CHAPT 3 – God’s Foreknown and Predestined Plans for All of His Creation Come to Fruition.
Let’s watch God the Father implement His plans formed BEFORE 14 billions of years ago BEFORE time began down through the successive ages to TODAY. Many thousands of years ago, God created man as BOTH spiritual {Genesis 1:27} and physical {Genesis 2:7} and commanded him to be fruitful and multiply.
Genesis 1:27-28 So God created man in His own {spiritual} image {John 4:24}, in the image and likeness {man having spiritual traits} of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col 3:9, 10; James 3:8, 9.] 28 And God blessed them and said {talked} to them, Be fruitful, multiply {using natural human reproduction process}, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. AMP
Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life {Zechariah 12:1}, and man became a {complete} living being {man is now BOTH a spiritual and physical being}. [1 Cor 15:45-49.] AMP
Scripture states that God walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. I believe He blessed them by telling them about life – their being united in marriage, having children, the many things that accompanied their blessings from Him, and to acknowledge Him in their lives.
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth. AMP
Genesis 3:8-9 And they {Adam and Eve} heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called {talked} to Adam and said to him, Where are you? AMP
We MUST understand the importance of Eve in God’s creation. She is the Mother of all naturally conceived living humans from their individual conception.
Genesis 3:20 The man called his wife’s name Eve [life spring], because she was the mother of all the living {humans}. AMP
Eve illustrated and stated for us the template/model that God would use over 108+ billion times for the human process of procreation down through the successive ages of time. These children are begotten by their natural parents according to their foreknown generational lineage found in God’s plans for them as found in His Book of Life. There is NO more boring reading in the Bible than so and so begat so and so, etc., etc., etc. But these people had to come along for us to be here today – they show us how God brought about the generations! No one in this lineage found in His Book of Life was created by the technology used by human technicians from the late 1900’s!
Genesis 4:1 AND ADAM {husband} knew Eve as his wife, and she became pregnant and bore Cain {offspring}; and she said, I have {be}gotten and gained a man with the help of the Lord {God the Holy Spirit}. AMP
Isaiah 41:4 Who has prepared and done this, calling forth and guiding the destinies of the generations [of the {peoples of the} nations] from the beginning? I, the Lord — the first [existing before history began] and with the last [an ever-present, unchanging God] — I am He. AMP
Psalms 139:12-15 {King David speaking} Even the darkness hides nothing from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You. [Dan 2:22.] 13 For You {God the Holy Spirit} did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery {in ETERNITY}]. AMP
God the Holy Spirit is present at each and every conception of ALL naturally conceived human babies {cf. Psalms 139:12-15 above}! He is using the foreknown plans from God the Father’s Book of Life for that baby/person putting the right sperm from the right father with the right egg from the right mother to conceive their foreknown and predestined child. More on this in CHAPTER 5 – “How Is God Involved in Human Reproduction.”
The spirits of all naturally conceived human babies are an extremely essential part to them. Man cannot receive his “spirit” from or through another person or another source other than God the Holy Spirit! A person’s spirit is formed separately by God the Holy Spirit and put in their zygote at the SAME time as He is forming their human features at their conception. That baby is a COMPLETE living person at their conception! One’s spirit is alive at that time and lives in them until their death when it returns back to God.
Zechariah 12:1 THE BURDEN or oracle (the thing to be lifted up) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, Who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the {living} spirit of man within him {This is part of God the Holy Spirit’s work in each natural human conception – cf. Psalms 139:12-15 above}: AMP
Psalms 139:13 For You {God the Holy Spirit} did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb {I am complete! You did form my zygote including my spirit}. AMP
Ecclesiastes 12:7 {When a person dies} Then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s body {Genesis 2:7}] return to the earth as it was, and the {living} spirit shall return to God Who gave it. AMP
I am going to stop here to study Zechariah 12:1 which states that God does a tremendously mighty work of creating the heavens and earth and then we have the seemingly disconnected and puny work of forming the spirit of man within him, but if we continue the creation story by inserting Genesis 1:26-27 into Zechariah 12:1, we do not have a disconnect but a beautiful revelation of the significance and importance of the Holy Spirit’s work of forming man’s spirit within him/her at their conception.
