, obeying God s law is not only not doing things [negative] but also there are things which must be done [positive]. Disobedience can be failing to do things as well as breaking the rules. For example, Adam not only was to refrain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [negative law], but also he was to care for the garden [positive law]. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Gen. 2: God governs all rational beings by. 13. God is the Creator of all and His rules for life [Biblical Law] are to be obeyed by. 14. Law is the revelation of God s perfect standard of righteousness. 15. Name the three areas of responsibility: 16. It is immoral and to reject God s law. 17. Obeying God s law is not only not doing things [ ]

9 9 but also there are things which must be done [ ]. Under the Edenic Covenant, Adam was required to offer God perfect obedience. Obedience meant that he would inherit eternal life. He could by his own faithfulness to God earn salvation for the entire human race. Not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a simple test. It would show whether Adam would willing submit to God and His laws or whether he would go his own way in rebellion and treason. Would he in thankfulness accept God or would he be ungrateful and reject God? While obedience would bring life to all, disobedience would bring misery and death to all. It would mean separation from God Who is the Source of all life, joy, and everything good. There is no middle ground or place of compromise. There was a clear line: It was either obedience or disobedience. There was no mediator or method of restoration in the Edenic Love Covenant. There was no provision made for repentance. Disobedience would mean that all God had given him was forever lost - no hope of restoration. As far as Adam knew, when he bit the forbidden fruit, he was permanently cutting himself and all his descendants off from God. There was no second chance offered. It was Life or Death - end of story. 18. Adam was required to offer God obedience. 19. Adam could by his own faithfulness to God salvation for the entire human race. 20. While obedience would bring life to all, disobedience would bring misery and to all. 21. There was no or method or restoration in the Edenic Love Covenant. 22. Disobedience would mean that all God had given him was lost. 23. Did God promise Adam forgiveness if he disobeyed? The judicial or legal sentence for disobedience was plain. Adam could not misunderstand the consequences.

10 10 Write out Gen. 2:17: The Hebrew translation is literally: Dying thou shalt die. It means death in its widest scope and includes: 1. Corporal [Physical] Death. The body would become unfit to be the eternal living place of the soul. The process of physical death begins with the first breath. The breath of life comes from God, so at the beginning life is stronger than death. The corruption of sin continues to attack the body until death ultimately wins. 2. Death While Living. Death is the pain and hard labour of this life. The judgment of Gen. 3:16-19 [sorrow in childbirth, hard and unfruitful work] is built on the warnings of Gen. 2:17. Because we have entered into death, life is hard and often disappointing. In Ex. 10:17, Pharaoh called his miseries, death. David referred to the consequences of the pleasures of sin as the sorrows of death. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she liveth. [1 Tim. 5:6] 3. Spiritual Death. Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God. Sin alienates. We are cut off from God. We are born spiritually dead. We were created to be alive physically, mentally, and spiritually but we are born with the most important part of our being dead. Only through Jesus Christ is spiritual death defeated. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart... [Eph.4:18] [Also see Ps. 51:5, Gen. 3:19] 4. Eternal Death. The final result of spiritual death is the permanent and total separation of the sinner from the presence of God and all that is good. This is called Eternal Death [Luke 16:23, 25]. The terrors of an evil conscience and a foreboding sense of divine wrath is a prelude to that eternal separation from God. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. [Rom. 6:23]

11 The wages of sin is shown to be the opposite of eternal life. Therefore, the wages or consequences of sin must also be eternal. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. [Rom. 5:21] [For more details see: What Is Death? and Hell: God s Justice at The judicial or legal sentence for disobedience was. 25. List the four areas of death: 26. The process of physical death begins with the first. 27. Because we have entered into, life is hard and often disappointing. 28. Spiritual death is the of the soul from God. 29. Only through is spiritual death defeated. 30. The final result of spiritual death is the and total separation of the sinner from the presence of God and all that is good. REVIEW 1 1. would be given a helpmate. 2. Woman in the promises and privileges of the Covenant. 3. God s plan was one man with one wife for the whole. 4. God hates because it is a violation of the Covenant made between a man and a woman. 5. Divorce, because of the hardness of human hearts, is sometimes

