Post by Zac Loh on Dec 8, 2006 9:06:15 GMT -5
There were two times in history when there were two paramount significant trees together. On the first time, in the Garden of Eden. And, the second time, in the City of Jerusalem.
Eden: The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil and The Tree Of Life
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:7-11)
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)
Why does God allow us to be tested? Why does God allow the devil to have his way? Why didn’t He prevent Adam from sinning? Why did He put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there? If He knew Adam would sin, why is it Adam’s fault?
The Bible says that Jesus Christ was preordained before the foundation of the world - to manifest Himself, and appear in this world, in order to redeem us (1 Peter 1:17-20). It means that God knew that people would need His forgiveness; and would need to be saved from their sin; and that Jesus would be the Savior.
The devil is God’s enemy. He can only operate within the parameter which God has given him. God is actually using the devil to test us. And the devil gratifies to the fact that he can take many people with him, to hell. He knew for a fact that he can’t change his own destiny, which is hell.
If God is the God of love, why would He allow men to perish in hell? The fundamental thing is that we can’t question God. He is the sovereign God.
Isn’t it terrible that we become chess pieces for two players i.e. God and the devil?
God is looking for a relationship. And you can’t have a real relationship with someone who can’t exercise freewill, who is like a robot. Without the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there wouldn’t be any possibility of sin, therefore, no opportunity to exercise freewill – either to love God or disobey God.
In the end, we will be a people who are tired and tested. When we enter into eternity in heaven, we are a proven people, that we really do love God.
Is it fair? It will be unfair to those who choose to go to hell. To those who paid the price to heaven, it will be fair. The ticket to heaven is free. But the bus ride isn’t.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Love can’t be love without challenges. Love is tested by sacrifice like gold is refined by fire. God is not egoistical. God is love. He planned for everyone to go to heaven. Hell was His back-up plan. Hell was His last choice. But not everyone will believe. Not everyone will be willing to pay the price.
We are confronted with the choice of two trees, just as Adam was.
Because of Adam, we have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - within our soul.
What is this tree of the knowledge of good and evil all about?
It is the self within us. It is the separation between God and us, because we want to be our own god. We want to decide what is good and evil for ourselves independent of God. We want to be our own gods by having this self-determination. We want to have nothing to do with the real God. Even in religious matters, we acknowledge the existence of God, but we want our own image and picture of Him. We want to come to `this God’ by our own terms, methods and conditions.
We acquire knowledge since day one. We are exposed to this world through our surroundings, people, relationships, experiences, media and education. Our motive has always been to decide our own destiny; to act for own interest and for our self-preservation. We always want a self-made decision based on what we think is good and evil.
The world is in disarray because of the separation from the real God. There can’t be two divinities. There is no room for two. It’s either the real God or us.
Is your personal world in disarray because you’ve been handling things - wanting to be your own god, instead of letting the real God be God?
When we believed in Jesus Christ and repented from our way of living in this world (which is called sin); the Spirit of Christ entered us. From that moment on, we have two trees co-existing within us. We have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from the moment we were born into this world. And we have the tree of life, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of life, the Holy Spirit – from the moment we were spiritually `born again’ when we believed in Jesus Christ.
Freedom is when we have a choice to choose.
Daily, we face a decision, whether to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil OR to eat of the fruit of the tree of life.
God said that in the day that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is eaten, we would die. But Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years (much longer than anyone I know!). Well, the truth is, Adam could have lived into eternity. Nine hundred and thirty years would’ve been short.
Separation from God means death. Even the earth is heading for doom because men chose to deny God and rejected God. With the global warming and so on, how long will this earth last?
What is physical will gradually follow what is spiritual. This world is experiencing physical death because there is spiritual death. The one thing that is still delaying the ultimate destruction is the existence of genuine praying believers of Christ – so that others could be saved from the eventual ultimate living death in hell (which will be much worse than being a zombie!).
As we choose to flow, to comply, with our natural sinful self, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rather than the tree of life; we will experience death.
Not the ultimate spiritual death in hell, but still, we will experience spiritual death upon us. As we continue in that, this spiritual death will take root in us, and grow. The deception, of course, is that we may not feel it at the moment. And so, we prolong it – which will finally result in the ultimate spiritual death in hell.
