GOD’S STORY part 26: The Power Struggle

Genesis 1 closes with the following verses,

“And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

GOD gave… everything… to Adam. And then, at the end of this sixth day, GOD rested from His creation, having given all to the man whom he made in His own image, to rule over and to tend it.

Hallelujah!

But how does this knowledge prepare us in our own journey with Him? We need to recognise the power struggle.

Preparing the Bride for GOD’s Story

How do we prepare as the Bride of Christ? One aspect is to learn GOD’S STORY. He created us in His image…. Piece by piece, and peace by peace, we learn to walk as He has walked. And we learn His perspective. 

Why did GOD make Man?

IF as I suggested as a possibility last week (https://laruspress.com/gods-story-part-25-mankind-is-created-why/ ), that GOD made man in response to Lucifer’s fall, what is the ultimate significance of this?

We are here on this earth because GOD created us. After Lucifer was cast out of fellowship with GOD and fell to the earth (Hebrews 1:14), Satan, the devil who had been the angel Lucifer, observed Creation. Would he not have heard the commission of GOD to Adam? Can we imagine that he waited for his moment and then tricked Eve and tempted Adam to sin? This power play against GOD led to Adam’s mortality and his removal from Eden. 

The struggle between GOD and Satan, the struggle for power continues to this day. Of course GOD has infinite power and has already won…. we who have read the Book know the ending. The timing for the fruition of all is in His hands.

The Power Plays

I have a theory based upon Biblical history and contemplation — an unproved conscious thought:

While GOD is waiting for man’s salvation back to Himself, the Angels are worshipping GOD (Revelation 5:11-14) and Satan, GOD’s jealous competitor, is doing all he can (using the demons who fell with him) to thwart GOD, attempting to prove he is His equal. He uses man against GOD in his war for power. 

GOD created mankind, His motive to create beauty and relationship.

Lucifer was proud and so was cast out of heaven and fell to earth…. Jealous and full of envy at the relationship between GOD and man, he sought to foil that relationship. He used the serpent to entice Eve, perhaps because the serpent had anticipated he would be the one having dominion, not foreseeing the creation of man, a creature superior to himself, and not relishing being dominated by man. 

And so two sides are drawn with man in the middle.

But GOD

But GOD is not only the author of Creation and the author of this story, but He knows the beginning from the end, and is in fact the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8)

The power play must run its course and in the meantime, opportunity for salvation continues and comes to fruition over and over again. Satan destroys but GOD brings life. And so it will continue until the end of this Age and beyond.

One day the power struggle will end

“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

And then the new heaven and new earth will come (Revelation 21:1) where the power struggle is over.

In the meantime, we need not be pawns at the disposal of Satan but be knights in GOD’s army. He seeks and saves the lost. We are His hands and feet.

So, while the power struggle rages, we on the LORD’s side, seek to save the lost. This is our calling and this is His victory.

Next time we will look to Genesis Chapter Two…