Have you ever wondered what it was that Adam and Eve saw when they went to the center of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil stood side by side? The contrast is extraordinary.
Remember one thing concerning Adam and Eve at this portion of their lives: they saw things as they were, so when they viewed these two trees that didn't have an origin on Earth, they saw them in a unique way, and how they saw them, especially with Eve, was a huge factor in the fateful decision to eat of the wrong tree.
It's tempting to really get into the depths of what really happened at that time, but the simplicity of it is enough, because in the end, that was one of the key elements of what was going on.
Paul mentions that in the time of the temptation of Eve, she was deceived concerning maintaining the simplicity of devotion to Christ. That was the major issue concerning the two trees. One offered simplicity, devotion and dependence on the life of Christ, and fellowship with Him, while the other offered independence from God, and a different type of knowledge, wisdom and food.
This is the center of the powerful story of Martha and Mary, where Martha attempted to influence Jesus to get Mary away from being centered on Him, where Jesus responded it was really the only thing that mattered, and He wasn't going to take that away from her.
Satan offered Eve the opportunity to be like God, without the help and dependence upon God; without the need to internalize and fellowship with Him within, which is part of what it meant to eat the fruit of the tree. To eat it meant to internalize the relationship we were offered with Christ.
The other major element was that the Tree of Life, or Christ, wasn't an attractive tree, whereas the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was, as represented by Satan, who was a beautiful being at one time.
While spiritually Christ as the Tree of Life was attractive from the point of view of God, to natural man he wasn't, as the cross was at the center of the Tree, and built into it. This is something many Christians to this day resist. It's one of the major reasons much of the inner fellowship with Christ isn't pursued, because it means dying to self, and the application of the work of the cross within. Not many are willing to go that route anymore.
So when Satan started getting Eve's eyes fixated on the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the idea was to get her to completely forget about the Tree of Life, which he succeeded at doing. History has unveiled the results of that mistake.
When Adam and Eve viewed the two trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was far more attractive and conducive to humanity than the counterintuitive Tree of Life. Even in their sinless state, immediately before partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the desire for an easier way to live was pursued by the old man; the first Adam.
What's interesting, taking into account that Eve was deceived but Adam wasn't, is that even though Adam wasn't deceived, he preferred to internalize a life form contrary to who God was. It looked wiser and easier, but in the end it was devastating and resulted in life being even harder.
To this day the major job our spiritual enemy continues to do is keep our eyes off of the simplicity of devotion to Christ, and eat of a tree that complicates and distracts us from that simple fellowship with Him, which is how Jesus describes of eternal life is, which was embedded in Him, the Tree of Life.
We must battle to eat of the Tree of Life once again, and remind one another to do it often. More on this in the next post.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Now we have God no longer on the scene in Eden, at least not in the way He was at times directly communicating with Adam.
At that time, the serpent starts to communicate with Eve concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Notice how there isn't anything mentioned about the Tree of Life again.
The entire purpose of the conversation was for Satan to get the attention of Eve solely on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in order that she wouldn't think of the Tree of Life.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3, that he was jealous over them with a godly jealousy, and promised them to one husband: Christ. He wanted to present them as a pure virgin to Christ, but now he was afraid that in the similar way Eve was deceived by the cunning of Satan, their minds would also be led astray from the sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
We get a glimpse into the tree of the knowledge of good and evil here, where it was the opposite of the Tree of Life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil gets you away from simplicity and sincerity, and into mixture, as far as in relationship with Christ. It makes things complicated and heady. If your life is complicated, you may want to take a look at which tree you're eating from as well.
Jesus said this in a different way when Martha protested her sister not helping her because she sat at the feet of Jesus listening to Him teach. Jesus' response was that there was nothing else that really mattered, and He wouldn't take that away from Mary.
A people centered around Christ is all that matters. That's the battle that was going on from the first interaction between man and Satan, and it's still the same battle raging today. Satan is still tempting us to look to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the expense of Christ Himself.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
At that time, the serpent starts to communicate with Eve concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Notice how there isn't anything mentioned about the Tree of Life again.
The entire purpose of the conversation was for Satan to get the attention of Eve solely on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in order that she wouldn't think of the Tree of Life.
Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3, that he was jealous over them with a godly jealousy, and promised them to one husband: Christ. He wanted to present them as a pure virgin to Christ, but now he was afraid that in the similar way Eve was deceived by the cunning of Satan, their minds would also be led astray from the sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
We get a glimpse into the tree of the knowledge of good and evil here, where it was the opposite of the Tree of Life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil gets you away from simplicity and sincerity, and into mixture, as far as in relationship with Christ. It makes things complicated and heady. If your life is complicated, you may want to take a look at which tree you're eating from as well.
Jesus said this in a different way when Martha protested her sister not helping her because she sat at the feet of Jesus listening to Him teach. Jesus' response was that there was nothing else that really mattered, and He wouldn't take that away from Mary.
A people centered around Christ is all that matters. That's the battle that was going on from the first interaction between man and Satan, and it's still the same battle raging today. Satan is still tempting us to look to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the expense of Christ Himself.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
Saturday, May 10, 2008
One interesting thing when reading the story about Adam and Eve and the tree of life, is God never said a thing about it. Read it and see at the beginning. It is mentioned that the tree of life was in the center of the garden, but it doesn't say God communicates anything about that to Adam - before the bringing to life of Eve, or afterwards. It only says they can eat of any tree in Eden, with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Another interesting and enlightening part of the story, is right next to the tree of life in the center of the garden, is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Both are said to be in the center of the garden, which means they were side by side.
That seems to speak to them being competitive in nature, and opposing possibilities.
I've heard some say that the reason it was sin to partake in it was because mankind prematurely reached for knowledge before partaking of life. I think that's completely wrong and false. Those who assert that are intellectuals who attempt to justify their way of thinking and interaction with the scriptures. They're wrong.
How do I know they're wrong? Look at the last part of the book of Revelation. Along with the throne being in the center of New Jerusalem, there is also the tree of life and the river. Where do you see the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It's not there. And it's not there because it doesn't belong there.
Inside this city, which is the people of God, there is only one tree, and that tree is Jesus Christ - the tree of life. To say the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a separate part of God is ridiculous to assert.
That would mean that Jesus Christ as the word of God really didn't contain the full thought of the Father. When Jesus said He and the Father were one, He was saying if you see Me you see the Father. To make it look like there was something more to the Father that was kept from Christ wouldn't make any sense, and would make Jesus a liar, or minimally confused. We know that isn't true, so these types of assertions are wrong, and the people making them confused.
When Jesus is referred to as the word of God, it means everything that God had to say in and through Him was represented; that's why Jesus is called the Word of God. He was the full representation of who the Father was. So to have a second tree being something of God but not represented by the life of the Father in Christ would be complete confusion and contrary to what the scriptures reveal throughout them of Christ.
The trees were two competing life forms, or rather, two ways of living. Life is defined by Christ as fellowship with the Godhead and man, so life in that sense can't be ascribed to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Just like Satan exists, but he's not life, but rather murder and death. Because something's alive doesn't mean it gives life. That's why Adam was commanded by God to guard the garden, which he immediately failed to do.
So here we are in the garden of Eden where God put Adam and Eve, and we have all this abundance available as expressed by God through trees to eat, with only one guideline: that they refrain from eating from one tree. That was it!
In the middle of paradise where mankind was placed, we have the history of man about to be decided, as the great enemy of manking attempts to immediately move them off of the eternal purpose of God, which as we know now, he was successful in doing.
It all centered around what man was going to internalize. God was saying we have to be careful what we eat, and He wasn't talking about natural food for the body.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
Another interesting and enlightening part of the story, is right next to the tree of life in the center of the garden, is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Both are said to be in the center of the garden, which means they were side by side.
That seems to speak to them being competitive in nature, and opposing possibilities.
I've heard some say that the reason it was sin to partake in it was because mankind prematurely reached for knowledge before partaking of life. I think that's completely wrong and false. Those who assert that are intellectuals who attempt to justify their way of thinking and interaction with the scriptures. They're wrong.
How do I know they're wrong? Look at the last part of the book of Revelation. Along with the throne being in the center of New Jerusalem, there is also the tree of life and the river. Where do you see the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It's not there. And it's not there because it doesn't belong there.
Inside this city, which is the people of God, there is only one tree, and that tree is Jesus Christ - the tree of life. To say the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a separate part of God is ridiculous to assert.
That would mean that Jesus Christ as the word of God really didn't contain the full thought of the Father. When Jesus said He and the Father were one, He was saying if you see Me you see the Father. To make it look like there was something more to the Father that was kept from Christ wouldn't make any sense, and would make Jesus a liar, or minimally confused. We know that isn't true, so these types of assertions are wrong, and the people making them confused.
