The Two Trees – Handling the Consequences – Part 2

In our last message, we talked about the two trees God placed in the Garden of Eden for man to choose.  If they followed God’s instruction concerning the trees, it would bring life.  If they did not, it would bring death. How man lived and walked on the earth was based on how he dealt with the two trees. After man made his choice, consequences came.  Let’s learn how to deal with those consequences now and rule over sin.

Genesis 2: 8, 9, 15-17:   ⁸ The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ 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.  ¹⁵ Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”  ^{NAS Die-muwth- die lit. or
fig. acting as a cause to kill or slay; put to death or worthy of death, or given a cause to die, be
destroyed or a destroyer}

Genesis 3: 4-7:  ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.^{NAS eyes – ayin- outward appearance of what focused on; the focal point; center of what is looked at}

Genesis 3: 8:   ⁸ They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ^NAS

Man made a choice.  He chose to eat from the wrong tree, and it brought death upon mankind.  Now man had to work with a cursed earth by the sweat of his brow.  Now man knew good and evil.  He experienced fear which separated him from God.  He was now God’s created being who knew of sin, had sin in him, and could be found worthy of death.  Life came from the Tree of Life, but man ate from the fruit of the tree of death, and that fruit now bore sin in man’s flesh.   Man had to master sin, and not allow sin to rule over him. Yet man was earthy, and the earthy man ate the fruit from the tree of death. Adam and Eve ate the fruit that bore seed of sin into their earthly bodies.  Now death was allowed to spring up inside earthy man, but God told man, through Cain, that he must master the sin that wants so badly to master him.  God placed a curse on the serpent telling him he would send Jesus to restore man back to his right standing with God.  The world system feeds our fleshly earthy man by enticing man through all things to do with the flesh.  But when we lean on Jesus, and use His name for our help, and trust in His righteousness for us.  Then we live by grace, yet we must still master sin.  Through Jesus, sin no longer has dominion over us.  Now we must live by having dominion over sin.

Romans 7: 14-19:   ¹⁴ For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. ¹⁵ For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. ¹⁶ But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. ¹⁷ So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. ¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. ¹⁹ For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. ²⁰ But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.   ^NAS

Romans 3: 22, 23:   ²²  This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.   ^NIV

Romans 6:6:   knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;  ^NAS
Romans 6: 11-14:   11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.  ^{NAS  grace – the divine influence on a life that has liberality and a cheerful spirit because it is loved, accepted and favored}
Romans 7: 21-25:  ²¹ I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. , ²³ but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.   ^{NAS members- melos – a limb or part of the body}
Galatians 2:20:  “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  ^NAS

Romans 8: 1, 2:  ¹ Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. ² For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. ^Berean