How to live in Eternal Paradise
SPIRITUAL NUTRITION-HOW TO LIVE IN ETERNAL PARADISE
Paradise is the place that God always intended man to live eternally. However, one of His created beings, Lucifer also known as Satan and the devil, wanted to be God himself so he rebelled against God. He convinced one third of the created angels to follow him and also wants all created humans to follow him. Satan’s schemes almost always revolve around deception and lying. As we can read in the Bible in Genesis 3 Satan used his deceiving words to cause Eve to question God’s Word and His Goodness. He used the enticing appeal of physically eating a fruit as his instrument to cause humans to separate themselves from the Creator God. Man chose to disobey God in the one no-no that God provided. Even though eating a fruit seems innocent and does not rank on our radar screen of crime, it was a deliberate choice to disobey God- which was a sin which caused the separation from God.
God is omniscient (all knowing) and is not bound by time. So, this first sin by humans did not catch God by surprise; it was already known by God prior to its happening. The entire Bible gives us the Plan written by God prior to the foundation of Earth (Revelation 13:8, Ephesians 1:4, 2 Timothy 1:9), whereby He provides humans “the Way” to redeem (to buy back) what was lost in the Fall. The Old Testament and the New Testament weave the Plan to be fulfilled through a Redeemer (Messiah), who is first hinted at in Genesis 3:15 immediately after the Fall.
Jesus makes this profound statement in John 14:6, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by Me”. This verse is not only explicit in Jesus being the Only Way back from the separation from God caused by sin, but it provides two other exciting exclamations along with “I am the Way”.
Jesus also declares, “I am the Truth”. As he did in the Garden of Eden Satan continues to use lies and deception in the world today expecting to accomplish the same result. The entire realm of unbelieving humanity lies under the binding influence of the evil one. "The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). Even those unbelievers who do not accept the truths of God about Satan and sin are nonetheless beguiled by this devil. Consequently, we are to humbly reach out to them with the truth: "In humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will." (2 Timothy 2:26)
The Bible proclaims the gospel (good news) truth through Jesus that offers freedom from such bondage: "to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God" (Acts 26:18). The testimony of all who believe in the truth of the gospel is this: "He (God) has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13-14).
Finally, Jesus proclaims in John 14:6, “I am the Life”. God created man to live Life abundantly and eternally in Paradise. God in His grace and mercy forced Adam and Eve after their disobedience/sin to leave the Garden of Eden so that they would not eat of the Tree of Life and live eternally in a sinful immortal body separated from God’s presence, goodness and love (essence of Hell) Genesis 3:22-24. In this situation the devil would have won his victory and man could not have been redeemed to new life. If Christ came in a human body, with no possibility of death on Earth, then Christ could not have died physically as a redeemer and a substitute for our sins.
Ephesians 2:1 reports that we are dead in our sins. The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new life in Jesus Christ. In John 3:3 Jesus said, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again”. But how is someone born again? What does that mean? The Holy Spirit is the one who permits you to be “born again”; it is a supernatural act. “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5). All we must do is accept the free gift of salvation by believing, trusting and accepting Christ.
More good news awaits us when we accept Christ. In John 10:10 Jesus exclaims “I am come that they might have life and that they have it more abundantly”. Our new abundant Life in Christ begins the moment of salvation on this Earth and continues eternally in Heaven.
Philippians 3:20-21 “For our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. “To get a glimpse at what a resurrected glorious body like Christ’s will be able to do, we look at scripture covering the 40 days that He lived on earth after His resurrection (Acts 1:3). He passed through locked doors (John 20:19); eats food (Luke 24:30, 42-43); has flesh and bones (Luke 24:39); can appear/vanish/disappear quickly (Luke 24:31,36); can ascend and descend (Acts 1:9,11); body that is in the prime of life (Jesus was about age 33 years when crucified and resurrected); body that is recognizable, and body that will not experience tears, sorrow, crying, pain and any more death (Revelation 21:4).
Revelation 21 and 22 provide a glimpse of our redeemed eternal Home with the new Heaven, the new Earth, the new Jerusalem, the new Paradise, its river, and the tree of life. So, what God created in Genesis, we see come to fruition in eternity with new eternal Life through Christ.
Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, no one comes to the Father except by Him who is the Redeemer, Messiah, and Savior.
