Genesis 3:22a (ESV)

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.”

The “us” agrees with the Trinity doctrine, but can also be interpreted as including the heavenly host.

That’s the easy part. The tough question is, “What happened to man?” Becoming “like one of us” is obviously significant, but what does that mean?

Unfortunately, scripture doesn’t give us a simple answer. We are told that Adam and Eve were changed by eating the fruit. Their eyes were opened, and they suddenly knew good and evil. Curiously, in one way they were now even more in God’s image than before.

Now man is like God in the knowledge of good and evil. People have a universal sense of right and wrong, which exists innately, even in children. This is spelled out in detail in two books by CS Lewis—The Abolition of Man and Mere Christianity.

Animals show no signs of being like that. All their behaviors are just conditioned responses. That’s why dogs are house-broken, instead of being taught about the moral failings of peeing indoors.

But why not just create man knowing good and evil to begin with? Why go through all the drama?

Well, you can ask that about every event in history. Everything has a purpose, which we may or may not understand. The events of chapter three of Genesis give us the backstory of a fall into sin that defines us.

It seems at first glance to be a series of unfortunate events, but what do we know?

It’s all up to God, and it’s all for His holy purposes.

We should think and pray broadly about good and evil and what God wants us to do about it. As servants of the Lord, we should be strategic. It’s all about seeking His will and doing it.

Unfortunately, we tend to seek the Lord’s will in short-term decisions, rather than think about what He wants our goals to be.

Look around you. What needs to change? What parts of this broken world are calling you to get involved?

How can you make a difference? What are your aptitudes? What skills might you be able to add that would complete the package needed to have serious impact? Is it time to start working on the problem, or is it time to focus on training?

This is the most exciting, and most scary, kind of prayer. Seeking the Lord’s will for your life (while being seriously open to what He says) is not for the fainthearted.

Seek clarity in this. Ask God to call you in a specific direction. Pray for doors to open (or close) in clear ways so that you’ll know how to proceed.

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These weekday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. Saturdays' by Matt Richardson. Subscribe here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include questions for discussion or meditation, are here: https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NASB stands for the New American Standard Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.