WHERE DID EVIL COME FROM?

Evil had to come from somewhere, right? But from where? Scripture states that God “is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (Deuteronomy 32:4). And yet it states that God “created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn’t make” (John 1:3 NLT). So if the Creator of all things is good with no evil, how is it that evil is in the world? We know that evil exists and that God made everything, so how can we say that God didn’t create evil? And if he didn’t create it, where did it come from?

God is perfectly good and holy and created only perfect creatures. Yet he gave his human creation the power of free choice or free will. The first humans had a choice to trust in him, to believe that he was good and that he had their best interest at heart when he gave them a command to obey.

Unfortunately they used this good power to choose against him, and that brought evil into this world.

EVIL’S POSSIBILITY

So the possibility of evil did arise from God, but not directly. Evil came from an abuse of a good power called free will. God may be responsible for the possibility of evil existing in the world, yet it was the choice of humans that made evil a reality in the world. We can say that God produces the fact of free choice, but it is the individual man or woman who performs the act of free choice.

Of course God could have created a world without free will. Humans could have been “programmed” to do good and worship him perfectly. Yet in a world without choices the true meaning of “I love you” would be lost.

The fulfilling purpose and reality of loving another is void and meaningless without the power to freely choose. God wanted us to experience the reality of a love relationship together with him. The great risk was the possibility of evil. And the great responsibility to act on that possibility rested with humans, not God.

EVIL’S ACTUALITY

So God made evil possible, yet humans made it actual. But what was it that caused the first humans to choose evil?* In the case of Eve, the first woman, she made a choice to eat a fruit that God had commanded her and her husband, Adam, not to eat. The first couple had the power of free will.

They could have chosen to obey God and not eat of the forbidden fruit. But when the serpent—the tempter—told Eve, in effect, that God didn’t know what he was talking about, she listened. The serpent said she would become like God, knowing everything, both good and evil. The Scripture says, “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So [by the act of her free will] she took some of the fruit and ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

Eve had been given a good thing by God. She was given the power to choose between her determining what she considered right and wrong versus allowing him to be the sole arbiter of what was right and wrong. God was, and is, the Sovereign who decides right from wrong. Yet Eve wanted that prerogative—she wanted to be self-sovereign, with the ability to choose for herself what she thought was in her best interest.

So to summarize: Where did evil come from, and what caused the first human to choose it? Eve coveted God’s wisdom—his sovereign determination of what was in the best interest of humans. He gave the first couple the power of free will, and they chose to follow their own desires rather than his. Evil was born out of a choice to believe that God was denying his human creation what was good. As a result, the first humans committed an evil act of self-sovereignty in disobedience to their Creator’s command.

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CAN GOD DO WRONG, SUCH AS GET JEALOUS?

The Bible says God is a jealous God. But getting jealous is wrong.

So how can that be if God doesn’t do anything wrong? If God is anything, he is perfectly good. “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect,” the Scripture states. “Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Additionally, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us God bound himself with an oath when he made a promise to Abraham, and these two things are based on his sinless character that is unchanging. “God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18). For God to do wrong would go against his very nature and character, which he cannot do.

HOW CAN GOD’S JEALOUSY BE OKAY?

But if God can do no wrong, then why does the Bible say he gets jealous? Certainly being jealous is wrong—at least we as humans are not to get jealous. Right?

In 1 Corinthians Paul says, “You are still controlled by your sinful nature.

You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other” (1 Corinthians 3:3). It is clearly wrong to be selfishly possessive and contentious toward those who have something you want, and the apostle was pointing this out.

Yet in the very next letter he wrote to the Corinthians he said, “I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself” (2 Corinthians 11:2). Here Paul is concerned that their “pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted” (verse 2) and so he was jealous like God is jealous. Obviously, Paul isn’t condemning the jealousy of God. So what kind of jealousy does God display?

In Exodus it says, “You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:14). Joshua also told the children of Israel that their God was “a holy and jealous God” (Joshua 24:19). These two words “jealous God” in the Hebrew are el qana, which denotes passion and zeal. Although the word jealous in English is mostly used in an evil sense, in the Hebrew it expresses passion and caring, most often in connection with the marriage relationship. God considered the children of Israel as his marriage partner, and he wanted them to love him as a wife would devote herself exclusively to her husband. That is why he said they were to worship no other but him.

He wants to be loved with a pure and passionate love reserved only for him.

A HUMAN EXAMPLE

As relational beings we can relate to wanting to be loved exclusively.

How would you feel if someone said that he or she truly loves you and then cheated on you? It’s not wrong to feel bad about someone cheating on you, is it? Isn’t it natural to want to be number one in someone’s life?

Because God is perfectly good and holy, his jealousy is not in any way selfish. He knows that when we love him exclusively—with all our heart, soul, and strength—it allows us to experience the joy and meaning we are looking for in life. That is the reason he calls us to worship him and him only. It is by no means wrong for God to jealously want our exclusive love and devotion. In fact, his jealous love is a model for us to follow.

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IS GOD MALE OR FEMALE?