Genesis 1:26-27 God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our {spiritual} image, after Our likeness {spiritual traits}, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. [Ps 104:30; Heb 1:2; 11:3.] 27 So God created man in His own {spiritual} image, in the image and likeness {spiritual characteristics} of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col 3:9, 10; James 3:8, 9.] AMP
By inserting Genesis 1:26a-27 into the context of Zechariah 12:1, we can understand the importance of God the Holy Spirit forming man’s spirit within him. That creation of man’s spirit is up there with His creating of the heavens and earth!
Zechariah 12:1 THE BURDEN or oracle (the thing to be lifted up) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, Who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth. {Genesis 26a-27} God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our {spiritual} image, after Our likeness {spiritual traits}, So God created man in His own {spiritual} image, in the image and likeness {spiritual characteristics} of God He created him; male and female He created them and forms the {living} spirit of man within him. {This is part of God the Holy Spirit’s work in each natural human conception along with Psalms 139:12-15 above}: AMP
God the Holy Spirit has at least five different “works” in each naturally conceived human offspring:
1) God the Holy Spirit uses God the Father’s Book of Life at the conception of each naturally conceived child, God the Holy Spirit puts together the right parents to produce the right zygote/baby at the right time in place and history.
2) At the conception of this baby, God the Holy Spirit puts together the inner parts {guts} of the baby.
Ps 139:13-15 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit them together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous-and how well I know it. 15 You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion! TLB
3) Also at the same time during conception, God the Holy Spirit forms the “spirit” within the baby making the child a “complete human being” at that instant. Only God the Holy Spirit can complete this step which makes the child complete. This is a major difference between IVF created babies and God’s created offspring! IVF created babies DO NOT and CANNOT have a “God formed spirit!!!” THE HUMAN SPIRIT CAN ONLY BE GENERATED BY GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT AND PLACED IN THE EMBRYO OF EACH NATURALLY CONCEIVED CHILD!!!
Zechariah 12:1 THE BURDEN or oracle (the thing to be lifted up) of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus says the Lord, Who stretches out {creates} the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth {creates} and forms {creates} the spirit of man within him: AMP
4) God the Holy Spirit works with each naturally conceived person to convict them of their sins and their need of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
John 16:7-11 However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. 8 And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust in, rely on, and adhere to Me]; 10 About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no longer; 11 About judgment, because the ruler (evil genius, prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him. AMP
5) When He convicts a sinner of their need of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and that sinner is “born again,” the Godhead – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit now indwells that new creation to have an intimate relationship with God’s foreknown and predestined adopted child.
John 14:23 Jesus answered, If a person [really] loves Me, he will keep My word [obey My teaching]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him. AMP
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, 20 You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body. AMP
John 1:12-13 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the {adopted} children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name — [Isa 56:5.] 13 Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!] AMP
BUT here is the ironic part of this process – man’s spirit is NOT their eternal possession – it returns to God upon their death – it is His to use to communicate with us and for Him to have as a record from our beginning to end.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust [out of which God made man’s body] return to the earth as it was {upon their death}, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it. AMP
IT WAS/IS GOD’S FROM THEIR PHYSICAL BEGINNING TO THEIR PHYSICAL DEATH!!! MAN CANNOT MANIPULATE HIS SPIRIT AT HIS DISCRETION NOR FOR HIS PURPOSE NOR FOR HIS ADVANTAGE!!! It is NOT his!!! I believe we as Christians MUST understand and accept this truth! I believe a person’s spirit enables them to communicate with the spiritual realm whether it be with Satan or God after and if they are “saved” during their lifetime. It also collects and contains all of the data of their life from their conception to their death which God will use in His judgement of them.
1 Corinthians 2:12-14 {For a person who is saved} Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but {we have received from} the [Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God. 13 And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the [Holy] Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the Holy Spirit].
14 But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated. AMP
John 3:18 He who believes in Him [who clings to, trusts in, relies on Him {Jesus Christ}] is not judged [he who trusts in Him never comes up for judgment; for him there is no rejection, no condemnation — he incurs no damnation {Romans 8:1}]; but he who does not believe (cleave to, rely on, trust in Him) is judged already [he has already been convicted and has already received his sentence] because he has not believed in and trusted in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [He is condemned for refusing to let his trust rest in Christ’s name.] AMP
