2022: A Year of Peace and Restoration (Part Ten)

—Genesis 2:9; 3:24 NASB

—Revelation 2:7; 22:14 NASB

Access Denied, Access Granted – Paradise Lost, Paradise Restored

From Genesis to Revelation, from the first book of the Bible to the last, we read the Grand Story of God’s salvation and restoration of humankind. We see His loving and purposeful dealings with the humanity He created and loves. It’s an expression of His love for man created in His image, despite human sin and failure and its ugly and destructive consequences. In other words, things went wrong, but God was there to fix it. God is a God of restoration.

When man sinned against God in the perfect Garden of Eden, Paradise was lost and access to the Tree of Life was denied (Gen 3:1–24). After the saving work of Christ on the Cross, He is the One who restores Paradise back to humankind and grants access to the Tree of Life (Rev 2:7; 22:14). The criminal who died next to Jesus on the cross would be with Him in Paradise that same day (Lk 23:43). What Adam had lost, Christ restores (Rom 5:17–19). What sin had robbed, salvation returns. Adam’s sin brought death, Jesus’ salvation brings life (1 Cor 5:21–22). This is the Good News!

Two Gardens, Two Decisions

The two most influential events in the history of humanity both took place in a garden: first the fatal sin in the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve, and then, in the garden of Gethsemane, the dedication of Jesus the Messiah to die on the cross for the salvation and redemption of humanity. His blood would provide atonement before God and the forgiveness of our sins so we can find reconciliation with God and restoration by God. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and plunged humanity into sin and death. Yet Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, worried to death, gave His life to the will of God as an atoning sacrifice to redeem humankind (Mt 26:36–45). Adam and Eve selfishly chose sin over obedience and brought death; Jesus selflessly chose obedience in order to bring life! He humbled Himself even to the point of death and became obedient to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to redeem sinners by taking their sin upon Himself (Phil 2:5–8). Adam and Eve made a decision, and so did Jesus. His right decision overturned their wrong decision. Decisions have power—remember that. His decision was to do God’s will, nothing less and nothing else! No compromise from His side. No easy way out. He had to ‘drink this cup,’ an idiom for going through something very tough. In His decision, Christ chose to obey God and do His will! This brought us salvation.

Adam and Eve’s disobedience was a representative disobedience with consequences on all of humanity as all of humanity descended from them. The sin that entered them, was passed on. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23), and since everyone dies, it’s easy to see that we are all under sin. We can’t escape physical death, but we can avoid eternal death. The good news is that Jesus brings life. Jesus’ obedience was God’s universal work of salvation that applies to all those who believe in Him (Jn 3:16; Rom 1:16–17). Death came through the disobedience of one man (Adam), life came through the obedience of another Man (Jesus). Access was denied because of Adam, yet access was granted through Jesus. Adam brought the disruption of man’s relationship with God, His Creator, yet Christ, as ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (Jn 14:6), restores man back to God in reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18–21). Christ the Saviour grants us access to Heaven and eternal life. Paradise was lost, yet Paradise was restored. Christ the Redeemer gives us forgiveness and freedom. God is the God of peace and restoration. This is the beauty of salvation in Christ! This is the power of the Gospel of Jesus!

Access to the Tree of Life

This raises the following question: in what way do we have access to the Tree of Life in this life? God denied sinful humanity the way back to the Tree of Life because it would’ve meant man could gain eternal life apart from God and despite of his sin (Gen 3:22–24). That won’t cut it. Humans sinned and sin has consequences. Only God is the Redeemer. No shortcuts; no backdoor. Humanity is held accountable before its Creator and Life-Giver.