When Jesus is referred to as the word of God, it means everything that God had to say in and through Him was represented; that's why Jesus is called the Word of God. He was the full representation of who the Father was. So to have a second tree being something of God but not represented by the life of the Father in Christ would be complete confusion and contrary to what the scriptures reveal throughout them of Christ.
The trees were two competing life forms, or rather, two ways of living. Life is defined by Christ as fellowship with the Godhead and man, so life in that sense can't be ascribed to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Just like Satan exists, but he's not life, but rather murder and death. Because something's alive doesn't mean it gives life. That's why Adam was commanded by God to guard the garden, which he immediately failed to do.
So here we are in the garden of Eden where God put Adam and Eve, and we have all this abundance available as expressed by God through trees to eat, with only one guideline: that they refrain from eating from one tree. That was it!
In the middle of paradise where mankind was placed, we have the history of man about to be decided, as the great enemy of manking attempts to immediately move them off of the eternal purpose of God, which as we know now, he was successful in doing.
It all centered around what man was going to internalize. God was saying we have to be careful what we eat, and He wasn't talking about natural food for the body.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Adam and Eve
One important thing to consider when looking at the beginning of things, as far as creation goes, was the pinnacle of creation: man. So when we look at Adam and Eve at the beginning, we see the representatives of all of mankind.
What's important to know about them, before sin, is while they were made in the image of God, their makeup wasn't in the proper order yet. One thing had to be done before that would be accomplished.
Before we get into that, let's look at Adam and Eve first. At this point of their existence, they're unique to human history, there never will be two human beings like them again; but neither was there ever meant to be.
Adam and Eve were sinless, but incomplete. They were innocent, but not harmless. They had a future, but that future hadn't yet been decided yet. In other words, even though they were sinless, they hadn't taken action yet that would perpetuate that sinlessness and enter into intimate fellowship with God.
They had fellowship with Him, but it wasn't anywhere near to the closeness they could have; it was only an outward fellowship, even though they saw Him with their natural eyes and talked with Him.
Another thing to consider is they not only saw God, but they saw the heavenly realms themselves, as Eden was a place where Heaven and Earth met. They saw the angelic hosts, as well as everything that heaven was.
The problem for Adam and Eve was they hadn't internalized God yet, their spirits hadn't been made alive, and so at this point their soul was predominant, even though there was no sin in the world or in them. God had meant that our spirits would be the predominant feature of our makeup, with our souls submitted and listening to Christ within, while our bodies then responded to the practical outworking of that fellowship.
At this time Adam and Eve were sinless, but the proper order within man hadn't been established. Until that happened, they wouldn't be able to successfully respond to the things God had required or expected of them.
Why did God create mankind this way? Why didn't He create them with His life in them from the beginning? The answer is that the life they were to internalize wasn't created life, so creation was separate from it, and man had to willingly partake of that life and internalize it.
That life was eternal and had existed forever; with no beginning or end. It couldn't be part of creation because it was uncreated, had always been, and was eternal. That life was God Himself.
So while man was created originally in the image of God, the order of God could only happen when man participated in the inner life of God by internalizing that life. To do that, Adam and Eve had to eat of the tree of life. They never took that step. They chose another life instead.
Next post we'll get more into what it was they chose and why.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
One important thing to consider when looking at the beginning of things, as far as creation goes, was the pinnacle of creation: man. So when we look at Adam and Eve at the beginning, we see the representatives of all of mankind.
What's important to know about them, before sin, is while they were made in the image of God, their makeup wasn't in the proper order yet. One thing had to be done before that would be accomplished.
Before we get into that, let's look at Adam and Eve first. At this point of their existence, they're unique to human history, there never will be two human beings like them again; but neither was there ever meant to be.
Adam and Eve were sinless, but incomplete. They were innocent, but not harmless. They had a future, but that future hadn't yet been decided yet. In other words, even though they were sinless, they hadn't taken action yet that would perpetuate that sinlessness and enter into intimate fellowship with God.
They had fellowship with Him, but it wasn't anywhere near to the closeness they could have; it was only an outward fellowship, even though they saw Him with their natural eyes and talked with Him.
Another thing to consider is they not only saw God, but they saw the heavenly realms themselves, as Eden was a place where Heaven and Earth met. They saw the angelic hosts, as well as everything that heaven was.
