We are continuing our study this morning in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter three. And as you know, we've been there for quite a while. And if we ever get to the end, I anticipate at least four or five more messages, but there is so much in Genesis chapter three. Today we're gonna look at verse 22 specifically, actually the first half of that, but let's read a section so we can get the context. Let's read Genesis chapter three, beginning at verse 21, and we'll read through verse 24. Genesis three, verse 21. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. Last time we were in Genesis chapter three, we looked at being sent forth from the garden, number one, and we looked at the theme of preparation. We saw the irretrievability of human life. Adam and the woman got to the point where They could be mowed the past, that perfect life that they had, and live in the past and not be very satisfied or productive or fruitful, or they could go forward with what God had ordained for them was their new reality. Secondly, we looked at the naming of the woman and marital love, and we saw that neither one of those was harmed by the, they were harmed by the fall, but they were not disannulled. And in the naming of the woman, from the woman to Eve, God was showing that his idea of headship or structure or hierarchy was still in place. And we saw that the love that they had one for the other was still preserved. And then we saw the clothing that God provided, which clearly pointed to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The first death that the world knew was the sacrifice that God perform that he might clothe Adam and the woman and we saw that part of that sacrifice was for man to be clothed and part of that sacrifice went to God as satisfaction and so that was being sent forth from the garden number One, today we have being sent forth from the garden number two with the theme of protection. And we're gonna look at these two ideas, these phrases from the first part of this verse, where God says, behold, the man has become as one of us. And then secondly, one of us to know good and evil. Now it's, let me make an understatement. It's a very difficult and somewhat spiritually mysterious idea of what he's opening up for us here. But it goes along, I trust you'll see, with this whole idea of this undercurrent theme of protection. God not only is preparing Adam and the woman to live now in this new regime but he's going to protect them for his greater purpose and he's going to protect his plan of redemption and he's going to continue to develop and progress this entire idea of what he is doing as Redeemer. Now remember we cannot isolate Genesis chapter 3 from the rest of scripture And we cannot isolate Genesis 3 thinking it is the beginning of time from God's standpoint. We think of Genesis 3 as really the beginning of human history. But we have to remember that Genesis 3 is in the context of God's eternity. We have to think of Genesis 3 in terms of, for example, Ephesians 1 and verse 4, according as he has chosen us in him from before the foundation of the world. That happened before Genesis chapter 3 and the fall. And it directly relates to Genesis chapter 3. Think about these two together for just a minute. Chosen in him from before the foundation of the world, and the fall in Genesis chapter three. Chosen in him, but yet then the fall. Those two ideas, those two realities are not incongruent. They go together. And God is, there's this continuity, there is this development, there is this progress that he is unfolding in what he is doing. And this, he's unfolding for his glory and for man's greater good what we call redemption. God is shepherding redemption from eternity through time and he will get it into eternity. And it's not gonna get there with duct tape and safety pins. It's gonna be done divinely. and perfectly and appropriately his way and in his time. God is in the midst of this situation preserving his intended purposes and preserving and protecting man to get man there. You recall last time we said something to the effect that even though the garden is closed, Eden is closed, heaven is open. And God is superintending. And all these things that we're reading about in Genesis chapter 3 are part of the process to get you there. Remember, we noted that God had decreed the fall by a sovereign design so that recovered man, the believer, is brought to such an estate that is infinitely above what first appeared in the garden, putting sinners into, saved sinners into that better condition, even better than before when the infants of sin came in to the world. And I think if we can understand Genesis chapter three, the way God really wants us to understand all these component parts of it, we're gonna understand the rest of Scripture. It's really the key, I think. We oftentimes think of, well, the doctrines of grace, that's the key to seeing the rest of Scripture, or this one doctrinal perspective. But really, I think it's Genesis chapter three. If we can understand what God is unfolding, that's the key for the rest of the Scripture. Again, I think, this underlying theme of protection and God developing and continuing his process. Ephesians 1.4, we said, chosen in him from before the foundation of the world. Romans 8, for whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. And then the process, whom he did foreknow, he did for whom he did predestinate, them he also called. Those he called, he justified. Those he justified, he also glorified. And God's plan was never compromised, even by the fall. That's an amazing thought. It was never compromised by the fall. And again, if