God's Recovery

As I understood from the sharing by a brother on the story of the universe in our online fellowship last week, I have summarized it as "God's Recovery." This story of the universe began with God's creation in Genesis 1:1. I am not delving deep into the matter as done by GH Pember in his Earth's Earliest Ages, but drawing the line of recovery God has been working on since the judgment as evident in Genesis 1:2. 

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 

The universe was created by God. But after the creation, the earth became waste and emptiness, and darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters, proving that the earth was judged by God. Perhaps, because of the fallen angels, and was covered with water. 

Genesis 1:2

But the earth became waste and emptiness, and darkness was on the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding upon the surface of the waters. 

The fall that led to judgment is being undone through the process of time until it will be fully headed up in Christ one day. That is God's economy as the goal of God's recovery.

Ephesians 1:10

Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him; 

Scientists have theorized the three laws of thermodynamics and later a Zeroth law was added. These laws are subject to this physical earth and everything in this realm comes under its domain; meaning the laws would hold true within its domain, ie., the earth we live in today which was the result of fall, and all fallen bring are subject to this physical laws.

However, there is a spiritual realm that does not come under the bounds of the physical realm. Though one lives in the physical realm physically, if he is in the spiritual realm he can go beyond the leaps and bounds of the physical realm. There are many instances recorded in the Bible where men have experienced things against the physical laws. 

In the Old Testament times, to name a few, Elijah never saw death and was raptured alive. And so was Enoch.

2 Kings 2:11

And as they went on and talked, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared; and they separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Genesis 5:24

And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 

Another example is pouring oil into as many empty vessels were available.

2 Kings 4:4-5

Then go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all those vessels; and each one you fill set aside. So she went away from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons; and they brought the vessels to her, and she poured out into them. 

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. How did it multiply? Science has no answer for this, nor can it be proven scientifically. But we all know that Jesus as God Himself can do such a miracle. Let us look at John 6:5-21

John 6:9

There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many? 

John 6:13

So they gathered them and filled twelve handbaskets with broken pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over among those who had eaten. 

Jesus walked on the sea defying the natural law of gravity and immediately landed on the other side of the land, defying time. He transcended the physical laws; to Him, there was no limit of time and space.

John 6:19-21

19. Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they became frightened. 20. But He said to them, It is I. Do not be afraid. Then they were willing to take Him into the boat; and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going. 

Not only Jesus but His apostles and believers too experienced the same. A few cases in the book of Acts are noteworthy. Philip transcended space and time.

Acts 8:39-40

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away; and the eunuch did not see him anymore, for he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found in Azotus; and passing through, he announced the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

There are many cases in the Bible that testify to the fact that in the spiritual realm one can be above the physical laws. This is the gradual process of recovery in God's work, bringing His created man back to what He originally intended to be.

It was the enemy of God, Satan the devil, who brought in the fall to mankind subjecting him to the natural laws. But God is recovering His created man back to what He intends him to be. For this, God was incarnated as a man in Christ Jesus, passed through all the processes of human living, and accomplished the great work of redemption by defeating His enemy once for all at the cross, and destroyed the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8

He who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

Hebrews 2:14

Since therefore the children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil.

Now, as New Testament believers, possessing the divine life of God Himself, one can actually undo the works of the devil in God's recovery. This has been experienced in two dimensions, as an individual and as the corporate Body of Christ, the church.

Individually, as believers, we have experienced Regeneration in our spirit; then are experiencing Sanctification,  Transformation, Renewing, Confirmation, and Deification in our soul, and finally Glorification, the redemption of our physical body. Through all these processes, God's recovery work would bring back God's original creation.  Similar processes are with the church corporately among the many believers, to ultimately head up all thing in Christ, the Head. Ephesians 4 shows in detail how God is recovering His goal through Christ, and then through the gifted members perfecting the saints, and the perfected saints building up the Body in love. Though through the falls of man there are divisions among believers too, through the growth in life, which is the actual building up, the Lord will blend the Body together. The Lord has commissioned us, the believers, with His divine commission of preaching the gospel, saving sinners, disciple(ing) the nations, and building up His Body to bring Him back and fulfill His heart's desire. God's goal will thus be fulfilled through His recovery work.  With our spirit as the beachhead, we must cooperate with the Lord to carry out His recovery work to gain us man, then build up His church, His Body, and gain the one New Man, His Bride.

Lord, I give myself to You for Your recovery work. Lord, gain Your goal in us and through us as Your church.