All About Freedom

July 4, 2004

Personal Narrations

Joel Akin

Calgary, Alberta

John 8:37 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 True freedom comes when we know who owns us and whom we serve. In an unusual article from February I wrote about the nature of sin. In this article God had shared with me how our sin nature is passed down from male to male or female to female. You will see it makes perfect sense once you comprehend it.

 God has told me more then once, the secrets to the Bible are hidden away in the events that happened in the Garden of Eden. So as I sought God he began to unveil just a little more the story of Adam and Eve. Now there were in the garden two trees of interest. First was the tree of life and in the 'midst' of the garden, the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

 There are today a group of scholars and believers who have mythologized the tree event. The theories of what "really" happened are many and numerous. Yet if we will but take the story literally it is then we can learn the truth which will help bring us spiritual freedom. As strange as this story sounds to some it is by accepting it as truth that we learn the greatest lessons. If there is reason most struggle is it not because of what man teaches and wishes us to believe? The lie that we were evolved and not created by God? It is a shame when even the leaders of the church state that we can accept evolution. The only reason they accept this reasoning is because they do not understand their own theology.

 So lets begin with Eve. I don't want to get into the entire story of the first woman created by God but lets just say if there was the perfect woman she was it. Flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone takes on a totally new meaning with her. Eve was perfect and she had the perfect husband and they were in perfect paradise. Then the Serpent walked into the garden. The Scriptures indicate the serpent was the slyest of all the animals. It was this animal that Satan inhabited to set about his plans to steal away paradise from man. To do this he went to work on the woman by appealing to her vanity.

 The Bible does not indicate much of a space of time between the moment Eve partakes and when Adam eats. The scriptures state simply Eve likes what she sees, eats some, and then offers some to her mate so he also eats. In v7 of Chapter 3 it says the eyes of them both were opened and they realized they were naked.

 Often the Bible skips a lot of the details and this is one of those defining moments for all mankind. At the moment when Adam ate of the forbidden fruit he flung away all that was precious and free. It was then that Adam sold his soul, his kingdom, his God for a bill of worthless goods. Some would say he gained knowledge. It is true. The Bible is clear that their eyes were opened. But was the price worth the kind of freedom that Satan offered? Lets look at the details of what they obtained.

 Their eyes were opened to their nakedness but this 'truth' goes much, much deeper. Their eyes were opened to the truth of good and evil but it was not until Adam partook that both their eyes were opened.

 Satan had come into the garden knowing the only way to gain control over man was to get Adam to submit. I'm sure he had been studying Eve and believed by working on her desire for nice things he could bring her to his way of thinking. Thus through her he could have her work on Adam. When Eve partook of the fruit she sinned but the effect of that sin could not give Satan authority over all of creation. Why? Because the Spiritual authority did not belong to Eve. It belonged to Adam because it was granted to him by God.

 Now some may find these points confusing so lets elaborate a little. We have discussed the issue of Authority more then once on these pages. It is something that the church today understands very little of yet it is one of the most critical issues ever. In the beginning God created man to have dominion over all creation subject only to God himself. It was man and not woman who was given this authority. Women today are trying to make themselves equal with men and yet we must search out the truth from scripture. For it is woman that came from man which means she is lesser in authority then he is. It may not be a popular teaching but this is the way God sees it.

If this is so why then did Satan tempt Eve first and not man? Personally I believe its because he understood clearly that Adam would have said no to him but he could not say no to Eve.

 So here we have the woman having submitted herself to the voice of Satan. She thus became the voice of Satan when she turned to her husband and said "eat some of this fruit." Here is another interesting stage in the conflict and another proof of authority. Remember Eve ate first and the Bible indicates she did so. Now some may dispute this but remember who has the authority. If she ate first, and had the authority over creation, her eating would have been enough. Yet it wasn't enough. Adam could have refused her offer but perhaps he was confused when she had no change and when nothing seemed to happen at the moment she partook. It was only when Adam partook that both their eyes were opened.

Now how can this be that it was only after Adam partook that both their eyes were opened? We must return to who was truly in authority. In this case it is a matter of degree. If someone who works for the President of the United States betrays the country that is one thing. Yet if the President himself sells out the country then the level of authority is that much worse for there is no one higher in authority then he. It was President Truman who said "The Buck stops here." It was also true for Adam because he had only God to answer to.

 Thus began the downward spiral. Their eyes were opened. They understood for the very first time what right and wrong were. Their Spiritual heart realized they had sinned and had literally taken on the stench of death. In understanding the difference between good and evil they were able to see evil and realize that they had committed the first ever sinful act. It was then they knew their eating of the fruit was sin, and sin was wrong, and they became ashamed of who they were. So ashamed they went out and made themselves clothing or aprons to cover their private parts.

 So why is all this so important? What is happening here that makes this event so unusual? Listen carefully because what happened to them can be undone to a greater or lesser degree. Until Adam ate of the fruit both had been under the covering and the authority of God. As long as they obeyed and lived under God they took on His nature which was life and love and all that is good and pure and free. This God nature provided them access to the creator of all the universe. There was no question in Gods mind that they were his creation and his children and he loved them dearly. He provided for them the best that this universe could possibly offer. They were covered and protected by the nature of God.

 The Sin nature is different. The Sin nature is the very essence of rebellion. Its motto is "I did it my way" but in reality it is the deepest, darkest form of bondage there is. The nature of sin requires blind obedience without knowledge, wisdom or understanding. It either hates God or stands in shame of being seen by God. This is and was the nature of Sin but also was the essence of Satan. You have to remember the Bible speaks of how Satan rebelled against God. In doing so Satan set himself up as god but in a backwards way. He decided that he would be the antithesis of who God was. If God stood for truth Satan stood for falsehood. If God stood for obedience then the devil reveled in rebellion. And on and on it went as the devil revealed his nature. The Sin Nature.