we can see Genesis chapter three in the midst of the context of eternity and God's plan, I think that key will help us really understand that just a tremendous God that we have and what he is doing for us individually. So these two ideas, number one, we're gonna look at where he says, man has become like one of us. This whole idea of image bearing and number two, knowing good and evil. What does it mean that God knows good? Well, we probably know that. What does it mean that God knows evil? Let's look at this first one first. Image-bearers. The Lord God said, behold, the man has become as one of us. This is a further development of what it means that we are image-bearers of God himself. Now, in general terms, and we looked at this many, many studies ago, in general terms, we said that the Fall did irreparable harm to mankind and creation in several different ways, at least on the surface. And I think most Christians will say on the surface, the fall did many negative and bad things. But one thing the fall did not do, and we've looked at a few of these before, but the fall did not negate the fact that man is still an image bearer of God himself. It did not ruin that capability for man to be an image bearer. We could say there's a new reality to it. Remember we saw there was a new reality to headship, there was a new reality to marital love since the fall, but the principle is still there. Mankind, you as a believer especially, is an image bearer of God. This is, of course, a profound truth. How is it that you reflect God, God who is sustaining the entire universe at this very moment, the God who can bring life, the God who is all powerful, the God who is everywhere present, whose wisdom is eternal, he's glorious, he's pure. How is it that you can bear his image? And what does it mean that now the man has become like one of us? In Genesis chapter one, of course, we have the first account of this image bearing. In verse 26 of Genesis one, God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. And let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, et cetera, et cetera. And then verse 27, so God did create man in his own image. In the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. Now a careful reading of these two verses, you will realize something. In verse 26, God said, let's make man in our image after our likeness. Those are two different Hebrew words. But then when he creates man, in verse 27, God creates man in his own image, in the image of God. So he creates man in the image of God, but not in the likeness, just in the image. Again, each of these two words is different, and they have different meanings, image and likeness. Adam, in chapter 5, I believe it is, Adam is able to beget a son in his likeness and in his image. To boil it down, I think the easiest way to understand it is, Adam can only make a son of Adam. Only God can make a son of Adam and a son of God. And that's where we start to see something of this development of what God is doing or this progress or this continuum of what God is doing. How is it that God can create a man, a woman, a son, a daughter in the image and the likeness of God himself? Well, it's when we become born again is then all of a sudden this image bearing of what God is all about begins to take place. We'll look at these verses later, but Romans 8.29, 1 John 3.2, 2 Corinthians 3.18. The New Testament explains that when we are born again and God, the Holy Spirit, takes up residency in our heart, we become redeemed, the Son of Adam, the Son of God, welded together, redeemed man, redeemed woman. We have that special, that divine, that extra ability to be an image-bearer. of God. So let's back up for a minute. We know that God's purpose was to create a world in which his glory could be manifest to its fullness. The glory of God is the overarching goal of creation. And the best way that God could get glory is for God to actually, believe it or not, create the world that we are living in today. We say, wait a minute, it's fallen. I know, hold on. The best world that God could have created to get glory for himself is in fact the world in which we live. A world that was allowed to fall, a world that then is subsequently redeemed, and a world that will be restored to not just its original perfection, but elevated to a level that we just cannot understand. God's wrath and God's mercy display the riches of his glory, but we cannot see those without the fall of mankind. We would never know what grace is all about if we never needed grace. Therefore, all of God's plan, including the fall and election and redemption and the atonement, serves the purpose of glorifying God. And the ultimate exhibition of God's glory was at the cross, where wrath and justice and mercy met. If you can see that, friends, if you can understand that, That is so key to understanding what God is doing in this life, in this world. Now that phrase, let's make man in our image, let's make man after our likeness, will be completed at the consummation of the ages. Again, the declaration is stated, for example, in Romans 8, 29, whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be, conformed to the image of his son, so that he, Jesus Christ, might be the firstborn among many brethren. That's when the process starts. We're image bearers, to some degree. Certainly not perfect. But then John goes on, 1 John 3, 2, Beloved, Now we are the sons of God. We're like God in some ways. We're bearing his image. We've put to death the old man. We want to live in the new creation. We want to be God-like, even though we know we fail, but that's our goal. Beloved, now we are