Series: The Garden of Eden; The Kingdom of God; The Overcomers
Sunday 21 May 2017 – Kobus Swart
Gen. 2:8-9; Matt. 13:11, 34 (Ampl); Isa. 61:1-3; Ps. 1:1-3; Ps. 92:12-13; Ps. 96:10-13; Ps. 37:35; Jude 4 & 12; (Matt. 12:33); James 3:12-18; Matt. 7:16-20; (Gen. 25:32-34); (1 Chron. 5:1); Gen. 49:3-4; (Gal. 5:22-23); 2 Cor. 12:9; (1 Cor. 1:27); Rom. 8:5-6; John 3:3-5; John 12:24-Msg; (Gen. 3:4-5, 10-11); (Matt. 6:10); Isa. 66:1; (Matt. 11:28); (Heb. 5:8); (Heb. 2:10); (Luke 23:43); Rom. 5:8-11
We must understand the numbers and the symbols in the Bible otherwise we miss the deeper truth, especially in the book of Revelation.
There were three kinds of trees in the Garden (Gen. 2:8-9): the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and all the other trees. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of pictures and symbols. We have to know how to decode and go beyond, go deeper. Once you understand these pictures and symbols they are far more expressive than a thousand words. However, in order to understand the symbols of Scripture there are two things required:
1) We must understand their oriental customs and characteristics of the Hebrew mind. The original Old Testament was written in the Hebrew language.
2) The other is the spirit of revelation which is the Holy Spirit of truth.
Often times after a parable the disciples would pull Jesus aside and ask Him what He meant. He would explain it to the disciples (Matt. 13:11). It is like looking for the fertile prepared soil that will yield 30, 60 and 100 fold, instead of just throwing the seeds everywhere. It has pleased God to send forth much of His deeper truths like the mysteries of the kingdom, in such a manner that it becomes revealed only to the spirit-anointed mind (Matt. 13:34-Ampl). Often when Jesus stopped His public teachings He closed with: He that has ears to hear let him hear! (Matt. 11:15; Matt. 13:9, 43). May the Lord give us a full understanding of these deeper truths of the kingdom.
Trees usually represent people in the Bible. The trees in Isa. 61:1-3 represent God’s chosen ones at the end of this age. Psalm 1:1-3 and Psalm 9:12-13 speak of God’s elect people, those planted in the house of the Lord. Ps. 96:10-13 is pointing to the day when the Lord shall come forth and deal with all the nations and bring His glorious Kingdom to pass in all the earth. In Psalm 37:35 David talks of the wicked and impious men. See also Jude 4 & 12. You shall know a tree by its fruit (Matt. 12:33). Many people say one thing yet they are another (James 3:12-18). You can say the most beautiful things and even speak what is true but what will be imparted in a subliminal way, is what is in your spirit. What kind of tree are you? What kind of fruit comes out of you? (James 3:17; Matt. 7:16-20).
Two examples are Esau and Reuben. Esau sold his birthright. Reuben lost his inheritance. Both these men were eminent in dignity and power (Gen. 49:3-4). In the eyes of the public, they were strong men of value, but they were ruled by their flesh and they lost their inheritance (Gen. 25:32-34; 1 Chron. 5:1). What does it mean to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It is facing us every day of our lives. The temptation, in a subtle way, is to eat of the wrong tree. Be careful who you associate with. Do not eat fruit from the wrong tree. They drew from the flesh instead of from the spirit. The lack of self-control began in the Garden of Eden. Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). The lack of self- control today is still robbing many of their eternal inheritance in Christ. We are our greatest enemy. Many who are pre-eminent in dignity and pre-eminent in strength are uncontrolled as water and weak in spiritual strength. Look at the contrast, how does God work in terms of these elements? In this world, we are encouraged and motivated to be strong, but God’s power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). God has chosen the weak things of this world to shame the things that are strong (1 Cor. 1:27). It is so opposite to the values of the world that we live in.
There is a gulf between that which is natural and that which is spiritual. There is the gulf between life and death, between the good and the bad. How do I move from where I am to where I want to be? There is no shortcut no matter what people say. For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Rom. 8:5-6). How important it is for us to get this mindset right? (John 3:3-5). How do we move from this level to the kingdom of God level? You have to be born–again! It means becoming like a child. Children do not have a history of failure; they do not have bad memories. They are so innocent and ready to be taught the positive. Become like a child and you will inherit the kingdom of God. By being born of water and spirit you will enter the kingdom. It is another realm.
