Lesson 2

Posted on 29. Jan, 2021 by in Uncategorized

The Fall

There were two trees in the Garden of Eden that challenged the course of the entire human race-the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. Metaphorically, these same two “trees” continue to challenge us. When we become Christians these challenges do not end-they may well increase. Many times we will have to choose between the fruit of these trees. Between them lies the focal point of the dichotomy between the kingdom of God and the present evil age.

Worship

Worship takes our minds off our problems and focuses them on God. Worship leads us from individual meditation to corporate worship. Worship causes us to consider and appreciate God’s character. Worship lifts our perspective from the earthly to the heavenly.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit to teach ME and lead ME into all truth. give ME insight and understanding about THE fall of man. WHeN I finish THIS lesson, permanently seal the truths YOU haVE revealed TO ME in MY spirit and soul.

I PRAY THIS IN JESUS NAME

There Were Two Trees in The Garden

12 Min. video by Brad Small, Dream City Church

The Tree of Life & The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil

Theme Scripture

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground–trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 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.” GENESIS 2:8-17 NLT

Man and woman were created to be stewards of creation. Man represents to earth what God is to the Kingdom. He has dominion over creation. He is created in God’s image. Earth is a replica of the Kingdom. Man is king over the earth. What is true about God and the Kingdom should be true about man and the earth.

Genesis 2:7-9 describes life the way it was meant to be. Man became a living soul. His source was the spirit of life. His foundation was God. Adam and Eve could see in a way we cannot. The fruit on these trees was life and the knowledge of good and evil. They could see life; we cannot. They could see the physical and spiritual realities as one; they were one.

In Genesis 3:6 the Bible says the fruit was “pleasing to the eye.” That is the same phrase as what Moses saw at the burning bush. It is the sight of the material and the spiritual wrapped in one experience.

Genesis 3 reveals the problem Jesus came to solve. When they ate the fruit, they changed their source and their foundation. They exchanged life for knowledge. The life of God was exchanged for knowledge of good and evil. The foundation went from God to self. This changed their perception. They could no longer see the spiritual and material as one.

Because they disconnected from the source of life, they immediately felt profound emptiness and vulnerability. The question became “How do I feel alive?” Their first insight was the need for clothes.

This is the condition of humans today. The knowledge of evil lets me know something is wrong, but the knowledge of good can’t fix it. Satan attacks through good and evil. The knowledge of evil- you should have not done what you did. The knowledge of good- you need to try harder to do better.

Sin is death in us. Disconnected from our source. We try to return to the source through our own knowledge. All world religions do this. The solution is part of the problem. The knowledge of good (what I ought to do) is often the enemy of life.

The Solution.

The solution is Jesus Christ. We must return to our source of life. John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” Jesus is the source of life. Life will not be stopped. It flows through us. It is quantitative- you can have more or less of it. Where that life occurs is the Kingdom. When we are plugged back into the source we are in the Kingdom of God.

In Matthew 3:2, John says “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is near.” Repentance is the Greek word “metanoeo.” It means to “think differently afterwards.” This does not mean to change the content of what you are thinking; it means to change the process of the way you think. We change from thinking with knowledge of good and evil to think with our spirit and heart. The fruit of the new way of thinking is turning my life around (how we view repentance today).

The Kingdom of heaven is near- This is not a reference to time, it is a geographical reference. The Kingdom is within your reach. Jesus repeats the message in Matthew 4:17.

How do we see, because we want to see the way God sees. Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden along with the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve had a way of seeing that we do not. When they looked at reality they could see both the physical and the spiritual as one. Why? Because maybe they were one with God. Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breath of life, and man became a living being. What made Adam see in a special way was his source God.

The Adam and Eve fell they changed their source and their foundation in a moment. Up to that time the source of God flowed to them, in them, and thru them. God was the source of all their thoughts, emotions, perceptions, mind and will that went to them, in them and thru them. The Spirit of God was their perceptual mechanism that allowed them to see the fruit of the tree with both spiritual and physical eyes.

The knowledge of good and evil is not life. It put Adam and Eve’s soul in charge of all in-put and life. The knowledge of good and evil could never replace aliveness. God was taken out of Adams soul and replaced with knowledge, so Adam now had to figure out from his knowledge hoe to feel alive again. His knowledge of good showed him he had to cover up his shameful body and hide from God.

Our knowledge evil lets us know when something is wrong. But our knowledge of good is not sufficient to change it. The way we try to return to our source (God) is thru knowledge. The knowledge of good is often the enemy of Life.

