BY HUMPHREY MTANDWA
Man has a tendency to be drawn towards negative things. When God placed man in the Garden, he also put two trees in the garden; that of life that was in the middle of the garden and he also put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in another location in the same garden. For Eve to be tempted it means she had visited the tree of the knowledge before and could have imagined how the fruit of that tree tasted. The devil took advantage of the lust that was already in her heart for that fruit. Even James said every man is drawn away by his own lust. So, before the serpent spoke to Eve, she had already lusted after the fruit. But why would she lust after the tree of knowledge of good and evil and yet not desire the tree of life? Have you ever noticed when you put a label or put a warning that says don’t open and you leave the item in a room and also place someone in that room they are most likely going to try and see what’s inside the box, than when you just leave the box without an instruction?
Paul said without the law sin was dead. So, Eve in the garden was more conscious of the instruction that was given to her husband and that consciousness made her wonder and be drawn to eat the fruit. Yes, the devil tempted her and caused her to eat but she was also responsible because she had been drawn by her lust. Jesus fulfilled the law and the fulfilment of the law removed man from its requirements. What causes man to sin is the unconscious voice of the law and when one is awakened to what Christ did, that voice and its requirements are silenced.
Sin caused death and through the fulfilment of the law death was dealt with, Jesus became for us the tree of life and through his sacrifice man was restored. Yes, Jesus has fulfilled the law but man has a responsibility to not give in to the requirements of the law. Death still affects man because man has not been awakened and has not realised yet that he should not fulfill the requirements of the law. When Jesus died, he not only reversed the corruption that came from eating the fruit, he also became for us the tree of life and gave us a completely different life.
No wonder the bible says in 1 Corinthians 15: 45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” Jesus did not restore us, He gave us completely new life. So, though Adam and Eve did not eat the tree of life, we eat the tree of life when we become partakers of the Cross and the resurrection.
Because of our new nature, we should not fulfill the requirements of the law and the demands of the sin nature. Poverty should not be a Christian’s portion or sickness and even death. We as Christians are now called to be liberators of the creatures and creation but if the liberator is not awakened, he can continue living as a servant though he is master. Most Christians are victims of demonic systems because demons take advantage of their ignorance no wonder the bible says my people perish for lack of knowledge. It’s time we become more conscious of our new and its advantages and how we, through this life, are completely different people. God bless you.
- Humphrey Mtandwa is an anointed minister of the gospel and teacher of the Word based in South Africa. He has written several books including The Enoch Generation, Truthfulness and Theophany. He blogs at mtandwa.blogspot.com and can be contacted via WhatsApp on +27 610286350.