GENESIS 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
This simple statement lays the fundamentals of the kind of life we are going to live and therefore the kind of people we are.
Right from the beginning, God set forth two ways in which the human race could live. Since the dawn of time, God placed two trees in the garden. This statement lays the foundation for all future teaching and understanding of how God purposed that man should exist in this world.
Because of this, we must understand what God was saying regarding these two trees. God did not make the tree of knowledge out of bounds just to test Adam and Eve; He prohibited the eating from this tree because it was deadly.
God did not say, “If you eat of this tree I will punish you” or “I will kill you.” He said, “In the day you eat of it, with all certainty, you will die.” Satan has the root of his power in this tree which would become the great dividing line between two kinds of people on the earth.
Two Family Trees
The tree of knowledge and the tree of life represent two family lines in the earth, two seeds, and two distinct and opposing lineages. After the fall, God said this:
GENESIS 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
There were now two seeds in the earth, two distinct and opposite kinds of life. A conflict was initiated between these two seeds which would last until the end of this age. Two kingdoms were now at war with each other; the battle between light and darkness on this earth had begun and a law was established – the law of sin.
The root of the word sin means no inheritance. If we are not partaking of the tree of life-Jesus, we have no inheritance.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
The day you eat of this tree you will die. Human knowledge of what is good and what is evil has led to the most devastating evil. This humanism gives rise to the most bizarre reasoning: save the whales and kill the babies. Most of the so-called green fraternity advocates the saving of animals and the killing of babies in the womb. Homosexuality is a product of this evil tree of human knowledge from which Satan derives his power in the earth. God is not a power-mad dictator who thinks up laws to control us; the laws of God are good and pure.
PSALMS 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
The law of sin – disobedience to God’s laws – is sin and death. In the day you partake of that tree you will die. Each tree represented either a source of life or death
After the First World War, the philosophers declared that we must never let this happen again. They propagated the philosophy of human enlightenment – that education would eventually lead to a civilized world.
After the Second World War and the horrors of the holocaust, the cry went out again – we must educate and bring about a civilized world. Our centers of education in the world today still imbibe the same deadly philosophy of humanism and self-improvement without the restrictions of the law of the tree of life.
Ever since man was cast out of paradise, he has strived to make his own paradise in this world without God and instead has made this earth a living hell. We live in a world of unbelievable destruction and carnage.
Only the law of the Spirit of life can set mankind free to build a new world of peace and security.
Light always prevails over darkness; love prevails over evil and Jesus is coming again to set up His Kingdom in this earth which will shine as a testimony to the folly of humanism for a thousand years.
ROMANS 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Two lineages appear in the earth
GENESIS 4:2. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
There is no doubt that Adam and Eve had talked with their children over and over again about the blood sacrifice – the blood offering that was made to cover their sin in paradise – and yet Cain defiantly over-rode this law of life.
These scriptures give us a clear picture of the two ways – these two trees. Abel brought a sheep as an offering and Cain brought the produce of the land. One brought a blood offering; the other was a tiller of the ground and brought an earthly offering. The characteristics of the lineage of Cain have always been the same – earthly minded. Right here, the battle commenced: the two lines were drawn, the two ways on the earth defined. The natural man has never been able to understand the ways of God, the tree of life:
GENESIS 4:6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
JOHN 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The result of the way of Cain – eating of the tree of knowledge – was graphically seen just seven generations later:
GENESIS 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
The tower of Babel and the city around it was an attempt to live without and to outwit God, and that spirit is reaching its culmination in this age. To those who see beyond the natural, the conflict in Iraq (Babylon) today is a picture of this ongoing conflict that reaches its zenith in this age. The battle still rages today – two lineages in mortal conflict and there can only be one outcome.
REVELATION 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
God is seeking to get Babylon out of us; all our independence from God as Christians has to be conquered or we will not survive the days that lie ahead. I did not say you would not be saved; I said you would not survive the days ahead – you will not finish your course and enter heaven as truly victorious Christians ready to rule with Him.
PROVERBS 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Two ways and choices
GENESIS 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
We have seen that as Christians we have two choices, two ways by which we can live. We either live by the tree of life or by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This determines and defines the kind of Christians we are – soulish or spiritual.
Right from the beginning, God set out two ways in which the human race could live: one way brought life, the other death.
Two ways of living
We can either live by our soul, independent of God, or by our spirit connected to God. Independence has always been the central issue and the dealings of God in our lives serve the objective of bringing us back to total dependence upon the Lord. This relationship is clearly defined by Jesus in John 15:
JOHN 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except ye abide in me 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Because of our strong independent fallen human nature, learning to abide or live in Jesus can be difficult. It requires the death of independence which we fiercely resist. Unless we come under the authority of Jesus, we have no real authority, no real basis for living by the life of another and exercising the ability and life we have in the Lord.
