PortalsGate

A FREE DOWNLOAD BOOK. THIS BOOK CHALLENGE AND TRANSFORM YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

EXCERPT OF CHAPTER TWO: THE TWO TREES: GOD’S SYMBOL OF GOVERNMENT.

According to Genesis 2:9, God planted two Trees in the middle of the Garden on the East Side of Eden at the beginning of time. The first was called The Tree of Life, while the second was known as The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. These two trees define God’s sovereign order and government in the garden as they relate to the leadership and priestly instruction of the first man on earth.

Adam had been forewarned that if he ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. However, he chose to disobey God’s instructions and instead listened to the lies of a serpent. As a consequence of his disobedience, Adam and his wife were faced with death. In this case, the death referred to was more of a spiritual death, which meant separation from God’s presence and life. It is imperative to note that this type of death is not something to be taken lightly.

Being separated from God means being devoid of His life and light. It was not just a suggestion or a scare tactic when God commanded Adam. Instead, it was an instruction that Adam was supposed to follow as a representative of God’s order on earth. No matter where such may have come from, Adam should not have entertained any other idea or suggestion. It is crucial to have this understanding as we lay the foundation for this next frontier of kingdom engagement under the hospices of the apostolic ecclesia of God.

As we seek to move from the position of death toward the full restoration and the operation of the life of God as the core behavioral nature and system in bringing the earth back to the place of reform and restoration, it must be very clear that God’s command must be adhered to. It must be our final habitat of knowledge, motivation, and decisions.

Genesis 2:15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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.”

Death means to operate from a place of ignorance, self-focus, vulnerability, and spiritual blindness. Death is to lose the sense of proper awareness of self-identity and to live within the context of neediness and never satisfied. Death is to become entrapped in fear, anxiety, and insecurity, even from those who have the best of our interests at heart. Death rolled the nature of the fallen human, even at the best of intellectual or material achievements.

The disobedient act of Adam and Eve, which introduced them to the nature of death, not only exposed what was in their hearts but also gave Satan the opportunity to gain the authority he needed to influence and shift the order of the earth towards his evil agenda. This continued until the Second Man, in the person of Christ, came to redeem and restore the earth to his Father’s ordained design order, which is for man to take charge of the earth.

Indeed, restoring man through the cross and the shed blood of Christ was the only way to redeem man by giving him the legitimate right and access to reclaim his lost position, rights, and authority over the earth. Some may ask why God told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which is his prerogative of knowledge and wisdom as God.

Because he is God, and at the same time, He is a Father who sets rules and boundaries, I think there is this subtle false teaching that because Adam was made in the Image and lankness of God, he has the exact authority and power as to do whatever he wishes. If this notion were true, God would not have given him rules and regulations regarding the Garden. We forget that Adam was a Son who needed to respect and obey the wisdom and desire of his Father.

Like any earthly parent, who is responsible for setting rules, orders, and boundaries for their children if they truly desire to see them correctly grow up as disciplined, well-cultured, and mature societal entities. In his wisdom, God exercised the same right and responsibility to set rules, order, and protocols in the Garden of Eden for Adam.

I believe that the argument or suggestion that the fruit of the Tree contains hidden knowledge, power, authority, or some unique wisdom God was preventing Adam and his wife from eating so they would not become like him in his immortal authority is so weak and flimsy. First of all, Adam and Eve were already created, given the image and likeness of God, which we know is not a pigmentation or some physical features. Sonship does not translate to God.

The best of Sonship is a bestowed authority to represent God, which is exactly what Jesus Christ came to demonstrate through uncompromised obedience. The spiritual figure of man reflects God’s image and likeness, displaying His nature of love and special attributes that elevate man above all other creations and beings, even Lucifer.

Secondly, God is all-knowing. He does not need to hide anything; he controls all things and circumstances, including the outcome of such events. In my opinion, the two Trees were planted to symbolize God’s universal authority and sovereignty for all of his creation, including Adam, Eve, and Satan, to see and respect as his boundary- It is the glory of God to conceal a matter.

When the man then chooses to disobey by eating from the fruit, the fruit of that knowledge becomes the judgment of man, which became the default operating order of all sons of Adam. This judgment produced a self-service thinking and interpretation of life and all that matters to humans.

This implies that the concept of the fruit of the Tree of Knowing Good and Evil became the mechanism of thinking, seeing, and judging everything, including how men relate and interact, even in matters of intimate relationships. The entire inner system of human life, whether as a man or woman, cascaded into a life of insecurity, selfishness, pride, and envy. The operation of pride, envy, and murder gained access into the human heart, as we saw with Cain, who killed his brother due to his loss of innocence and love.

Remember, however, that the Bible says God already placed his Spirit in man during his formation out of the ground; the [Spirit] breath of God in the first Adam had already allowed him certain attributes, knowledge, and power that gave him access to realms of insight, skill, and wisdom to know and do certain things beyond his human ability. For this reason, Lucifer plots to seize such knowledge and influence from Adam. My point here is that God did not take those initial abilities Adam had access to, even though they became corrupt as he continued to use them outside the will and purpose of God.

You see, it is not enough to have the power, authority, or even what many will often call the anointing; these abilities are not designed to function effectively outside God’s presence, will, and purpose. You and I need to maintain a close devotional relationship with the Lord for those anointings or powers to remain active and valid; at least, that is something I have learned in my journey with my heavenly Father.

When God gives you a gift or ability, it is an irrevocable gift that remains with you even if you sin. Some, however, take this for granted by thinking that they can continue to function in their gifts and anointing without repentance simply because they no longer feel guilty or believe that the grace of God is more than enough to cover their sinful actions. However, this is a dangerous belief as it often leads to spiritual blindness and complete disconnection from God, which, of course, leads to both spiritual and physical death.