8

Mercy and Grace

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy
endures forever (Psalm 136:1).

God is love and His love is filled with His infinite

goodness and overwhelming holiness. In His goodness
He shows us His immeasurable compassion and in His
awesome holiness He reveals Himself as the Righteous
Judge.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In

love He fashioned all things and for His pleasure He
created it. All things that were created were good and were
created holy unto the Lord. All things that God has created
were filled with the Spirit of His glorious person
manifesting His goodness in holiness. All things were
created in Him, one with Him. On the sixth day God
created man, He created them male and female. He created
them in His own image and according to His likeness. God
is love and the light of man. He beautifully fashioned
Adam and Eve as creatures of light in Him, one with Him.
In them were life and their life was the light of the earth. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden. They were created very
good, holy unto the Lord moving and living through the
Spirit of His glory.

In His love God blessed them to be fruitful and to multiply

and He gave them dominion over the earth that they may
share in His joy. As king, God appointed Adam head over
all of His creation. Adam was created the son of God (Luke
3:38). Adam was in God, one with God. He lived and
moved and had his being in God. He walked with God in
the cool of the day, in the presence of His holiness. He
knew God as Father and related to Him as His son. God
found fulfillment in Adam and Adam found fulfillment in
God. Because Adam was created in the image and likeness
of God he could return the same quality of goodness and
holiness toward Him. God knew Adam and Adam knew
God.

Adam and Eve were perfectly fashioned as creatures of

grace manifesting intense compassion and goodness
toward God, each other and creation under their domain.
In doing so they found fulfillment in God, each other and
creation under their rule. As creation sense Adam and
Eve’s passionate care and goodness toward them, they
found fulfillment in them. In Eden the spiritual and
natural realms were one because God is one and in Him is
no division. All creation was in Him and He was in them.
There was no toil or sweat. The earth yields its full
potential because it was blessed and it was void of fear. An
overwhelming cloud of the goodness and holiness of God
filled the face of the earth. Every kind of animal responded
compassionately and in holy reverence toward Adam as he
named and blessed them. How blessed it was to live in an
atmosphere where Adam unceasingly heard angel voices
far off worshiping God. God was the covering of Adam
and Adam was the covering of Eve and all the earth, a
covering of infinite compassion and goodness.

The infinite love and goodness that Adam experienced in

Eden was God’s grace expressed toward him and toward
all of creation. Adam’s compassion and goodness toward
Eve and creation was pure grace because he lived and
moved and had his being in God. He was alive to God in
spirit, soul and body. The grace of God is His underserved
favor that He gives as a free gift. Although Adam
experienced God’s grace he did not know God as the
gracious One. He could not distinguish between deserving
a wage and that of a free gift. He did not know sin at the
time.

Adam also did not know God as the merciful One. Mercy
is the removal of well-deserved punishment for offences
committed in the past, present and to be committed in
future. It is the pardon of a life lived through the dictates
of the flesh. The works of the flesh includes both
lawlessness and human failure to perform perfect good
because of its imperfection. All of fallen man’s nature, both
good and bad, is an offense to the all-perfect God because
he has fallen from perfection and from eternal life which
was in God. Man’s best efforts independently from God are
unacceptable to Him. Sinful flesh is no source of joy or a
fountain of fulfillment to God. How could Adam know
mercy made manifested in goodness and holiness if he had
not fallen from grace? How could he know the merciful
One if he did not know sin and evil? Prior to his
transgression he did not know he was naked and he could
not relate to fear because he was not acquainted with the
concepts of man’s sin and God’s righteousness and
judgment. He did not know what it was to suffer. At that
time he had not yet partaken of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.

In Eden Adam was a partaker of God’s grace but not His

mercy. Adam manifested the grace of God to the earth but
not the mercy of God.

