And the LORD commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat" (Genesis 2:16).

     "Eat," said God, and so spoke the law of receptivity by which we must live to sustain our physical existence. We receive food to eat, air to breathe, light rays to see, sound waves to hear, knowledge with which to think, and various sensations to our nerve endings from things that touch us—all from outside ourselves. At the moment of our conception, we are empty vessels designed by God to be dependent upon outside sources for all that we need to sustain ourselves and all that we will contain.

     It is the same with our spiritual life. We receive God the Father (John 1:12; 13:20), Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:6), the Holy Spirit (John 7:9; Galatians 3:14), grace (Romans 5:17), adoption (Galatians 4:5), rewards (1 Corinthians 3:14), healing (John 9:18), and a myriad of other things from God—and sometimes from spiritual sources not of God.

We are sponges in the spiritual waters of creation.

     Because we are too unconscious of that fact, we often absorb into ourselves negative forces that burden us and hamper the progress of our walk in the Holy Spirit. We need to be consciously aware that God designed us as receivers, and learn to better guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7; Proverbs 4:23)

     Of the fact that all that we have we receive, John the Baptist and Paul the Apostle said,

     A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. (John 3:27)

     And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory as if you had not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

     God alone is self-existing and self-sufficient. He needs nothing and receives nothing into Himself (Acts 17:25). In contrast, He designed His creatures to be totally dependent upon Him for the life-force of their existence and for all they need. He is the Giver; we are the receivers. We must never confuse the roles and consider for one second that God needs anything from us, or that we have anything to give God that He receives into Himself.

     It is ludicrous to think, as some say, that God created us because He needs something from us. Since all that we have we received from God, all that we have was in God before He created us.
     Obviously, God does not need from His creatures that which was already in Him. How can He need something from human beings whom He designed to be totally dependent upon Him for everything?
     Not even the most fanciful imagination can be stretched that far.

     If God had any need within Himself that could only be satisfied by outside sources, then God would be incomplete and in disharmony with Himself. There would be a rift in the internal fabric of God; a dissatisfaction with the makeup of His being; a minutia of disturbance swirling through Him in eternal unrest. Within Himself, God would not be at peace. He would not be content with Himself. Perfect and infinite joy would not be His.

    If that were so, New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2), our eternal city, would not be a place of rest and peace, a place of no more tears (Revelation 21:4), for the discontent of God would radiate throughout its structure.

     But constant joy and everlasting peace are heaven's breath, for so say the sacred Scriptures. And the multitude of their voices speak of an eternal God of peace, an eternal God of joy, a self-sufficient God who needs nothing, and who is the source of all good things for the creatures of His making!

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