Again, freedom is having the choice to choose. We can choose to submit and surrender to the Christ, and experiencing spiritual life everlasting is us, that will culminate in heaven.
The eyes of Adam and Eve were opened because the glory of God upon them had left. From God-conscious, they became self-conscious. Instead of trusting God wholly, a self-preserving nature took over.
God prevented everyone from entering into the garden and eat of the tree of life (Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden). It was more of a symbolic act to point the way towards Jesus, the ultimate tree of life, who would be coming then to earth.
Today, we already have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in us, even before we received Christ.
One tree will have to die. I pray that you will choose the tree of life, and live. I pray that you will deny, and render, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, dead, so that you will live.
Jerusalem: The Cross (The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil) and Jesus Christ (The Tree Of Life)
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. (Acts 10:39)
When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, there was an existence of two significant trees, together.
But the power of the tree of the cross (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) was nullified because Jesus (the tree of life) triumphed – He rose from the death!
When Jesus was nailed, something happened, power was transferred. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, no longer, has sole exclusive power over humanity. The power of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil can be broken when we have Jesus, the tree of life in us. The power of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is broken when we undergo a personal nailing experience. It must be done on a daily basis. What happened about two thousand years ago at Jerusalem can happen to us now!
There are five ways, of which, we can have victory. And they are all by faith.
The scriptures below are taken from the book of Romans chapter six. In a broad stroke, we can say that the book of Romans from chapters one to eight is about faith. Romans chapters one to five is about faith to be justified. And Romans chapters six to eight is about faith to overcome.
1. FAITH IN UNITING (IDENTIFYING) With What Christ Had Done For Us
Read Romans 6: 3-6, 9-10.
2. FAITH IN RECKONING (AFFIRMING) That It Is Already Done In Our Lives
It is a deliberate faith.
Read Romans 6: 7-8, 11, 14-15.
3. FAITH IN LIVING It Out
Go through the day drawing from the result of what Christ had ALREADY done for us.
Read Romans 6: 1-2, 12-13.
4. FAITH IN SACRIFICING In Order To Maintain And Grow
Read Romans 6: 16-19.
5. FAITH IN BLESSING
Read Romans 6: 20-23.
Anything that is within human reason is logic. There is a time when logic ends and miracle begins!
Eden: The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil and The Tree Of Life
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:7-11)
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)
Why does God allow us to be tested? Why does God allow the devil to have his way? Why didn’t He prevent Adam from sinning? Why did He put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there? If He knew Adam would sin, why is it Adam’s fault?
The Bible says that Jesus Christ was preordained before the foundation of the world - to manifest Himself, and appear in this world, in order to redeem us (1 Peter 1:17-20). It means that God knew that people would need His forgiveness; and would need to be saved from their sin; and that Jesus would be the Savior.
The devil is God’s enemy. He can only operate within the parameter which God has given him. God is actually using the devil to test us. And the devil gratifies to the fact that he can take many people with him, to hell. He knew for a fact that he can’t change his own destiny, which is hell.
If God is the God of love, why would He allow men to perish in hell? The fundamental thing is that we can’t question God. He is the sovereign God.
Isn’t it terrible that we become chess pieces for two players i.e. God and the devil?
God is looking for a relationship. And you can’t have a real relationship with someone who can’t exercise freewill, who is like a robot. Without the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there wouldn’t be any possibility of sin, therefore, no opportunity to exercise freewill – either to love God or disobey God.
In the end, we will be a people who are tired and tested. When we enter into eternity in heaven, we are a proven people, that we really do love God.
Is it fair? It will be unfair to those who choose to go to hell. To those who paid the price to heaven, it will be fair. The ticket to heaven is free. But the bus ride isn’t.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
Love can’t be love without challenges. Love is tested by sacrifice like gold is refined by fire. God is not egoistical. God is love. He planned for everyone to go to heaven. Hell was His back-up plan. Hell was His last choice. But not everyone will believe. Not everyone will be willing to pay the price.
We are confronted with the choice of two trees, just as Adam was.
Because of Adam, we have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - within our soul.
What is this tree of the knowledge of good and evil all about?
It is the self within us. It is the separation between God and us, because we want to be our own god. We want to decide what is good and evil for ourselves independent of God. We want to be our own gods by having this self-determination. We want to have nothing to do with the real God. Even in religious matters, we acknowledge the existence of God, but we want our own image and picture of Him. We want to come to `this God’ by our own terms, methods and conditions.
