Are We Back in the Garden? Part 8
October 31, 2004
Dear Friends,
As we introduced our picture last week, we showed over the Tree of Life a superimposed picture of Jesus on the cross. Over the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, we superimposed a picture of a brain representing the mind of the flesh.
What we hope to represent in these pictures is the concept of Romans 8. As we suggested a few weeks ago, the book of Romans is peppered with references to the Garden and is leading us along to its marvelous conclusion. The marvelous conclusion is verse one of chapter eight. The chapter begins with the phrase “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” This we suggest is but other wording for our metaphorically being back in the Garden. Adam sinned, was condemned and was cast from the Garden (which was explored by Paul in the earlier chapters). Here he tells us emphatically that we no longer stand condemned, but are reconciled to God in Christ. If Adam was condemned and cast from the Garden, does it not stand to reason that when the condemnation is removed we are brought back into the Garden?
Once we are back in the Garden, like Adam, we have our choice of trees from which to eat. Romans 8 continues: “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (5,6) To be carnally minded after our condemnation has been taken away is to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. To be spiritually minded is to eat of the Tree of Life. We have before us (exactly like Adam!) two choices and two possible results. God gives us essentially the same warning He gave to Adam – “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (v. 13)
Romans 8 again hearkens back to the Garden when it alludes to the final consummation of the matter when those who maintain their status in the Garden will be redeemed physically to match their spiritual status. God had the “intention that the whole creation itself might be freed from its slavery to corruption and brought into the same glorious freedom as the children of God. We are well aware that the whole creation, until this time, has been groaning in labour pains. And not only that: we too, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we are groaning inside ourselves, waiting with eagerness for our bodies to be set free.” (vvs. 21-23 NJB) What we are being told is that our present spiritual status before God in Christ is in the context of a cursed world. Although we have been imputed righteous, sanctified, made holy, reconciled and saved, we are still confined in our human, mortal existence until the Second Coming when our bodies are “to be set free” or redeemed from the curse.
Eating in Scripture is, of course, fraught with meaning beyond the physical eating of food. Eating has great spiritual meaning. It refers to taking in God’s word. It refers to partaking in the sacrifice of the Messiah. It if often coupled with the notion of examining oneself so that we are not condemned as was Adam. “Everyone is to examine himself and only then eat of the bread or drink from the cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the body is eating and drinking his own condemnation. (1 Cor. 11:28,29 NJB) Eating of the Tree of Life then is rife meaning. It means putting on the mind of the spirit, taking in the word of God, examining oneself, partaking of body of Christ. In short, it represents all of those things that indicate proper fellowship or communion with God. It is only in Christ that we can achieve this fellowship. We could spend pages and pages writing about the seemingly endless types and shadows related to eating in Scripture (clean vs. unclean, leaven vs. unleavened bread, manna, prophets eating books, etc.) and how they hearken back to the very first recorded act of eating, but we do not want to stray too far from our topic. The point we wish to make is that the two trees represent the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit. Which one we choose to partake of will determine whether we stay in the Garden or are condemned. The choice is ours.
Next week, we will look briefly at the actual trees themselves.
Have a great week!
