CHAPTER 9
The Distinctions of God
The boundaries He Has Established
“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (Ge 1:3-5 NAS)
Genesis reveals to us the intentional order and design of our Creator. In every phase of creation week God sets boundaries and distinctions that maintain His order and beauty. Separations of; light and darkness, day and night, the waters above and waters below, plants and their distinct kinds, plants and animals, animals and their distinct kinds, man and animals, male and female, and God and man, all created in symbiotic relationship to maintain and perpetuate a perfect creation.
God and Man
“And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” (Ge 3:4-5 NAS)
Satan lied to Eve in an attempt to convince her that they could be as God himself. That lie resulted in man’s deception and fall. Not only did he fail to ascend to God’s level, but he descended to a lower level bringing corruption upon all of creation.
One of Satan’s strategies to pervert and destroy God’s creation and disrupt His plan is to blur the distinctions and boundaries in God’s creation that provide security and order. In the first attack in the Garden of Eden, Satan proposed that created man could be equal with God. Although man had been created in the image and likeness of God, there will always be a vast distinction between the Creator and His creation. This is a boundary that cannot be breached even though Satan desires it to be so. Satan desires to be like the most high and has planted that seed of rebellion and desire in the imagination of man. Satan will never cross that boundary and neither will man.
Reality set in swiftly as Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit. They had not become as God, but they had acquired knowledge of good and evil. It merely took the presence of God to clarify the distinction between the creator and the created. The voice of the deceiver was silent and Adam and Eve stood before God naked and ashamed. They had attempted the impossible, but man cannot become like God. Man had violated his boundary bringing death and destruction on himself and the earth that he had been entrusted with.
Man’s sin did not alter God or the Laws that govern God’s creation. Man’s sin altered his relationship with God. But God in his mercy has a plan of redemption for those who are willing to put their trust in Him. Reconciling man back to the intended fellowship arrangement is God’s intent. God has provided everything necessary to restore the perfect relationship between God and man. The only thing that remains for reconciliation to be complete is man’s submission to the Law of God.
But through deception and pride man continues to try to breach that divide between man and God by attempting to ascend to that throne himself. The lie that was planted in the Garden continues to deceive. The revelation of God is clear, but through foolish speculation man’s heart is darkened.
“because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” (Ro 1:19-23 NAS)
Sin separated man from fellowship with God. But the revelation of God and His eternal power and divine nature are revealed in His creation for all to see. Rather than trusting God’s promise and plan of reconciliation, mankind rebels. Rebellion spawns the need for self-deception promoted through imagination and conjecture. In man’s attempt to reconcile man to god he tries to bring god down to our level. Man creates god in his own image, that of sinful man. From there god is depicted as birds and four footed creatures, and then as crawling creepy creatures. There has been no end to what man has in times and places chosen to worship as god, even plants, trees, mountains, the sun, moon, and stars. Man has not only chosen to worship the creation instead of the creator, but has created images of these things and worshiped those images.
“”Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,” (Isa 46:9 NAS)
Why am I spending so much time on this point? Because recognizing God in His distinctive role as creator of all things is the most important point of all. Blurring that distinction or the ramifications of His position in the slightest opens our imaginations to perverted images of God. If we continue to read Romans, Paul expounds upon the extent of the perversion of all that was created holy. Once man blurs or disregards the revelation of God, he opens the door for corruption to invade.
The distinction of God from all of creation, including mankind and angelic beings, needs to be foremost in our minds when seeking truth and understanding. The high moral ground is established by God alone. That is why any discussion concerning morality we must argue foremost from that perspective. Recognizing the vast difference between man and God is just the first of many distinction and boundaries that are essential.
Angels and Devils
Anchoring our understanding of God as revealed to us through Christ Jesus, we can separate truth from myth and imagination. Because sin separated man from God, the spiritual realm became fertile ground for man’s imagination. Man’s spirit is bound to his mortal body unlike the spirits of angels and demons. God is also a spirit, but unlike any other spirit, He alone is immortal, having neither beginning nor end.
“who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” (1Ti 6:16 NAS)
Man’s sin created a spiritual divide between man and God. Never-the-less a spiritual connection was maintained through sacrificial offerings of animals until in the fullness of time Christ Jesus became the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world. In spite of God’s provision the spirit of rebellion still lies within man. At the heart of that rebellion is the pride and jealousy provoked by the lie of Satan. Just as Eve was deceived into believing that the law of God was intended to withhold something good from her, so people are convinced of this lie today. But even in this state of rebellion man’s spirit still longs for a spiritual connection. Satan and those spirits that are in rebellion seek to take advantage of this vulnerability in man and suggest an alternative connection.