the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know this. Then when he shall appear, we shall be Like him, the likeness will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The process has begun. Behold, the man has become like one of us. On the continuum of time and eternity, now after the fall, God declares that man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. We'll talk about that in a minute. I'm focusing on the image-bearing part of it. This is where we as New Testament saints live, right? To be like Christ. That, I think, is an element or an ultimate goal that perhaps Christianity today has somewhat lost sight of. In the time and the era of a redefining or reinventing Christianity, where, for example, outward activities are seen as commensurate with inward transformation, outward things or other things. We live in a culture, a society where we really value self. It's all about me. And so to put ourselves away and have Christ preeminent in our life, that's a daily battle. We complain and we murmur. But even Job complained, and he murmured, but then Job said, but when I come forth after he's tried me like fire, I will come forth as gold. He at least knew, but I will get there. The potter does have power over the clay. He is working in me to will and to do of his good pleasure. It's not about me. He must increase, I must decrease. But this whole image-bearing idea for us, that that should be our goal, to be like Christ. It's just a simple biblical commodity or staple. But other things crowd that out, do they not? We're so keen on, it's interesting, we're keen on getting to heaven. So that's the end game. And when we talk about assurance of faith, we all struggle with assurance at times. And that assurance is focused around what? Will I make it to heaven? Do you ever have a war with assurance of faith that you're not being like him? No, it's always about me. Will I get to heaven? Am I really saved? Are you really reflecting? Are you an image bearer of God? Like the Athenians, Paul said that the Athenians put this premium on knowledge. They always wanted to learn a new thing. What's good to learn and to grow, but is that the spotlight is there? Is that where the focus is? The Corinthians, spiritual fighting, squabbles, one-upmanship, carnality. And I think in our circles, because of the abuses of the charismatic movement relative to the Holy Spirit, if I could put it in human terms, we put the Holy Spirit on a shelf. But the Bible says, if we all with open face behold as in a glass, what? The glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. How? Even as by the spirit of the Lord. It's a very high calling for the believer to be an image bearer of God himself. Despite the fall, God is working to protect his image in mankind as he, at the same time, in a parallel way, is working this process of redemption. That goal, I think really, it's really a profound thing. It's a lofty, it's a time-consuming, all-consuming, displeasing to the flesh, to relinquish absolute control to God himself. Pre-fall, God said, let's make man in our image and our likeness, and so he first of all does what? Makes man in his image. Post-fall, he puts us into the likeness, we're like God, as Christ overcomes the fall and implants within us new life. Let me give you two images, if you will, or two likenesses that I think we should strive for when we think about ourselves as an image bearer and like God, two pictures of what that looks like. I think the first one, a good summary verse, 1 John 2.6, this is the easy one. In other words, the Son of God became the Son of Man, He became incarnate, and if you think about the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, He left us a perfect example of how to live in this life, to be like Him. Scripture uses phrases like follow him, have the same mind in you that was also in Jesus Christ. Imitate him. That image I think is easily discernible on the pages of Scripture. To live as Jesus lived, to the best of our ability with the Holy Spirit working in us to bring that about. That earthly pattern. The second likeness I think the scripture would have us understand, a little bit more difficult to see, but it's another likeness of his that we need to be there. In 1 John 4, 17, it says, as he is, so are we in this world. As he is. So are we in this world. It does not say as he was, although that's true also, as he is now. So where is he now? What is he doing now? How is he now? Scripture says he's obviously in heaven. He's in glory. How can we be like him as he is? He's within the veil. He's in ascended glory. And I think the Bible tells us what it means to be like him as he is now. Jesus in that high priestly prayer in John 17, as he prayed so many things, where the contrast was being our being in the world and him not being here recurs. And one of the things he prayed was I in thee, Thou in me, so that they may also be in us. The crux of the matter was there was this union and communion between the son and the father. In obedience, in fellowship, in mutual affection, in love, love which by the way is the context of 1 John 4, 17. He was praying and he was exhibiting that this is the center of life. This is when Christ was glorified. This is when Christ was upon the earth, the very necessity as adopted sons and daughters of God. We are like Him. How is He now? He is in fellowship with the Father. He is in God's presence. He has glorified the Father. And so we can be like Him now as He is there when we too are joined to God, when we have fellowship with God. when his life permeates ours with that divine presence, when we have submitted ourselves to his will. And as Corinthians talks