How does a seed multiply? It needs to be planted, it needs a specific environment and then in a sense it dies and out of that “death”, it reproduces itself many times over. That is exactly what happened to the pattern Son, Jesus (Jn 12:24,25), the One who paved the way. He died but was raised again. In order to multiply Himself, He had to die. There is no shortcut for us if we cannot identify with that; not only with His death but with His resurrection.
The Garden of Eden, which always has the significance of the kingdom of heaven, has been re-established on earth by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. When Jesus rose from the dead and sent forth His Spirit into the hearts of men on the day of Pentecost, the Garden of Eden was re-established in the earth and the tree of life was once more planted on earth in the midst of the garden. The life of Christ by the eternal spirit was again made accessible to man by faith. Satan will continue to lure you to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He will offer you shortcuts; he will offer you ‘better’ options. You and I must be very careful what we choose in this life. By His death and resurrection He plucked out the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He uprooted it! So the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was destroyed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but Satan will keep on holding this tree before you. He will tell you like he told Eve, “The moment you eat of this tree you will be like Him” (Gen. 3:4-5). In the daily fellowship, that wonderful state of being in the garden, God comes to the man and woman and suddenly they are hiding. Why did they hide? They discovered that they were naked (Gen. 3:10-11). God asked, “Who told you that you are naked?” Where does sin consciousness come from? The tree of life is the tree available to you and me.
Until humanity wakes up to the truth of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ it is going to take a long time until we see what life is about. Many people pray for an overnight rapture, “Take us home and give this planet to the devil”, but Jesus prayed “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). This earth belongs to the Lord. God is looking for a house in which to rest (Isaiah 66:1). He found a house in which to rest in Jesus when He came to the earth. Jesus was a man in rest but He could accomplish things (Matt. 11:28-29-Msg). He was not driven by religious fervour. May God give us that breakthrough in being fruitful and being in a place of rest. It all started with Jesus, God found a man in whom He could rest, with whom He could enter into a union, whose whole being was open to the rule of His will and nature and fellowship of His love. Between the ages of twelve and thirty, He learned obedience by the things He suffered (Heb. 5:8). At the age of thirty, His sonship was confirmed from heaven. He was recognised from heaven and Joseph had to step back as the Heavenly Father took over.
The earth by itself cannot produce fruit; neither can the seed by itself produce fruit. The two need each other. The seed needs to be put into the soil and under the right circumstances, it will start to grow. Jesus was the divine Seed that had to be planted in earthly humanity and die before He could produce and multiply Himself many times over. His Sonship on earth was the planting of the Divine Seed of the Father’s life into a human body and nature. The incarnation means God becoming flesh in the man called Jesus. The Son of God becoming the Son of Man, dying on the cross, being resurrected and He became a Son of God again. His ascension was admittance as man into the very glory of God, the perfect oneness with God in glory in the unity of the spirit. All of this was fulfilled in the first-born Son. The work was not complete because Jesus came to bring many sons to glory, not just Himself (Heb. 2:10). This is where we are in this Divine process. If it was not for Jesus who opened the door and paved the way, we would have been stuck outside the Garden of Eden forever, but He opened the gate, He opened the door and He said, “Today you shall be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
In His resurrection and ascension, He was no longer only the Mighty God but He was the Mighty God whose divine life and nature had laid a hold on humanity and raised it up into identification with Himself. The Son of Man became the Son of God. Lord, help us appreciate and see these things and go through the open door. Stop battling with that which has already been conquered. The accuser of the brethren has been cast down. We give too much attention to the voice of Satan; he is a liar, a religious spirit, the accuser of the brethren.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…. much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom. 5:8-11). Too often the preaching of the gospel has stopped before the “much more”. We have to live the resurrection!
It is one thing to be saved by the death of Jesus Christ it is another to be saved by His life. While both expressions are correct to talk about being saved by the death of Christ, there is a greater need to talk about being saved by the life of Christ. If reconciliation and justification by the death of Christ could make men to be conformed to the image of the Son of God then all baby Christians in Babylon’s harlot religious systems would be well on their way to sonship. You know that is not the case. The death of Christ can make one a justified believer but only the indwelling life of God’s Christ can enable us to truly put on the mind of Christ and be transformed in thought, desire, emotion, nature and body into His likeness. It is as if Christianity needs another explosion in a new insight into the finished works of Jesus. It is as if the gospel needs an upgrade; we need to speak these things so that our mindsets can change and the fruit will be seen and tasted in our lives. I pray that we will embrace the resurrection, not just in mind but begin to live the resurrection.