The unchangeable God’s goodness and holiness has never

changed. When Adam transgressed against God, God
cursed the ground for his sake. Because of sin Adam
caused changes in the structure and laws of the universe.
God has never changed. The earth started to corrode,
thorns and thistles came forth and through toil and sweat a
living is earned. All cattle and beasts of the field were
cursed not yielding fruit to its highest potential. In pain
women are bringing forth children. The universe was torn
apart through Adam’s transgression separating the
spiritual and natural realms. Adam being confined to the
natural realm, not having excess to the Fountain of Life
that dwells in the Spirit, died to God in spirit, soul and
body. He was a branch cut off from the olive tree. Adam
introduced sin, suffering and death to the earth. He lost the
capacity to relate to God as a son and to know Him as
Father. His fond memories of being a son of God
evaporated like dew in the heat of the sun leaving him
with vague memories like in a blurred dream. As creation
was subjected to futility, delivered into bondage and
corruption and sensing that man started to destroy the
earth the whole creation started to groan and labor with
birth pangs in hope for their release from futility and for
the manifestation of the sons of God. Fervently they
longing back for the passionate care and goodness they
received from man and to find once again boundless
fulfillment in God. From that time onward all of creation
needed the mercy of God.

By coming to know sin God revealed Himself as the

merciful One and as the Righteous Judge. By coming to
know hardship God revealed Himself as the God of grace.
Nevertheless, God’s mercy and goodness endure forever.
God has never changed; man through sin caused all
changes for worse in the universe. All of a sudden Adam
found himself an imperfect human being because he has
fallen from the glory of God. His environment had also
changed from a once perfect utopia into an imperfect
desolate peace of earth with a different structure operating
under natural laws that is void of Spirit. He had to learn to
relate to the God of goodness that has never changed, as a
fallen creature in an imperfect environment of the cursed
earth. He also came to know Him as the Righteous Judge.
God’s righteousness demands justice. How sin has
changed his life! He discovered that if He wanted to eat he
must toil and sweat. In spite of this dreadful way of living
God is still good and holy and His goodness and mercy
endures forever. God never changed but man has
undergone metamorphoses, changing into sinful flesh. Eve
gave birth first to Cain, then Abel and then Seth and every
time she was in terrible pain. It did not make sense to her
but God is good and His mercy triumphs over His
righteous judgments. Then they understood that because
of sin everything has changed for worse but God in His
compassion and holiness has never changed but remains
the same today, tomorrow and forever.

Through sin Adam and Eve lost their innocence. As they

grew in the knowledge of good and evil guilt and regret
set in because they became aware of the implications of
their transgression against God. Then they started to relate
to God as fallen creatures in a broken world through
knowledge of good and evil, which is death. They have
fallen from their oneness with God. On account of their sin
God forsook them just as He forsook Christ on the cross on
account of our sin.

To obtain favor from God man learned to bring sacrifices

and offerings to Him. Cain brought a grain offering to the
Lord and Abel an offering of the first born of his flock and
of their fat. God respected Abel and his offering and Abel
found favor with God but God disrespected Cain and his
offering. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was
righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being
dead still speaks (Hebrews 11:4). It was not the type of
offering that offended God but how they approached God
that made Him to accept or to reject their offerings. Abel
brought the first born of his flock, the best of the flock, as
an offering to God. This attitude showed that he came to
God in sincere faith giving glory to Him. He that comes to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him. Sincere faith is the
doorway to God’s favor. God has never stopped being
compassionate toward man and being holy in His glory
but sin twisted all things on earth including the heart of
man.

Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. There

is nothing wrong with a grain offering. Nevertheless, God
disrespected Cain and His offering. He most probably did
not bring of the first fruit of the harvest or the best of the
crop as an offering to the Lord. Such an attitude indicates
that he wanted to gain God’s favor through mechanical
rituals void of Spirit and not through sincere faith. He
offended God with his insincerity. He had no heart for
God. Cain was very angry because God favored Abel but
disfavored him. In response to his anger God warned Cain
that sin lies at the door but encouraged him to rule over it.
Sin does not consist of isolated deeds but is the fallen
human nature, which on its own merits is void of faith and
love. Sinful deeds are the fruit of a corrupted heart. So,
God encouraged Cain to rule over his sinful flesh through
sincere faith in God. He had to overcome evil by doing
good with an upright heart, which is works of faith.

