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Think About That Next Time You Pray

Remember that God is Spirit. He is invisible to the human eye. Yet right at the beginning of the Bible we read about God “walking in the garden” with Adam and Eve. Why would He do that? The Invisible God makes Himself visible and comes to the man in such a way that there can be a relationship between man and God.
Unlocking the Bible
Published Aug 10, 2012
Think About That Next Time You Pray

Remember that God is Spirit.  He is invisible to the human eye.  Yet right at the beginning of the Bible we read about God “walking in the garden” with Adam and Eve.  Why would He do that?  The Invisible God makes Himself visible and comes to the man in such a way that there can be a relationship between man and God. 

This should not be a surprise to any Christian.  The Bible reveals that God became a man.  So, it should be no surprise to us that before that time He should at least appear to a man.

When we read of these “theophanies” of the Lord God appearing to man, before Christ came, it shows us the intense desire in the heart of God to have fellowship with man.  It is almost as if the Son of God could not wait to come.  He bursts out of heaven, and comes down to earth in a form visible to the first man, and walks in the garden.

Walking with God

“[They] heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” (Genesis 3:8)

I have no doubt that this means Adam and Eve heard twigs breaking, and leave rustling, and they were aware of the sound of another presence.  They saw the Lord God and spoke with Him.

They walked with the Son of God in Eden as surely as Peter and James and John walked with the Son of God, by Galilee.  They walked with God just as surely as you will one day see the Son of God and walk with Him, if you are a Christian believer.

It seems quite clear that this was not an unusual experience.  Man walked with God, asked questions and enjoyed conversation.  Can you begin to imagine what this would be like?  God is interested in what Adam has done in the day.  God is listening to what has been on Eve’s mind. 

Why Christ came into the world

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

God desires fellowship with men.  This is why Christ came into the world.  Through Adam’s disobedience the fellowship between God and man has been broken, and it has remained broken down through the generations of human history.  Christ has come to restore that broken fellowship, to make it possible for man to walk with God again.

This is what the Bible is all about.  In Christ’s name we have access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18).  He is not visible to us, but His presence is as real with you and His ear is as attentive to you as it was when He appeared in visible form to Adam.  Think about that next time you pray.

This week's Scripture:  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day.  Genesis 3:8

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This LifeKey is based on the message “Life,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith, delivered on January 2, 2000, from the series “Unlocking the Bible.” Colin currently serves as Senior Pastor of the The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He is committed to preaching the Bible in a way that nourishes the soul by directing attention to Jesus Christ.

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