For five days God was at work creating the world and all that was in it. On the sixth and final day of creation he created man. God waited until everything else was finished until he made man. When he made man, he made something that was different from any other thing in creation. God made man in his own image. By making man a spiritual being, he made him in his image (God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:24). Because Adam and Eve were created in the image of God and without sin, they had fellowship with God. When man sinned, his spirit died. Man was still a spiritual being but the spirit of man was dead and would experience eternal death without being made alive again. I John 5:12 says, 'He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.' Also, we find Romans 5:12 reads, 'Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned...' Adam did not immediately die physically upon disobedience, but he did die spiritually. Not only did Adam die but death entered into the human race by Adam. The Lord said in John 5:25, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.' The Lord was speaking of spiritually dead people. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:1, 'And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins....' The point is that although we may feel like we are 'alive' apart from Christ, in fact we are dead. This is why the Lord told Nicodemus, in John 3:7, 'ye must be born again.'

When someone's spirit is saved by the power of God, the Bible says that this person has been given life (or in some places the term used is 'quickened'). There are illustrations of being raised from death unto life and other illustrations of being born. One of the richest illustrations in all the Scriptures used to describe the truths of salvation (spiritual life) is that of birth. Jesus said while talking with Nicodemus in John 3:3, 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.'

Although many of us may not understand all of the medical and/or scientific aspects of birth, most of us do have enough knowledge of birth to help understand things about salvation. For example, we see a newborn child and immediately the total helplessness of that child is evident. The child was not born out of his own will. The child had no say in the planning of his birth. The child had no part in his conception. The child did not have any influence on his own development within the womb. All of these were in the power solely of his parents. We see that this truth in physical births correlates to spiritual births. We find these principles in Romans 9:16 which reads, 'So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy', and in John 1:12-13 which reads, 'But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.'

Within the creation account in Genesis, it is obvious that God was designing the earth for man to live on. He created man last because everything created before was for man's purpose. The same is true in the salvation of a soul. God is at work preparing for the salvation of a soul before the soul is ever actually saved. A great deal goes into the salvation of a soul the greatest of which was the death of Christ. But other things must transpire in order for man to be saved. He must have some spiritual knowledge of the truth. He must be brought to a place of repentance. He must have saving faith worked in him. Much of the preparation involves human instrumentality. I Corinthians 1:21 reads, 'For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.' And Romans 10:14-15 reads, 'How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!' But, of all that God did in creation, there is no reason to believe that it was the things created before man that gave rise to man. It was God that created man. The light that God created did not give rise to man. The seas nor the lands gave rise to man. Nor did the vegetation or animals give rise to man. God created man in his time, in his way, and in his image. I Corinthians 3:6-7 reads, 'I [Paul] have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.'

Another example is one of resemblance. We see a child and recognize the resemblance to the parent(s). This fact is not coincidental but due to genes passed from the parents to the child. It is interesting that believers in Christ were first called 'Christians' at Antioch (Acts 11:26). The term signified that in following Christ, though they did not bear a physical resemblance to the Lord, they did bear a resemblance to His life. In Genesis 1:26 the Godhead said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' No other created being was created in the image of God. Therefore, we have some limited understanding of being in the likeness of God by relating this to a child's resemblance to a parent.

In Hebrews 2:3-4 we read, 'How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?' That is a good question don't you think? 'How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?' Yet many people neglect these truths every day. Even among 'Christians' there are so many ideas about eternal life and how to obtain it. Most people are not sure why they believe what they do about salvation. They can quote a verse or two at best in an attempt to validate what they believe. The creation account in Genesis chapter one provides us with an illustration of salvation. Many verses and illustrations from the Bible have been submitted to support this over the last several issues of the Shepherd's Scrip. However, I encourage the reader to search the truth of salvation out for himself. Even if you are sure you are right in your belief, go over it again. Paul wrote of the Berean disciples in

Acts 17:10-11, 'And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.'