In terms of access to the Tree of Life after it had been denied due to Adam’s sin, we know that Christ, in relation to our future existence in Heaven, will grant us access to the Tree of Life (Rev 2:7; 22:14). That Tree is now in Heaven. In this way, access to the Tree of Life lies in the future, in Heaven. On the one hand, however, salvation and eternal life are a present reality and experience: those who believe in Christ receive eternal life and have ‘passed out of death into life’ (Jn 5:24). This transfer ‘from the domain of darkness’ into ‘the kingdom of His beloved Son’ (Col 1:13) is in the redemption Christ offers (v 14). Salvation is therefore a present reality of the believer. Yet, on the other hand, the fulness of salvation awaits future fulfilment. Not all of Heaven can be experienced on earth. In this life we are still affected by sin and its consequences. We fail; others fail. When you sin, repent; when others sin against you, forgive. Christ is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse (1 Jn 1:9). Those who are honest before God with their sins and shortcomings will receive mercy (Prov 28:13; cf., Ps 32). We live in a fallen creation, yet God offers salvation and restoration. Others are imperfect, yet so are we! We often see the speck in others’ eyes, but not the beam in our own (Mt 7:3–5). We should not fall for this religious, judgmental hypocrisy, but rather in humility relate to God and others. God is not on the side of the perfect, but on the side of the humble, to whom He gives grace (1 Pet 5:5; Jas 4:6). This type of attitude is life-giving in our existence in the here and now. Living by God’s standards and values is divine life on earth within the limits of our reality of a fallen creation and humanity.

Christ is the Life-giver, or the Life-giving Spirit (1 Co 15:45). He is life and He gives life. He is the foundation of life. He will grant us access to the Tree of Life in Heaven. Yet there are four verses in Proverbs that speak of the tree of life. Let us consider these exciting passages in order to answer the question in that what way we have access to the Tree of Life in this life.

• Divine Wisdom (Proverbs 3:13–18). This passage speaks of the blessing of wisdom found and understanding gained (v 13). More valuable than riches (vv 14–15), wisdom gives ‘long life’ and ‘riches and honor’ (v 16) with ‘pleasant ways’ and ‘peace’ on life’s journey (v 17). Wisdom is ‘a tree of life’ (v 18). God’s invaluable wisdom, the heavenly and pure wisdom (Jas 3:17–18), is not the Tree of Life, yet ‘a tree of life,’ hence a life-giving dimension in this earthly life. Wisdom is the principle, foundational thing in life and it comes from the fear of God (Prov 1:7; 9:10). Without wisdom all decisions will be futile and wrong. As Dennis Prager wrote, ‘Good intentions without wisdom leads to evil.’[1] Biblical wisdom gives clarity of how to act with good intentions. In following biblical wisdom there is great reward in life, hence it is a tree of life. It has life-giving power on earth as it reveals God’s will to us and the way of life for us. The person who wants to experience life on earth, needs to follow what wisdom teaches (Ps 34:12–14). Divine wisdom comes from God (1 Co 2), through Christ who is God’s wisdom (1 Co 1:30–31), and in Whom all wisdom and true knowledge is found (Col 2:3). His divine wisdom is a tree of life in this life! Gain divine wisdom, and you will gain heavenly life on earth.

• Fruit of Righteousness (Proverbs 11:30). The ‘fruit of the righteous,’ too, is ‘a tree of life.’ God is a God of righteousness. Righteousness is God’s way to life on earth, the way He originally intended us to live. God doesn’t want people to fight and treat each other badly. He wants peace and harmony on earth, the way He originally created the environment for humanity to live in. Throughout human history, God sought to either contain or prevent evil, and often judged it, despite His great patience and mercy. Sometimes God allowed evil, primarily in relation to human free will. God always sought ways to instruct people to live according to Hisways and standards, yet it requires human obedience. People choose evil for their own destruction at their own expense. Actions have consequences. Choice requires responsibility as freedom demands accountability, else freedom is just anarchy and chaos. The type of righteous lifestyle according to God’s Law, values and principles brings forth fruit (i.e., result) that is life-giving to us and others. God can therefore discipline those He loves in order to train them to yield ‘the peaceful fruit of righteousness’ (Hebr 12:11). God is, figuratively speaking, a Vinedresser, who prunes the vine so they bring forth fruit (Jn 15). This peaceful fruit brings forth life to those around us! Seek God’s righteousness and all will be well (Mt 6:33).