The problem for Adam and Eve was they hadn't internalized God yet, their spirits hadn't been made alive, and so at this point their soul was predominant, even though there was no sin in the world or in them. God had meant that our spirits would be the predominant feature of our makeup, with our souls submitted and listening to Christ within, while our bodies then responded to the practical outworking of that fellowship.
At this time Adam and Eve were sinless, but the proper order within man hadn't been established. Until that happened, they wouldn't be able to successfully respond to the things God had required or expected of them.
Why did God create mankind this way? Why didn't He create them with His life in them from the beginning? The answer is that the life they were to internalize wasn't created life, so creation was separate from it, and man had to willingly partake of that life and internalize it.
That life was eternal and had existed forever; with no beginning or end. It couldn't be part of creation because it was uncreated, had always been, and was eternal. That life was God Himself.
So while man was created originally in the image of God, the order of God could only happen when man participated in the inner life of God by internalizing that life. To do that, Adam and Eve had to eat of the tree of life. They never took that step. They chose another life instead.
Next post we'll get more into what it was they chose and why.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Over the next several posts we'll take a look at Jesus Christ as the Tree of Life. Having insight into, and embracing Christ as the Tree of Life is extremely valuable; especially in this age of instant communication, where not only the volume of news and communication can overwhelm people, but the nature and content of that communication as well.
The reason the Tree of Life was in the center of the garden of Eden was because He was meant to be the center of all life. While that has been true in eternity, it is true as well in the created world we live on.
Just about everything that surrounds us can move us off the important reason and purpose for our existence: intimate fellowship with the Godhead. Christ represents that as the Tree of Life.
Only internalizing the fruit of that Tree could give us the life we were created to live. Adam and Eve failed to do it, and chose a different course, a course most continue to follow to this day, even though they take the name of Christ upon them.
I believe that there is no hope for someone refusing to internalize Christ as their life. When I say no hope, I mean by that not being able to consciously live by another life within us. We'll be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine blowing around out there. Our lives will be a continuous exercise in futility and frustration as we can't figure out why when we're believers in Christ, we seem to never have the peace, rest and satisfaction that should come with that.
We'll consume the knowledge of good and evil that will always produce death rather than life. It's an endless circle when that route is taken, and you can't get off it unless you choose the Tree of Life over that.
We're not simply talking about someone getting saved; that's simply the doorway into what we were meant to be and focus on: the eternal purpose. It gets us right with God so we can get back to what our true calling really is.
Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life, and unless we pursue internalizing Him and fellowshipping with Him inside of us, we'll be on a journey of never being fulfilled, as the purpose we were created for isn't understood or embraced.
When I mention pursuing internalizing Him above, I mean by that allowing Him to change us within, and into His image; not just positionally, but in practice. To do that we must fellowship and be with Him at all times.
So in these next several posts we'll talk about Adam and Eve at the beginning, what happened in the Garden, and what it is they saw when tempted.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
The reason the Tree of Life was in the center of the garden of Eden was because He was meant to be the center of all life. While that has been true in eternity, it is true as well in the created world we live on.
Just about everything that surrounds us can move us off the important reason and purpose for our existence: intimate fellowship with the Godhead. Christ represents that as the Tree of Life.
Only internalizing the fruit of that Tree could give us the life we were created to live. Adam and Eve failed to do it, and chose a different course, a course most continue to follow to this day, even though they take the name of Christ upon them.
I believe that there is no hope for someone refusing to internalize Christ as their life. When I say no hope, I mean by that not being able to consciously live by another life within us. We'll be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine blowing around out there. Our lives will be a continuous exercise in futility and frustration as we can't figure out why when we're believers in Christ, we seem to never have the peace, rest and satisfaction that should come with that.
We'll consume the knowledge of good and evil that will always produce death rather than life. It's an endless circle when that route is taken, and you can't get off it unless you choose the Tree of Life over that.
We're not simply talking about someone getting saved; that's simply the doorway into what we were meant to be and focus on: the eternal purpose. It gets us right with God so we can get back to what our true calling really is.
Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life, and unless we pursue internalizing Him and fellowshipping with Him inside of us, we'll be on a journey of never being fulfilled, as the purpose we were created for isn't understood or embraced.
When I mention pursuing internalizing Him above, I mean by that allowing Him to change us within, and into His image; not just positionally, but in practice. To do that we must fellowship and be with Him at all times.
So in these next several posts we'll talk about Adam and Eve at the beginning, what happened in the Garden, and what it is they saw when tempted.
Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
a
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