So how did we obtain this nature? How in the world can we put on a nature that we did not chose? I speak not of Adam and Eve but of us? How can I have the sin nature when I did not ask for it or even want it? To understand this we must go back to authority. If Adam and Eve had never sinned they would have retained the nature of their creator God and thus all children born by them would be pure and free of sins taint. So then why do we have the sin nature upon us? Remember who you are in authority to. To whom you submit and to whom you serve they are your master. When Adam and Eve listened to the serpent who was speaking for Satan they did not fully realize all the issues at stake. By submitting themselves to Satan the authority that Adam held over all creation was his was lost. How can this be? Remember the one thing that held them to God the creator was obedience. It was not forced obedience but by choice. God Himself set the standards. Obey me and live forever in paradise. Disobey me and lose paradise.

 In addition something else happened at that moment Adam disobeyed. In rebelling he chose to submit himself to Satan. Now that is a major clue for us today. Adam, in submitting himself to Satan, chose to take on the nature of the one that he obeyed. Rebellion and all the opposition to God that comes with it. In doing so Adam took on the nature of his new father who was Satan. Yet remember they lost their 'God nature' and took on the sin nature. Now as their new father they lost perfect fellowship with God. Yet the Bible indicates that in the moment they partook of it they died. How can this be when they were still standing there alive? Remember they took on the sin nature at the moment they ate of the fruit. At that exact moment death came into their lives. Their very DNA became twisted and totally corrupted by death which was why God had to kick them out of the garden lest they eat of the Tree of Life and be stuck forever in limbo between death and life.

Now true freedom comes when one understands why Christ came to earth and why it was critical that he be born of a woman. One must also see that the full brunt of the Sin nature was carried by man because he was granted full authority over all of creation. Though Eve sinned hers was the lesser sin because she was under the authority of Adam who was the spiritual head. She obtained the sin nature but it was not the core or heart of that nature which was bore by man. She obtained the sin nature only by the Spiritual head who was still Adam. Remember Adams sin was transferring his loyalty from God to Satan. Eve sinned also but her authority still stemmed from her husband. This is the principle of spiritual authority and its essential for us to understand this if we hope to understand why Christ was born of a virgin.

If the woman gives birth to a son she has no spiritual authority over that child. Why? Simply because he is male. The woman has been created spiritually submissive to the man. I'm sure some don't like the sound of that but never the less it will help us understand why Christ had to come from a virgin woman and could not come directly through 100% human bloodlines.

Ephesians 5: 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

 The wisdom of spiritual submission is so marvelous if we will but think about it and the consequences of it. It gives us insight into what is happening in the spiritual realm.

  Women are submissive to men, spiritually speaking.

I cannot emphasize the gravity of that statement and how important it is for you to not just see it but accept it. Because women are of lesser authority women therefore do not carry the original guilt or burden of the sin nature. That honor and or curse belongs to men. Though all carry the sin nature it belongs to men to pass on that sin nature to us when we are born. Why? Because it is men who were created with this authority by God. All men pass it along when they have children. Now a female can pass it to a female child because they are of equal authority but she does not have the right to pass it to a male even if that male is her own child. Why? Because he is male. So no matter what that sin nature can only be passed from male to male or male to female but never female to male. That right belongs to the father of that child.

It is here where the most marvelous understanding arises in our hearts. When Christ was born of a virgin, Mary did not have the right to pass on the sin nature to that child conceived of the Holy Spirit. The child thus could only obtain the nature, the true nature of His father. Of His Father. Christ was male but born of a woman. Conceived of the nature of His father. God. Can you not see why the virgin birth is essential for our salvation? For if Christ was born of a man he would obtain the sin nature of that man because men are now under the authority of Satan. And Satan's nature is sin and rebellion.

Some still may not get it but study these words carefully. All children born today take on the sin nature because it is carried by our fathers. We could never hope to find true healing or forgiveness in the teachings of men or the gods of this world. The world religions promise much but when you get close they fall apart. And unfortunately many in the world consider Christianity the same because we do not understand the basics and foundations of our faith. Every man, woman, or teaching based on men's teachings must fail because they do not take into account our sin nature which we inherited from Adam.

If we hope to answer the world we must answer them in a way that withstands all the tests and arrows that can be thrown against it. We must understand not only what is wrong with us but how it can be fixed. And how can we fix what we don't even comprehend? I've been raised in the church all my life yet I've never heard a sermon on the Virgin Birth of Christ except in passing reference. When you start asking people the deep questions about it they clam up for lack of knowledge.

Christ carried the nature of HIS FATHER and thus provided us a way to return to the garden and have the right to partake of the tree of life. It is through Christ that we can once again forsake the sin nature we were born with and begin to take on the nature of our heavenly father. We are meant to be the light of this world, the salt in society, the leaven in the bread. How often do I see Christians hide their faith by trying to be no different then anyone else. That is not the way to show the nature of God through us! In fact such a method must make Satan laugh for then our candle is hidden by the bushel basket.

 God foretold that Eve's offspring would bruise the head of the serpent. How? Even though Satan caused her to sin and rebel it was through women that Salvation came to all of us.

As America celebrates her foundation let us remember that she was built upon the spiritual principles of freedom in Christ. We must not return to the bondage of the sin nature nor strip the land of those freedoms found through Christ. How appropriate the scripture Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1

 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.