Series: The Garden of Eden, The Overcomers
Sun am 14 May 2017 – Kobus Swart
Gen. 1:27; (Gen. 2:8-9, 21-22); Gen. 5:1-2; (Luke.3:37-38); Rev. 2:7; John 1:1-2 &14, 29; (John 14:6);
Gen. 11: 3-4; Isa. 14:13-15; John 3:13; John 21:1-6; Matt. 1:17; Heb. 4:12; Phil. 2:5-8; Rom. 16:20; Gal. 4:19 Amp; Rev. 12:3-5; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 21:6-8; (Heb. 2:10); (John 17:21-22); 1 John 2:14; (Rom. 8:18-23)
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Gen. 1:27). God put Adam into a deep sleep (Gen. 2:21-22) in order to bring Eve from his side. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man (Adam) in the day when they were created (Gen. 5:1-2). Nobody can erase this truth! We have been created by God in His likeness and in His image. Nobody can question that, no matter what the evolutionists say.
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:8-9). It is difficult to explain this and take it absolutely literally. What do these trees look like? Catch the deeper truth. We have to read it with the eyes of the Spirit to find out how relevant it is for us. How does it affect me? What can I learn from it? Adam was referred to in the genealogy of Jesus as the son of God (Luke 3:37-38). Mankind disobeyed God and they were banned from the garden, banned from that place of intimacy with God, that state of being where God and man had daily fellowship with each other. That is why it is called “Paradise”.
The physical locality of that garden was never found, but that should not shake your theology as it is not critically important. The word ‘paradise’ seems the most fitting place, that wonderful place where heaven and earth met. The word ‘paradise’ was adopted in the Hebrew language by the post-exilic rabbis, in particular, to speak of the ‘garden of God’. So ‘paradise’ and ‘garden of God’ are talking about the same thing.
It is interesting to compare the Genesis of the New Testament (John 1) with Genesis 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1). In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God (John 1:1-2). And the Word became flesh (John 1:14). John gave another way to view the ‘beginning’. It has almost gone full circle. The only way back to the garden (or Paradise) of God, is the Tree of life, which is Jesus Christ! He said it Himself (John 14:6). He was in the beginning; He is going to be at the end. They missed Him in the beginning and the only way back is Jesus Christ!
What is the meaning of the two trees in our daily life and choices? The danger is always there to eat of the ‘wrong tree’. Many people will say: “Eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil means sinning”. Not necessarily, sinning (=missing the mark) is wrong, but Satan is much cleverer than to force you into sin. Satan comes as an angel of light (religious Spirit), he brings religion your way; he sets traps for us in our daily choices. What is the bottom-line? What makes man want to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It is a short cut to becoming like God without God. There is always a desire in man to be like God. ‘I want to do something better than everybody else’. Like with the tower of Babel:… Let us make a name for ourselves (Gen.11:3-4). It sounds so innocent. Beware of plans that exclude God! (Isa. 14:13-15). Let us rather follow the example of the pattern Son, who is the model to follow. Jesus came to this earth as the exact representation of God (John 1:14). In Him heaven and earth met. He was in heaven on earth (John 3:13). Jesus did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but He emptied Himself (Phil. 2:5-8). He is the pattern to follow, not the tower of Babel mentality which says, “Let us …” That is where Babylonian religion comes in. There is a lot of deception that can come on the wings and frequency of religion. May God help us to be wide awake.
We looked at eating of the tree of life; what does it mean? And what is the role played by the Word that is living and powerful? (Heb. 4:12). The Living Word represents the Word made flesh. There are a tremendous integration and sameness between Jesus and the Word of God. You cannot want access to Jesus but not want the Word. The Word of God is number one in our fundamental values – more than experiences, shows and programmes.