One example is the woman at the well in John 4. The questions we ask: What knowledge of good should I follow? What knowledge of evil should I avoid? These are the questions she asks Jesus. His response: I can give you living water. In other words, It is not about your ability to follow; it is about Jesus’ power to give life. Her knowledge told her life was found in a relationship with a man. So Jesus tells her to go get her source. Jesus is not condemning her. Jesus wants to show her where her real source comes from.

Jesus states in John 10:10 “the thief does not come except to steal, Kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have LIFE, and that they may have it more abundantly”.

Humans look for source of life in all sorts of things. Jesus came to reveal those things as false and give us real life. It is not good enough to have knowledge of the source. We must plug into the source. Satan has a short time on this earth where he rules this earth. He tries to keep everyone in bondage to the knowledge of good and evil. The earth was in decline until the coming of Jesus. He introduced life into a world of knowledge. This is the source of spiritual warfare.

9 Min. video by Education For Eternity

Jesus restores what has always been there. He restores us to what we were created to be. We receive life and He gives life. This is the Kingdom. Plug into the source instead of knowledge about the source. Repent- change the way you see. Jesus came to do for you what you can’t do for yourself. He changes you from the inside out. He is the power of God to you, in you, and through you. He changes the way you see.

SOURCE:Notes from the “Freedom” teaching at Dream City Church

Satan did not tempt Eve with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge just because of the Lord’s prohibition. He tempted her with it because the source of his power was rooted in that tree. Further­ more, the Lord did not implement this restriction just to test Adam and Eve; He prohibited the eating of its fruit because He knew that it was poison. When He instructed Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, He did not say “If you eat from that tree I’m going to kill you” but “In the day that you eat from it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). It was not just man’s disobedience that brought death to the world; it was the fruit from this tree.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is a powerful biblical model of the Law. As the apostle Paul declared, “The power of sin is the law” (1Corinthians 15:56). This is because it is through the Law that we derive our knowledge of good and evil. We may wonder how this knowledge brings death until we see the fruit. The knowledge of good and evil kills us by distracting us from the One who is the source of life: the Tree of Life-Jesus. The Tree of Knowledge causes us to focus our attention upon ourselves. The Law empowers sin, not just because it causes the evil in us to be revealed, but also because it spawns self-righteous “good.” By driving us either to corruption or self-righteousness, the Law inevitably leads us to death.

It is significant that the Tree of Knowledge is found in the center of the garden (see Genesis 3:3). Self-centeredness is the chief malady with which it afflicts us. After Adam and Eve ate its fruit, their first response was self-inspection, or self-centeredness. Before eating they had not even noticed their nakedness; their attention was on the Lord and the purposes for which He had created them, not themselves. After eating, the good and evil which they now understood forced them to measure themselves by it. There is no easier way to keep us from the Tree of Life than to have us focus our attention upon ourselves. This is what the Law accomplishes. Because of this Paul called it “the ministry of death” and the “ministry of condemnation” (II Corinthians 3:7, 9).

When we define the Tree of Knowledge as the Law, we are not referring only to the Law of Moses. We often think of the Old Testament as the Law and the New Testament as Grace, but this is not necessarily true. The Old Covenant is the Letter; the New Covenant is the Spirit. If we read the New Testament with an Old Covenant heart, it will just be law to us. We’ll still have dead religion with righteousness that is based on compliance with written commandments instead of a living relationship with God, our Savior.

The Lord said that He was going to send His Spirit to lead us into all truth. All truth is in Jesus, of whom the Spirit was sent to testify (see Ephesians 4:21). The Bible is a most precious and wonderful gift from the Lord to His people. Even so, the Bible was not meant to take the place of the Lord Himself, nor the Spirit whom He sent. The Bible is a means, not an end. Knowing the book of the Lord is not our primary goal, but rather to know the Lord of the book. As wonderful a gift as the Bible is, it is not God. If it supplants the place of the Lord in our life it has only become an idol. Many fall into the idolatry of worshiping the things of God in place of God Himself. The reason for this can be found in the allegory of these two important trees that were in the Garden. We see in Genesis 2:9 that the Tree of Life was also in the center of the Garden. Which of these trees will be the center of our life is a choice that each of us must make.

