Biblical Redemption/Atonement — Part Two

BEFORE MAN WAS CREATED, Satan had already rebelled and taken countless angels with him. How many angels and how long before, we don’t know. Tragically, the insurrection spread from heaven to earth. At Satan’s enticement, the first man and woman defied their Maker, bringing destruction and death upon this new race which God had created in His image.This mutiny had not caught God by surprise but was proceeding exactly as He had foreknown. He was still on the throne of the universe. How could man rebel against God’s absolute authority? Clearly, God had sovereignly given man the ability to submit to Him willingly in love. The ability to say yes, however, was meaningless without the equal ability to say no. Thus, the door God opened to loving submission could be slammed shut in willful revolt—as Adam and Eve had done.Some Christians suggest that God willed for Adam and Eve to break His commandment not to eat of the tree of knowledge. Yet sin of any kind is contrary to God’s will. He must therefore have allowed sin to enter this world in order to further His ultimate purpose for mankind, all of whom He loves with an infinite love—the only kind of love that God, who is love, bestows.