God is in a class by himself. Neither angels or devils or Satan is like God. Every spirit except God has had a beginning and will ultimately have to give answer to Him and be judged by him. That is why the separations and distinctions that God has established are so important and to be honored by those of us that are His creation. But when people distance themselves from the Word of God their concept of the spiritual world becomes distorted. The pronounced difference between God and the other spiritual beings gets blurred. In their ignorance they open themselves up to spiritual connections with those spirits that are in rebellion to God.
Satan’s attack on God’s creation has often been to blur the distinction and separations that God has established, knowing that when we cross these lines it will bring about destruction. The deceptive notion that Satan is like God opens the door for all the other perversions. Those who follow Satan’s spiritual leading become the tools he uses to spread his lies and destructive heresies.
Good and Evil
I realize that there is a fair amount of repetition in this section from what I have already written. But I think it necessary to look at these issues from the perspective of the perversion of the boundaries that God had put in place. It is in the blurring of the distinction between God and His creation that opens the door for the blurring of what is good and what is evil. In our world good and evil live along side of each other. Humans were created in the image and likeness of God, but since Adam’s sin we are also born in sin and often violate God’s Law. We cannot say that people are good, because often they are not good. Neither can I agree that people are totally deprived, because often they do good things and most people want to be good.
“And a certain ruler questioned Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. “You know the commandments, ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.’”” (Lu 18:18-20 NAS)
God alone is good. His unique position as creator of all things gives Him alone the authority to determine what is good. This is where the Law of God comes in, it defines good for us. If sin had not entered this world we would be good and know only good. But evil desire has been planted in us and this is why we needed a Savior to deliver us from evil. It is the blurring of the distinction between good and evil that is instrumental in enticing us to sin. We often do things that we think will be good for us, ignoring or rationalizing how our actions will affect others.
What I am trying to tell you is that it is only in adhering to the Law of God that we can claim the high moral ground on any subject dealing with our character or behavior. The reason you will be lured down to argue your stance from a lower level is because at those lower levels it is easier to blur that pronounced distinction between good and evil. Behavior can seem good on an individual level, but from God’s perspective the ramification for the effect on others render that behavior evil.
The worldly doctrine that truth is relative has also blurred the concepts of good and evil. Satan is having a hay day with this by inspiring young people to rise up and promote destructive behaviors. When the line between good and evil becomes blurred, then anything and everything can be in some measure considered good. For those on this road to self-destruction, the only thing that is truly evil in their mind is for someone to give knowledge of the Creator’s line of division between good and evil.
Male and Female
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” (Mt 19:4 AV)
I don’t think that there has ever been a time in history when Satan’s influence has progressed as fast or as far in blurring the clear distinctions that God has established. A few years ago no one could have imagined the distinction between male and female being blurred. As with all the distinctions that God has established you have to ignore what is clearly revealed.
To the untrained eye, among baby chicks it is hard to tell the roosters from the hens. But by the time they mature it is usually hard to ignore the distinct differences. The roosters crow and the hens lay eggs, among other differences. Even these bird brains seem to get this figured out. The fact that there is a strong drive in our society to blur the distinction of male and female is mind boggling. The fact that the concept of a sexless society has progressed this far in my lifetime is mind boggling, not just because it is my lifetime, but because we live in an age of advanced scientific knowledge.
It is true that there is more to us as humans than our biology. But our biology is probably the clearest indication that a man is not a woman and a woman is not a man. We have even come to learn that that distinction is clear even in the makeup of each of our trillions of cells. We know that women think differently than men. The two different sexes are wired differently and are regulated differently by different chemical within the body. So why is our society trying to erase their natural distinctions?
Again we are confronted with the lies and distortions intended to fuel pride, envy, and greed. Just as Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden that she could find fulfillment in being as God, so the temptation follows in this venue. The lie of Satan is that happiness and fulfillment can come through equality. Satan desired to be equal with God or the same as God. To some degree he has achieve that role amongst those spirits and humans who honor him. But what is the result of his exultation to that role? God in that role is a creator, life giver, and benefactor. Satan in that role brings death and destruction seeking to devour that which God has created. Having had an honored position Satan was not content, but through envy and pride he sought to be equal God. In an attempt to cross the boundary of creator and creation Satan compromised all that was created in him as good and became evil and an influence for evil in all who follow him.
God created men and women to be distinctly different. Those differences were not intended to create rivalry but were designed to be complimentary. God’s intent was that the two would be united and become as one. Their oneness then becomes the foundation for family, community, and country. But when individuals violate God’s Law, the Law of Love, then problems arise and conflict comes within this sacred union. If the rift that results is not mended, that which was joined as one becomes broken.
Logically if we have something that is broken that need to be mended we would do best to consult the plans of the designer to clarify how it was originally put together. But we now live in a society that has distanced themselves from their creator. When we ignore the instruction manual, it opens the door for other suggestions. The first suggestion is that there was a design problem. That opens the door for a variety of solutions that have wrecked havoc on the sacred union of man and woman.