The many errors and divisions within the body of Christ are not due to fault in the Bible, but our misuse of it. Some of the laws and principles we have wrested from the New Testament rival anything that the Pharisees did to the Old Testament! This has caused us to try to measure our spirituality by how well we conform to the letter. True spirituality is not found in adapting to a form, but by the forming of Jesus within us. We must all choose between partaking of the law and partaking of Christ, but we cannot have both. This central truth is discussed at length in the book of Galatians and many other New Testament texts. Yet it seems that the application of this truth to our lives is frequently missed. This has been the cause of many devastating conflicts between individual believers and between churches, denominations and movements.

The Letter Kills

It was for a good reason that the Lord instructed us to judge men by their fruit. A parrot can be taught to say and do the right things. Satan, likewise, often comes as “an angel of light,” brazenly proclaiming the Scriptures. His work will often impressively conform to the letter, but only Jesus can bring forth the fruit that is LIFE. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (II Corinthians 3:6). The serpent is still speaking from the midst of the Tree of Knowledge, compelling us to eat its fruit. We must learn to recognize this voice and reject it, regardless of how good the fruit on the tree looks.

One of the primary schemes of the devil is to turn the Bible into the Tree of Knowledge for us, instead of the Tree of Life. He is seeking to make it law to us rather than a revelation of Christ, in whom alone life is found. If we read the Scriptures by the Spirit they will testify of Jesus and will come to life. “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me” (John 5:39). The Spirit was sent to lead us to Him, in the Scriptures and in all aspects of our lives. Reading the Scriptures without the Spirit brings only the knowledge of good and evil, which actually brings death.

Satan can counterfeit form, but he can never counterfeit the Spirit’s fruit–which is Jesus, the Tree of Life. Man is able, to a certain degree for various self-centered and deceptive reasons, to change his outward behavior. Only the Spirit can change a man’s heart. Therefore, the Lord looks upon the hearts of men, and in them He is looking for the heart of His Son. The Lord is not just trying to get us to do certain things and not do others; He is trying to conform us to the image of Jesus.

The Lord’s first act of creation was to bring forth light. The very next thing He did was separate the light from darkness. There can be no cohabitation between light and darkness. When a person is re-created and born again, the Lord immediately begins to separate the light from the darkness in his life. Almost inevitably, usually in our zeal for Him, we try to take over this work and perform it by the only way we have ever known-through the knowledge of good and evil. This struggle between law and grace and between flesh and Spirit is the source of the inner discord afflicting most Christians. It is also the single greatest point of conflict between the truth that sets men free and the lies of the enemy that are meant to oppress them, bringing forth death rather than life.

On the third day of creation the Lord established a physical and spiritual law that was of critical importance. He ordered that trees would only bear fruit and produce seed after their own kind (see Genesis 1:11-12). The fruit of these two trees is to forever be separate and distinct, as the Lord Jesus also testified:“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit; nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:43-44). Paul further stated: “whatever a man sows, this he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). We cannot bring forth fruit that is life while we are partaking of the Tree of Knowledge. Likewise, if we are partaking of the Tree of Life we will not bring forth the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge–death. A tree can only produce fruit after its own kind.

Trees are sometimes symbolic of family lineages, which is where we derived the term “family tree.” As stated, these two trees in the Garden were, in a sense, a prophecy of the two lineages that would come forth in all of mankind. In order for Christ to come forth in man, His seed had to be sown in man. Likewise, in order for the “man of sin” to come forth in man, that seed also had to be sown in man. The fruit of a seed cannot be reaped unless it is first planted.

When Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge, they were destined to perpetuate the fruit of that tree; consequently, death spread to all their descendants. But God in His grace and mercy determined that He would redeem their mistake. He planted in man the seed that would again bring forth the Tree of Life in man-Jesus. Through Him true life would be restored to man. His seed is a spiritual seed, sown by the Holy Spirit. No flesh could beget Him, but all flesh could receive Him. The Lord promised the transgressing woman that a seed would come forth from her that would crush the head of the serpent that had deceived her (see Genesis 3: 15). In the first two sons born to the woman, we discern the seeds of each tree manifesting and starting to grow.

SOURCE: chapter 1 “There Were Two Trees In the Garden” by Rick Joyner, Morning Star Publication

9 Min. video by Education For Eternity

Satan’s Plan Against Us

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Genesis 3:1

Disguised as a shrewd serpent, Satan came to tempt Eve. At one time, Satan had been a glorious angel. But in pride, he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven. As a created being, Satan has definite limitations. Although he is trying to tempt everyone away from God, he will not be the final victor. In 3:14, 15, God promises that Satan will be crushed by one of the woman’s offspring, the Messiah.

