But of 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.
Genesis 2:16 NKJV
God never intended for mankind to die. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they allowed the virus called sin to enter into the world and ultimately bring death. Mankind should understand viruses because we have modern technology and computers. Anyone that has dealt with a virus in their computer knows that the operating system was made perfect by the manufacturer. The virus comes into the operating system and destroys that which was intended by the manufacturer. However, as with the Garden of Eden, someone always seeks to find a way to disrupt or destroy the creator’s product.
If you want a virus on your modern computer, you start by opening the door to it by clicking on a link that looks safe but leads to many problems due to something called malware. It has one job once it gets in the door — corruption of your programs and files. Now let’s use this example to help us understand what happened in the garden. Adam and Eve simply opened up the door to sin. Once they were convinced to allow sin to enter in, it brought corruption of the program called Eternal Life that was given to man when he was made. Instead of life, the virus called Sin began to rewrite mankind’s genetic code for a program called Death.
Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.
1 Corinthians 15:22 NLT
If a virus gets into a computer file, you can’t get rid of it by simply making new copies of the file. The virus remains and transfers to every new file that is created. Sin works the exact same way within mankind. From the time that sin entered in, it was passed from generation to generation, passing death and the consequences of sin onto every man and woman up on the earth. Many wonder why all of humanity has to pay for something that only Adam did. It’s because of the corrupted files (sin) in our system (DNA) that passes on to every person. Sin and Death was now active in mankind for all generations until someone came with the “antivirus” and restored Eternal Life.
We will get into blessings and curses and how it fits into the Kingdom of God, but this also explains some of the scriptures that discuss the sins of the fathers passing on to the next generation. Each time you open up a door to a specific type of sin, it remains in the genetic code and passes on to your children. We call some of these things habits, but it is a part of the programming that has been written by generations past that we must know how to deal with. The good news is that Jesus came to handle all of these challenges and issues that mankind allowed through sin. Jesus literally gave us a new program called Eternal Life.
The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 10:10 NKJV
Let’s define what death really means according to the scriptures. If you believe that death means that you will cease to exist, that does not align to what the Bible teaches. Remember, God is a spirit and he cannot die or cease to exist, He is the Eternal God. Mankind is also a spirit with a soul that dwells in a body. Our spirit is eternal and, like God, does not cease to exist. The angels are also made of the same substance, spirit, as we are, and also live eternally. That’s why the angels that sinned and the devil himself had to have a place to go once everything on earth is completed. Hell was created for the devil and his angels, as we discussed in our last post. Mankind, being a spirit being, is also going to exist eternally wherever he may end up.
So death cannot mean cease to exist. Instead, it is defined as complete and total separation from God. In the case of physical death, it is the separation of the spirit and soul from the body. With this definition, now you understand why God said, “In the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die.” Adam and Eve did die that day, spiritually speaking, because they were separated for the first time from their creator and father.
If death is separation from God, then what is eternal life? The Bible defines this for us very clearly. Jesus himself says this when talking to the Father,
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
John 17:3 KJV
These words, know thee, in the Greek simply mean — to learn of or come to know. You cannot come to know someone that you’re completely separated from for eternity. So ultimately it goes back to relationship. Jesus came to reconcile us back to our Father so that we can be with Him for eternity and know Him by learning about Him for all of that time. This is the biblical definition of eternal life: to walk with God and to get to know Him. How do we know this is true? The Bible actually says that we already have this eternal life now. It’s not something that we’re waiting to receive.
And the testimony is this: God has given us eternal life [we already possess it], and this life is in His Son [resulting in our spiritual completeness and eternal companionship with Him].
1 John 5:11 AMP
The Bible is clear here that the life is in Jesus, the Son of God. Once you have Jesus, you already have eternal life inside of you. The program in your genetic code has been overwritten from death to life. That’s why the believer does not have to fear the separation of the spirit and soul from the body, which is just physical death. Believers in Christ Jesus are promised a new, heavenly body, that will be the eternal house for our spirit and soul. As a matter of fact, it gives us a bit of a sneak peek when it talks about how our new body would look.
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2 NKJV
As you can see, Jesus is the prototype of what mankind will look like in our glorified state. The Bible says that we are joint heirs with Him. There are many more promises to those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that we will get into. I just wanted to make it very clear that we have eternal life now dwelling within us, and that God promises us that once our body is separated from our spirit and soul, we will receive a new house (body). However, the scriptures are also clear that those who do not receive salvation, which is by faith in Jesus Christ, will be found naked or without a body in eternity.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. If so be that, being clothed, we shall not be found naked.
2 Corinthians 5:3 KJV
The house that Paul is writing about here is the heavenly body that will be provided to the believers in Christ Jesus. Demons are a great example of spirits that do not have a house. That’s why they seek to get inside of each and every man, woman, and child upon the earth, because they are naked without a home. Spirits do not like being without a house.
This is one of the greatest promises that the scriptures give the believers. Adam and Eve disqualified themselves from eternal life through sin, and all of mankind paid the price with them. However, Christ Jesus came to redeem mankind, reconcile us back to our Father, give us eternal life, and allow us to walk with God, getting to know him for all eternity. I encourage you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and receive all the blessings that are available through faith in Him. We have been given a great opportunity for redemption and forgiveness that the devil and his angels will never receive, don’t miss out.
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