All mankind and in particular the Body of Christ is confronted daily with the condition of sin. Sin as a spiritual condition is, in fact, the separation of one’s relationship with God (their creator). This is defined as DEATH. In the beginning of the creation of the world, God made man in His own image and that image reflected God in nature, spirit, holiness, love and righteousness. Man was not even aware of the nature of sin until he disobeyed God’s command by eating the fruit from the tree of “Knowledge and of Good and Evil” This was, in fact, an understanding God was protecting man from but chose to expose him to it by its mere presence in the garden so that man’s love for God would be forever righteously judged and demonstrated.
As the story goes, when the serpent came to Eve and enticed her to “consider” trying the fruit from the forbidden tree, it is clear that the serpent had one assignment in mind and that was to get Eve (and subsequently her husband) to disobey God’s plan which as a result, would kick them out of his divine presence and spiritual alignment. The seduction of sin that mankind contends with today is the same temptation Eve was confronted with and like her; we are also deceived and in most cases DAILY.
So what we are really looking at in this scenario are two trees, one that produces Life and the other that produces Death. I believe most people look at sin as individual acts when actually sin is simply the condition of being out of alignment with God and the result of it is what we see through the individual acts of sin. So, when its all said and done, Satan could really care less about what you do from day to day but is more concerned with keeping you out of divine alignment with God because in doing so you will never receive or fully live the abundant life that God has prepared for you. This is the ASSIGNMENT OF SIN. This is why Satan masters in “spiritual blindness” because, for him, our ignorance is BLISS!
When we come into the awareness of the ideologies of the tree of “Good and Evil” which is simply “worldly wisdom,” we also embrace the ungodly principles, values, and liberties that come along with it. As a result, spiritual blinders will form in our heart, mind, and spirit that will deprive us of our blessed natural and spiritual (prophetic) life in God. Isn’t it interesting how a choice always precedes the act of sin and the deliberation of that choice is rationalized within the arena of “Good and Evil” or “Life and Death.”
Well, here’s the fascinating thing about all this. If this debate is waged in the arena of “Good and Evil,” (which it commonly is) that debate will always be lost because God never intended for his people to draw wisdom from the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge. Instead, our decisions as believers should be debated within the arena of LIFE & DEATH because these decisions impact the soul of man and his alignment with God (Mark 8:36). You see, the tree of LIFE was not named the tree of “Good” for a reason. It is because the benefits of the tree of LIFE is where TRUE WISDOM is found and right relationship with God. This is something every believer should sacredly protect and endeavor to keep with all their heart, mind and strength.
So it is not until man gets properly aligned with God can he ever become set free from spiritual blindness, deception, and the seductions of sin. How we contemplate what to do when deception confronts us is critical in maintaining life in the spirit, which is the Kingdom of God. This is the arena where we rationalize and debate our daily decisions. It is where the seeds of Life and Death are planted. This is the arena that enables us to gain new perspectives from God’s kingdom when we yield ourselves to his wisdom. This arena can also become bombarded with another form of wisdom and often times it will make sense to us, based upon what we see. However, the wisdom of God is given to the believer as a “filter” in order to expose this convincing imposter for all its lies. This is the arena where the battle of the soul and spirit engages in war. This war is waged on the battlefield of the human MIND.
You see, Eve was doomed the moment she began to rationalize upon the additional choices the serpent was suggesting to her. Eve got sidetracked! Bamboozled! She fell victim by way of her natural God-given desire for pleasure to believe the pressures and promises of the serpent. When Eve chose NOT to trust in God’s simple plan for her life (eating from ONLY one tree), it became overwhelmingly difficult for her to value and appreciate the peace, safety, and promise that comes from God. This was a divine plan that would forever be in her best interest. Today, this simple plan is illustrated in the Word of God.
So, what am I saying, in a nutshell? It is that we can indeed learn something from our “Spiritual Ancestors” Adam and Eve. It is that our lives as earthly beings are not so much about being “Good People” as it is about being “Godly People.” The Word of God essentially has been given to the believer so they would know how to discern truth and walk confidently in divine alignment with God. The revelatory and prophetic word of God is also given to the believer so they would know the present will of God and maintain divine alignment. Prayer and worship are given to the believer to hear God’s voice, follow his leading and exercise spiritual authority in heaven and in the earth so they can daily walk in divine alignment. Fellowship among believers was given to the believer to find support, encourage, affirmation and to hold one another accountable to the REAL truth that is found in God so collectively they may live in divine alignment.
What we can learn from Adam and Eve’s choice is that (as a rule) they didn’t take the time to appraise God’s blessings that kept them in divine alignment while weighing the serpent’s offer. If they had, Satan’s deception would have been immediately exposed to the light of God’s truth and they could have more easily placed the pressures bombarding them in right perspective. Adam and Eve underestimated the power of deception and its enticing pleasures and promises. Most importantly, they lost focus of the gift of God’s spirit that was already a part of them, giving them life and relationship with their creator and how the beauty of holiness (being set apart), kept them in a “godly disconnect” to the carnal knowledge and passions of good and evil.
Adam and Eve didn’t realize that the knowledge of good and evil was a knowledge they were originally created to live without! They didn’t realize that simply trusting in God’s plan for their life would be sufficient to keep them safe and able to fulfill every desire of their heart. This is the simple life mankind was created to live and until Satan and sin are completely destroyed, mankind will daily wrestle with the presence of sin. However, this time, we have Satan’s number and know exactly what his assignment is against the people of God. Now, as we pursue to live in the riches of God’s Kingdom, the tables of spiritual authority will be turned in our favor and mankind will rule in heaven and on earth through the wisdom, light, and power of God.
Scripture References: Genesis 3, John 10:10, Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Karen Gaithers-Life Discipleship 