Outside of God, man is locked up, trapped, a prisoner of emptiness: in his frustrations.  Ever reaching, but finding nothing within his grasp.    Mankind lives with forever promises being made & forever failure of  deliver.   “But God” is the old turning point of all human lives, the “but” that breaks through and takes the imprisoned soul, the barren and empty life transforming them:

Noah who one day found his sweating brow cooled by a soft breeze became unwound.

Adam & Eve who left the paradise of God without holding hands.

Abraham who saw what to others was not visible. Who lived by faith in the unseen God. Who pilgrimaged in faith for an unseen city.

Sarah who trusted

Moses who brought people out, Moses who climbed where  no man had.

Joshua who rose up & moved the people of God forward.

Daniel whose covenant kept him.

Elijah whose prophetic character watched his prophetic word.

 

“But God” brings us to a realisation that:

God: spirit: word: all else has it’s Genesis here.

God: dwelling in the fullness of solitude.

God: enjoying fellowship in the fullness of fellowship with the society of the Godhead.

 

Determining the expression of Gods pleasure, the demonstration of Gods power, fulfilling Gods desires.

God Surrounding with majestic splendor befitting all creation and nature, extending God by “Let there be” and God surround with colour, form and creations.   With the turn of  fingers another galaxy spun into space.  The considered mind of the council of God in the precision of divine purpose hung every star in it’s place.      Everything is held together by the power of Gods words that now filled the space between all that had come into existence.

God poured & called into being other beings to show Father Spirit and Sons delights & continued creating as those sons of God, the moving stars leapt for joy & brought forth in praise day & night, morning & evening, day running into night as onward he went like some exuberant reveller.     Wild with delight –  your all was to plan.     Nothing too soon.      Nothing too late.      Rivers & mountains & streams & valleys, deserts & waters. Animals, fish, birds until the whole earth teamed with life.

Exuberantly called out praise to the creator by the created who in heart desire to express Gods pleasure. Then a paused and a command issued God said let us make man and to the breathless wonder of all the rest of the created order, he added ‘in our own image & likeness’

Scooping up a handful of earth, red clay a restored dignity came to the planet, by shaping the soil to express  likeness and image, with breathed is own breath of life into the crown of creation.     heaven council watched as man bearing image stood up, eyes open, ears attuned to all else around and saw that which was created with mankind in view, universe, stars, sun, moon world, water, mountains.     Yet it was good, that is it functions as it was created for, then it becomes “it’s not good”, following 5 statements of “its is good”, more accurately stated it is functional, then we have it is not good, what is not  good ?    The Image and likeness was not fulfilled.    As God is never alone, God is nerve singular so mankind had to be more than one, putting him to sleep the God of perfection completed the detail of necessary companionship, friendship, fellowship and love, making covenant seen, setting an order to destiny a corporate people is the image and likeness.    Together Adam & Eve hand in hand worked through the garden of pleasure surrounded by fullness of provision and  everything worshipped the invisible God whose image was now visible in mankind in man and women of heavens council in making.   From council “let us” rather than “let be” did Gods council create mankind to be from council and to continue in council  for this is destiny not aloneness of self-made but a corporate son and multitude of people, man and women image capturing and bearing.

Everything stood quietly, treading softy, as day after day in the cool of the evening God & mankind walked together in the sweet fellowship of oneness, & perfect compatibility.

This is the Restoration and the centre of our salvation to walk again in the garden which is God to walk in God and through God.