Based off Mike Wittmer’s Book Heaven is a Place on Earth
http://mikewittmer.wordpress.com/
Genesis 3:5-6
5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
“My Bad,” …EVE. We make fun of he Woman listening to the Serpent and realize that is where this whole Epic Fail began. The Temptation to Sin was not due to unknown rules. There were no warning signs that we know of that stated “Keep Away” or “Beware of Forbidden Fruit.” That is for a society of many people and a governing authority today. What the governing authority was came from the very WORD of GOD. In fact, the first command heard from God was most likely this command.
Genesis 2:15-17
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Did Adam hear this and then give this word to his later created wife, Eve? Maybe he was the warning sign and told her to not even touch it. Whatever the case, God never stated that the fruit was not to be touched. The result of death only comes from eating the forbidden fruit. What happens is a breakdown in the system that God put in place. The serpent comes to tempt Eve, not Adam. The serpent completely contradicts in a curious question the first part of God’s statement, “You are free to eat from any tree…” The curious questions of freedom within the confines of God’s command is corrected with a statement mainly of out Eve’s knowledge of what was commanded.
Genesis 3:2-3
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Here she adds the “not touch it’ phrase. Maybe this is the warning sign from Adam. God’s Word is “Don’t EAT” and Adam’s response is to warn Eve to not even touch the fruit. The serpent questions the authority of Adam, who most likely gives the command to Eve, and then makes Eve think about why it is forbidden. Wisdom to be “like God.” Oh, and by the way, Adam was with her. Maybe he is trying to remember what he named the animal that is questioning God. Maybe he is shocked that a serpent is talking to his wife. Whatever the case, he is silent in the discussion, but not in the action.
Somewhere Eve and Adam were both persuaded to “think for themselves.” They were taken off line from trusting the governing authority of God’s Word. This was embedded with the opportunity to “be like God” in understanding Good and Evil. They became the judge and the jury regarding the tree command. They took the law into their own hands, and that resulted in going all the way. Not just touching and delighting in the fruit, but eating. This decision is the first decision made independent from God.
Sin = Godlessness. Sin cannot coincide with God. When Adam & Eve Sin, they gain knowledge of Good and Evil, but they do not have the same ability to discern and define Good and Evil. This sends them into a place where they can have a sense of morality, but they are a little off. This is the effect of Sin. Man searching to judge like God and rule like God when it comes to Good and Evil. This makes sense in our world today. We see many people running after fame, money, power, and good things like saving the planet, but there is something missing. The definition. The parameters. The boundaries. The GOD that CREATED!
What is the REMEDY?
Jesus Came to Earth to establish the Kingdom of God once again. He fulfilled the law in order make known once again the clear definition, parameters, & boundaries that might set us free from the consequence losing sight of the ultimate morality. As John the Baptist pronounces, He comes to take away the sin of the World!
John 1:29
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
The ripple effect of Jesus stepping on the Earth is the Counseling Spirit He left behind after His ascension. The Holy Spirit now gives us the ability to step back into the Freedom of the Garden. We are able to commune with God by His Spirit, and the Spirit convicts, judges, and reveals sin & righteousness. As Jesus speaks, himself in John 16:
John 16:7-10
7 But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me;10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;
Following Jesus resets our parameters. We once again align in the way that we were created to be. We are new creation in the sense of now being able to recognize Good & Evil by The Spirit and now have the Freedom to walk in the Spirit under God’s Rule and Authority, rather than the flesh, under our own Rule and Authority.
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