A formula

Greeting to all from Hope, Arkansas!!!

I have a "little something" I would like to run by you. I have been studying Numbers 19 for the past year - The water of cleansing (an illustration of the ministry of the Holy Spirit)
(I think the red heifer is the church but I will ask you more later because the Lord keeps calling me to Him to correct my thinking and that is not why I am here ) While in that study the Lord took me back to the beginning, Genesis (I keep telling the Lord I have already read it! but I follow Him there anyway cause I like being with Him) I am thrilled when He causes His Word to come alive again and again and teaches me even more!.

Let me honest before you begin this journey with me, I am much like Eve, you see, I am easily deceived so I have come here trusting the testimony of your godly wisdom in these matters as each of you walk with Him. I have been told you are the community of experts who know His Word to be true and faithful, so in light of His Word here we go!!!

O.K. hold on tight ......

When God created mankind in His image he created within the soul of mankind
1)the heart (the storehouse of desire) and
2) the intellect (receives information through the mind) - basic, I know.

The heart of man was created with two sources that provided desires to the heart.
1) The spirit - which is connected in relationship with the Spirit of Truth and
2) The flesh - which connects the person to God's creation and other people. Adam and Eve became one flesh.

So, as Adam and Eve partook in God's creation they could walk together (in one flesh) with Him to discover Truth (in one spirit). This relationship would lead them into experiencing great knowledge in creation as they experienced the Spirit of Truth in relationship with God ....and yes, even the knowledge as revealed in Truth of good and evil in our Lord according to His timing.

So here is my "formula" (Now, if someone else has already taught this then just paint me silly as an overly excited child of the most High God on this lesson He has just taught me)

Information + Desire = Choice (act of will)

A Perfect World and man's will
God had given the couple in the garden (1:29) every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.
God commanded Adam, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

Now, since most of us have read further than Genesis chapter 2 we know that when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit their spirits died within their souls, unable to reconnect to a Holy God on their own to understand knowledge in Truth. This only left their flesh to measure good and evil.

The first measurement was demonstrated when their "eyes were opened" and their "fleshly" thinking brought them shame based on the information that they were naked. I would think they would have been afraid/ashamed because they had disobeyed God and disobedience meant death would be entering into their life experience. It was their inability to reach Truth in the flesh that confused them and led them to a wrong conclusion of shame based on nakedness. (Truth of the matter was their feeling of guilt was the result of disobedience.) Motivated by their shame they sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness. (Itchy outfit if you ask me! especially after a few hours. I think that is what I feel when I try to cover up my sin before God!)

Our Lord came to the couple, in Holiness and love He called out Adam's name. Once He confronted them in their disobedience He proclaimed how the curse of death would be manifested in life
The serpent: - would crawl on its
belly and eat dust all the days of
its life. (physical).

God foretold the defeat of His enemy;
the devil (spiritual).

Eve: - the curse of death will be
manifested in Eve's life in that her
pain would be greatly increase in
delivering life through childbirth.
(physical)

your desire will be to walk as one
with your husband but he will
rule over you (spiritual).

Adam: - The ground is cursed
and will grow thorns and thistles as
you garden, and it will be by hard
work and sweat that you will
produce a living for your family
(physical)

and you shall eat the plants of the
field - Gen 1:30 (spiritual)


When God gave mankind through Adam the sames food to eat as the beast of the earth (1:30) It seems to me that God is acknowledging that mankind has become more like beasts of the field when making choices than like Him. Mankind will experience knowledge without the influence of Truth making him a slave to his own instincts resulting from his desire. How our Lord's heart must of ached.

The Lord's love and compassion remained with His beloved children. Our Lord made the first animal sacrifice (without the shedding of blood there is no covering for sin). He provided His disobedient yet beloved children a covering that was produced from death and He cloth them. I have often wondered if that animal was a lamb ......
(I believe there is a lot to understand here, being clothed in Christ's righteousness but we must press on...)

I seems to me that the Eve relied and trusted the information from experience of eating from the other trees, to measure the quality of the forbidden fruit. The forbidden fruit " was a delight to the eyes." causing her to question and then ignore the command given by God not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. This information mixed with the craftiness of the tempter, as he used the desire within Eve's heart to be like God, deceived her. Eve questioned God's heart when evaluating the information of her perception of the fruit and she then combined that knowledge with the desire to be like God she was deceived and made the choice of her free will to eat the forbidden fruit and then to give some to her Adam who was with her. I don't see where Adam was deceived....ummmm he just trusted his wife's influence over God's heart of Truth in His command.

As we read further in Gen. chapter 6 we find that God's heart was filled with pain because every intent and thought of man's heart was only evil. He was sorry He had made man on earth. Our precious Lord then baptized the earth in judgment - death to mankind and their evil deeds that were produced by the desires of the flesh as they determined what was good and evil - and He "saved" a select few that chose to be protected in His ark of safety. (Noah and his family, and some select animals.) In effect, it seems to me, God brought death in baptism to prevent death from destroying mankind; His most beloved creation and purpose for demonstrating His boundless love.

It is interesting to note here that the salvation was offered to all who could hear Noah message if salvation, but the "people of the world" relied upon their "fleshly thinking" to measure truth based on their limited experience. Their flesh experience was...they had never seen rain! "So forget it Noah! You are crazy!"

So, check me here,.......we are all born of Adam in that we are born spiritually dead/in sin. It is not until we hear the good news of the gift of eternal life through Jesus that the Holy Spirit performs "Spiritual CPR" on our dead spirits. This Holy Spirit CPR "quickens" our dead spirit. It is then that we make a choice to believe by faith with all of our hearts or not believe the good news message of God's salvation based on our limited life in the flesh. When we believe and put our faith in Jesus ... God pours the power of resurrection in His Holy Spirit through Jesus into our souls as He resurrects our dead spirit and we are made alive with Him in one Spirit!!
(Makes you wanna dance doesn't it ?)

...and just like he did for Adam, God is providing Jesus a bride from His own body; the church. I can't wait to dance at the wedding......

Once we are "born again" we have had our souls restored to the original state of creation. There are again, two sources that will provide our hearts with desire,
1) our spirit which is joined with the Spirit of Truth and
2) our flesh (still corrupted yet in the process of being purified - Red heifer) These competing desires continue to leads us to the center of the garden of Eden everyday within our hearts. The choice is ours...........

Do we choose to eat from the tree of life and life by the Spirit (living by God's Spirit of Truth) or
Do we eat from the tree of Death (living life according to what I believe based on my
"flesh" desires of experience)

This brings new light to my heart and mind when I read that Jesus said to Peter, "Do you love me? Feed My sheep." When we have been born again we are spiritual infants and must be fed to grow and mature. We must be fed the bread of life (Jesus as revealed in His Word) and drink from the well of living water (as we walk joined to God through His Holy Spirit in a relationship of prayer).

O.K. you are done...Whew!

Thank you all for wading through my limited and finite thinking. A thought continues to haunt me as I wonder if this is so basic to our Christian beliefs that I am making myself a fool by "working it out" in my mind. But, I remind myself I would much rather be a fool for Christ than a wisewoman of the world.

I will appreciate your comments but please be gentle I am new at this and my heart is ever so tender and I hope not to have to develop a hardness to protect it. The first circumcision of my heart hurt enough!.

O.K..... I am ready to listen.

As we walk and sometimes fall in the our Savior's love,
Barb Wilson