Now, that was all lost to him. Now, man had to learn these things, these truths and goods externally; he was no longer lead by the Lord directly from within through perception. Remember, man wanted to know what was good and evil by himself. He now must learn and be lead only through his self or proprium. In effect, the thoughts that now came to man from God are distorted and his life eventually was thought his own, and the Lord was seen or known only according to his own ratiocinations. A man's rational was no longer sound, for the Lord was no longer clearly seen or known. In fact, we can see this in that mankind began worshipping idols that he made, not knowing God any longer.
The truth that by eating or appropriating the knowledge of good and evil through one's self that a man would die became a reality; it happened. Over the centuries, the Church with and in mankind, fell further and further away from God's truth and, therefore, from receiving true life. From perception to a conscience, to no conscience at all, from love to lust, from truth to what is false, from good to evil, man fell. Finally, it was time for the Lord to come on earth. If He would have come any sooner, He would have been rejected, for until man totally accepts that he is not able to know any truth and do any good from himself, he rejects God and accepts some distorted supernatural deity or denies Him. The Church on earth became no longer even a representative, but only a representative of a representative Church. The Church man no longer knew what his worship represented and thus, when the Lord did come, he rejected Him.
Nonetheless, there were some who came to accept the Lord as God. And, we see the Lord did establish another Church and, today there are those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and God the Creator, Sustainer, and Savior. However, what is it that the Lord came to do and why did He establish a new Church? To the first part, the answer given by any Christian is that He came to save mankind, and that is true, but how He accomplishes that is seen as Him dying in our stead on the cross and is to believed that all we must do is believe that this so; that He took our place in what is believed is God's judgment against mankind who had rejected Him, forgetting and not knowing mankind had rejected God, not God him.
Is it the Lord's death or is it His life that saves man? Didn't the Lord God tell Adam and Eve that there would, in time be a fight between good, which is represented by Eve as the Church with evil as represented by the serpent? Now, hasn't man all throughout his existence been tempted and had to fight against evil, and hasn't God's Word shown that man and the Church sank deeper into sin? And, don't most Christians know there is no good in themselves and, so, no matter how they try to live a good life, they still pray for forgiveness for the sins they do, many times not even knowing what sin had they committed?
Now, does the Lord just want us only to believe that He saves or does He also want us to live a good and true life? Perhaps, some have sunk so deep in sin and not only reject God's salvation, but curse Him?
Come let us reason together. Since a true life from the Lord has been rejected by man and, now, men have only a life according to the truth and the good that must, now, come to him though his senses and so distorts that truth according to his love of self and his love of the world and are not of spiritual things, then how are we to succeed in overcoming evils and falsities that rule us? The truth is that we cannot, of ourselves. succeed, because we do not have the strength or power to. Only the Lord has such power even as He has said, "All power has been given to Me". We can read in the Word where the Lord was tempted when He was on earth even as we are, and we see that the Lord overcame those temptations. This is the combat, the battles that the Lord has fought and was victorious over for our redemption. He fought the evils and overcame them in Himself while He was here in the natural human of mankind. The result was that He united His Divine within Him with His Natural Human and became the Divine Human. The Lord had been with mankind in his Celestial and in his Spiritual life and, now He was with him in his natural life and, thus, God became Man and Man God. The truths that enter a man through his natural thought enter now through his senses in power. Hasn't the Lord said that He came to make His abode within in a man's innermost and hasn't the Lord defeated the evils and their lies?
We can understand this in that the Lord said to His disciples, that is, to His Church, that if He did not go way and prepare a place for them that they would have no part of Him. He told them that the Father was in Him and They (the Father which was the Divine and the Son, which was the Human) were in them. It is obvious that He meant His life, His truth, which is of the spiritual and of His goodness, which is of the celestial. It is the Truth that fights and that is victorious over falsity and it is the Good that is victorious over evil. Now, how does the Lord enter into man, how does His Truth and His Good enter into a man? Man is in the natural state and his spiritual and celestial states are closed in him because of his sins. The only way left is through his natural senses - through seeing and hearing, etc. These ways we saw had evil adhered with the truths that are found and that are learned from the Word of God, and thus, because of a man's love for himself more then his is love for God he does not have strength or power to become victorious without the Lord's help.
So, when the truth enters into a man's mind, into his will and understanding, and he follows the truth, not as it having been discovered by himself or because he has of himself learned the truth, but because he knows it is the Lord's truth and that it is true, and this becomes in him called his faith, and is not what others have said - that the Lord's death on the cross has saved him. The fact is the Lord did not die in our stead or place on the cross and that when we believe this, that we are saved. The Lord has defeated all evil by His life not death and we, when we believe He did, and receive or accept that great love then that love in us works in us towards our regeneration and salvation. We must cooperate with the Lord, with His truths and act accordingly 'as if' from self, but we must know it is of the Lord and from the Lord that we can shun evils as sins and do good works or charity. You will agree that we have freedom to either act to accept or reject the Lord's Word, and that we cannot just sit waiting for the Lord to zap us and we without any effort start living the Ten Commandments or that we are miraculously cleansed of our sins in the act of baptism.
