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Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Matthew 28:18 (NIV)
(1)
INTRODUCTION
Domain was given to Adam and Eve. They were given a command to rule and reign over Earth. There was but one rule to follow - eat not of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The serpent, known also as satan, had other plans. It tempted Eve and she fell. Adam fell with her. They lost their domain.
DID GOD REALLY SAY?
Leaving peacefully in Eden surely Adam and Eve did not expect to be uprooted from their promised land. In Eden, they walked with God, were always provided for, and never lacked anything. How little it can take for someone as deceitful as the serpent is to get us out of our lane of thinking and doing. It all started with a simple question - “Did God really say?” And so commenced one of the most notable encounters with satan. The beguiler deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
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4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when 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 fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Genesis 3: 1, 4-6 (NIV)
Satan distorted the image of God and introduced doubt to Eve. She began to question God’s intentions toward Adam and her. Some of the fruit was given to Adam too. They both rebelled and it cost them greatly. As they were warned their spirits died. In his book As In Heaven: Life in God’s Kingdom Now, Bryan Elliott mentions that they became orphaned and lost their domain - their authority over Earth. (2)
It is the authority God gave to Adam and Eve that satan was ultimately after. He wished to be exalted above God and lost the battle in Heaven. The only option left was Earth and Adam and Eve's authority over it.
Once that authority was lost, satan grasped it and set up His Kingdom of death, destruction, and thievery. Suffering and pain came to all or as Bryan Elliott further says the system of works was introduced.
REBELLION AT THE WORKPLACE
While I have always tended to try and respect authority since I was little, there was a season in my life where I struggled greatly with rebellion. Funnily enough, I was not even aware of it at first.
Per Bible Dictionary (3) rebellion is described as following.
Rebellion is opposition to authority and always begins in the heart; it always manifests as disobedience, choosing not to go the way directed or not doing what one is told to do. Rebellious human nature rejects authority, desiring freedom from any restrictions and accountability.
Spoken in a simpler manner, it is any act of defience towards God. If He told us to go somewhere and we don't, that is rebellion. If He told us to stay and we don't that is rebellion. If He told us to do something and we don't that is also rebellion. And we could go on and on.
It was at my workplace where I personaly encountered some of my worst cases of rebellion. Many times I felt blocked, and unrighteously treated. Unappreciated and overlooked. A mixture of feelings that resulted in me rebelling and refusing to remain under the authority of such individuals.
Do not get me wrong, I did what I was asked to do. At times way beyond what was asked of me. But there were a couple of situations where I left and gave up on my position in pursuit of a better offer elsewhere. Or I was only willing to do the bare minimum. Then there were moments where I was told to leave and chose to overstay. It has been an area of great weakness.
But I will speak of this more in future posts. Today I wanted to mention why Adam and Eve were asked not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
DIVINE RESTRAINT
Authority was passed onto satan. All seemed lost. But God had a plan - our Lord and Savior Yeshua was to restore it all. Once Yeshua rose back to life, He was given all authority on Earth and in Heaven.
That authority He then delegated to you and me - to all His disciples here on Earth. But there is a catch. “God will only use those He can restrain”, says dr. Francis Myles.
Not eating off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a divine restraint. One which permitted Adam and Eve to continue to have spiritual authority over Earth. The minue they broke that restraint they lost the authority and their spirit died.
We too need to give our all to Yeshua. We need to lay ourselves down so that God can use us to do great things. And for Him to use us in a mighty way in a specific season in a specific way, He may put upon us a divine restraint related only to that season or for it may even be for life. One such example is John the Baptist, whose diet consisted of only caterpillars and honey.
CONCLUSION
Adam and Eve were given dominion over Earth. They were to rule and reign. To maintain their authority they were given a divine restraint. They were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The serpent, the nahash, had other plans. He deceived Eve and got her to rebel. Adam and Eve lost authority over Earth, which was passed onto satan. Death, destruction, and decay came to all living. But Yeshua redeemed it all back. He was given all authority in Heaven and on Earth and delegated it to us. We can also be asked to honor a certain divine restraint when God wishes to introduce us to a new level of authority.
Application
Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today to repent for all rebellion we have been operating in. Show us Father every area where we are still in rebellion and need to repent.
SOURCES
Image by wix.com.
Bryan Elliott. As In Heaven: Life in God’s Kingdom Now. Avalable on world web https://m46ministries.com/books/as-in-heaven/
Bible Dictionary: Rebellion. Available on world web https://www.bible-dictionary.info/dictionary/rebellion/
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