12 12 necessary to protect the, but it is not an easy solution. 6. Does the principle of marriage/adultery apply to nations as well as individuals? 7. God governs all beings by law. 8. God is the of all and His rules for life [Biblical Law] are to be obeyed by everyone. 9. Biblical Law is the revelation of God s perfect standard of. 10. It is immoral and selfish to reject God s. 11. Adam was required to offer God perfect. 12. Adam could by his own to God ear salvation for the entire human race. 13. Did God promise Adam forgiveness if he disobeyed? List the four areas of death in any order: Because we have entered into, life is hard and often disappointing. 19. death is the separation of the soul from God. 20. Only through is spiritual death defeated. Score:

13 The Terms continued As part of the terms of the Covenant, Adam had to take care of the Garden of Eden. And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. [Gen. 2:15] From this we learn: 1. God is Lord of all. He is the Commander. He gives the instructions. The greatest to the least of our activities needs His will. We are to do nothing that is against the will of God. 2. Human happiness is in God alone. All that is to be desired is submission to God s will. As we follow the path He has set before us we find our fulfillment. 3. Man is to be satisfied even without the things of the world. Obedience to God is better than anything in the world, no matter how enjoyable. 4. Human beings have not yet arrived at the peak of happiness because there is greater joy coming after our obedience is complete. This is shown by the prohibition of the fruit of the tree which was very desirable. 1. Adam had to take of the Garden of Eden. 2. God is of all happiness is in God alone. 4. to God is better than anything in the world. 5. Greater joy coming after our obedience is. There was no room for laziness in the Garden of Eden. Adam was not to wander around and watch the birds all day. He was given a gentle and beautiful occupation. Even in paradise man was to be busy. Work was not part of the curse. It is the gift and creation of God for man s

14 14 benefit and fulfillment. Later the curse would make work unnecessarily difficult and painful. The Hebrew for keep it is shammar which means to keep, observe, preserve, beware, take heed, mark, regard, watchman, diligence, even to spy. This implies that there was an enemy who would try to take from Adam what God had given him. It was a warning about the Devil and his diabolical work. Adam was to be on his guard. In this beautiful and perfect environment Adam is given one simple test. In the midst of every possible blessing, having no sin nature, and having no bias toward sin, this test should not have been a hard one. Everything was in his favour, he was given every advantage. Unlike us, there was only one sinful choice Adam could make. Every other choice was a good choice. Only one opportunity to sin. Also, unlike us, his bias or natural tendency was to toward God and obedience. He was made sinless in the image of God. In order to sin, he would have to go against his own nature and natural responses. Our nature, after the Fall, is to sin - Adam s was just the opposite. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. [Gen. 2:16-17] 6. There was no room for in the Garden of Eden. 7. is the gift and creation of God for man s benefit and fulfillment. 8. Adam was to be on his. 9. There was only one choice Adam could make. 10. In order to sin, he would have to go his own nature and natural responses. For Adam to take the fruit from the tree was theft. It was God s tree. He had made it and He owned it. God had His property rights. Since it was His tree, God had the right tell Adam not to eat of it. God was very generous is allowing Adam to eat of every other tree. Taking from the tree was the first act of socialism. It was a denial of God s property rights. It was taking something that rightfully belonged to one Person and giving it to another person.

15 15 God as the Creator of all - including us - has property rights in the entire Creation. He alone can set the rules as to how life is to be live and things are to be used. Nothing less that total obedience to the whole law of God is required. There was nothing sinful about eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil except that God had forbidden it. Because of that it was a suitable test of faith. Would Adam believe and obey God although there was nothing apparently wrong with eating from the tree? Submission was required because it was the Sovereign will of God. Disobedience would violate Adam s moral responsibility because it would be failure to love God with all the heart. It would show a contempt for the Divine authority and a coveting what God had forbidden. As a dependent creature, Adam needed a test to see if he would seek independence and revolt by rejecting his Maker. The source of every evil and error is the rejection of God s dominion and our dependancy upon Him. Our attempt to be independent has caused every evil in the world. The only solution is to once again become totally dependent on God. 11. For Adam to take the fruit from the tree was. 12. God had His rights. 13. Taking from the tree was the first act of. 14. Nothing less that total to the whole law of God is required. 15. As a dependent creature, Adam needed a test to see if he would seek independence and revolt by his Maker. Write out and memorize Gen. 2:16-17:

16 16 From the above verses we learn: 1. That Adam was capable of falling. The Edenic Covenant assumes, by the fact that Adam is given a test, that it is possible for man to fail. The testament of Grace assumes, through Jesus Christ, that man is capable of restoration. If man was not capable of sinning, then he would have had no real decision to make. He would have been little more than a fancy robot. 2. That Adam was mutable [changeable]. God is immutable, but when He created man in His image He did not transfer the attribute of immutability. Man is mutable and responsible. Adam needed a probation period to determine if he would change for the better or for the worse. 3. That Adam needed character development. Man was created whole and mature, but he still needed growth and character development. Adam needed a test to determine whether he would reject God or walk in obedience to his Maker. Adam was given a free will, so he must face a real test of obedience. Passing the test would have confirmed him in continual perfection. Because Adam was mutable and fallible, he needed to depend on his Creator in order to pass the test. He must be tested to determine whether he would rebel and reject his Maker or whether he would walk in dependence on and in submission to Him. Freedom of choice gave Adam the opportunity to be confirmed in the Covenant with God and to progress beyond the possibility of falling. He had the opportunity to develop. As long as Adam walked in obedience, he had both justification and access to the presence of God. The Edenic Love Covenant is also called the Covenant of Works because man stood before God and came into God s presence on the basis of his own obedience [i.e. his own works]. He would grow and develop as he continued to obey. Freedom of choice gave Adam the opportunity of deciding to be a holy and happy creature because of personal choice. If he chose the path of obedience, he would have a firm standing before God. After passing the test he would no longer have the possibility of failure. This is basically the same choice we face daily. Will we depend on God for everything, or will we try to do it our own way? The more mature we become as Christians, the more we recognize our total dependance on God. It is not what we see with our eyes which ultimately sustains us, but what we don t see.

17 Write out and memorize Deut. 8:3 4. That the penalty for character failure [disobedience] was death. A person either walks in obedience, righteousness, and life or disobedience, sin, and death. There are no other choices. Behold all souls are Mine, as the soul of the father, also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sins, it shall die...the soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on him. [Ez. 18:4, 20] 5. That Adam was judged on the basis of his works. Adam s actions [works] would earn him life or death, blessing or judgment. And He said who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat of it? [Gen. 3:11] Jesus Christ was the last Adam, the second Man, and as such He offered the perfect obedience required by God. He succeeded where Adam failed. Then He, Who was sinless, took our sin on Himself. He made our sin His own. In this way, Jesus purchased our justification. 16. Adam was capable of. 17. Adam was [changeable]. 18. Adam needed development. 19. Adam needed a to determine whether he would reject God or walk in obedience to his Maker. 20. Because Adam was mutable and fallible, he needed to 17 depend on his in order to pass the test. 21. Freedom of gave Adam the opportunity to

18 18 be confirmed in the Covenant with God and to progress beyond the possibility of falling. 22. The Edenic Love Covenant is also called the Covenant of because man stood before God and came into God s presence on the basis of his own obedience. 23. The penalty for character failure [disobedience] was. 24. Adam was judged on the basis of his. As we read this historical story of Adam in the Garden of Eden, we come to the conclusion that Adam voluntarily agreed to the terms of the Edenic Love Covenant and that he agreed to offer perfect obedience. We see this in four ways. 1. Adam s nature or natural desire was for obedience. He was made in the image and likeness of God. There was nothing in him to oppose God s holy will and righteous requirements. Adam s only other option would have been to refuse the terms. A perfect, mature, and sinless being, like Adam was created, would not have rejected a perfect God s requirements. Eve, in her reply to the serpent, indicates that Adam had given his word to obey. [God, in giving the terms, shows His consent as the other party of the Covenant.] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [Gen. 3:2-3] 2. Eve implied the command was reasonable. In her reply she properly repeated it to the serpent without any indication that she thought it was unfair. She had received these words from her husband; therefore, if implies that Adam had given consent. 3. Adam blamed Eve directly and God indirectly for his sin. If he had not agreed to the terms, he would have said so in order to excuse his sin. The fact he tried to place blame for his disobedience on someone else shows he had accepted the terms of the Covenant. 4. When they sinned there was a legal punishment as a result. This implies a legal, Covenant relationship. Where there is no crime, there can be no punishment. God is perfectly just, if the terms had not been agreed