One of the tools the enemy has used to destroy this aspect of God’s creation is the use of the concept of equality. The concept of equality sounds so good, and it is if applied correctly. The Scripture teaches us that we are all created in the image of God and that God is not a respecter of persons. God’s love and justice are distributed equally for every person. In other words, we are all of equal value in God’s eyes. But the way that God does that is not the same for each of us, because God had created us with differences. Obviously God likes variety, because we come in different colors, sizes, and abilities. But the distinctions of the different sexes define the definite roles intended for us to fulfill His purpose. Male and female are of equal value, but they are not the same.
The rejection of God’s instruction for fair treatment of males and females has resulted in a quest to make the sexes equal. The fact is that equal respect for each other requires respect and appreciation for the distinct differences between male and female. With the breakdown of the complimentary relationship of male and female in marriage, the door swung wide open for adversarial roles. In some cases people tried to look and act like the other sex. In other cases people used their differences to take advantage of the other sex. Not only do these approaches fail to bring fair treatment, they end up making the problem worse and create a multitude of problems in their wake.
Consider this simple illustration: We have two arms and two hands that are complimentary to each other. Each side is just as valuable and important as the other side, but they are not equal. Both arms are facing opposite directions. For most people one arm is dominate, you are right handed or left handed. If you still think that they are equal, then try to imagine the difficulties that would arise if you had two left arms instead of a right and a left.
Man’s attempt to dissolve God’s distinct created differences between male and female has had disastrous consequences. Both sexes have suffered devaluation. In a sense it is like trying to hang a left arm on the right side of the body and the right arm on the left. Either one or both will have to adapt to create the illusion of equality. In the process you will mask the differences that make the sexes complimentary. Marriage becomes unbalanced and awkward.
When the sexes are consider to be equivalent, then your sexuality doesn’t really matter that much. This opens the door for the acceptance of same sex marriage and all the transgender experimentation that people can generate. This experimentation has resulted in several classes of people trying to live illogical lifestyles.
I could argue the logic of God’s creative genius all day concerning the complementary nature of male and female. From our aesthetics to science the awesomeness of our human design is indisputable. Why would anyone want to mess with the complementary design of the sexes? Why would you even want to make male and female interchangeable? You can never make a male as female as a female and vice versa, so why would you try?
Some have been convinced that there will be some benefit in making male and female interchangeable. By getting people to focus on what they don’t often makes it possible to exchange the truth for a lie. The distinction between male and female is essential for God’s creation to operate correctly. All of God’s creation was made to be logical and orderly. The distinction between male and female, because it is high on God’s created order, is of great importance. Obviously the higher on the created order something is, the greater affect on the whole when that orderliness is compromised. Therefore convincing people to compromise the male female distinction is a devastating blow to God’s created order. Satan’s tactics seem to be to distract people from the love and goodness that flow from created order and design and to imagine a benefit that can come by destroying that order.
But what about those who have violated this taboo and claim it to be beneficial for them? Certainly it would be foolish to argue our point from their narrow perspective. Rather we need to back up to get a broader view and consider the cost of their supposed benefit. To start with, if we use a substitute for that which was originally designed we are deprived of the real thing. Secondly you risk damaging that which is abused. The costs in this case are both personal and societal and are robbing society of that which is good and beneficial. Likewise there is medical, psychological, and social damage that effects on a personal and societal level.
This is not one of those subjects that I want to go into with explicit details, for several reasons. So to explain the imbalance of benefits I will use this simple illustration. My job required that I be trained in fighting fires. So every year we would receive refresher training, suiting up and fighting actual fires on a fire training ground. Often our gloves ended up in a big mixed up pile and we would have to make sure we got gloves that fit us and make sure we had a right and left glove. The easy way would have been just to grab a couple of gloves and go. The benefit was we would get a good seat on the bus. But if we ended up with two left handed gloves, then handling the fire hoses for the next couple of hours was a big pain. I always searched until I found a glove that fit good for each of my hands. Rushing to try to get a good seat on the bus for a ride that lasted 5 minutes just wasn’t worth the benefits of good fitting gloves for the next couple of hours fighting fire.
I know this is just a simple illustration, but if this logic makes sense for my fire fighting training, then imagine how much sense it would make if I was fighting a actual out of control fire. Failure to use the proper equipment could result in me being injured. Worse yet it could affect the ability of the entire fire fighting crew and anyone else effected by the fire.
When we are talking about sexuality, the roles of male and female, we are talking about something that is sacred. The proper union of male and female is foundational to the purpose and function of mankind. This union was intended to also provide joy, comfort, and a multitude of blessings. Even beyond all of this it provides us with understanding of depth of the fellowship that God intends to have with us. This relationship is intended to teach us the root of the character of God, which is love.
