In the Garden of Eden were trees of every kind that produced fruit of every kind, all of which were available to Adam and Eve as sources of food.  Two particular trees were placed in the center of the garden so that no matter which way they walked they would encounter both trees.  One of the trees–the tree of life–had fruit that, if consumed, would have given them God’s Holy Spirit which would have enabled them to obey God and therefore live eternally in the paradise that was the Garden of Eden.  THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER DIED and would be living to this day.  The other tree–the tree of death–offered fruit that, if consumed, guaranteed them death–spiritual death in this life and eternal death in the future.  God shared with them His wisdom in simplistic terms, telling them that if they ate of the forbidden tree they would die.  Their choice was as stark as it was simple.  They could choose to obey “the god of this world” (Satan–2 Cor. 4:4) and live this life in the darkness, having been blinded by the one who “handled the Word of God deceitfully.”  Or they could choose to obey the God who created them along with everything else in the universe.  Note in Genesis 3:1 that the first human sin was prompted by Satan quoting God.  He said to Eve: “Has God said you can not eat of every tree of the garden?”  Which was exactly what God said as recorded in Genesis 2:17.  This was the first mystery God shared with His most prized creation–man.  It was the mystery of eternal life, namely that one could live forever by obeying Him, or die forever for disobeying Him.  Following Satan’s repetition of what God had said, Eve confirmed his statement, then added that God had told them that if they so much as TOUCHED the forbidden fruit they would die.  Read the series titled Touching.  Use “Touching” as your key word.  Adam and Eve knew and understood the mystery of holiness, without which one cannot receive eternal life (Rom. 6:22).  They also understood that what the Serpent/Satan–“the god of this world”– was telling them was the exact opposite of what God had told them.  God calls Satan’s law “the mystery of iniquity” (Gr.–Lawlessness)–2 Thess. 2:7.  Adam and Eve knew God’s Law, and knew that it was the key aspect to Godly wisdom that, if utilized, would lead to eternal life.  They also knew Satan’s law that, if obeyed, would lead to death.  Adam and Eve chose to believe and obey Satan’s law which stated that they would not die if they disobeyed God’s Law.  He convinced them that God did not mean what He said.  As one local pillar of the church said, “God doesn’t like sin, but He won’t do anything about it.”  This was Satan speaking through a human being.  And billions still believe his false prophets who preach that same message.

What Adam and Eve rejected was mankind’s potential that God had built into His mystery.  What you will learn now is that man was created to become a god–a lesser god than God, but a god nonetheless.  Warning: do not reject that statement before reading what God Himself said about the subject through His prophets and apostles.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul reminds the carnal, immature members of the church at Corinth of their potential.  Though it does not directly say so in this narrative, I am certain that at some point Paul had reminded them of the words spoken by Jesus Christ while addressing a group of Israelites who were about to stone Him for what they called blasphemy.  In John 10:34-36 we find that Jesus has called God His Father, thereby making the Two of them One spiritually.  This is what is referred to Biblically as “atonement”–at-one-ment.  This was a mystery that the Israelites could not comprehend–that in this life a man could be one with the eternal God.  They understood the fact that a son had equal status with his father.  But they did not believe that a human could manifest the holiness of God.  Nothing has changed.  Church people are quick to call themselves the sons of God while rejecting the behavioral aspects of sonship.  According to the church, His commands for obedience were nullified by Christ’s death, that one becomes holy in God’s eyes simply by believing in Jesus and taking Him as one’s Savior.  I have been reminded of this “truth” on occasion.  Religious man cannot accept the Biblical fact that man can and must obey the Father as did Jesus in this life in order to be saved.  Satan’s way makes much more sense.

Which was the mind-set of the Israelites Jesus was talking to in John 10.  They were not going to stone Him for all the good works He had done.  He had to die because HE, A MERE MAN, HAD MADE HIMSELF A GOD BY SAYING THAT HE WAS THE SON OF GOD AND WAS THEREFORE ONE WITH HIM.  Then Jesus voiced another Godly mystery: “Is it not written in your (Israelite) Law (Ps. 82:6), I said, ‘YOU (ISRAELITES) ARE GODS?'” (vs 34).  Note that in the Law He had called evil Israelites “gods.”  Then in verse 35 He equates godship and sonship: “If He called ‘gods’ those to whom the Word of God was given, and His Words cannot be nullified, why do you say that I, Whom the Father SANCTIFIED and sent into the world, have blasphemed because I said, ‘I AM THE SON OF GOD.’” Remember that God’s true saints are SANCTIFIED (Jn. 17:17) and are CALLED SONS OF GOD (ROM. 8:14)—EXACTLY AS WAS JESUS OF NAZARETH.  Note in Romans 8 that only those who obey God are called His sons.  In John 10:34 and 35 Jesus said that He was sanctified by God and was one with Him.  Read Oneness With God and “Ye Are Gods.”  Use “Oneness” and “God’s” respectively as focal words.  Welcome to God’s “fine print.”  Here is another of God’s mysteries: Jesus of Nazareth was a God called “the Word” (Spokesman) in John 1:1-4,14.  It was Jesus/the Word who was the God of the Old Testament (read the series by that name–use “Old” as your focal word), Who created the universe, Adam and Eve, Who was the Garden of Eden, Who met and spoke with them as well as Cain, Abel, Abraham, Moses, Elijah and Jacob.

We must understand that He totally divested Himself of all of His God powers and came to earth as a man like all other men.  As a man He set the example of holiness that we must emulate in order to be saved (Mat. 10:22/ Rom. 6:22) at the end of the age when He will return to establish His Father’s earthly kingdom.  

God is telling all who would spend eternity with Him that they are POTENTIAL GODS.  That man can become a god is proven in the Scriptures.  In 1 Timothy 2:5 we learn that “THE MAN, JESUS CHRIST” sits at the right hand of God NOW.  Note also in Acts 22:8 that when Paul asked who it was he was talking to, Jesus said: “I AM (AT THAT TIME) JESUS OF NAZARETH ….”  Though this episode took place several years after He had died and joined God in heaven as a God, He still identified Himself by His HUMAN NAME.  He was and still is a man who was also a God.  Jesus is today a MAN Who became a God through obedience to His Father.  He is called our “ELDER BROTHER” and the “FIRST BORN among MANY BRETHREN.”  He identified His brethren as “… they who DO THE WILL OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN” (Mat. 12:46-50).  If, as is proclaimed every sun god day (Sunday), it is impossible to obey God (do His will) due to Adam’s sin transferal miracle, then Father and Son will spend eternity alone in their kingdom.  Come, let us reason together and conclude that God is right and man is wrong.  The mystery of God’s wisdom is that man can become god in the same way that the man Jesus of Nazareth became God.  He was originally a God Who became a man.  He then, as a man, became God.  Which is the incredible future of those who obey God in this life in the same way that He obeyed God in this life.  Are you developing a love for God’s “fine print?”  L.J.