The truth that by eating or appropriating the knowledge of good and evil through one's self that a man would die became a reality; it happened. Over the centuries, the Church with and in mankind, fell further and further away from God's truth and, therefore, from receiving true life. From perception to a conscience, to no conscience at all, from love to lust, from truth to what is false, from good to evil, man fell. Finally, it was time for the Lord to come on earth. If He would have come any sooner, He would have been rejected, for until man totally accepts that he is not able to know any truth and do any good from himself, he rejects God and accepts some distorted supernatural deity or denies Him. The Church on earth became no longer even a representative, but only a representative of a representative Church. The Church man no longer knew what his worship represented and thus, when the Lord did come, he rejected Him.
Nonetheless, there were some who came to accept the Lord as God. And, we see the Lord did establish another Church and, today there are those who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and God the Creator, Sustainer, and Savior. However, what is it that the Lord came to do and why did He establish a new Church? To the first part, the answer given by any Christian is that He came to save mankind, and that is true, but how He accomplishes that is seen as Him dying in our stead on the cross and is to believed that all we must do is believe that this so; that He took our place in what is believed is God's judgment against mankind who had rejected Him, forgetting and not knowing mankind had rejected God, not God him.
Is it the Lord's death or is it His life that saves man? Didn't the Lord God tell Adam and Eve that there would, in time be a fight between good, which is represented by Eve as the Church with evil as represented by the serpent? Now, hasn't man all throughout his existence been tempted and had to fight against evil, and hasn't God's Word shown that man and the Church sank deeper into sin? And, don't most Christians know there is no good in themselves and, so, no matter how they try to live a good life, they still pray for forgiveness for the sins they do, many times not even knowing what sin had they committed?
Now, does the Lord just want us only to believe that He saves or does He also want us to live a good and true life? Perhaps, some have sunk so deep in sin and not only reject God's salvation, but curse Him?
Come let us reason together. Since a true life from the Lord has been rejected by man and, now, men have only a life according to the truth and the good that must, now, come to him though his senses and so distorts that truth according to his love of self and his love of the world and are not of spiritual things, then how are we to succeed in overcoming evils and falsities that rule us? The truth is that we cannot, of ourselves. succeed, because we do not have the strength or power to. Only the Lord has such power even as He has said, "All power has been given to Me". We can read in the Word where the Lord was tempted when He was on earth even as we are, and we see that the Lord overcame those temptations. This is the combat, the battles that the Lord has fought and was victorious over for our redemption. He fought the evils and overcame them in Himself while He was here in the natural human of mankind. The result was that He united His Divine within Him with His Natural Human and became the Divine Human. The Lord had been with mankind in his Celestial and in his Spiritual life and, now He was with him in his natural life and, thus, God became Man and Man God. The truths that enter a man through his natural thought enter now through his senses in power. Hasn't the Lord said that He came to make His abode within in a man's innermost and hasn't the Lord defeated the evils and their lies?
We can understand this in that the Lord said to His disciples, that is, to His Church, that if He did not go way and prepare a place for them that they would have no part of Him. He told them that the Father was in Him and They (the Father which was the Divine and the Son, which was the Human) were in them. It is obvious that He meant His life, His truth, which is of the spiritual and of His goodness, which is of the celestial. It is the Truth that fights and that is victorious over falsity and it is the Good that is victorious over evil. Now, how does the Lord enter into man, how does His Truth and His Good enter into a man? Man is in the natural state and his spiritual and celestial states are closed in him because of his sins. The only way left is through his natural senses - through seeing and hearing, etc. These ways we saw had evil adhered with the truths that are found and that are learned from the Word of God, and thus, because of a man's love for himself more then his is love for God he does not have strength or power to become victorious without the Lord's help.
So, when the truth enters into a man's mind, into his will and understanding, and he follows the truth, not as it having been discovered by himself or because he has of himself learned the truth, but because he knows it is the Lord's truth and that it is true, and this becomes in him called his faith, and is not what others have said - that the Lord's death on the cross has saved him. The fact is the Lord did not die in our stead or place on the cross and that when we believe this, that we are saved. The Lord has defeated all evil by His life not death and we, when we believe He did, and receive or accept that great love then that love in us works in us towards our regeneration and salvation. We must cooperate with the Lord, with His truths and act accordingly 'as if' from self, but we must know it is of the Lord and from the Lord that we can shun evils as sins and do good works or charity. You will agree that we have freedom to either act to accept or reject the Lord's Word, and that we cannot just sit waiting for the Lord to zap us and we without any effort start living the Ten Commandments or that we are miraculously cleansed of our sins in the act of baptism.