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Self, Flesh, Sin and the Garden...


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#1 Jay Turner

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Posted 09 November 2010 - 10:20 PM

When you look at ideas of Self, Flesh, Sin, etc, in order to begin to understand them, it helps to start by going back to the Garden of Eden.

In the beginning, after God created Adam and Eve, He gave them every tree in the garden to eat from except the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. From what we see in the Bible, they could do anything that they wanted, except eat from that one tree. When you think about it, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented God the Father's authority and judgment over their lives and as long as Adam and Eve respected His rightful place of authority over them, then nothing was withheld from them. Sin entered in at the point where they began to view their own ability to judge good and evil as being more reliable and trustworthy, than God's. As that sin began to fester, flesh began to grow along with their sense of self and living apart from God.

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1.7-8) In this passage God the Father is referenced to in terms of authority, while the Holy Spirit is power. I noticed that this happens time and time again throughout the Bible.

At the center of the garden, there were two trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life. If it can be said that the Tree of Knowledge is a representation of God the Father’s authority and judgment over His creation, then could it also be said that the Tree of Life is the Holy Spirit’s life giving power?

If you haven’t noticed, we are dealing with pictures here. We are Eden. God planted a garden (our heart) eastward (our left side) in Eden. At the center of that garden are two trees, God’s rightful authority and righteous judgment over our lives and the life giving power of the Holy Spirit.

This is a picture of the life in which we were originally created to live. But after Adam and Eve tried to usurp God’s authority and judgment by eating of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, taking God’s rightful judgment upon themselves, they had to be judged. “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”

If you look at the relationship between true authority and power, true power must adhere to the authority by which that power was given. If the Holy Spirit is the power of life and life everlasting, then when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, after God had prohibited them from eating it, they could not be allowed to reach out and eat from the Tree of Life or the Holy Spirit would have been defiled.

Also, since Adam and Eve did not repent after eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, if they would have eaten from the Tree of Life, they would have condemned themselves to living life eternally in their sin with no possibility of redemption. Because of that, they had to be removed from the Garden of Eden and separated from having direct access to the life giving power of the Holy Spirit.

Now when it comes to denying the flesh and the likes, I believe we tend to make it into something that it doesn’t need to be. The flesh, to put it simply, is any area in our lives where we have not permitted God to be at the center. Our interests, our hobbies, anything in our lives that we occupy our time with is the fruit in our Garden of Eden. The thing that makes that fruit good or bad, isn’t the fruit itself, but instead whether we have allowed God to guide us to the fruit that He would have us to eat.

I like movies, television and computer games. Just thinking about them, it seems that they wouldn’t necessarily be all that godly, yet time and time again, God has lead me to specific shows and games. I can’t count how many times He has spoken to me and revealed His truth to me through what is typically labeled as secular media.

Now let’s say there was a movie that I wanted to see, but God gave me a warning in my heart not to. At that point that movie has become my Tree of Knowledge and God has just placed before me the choice to either respect His judgment by not seeing it or to follow my own. By choosing not to see it, I would be denying my flesh and choosing obedience over rebellion. On the other hand, if I went to it even after God’s prohibition, then I would be opening a door where Satan could accuse me and bring condemnation that in turn could force a wedge in my relationship with God.

When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God placed a flaming sword and cherubim to guard the way back to the Garden. The point of the Flaming Sword was to keep them from having access to the Tree of Life, the power of the Holy Spirit. If it was the Flaming Sword that kept us away from having direct access to the Holy Spirit, and if it was through the Jesus’ death and resurrection that once again gave us access to the Spirit, then is it possible that that Sword is a picture of the role Christ Jesus was playing in the redemption process? If that is the case, then could it be said that the reason that He had to die was so that the Holy Spirit could once again be released upon God’s creation? If so, then the blood that He spilled at the cross would be a picture of the Holy Spirit being released upon the world.

#2 Lori Smith

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Posted 10 November 2010 - 01:56 PM

When you look at ideas of Self, Flesh, Sin, etc, in order to begin to understand them, it helps to start by going back to the Garden of Eden.

In the beginning, after God created Adam and Eve, He gave them every tree in the garden to eat from except the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. From what we see in the Bible, they could do anything that they wanted, except eat from that one tree. When you think about it, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented God the Father's authority and judgment over their lives and as long as Adam and Eve respected His rightful place of authority over them, then nothing was withheld from them. Sin entered in at the point where they began to view their own ability to judge good and evil as being more reliable and trustworthy, than God's. As that sin began to fester, flesh began to grow along with their sense of self and living apart from God.