Read John 21:1-11: The disciples went back fishing after the crucifixion but caught nothing. Then Jesus waited for them on the beach! He then told them to cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat. Why the right-hand side of the boat? There is a deeper story than the story; there is a deeper meaning that we need to catch. Doing things with your “left” hand means doing it by your own power and ability but with your “right” hand you are moving in that which is more spiritual and not your own strength. Then they caught large fish, 153 of them. What is the significance of the number 153? There is a reason. There was a miracle playing out. The number 153 is very significant in physics, in mathematics and in Bible numerology. According to Bullinger the phrase “sons of God” appears 7 times in the Bible. Gematria is when you find that every letter has a numerical value in the original language. When you look at the Hebrew word for ‘sons of God’: BEN-HA-ELOHIM adds up to 153. According to Strong concordance, the term ‘sons of God’ appears in the Bible 11 times. The Bible says there were large, (=mega) fish, which is a type of the overcomer. Jesus is the pattern for the overcomers. It is that group of saints that attains to the high calling of God and come forth to destroy the works of Satan (Rom. 16:20).
We looked at the 42nd generation – the generation called Christ (Matt. 1:17). He is the tree of life, the Head of a new humanity (Heb. 2:10). He is the pattern Son. The old order of pharisaical religious systems will never bring you to sonship. You must come ‘outside of the gate’. Come to the stormy banks of the Jordan River like Jesus the pattern son did. In many ways, there is a very strange new order that God is anointing in this hour. You can follow the Pattern. John the Baptist was born in a religious structure; his father was a priest in the ecclesiastical system of his day, which had become a religious system. Although there were still some good priests in Jerusalem, they tried to work with the religious leaders and stayed in the system to try and reform it. John the Baptist had to go out of the city, out of the system, to the banks of the river Jordan and start proclaiming. The same thing is happening today. Then Jesus appeared and wanted to be baptised. John baptised Jesus and it was a miraculous experience for John (John 1:29). After the miraculous experience of that day, John’s ministry should have come to an end; he fulfilled his purpose. Many of his disciples began to follow Jesus but John did not and landed in prison, started doubting, and lost his head (Matt. 14:8). Likewise, there have been movements that originated in powerful revivals, moves of God that gradually became movements of man. Even though they saw the new season, they failed to make the transition and lost their ‘headship’ or governmental role in the transition. The same will happen to many prophetic movements in our time if they fail to move on. The oneness Jesus is praying for will not come about by agreements, structures and organisations (John 17:21-22). Oneness cannot be organised, it cannot be reached by structures of man. Our oneness will come when our focus is on the pattern Son; He is our model. Jesus is the finished works of God. He is the alpha (beginning), and the omega (end) (Rev. 21:6).
That is why the purpose of all true ministry should be: My little children, for whom I am again in [the pains of] labor until Christ is [completely and permanently] formed within you (Gal. 4:19-Amp). This should be the burden, the passion of every authentic ministry in the five-fold graces. The burden is not to build organisations or to restore apostolic glory. Yes, God gives the graces to be used correctly with this burden in our hearts: “Father we pray for the Son to be fully, completely formed in the Church”. On the cross He was asked by the one thief, “Please re-member me when you are in the kingdom”. What does ‘re-member’ mean? When mankind sinned, they were banned from the garden, they were dis-membered (lost their ‘membership’ in the garden). This man saw the truth and said, “Re-member me”. That is why Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise!” “Lord Jesus collect me again into that Kingdom and give me back my original place”. Full sonship is God’s plan for the mighty body of Christ. You and I cannot draw a line; we cannot choose who should become an overcomer. We have to sow the seed, release the truth and let the Holy Spirit quicken it in your heart.
… And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth he might devour her child. And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne (Rev. 12:3-5). Then … there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever (Rev. 11:15). Can you see the 42nd generation? Can you see the corporate Christ? Can you see the overcomer, the male child? Can you see the sons of God, the corporate Son? Then He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev. 21:6-8). The overcomers are part of the sons of God, the corporate Son. Which group to you want to be part of?
We are called to be overcomers! The ‘young men’ are those who overcome the evil one (1 John 2:14). How is this end time going to unfold? Do we need mega churches or mega sons? God weighs us; our spiritual weight is what counts. I trust the Holy Spirit will release a hunger in our heart to be part of the sons of God. All of creation is in travail for the manifestation of the sons of God (Rom. 8:18-23).