19 19 to and then been broken, there could have been no judgment. 25. Adam agreed to the terms of the Edenic Love Covenant and he agreed to offer perfect obedience. 26. Adam s nature or natural desire was for. 27. Eve implied the command was. 28. If Adam had not agreed to the terms, he would said so in order to excuse his. 29. Where there is no crime, there can be no. 30. God is perfectly, if the terms had not been agreed to and then been broken, there could have been no judgment. THE SEAL The seal of a Covenant is an outward, visible sign of God s pledge of faithfulness. It is a down payment or preview of the blessings promised. It is also a symbol or stamp of approval that the Covenant has been approved and is in force. In the Edenic Love Covenant, the two trees were the seal of the Covenant. The trees stood as an outward sign of Covenant relationship between God and man. Each party could look at the trees as a sign of the ongoing love relationship. And out of the ground the Lord God caused every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food to grow. The tree of life also was in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. [Gen. 2:9] From this we learn four things: 1. The story is historical; therefore, the trees were literal. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was said to be pleasant to the eyes; therefore, it must have been an actual tree which could be seen and touched. The story of Adam and Even is not a fable or myth. They were real people, in a real place, interacting with a real God.

20 20 2. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was in the middle of the Garden of Eden. This gave it an important location. The narrative also implies that it was different from the others. 3. Although it was a literal tree, it had symbolic importance. It represented the crossroads of decision. It was the difference between good and evil. Adam knew good and could have known evil as God knows evil, from the perspective of good. Instead, by taking from the tree, Adam learned evil by experience. The tree of life not only represented eternal life but also the cross which would eventually purchase eternal life for God s own. It was a symbol of Christ. While we don t know for sure, it is possible that Christ was crucified on a living tree with a cross beam nailed to it. 4. Refusing to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil guaranteed the right to eat of the tree of life. Note: The fruit itself did not impart the knowledge of good and evil. There was nothing magical in the fruit. It was the partaking of the fruit in direct disobedience to the command of God which gave the knowledge of evil - they already had the knowledge of good. 31. The seal of a Covenant is an outward, visible sign of God s pledge of In the Edenic Love Covenant, the two were the seal of the Covenant. 33. The story is ; therefore, the trees were literal. 34. The tree of life not only represented eternal life but also the which would eventually purchase eternal life for His own. 35. It was the partaking of the fruit in direct disobedience to the command of God which gave the knowledge of - they already had the knowledge of good.

21 THE CONCLUSION God, Who is a Father, desired a family. In creating man in His Own image, He moved to make that family. Man was given the ability to reproduce and so the earth could be filled with the family of God - the Godly seed. Man would be able to share the fellowship, glory, and headship of the Almighty. God created man for His pleasure and to bless mankind. He had a great desire not only to have a family, but also to share His blessing with His human creature. Write out and memorize Rev. 4:11 God created man with nobility of character and determined to see that character developed through trials. Trials and problems are what cause us to grow and mature. We may not like the process but it works! But even as it has been written, Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. [1 Cor. 2:9-10] Because whom He fore knew, he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. [Rom. 8:29] 21 But we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory as from the Spirit of the Lord. [2 Cor. 3:18] To what extent is the Covenant of Works [Edenic] in force today? This Covenant was broken by Adam and not one of his descendants could keep its terms [i.e. perfect obedience to God]. Even the greatest people like Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Peter, and Paul broke it.