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Genesis 3:2-5

Adam and Eve got what they wanted: an intimate knowledge of both good and evil. But they got it by doing evil, and the results were disastrous. Sometimes we have the illusion that freedom is doing anything we want. But God says that true freedom comes from obedience and knowing what not to do. The restrictions He gives us are for our good, helping us avoid evil. We have the freedom to walk in front of a speeding car, but we don’t need to be hit to realize it would be foolish to do so.

Don’t listen to Satan’s temptations. You don’t have to do evil to gain more experience and learn more about life.

Satan used a sincere motive to tempt Eve: “You will be like God.” It wasn’t wrong of Eve to want to be like God. To become more like God is humanity’s highest goal. It is what we are supposed to do. But Satan misled Eve concerning the right way to accomplish this goal. He told her that she could become more like God by defying God’s authority, by taking God’s place and deciding for herself what was best for her life. In effect, he told her to become her own god.

But to become like God is not the same as trying to become God. Rather, it is to reflect His characteristics and to recognize His authority over your life. Like Eve, we often have a worthy goal but try to achieve it in the wrong way. We act like a political candidate who pays off an election judge to be “voted” into office. When he does this, serving the people is no longer his highest goal.

Self-exaltation leads to rebellion against God. As soon as we begin to leave God out of our plans, we are placing ourselves above Him. This is exactly what Satan wants us to do.

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Genesis 3:6-7

Why does Satan tempt us? Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give in to his kind of life and give up on God’s kind of life. Satan tempted Eve and succeeded in getting her to sin. Ever since then, he’s been busy getting people to sin. He even tempted Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). But Jesus did not sin!

How could Eve have resisted temptation? By following the same guidelines we can follow. First, we must realize that being tempted is not a sin. We have not sinned until we give in to the temptation. Then, to resist temptation, we must:

  • 1. Pray for strength to resist.
  • 2. Run, sometimes literally.
  • 3. Say no when confronted with what we know is wrong. James 1:12 tells of the blessings and rewards for those who don’t give in when tempted.

The serpent, Satan, tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God’s goodness. He implied that God was strict, stingy, and selfish for not wanting Eve to share his knowledge of good and evil. Satan made Eve forget all that God had given her and, instead, focus on what God had forbidden. We fall into trouble, too, when we dwell on what God forbids rather than on the countless blessings and promises God has given us. The next time you are feeling sorry for yourself and what you don’t have, consider all you do have and thank God. Then your doubts won’t lead you into sin.

Satan tried to make Eve think that sin is good, pleasant, and desirable. A knowledge of both good and evil seemed harmless to her. People usually choose wrong things because they have become convinced that those things are good, at least for themselves. Our sins do not always appear ugly to us, and the pleasant sins are the hardest to avoid. So prepare yourself for the attractive temptations that may come your way. We cannot always prevent temptation, but there is always a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Use God’s Word and God’s people to help you stand against it.

Notice what Eve did: She looked, she took, she ate, and she gave. The battle is often lost at the first look. Temptation often begins by simply seeing something you want. Are you struggling with temptation because you have not learned that looking is the first step toward sin? You would win over temptation more often if you followed Paul’s advice to run from those things that produce evil thoughts (2 Timothy 2:22).

One of the realities of sin is that its effects spread. After Eve sinned, she involved Adam in her wrongdoing. When we do something wrong, often we try to relieve our guilt by involving someone else. Like toxic waste spilled in a river, sin swiftly spreads. Recognize and confess your sin to God before you are tempted to pollute those around you.

8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” ≈ Genesis 3:6-7

After sinning, Adam and Eve felt guilt and embarrassment over their nakedness. Their guilty feelings made them try to hide from God. A guilty conscience is a warning signal God placed inside you that goes off when you’ve done wrong. The worst step you can take is to eliminate the guilty feelings without eliminating the cause. That would be like using a painkiller but not treating the disease. Be glad those guilty feelings are there. They make you aware of your sin so you can ask God’s forgiveness and then correct your wrongdoing.

The thought of two humans covered with fig leaves trying to hide from the all-seeing, all-knowing God is humorous. How could they be so silly as to think they could actually hide? Yet we do the same, acting as though God doesn’t know what we’re doing. Have the courage to share all you do and think with him. And don’t try to hide—it can’t be done. Honesty will strengthen your relationship with God.

These verses (Gen.3:8-9) show God’s desire to have fellowship with us. They also show why we are afraid to have fellowship with Him. Adam and Eve hid from God when they heard Him approaching. God wanted to be with them, but because of their sin, they were afraid to show themselves. Sin had broken their close relationship with God, just as it has broken ours. But Jesus Christ, God’s Son, opens the way for us to renew our fellowship with Him. God longs to be with us. He actively offers us His unconditional love. Our natural response is fear because we feel we can’t live up to His standards. But understanding that He loves us, regardless of our faults, can help remove that dread.

