Humanity is God's vessel to be filled with his Spirit. We were made from clay and animated by God filling us with his breath. In ancient times, an idol was supposed to be a residence for a god and a contact point for divine communication. But they didn't imagine that the crude material the idol was made from was divine. Neither is any characteristic of humanity a part of what God is like. It is the infilling of God's Spirit that creates the image.
Thus, we were created to be given a sacred status, as God's representatives in the Garden of Eden, to demonstrate His character and do His will. He walked with us, so that we could learn how to hear and obey his Voice, and become His trusted agents to carry out His plans for the Earth. We were made to be His hands and feet, working to tend and expand the Garden, and populate it with our children. Soon, He would reveal to us more of his plans, to develop our own character and our world for inclusion into the Kingdom of Heaven.
That makes the definition of "faith" as allegiance, trust, loyalty, and service make sense. If we listen to any other power or interest and allow that to supersede God's will for us, we have broken faith with Him. We made that mistake early, even before we were civilized. We were tempted by a rebel to question our faith in God. From our perspective, everything was broken, but God already had a larger plan. He's not going to let the rebels win.
So then, how shall we live? The Bible contains His standing instructions on morality. If we don't follow those basic rules, that's sin. He can and does forgive, but we have to confess and repent, and agree to obey as we ought. The Bible also contains God's promises to fix the damages and confusion caused by the rebels. He promised to come down as Himself to be our King and lead us through the chaos and out of the darkness. He would give us his personal guidance. But we would have to trust Him to do it his way.
That's why, when Jesus rephrased the rules, He apparently made them harder. He was giving us the main principles those rules come from. The point was simple. We can't do it the hard way. We have to decide to turn away from the world's darkness, and follow Him, declaring a new allegiance through baptism. Then, we have to listen closely if we're going to know what He wants us to do. Indeed, we need to be listening all of the time.
Now, when He gives us the Holy Spirit, we are truly the vessels of God, and can be His representatives, with the status of ambassadors and stewards for the Kingdom on this Earth. Later, we shall be citizens of God's cities and stewards of the renewed Earth spreading the Garden of Eden across the globe. Then, we shall owe our allegiance to King Jesus and go up to the New Jerusalem every year to praise and worship.
Whatever God plans for us and our world in the eternal forever, He has yet to reveal in detail, but it apparently includes us ascending to live in the Heavenly Jerusalem and participating in the divine council to replace the rebels who caused our troubles on Earth.
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