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Commentary on "Heaven's Means of Communication"
Day 2: Sunday, December 28, 2008
This lesson looks at the change that occurred between God and humanity after Adam and Eve sinned. The Bible Study Guide states, “However, after that fateful day, when they blatantly disobeyed their Lord, they no longer were allowed to enjoy His presence (Gen. 3:23, 24), and their face-to-face communion with Him ended.”
The next paragraphs mention times when the Angel of the Lord or the Angel of God spoke to people in the Old Testament, specifically mentioning Moses at the burning bush, Gideon, and Samson’s parents. Then the Quarterly states this: “In John 1:18 John says, ‘No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.’ The Divine Being, therefore, who appeared to the people in the Old Testament must have been Jesus, not the Father. Ellen G. White tells us that ‘after the transgression of Adam, the Lord spoke no longer directly with man; the human race was given into the hands of Christ, and all communication came through Him to the world. It was Christ who spoke the law on Mount Sinai.’—Fundamentals of Christian Education, pp. 237, 238.”
The lesson ends with thought questions including these: “What has been your own experience regarding what sin and rebellion do between you and God? That is, when you do something that you know is wrong, that you know is sinful, how does that impact your relationship with God?”
Problems
First, the opening paragraph uses Genesis 3:23-24 to support the statement that God no longer spoke to humanity face-to-face. While the relationship between God and man changed drastically, this text does not describe God cutting off face-to-face communication. The text says this:
“…therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life” (ESV).
This text overtly states that humanity was driven from the Garden of Eden and prevented from access to the tree of life. It makes no limiting statement about God’s means of communicating to them. This text underscores that Adam and Eve did die when they disobeyed God. It does not give any insight into God’s method of speaking to them. In fact, God subsequently speaks to Cain directly (Genesis 4:6-16). Genesis 5:22 and 24 specifically state that “Enoch walked with God”, and there is no indication that God communicated to Enoch through an agent. Moreover, God spoke directly to Noah (Genesis 6:13; 9:1-17), and to Abraham (Genesis 12, 15).
It is true that theologians generally agree that references to the Angel of the Lord throughout the Old Testament do refer to the pre-incarnate Jesus. The problem in this day’s Sabbath School lesson, however, is that it assumes Jesus is not the same substance as the Almighty God. The third paragraph quotes John 1:18 from the KJV: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].”
Word-for-word translations from the oldest manuscripts, however, render this verse with somewhat more clarity:
ESV: “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
NASB: “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained {Him.}”
The lesson explains this text in the quotation from Fundamentals of Christian Education quoted above. Ellen White’s statement implies that Jesus is not the same as God. It assumes God sent Jesus as His agent to communicate with man. Jesus, however, was not merely a “divine being”, a mouthpiece and representative of God who was given the title of His Son. Jesus is God, of the same substance, “eternally begotten” as the NASB states.
Moreover, her statement that “it was Christ who spoke the law on Mount Sinai,” not God, is nowhere suggested in the Bible. Exodus 20:1-2 clearly state, “And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery’” (ESV).
The giving of the Mosaic covenant and the exodus from Egypt cannot be limited to “Christ”. Further, God cannot be subdivided. Israel’s famous cry found in Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Jesus is no mere spokesperson for God. Israel knew they were dealing with the eternal, almighty God on Sinai, and neither Jesus nor the Holy Spirit nor the Father can be dissected out of the Trinity. It was not “merely” Christ who gave the law; God Himself—the triune, eternal God—gave the law.
Finally, the thought questions miss the point of the spiritual death that is our legacy as children of Adam. Ephesians 2:1-3 clearly states our natural condition: we are naturally “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.” We are “by nature objects of wrath.” We have no ability to keep from sinning.
Only when God brings us to life with Christ (Ephesians 2:5) and seals us with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) and we pass from death to life, no longer to come into judgment (John 5:24), can we have a personal relationship with God. Our sinning or not sinning is not what defines whether or not we are in a relationship with God. Only our belief or unbelief and submission to the Lord Jesus—the eternal God who is now also eternally human—and being washed and covered by His blood of atonement can bring us into relationship with God (Hebrews 10). It is God who transfers us from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).
Summary
- Genesis 3:23-24 does not support the notion that God ceased direct communication with mankind. Rather, it explains humanity’s banishment from the Garden of Eden and their access to the tree of life.
- Jesus is not “separate” from the eternal, almighty God. Jesus is not an agent sent by God to communicate with mankind. Rather, Jesus is eternally God, and the eternal God—indivisible and triune—is the One who delivered the covenant at Mt. Sinai.
- Our natural condition is “objects of wrath”. We are born dead, and we come alive by a miracle of God who brings us to life with Christ, seals us with His Spirit, and transfers us from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of His Son. By this miracle we pass from death to life and will not come into judgment. Our relationship with God is not defined by our sins but by whether or not we are covered by the blood of Jesus through faith by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Copyright 2008 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised December 27, 2008. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 1
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 1