• Desire Fulfilled (Proverbs 13:12). A ‘desire fulfilled is a tree of life,’ while disappointments are discouraging, or, as the Proverb says, ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ People need hope; they need their needs met. Constant struggles in life and too much failure is crushing to the human spirit. People lose all courage and give up on life. That’s a dangerous place to be in. The life-giving dimension is God meeting our needs and fulfilling our desires according to His will and righteousness (Mt 6:33). God won’t give us sinful desires; such we must deny and abandon. We must seek that which is pure and good and honourable. We must seek the desires of His heart, in line with His will and plans for us. As we delight in Him, His good desires for our lives will come to pass (Ps 37:4). But this requires trusting Him (v 3), committing our ways to Him (v 5), and patiently waiting on Him while resting in Him (v 7). It’s the concept of ‘delayed gratification,’ meaning, ‘that something better might be attained in the future by giving up something of value in the present… the sacrifice of the now to gain a benefit later,’ in the words of Jordan Peterson. Hence, ‘sacrifice will improve the future.’ There is a ‘causal relationship between our efforts today and the quality of tomorrow,’ hence regulating our impulses in the present will bring ‘rewards in the future.’ Peterson concludes, ‘We therefore sacrifice the pleasures of today for the sake of a better tomorrow.’[2] Understand and appreciate the ‘usefulness of delay,’ as it matures you and prepares you for what God has in store for you. God is faithful to fulfil His promises. He won’t let us down by a ‘hope deferred.’ Divine hope doesn’t disappoint (Rom 5:5). Waiting on Him in delayed gratification, is good as we will be able to handle the fulfilment of the promise properly. If we get our desire fulfilled before we are ready for it, we might not handle it well and spoil it all together. Trust God to give you the best at the right time, while in the meantime getting you ready for the fulfilment of His good promises!

• Healing Tongue (Proverbs 15:4). A ‘healing tongue’ also brings a life-giving dimension to life. People are hurting and suffering; they need healing. There is power in the tongue, even that of life and death itself (Prov 18:21). Hence, a healing tongue is a tree of life (Prov 15:4). The tongue, small in size as it is, holds tremendous power over us and those around us (Jas 3). We should only speak such words that bring edification to others, that which carries grace to the hearers, and with a relevance of content suitable to the occasion (Eph 4:29). We may say the right thing but at the wrong time or in the wrong way, and everything will get worse. When people are angry and emotional, it is only the ‘gentle answer [that] turns away wrath,’ whereas ‘a harsh word stirs up anger,’ or more anger (Prov 15:1). It will make the situation worse, not better. Hence, wisdom makes knowledge acceptable, in terms of speaking the right thing at the right time in the right way (v 2). It is the healing tongue and brings life-giving input to others (15:4). Therefore, pursue to speak God’s wisdom, bring forth the fruit that reflects God’s righteousness and share that which brings healing and freedom to those you communicate with. This is life-giving!

The Value of Knowledge and the Power of the Truth

God planted many trees in the Garden of Eden. Two had specific names: one, the Tree of Life, and the other the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:9). Adam and Eve were supposed to be nourished by the former, while not eating of the latter. Yet they did exactly the opposite: they ate of the wrong tree and lost access to the life-giving tree. God had warned them, yet they disobeyed. The question is: of which tree do you eat and nourish yourself? I’d like to draw a striking parallel between the words of Jesus that His truth will set people free (Jn 8:31–36) and a special period in human history in which knowledge was exalted as the answer to everything.

