When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. ~ Matthew 16: 13-18, KJV

 

When a closer examination is given to chapter one of Genesis, the genuine Truth seeker will discover that God really is renovating the Earth. He is re-shaping the Earth so that it looks the way He originally intended it should look before Satan and his fallen angels brought chaos, formlessness, emptiness, and darkness to it.

For sure, God couldn’t have created the darkness that was there during this moment of restoration, because God is Light and there is NO darkness whatsoever in Him (cf. 1 John 1:5). This Divine Truth is why darkness isn’t the opposite of light, but rather darkness is the absence of Light!

To keep the Earth from reverting back to the chaotic, formless, empty, and dark world it had become, God also CREATED “man” and gave him dominion over His newly renovated Earth. Indeed, in Genesis 1:26-27, Elohim decides that they will make “man” in their image—make “man” a Soul and Spirit wrapped up in the Word (Jesus the Christ  in Genesis 1:26-27 is the Word, for He hasn’t been made flesh yet). Put differently, the spirit and mind of “man” are covered (clothed) with the dry land God’s Word created.

This image of created “man” becomes clearer in Genesis 2:7, where man is described as having God’s spirit and His mind (man’s an eternal spirit and an eternal soul), and they are housed in a glorified body. Then, after both the created Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree, which they do because, like fallen Satan, they too have decided they want to be God (cf. Genesis 3:5-19), this man—Adam and Eve—not only spiritually dies but also loses the mind of God and, thus, mankind’s glory. All that is lost would remain lost until Jesus the Christ is made flesh (until He lays aside His glory) and comes down to Earth wearing man’s glory.

Once again, God  intervenes. This time He gets involved in the lives of the off-track inhabitants of Earth who have strayed away from God’s designed plan for their lives. However, instead of restoring the Earth and immediately abolishing the sin that was in humans’ lives, God sends His only begotten Son to Earth not only to save mankind from the penalty of sin, but also to make available to mankind the abundant life—the fullness of life—God originally had given to Adam and Eve.

The Lord’s second purpose for becoming a man, then, is the reason why, near the end of His 3½ years of ministry, the Lord decides to ask His disciples, in Matthew 16:13, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Their answers were all opinions, so the Lord continues testing His disciples’ faith by asking them, in Matthew 16:15, “But whom say ye that I am?”

Now, it is apparent from the context in which He asks these questions that the Lord knew the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees, who, having witnessed the Lord’s supernatural miracles, signs, and wonders, knew that He was some “special,” powerful “man” who also could teach with great authority, but because their hearts were hardened (full of disbelief/unbelief), they could not put their finger on who He truly was. For this reason, the Lord questions His disciples’ understanding of who they believe He is. Peter answers: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16b).

The Lord’s initial response to Peter makes it clear that, up until this point, NO ONE really knew that Jesus THE Christ was God’s ONLY begotten Son. God’s revelation to Peter is what makes the Lord’s additional statements even more revealing than they appear to be on the surface. For example, when Jesus the Christ tells Peter that it is upon this ROCK (upon this revelation about the Lord being the Son of the living God), the Lord is confirming that He not only first came to Earth to die a sacrificial death for the sins of the world, be resurrected, and then ascend back into Heaven where He would put back on His Glory, but also He is confirming that He first came to Earth so that He could show men and women their true identity as sons and daughters of God.

Had His First Coming been with ALL of His Glory, EVERYONE would have seen Him and known then that He was Jesus THE Christ, the ONLY begotten Son of God. This is the reason why He prophesies in Matthew 16:27 that it is at His Second Coming that “…the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”

Now, because the Lord first came to Earth in human flesh wearing man’s glory (the glory Adam lost), He purposely didn’t show mankind His Divinity. Instead, He showed humanity that children of God were created in God’s image.  Specifically, He showed God’s chosen people that they originally were meant not only to be faithful and obedient to God, but also that they were created to be glorious and powerful beings—created to be God’s sons and daughters who would personify the SUPER in the natural and the EXTRA in the ordinary.

Jesus the Christ willingly comes down from Heaven in “man’s” glory, because at His First Coming His purpose was NOT to show that He is equal with God (cf. Philippians 2:6). For sure, His purpose for coming to Earth the first time never included Him embracing His Glory. This is why, because He takes off His Glory in Heaven, Jesus the Christ is able to show mankind that He is the most faithful and most obedient child of God who willingly comes to Earth to lay down His life for all mankind. The multiple effect of His faith and obedience cause many revelations, for the Lord’s First Coming reveals salvation; reveals the fullness of life (cf. John 10:10); reveals the ONLY Way, the ONLY Truth, and the ONLY Life (cf. John 14:6); reveals who Father God is (cf. John 14:7), reveals that Jesus the Christ and Father God are One (cf. John 10:30), and reveals that Jesus the Christ is the definitive example of the “man” Father God intended mankind’s prototype (Adam) to represent.

Jesus the Christ, therefore, primarily comes to restore humanity to its originally intended identity, which is the true image of God’s sons and daughters. He comes to set the record straight about humanity being created in Elohim’s image of: a living spirit that is in harmony with Elohim’s Spirit; a living soul (having the mind of God) that is in harmony with Elohim’s Soul; and a SUPER in the natural and EXTRA in the ordinary glorified body that is able to walk on water and perform countless other miracles, signs, and wonders, like what Jesus the Christ accomplishes.

This restoration begins after the Lord returns back to Heaven and sends mankind the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes not only to regenerate (give humans their born-again spirit) but also He comes to sanctify (spiritually mature humans) until they have the mind of Jesus the Christ, who actually has the mind of God. For sure, after they are born again, believers’ process of restoration has to continue until they finally are glorified—until they finally are once again wearing their own glory!

Therefore, the ROCK or revelation upon which Jesus the Christ builds His CHURCH is the ROCK or solid, unshakable revelation about who God always intended mankind to be, which is why He sacrifices His Son to guarantee that nobody, no spirit, and nothing will ever be able again to take away or transfer mankind’s inalienable identity and inalienable rights. This revelation also is why the process the Holy Spirit is taking believers through is the ONLY process that will restore believers TOTALLY to their true heavenly identity and their true earthly rights!

It should now be evident that the Divine Truth about why God is re-shaping the Earth in Genesis chapter one IS not only so that the Earth will look like He originally intended it to look, but also so that humanity will look like He  ALWAYS intended humans to look. God knew that Satan and Adam would fall. He also knew that no person and no created spirit could possibly be as faithful and obedient as His ONLY begotten Son. Thus, when Adam and Eve fell, when the ones to whom He first gives dominion over the Earth become unfaithful and disobedient, God knew that similar to what He has to do with the Earth He also would have to do with His sons and daughters—He would have to re-shape them back into the image of their original creation rather than choose to start again from scratch!

The outcome of this re-shaping is called the NEW MAN, or the renewed (transformed, converted) believer in Jesus the Christ, who has accepted God’s ONLY begotten Son as Savior and Lord. Thanks to the Lord, today’s renewed (transformed, converted) believer is being changed back into Elohim’s image via the Word of God (Jesus the Christ), God’s Saving Grace, and the power of God’s Holy Spirit!