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The INCREDIBLE HUMAN POTENTIAL
•••
The Missing Dimension in Knowledge
Part VI
I
N PART
V
1 covered tbe reasoo
WHY
Ood decided to create MAN and put
the human family on the eartb. But
How·
could so AWESOME an under·
taking ever be brougbt about?
Few, indeed. have the slightesl con·
cept ofwbat was involved. Few humans
today, indeed, have the süghtest realiza·
tion of the magnitude of miraculous
oc–
currences and divioe planning required
so that this HVMAN
un
each of us
en–
joys could be m
a
de possible.
In PART v 1 menuoned that. tbe ques–
tion migbt be aslced. "Could not Ood
bave lcnown, 10 advance, what Lucifer
would do?" Tbe a.nswer was'No! But
as–
suredly God
dld know
Lucifer's rebeUion
and tbe
~in
of the angels on eartb was
a
possibility.
And, lcnowing of lhat possibility, dtd
Ood wait until after that earth-wide
cataclysm occurred before any tbought
of creatiog MAN entered His mind? And
again lhe answer
is
a definite
NO!
He
did
not
wait until that tragic cataclysm
10
begin planning lhe reproduction of
Hisownself.
Let me give an i!lustration.
1
fty in a
Gulfstream-11 jet aircrafi.
ILS
human de·
signers realized the
possibility
of many
dilferent
parts
or systems failing. So lhey
designed and installed what is called a
"fail-safe" system. lf a certain part goes
wrong, anolher part or system has been
installed
10
talce over irnmediately -
and in some
cases,
even
a
third part or
system. lf human designers plan ahead
In <ase
of a mechanical failure, how
much more would the OUAT CREATOP.
Ooo plan ahead in lhe event Lucifer
and lhe angels sinned! Undoubtedly
God planned abead. He lcnew, bcfore
the creation of the earth, lhat angels,
with independent powers or lhinlcing,
reasoning. choosing. forming opinions
and decisions,
could
rebel and tum
10
in·
iquity. Perhaps that was a reason why
lie created MATTER -!he entire physical
universe. Matter. with iu many proper·
ues - sucb as organic and inorga01c
matter. force, energy, inertia, grav•ly,
etc., provided material by whicb He
could form MAN in a mortal state,
as
the
material by which He might reproduce
Hirnself.
Al Ibis potnt,
WC
necd 10 KNOW
STlL~
MORE about our Creator Goo! And we
need
10
lcnow
WHY
almos!
no one
today
has had lhe faintesl idea ofsucb
a
cnlos·
sal. supreme.ly AWESOWE project going
on!
OMy
ONI: Ge4 -
M«e
Tllan
•
OooePene~~!
Le1 me try to malee Ibis most wonder·
fultrulh ofall time PLAIN!
First, go back once again
10
the very
lirst words in Ood's revelation of knowl·
edge to us: "In the beginning
God
cre–
ated lhe beaven and lhe earth."
God inspired Moses 10 write lhose
words in Hebrew, not in lhe English
'
by
Herbert W Armstrong
HOW God planned to
carry
out the awesome feat of
reproducing Himse/1.
words above. Tbe Hebr.,;., name trans·
lated "Ood"
is
Elohlm.
It
is
a
uniplural
word, lilce lhe words
family, chur<h,
•
group,
t~am.
OM
family, but composed
of more tban ooe person.
Om
church,
but composed of more !han one mem·
bet:..0N6 group. but unless composed of
more thao one person, it would not be a
group.
On~
alhletic team, bul composed
of two. ftve, six. nine, eleven or more
players - besides
a
number of
sul>–
stitutes.
Tbis fonner Lucifer, who became
Satan. has so cleverly
DECEIVED
all
bumanity that almost
oo
one toda1
lf
the super archangel
and al/ his holy ange/s
had been led into rebel–
lion, how much more
certain that man, made
lower than the angels,
would also sin!
lcnows that God is, aciUally,
the divino
FAM
JI..
Y. One
family. bod
/S
a
family.
Thal family
is
ON8 Ooo.
Satan has deceived people iniO almost
every Olber belief. Perhaps the largest
number have been deceived into believ–
ing Ood is
a
"trínity" - Ood in THREE
persons - Lu.uTJNO God lo three per·
sons and misrepresenting the
HO~Y
SPCP.IT which
llows
from God and from
Christto be a single person.
Others thinlc of God
as
OHB PBRSON
ONLY.
But notice, now, in !he New Testa·
ment,Jnhn 1:1-5, 14:
"In thc beginning was tbc Word.!'
Sounds similar
10
Oenesis
1:
1, doesn' t
it? In Oenesis 1: 1, it is: "In the begio·
ning Ood." But tbe Englisb oame Goo.
in Genesis 1: 1
is
translated from tbe
Hebrew
Elohim,
meaning more than
one pcrson forming
ONE God.
lo
Jobo l. the word "Word" in English
is
translated from lhe original inspired
Greek word
logos,
wbicb means
' 'Word," "spokesman," "revelatory
thought," as
a
being or person.
Tbe next words in Jobo 1, " ... and
tbe Word
was
wilh Ood, and tbe Word
was
God.
Tbe same was in tbe begin·
ning witb Ood Allthings were made by
bim; and wilhout hirn was not any thing
made that was made ..."(verses 1-4).
Tb.is "LOgos" was a person. Tbis
per·
son existed "from lhe beginnin¡" tbe
same as God. He
ALWA YS
self-exisled.
He existed
with
God. And he, also,
was
Ood. He is and was a person. God. ·
whom he was
wrrH.
is also a person.
They both coexisted forever. "AII
lhings" (words elsewbere translated "the
universe") were made by him - !he
Word - the divine spokesman.
