A conversation in Eden

S. SEKOU ABODUNRIN

I guess you are no stranger to the bible records of the things that happened in the Garden of Eden. I’d ask you to read the first six verses of Genesis 3 before going further.

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil Gen 3:5

You need to be aware that the temptation presented in those verses could not have succeeded without the lust within Eve. The enemy simply appealed to the lust taking shape in Eve’s heart. James shows us the progression that leads to sin. The things happening behind the veil.

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:14,15

The bible clearly shows that the temptation draws its venom and strength from man’s lust. Notice that man is drawn away not primarily by that which the enemy suggests, but by his own lusts. The enemy merely appeals to this lust. The lust is the means of enticement. Sin itself is the unwanted child of this unholy pregnancy.

We can sum up Eve’s lust in these words – she wanted to be like God and she was going to achieve it.

The troublesome thing is that God also wants Eve to be like him. If you look at Eve’s dream on the surface it looks beautiful. The trouble is not with the intent but with the means to realising the intent. Eve was threading on faulty ground. She was going to become like God on her own terms and by a process that she initiated. In simple terms, the origin of this was self.

The enemy using the lust of man basically draws man away from life and provides the cheap substitute called religion. However nothing is good enough as a substitute for walking with and enjoying God. The enemy kills relationship. He is a murderer and will murder true joy if you allow him. Eve was on the wrong conversation. The foundation of her conversation was that she doubted God’s love. When you doubt God’s love you are in unsure territory.

The flesh will accommodate you to fulfil a beautiful desire so far as the foundation is contrary to scripture. The strongest arsenal that the flesh has in its armoury is religion. Religion basically takes our best wishes and uses it to hold us in a self made prison. All that religion can provide is death, it might be colourful and pious looking all the way, but its end is death.

The reason for this is that there is only one life source in the universe. This life does not flow from your commitment to God, your efforts for him, or the promises that you make to him, all those things have their place, but are not designed to give life or provide relationship and in fact they can't!

There is commitment required to produce relationship, but it is not your commitment to God that is the foundation, but his commitment to you – you merely respond to his commitment. There is a lot of labour necessary for the relationship to progress, but again it is not your labour on his behalf that counts, but his energy working and released within you. It is not about you doing the things of God for God, but God doing his own things in and through you – this is life!

In Eve we see the first outflowing of religion. Religion is a product of the human mind when it is devoid of God’s love. Often its desires are laudable, but its methods and processes are from a darkened mind alienated from the life of God. It is man cooperating with the deceiver that produces this thing called religion. Religion is not God’s plan for you. His plan is intimacy. Religion seeks to establish what you can do, what you must do, what you need to do – it is subtly all about you! This appeals to the flesh.

Have you realised that the more effort Eve put into this conversation with the deceiver the more she sank into self and by extension the more she failed? This is really why the more you go by your own efforts even in the holy things of God, the more your failure is guaranteed. Eve entered into a new type of interaction with her husband, she was still sharing as of old, but the foundation was no longer love, but religious works!

Eve got into trouble when she looked to something she would do as the foundation for becoming like God. That was the trap. It is subtle, but the result of it is all around us today. Eve was trying to fulfil God’s plan using human ability and strategy – that’s religion. The very first outflow of works in man killed man. The foundation of it was all wrong. They thought that that which they do would make them become something, and this in effect blinded them to that which God was providing freely!

For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
Gal 1:13

Paul was another classic example. He was a first class product of religion. The more Paul advanced in religion the more he went beyond measure in persecution. Religion will make you feel it is right to persecute the church of God in the name of God!!! Paul really felt that he was doing God a favour, and there is a danger in doing that. Can you see it? Religion is the devil’s most effective weapon in persecuting the church.

Now you realise that you are the church of God. The more you build your life on rituals, ceremonies, rules, regulations, etc. the farther you get from the true expression of the church of God. In fact you are killing the church! Unknown to you when you bite the fruit of religion you kill the church, the carrier of God’s life on earth and stifle your ability to enjoy and communicate that life – it is time you stop killing yourself slowly.

The life of God flows from relationship, you have been struggling to achieve, whereas all he wanted was that you accept the very thing you are trying to achieve not as a “salary” but as a gift!! You have been trying to fix things and control behaviour instead of embracing him who is the only true life and love – expose your heart to him he is the fixer. He will teach you the secrets of yielding. Let me say it differently so you get the point – you are too active! You need to learn to recognise his activity flowing through you.

What’s the next step? Stop trying to appease God by your good works. Firstly acknowledge that he is appeased already. Your works will never appease him. Jesus guarantees that. Then you need to accept the relationship he has extended to you as a gift. Wake up tomorrow morning knowing that you are already accepted and all the good works will flow from relationship.

You just attended the funeral of religion.