10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” ≈ Genesis 3:6-7

Adam and Eve failed to heed God’s warning recorded in 2:16,17. They did not understand the reasons for His command, so they chose to act in another way that looked better to them. All of God’s commands are for our own good, but we may not always understand the reasons behind them. People who trust God will obey because God asks them to, whether or not they understand why God commands it.

When God asked Adam about his sin, Adam blamed Eve. Then Eve blamed the serpent. How easy it is to excuse our sins by blaming someone else or circumstances. But God knows the truth, and He holds each of us responsible for what we do (see Gen. 3:14-19). Admit your wrong attitudes and actions and apologize to God. Don’t try to get away with sin by blaming someone else.

14 Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. Genesis 3:14

Adam and Eve chose their course of action (disobedience), and then God chose His. As a holy God, He could respond only in a way consistent with His perfect moral nature. He could not allow sin to go unchecked; He had to punish it. If the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin seem extreme, remember that their sin set in motion the world’s tendency toward disobeying God. That is why we sin today: Every human being ever born, with the exception of Jesus, has inherited the sinful nature of Adam and Eve (Romans 5:12-21). Adam and Eve’s punishment reflects how seriously God views sin of any kind.

15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.” Genesis 3:15

Satan is our enemy. He will do anything he can to get us to follow his evil, deadly path. The phrase “you will strike His heel” refers to Satan’s repeated attempts to defeat Christ during His life on earth. “He will strike your head” foreshadows Satan’s defeat when Christ rose from the dead. A strike on the heel is not deadly, but a blow to the head is. Already God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Satan’s Plan Against Us

Doubt Makes you question God’s Word and his goodness.

Discouragement Makes you look at your problems rather than at God.

Diversion Makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will want them more than the right things.

Defeat Makes you feel like a failure so that you don’t even try.

Delay Makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done.

16 Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” 17 And to the man He said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:16-19

Adam and Eve learned by painful experience that because God is holy and hates sin, He must punish sinners. The rest of the book of Genesis recounts painful stories of lives ruined as a result of the Fall. Disobedience is sin, and it breaks our fellowship with God. But, fortunately, when we disobey, God is willing to forgive us and to restore our relationship with Him.

Adam and Eve’s disobedience and fall from God’s gracious presence affected all creation, including the environment. Years ago people thought nothing of polluting streams with chemical wastes and garbage. This seemed so insignificant, so small. Now we know that just two or three parts per million of certain chemicals can damage human health. Sin in our lives is similar to pollution in streams. Even small amounts are deadly.

20 Then the man Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. 21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like Us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and He sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And He placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:20-24

Life in the Garden of Eden was like living in heaven. Everything was perfect, and if Adam and Eve had obeyed God, they could have lived there forever. But after disobeying, Adam and Eve no longer deserved paradise, and God told them to leave. If they had continued to live in the garden and eat from the tree of life, they would have lived forever. But eternal life in a state of sin would mean forever trying to hide from God. Like Adam and Eve, all of us have sinned and are separated from fellowship with God. We do not have to stay separated, however. God is preparing a new earth as an eternal paradise for His people (see Revelation 21).

5 Min. video by Education For Eternity

This is how Adam and Eve broke their relationship with God: (1) They became convinced their way was better than God’s; (2) they became self-conscious and hid; (3) they tried to excuse and defend themselves. To build a relationship with God we must reverse those steps: (1) We must drop our excuses and self-defenses; (2) we must stop trying to hide from God; (3) we must become convinced that God’s way is better than our way.

SOURCE: Life Application Study Bible Notes.

The Beginning of All Conflict Between Men

Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the LORD’s help, I have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the LORD. Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The LORD accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him. Genesis 4:1-8 NLT2

The ultimate conflict of man is the one that began with the first two brothers, and this began with the sacrifice. Cain brought the fruit of his own works, and Abel brought the blood from the sacrifice of the lamb. This remains the point of all the conflict that has unfolded, and that will soon culminate in the last battle.

“No man can see Jesus and not be drawn to Him, unless they are the sons of perdition that the enemy has completely taken over. There are many like this who will also be revealed. Those will only hate Jesus more, the more they see Him. Is that not how they reacted to Jesus when He walked the earth?