But now notice verse 14: "And the .
' Word
was
made ftesh, and dwelt among
us. (and wc beheld
bis
&lory
as
of lhe
only begotten of the Father,) full or
grace and truth." Tbis, of course. is
speaking of Jesus Chríst. In the human
nesh, be was begotteo
or
Ood the
Father, lhe
only
one ever so begotten
(befare human birth).
Tbe Fatber. from heaven, said of
Jesus, '"Thou art my beloved
Son.
in
whom 1 am well pleased." Jesus. pray·
tng.
called Ood "Father" -
~Falher
aod
Son" - a
PAMI~Y
relationsbip. Tbe
churcb. at !he resurrection lo immorlal
sPIRn' üfe. is
10
MA.RRY thc resurrected
and glorified Christ (Eph. 5:25-28). So
we have bere a fA.WlLy relationship -
Father, Son, husband and
wife:
And tbe
"wife" is lo be composed of
born chll·
drtn ofGod
-
1
personally have beco the father of a
FAWILY. My family name is Armstrong.
My wife and 1 lived together lifty years
until her death.
1
bave a son, Gamer
Ted. My Son ÍS also ARMSTRONO, juSI as
Jesu.s, the Word, was Ood. and ye1 He
was
with
God. Our family name
is
ARW·
STROHO. All members of the ramily also
were named Armslrong. Wben our
daughters married, they Jtarted eacb the
forming of anothcr family. and they
took lhe
na
me of tbe busband wbo
be–
came tbe father of
that
famtly. But each
family is only ONE family.
Lilcewise, there is but
ONE
God -
but Goo
is
the family name. and tbere
is
mort tiran
OM pel'$()n
in lhe
ONE
family,
CHitJST
~
MH«
111
All
Goo
is
CREATOR. Bul Goo
is
the di·
vine FMW.
y .
How can tbe Father of lhe
family be Creator, and Christ
aJso
Cre·,
ator'? In Ephesians 3:9 it
is
writte.a that
God the Father "created all things [the
UNIVERSE) by Jesus Chríst." And Cbrist
is
"lhe Word" - lbe spokesman. Speak·
ing of Him. we read
in
!he 33rd Psalm.
"lly rhe
word
of tbe Etemal were !he
heavens [universo) made; and all the
host or tbem by the breath of bis
moutb . . . For he spake. and il was
done"
(verses
6, 9).
1
will
illustrate.ln January 1914,
1
was
sent by a national magazine lo interview
Henry Ford in OetroiL When
1
firsl saw
bim. be was just ouuide tbe door of the
hu&e Ford fac10ry. He
wa.s
wearing a
business s.Ut. not worlcrnan's overalls.
He
was
the MAKER or manufacturer of
the Ford cars. He made them
8 Y
bis
lhousands of employees. wbom
J
saw in
overaJls al work inside the factory. Tbe
employees used machioery and tbe
row~;R
of electricity. Likewise. Ood the
FATHilR
is
C!lEATOil. He created
8 Y
Jesus Christ. thc "workman" who SPAKE,
and it was done by tbe POWER of tbe
holy spiríL But Jesus
sa.id
plainly lhat
He "spake" only as lhe Father
com·
mandedhim.
.
Notice Colossians 1: Spealcing of the
Father (verse 12) and "bis dear Son"
(verse 13). "who
is
the irnage of !he in·
visible Ood ... for by him (Cbnst] wcre
allthings (the universe) created. that are
in heaven, and that are in earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be lhrooes.
o.r dominions, or príncipaüties, or
pow–
ers: all !Jiings were crealed by hirn, and
for him: and he
is
befare all things, and
by him allthings consist" (verses 15-17).
Jesus Christ. prior to human birth.
had exlstcd witb lhe Falher -
A~WA
vs.
FOREVER!
Just HOW
Oíd
God
Plan
lo
· Reproduce Himsell? -
From etemity the Falhct and the
WORD who became Jesus Chrisl had
oo–
existed. Tb.ey had created angels -
probably many millions of them. A third
of !hem. under Lucifer. were pul on the
earth
al its creatlon. God set his
oov–
ERNWEHT over lhem, wilh Lucifer on tbe
throne. Lucifer rejecled God's govern–
ment. He and. W.e angels became DtS·
QUALtJ'tEO - !he GOVERNWENT OF Goo
was
llO
longer being administered
on
earlh - and the eartb had become
waste, empty, in confusion, and 1n darle·
oess.
Were there, prior
10
this, more
Iban
jusi the TWO - God a nd tbe Word -
in •
tbe Goo FAMILv? Ood reveals no more..
Was 1he "Word" the S.On of Ood, and
was Ood bis Father
at that time?
Tbey
are nowhere referred
10
as that.
Consider, now, the truly AWESOWE
project Ood set out to accomplish - 10
REPRODUCE HtMSELF!
11
is probable that, prio r
10
this time.
no form of life bad ever been. created
with 1he reproductive process. Probably
lhe very fi.rst ex.ample of reproductive
life was that of plant life - al tbe time
God was
rtnewlng
thc face of the earlh
(Gen. 1:11-12).
_
God had created the pbysical universe
before putting the angels on the ea.rth.
God had erea1ed MATTER containing
properties so tha t marvelous things may
be done with it. Tbere are both organic
(living) and inorganic (inert - dead)
matter. In rnatter are sucb properties as
energy. gravity, inertia. Awesome pow·
ers. such as the hydrogen bomb, may
come from il. Tbe existence of WAlTER
offered Ood wbat He needed 10 repro–
duce Hltnself. After creation of repro–
ductivo plant life. Ood created animal
life with tbe reproductive proct;SS, each
WEEJC. ENDlNO AUGUST ll.
1975