PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

In this issue of Parenthood we continue to touch the Biblical revelation concerning God's creation. The Bible is the unique book in the world which, under the direct inspiration of God, unveils who God is, how and why He has established the created universe, why He created man, and how He becomes related to man. We as Christian parents are charged to nurture our children in the discipline and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). We must give careful attention to imparting to them the Bible, God's revelation concerning His purposes and His ways with man.

In the previous issue, we saw that God's original creation, revealed in Genesis 1:1, was corrupted by Satan and judged by God. Hence, the second verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:2 tells us that "the earth became waste, and emptiness and darkness was on the surface of the deep...." We know that emptiness and darkness depict something chaotic and desolate-not a good habitation for living things. But Isaiah 45:18 in contrast to this bleak description of creation declares, "For thus says Jehovah, / Who created the heavens-He is the God / Who formed the earth and made it; / He established it; / He did not create it waste, / But He formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah and there is no one else...."

Although God formed the universe as a pleasant place to be inhabited, Satan, originally created as a particularly bright angel of light, rebelled against God and corrupted the earth and all things in it. As a result, God judged the corrupted earth and it became waste and empty. Then God came in once again as indicated in the continuation of Genesis chapter one, verses 2b through 4, "And the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters. / And 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." In this way, God restored the empty and dark universe making it once again a pleasant place for living creatures. At the completion of His restoring process, He created man as the pinnacle of His creation to inhabit the restored earth. Eventually, God Himself became a man, Jesus Christ, to express God, represent Him, and even be one with Him. Man is the goal of God's creation.

The more you read a book like Genesis, the more you must admit that the Bible is really a record of God's movements; it is the history of God. You cannot say that the record in Genesis is merely a record of mankind. While it is a record of mankind, it is not primarily such. Genesis is primarily a record of God, then of man. Without God there would be no way for man to be here. God is the Initiator; He is the beginning. Then man came into existence from God. Therefore, if Genesis is a record of man, it must certainly be even more the record of God.

GOD'S INTENTION TO HAVE MAN FOR HIS EXPRESSION

In the last message we saw God in eternity. That was the origin of His history. He did not come from anywhere, because He is self-existing. We have no human words to explain this. He has no parents, no genealogy, no origin (Hebrews 7:3).... We saw in message one that He firstly began to form an economy, to make an arrangement, according to His heart's desire for His good pleasure. That was the beginning of His move. Then, in that move there was a council among the three of the Godhead, among the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and a strong determination was made. He wanted to have mankind so that He could have an organism to express Him, represent Him, and even be one with Him. This organism would be His enlargement, His increase. The Bible shows us that eventually after God moves so much throughout all the centuries, the New Jerusalem will come forth. The New Jerusalem is God's enlargement, as Eve was Adam's enlargement. Since God as the very substance of the New Jerusalem is embodied in Christ the Lamb and since the New Jerusalem is called the wife of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9), it is absolutely right to say that the New Jerusalem is the enlargement of God.

(continued on page 2)