Series: The Garden of Eden
Sun am 7 May 2017 – Kobus Swart
1 Cor. 10:11-Msg & Amp; Luke 24:25-27; (Col. 1:15-16); (Prov. 23:7); (Eph. 4:23); Rev. 1:4-6; Heb. 10:1-2; (John 16:11); (1 John 3:8); (Rom. 6:11); (Eph. 2:10-Msg); (Matt. 1:1-17); (1 Cor. 12:12); (Isa. 9:6); (Rom. 8:11-NASB & Msg); (1 John 2:13-14); (Rev. 2:7); (Heb. 12:6); Ruth 1:6, 14-18; (John 2:1-10); (Luke 23:43); Rom. 13:11-12; (Gen. 3:1-3); (Gen. 2:16); John 1:1 & 4, 12; (John 17:16); John 6:51, 53-54; Heb. 4:12
The way to read the Old Testament is not just to read the stories but to look deeper at the meaning. Regarding Israel’s mistakes, for example, these things happened to them as an example for us upon whom the end of the ages has come. These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were (1 Cor. 10:11 – Msg). Something alongside, parallel to the story of the Bible, is a deeper truth that we must take seriously into our lives and our journey. The Old Testament is full of types and shadows. History means His-story. … Jesus explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:25-27). Jesus was the firstborn of all creation. Through Him and for Him all things have been created (Col. 1:15-16).
The challenge of this generation, where we are, is “What is going on in your mind?” People confuse brain and mind. The brain is a physical organ, but your thoughts/mind is where your problems are if it is not on the things from above (Prov. 23:7). We need to make adjustments to see our life change and come up to the level which Christ made provision for. If we focus on the negative, on the devil and on sin, we are strengthening a sin consciousness, and people walk with a negative mindset. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23). It is very important for us to upgrade and know who we really are and the provision which has been made for us.
He has released us from our sins, not just forgiven (Rev. 1:4-6; Heb. 10:1-2). Jesus was the once for all sacrifice. The battleground is in the mind. We must stand on the finished works! He has destroyed the evil one (John 16:11; 1 John 3:8). We have a new identity. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11 – NASB & Msg). Align your thoughts and mind with the fact that we have been recreated in Christ two thousand years ago (Eph. 2:10). Connect with the plan He has predestined for you. Make it your quest to find the plan of God for your life.
God is busy putting together a generation called ‘Christ’ which is a corporate son. In Matt. 1:17 it talks about 14+14+13 generations to Jesus. The 42nd generation is Christ (see also 1 Cor. 12:12) – the many-membered body.
In the Church of Jesus Christ, everyone who is born again is part of the family of God, children of God. But not everybody in the Church is necessarily a fully grown, mature son. There are three levels of growth (1 John 2:13-14). Remember the sower that went out to sow. Some of the seeds fell beside the road; some fell on rocky places; others fell among the thorns. (Matt. 13:3-9). Then some seeds fell on well-prepared soil and yielded a crop – 30, 60 and 100 fold. You have to hear and understand. The Scriptures often refers to the overcomer. To be an overcomer you have to overcome something; you have to learn to jump, look over the waves, resist the evil one; learn to handle pressure. God disciplines every son whom He receives (Heb. 12: 6). There are two kinds of grace; salvation grace and then grace is given to the overcomer to overcome obstacles.
If you look at the generation called Christ, God is calling for the mature, first born son to come forward. But be careful, there is a first born son but it does not mean that you downgrade or nullify the rest. Here is the danger: The tendency when teaching about mature sonship is to create an elite.
In the genealogy of Jesus, you see the names of a few women like Rahab and Ruth (Matt. 1:1-16). Orpah left and returned to her people, and Ruth also had to make a choice. She was not forced but it came from her heart (Ruth 1:14-18). Remember the two trees in the garden of Eden. They are still in the garden of humanity today. We must make choices in this life. Ruth made a deliberate choice. Ruth’s name was put into the royal seed line, the genealogy of Jesus. You must make a choice! It has nothing to do with natural lineage. A wrong choice can alienate us from the royal seed line! As Christians today, even in subtle ways, we have to make choices; do I choose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or do I chose the tree of life?
If you come Sunday after Sunday and are blessed but your life does not change and you do not become a disciple-maker yourself, then we have not succeeded. How many people do you influence in the week? How many benefit from your changed life? At the wedding feast when they ran out of wine, Jesus was approached and He said, “Bring 6 clay pots and fill them with water and serve them.” When they started pouring, it was wine (John 2:1-10). Six is the number of man; water is symbolic of the word. It is not enough to be full of word; the word must turn into flesh. The water must turn into wine, then people will benefit by it. You have been re-created; you are no longer in the old man called Adam. Jesus on the cross said to the thief who recognised who He was, “Today you will be with me in paradise”, in the kingdom (Luke 23:43). It is another realm that is made accessible by Jesus dying on the cross. What does that mean in terms of letting the word become flesh? It means living the resurrection! This is what is needed in the Church of Jesus Christ, regardless the denomination or tag. Living the resurrection! That should reflect in our day to day encounters.