To ask the question, “Is God male or female?” is somewhat like asking if God is right- or left-handed. Or is his first language English or Spanish? Truth is, he is not confined by our human or material world. He created us in his image, but he is unlike us in many, many ways.

Jesus said, “God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). It is true that God took on human form in the person of Jesus, who of course was male, yet God does not exist as a material or physical being. So in that sense he is neither male nor female as we know the human sexes.

At the same time, God has chosen to create and use imagery of himself that is both masculine and feminine. Of course he refers to himself as Father and Jesus as the Son of God, which are both masculine imagery. Yet Jesus spoke of himself in feminine imagery when he said, “How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me” (Matthew 23:37).

Some people have suggested that the natural male to female attraction is rooted in the nature of God. The magnetism of man toward woman and woman toward man originates in the unity and completeness of a God who bears the characteristics of both male and female. This idea suggests that God inherently has the “plus and minus” characteristics of male and female, and when these characteristics are placed separately in each sex, they attract like opposite magnetic poles. That at least is one theory of why males and females are attracted to one another.

However, throughout Scripture God has chosen to primarily characterize himself in masculine terms even though he is neither wholly male nor wholly female. And whether we are born male or female, he refers to those he redeems as his children (Romans 8:14), his bride (Ephesians 5:25-27), his holy temple (Ephesians 2:21-22), joint heirs (Romans 8:17), and a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and his very own possession (1 Peter 2:9).

So while God is neither male nor female, he can relate to us as men and women equally, for he loves us equally and has made provision for all of us to be in relationship with him.

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WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT GOD IS A TRINITY?

The idea that God is three in one has confused many people. Just what does it mean that God is a Trinity?

The Bible teaches there is but one God. This is called monotheism. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV). Jesus quoted this scripture in Mark 12:29, confirming that there is just one God. So how is it that people call God a Trinity—how, some people ask, can there be three Gods, yet one?

God being a Trinity does not mean there are three Gods. God exists as three persons, yet he is one being. Each person of the Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—has a separate identity while yet possessing the full nature of God.

Jesus is the divine Son of God. This does not mean that Jesus was created by God. In fact, Scripture tells us plainly that he has always co-existed with God (see John 1:1-3). Jesus himself declared he had eternally co-existed with his Father. And on the basis of that declaration the Jewish leaders plotted to kill him, saying, “He called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Paul the apostle declared Jesus to be deity. “Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise!” (Romans 9:5). The writer of Hebrews says, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God” (Hebrews 1:3).

Therefore, God the Father co-exists with God the Son:

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth…He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together (Colossians 1:15-17 NLT).

Paul refers to both the Father and Jesus as God. “It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him… May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace” (Titus 1:3-4). God the Father is deity. God the Son is deity.

God the Holy Spirit is also deity. The apostle Peter recognized this when he pointed out the wrongdoing of a man in the Jerusalem church (Acts 5:3- 4). The Spirit has eternally co-existed with the Father and the Son and was present at creation (see Genesis 1:2). Jesus said of him, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate…He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth…When the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything I have told you” (John 14:16,26). Paul said, “When you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago” (Ephesians 1:13). Jesus called the co-existing Spirit holy because he is the Spirit of the Holy God. He is the third person of the triune Godhead.

In conclusion, the doctrine of the Trinity was formulated in faithfulness to the teachings of the Bible about the nature of God, in an effort to express his truth.

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WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

When we think of God, we may imagine the powerful Creator sitting on his throne in heaven. We may think of him in human form as Jesus, the Savior of the World. But do we view him as the Holy Spirit? Just who is God in the person of the Holy Spirit?

Some people believe the Holy Spirit is simply the influence of good— like the “good force” of the universe. But the Holy Spirit is actually a person—the third person of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). Jesus referred to the Spirit as a person when he said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (John 14:16-17).

The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of God. He has a mind and feelings. He makes choices. Scripture says, “He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit” (Romans 8:27 NIV). Scripture also tells us that the Spirit can feel. We are not to “bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live” (Ephesians 4:30). He makes choices as to who will receive what spiritual gifts. “It is the one and only Spirit who distributes these gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Also, the apostle Peter told a man named Ananias, “You lied to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3). Ananias wasn’t lying to an influence; he was lying to a person. Peter added, “You weren’t lying to us but to God” (Acts 5:4).

When God sent the Holy Spirit, he became the interactive agent of God to us. When he was “poured out” on God’s people on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2) we might say the word “God” was not only a noun—it also became a verb. Rather than just learning who God is or following the teaching of Jesus impersonally, we experience God actually brought into our lives by the Spirit. He is the active, moving God who impels us to action. God the Holy Spirit is about living, loving, responding, enjoying, embracing, comforting, supporting, accepting, encouraging, respecting, disciplining, growing, empowering, and a myriad of other such verbs.

The Holy Spirit is the dynamic, active, and ever-present person of God.

We experience him in our everyday living. Further, he demonstrates himself in our capacity to love as God loves. “If we love each other,” John said, “God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression in us. And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us” (1 John 4:12-13). The Holy Spirit is real. He evidenced himself powerfully on the Day of Pentecost two millennia ago. And his presence is additional proof that we belong to God, for the “Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16 NLT).

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