The costs of violating the division of male and female are tremendous and the benefits are few and fleeting.
Man and Animal
“All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.” (1Co 15:39 NAS)
“Then God said, “Let Us make man 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 cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Ge 1:26-27 NAS)
The division between man and woman is a division between two sexes of equal value. Men and women were intended to be unified in an equal bond. Together they were created in the image and likeness of God. But the distinction between Man and animal is entirely a different thing. People in their created order were to have dominion over all the other created creatures. The very nature of all these things attests to the revelation God has given in the Scriptures concerning the relationship of man to beast.
As people drift from the testimony of Scripture and science, they are drawn into the illusions of the imagination through the influence of Satan. History is full of examples of how people have come to worship beasts and images of beasts. Man’s decent into his evil imagination results in a deep and dark bondage. Under this bondage of darkness inspired by that creature that was reveal in the Garden of Eden, man’s actions often reflected those of ignorant and wild beasts. Man’s creative abilities and intelligence were suppressed by the destructive nature of this dark bondage. People warred against people seeking to rise above their fellow man, providing a history of the rise and fall of nations.
The relatively recent advent of the enlightenment seemed to for a while lift people through the intellect to recognize the superiority of Mankind over the animals. This period of enlightenment produced an explosion of knowledge, science, and an industrial revolution. Today the root cause of the enlightenment is often overlooked. It was the spread of Christianity that really was at the heart of this revolution. It was Christianity that again brought a level of clarity and understanding of the world around us. It was Christianity that clarified those divisions in God’s creation that are necessary for order. A world drifting away from God was blurring the distinctions between God, men, animals, and nature. Recognizing the God given order allowed men to again take dominion of those earthly things that he was originally entrusted with. Myths, religions, and spiritual influences had suppressed man’s ability to see clearly and distinguish between the truth and a lie.
The enlightenment had a two prong effect. There was an explosion of knowledge that is continuing even now. But as with every good that comes from above, if it is used within the bounds of the Law of God it brings great blessing, but if those laws are ignored it bring a curse. The access to this new knowledge fed the sinful pride that lies within mankind and in greed and arrogance people rose up denying the source of knowledge and truth.
The result is that we have two camps. One group of people becomes increasingly aware of the marvelous beauty and design that speaks of a loving Creator. The other group blinds themselves by their denial of a creator. Denying the wisdom revealed in all of creation they seek to rule the world inspired by their own evil imaginations and lies of the god of this world. The enlightenment brought peace and war, prosperity and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, and wisdom and foolishness.
In spite of our high tech age we are witnessing a descent of mankind from the dignified position God intended to elevate us to. There are now those who as in times past place mankind with or below the level of unintelligent beasts and creeping creatures. In spite of God’s revelations they choose to worship the creation rather than the Creator. They stoop to the lowest of the low, the earth itself, and worship the rocks and gas as their mother and giver of life.
It is in this cultural environment that the line between people and animals is being blurred to the point their lives and existence has become equal in value. Let me again remind you that this is another one of God’s distinct boundaries that are intended to keep his creative order and bless mankind. Even the seemingly innocent personification of animals in stories and film are playing into this deception. As cities and technology have isolated people from the realities of the real world, their precepts of reality and imagination are blurred in the area too.
Dennis Prager has for years asked young people this question: If your dog and a stranger were both drowning and you could only save one which one would you choose? Increasingly more people would choose the dog or they’re undecided. Today the news of the death and mutilation of seven cats has trumped the murder of people in our streets. Thirty thousand dollars has been offered for a reward for the capture of the cat killer and a special task force has been assigned to find the killer. Meanwhile the abortion of innocent humans is presented as health care and a right every woman should have.
The high moral ground is that God created man in His image and likeness. God breathed His breath into man and man became a living soul. Man sinned and brought a curse on all of creation, but God through Christ Jesus provided a means of redemption. Animals were created as an element of our environment that was prepared for mankind, a wonderful and precious blessing, but not an equal to humans. God seeks to elevate, but man chooses to descend.
Blurring the Lines
I have touched on some of the major divisions of God’s creation. When there is an attempt to dissolve the lines of distinction that God intended the misuse always creates problems. There are many other categories and sub categories that I have not mentioned that are often abused and misused resulting that result in a disruption in God’s created order. The created division of God’s order cannot be changed, but through abuse and misuse people can blur the lines. This disruption of the harmony of God’s creation always has dire consequences. Today we are witnessing these abuses at an unprecedented level. Modern science and technology have allowed us to create incredible illusions that appear to be real and functional on their face. Man has blurred the lines but reality remains unchanged. Eventually every man will come face to face with reality as we face the creator and are required to give answer for rebellion and disregard for the order of God and His creation.