These “two trees” continue to challenge us in today’s life. What exactly is the tree of life? What does it mean to eat of the tree of life? In the genesis of the New Testament it says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men (John 1:1 & 4). This life-giving tree was the Living Word of God, Christ, who was in the world but not of the world (John 17:16). When Eden’s gates were slammed shut and man was banished from the garden, that blessed tree of life was never seen again until Jesus came. Then Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh” (John6:51). In the beginning was the Word, but this Word became flesh and Jesus explained what it meant. The reason Jesus came was for a visible expression of the Father, the tree of life replanted so that there might be a focusing, a manifestation which would become a meeting place for us to know God and become one with Him. In Jesus, God and creation meet, come together and are made one. Christ who is our life has come and has been planted in the garden of the kingdom of heaven on earth so that all may come and eat and drink and have life. Now we marry the concept of paradise, garden and kingdom, and the tree of life is replanted when Jesus came and He was the last Adam – the kingdom of God on earth! When you eat you receive something. You take something into you. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. That does not mean physically, but this is where the communion comes in. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:53-54). Here is the tree of life! For as many as received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God (John 1:12). Receive, eat, drink of the tree of life. So what we are saying is, in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. Then the word became flesh and became accessible to us. That word that was made flesh was Jesus. In the beginning He was only known as the word of God, God-breathed, God expressed, God revealed, God available to man. The word of God is living and powerful and able to discern between spirit and soul and penetrate the depths of your heart. It is a living two-edged sword. When man was banned from the garden, cherubim with swords were placed at the gate to keep man out. What is the way back in? Heb 4:12 reminds us: The word of God that is like a living and powerful two-edged sword! And that living Word has become flesh in the person of the Son – Jesus Christ!
On a daily basis, you are facing the “two trees” in the decisions and the choices you make. Make a decision in your heart this morning that you want to eat of THE TREE OF LIFE. The way to eat of the tree of life is to eat and receive the Living Word of God.
Series: The Kingdom of God; The Garden of Eden
Sunday am 23 April 2017 – Kobus Swart
Gen. 2:8-9; (Luke 23:39-43); (Gen. 5:1-2); Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:8; Eph. 1:3-6; (1 Cor. 15:28); (Col. 1:15); Rom. 8:18, 28-29; Rev. 2:7; (2 Cor. 12:2); (Luke 9:62); (Matt. 13)
The book of Genesis is probably one of the most important books of the Bible ever written. The book of Genesis is quoted 165 times in the New Testament. Genesis lays a ground work, a foundation for the entire revelation of God’s purposes. It is all there! If we do not see that we run the risk of putting together our own theologies. God is a God of beginnings (plural). Where it says, “In the beginning God created” it actually says, “in beginnings God created”. Genesis gives us vital information of the origin of all things. Genesis means origin, beginning, your genes and everything in the future is rooted in the past. If you do not see that you are going to expose yourself to contrary winds.
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:8-9). The story of Adam and Eve is the greatest parable ever told in the Bible. What is a parable? It contains the word “para” from which the word “parallel” or “alongside” comes. What is the true meaning of the word “parable”? It is more than a story. It is a story and alongside it is a deep reality and truth that God wants to communicate. Why did Jesus tell so many parables? In Matthew 13 alone there are seven parables of the kingdom. How does each one start? “The kingdom of heaven is like …” (Matt. 13). It is a story and yet it has a truth, made digestible to the average listener. Jesus used the language of His time and culture. A parable communicates a very important truth.
They have not been able to find the piece of land called Eden. So what is it? It is a state of being, an atmosphere. Gene Edward explains that when God decided to create an atmosphere and He took heaven and He took earth and He brought them together and He created Eden. Read deeper! When we understand the Garden of Eden we will understand the nature of God, the nature of man and the nature of the devil. Remember the three voices on Calvary, they represent the voice of man, the voice of the devil and the voice of God (Luke 23:39-43). Do a bit more reading in the first few chapters of Genesis; read, absorb and let the Holy Spirit take you deeper than ever before. It is not by accident that this parable is placed at the beginning of human history because it is the foundation upon which the whole purpose of God is built. By understanding that, we are going to understand what is happening to us. If we read it properly – the two trees in the middle of the garden, how the enemy came and tempted Eve – look in the “mirror” of that parable to realise what is happening to you.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them MAN (singular, and “man” in Hebrew is Adam) in the day when they were created (Gen. 5:1-2). Adam does not refer to the man next to Eve, the male. “Adam” is referring to mankind, to humanity. We are part of humanity. As much as we have been part of the first Adam, when the last Adam came, He opened the door back into Eden, that intimate, special relationship and now we become part of the last Adam. That is what Jesus told the thief on the cross who recognised who Jesus was. Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Begin to associate in your thinking the Garden of Eden, the kingdom, paradise, that special space in which there is a unique relationship between God and man.
