An Enemy In The Garden
The first man was of the earth, made of dust;
the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:47
There was an enemy in God’s garden, one who had rebelled against God and now sought to bring humanity under his dominion. The serpent, a fallen angel called the devil, wanted the glory for himself (Isaiah 14:12-15). He enticed Adam and his wife Eve to disobey God by eating the only forbidden fruit in the entire garden, falsely claiming that the fruit would make them “like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5).
The moment Adam and Eve ate the fruit, their eyes were opened, but not in the way Satan led them to believe. They painfully saw the shame of their sin and rebellion against God and attempted in vain to hide from Him. Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, but their own efforts could do nothing to remove their guilt and punishment (Gen 3:7).
The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden was actually a divine mercy. If Adam and Eve were now to eat from the tree of life, they would be condemned to live forever in their sinful state. But, God had a plan. Because God is all-knowing, he knew from eternity that Adam would disobey Him and that Adam’s only hope (and that of his descendants) could only come from God Himself. A second Adam must pass the test Adam failed to pass. And that second Adam, is the Lord Jesus Christ, God's own Son.
We have all fallen, and God does not consider this a trifle. Judgement hangs over the whole human race because of our rebellion and disobedience. In Romans 5:12, the Bible says: "just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." However, because Jesus Christ came and died on the cross and rose from the dead, we are not in hopelessness. We are in a position to be reconciled to God and put back into a right relationship with Him.
Man has always been dexterous at confusing evil with good. That was the problem that Adam and Eve had, and it’s our problem today. If evil were not made to appear attractive, there would be no such thing as temptation. It’s in the close similarity between good and evil, right and wrong, that the danger lies. In Isaiah 5:20, the Bible says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” Belonging to Christ and feeding on His Word will keep us close to Him.
Read
1 Corinthians 15:45-49.
Prayer
Heaven Father, You are forgiving, and on that I depend as a sinner. I am forever grateful for the Lord Jesus and His work for my sins. Amen.
Comments