God’s Commandment

A Devotional Series from Genesis

Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)

3/7 Reading Portions: Exodus 18; Luke 21; Job 36; 2 Corinthians 6

Genesis 2:17-18

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

BLESSING

Eternal life has never been attained or achieved by man keeping the commandments of God. This is evident throughout the Scriptures but has been established right here from the very beginning. The man had been formed by God and was made a living soul by God’s grace. Even if a commandment had been given before the man was formed, he couldn’t have kept it until he was made alive. This verse presents the gospel reality of the law of God, and the commandments of God in particular. Adam is alive. He is perfect and without sin. YHVH God commands him because He is sovereign God and has every authority to do so. More than that, as Creator and Almighty God, He has a responsibility to do so. And even more than that, it is His good pleasure to do so because without God’s commandments, there could be no blessing from God. We are blessed by God’s commandments because they keep us from departing from His blessed presence; strengthen us to abide in His love; and provoke us to continue in the protection of His commandments. God’s commandments are the blessing to us, whereas disobedience to His commands forfeit those blessings just mentioned. Therefore, because we love God, we love His commandments; and they are not a burden to us. It is written:

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 1 John 5:3

Now, since sinners are dead in their sins and trespasses (Eph 2:1-2), and are not alive unto God, does this mean that they are exempt from keeping His commandments? God forbid. By their natural disobedience they have forfeited every blessing that comes with keeping God’s commandments. All God’s creation is accountable to Him because He is the eternal Creator. Worse than that, apart from Christ, the corruptions of fallenness will preclude every blessing, because the standard of sinless holiness and righteousness was kept by only one person, the Man Christ Jesus.

When you and I keep God’s commandments, that is since we’ve been saved, there are still enough corruptions in our mortal flesh that it requires all of God’s grace and Christ’s imputed righteousness to us for us to be saved, sanctified, and ultimately glorified in that Day when Christ returns. Hallelujah! What a Savior!