Adam’s (mankind’s) experience is our experience. What happened to him happens to us. Where he was, we are. His destiny is our destiny. May the Lord open the eyes of our understanding to see these things. You read about the garden, it is we who are confronted, intended, addressed, accused, expelled, instructed and redeemed. Read the complete story. The story of the fall is a searchingly true picture of the recurring fall of every man under the temptation to be as God, to usurp God’s place as master of his world, for his own selfish ends. How many times has the enemy tried to push us to be ‘god’ in our own world?
The New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament, and the Old Testament is explained in the New Testament. If you read the Old Testament you see the formation of the Church, in the language of parables.
My question is: what was the purpose of the fall? Why did God allow the fall? God deliberately put the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there, which means they are accessible; we have to choose. God knew what was going to happen. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain (Rom. 13:8; Rev. 17:8). This highlights those who are redeemed in Christ but there is a step we have to take, the born-again experience – our names had been written in the book of life before the foundation of the kosmos. God was not surprized at the fall. He sees the end from the beginning. We have been predestined to the adoption as sons before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-6). Don’t you think the God who said, “Let us make man in Our image” looked further than the fall? He looked to the final climax in His Son. His purposes will come to fruition and nothing will stop it. We can delay it but we cannot stop it. What God starts, He completes. Ultimately He is going to eradicate every vestige of the image of self and of satan. God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). God will infiltrate and fill everything with Himself.
God is full of hope. There is a magnificent future that God has planned for us. In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God! (Rom. 8:18-JB Philips). A baby is innocent, but that innocence is challenged as the baby grows up. The sooner the baby learns that there is a negative side, and that not everything is innocent and pure, the better. God deliberately put two trees in the garden. God wanted them to be exposed to the negative first and become strong. They had to find out that there is a wrong way of doing things. That is how we grow up; that is how we leave just being fed on milk each Sunday. We need to go onto solid food to make us strong.
God is full of hope because Jesus was the beginning of the creation of God (Col. 1:15). Through Him, for Him and unto Him everything has been created! Only two thousand years ago was He perfected in the sense that He had to be made man to initiate a whole new order of man, the last Adam. Jesus had to become man to rescue Adam, humanity. God reconciled all of humanity with Himself through Christ. All of humanity has provisionally been united, restored, reconciled with God. But humanity has to see it by revelation, experience an encounter with that truth, make a commitment and come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Christ then is the true or the last Adam, the proper Man in whom God’s plan for humanity comes to its realisation for the first time. God’s plan for man to be perfect was first fulfilled in Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. He came to bring many sons to glory, He is going to be the elder brother and many brothers are going to follow and become like He is.
What happened to the garden? Is it still there? Does the Garden of Eden still exist? It is the city of God (Rev. 21 & 22). The garden is the city. In the city even the two realms, heaven and earth, interface exactly. This time we are talking about a new heaven and a new earth, interfacing in the garden called the city of God.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ‘To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ (Rev. 2:7). This message is not just to the church at Ephesus, but to the churches (plural). There is Eden! Then Paul was caught up in the spirit to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2). He was caught up to paradise. In the city of God there is only one tree, the tree of life, not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That is dealt with! There is a new heaven and a new earth!
Do not be just a lukewarm Christian. God always uses a cutting edge remnant to break open new ground. They are the overcomers. God is shaping and moulding us. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:28-29). We all go through things and God uses those things to turn us into overcomers. Once we put our hands to the plough and look back we are not fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62). Withdrawal is destructive.
We are called before the foundation of the world; our names are written in the book. You are going to eat of the tree of life. In Jesus the door is open and access is again given to Eden, the garden of God. Jesus had to go through the garden of Gethsemane to open the door to the Garden of Eden. Gethsemane means “oil press”. Jesus had to go through that to open the door and He says, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”