“The immature believe that if those who oppose could just see a miracle they would come to the Lord. The greater the works that Jesus did the more those who served evil hated Him. Before the nations come to the light they must see the conflict between the light and the darkness once again.”

“I had to stand against great evil in my time. The great evil in my time was built on religious zeal. The false prophets and teachers would cut themselves, beat themselves, and even sacrifice their own children out of zeal for the gods they served. These are the ones who think that God will only answer them when they have sacrificed enough. You are just beginning to face the same perverted religious zeal in your times. You must face it with the truth that God’s own sacrifice was enough, and He will answer us because of His sacrifice, not ours. “The harvest that is the end of this age is the time when all the seeds that have been sown come to full maturity. All that has been sown in man will now mature.

“You must do the same in your time that I did in my time—you must confront the false religions, the false worship, and all that is based on the works, sacrifices, and self-righteousness of men. You must confront it by standing on the works of God. The cross is your message. It is the banner that those who serve the Lord, and not just themselves, will gather under.”

“I have seen how self-sacrifice can lead to self-righteousness. I have watched it turn devoted followers of the Lord into those who cause divisions and oppose the Holy Spirit,”.

“Those who use religion for personal gain or position will be of special use to the enemy. There are those in high positions in religious institutions who love God, but it is a rare soul that can keep from being corrupted by religious systems. There is no greater transgression or corruption of heart than to use the things of God to draw worship or devotion to yourself. This was how Satan’s fall began, and it continues to be what causes the most destructive falls of all—the fall from a high position. The higher you are when you fall the more people that will be hurt by it. When you think that this cannot happen to you, then you are in the most danger.

“To guard your heart against this you must understand the message of Enoch. Those who are walking with God, who are seeing His glory, cannot bear the thought of doing something so profane as using the things of God to draw attention to themselves. Self-promotion is not possible for those who ‘are not,’ because they have lost themselves in Him. Self-promotion reveals a basic delusion. It would be like the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem thinking all the adulation was for it.

The same is true of churches, ministries, or any religious institution that builds on self-promotion for advancement. Those that have been built on self-promotion rather then the Holy Spirit will be some of the most deadly enemies of the truth in these times. Such advancement is opposite of the way of true discipleship and the way of the cross.

From the book THE PATH by Rick Joyner

6 Min. video by Education For Eternity

THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF SATAN

by Brad Small

Satan is a fallen angel– (Ezekiel 28:11-19). Double meaning. The King of Tyre is Satan. Verse 13 – Satan was created by God. Satan was the greatest of the heavenly hosts, the most beautiful of all created beings. He was the guardian cherub. All creatures were created to give glory to God, but Satan wanted the glory for himself. Pride led to his fall. As a created being Satan is under God’s authority. He is in rebellion and has been defeated. See also Isaiah 14:12-15.

Questions (15 questions in Lesson 2)

  • 1. Why is it important for us to understand Satan’s origin?

Satan is a liar – John 8:44. Satan is a liar and the father of lies. That is his nature and his tool to entrap us. He is the deceiver. What does this reveal to us about spiritual warfare?

Satan is the prince of this world – Ephesians 2:2. He is the ruler of the Kingdom of the air. The ruler of the disobedient. They are biblically the “world.” See also Luke 4:6.

  • 2. In what way is Satan the ruler of this world?
  • 3. Why is the world given to him?

Satan is crafty – Genesis 3:1.

The Scene in the Garden

The temptation – Genesis 3:1-6.

Satan deceives Eve. “Did God really say…” Satan planted doubt in her mind. Doubt God’s word, His promises, His protection, and His provision. Satan is the master of the half truth/half lie. Satan was right: their eyes would be opened, but he lied to them because they would die as a result of their choice. He is the master deceiver.

 

Satan appeals to her desires. Luke 4:1-11 1John 2:16
1. Good for food “turn stones into bread” lust of the flesh
2. Pleasing to the eye showed him all the kingdoms lust of the eye
3. Desirable for wisdom “jump off the temple pride of life

 

  • 4. How do you see those three desires being propagated in our culture today?

The sin – Genesis 3:7-13.

They lost their innocence. Their eyes were opened; opened to good and evil. They realized they were naked. They could have innocence and life or knowledge and death. They chose the latter. Read Gen. 3:22-24.

They lost their fellowship with God. There was a physical and spiritual separation. Notice God called to them, “Where are you?” God knew; He did It for their benefit.

“I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Sin always leads to fear and hiding.

  • 5. Why do we hide when we sin?