22 22 Jesus had to be virgin born in order to escape the sin nature which is passed down through Adam. Jesus was born without sin and then lived a perfect life which fulfilled the terms of this Covenant. He is now able to offer salvation through faith. The people of God [Christians] stand before God on the basis of faith in the perfect work of Christ. They are not judged for breaking the Covenant because they are in Christ. God considers them to have perfectly kept the Covenant because of Christ s perfect life and sacrificial death. So, for the Christian, the Covenant of Works is enforced on Christ as their representative and not on them personally. The Covenant of Works is still completely binding on all those outside of Christ. This Covenant was built on God s unchangeable justice. It cannot be annulled. Anyone outside of Christ [i.e. all non-christians] is required to offer perfect obedience to God on their own behalf...an impossible task since we all have a fallen, sinful nature. Everyone outside of the protection of Jesus Christ is already under the sentence of death for failing to keep this Covenant. So the Covenant of Works is still in force today. Perfect obedience is a righteous requirement of a righteous God. Either we stand [and enjoy the benefits of the Covenant] in Christ s perfect obedience or we fall [and reap the curses of the Covenant] trying to stand in our own imperfect obedience. Jesus Christ is the only answer. 36. God, Who is a Father, desired a. 37. Jesus had to be born in order to escape the sin nature which is passed down through Adam. 38. The Covenant of Works is still completely on all those outside of Christ. 39. Either we stand in perfect obedience or we fall trying to stand in our own imperfect obedience. REVIEW 2 1. Write out from memory Gen. 2:16-17:

23 23 2. Write out from memory Deut. 8:3 3. Write out from memory Rev. 4:11 4. Human happiness is in alone. 5. There was no room for in the Garden of Eden. 6. is the gift and creation of God for man s benefit and fulfillment. 7. In order to, Adam would have to go against his own nature and natural responses. 8. For Adam to take the fruit from the tree was. 9. Nothing less that total obedience to the whole of God is required. 10. Adam needed development. 11. Because Adam was mutable and fallible, he needed to on his Creator in order to pass the test. 12. Freedom of choice gave Adam the opportunity to be confirmed

24 24 in the Covenant with God and to progress beyond the possibility of. 13. The Love Covenant is also called the Covenant of Works because man stood before God and came into God s presence on the basis of his own obedience. 14. Adam was judged on the basis of his. 15. Adam voluntarily agreed to the terms of the Edenic Love Covenant and he agreed to offer perfect. 16. Adam s or natural desire was for obedience. 17. If Adam had not agreed to the, he would said so in order to excuse his sin. 18. Where there is no, there can be no punishment. 19. God is perfectly just, if the terms had not been agreed to and then been broken, there could have been no. 20. The of a Covenant is an outward, visible sign of God s pledge of faithfulness. 21. In the Edenic Love Covenant, the two were the seal of the Covenant. 22. The story is historical; therefore, the trees were. 23. It was the partaking of the fruit in direct to the command of God which gave the knowledge of evil - they already had the knowledge of good. 24. Jesus had to be virgin born in order to escape the nature which is passed down through Adam. 25. Either we in Christ s perfect obedience or we fall trying to stand in our own imperfect obedience. Score

25 25 PRE-TEST 1. Write out from memory Gen. 2:16-17: 2. Write out from memory Deut. 8:3 3. Write out from memory Rev. 4:11 4. God s plan was one man with one wife for the whole. 5. Does the principle of marriage/adultery apply to nations as well as individuals? 6. God governs all rational beings by. 7. Law is the revelation of God s perfect standard of righteousness. 8. Adam was required to offer God perfect.

26 9. Did God promise Adam forgiveness if he disobeyed? List the four areas of death in any order: Only through is spiritual death defeated. 15. Work is the gift and creation of God for man s and fulfillment. 16. For Adam to take the fruit from the tree was. 17. Nothing less that total obedience to the whole law of God is. 18. Because Adam was and fallible, he needed to depend on his Creator in order to pass the test. 19. of choice gave Adam the opportunity to be confirmed in the Covenant with God and to progress beyond the possibility of falling. 20. Adam was judged on the basis of his Adam agreed to the terms of the Edenic Love Covenant and he agreed to offer perfect obedience. 22. Where there is no, there can be no punishment. 23. The seal of a Covenant is an outward, visible sign of God s of faithfulness.

27 In the Edenic Love Covenant, the two were the seal of the Covenant. 25. Either we in Christ s perfect obedience or we fall trying to stand in our own imperfect obedience. Score After the Edenic Covenant, all God s Covenants with mankind would have to be blood Covenants. In Workbook 6 we will begin looking at the process making a blood Covenant. Understanding the process will making understand the Covenants easier and give us a deeper understanding into what Christ has done for us.