Good News!

Good News! 

Part 1 

Have you ever wondered whether there is hope for a broken life? Have you ever wished your past could be forgiven, your failures washed away, and your life made new? Have you ever longed for a fresh beginning? 

I have. 

There was a time when I believed I had wandered too far from the Almighty Creator. My life had become the result of years of poor choices and sin. Yet in His great mercy, He called me to return to Him. 

That journey began in 2012 when I knelt before Him in repentance. I confessed my sin, turned back to Him, and began walking a path I had never truly walked before. I have not arrived, nor do I claim to possess all the answers, and like every disciple, I am still learning. But this much I know with certainty: His mercy is greater than my failures; His forgiveness is real, and His invitation to return is extended to all who will seek Him. 

The Scriptures that we will study answer those questions with a resounding yes, and that message is called the Good News. 

So, what is the Good News? Many people assume the Good News begins in the Book of Matthew with the birth of the Messiah Yehoshua. But the Good News is much older than that. It begins with a promise, and that promise begins with the Creator Himself. 

To understand the Good News, we must begin where the Scriptures begin: 

"In the beginning..." 

As we open the Scriptures to  Genesis Chapter 1, we begin with the story of creation, and with our Almighty creator, who created the heavens and the earth. 

(Gen 1:1 [TS2009]) 

In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth. 

In creating the heavens and the earth, YHWH Elohim set His purpose in motion. He created mankind in His own image—not merely to exist, but to know Him, to walk with Him, to reflect His character, and to enjoy fellowship with Him. From the very beginning, His desire has been to dwell among His people. 

(Gen 1:26 [TS2009]) 

And Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over all the earth and over all the creeping creatures that creep on the ground.” 

(Gen 1:27 [TS2009]) 

And Elohim created the man in His image; in the image of Elohim He created him – male and female He created them. 

 (Gen 1:28 [TS2009]) 

And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and increase, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all creeping creatures on the earth.” 

In just a few verses, we discover that YHWH Elohim is the source of all life. Everything that exists—the heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the mountains, the forests, every living creature, and mankind itself—came into being because He spoke.

His creation is not the result of chance or blind natural processes. It is the work of an all-wise and all-powerful Creator whose glory is displayed in everything He has made.

(Ps 19:1 [TS2009])

The heavens are proclaiming the esteem of Ěl; And the expanse is declaring the work of His hand.

From the very beginning, the Scriptures reveal that YHWH is the Author of life. Everywhere He acts, He brings order out of chaos, light out of darkness, and life where there was none. His desire is not destruction, but life.

Why did the Almighty Creator make mankind? Were we created merely to exist, or did He have a greater purpose? Genesis 1 has already answered that question. Humanity was created in His image to represent His rule upon the earth. The Creator blessed mankind, entrusted them with the care of His creation, and gave them the responsibility to fill the earth and exercise dominion over it.

The Almighty YHWH, our glorious Creator and sovereign King, did not create mankind as mindless creatures incapable of choice. He created us with the capacity to love Him, trust Him, obey Him, or reject Him. Genuine love cannot be compelled. From the very beginning, mankind was given a choice. I believe this reveals something beautiful about the heart of our Creator. He desires willing love and faithful obedience, not forced submission.

Before we continue, let us pause for a moment and consider what the opening chapter of Scripture reveals about the Almighty Creator. For the sake of brevity, I have not included every verse from Genesis Chapter 1. However, I encourage you to read the entire chapter for yourself before continuing.

As YHWH Elohim Intended 

Before sin entered the world, mankind lived in a garden planted by the Creator Himself. It was a place of abundance, peace, and fellowship. There was no death, no sorrow, no pain, and no separation between Elohim and mankind. Adam and Eve walked with the One who had formed them. 

 (Gen 2:7 [TS2009]) 

And יהוה Elohim formed the man out of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils breath of lives. And the man became a living being. 

  (Gen 2:8 [TS2009]) 

And יהוה Elohim planted a garden in Ěḏen, to the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 

  (Gen 2:9 [TS2009]) 

And out of the ground יהוה Elohim made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Notice that two trees stand in the midst of the garden: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Both will become central to the story that follows. 

 (Gen 2:15 [TS2009]) 

And יהוה Elohim took the man and put him in the garden of Ěḏen to work it and to guard it. 

 Before sin entered the world, mankind was given meaningful work. Adam was placed in the garden "to work it and to guard it." Work itself was not the curse. The curse came later. Productive labor was part of the Creator's good design from the beginning. 

(Gen 2:16 [TS2009]) 

And יהוה Elohim commanded the man, saying, “Eat of every tree of the garden, 

(Gen 2:17 [TS2009]) 

but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat of it you shall certainly die.” 

 Here we encounter the first command given to mankind. Along with the freedom to enjoy the abundance of the garden came the responsibility to trust and obey the Creator. 

(Gen 2:18 [TS2009]) 

And יהוה Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I am going to make a helper for him, as his counterpart.” 

(Gen 2:19 [TS2009]) 

And from the ground יהוה Elohim formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called each living being, that was its name. 

(Gen 2:20 [TS2009]) 

So the man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every beast of the field. But for the man there was not found a helper for him, as his counterpart. 

(Gen 2:21 [TS2009]) 

So יהוה Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 

(Gen 2:22 [TS2009]) 

And the rib which יהוה Elohim had taken from the man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 

(Gen 2:23 [TS2009]) 

And the man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one is called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of man.” 

(Gen 2:24 [TS2009]) 

For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 

(Gen 2:25 [TS2009]) 

And they were both naked, the man and his wife, yet they were not ashamed. 

Genesis Chapter 2 closes with a picture of perfect peace. Humanity lived in fellowship with the Creator and with one another. There was no shame, no fear, no guilt, and no death. Everything that YHWH had made was exactly as He intended. 

The Creator filled the garden with abundance. Every provision had been made for mankind. Only one tree was withheld from them, reminding Adam and Eve that although they had been given dominion over creation, they were not above their Creator. 

As we conclude this first part of our study, one truth should stand out clearly: the world did not begin with sin, suffering, or death. It began with life, fellowship, peace, and the loving purpose of our Almighty Creator. 

YHWH created mankind to know Him, to walk with Him, and to enjoy His presence. He provided abundantly, entrusted humanity with meaningful purpose, and desired willing love rather than forced obedience. Everything He had made was exactly as He intended. 

Yet, as we have already seen, there was one tree in the midst of the garden that was not to be eaten from. It stood as a reminder that although mankind had been given great authority, the Creator alone determines what is good. 

In the next part of this study, we will discover how one choice changed the course of human history. More importantly, we will see that even before judgment was complete, the Almighty Creator revealed the first glimpse of the Good News—the promise that His plan to restore what had been lost had already begun.