A famous slogan of the so-called Age of Reason in the eighteenth century, stated that ‘knowledge is power,’ ascribed to Francis Bacon (1561–1626). Bacon was a forerunner of the Enlightenment; he was highly influential regarding the optimistic reliance on science based on human reason.[3] Inspired by the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century, the Enlightenment philosophers sought truth ‘through the use of reason,’ based on ‘the belief that a human being becomes a better person through the study and practice of literature, philosophy, music, and the arts,’ joined by ‘a belief in human perfectibility through education and unlimited progress.’ Their confidence was in reason and they ‘were convinced that nature was orderly and fundamentally good.’ Hence, ‘change and progress would improve society’ since humans were perfectible through knowledge. Their faith was in reason and it was ‘education’ that ‘liberated humanity from ignorance and superstition,’ which was a direct assault on religion and its dogmas. Denouncing the ‘bigotry and intolerance’ of the established church at the time with its power over society, ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest numbers,’ as their battle cry went, was achievable only by ‘a general overhaul of society’ according to their ‘secular gospel’: ‘happiness need not be delayed until after death [i.e., Heaven], but could be enjoyed here on earth.’[4] Humans were basically good but needed secular education to improve themselves. Religious dogma was bad for society; these ‘shackles’ that bound men should be shaken off. But was all that the Church taught nonsensical and enslaving? Was it wrong to emphasise human sin as the root cause of what we need to be delivered from? Are humans basically good and not in need of salvation? Even Voltaire himself, one of the fiercest critics of the church and its dogmatic system, lost and ridiculed the optimism of those who denied ‘the existence of evil and insisted that the world was essentially good.’[5]

So, are humans basically good? Is it feasible to deny the existence of evil, pursue some form of optimism and seek to improve society by reason and knowledge alone without any religious elements? Was Rousseau right that people are basically good or was Hobbes’ negative view a more realistic view of humanity? The biblical perspective would affirm that there is both goodness in humanity, as created in the image of God, yet there is also the potential of evil in humanity, as affected by sin. The famous philosophers had some valid points, yet seem to have missed important truth.

Let’s consider the words of arguably the most influential moral teacher in history, Jesus of Nazareth.

—John 8:30, 31, 36 NASB

Freedom comes from truth, which is found in the teachings of Jesus. This freedom that only the Son gives, is true freedom. All else is slavery of some sort. True liberating knowledge is found only in the truth of the Son of God. It alone has the power to truly set free as it deals with the very root problem of human weakness and suffering: sin. Sin is the failing to meet God’s standards; it’s the falling short of His glory (Rom 3:23). Its consequences are death (Rom 6:23). Death is the evidence that we are all under sin and its effect. That is what God told Adam and Eve: if you eat of the Tree of Knowledge you will die (Gen 2:16–17). Death was the consequences of eating of the wrong source. It was more than a single act of disobedience. Humans were supposed to live of the Tree of Life, the life God gave. Disobeying God made them draw on another source, a source that would not meet the standard of eternal life, but ushered in death. They had lost the access to that divine source through their disobedience of God’s direct command. Only the truth of Jesus can set us free and bring us back to the Tree of Life, the source of eternal, divine life. By drawing on the wrong source and obeying the wrong voice in direct violation of the Life-Giver’s command, the divine image in them was also marred and their nature was changed. Only eating of the Tree of Life can turn humanity back to how God originally intended us to live.

But let’s be clear: knowledge in and of itself is good, useful and powerful. We should be as educated as we possibly can. Music and the arts are powerful developmental tools to grow a child and adult. The Enlightenment thinkers even had some very valid objections to the abuses of the Church at the time. However, they were wrong to demonise and reject all religious content and replace Christianity with Deism. That type of alternative just showed that humans still have the need to worship something or someone. The philosophers rebelled against the abuses of the institutional church, as would also Dostoevsky and Nietzsche, yet rejecting the power of the liberating truth of the Gospel would turn out to be a rejection of what had made Western societies good, civil, equal, and fair and, therefore, better than previous cultures: Christianity. In fact, it was Christianity itself that paved the way for the Scientific Revolution and other movements like the Enlightenment that criticised it so heavily.[6] Throwing the baby out with the bathwater was wrong as the moral decline that followed showed. The French Revolution plunged Europe into a terrible war, and the horrors of both World Wars and Communist regimes illustrate what the absent of biblical values can do to a secularised society. With the ‘central dogmas of the Western faith … no longer credible,’ rejected as they were by aggressive secular philosophy, ‘the aftermath of God’s death’ (Nietzsche) ushered in ‘the great collective horrors of Communism and Fascism.’[7] The vacuum a dethroned Christendom left was filled by horrible regimes and its abuses. Any objective person would acknowledge the abuses and failures of the medieval church, yet one should also fairly evaluate what replace it. The Protestant approach remains arguably the most powerful alternative: keep what is good and pure, but reform that which is wrong and evil. Jesus Himself took that approach 2,000 years ago.

