Cheon Seong Gyeong: Episode 26
Cheon Seong Gyeong Book 1: God
Chapter 4: The God Who Needs Liberation
Section 2: The God of Re-Creation, 14-27
(14) In order to attend God, the things of creation were sacrificed in the Old Testament Age, the Son was sacrificed in the New Testament Age, and the Parents were sacrificed in the Completed Testament Age. Then, what needs to be done from now on? You must stand in the position representing the Parents, Mother and Father. All the things of creation represent the Old Testament Age, and God's sons and daughters represent the New Testament Age, and the Parents represent the Completed Testament Age.
(15) On the path of restoration, we should go up from the era of servant of servants through the era of servants and the era of adopted children to the era of direct children. But how can we complete the course from the era of servant of servants to the era of servants to the era of adopted children, and be connected to the era of the direct lineage? Connecting to the era of the direct lineage cannot be done just like that. Following the Principle, we are required to go through the foundation of faith and the foundation of substance, which are necessary for the foundation to receive the Messiah. That is, we need to welcome the Messiah. The Messiah is the true Son of God, but the lineage of a true son is different from that of an adopted child. This is why we need the change of lineage.
(16) What is the fundamental issue as we go the path of restoration through indemnity? We have to fulfill the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Completed Testament. Fulfilling the Completed Testament means the whole world will come under God's sovereignty. This is what is required to fulfill the Completed Testament Age. The Old Testament Age was the era for restoring all things of creation, the New Testament Age was the era for restoring the people of God's kingdom, and the Completed Testament Age is the era for restoring God's sovereignty. This means we have to restore God's sovereignty over the world. Jesus' mission was to restore the people of the world. In other words, the mission of Christianity is to restore all the people of the world as one people, and the mission of the Lord of the Second Advent is to restore the world to the sovereignty of the One.
The providence of restoration in the Old Testament Age
(17) The Old Testament Age was the age of the servant. It was the era when people in the position of servant of servants were restored to the position of servant. Even Abraham was God's servant, not His son. God established the way of loyalty by setting up servants of servants and then servants. This was the way God advanced His providence in history, a providence that will ultimately bring together all the people in the world and bring the world stage, hitherto under the dominion of evil, to God's side. Even Jacob triumphed as God's servant rather than as God's son. God has been working this way, restoring people from the position of a servant of servants to that of a servant, and from the position of a servant to that of an adopted son.
(18) In the Old Testament Age, the providence of salvation for all humanity was to bring them to the position of God's servants. Yet restoring them to the position of servant required that the central figures of that age attain victory from the beginning to the end. That is why God had to make incredible sacrifices through four thousand years of history just to set up central figures such as Noah and Abraham.
(19) Human history began with religion, and throughout history, religion has flowed together with humanity. It exists to show us the way of hope. From the day of the Fall, God took responsibility for having created human beings. He has been toiling throughout the course of history in order to save fallen people. As a result of the Fall, Satan took dominion over human beings and drove them into unimaginable situations. Yet because they were not supposed to love centered on Satan, God had to push people to positions so low that even Satan would lose his grip on them. That is why God began the providence of salvation for human beings by taking them to the position of servant of servants.
This is the reason God conducted His providence through the religions that teach the way of a servant of servants. They teach that we must serve for the sake of humanity. As long as we are in the position of a servant of servants, we are not qualified to have anyone serve us. Therefore, we have no other way but to surrender and obey unconditionally. In the position of a servant of servants, your master is another servant, not a rightful master.
(20) Before the Old Testament Age, people were in the position of servant of servants. After the Old Testament Age began, they could reach the position of servant, and hence they could relate with the Lord. People in the position of servant of servants cannot, on their own, pioneer the way to become a servant, so God pioneered the way for them. God had to educate people who were far more evil than servants of servants. But since people cannot see the invisible God even if He stands right in front of them, He chose prophets to educate them. God chose prophets to represent Him on earth, and the people had to obey them in order to follow God's orders.