Because of Cain’s unrepented heart he ultimately killed his

brother. God, the Righteous Judge cursed Cain from the
earth because his brother’s blood cried out to Him from the
ground. The Lord drove him from the face of the ground,
doomed Cain to be hidden from His face (presence; favor)
and doomed him to be a fugitive and a vagabond on the
earth. The law brings wrath but where there is no law
there is no transgression. If he had no knowledge of sin
there would have been no transgression and God would
not have judged him. Cain had some knowledge of good
and evil. He was aware of the transgression of his parents
and the glorious life they experienced in the presence of
God. He understood the meaning of the sacrifices and
offerings he and Abel burned before God. God also
warned him about sin. God was also merciful to Cain by
giving him the mark the Lord set on him, forbidding
anybody to kill him. Though God showed him mercy He
withdrew His unmerited favor or blessing or grace from
him. God is no respecter of person and fallen man should
treat the Holy God with respect in this broken universe
that operates by certain sets of rules. He upholds all things
by the word of His power to the glory of His name.

Since the transgression Adam and Eve could no longer

hear the sound of the Lord God as He walks in the cool of
the day because their senses were dead to Him. Then men
began to call on the name of the Lord. For the first time
ever man began to pray. They called out of darkness to
Him who lives in dazzling light. He is the Light of the
earth, the Light of man.

When men began to call on the name of the Lord to find

favor in His sight they understood that they had to relate
in reverence to the unseen God. Enoch, the seventh
generation from Adam heard Adam’s account of living
with God in the Spirit and the account of Cain and Abel.
He must have decided that he wanted to live continuously
in the presence of God. He demonstrated to those without
the law that without faith it was impossible to please God.
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death
and was not found because God had taken him. Before he
was taken he had this testimony that because of his faith in
God, he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5). Through the Spirit of
Christ that was in him he testified of the sufferings of
Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Peter 1:11). He
believed God and overcame the fall of the transgression
through faith. Because he overcame, God gave him to eat
from the tree of life (Revelation 2:7). Since he put out his
hand and ate from the tree of life he lived forever (Genesis
3:22). Through faith in God Enoch overcome, partook of
the tree of life and then God took him so that he never
tasted death.

When God established the covenant of the law between

Himself and Israel the relationship changed again. The
same imperfect people in the same broken universe had to
relate to God according to His covenant He made with
them. The first covenant was a covenant of works. Through
the works of the law they had to obtain favor from God. If
Israel would diligently obey the voice of the Lord to
observe carefully all His commandments then the Lord
will bless them. If they do not keep all His commandments
and statutes, curses will come upon them and overtake
them because God is the Righteous Judge (Deuteronomy
28). But showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and
keep My commandments (Exodus 20:6). The responsibility
was with God’s people to uphold the Law He gave to
Moses.

Because the law of God is perfect and spiritual it was

impossible for imperfect man in his sinful flesh to fulfill
the righteous requirement of the law. Walking according to
the Spirit and not according to sinful flesh is the only way
to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law.

Imperfect priests were ministering daily and brought

imperfect sacrifices repeatedly that could never take away
sin. The same imperfect sacrifices that Israel offered year-
by-year could not make those who approach perfect. The
blood of animals (bulls and goats) could not remove sin.
The law was only a shadow of goods things to come, a
pointer to Christ. Elijah, the prophet that stood in the
presence of God, who lived under the law had a similar
testimony than Enoch that lived without the law. Through
faith he fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law,
which is good and spiritual and God showed him mercy
and blessed him. Elijah saw the Lamb and High Priest of
God that was slain from the foundation of the world. He
believed God and it was accounted to him as
righteousness. Seeing in the Spirit the witness Jesus
received that he is pleasing to the Father he pursued the
same goal, which is to please God through faith. When he
received the same witness, he was made perfect as he was
shaped into the same image as the Son of God and lived on
to attain to the resurrection from the dead. God took him
so that he could not be found amongst the sons of men
when the sons of the prophets searched for him. Through
the works of the law nobody ever received a witness that
he or she was pleasing to God.