As for our day and age, given the philosophical heritage we have in the West, the right thing to do, is to seek the original source of true religion: the Messiah and His Truth. He is the Truth and the Source of the truth that sets us free. Jesus does not want us to live under some oppressive religious system that exploits us and keeps us ignorant. He wants us to abide in His Word (Jn 8:30), His divine teaching (Jn 7:16–17), so that we truly will be liberated from the power of sin by the truth of Christ (Jn 8:32). He is the Son who truly sets free (Jn 8:36). He sets free from the power of ultimate enslavement: the power of sin. Sin is the destructive force that brings death and sickness. Jesus, on the Cross, overcame sin’s power and gives us life—life in abundance (Jn 10:10). Once you discover the Son and His truth, you shall be free indeed! The truth of Christ is the nourishment of the Tree of Life, the heavenly source to life on earth. The truth sets free. The Son sets free indeed.

As pointed out above, the four passages in Proverbs guide us how to seek life-giving truth from Scripture in order to live a wise, righteous, fulfilled, and healthy life. Jesus’ teaching is the truth that sets us free, the life we can live while drawing on the heavenly resources as if eating of the Tree of Life. There is, however, a striking passage in Hebrews that needs consideration for a final conclusion.

—Hebrews 5:13–14

Adam and Eve were not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were to live of the Tree of Life. They had a child-like innocence that did not know the perversion and lusts of sin. They lived in sinless purity. This is how God originally created human beings in His image. Sin ruined that. Now we know hatred, anger, sinful sexual desires, not to speak of the evils people are committing on a daily basis that bring tremendous suffering to others. We are born in sin and our nature gravitates towards that which is wrong. We need to be raised and instructed to live a morally virtuous life. It’s easier to do wrong than to do right. Why is that? We know what is wrong, for our conscience dictates that. But we often do the wrong thing despite that knowledge. Hence, knowledge isn’t enough. We need power and that power comes from the truth that sets us free.

We need to go through the process of training our senses to discern between right and wrong, and good and evil. It’s the renewing of the mind that learns God’s ways, as opposed to the world’s ways (Rom 12:2). The value system of this world is often opposed to God’s principles. God’s moral law, although imprinted in our conscience, still needs to be consciously learned. The lust of this world and the pride of life is but passing emptiness compared to the fulfilment God gives us and the eternal life that follows for those who seek to live according to His will (1 Jn 2:15–17). Jesus Himself lived to do the will of His Father (Jn 4:34; 6:38). He would live according to every word that proceeded from Heaven (Mt 4). He would not bow to the empty promises and misleading temptations of this world. Adam and Eve did; Jesus didn’t. Like Frodo resisted the evil power of the ring, the ‘one ring to rule them all,’ so Jesus overcame the evil powers of the world by the one who sought to rule us all. Jesus defeated the evil spirit that seeks to enslave the world. He is the Redeemer that sets us free with His truth. As we are transformed by His truth, we learn to live above the powers of sinful but empty pleasures, and learn to live in the will of God to please our Creator—a wise, righteous, fulfilled and healthy life. Choose life; eat of the Tree of Life!

[1] https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2022/06/07/if-the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-good-intentions-with-what-do-we-pave-the-road-to-heaven-n2608312 [2] Peterson, Jordan B. 12 Rules for Life. An Antidote to Chaos. Canada: Random House, 2018. 164–174. [3] Matthews, Roy T. and F DeWitt Platt. The Western Humanities (Vol. II; 4th Ed.), 2001. 410–411. [4] Ibid., 425–426. [5] Ibid., 442. [6] See Peterson 2018, 185–190. [7] Peterson 2018, 188, 193.