They lost their unity with each other. They blamed each other. Man blamed woman ; woman blamed Satan. Unity and oneness between them was now broken.

  • 6. In what ways does Satan break relationships today?

The consequences – Genesis 3:14-24.

For Satan – cursed to defeat. This is the first reference to the cross. Satan can only bruise, he can not crush. The victory was one from the beginning of the world. “He will crush your head.”

For Eve – suffer in childbirth; suffer in marriage. The unity of marriage is broken. Marriage will now be hard. Her consequence is tied to her security.

For Adam – suffer in work. Work will be hard. God held Adam accountable. Both must now leave the garden and die. Eden represents heaven. Fellowship is broken with God. His consequence is tied to significance.

Lessons From the Fall

Understand how Satan operates.

Satan is a liar. That is his tool for trapping us. He knows the Bible very well. He is a master at the half truth/half lie. If we don’t know truth well, we will be deceived.

  • 7. Explain how Satan uses deception to tempt you?

Satan manipulates our desires. He delivers pleasure up front followed by pain and destruction.

  • 8. What does it mean that Satan delivers up front?

Satan uses two weapons to fight his war against us. He uses the lie to tempt. Then when we sin, he becomes the accuser. He tries to tie our sin to our identity.

  • 9. Why does he try to tie our sin to our identity?

Satan has a plan for your life – total destruction. Suicide.

  • 10. Do you believe this?

Understand how we respond to sin.

Hide. We deny, minimize, and rationalize. We run.

Blame. God’s answer: admit, confess. Counter intuitive to flesh.

  • 11. Describe the cycle of hide and blame.

Understand how God responds to us.

Where are you? He comes looking for us ready to forgive and restore. Luke 15. God is not codependent. He has our best interest at heart. He uses consequences to grow us.

  • 12. Why is it important to understand that God is looking for us long before we look for Him?

Understand how to fight the battle.

The word of God. The truth sets us free. It identifies the lies of the evil one. Jesus quoted scripture to fight off temptation.

  • 13. How can we use scripture to fight temptation?

Prayer. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Community. Other believers that can walk faith with us.

  • 14. How can we use community to help us win the battle of temptation?

Battle is won or lost in the mind – Romans 12:1-2.

  • 15. Why is battle won or lost in the mind?

SOURCE: Brad Small, EMBARK Ministries

Reality Of Demons Or Unclean Spirits

The subject of demons is very real according to the Bible. The word demon is not found in Scripture, but it means evil spirit or devil. The word devil is used of Satan, the prince of demons (Matt. 9:34; 12:24). He is the chief evil spirit and the original source of evil in the universe. The Greek word for devil used in collection with Satan is diabolos, meaning adversary, false accuser, slanderer. It is translated “false accuser” and “slanderer” and is used of men in 1 Tim. 3:11; 2 Tim. 3:3; Titus 2:3. It is translated devil once when applied to Judas when he became an adversary of Christ (John 6:70). In thirty-four other places it is used of Satan as the chief adversary of God and man and is translated devil.

Only One Devil (Satan), but Many Demons

In the other seventy-six places where the words devil and devils are found, they refer to evil spirits or demons and the word is derived from two different Greek words diamonion and diamon, meaning evil spirits, devils, or adversaries of God and man. There is only one chief devil but there are many demons. The devil (Satan) has an angelic body and cannot enter bodily into anyone, but demons are disembodied spirits and do not seem to be able to operate in the material world except through possession of men and beasts who have bodies for them to operate through.

Summary of the Doctrine of Evil and Suffering

The origin of evil and suffering. Evil refers to anyone or anything that disrupts the harmony and unity of God’s good creation. Suffering refers to negative experiences that human beings interpret as evil. Understood in light of divine providence, suffering may not always be evil.

God is ultimately responsible for everything that happens in the world. God allows Satan to cause some evil and suffering, but Satan is not equal to God in power or authority. God allows human beings to misuse their freedom, causing some evil and suffering. The physical world is good as created by God, but disturbances in nature can produce human suffering.

Types of evil and suffering. The Bible distinguishes several types of evil and suffering. When God punishes sinners, suffering is deserved. Some suffering is innocent, a testing of the believer’s faith. God may allow Satan or human beings to be the direct causes of this type of suffering as in Job’s experience. Some suffering is innocent and redemptive. Jesus suffered vicariously for the sins of others.

God’s relation to evil and suffering. God punishes sinners. The suffering may occur in this life or after death. The suffering may be the direct action of God or the apparently natural consequence of an action. The Bible generally stresses individual responsibility for sins, but some passages highlight the social dimension of sin and punishment. Not all suffering can be explained as punishment for sin (Job; Eccl; Lk 13:1-5; Jn 9:1-5).

