2A6
© Jeff Stacey | Last updated: 21 September 2016
2A6. God’s nature expressed as perfection:
God continued to bring condemnation and judgment because of the people’s sinfulness.
2A6(title) God’s nature expressed as perfection
Despite the FALL, God in grace had allowed the universe to continue to exist. Yet He did not condone or completely overlook the people’s sinfulness. His own nature of perfection had already been expressed when He brought condemnation and judgment upon the serpent and Adam and Eve [1B32(a-c)].
2A6 (sub-title) God continued to bring condemnation and judgment because of the people’s sinfulness.
2A6(a) The people’s increasing sinfulness
The most terrible result of the FALL was that Adam and Eve suffered spiritual death. Their sin had alienated them from God Gen 3:8,9-10. All the descendants of Adam and Eve inherited the same “image and likeness” as their sinful parents Gen 5:3 instead of the “likeness of God” Gen 5:1b. So they mostly continued to disobey and rebel against God Gen 4:8-9, fall into deeper sin and evil Gen 4:19,23-24, 6:5, be judged by Him Gen 4:11-12,15a and eventually die Gen 5:5b,8b,11b etc.
2A6(b) God restricted the people’s potential for doing evil
God’s perfection was further expressed by restricting the people’s potential for doing evil:
# He had driven Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden and away from the Tree of Life. This was to prevent them from polluting the Garden and living forever as sinful people Gen 3:22,23-24.
# People dying meant that their long and sinful lives eventually ended Gen 5:3-31.
# God later declared that He would limit the people’s maximum lifespans to 120 years [see 2B31(e)] in order to restrict their potential for evil Gen 6:3b. This was in effect another condemnation due to its permanency.
2A6(c) God’s judgment deadlines came
2A6(c)(i) God warned of His initial deadline to bring sin to account and uphold His perfection
God eventually announced that He had an initial “deadline” for His tolerance of the people’s sinfulness. Their corruption would not be allowed to go on forever Gen 6:3a. This meant that His perfection had not been compromised. Its vindication had only been deferred.
2A6(c)(ii) God final judgment deadline came and His perfection was about to be expressed worldwide
God’s final deadline arrived. He declared His judgment upon almost all people by condemning them to destruction along with almost all of the land creatures and birds! Gen 6:7,19, 7:2-3. God’s perfection was to be terrifyingly expressed by His great act of judgment, the FLOOD [see Charts 3A and 3B].
Arrows 2A3 -> 2A4,
2A3 -> 2A5 and
2A3 -> 2A6
These arrows indicate that despite the catastrophic effects of the FALL on all the people, God continued to accomplish His primary purpose. He did this by expressing His own nature to the people on Earth as love, power and perfection. This was experienced by them as either positive or negative.