about that resurrected life, bearing the image of the heavenly, even as we have borne the image of the earthly. We bear the image of the earthly with this body that will be recreated and resurrected. But even then, now we can bear the image of the heavenly, it says. In a word, we are like him, even as he is now, if like him, we are in union and communion with him. And John goes on to say, He is affirming this. He's not exhorting us. He's not saying we ought to strive for this. He's saying this is likeness to the master. Was Christ ever divorced from his father? Did Christ ever do ministry? Did Christ ever pray? Did Christ ever teach apart from that union with the father? No, he did not. And so John is saying this is the way we need to be. As he is now in obvious perfect union with the Father, we in this world, he says, this world, we need to be in union with him. I think that's the key statement, that's the touchstone. Despite the many things we do as a church, many things we do as a believer that we hold to as doctrinal truth, as we hold to practice, as we hold to faith, number one should be Christ-likeness. a real image bearer. Not bearing an image of what we think a Christian should look like. That's the trap. But being an image bearer of the Savior himself. That's the reality. And an overwhelming, striking impression that the Holy Spirit has struck within our heart and within our life. And so a couple of quick questions. The scripture says we're being conformed to the image of his son. That's the father's goal. Is that our goal? Is that number one, our goal, to be transformed into that image? Second question, can it be said of you that others can say, I see Christ in them? Not I see a good Christian, I see a church-going person, Someone who's very moral all these things which are not bad in and of themselves But I see Christ in them because that's what that's God's plan To form Christ in us to make us into his image And of course thirdly can we take comfort in that because we know intuitively God has to do a bunch of work In us to get us to that point oftentimes afflictions and trials and tests of faith oftentimes things that are very a discomforting to the flesh. But this is what God is doing. The fall, notwithstanding. In spite of the fall, God is protecting his overall plan and his purpose to reveal and implement salvation, redemption for a lost world. Man was excluded from the garden as a transgressor. Adam and the woman, I believe, were saved. Adam and the woman, and we are gonna return another way, in a way that will be much better. Behold, the man has become as one of us. I think this suggests among several things, this whole idea, this theme of image bearing. And of course, a regenerated man, made like unto Jesus Christ, joined to him, is the best reflection of God in this world. But again, it's part of the process. If you've ever seen some of these, I'll say perfect, at least perfect as much as man can make it perfect, statues of art that have withstood the test of time. The artist had an ideal, and they had a plan. And typically they would take rough material like clay to make an image of what the statue was going to look like. And they would work out the plans and they would understand how the light would hit certain facets of the statue and they would work. And then they would take perhaps a chunk of marble and with a hammer and a chisel, they would slowly with patience, with foresight, with perseverance, they would form this chunk of marble into that image that all along they wanted to create. And not only is that statue an image of what the artists wanted to make, the whole process itself. If you could watch that, like a Michelangelo forming this statue, the process itself reflects upon the artist. And this is what God is doing. He is working in us as image bearers, the likeness of Christ, the image of his Son. He has a plan that he started from before the foundation of the world. It goes through Genesis chapter 3 in the fall, but it continues to go. and to the end of time. And again, that regenerated man or woman made to look like the Lord Jesus Christ conformed to his image is the best reflection. Well, the second phrase, a little bit more difficult, knowing good and evil. Again, verse 22, and the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil. This is a moment in time where God is declaring a divine judgment, a declaration, something that is incredibly significant concerning man, mankind. He has become, as one of us, to know good and evil. Right away we hear an echo of the serpent's lie. He said, you shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes will be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And of course they listened to the serpent and all they gained was a knowledge of sin, a knowledge of their nakedness. His promise of God likeness ends at the discovery of disobedience to God, i.e. sin. And yet God takes these words and he gives them a profound meaning. And actually, In God's estimation, it is at the same time awful and it's a gracious truth when God says this. And note, by the way, Satan said, you shall be as God's, plural, but God says they become like one of us. What is God's knowledge of good? We probably know that. What is God's knowledge of evil. We have to say that God's knowledge of evil is, it has to be perfect. He would not be God if he did not completely know what good and evil were in nature, in all of the results, in all of the relations. He knows the moral consequences of evil. He knows the degradation of soul that sins. He knows that the soul that sins, it's gonna die. But in all of this knowledge, God remains. He has certain