(21) What did the prophets have to teach the people? They had to teach the people that in order to follow God's desired providence they had to go against the stream of fallen history and establish the way of obedience to Him. God needed them to be more loyal to Him than they were to Satan. In short, God, through the prophets, had to teach them their duty as servants. After they completed that duty, they had to set up a system to form individuals, families, tribes and a people who would prepare the environment in relation to the providential Will. But they were unable to set up this environment while in the position of servants. God therefore led the providence by presenting them with the messianic ideal and promising that He would send them the Savior someday. This was the providence that centered on the Israelites.
(22) In the Old Testament Age, God found those whom He could use as His servants by having them make sacrificial offerings. Such was Old Testament history. Human beings had fallen to a position lower than the things of creation. Since the things of creation were closer to God than the people were, God worked through the things of creation. He ordered the Israelites to cut them in half, and separate what belonged to Him from what belonged to Satan. Why did God tell them to divide and sacrifice these things? It was not because of God or Satan; it was because of human beings, who were unable to fulfill their responsibility. The inheritance of Satan's lineage was the point at which they failed to fulfill their responsibility.
(23) Although human beings fell, they could not entirely leave God. In striving to come back to Him, they had to start from the position of servant of servants. What does "servant of servants" mean? It means that they do not have their originally intended master. Thus fallen people have to be loyal to God and serve Him from the position of servant of servants. Satan was an archangel, God's servant. Human beings were pressed into the service of this servant. Therefore, in order to return to God, they had to demonstrate their loyalty to God from the position of a servant of servants.
(24) The Old Testament states that God called Noah and Abraham to serve as His messengers and deliver His word to the people. The people of the world had fallen into darkness. In order to lift them up to a position where the Heavenly Father could relate with them as His children, He called Abraham and established the people known as the Israelites. Through this people, God pioneered the way for humankind to gradually return to Him. God toiled during that era of four thousand years, utilizing the angels to help achieve the standard in His work. That standard was the preparation for the coming of Jesus, who would establish the victorious foundation upon which the people of Israel could relate directly to the Father. It was also the foundation for Jesus to fulfill God's Will for Adam and Eve.
The providence of restoration in the New Testament Age
(25) Jesus Christ came to the earth to fulfill God's covenant with the Israelites, by having them uphold God's Will. He came to fulfill God's covenant with the people who at an earlier point in history had been in the position of servants, and restore them to the position of adopted children and then true children. One who has faithfully fulfilled his or her duty as a loyal servant can then stand in the position of adopted child. That is why in the providential history of restoration God tried to lead the Israelites to fulfill the duty of loyal servants, and upon that foundation He wanted to relate to them as His adopted children.
(26) How can one become an adopted child? Until the Son of God came to this earth, it was not possible. After the Son of God came to the earth, those who listened to the Son's commands and obeyed them could finally become adopted children. This is how God worked to connect the Old Testament Age to the New Testament Age. Believers in the Old Testament Age were servants who wished to receive the inheritance, which is a benefit of becoming adopted children. That is why they waited for the coming of the Messiah. In other words, their desire was to surmount the sorrowful circumstances of a servant and advance, through the Messiah, to the position of adopted children. In the absence of a son or daughter of direct lineage, an adopted child is entitled to receive the inheritance from his or her parents. God, in directing the servant-level Old Testament Age, therefore guided the people so that they would maintain their desire to transcend the servant's position and thus benefit from attending His Will. God desired them to do so. This is why the Israelites continued to long for the privilege of leaving behind the position of servant and receiving God's inheritance, and why they maintained the concept of being the chosen people.
(27) Jesus went one step higher and introduced God's love. In the Old Testament Age, Moses introduced only the God of authority, the God of power and the God of judgment, but he was not able to introduce the God of love. It was Jesus who introduced His love. Yet although he introduced the God of love and was himself a man of love, the people of his time did not accept him.
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