“It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” (Acts 1.7-8) In this passage God the Father is referenced to in terms of authority, while the Holy Spirit is power. I noticed that this happens time and time again throughout the Bible.

At the center of the garden, there were two trees, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life. If it can be said that the Tree of Knowledge is a representation of God the Father’s authority and judgment over His creation, then could it also be said that the Tree of Life is the Holy Spirit’s life giving power?

If you haven’t noticed, we are dealing with pictures here. We are Eden. God planted a garden (our heart) eastward (our left side) in Eden. At the center of that garden are two trees, God’s rightful authority and righteous judgment over our lives and the life giving power of the Holy Spirit.

This is a picture of the life in which we were originally created to live. But after Adam and Eve tried to usurp God’s authority and judgment by eating of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, taking God’s rightful judgment upon themselves, they had to be judged. “Judge not, lest ye be judged.”

If you look at the relationship between true authority and power, true power must adhere to the authority by which that power was given. If the Holy Spirit is the power of life and life everlasting, then when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, after God had prohibited them from eating it, they could not be allowed to reach out and eat from the Tree of Life or the Holy Spirit would have been defiled.

Also, since Adam and Eve did not repent after eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, if they would have eaten from the Tree of Life, they would have condemned themselves to living life eternally in their sin with no possibility of redemption. Because of that, they had to be removed from the Garden of Eden and separated from having direct access to the life giving power of the Holy Spirit.

Now when it comes to denying the flesh and the likes, I believe we tend to make it into something that it doesn’t need to be. The flesh, to put it simply, is any area in our lives where we have not permitted God to be at the center. Our interests, our hobbies, anything in our lives that we occupy our time with is the fruit in our Garden of Eden. The thing that makes that fruit good or bad, isn’t the fruit itself, but instead whether we have allowed God to guide us to the fruit that He would have us to eat.

I like movies, television and computer games. Just thinking about them, it seems that they wouldn’t necessarily be all that godly, yet time and time again, God has lead me to specific shows and games. I can’t count how many times He has spoken to me and revealed His truth to me through what is typically labeled as secular media.

Now let’s say there was a movie that I wanted to see, but God gave me a warning in my heart not to. At that point that movie has become my Tree of Knowledge and God has just placed before me the choice to either respect His judgment by not seeing it or to follow my own. By choosing not to see it, I would be denying my flesh and choosing obedience over rebellion. On the other hand, if I went to it even after God’s prohibition, then I would be opening a door where Satan could accuse me and bring condemnation that in turn could force a wedge in my relationship with God.

When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, God placed a flaming sword and cherubim to guard the way back to the Garden. The point of the Flaming Sword was to keep them from having access to the Tree of Life, the power of the Holy Spirit. If it was the Flaming Sword that kept us away from having direct access to the Holy Spirit, and if it was through the Jesus’ death and resurrection that once again gave us access to the Spirit, then is it possible that that Sword is a picture of the role Christ Jesus was playing in the redemption process? If that is the case, then could it be said that the reason that He had to die was so that the Holy Spirit could once again be released upon God’s creation? If so, then the blood that He spilled at the cross would be a picture of the Holy Spirit being released upon the world.


I like your post. :)
In The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer writes, "Jesus taught that He wrought His works by always keeping His inward eyes upon His Father. His power lay in His continuous look at God (John 5:19-21)."

#3 Travis Richey

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 07:34 PM

Jay,

I want to say "Thank you" for posting this. I have sat here and read it through a couple of times, and I know I shall read it through a few more times....and I might even "borrow" from it if I may, with credit given of course. I appreciate you sharing your wonderful insight. God Bless you.

#4 Jay Turner

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 08:05 PM

From my perspective, what good is wisdom and knowledge if it isn't shared so others can benefit. If something strikes you then feel free to run with it or share it.

#5 Jay Turner

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Posted 19 November 2010 - 10:20 PM

If you are interested, some of the underlying concepts I got from "Creation and Fall" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and "Repenting of Religion" by Greg Boyd. I tend to go places that they didn't, but if this interests you, that may be a place to start...

#6 Travis Richey

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Posted 20 November 2010 - 04:26 AM

Jay,

Thanks for the references. I'll defintely have to add them to my reading list. I've ben meaning to read Bonhoeffer, and just haven't done it yet, though I keep finding intriguing references to his work. And I have to admit, I like the title of the Boyd book. So much of what I am reading seems to be along those very lines.