We acquire knowledge since day one. We are exposed to this world through our surroundings, people, relationships, experiences, media and education. Our motive has always been to decide our own destiny; to act for own interest and for our self-preservation. We always want a self-made decision based on what we think is good and evil.
The world is in disarray because of the separation from the real God. There can’t be two divinities. There is no room for two. It’s either the real God or us.
Is your personal world in disarray because you’ve been handling things - wanting to be your own god, instead of letting the real God be God?
When we believed in Jesus Christ and repented from our way of living in this world (which is called sin); the Spirit of Christ entered us. From that moment on, we have two trees co-existing within us. We have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from the moment we were born into this world. And we have the tree of life, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of life, the Holy Spirit – from the moment we were spiritually `born again’ when we believed in Jesus Christ.
Freedom is when we have a choice to choose.
Daily, we face a decision, whether to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil OR to eat of the fruit of the tree of life.
God said that in the day that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is eaten, we would die. But Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years (much longer than anyone I know!). Well, the truth is, Adam could have lived into eternity. Nine hundred and thirty years would’ve been short.
Separation from God means death. Even the earth is heading for doom because men chose to deny God and rejected God. With the global warming and so on, how long will this earth last?
What is physical will gradually follow what is spiritual. This world is experiencing physical death because there is spiritual death. The one thing that is still delaying the ultimate destruction is the existence of genuine praying believers of Christ – so that others could be saved from the eventual ultimate living death in hell (which will be much worse than being a zombie!).
As we choose to flow, to comply, with our natural sinful self, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, rather than the tree of life; we will experience death.
Not the ultimate spiritual death in hell, but still, we will experience spiritual death upon us. As we continue in that, this spiritual death will take root in us, and grow. The deception, of course, is that we may not feel it at the moment. And so, we prolong it – which will finally result in the ultimate spiritual death in hell.
Again, freedom is having the choice to choose. We can choose to submit and surrender to the Christ, and experiencing spiritual life everlasting is us, that will culminate in heaven.
The eyes of Adam and Eve were opened because the glory of God upon them had left. From God-conscious, they became self-conscious. Instead of trusting God wholly, a self-preserving nature took over.
God prevented everyone from entering into the garden and eat of the tree of life (Adam and Eve were exiled from the garden). It was more of a symbolic act to point the way towards Jesus, the ultimate tree of life, who would be coming then to earth.
Today, we already have the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in us, even before we received Christ.
One tree will have to die. I pray that you will choose the tree of life, and live. I pray that you will deny, and render, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, dead, so that you will live.
Jerusalem: The Cross (The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil) and Jesus Christ (The Tree Of Life)
And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. (Acts 10:39)
When Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, there was an existence of two significant trees, together.
But the power of the tree of the cross (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) was nullified because Jesus (the tree of life) triumphed – He rose from the death!
When Jesus was nailed, something happened, power was transferred. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, no longer, has sole exclusive power over humanity. The power of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil can be broken when we have Jesus, the tree of life in us. The power of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is broken when we undergo a personal nailing experience. It must be done on a daily basis. What happened about two thousand years ago at Jerusalem can happen to us now!
There are five ways, of which, we can have victory. And they are all by faith.
The scriptures below are taken from the book of Romans chapter six. In a broad stroke, we can say that the book of Romans from chapters one to eight is about faith. Romans chapters one to five is about faith to be justified. And Romans chapters six to eight is about faith to overcome.
1. FAITH IN UNITING (IDENTIFYING) With What Christ Had Done For Us
Read Romans 6: 3-6, 9-10.
2. FAITH IN RECKONING (AFFIRMING) That It Is Already Done In Our Lives
It is a deliberate faith.
Read Romans 6: 7-8, 11, 14-15.
3. FAITH IN LIVING It Out
Go through the day drawing from the result of what Christ had ALREADY done for us.
Read Romans 6: 1-2, 12-13.
4. FAITH IN SACRIFICING In Order To Maintain And Grow
Read Romans 6: 16-19.
5. FAITH IN BLESSING
Read Romans 6: 20-23.
Anything that is within human reason is logic. There is a time when logic ends and miracle begins!