elements in his nature that we have to remember as we talk about God's knowing. He knows good and evil completely, and at the same time, he remains righteous and not the author of sin. An oncologist knows cancer. A cancer patient knows cancer. An oncologist that is a cancer doctor, he knows cancer, where it came from, what it does, how it kills, all of those things. He knows from that vantage point or that sphere of being a doctor, but the cancer patient knows by experience what cancer is all about. He may not know all the Latin terms, the medical terms, many, many things about it, but he knows it by experience. God knows good and evil in this way, if we want to simplify it to the point where we can at least begin to understand it. God also has complete power over it. God could restrain evil. God's scope of evil is determined by his perfect will. Remember in Noah's day, evil was so bad, God said, I have to judge the entire world. But he waited 120 years while the ark was being built. He had patience, his forbearance. Think about it in the New Testament, the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus said, the tares are growing up, it's bad, but we're gonna let them grow until the end of time. It's spiritually mysterious. God can bring good out of evil. Joseph said, you meant it for evil. God meant it for good. Again, spiritually mysterious. God possesses an infinite amount of wisdom for all of eternity. So you have your cell phones with you, and it has a calculator on it, multiply infinity times eternity, and you're gonna get a real big number. That's God's wisdom. And we're so cloaked in the flesh. We always ask, well, God, can you do it another way? How does this work out? God possesses every resource and every fullness of life, and he's not affected by that evil which he knows. What about our knowledge of evil? We can almost say, okay, speaking humanly, our knowledge of evil is perfect. That's a very discouraging statement. We know what it's like to be tempted. We know the enticing nature of sin. We know that things can be going along just great, and in a moment's notice, something can happen exterior to us or internal to us, and we can immediately jump into some sin. We know the feelings. We know the self-revelation of our mind and heart when we think, I did that? I thought that? I said that? We know the force of temptation. We know how we feel after we sin. We know about trying to repent. And we know, as Jeremiah 17 says, that we don't even know how bad our heart is. Who can know how bad the heart is? With all of the experiences and the circumstances and the inner life and the knowledge that God brings, the light he shows on our sin, we understand Sin is so terrible. We almost have a God-like knowledge relative to sin. This is the power of sin. The floodgate has been opened. It's invaded the entire world. It's getting worse and worse. And we almost are like God, all-knowing, as it relates to sin. But the gracious truth is that Christ, his word, his life, his death, Think about this, it makes it possible for us to know evil and good and to share in the divine nature, understanding that God has triumphed over evil. And that in fact, one day all of evil will be put away. And we will know that personally as a born again believer. Again, think about this development. Man has become made like one of us, knowing good and evil. It implies a continuum. It implies growth. It implies this process. It was a lie when Satan said it. Nobody can stand on God's divine level, God's ground, and be like God, knowing good and evil. But it went into God's overall plan his development to bring about his perfect will. We've said this before, if man comes forth without the knowledge of grace, without redemption, we said God has this, there's this innermost necessity that God has to reveal himself as the redeemer. He has to reveal himself as the God of glory. It's the highest manifestation of God's glory to reveal himself as the Redeemer. And so as Adam and the woman now are gonna be excluded from the garden, gonna be driven out into the wilderness, the vanity, the suffering, the anxiety, all the travail, all of those as well are gonna be working to will and to do of God's good pleasure in this whole process of salvation. Man has become like one of us to know good and evil, and lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and live forever. That sentence in the Hebrew is not finished. It's an unthinkable result. We're not gonna look at that, but that's showing us again how awful the situation is. Again, we noted last time that when we make a New Testament association for being separated from God's presence, we think of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And that's what's facing man as he's gonna be excluded from the garden. But God is working a tremendous plan of redemption in and through all of it. God's knowledge of good and evil, it has to be perfect. He sees the end from the beginning. but in all the knowledge that God has of evil, he is absolutely set on righteousness and is not the author of sin. God knows evil, he has complete power over it to restrain it, to bend it to its will, to forestall in judging upon it, to using it for good. Again, the simile, an oncologist knows cancer, a patient, a cancer patient knows cancer as well. What do we know of good and evil? We know it by experience, through the temptations, the self-revelation or the teaching we get when we fall into sin. God's power is unlimited over evil. We are very limited. Sin has invaded and flooded the world. We have become like God. Man's knowledge of sin in a similar way is kind of like God's in that we have to confess