Moses knew what he was talking about when he said, “Oh

that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord
would put His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29). He
knew they would see through the Spirit of Christ in them
the grace that would come to some future generation (1
Peter 1:10-11). He had the hope that the Lord’s people
would come to an understanding of the significance of the
pattern of things that God has shown him on the
mountain. He knew that through faith in God and the
power of the Spirit they could fulfill the righteous
requirement of the law, taste of the Tree of Life and never
die. God never gave them a choice between good and evil
but between life and death. If they could choose life they
would live and not die. This proves that since Adam’s
transgression man has had excess to God through faith.
Why did God institute the old covenant in the first place if
He knew in His foreknowledge that He would have to
replace it with another covenant? He had to proof to every
man that he is a liar and that God alone is the truth so that
no man could glory in His sight. The old covenant has
been put away, for it has utterly failed since sinful flesh
could not fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. At
best the law brings us to the knowledge of sin and is a
pointer toward Christ.

When the new covenant in the blood of the Lamb was

made between God and Jesus on behalf of the redeemed
the relationship between God and man changed again. The
law could not reconcile us to God but now we have a
better hope through the blood of Jesus to draw near to
God. The Father entered into a covenant with His Son, on
our behalf, where He gave Him a people for His own
possession. Jesus, for the Father’s sake, had to fulfill all the
requirements of the law and made it honorable and for the
people’s sake borne the wrath of God against their
transgressions. Then the Father will forgive, once and for
all, their transgressions, change their natures by writing
His laws in their hearts and sanctify and make them
perfect. For man to be a partaker of this covenant man has
to believe in God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. Man will
then become one Spirit with Christ and God will place him
in the body of His Son. Then God will call them His
people.

The Son of God fulfilled His part of the covenant on the

cross. In doing so, mercy was granted to all that believed
and those that will still come to the faith in God and in His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a covenant of pure
mercy and grace. The only thing required from man is
faith in God. Let no man without faith suppose that he will
receive any grace or mercy from the Lord. The just shall
live by his faith.

As the covenant stands now, it is a one-sided covenant of

pure grace and nothing else but grace. The Lord Jesus
Christ has fulfilled His side of the covenant 2 000 years
ago. As it is an eternal covenant the Father will have to
keep His side of the covenant forever. One can only relate
to God through faith, hope and love. Thoughts, words and
deeds void of faith are sin and thoughts, words and deeds
without love counts for nothing even if you give your body
up to be burned for Christ’s sake.

Paul that lived under the covenant of grace pressed in

through faith in Christ that he may attain to the
resurrection from the dead. His faith created the substance
of immortality in the Spirit. However, he testified that he
never attained to it in the natural or being made perfect in
the natural. I believe if God did not destined him to die the
death of a martyr he would have been translated like
Enoch and Elijah because of his kindred faith. He was fully
convinced that what God had promised He was able to
perform. Though he died, I believe on account of his faith
he will be counted with those in heaven who never tasted
death but were translated before the appointed time. Faith
defies the dimensions of time and space.

Trust and love can only developed in a relationship where

you know God as Father and He knows you as son. He
will come to know you when you seek Him with all of
your heart. He will know your heart when you pray,
reading the Scriptures because the Holy Spirit is the One
that will take of Christ’s and declare it to you. He will
know you when you wait on Him and He will sense the
adoration in your heart when you worship Him. He will
sense virtue going out of Him when you believe Him and
sense the warmth of your love when you reach out to Him.
He will be glorified when you do the will of the Father. He
will be joyful when He finds fulfillment in you. It will be
tragic if He will never find you somewhere involved in the
Father’s business, which is doing His will that He may
come to know you. Then as Righteous Judge He will say to
you, “I never knew you, depart from Me you worker of
unrighteousness.” A life isolated from Him is suicide.

From the above we can summarize that God has never

changed. Sin changed man and his environment in which
he live. Since the transgression, regardless the dispensation
or covenant, it is impossible to please God without faith.
When God is pleased with man, God favors man. It is only
faith that procures treasure in heaven.

When perfection has come, love will remain as in Eden for

the love of God has never changed. Our humble bodies
will be changed into the likeness of His glorious body. We
will put on the glory that the Son of God had before the
worlds were made. The groaning of all creation will cease
as they put on perfection and relate to the sons of God
again in kindness and gracious thankfulness. All things
will be restored and perfected beyond their former beauty
and glory, holy unto the Lord. Knowledge will grow dim
and disappear as we walk again with Him in the light of
His glorious grace and holiness. All creation will once
again find its fulfillment in God and in each other as it
was in the beginning. The latter glory of the house will be
greater than the former just as the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ eclipse the glory of Adam.