Providence is God’s guidance of history and nature according to His redemptive purpose. Evil is contrary to His will, but God can bring ultimate good out of temporary evil (Ge 50:20; Ro 8:28).

God is compassionate, identifying with human suffering. Like a parent, He grieves over the sinfulness of His children.

God responds to human suffering with both present and future help. In the present God may eliminate the suffering or provide divine strength and encouragement in the midst of the suffering (2 Co 12:7-10). In the future God will eliminate suffering for the righteous.

The Christian response to evil and suffering. Depending on the type of suffering, Christians should respond in various ways. If the suffering is punishment for sins, the sufferer should repent.

If suffering is a testing of faith or redemptive, Christians should endure it as part of the cost of commitment and rejoice. Christians should not retaliate against injustice or seek revenge.

Christians can express compassion and comfort to suffering people. Compassion is identification with the sufferer. Comfort includes anything that will help strengthen the sufferer, such as prayer and humanitarian actions.

Christians should be humble in relation to evil and suffering because human knowledge is limited in this life.

SUMMARY OF KEY LESSON TRUTHS LEARNED IN LESSON 2

  • Satan did not tempt Eve with the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge just because of the Lord’s prohibition. He tempted her with it because the source of his power was rooted in that tree.
  • The One who is the source of life: the Tree of Life-Jesus.
  • Knowing the book of the Lord is not our primary goal, but rather to know the Lord of the book.
  • True spirituality is not found in adapting to a form, but by the forming of Jesus within us.
  • One of the primary schemes of the devil is to turn the Bible into the Tree of Knowledge for us, instead of the Tree of Life.
  • The Lord looks upon the hearts of men, and in them He is looking for the heart of His Son.
  • We cannot bring forth fruit that is life while we are partaking of the Tree of Knowledge. Likewise, if we are partaking of the Tree of Life we will not bring forth the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge–death. A tree can only produce fruit after its own kind.
  • At one time, Satan had been a glorious angel. But in pride, he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven.
  • Self-exaltation leads to rebellion against God. As soon as we begin to leave God out of our plans, we are placing ourselves above Him.
  • Why does Satan tempt us? Temptation is Satan’s invitation to give in to his kind of life and give up on God’s kind of life.
  • Notice what Eve did: She looked, she took, she ate, and she gave. The battle is often lost at the first look.
  • How easy it is to excuse our sins by blaming someone else or circumstances. But God knows the truth, and He holds each of us responsible for what we do.
  • Satan is our enemy. He will do anything he can to get us to follow his evil, deadly path.
  • Satan is a liar. That is his tool for trapping us. He knows the Bible very well. He is a master at the half truth/half lie. If we don’t know truth well, we will be deceived.

Homework (Continued)

SELECT ONE OR MORE OF THE ABOVE TRUTHS AND WRITE 1 PARAGRAPH ON HOW YOU WILL APPLY THIS TRUTH OR TRUTHS IN YOUR SERVICE AS A CHAPLAIN.

PRAYER (speak out loud on my knees)

Thank you Father, for teaching me how the knowledge of good and evil is me believing that what I know and do will bring me closer to you (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), rather the truth of believing on having an intimate relationship with Jesus is the way back to you Father (the tree of life). Jesus stated in John 14: 6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except thru Me.”

Father you are compassionate, identifying with my suffering and like a parent, you grieve over my sinfulness. Which I ask for your forgiveness. I praise you who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts me. Jesus, you comfort me in all my troubles so I can comfort others. Thank you.

I pray this in Jesus name.

CONFESSION (speak out loud on my knees)

I confess that that evil is contrary to your will Father, and that you bring ultimate good out of temporary evil. I will no longer copy the behavior and customs of this world (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil), but let Jesus (the tree of life) transform me into a new person by changing the way I think. Then I will learn to know Your will for me, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You are the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the source of every mercy and is the one God who comforts me in all my troubles so I can comfort others.

I declare this by faith in Jesus name.

THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE FOR YOU TO MEDITATE ON FOR 15 MINUTES

  1. When did you first believe that there is the reality of demons or unclean spirits in the world we live in?
  2. How did the compete understanding of the nature and power of the tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil effect you? Did you discovered what actually happened in the Garden to Adam and Eve? Explain.
  3. How do you view and explain what sin is?

Continue To Lesson 3

Comments are closed.