we have this perfect knowledge of evil because we're sinners. Knowing good and evil, again, part of the process. And we are like God in that sense, knowing good and evil, knowing that redemption is necessary. We have that knowledge of good and evil. Some people live under that precept of live and let live, and they have no knowledge or awareness of what evil is. Let me close by mentioning something else about these. Let me take these two together. The Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil. Which, think about the Trinity, which one of us knows good and evil? Is there a one of us within the Trinity that knows what good and evil is all about? Is there one within the Trinity that knows good and evil, both by knowledge, the oncologist, but also knows by experience, the cancer patient? Is it not the Lord Jesus Christ? He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. In redemption, there is an absolute manifestation of God. The need of being the Redeemer lies deep in the nature of God. And not only was man's sin foreseen, but all things were ordained and ordered with a view to the great drama of redemption from before the foundation of the world. Knowing good and evil, the man has become as one of us. The one is specifically the Lord Jesus Christ, who took upon himself all of the effects of the fall, your sins, the knowledge of good and evil. Many passages link Adam and Christ together. Romans 5, 1 Timothy 2, Corinthians chapter 15. We'll look at those if we ever get there. But Christ imbibed the entire sentencing and the curse and the sin of the fall to reveal this manifestation of the glory of God in the plan of redemption that started in eternity past, went through the fall, and continues to eternity future. The Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, did it completely. And here, let me borrow from A.W. Pink, who notes that there were seven effects of the fall, and Jesus Christ fulfilled each of those seven. Number one, the ground was cursed. Galatians 3.13, Christ was made a curse for us. Number two, man was to live in sorrow all the days of his life. The Lord Jesus Christ, Isaiah 53, verse three, was so acquainted with grief and anguish that he is denominated as the man of sorrows. Three, thorns and thistles. would be brought forth universally around the world. And to know that the Holy One bore in His own body the consequences of Adam's sin, Jesus Christ was crowned with a crown of thorns. Fourthly, in the sweat of man's face, He was to eat bread. His work was going to be associated with sweat. And Christ's greatest work Beginning in Gethsemane, he sweat great drops of blood, that sweat emblematic of the curse, of the sentence, of the fall. Fifthly, man was going to be turned to dust. And Jesus, in that Messianic Psalm, Psalm 22, as he's crying out to God, Thou hast brought me into the dust of death. Sixthly, a flaming sword kept the way of the tree of life. And lest anybody were to try to go through that holiness, to get to God's presence, to get to the tree of life, that sword would do its work. And in Zechariah, we have that prophetic word. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man who is my fellow. And of course, lastly, that sure promise of death. and the day you eat of it, you shall die. And the Lord Jesus Christ underwent that death physically in body, but more importantly, separation from God as that ultimate and final death. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Lord Jesus Christ absolutely, completely fulfilled every nuance, every aspect, every sentence, every curse of the fall so that the believer can one day get back to the presence of God in a state and an awareness that will be infinitely better than that of Adam and the woman prior to the fall. God has a purpose, a plan, He is protecting his plan of salvation. He is working through all of these things that we see as roadblocks, as stop signs, as something that cannot be overcome. Remember, again, Genesis chapter three is set in the context of all of eternity. God's plan of salvation is not plan B. And though it's often mysterious, it's very deep, This is not an easy idea that man has become like one of us to know good and evil. But as we start to see how all these pieces fit together, we see this glorious creator, this glorious redeemer. The next time we're gonna look at, so we've looked at preparation, we've looked at protection, and the next time we'll look at promise. That is, there is this promise that we will go back one day. We'll go back a better way and we'll go back in a better condition. The tree of life, the cherubim. Why does God use cherubim and not seraphim? Or why did God not use something else to guard the way of the tree of life? Well, let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. More importantly, we thank you that though it's sometimes hard to understand, our feeble minds are often fragmented as we try to put the pieces together, yet we see We understand, we know that you have this grand and glorious plan of redemption. And though there are many things that would be against us or that seem to be against your plan, you have them all worked out and everything is going together for thy glory. Father, help us to be image bearers. Help us to be better image bearers tomorrow as we are today. And Father, help us to be those who have a knowledge of good more than a knowledge of evil. Father, we desire to be that people that have been purchased out of the world unto Thee, and we depend upon Thy Holy Spirit to work within us that very conformity to Your Son. For our good and Thy glory, help us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.