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was not there anymore. They<br />
went from being God-centered<br />
to being self-centered, because<br />
of their rebellion. God was not in<br />
them anymore, and the history<br />
of man has been tragic from that<br />
day until now.<br />
This change is illustrated in<br />
Figure 1, which depicts a body,<br />
a soul, and a spirit cut off from<br />
God. I know this is a bit theological,<br />
but we need to look at God’s<br />
plan for man so we can see what<br />
God’s plan is for our children.<br />
Adam was a beautiful<br />
God-centered,<br />
God-controlled being.<br />
shall not eat, for in the day that<br />
you eat of it you shall surely die”<br />
(Genesis 2:17). We know Adam<br />
and Eve did not drop dead when<br />
they took their first bite of that<br />
fruit. Their bodies were still<br />
there. Their minds were still<br />
thinking. They still had a will by<br />
which they could choose.<br />
But something was drastically<br />
different about Adam and Eve. In<br />
the center of their being, in their<br />
spirits, they died. Their ability to<br />
fellowship with God died. The<br />
place where God’s Spirit had<br />
lived had died. The Spirit of God<br />
A God-Centered Man<br />
From the time of man’s fall,<br />
God set His plan of salvation<br />
in motion to bring us back to a<br />
state where God would again live<br />
in the center of our being. This<br />
is the purpose of redemption.<br />
Regeneration, which means “regenesis,”<br />
happens in our spirit.<br />
This is where we are born again<br />
by the Spirit of God. We receive a<br />
new heart, a new spirit, and God<br />
puts His Spirit in us and dwells<br />
in us again. This is illustrated<br />
in Figure 2, which depicts a<br />
body yielded to God, a soul also<br />
yielded to God, and a spirit made<br />
alive to God again and filled with<br />
His presence. This is salvation,<br />
and it is glorious. Now we can<br />
have fellowship with God again<br />
through the blood He shed on<br />
Calvary.<br />
30 | <strong>Loaves</strong> & <strong>Fishes</strong> • Issue <strong>27</strong>