Jesus our example
Jesus made it very clear that He lived His life totally dependent upon His Father.
PHILIPPIANS 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
JOHN 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
When Jesus was accused of performing a miracle on the Sabbath, His defense was simply to say, “I did not do it”:
JOHN 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 20. For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him all things that himself doeth: and he will show him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
We see here how that Jesus never did anything independent from His Father. He said that He only did what He saw God, His Father, doing; in other words, if they had a problem with this, they needed to take it up with God as He was the one who initiated it.
What place does our soul have in our lives? Our natural mind, emotions, and will are meant to be servants of our spirit; they were not meant to lead or initiate anything.
When we talk about dying to self, we are talking about putting to death the independence of our soul. Our soul wants to run our lives and will do so if we let it. The natural mind will not get things right; it runs according to its own agenda which is self-dependence and self-preservation:
LUKE 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
MATTHEW 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
The soul exists to express the will and life of Jesus in our spirit.
We are exhorted to abide in the Lord Jesus; what exactly does that mean?
JOHN 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
7. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
What does it mean to ABIDE IN JESUS? How do we do it?
Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love (in Me) (Jn 15:10).” What commandments? Surely Jesus did not mean every commandment, did he? Did He mean every commandment He ever gave? Or was He talking about the Ten Commandments? What was Jesus really saying here? Jesus was not talking about keeping the law; He was talking about a new and living way, a way that stemmed from motive and not a set of rules, a way that stemmed from the intents of the heart and not a set of regulations:
JOHN 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. This was written in the context of abiding in Christ (John 15:4-5). Jesus put the issue very simply by saying – if you love, you will abide in Me.
JOHN 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. The relationship that Jesus longs for with us is a matter of compatibility; if we become love, we become compatible with Jesus who, like His Father, is also love. Jesus was very clear about what was required of us:
MATTHEW 22:36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
To abide in the Lord we must abide in love at all times; get out of love and you get out of God, it is as simple as that.
However, your soul does not want to do that; it wants its way and wants to choose who, what, and how it will love – primarily itself. The problem is, if you love your own life you will lose it.
The love that God requires of us is His kind of love – a love that lays down its life for others.
God IS love: every intent of His heart has this motivation because it’s who He is. Every one of God’s actions stems from love; even in judgment, God is doing the most loving thing possible.
When we abide – live in that kind of love – we live in God and we ask what we will and it shall be done because it is God’s request in our heart because we have become one with Him. Any other way of living is from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and brings death.
The Tree of Life – abiding in Jesus – brings the most glorious and fulfilling life you could ever imagine.
Absolute Surrender
Andrew Murray, the great preacher, and man of God, while in the middle of revival was asked this question: What is the most needful thing for us Christians? His reply: ABSOLUTE SURRENDER. What does that mean?
What he was essentially saying was this: The soul of a Christian must surrender to their spirit. Most Christians live their Christian lives with their SOUL: the mind, emotions and will being in control. They do what they feel (emotions) is right, they do what logic demands (mind) and their will is a slave to their feelings and intellect.
ROMANS 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Carnal refers to sins of the soul; flesh refers to the sins of the body. The natural mind of the soul – the intellect – is called the carnal mind.
ROMANS 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Most Christians are dominated by their natural mind and their emotions. They are driven by these powerful stimuli which dictate the way they live.
Brokenness is the key to personal revival
We want to do things our way, but God wants absolute surrender to His will. The Tree of Life represented Jesus and we are to live by His life, His mind, and His emotions, and only allow His life or feelings and will to be expressed through a surrendered soul.
When we come to the place where we can’t trust our emotions or our mind or our ability and we come to the place where we know we can’t get it right apart from Him, this coming to the end of ourselves brings brokenness in our soul that allows the spirit of the Lord to come through. The soul has to become a servant to our spirit which is constantly connected to the Lord:
1 CORINTHIANS 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
We have to hand over the control to our spirit which is union with God. The order of control must be spirit, soul, and body. This order, when achieved, brings us to the place of being a spiritual man or woman.
We have to learn to yield to the spirit
When you find yourself facing a crisis – wait! Don’t let your emotions lead you and control you; instead, learn how to sink into God, be quiet, let your spirit come to the fore, don’t let the carnal mind take over. Wait and turn to the Lord within. Feel His presence; let Him speak, then follow His leading:
GALATIANS 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. When it comes to choices you have to make, don’t let your feelings rule. Tell your soul to be quiet. The natural mind will try to tell you what to do. Use your will to block your emotions from leading you. Say NO to the soul.
Wait, be quiet, sink into God, turn to the Lord, feel His presence, let him come forth in your spirit. Most Christians choose their life partners with feelings. You fall in love with an emotional response. If your choice of a life partner is solely based on feelings and you “fall in love,” you can easily fall out of love. Love, first and foremost, is a choice – the feelings will then follow. God can show you your partner, but this is not based on your desires or mind; it is based on knowing the will of God. You come to this place when your emotions and mind are stilled, and you commune with God with no other agenda but to know His will.
Be still and know
Ladies, don’t go to a guy and tell him that God has shown you that he is your life partner; you will scare him to death. God brought Eve to Adam’s attention and Adam said great – I like her!
But in our fallen state, we have to be in control. We don’t have a revelation of God’s unconditional love for us; we fear that it won’t work out. If I lay down all my ambitions, my desires, everything that I want, can I trust God to do the right thing for me?
The emotion of fear keeps us separated from God
1 JOHN 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
If we understand God’s perfect love for us we will never fear again. The apostle Paul was willing at any point to lay down his life; he had no fear of dying or leaving this world.
PHILIPPIANS 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Fear was not a part of his life. Can you trust God with your life? Absolute surrender is a requirement for walking in the Spirit with the Lord.
If as Christian we live our lives separated from the Lord, a life firmly in our control, we miss the very reason and purpose for our existence – which is to be joined to the Lord who is the Tree of Life.
The Lord’s mind is the Tree of Life The Lord’s will is the Tree of Life. The Lord’s emotions are the Tree of Life. His emotions or love energize us, His will secures us, His mind quickens us as we walk in union with Him; only then do we enter into the real life that God intended.
JOHN 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
PROVERBS 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom (the Lord) and the man that getteth understanding.
17. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
22. So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to your neck. 23. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24. When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. 25. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
If we keep His commandments, He will abide in us. What are His commandments? Simply – it is Love.
JOHN 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. If we abide in Him, His love abides in us and we walk with Him in the Spirit, constantly being nourished and quickened by the Tree of Life.
REVELATION 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Guardian Cherubim
GENESIS 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
When Adam fell, he was removed from the Garden of Eden and two Cherubim guarded the entrance, thus blocking any hope of a return to Eden. Access to the tree of life was now denied.
Interestingly, these Cherubim which guarded the Tree of Life were also over the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant, guarding the presence of God:
EXODUS 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
EXODUS 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Cherubim are associated with the presence and glory of God.
The Bible does not describe the function of Cherubim in any great detail; however, we do know that they are associated with the coming and going of the Glory of God.
When Israel sinned, the glory and presence of the Lord began to lift off the nation. We see that when the Glory and Presence of the Lord departed from Israel, the cherubim also left. Here we see the glory lifting off the temple:
EZEKIEL 10:3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. 4. Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory. Here we see the glory lifting off the city:
EZEKIEL 11:22 Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. 23. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.
These cherubim had to do with the glory of God and as they moved, the glory moved. When the glory finally returned to Israel, it came the same way (Ezek 43:3-4).
These cherubim are guardians of the presence of God. They also will engage in warfare if anything threatens to disrupt the presence of God outside of God’s will. To get to the Tree of Life, you have to get past the cherubim
Because these cherubim represent the presence of God, you can only access the Tree of Life (JESUS) via the manifest presence of God. It is only when we are consciously aware of His presence that we can truly fellowship with Jesus. These cherubim were above the mercy seat and it is only by the mercy of God that we can come to Him, walk with Him, and know Him.
The mercy seat covered the Ark – the presence of God – and it is only as we trust in His mercy that we can have access to His presence. To rely on the mercy of God is to come to Him in deep humility without which we cannot see and know God.
MATTHEW 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Adam inherited the earth; it was given to him by God and Adam through sin gave it to Satan. It is only as we come to the Tree of Life with a pure heart and real humility that access to paradise while still on this earth is once again granted as is the Tree of Life.
It was in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve could see God and walk with Him. This was lost when they were thrust out of the Garden and man has ever since been trying to find Eden again, but this can never come through the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. It only comes through the Tree of Life and is accessed through true humility.
Humility can be described as total dependence upon God for everything in our lives. Wherever these incredible angelic beings see true humility, access is given to the Tree of Life. Humility is seen in the spirit realm as a covering that even the angels recognize and honor; it is seen as a badge of high honor or status in the spirit realm. This humility or complete dependence on God gives to us as a right of passage to the Tree of Life.
PROVERBS 29:23 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
ISAIAH 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit
JAMES 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
It is high time for this tree to blossom fully in the earth so that the nations may be healed
REVELATION 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The fruit of the tree of life is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
REVELATION 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.
This is the tree that Jesus talked about in John 15:
JOHN 15:5 I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing
JOHN 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
We have the privilege of becoming a branch of this tree for the healing of the Nations. The only way we can bear fruit is to abide in Him (the Tree of Life)
JOHN 15:10If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Thanks, Brother Lee! Bless the Name!