We’ve been talking about the parallel between the seven nations that occupied Canaan and the seven letters that were addressed to the body of Christ in Asia Minor by John under Holy Spirit’s direction. I remind you that the events described in Revelation begin with John’s statement that “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.”
We talked last week about the incredible sin of Ham against his father, and how that sin became an inheritance engraved into his sons and grandsons. It set the stage for God’s commands to Israel to NOT intermarry or to co-mingle with the children of Ham – represented by the seven nations that occupied the land of Canaan. Israel failed to keep God’s command and it cost them dearly!
Four weeks ago, we left off with Jesus’ discussion at the well with the woman of Samaria. She didn’t really understand worship. For her, it was a physical act in some geographical place. Jesus made it clear to here that worship actually occurred in the realm of the Spirit — not in the flesh. That’s where we will pick up our discussion today.
This week we will wrap up this series of legal actions that were necessary for us to come into the place of having the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, having access to all the authority of the Heavens. We were destined for rulership before the first words of Creation were spoken. You’ll remember the words that were spoken over Adam when he was first created and the Lord breathed His breath into Adam. Genesis 1:27-28: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Before we continue with last week’s narrative, prepare yourself for a series of legal actions which must, of necessity, have preceded Jesus’ horrendous beatings, his subsequent crucifixion and ultimate resurrection. The entire picture that I’m trying to lay out in what I’m sharing as “It is Finished” is a series of actions necessary for the Universal Court in Heaven. Jesus was already “the Lamb that was slain before the foundations of the earth,” but now it was necessary to fulfil from legal and practical standpoint. All of this was purposed before the first words of Creation were spoken, but now it was being acted out in reality! We pick up again where we left off last week.
Had to stop again in the middle of this discussion we’ve been in for the past couple of weeks. We’ve been in the middle of the Garden experience, and all the issues that resulted from Eve first partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then Adam following instead of utilizing the authority God had given him to cancel out Eve’s actions. Adam had authority to deal with this failure, but he chose human compassion over spiritual authority. That, unfortunately has been a problem in the human race ever since. Anyway, back to our narrative. A funny thing happened when Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were stripped. And of course, we know they had no clothes to be removed. But they were stripped, nonetheless. They were stripped of Truth. They were stripped of Righteousness. They were stripped of the glory of the Lord. And their intimate relationship with the Lord was history.
We are going to dive right in and pick up where we left off a week ago. We were talking about Adam and Eve’s partaking of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Let’s recap a few lines from the end of last week’s discussion. Adam's face is filled with puzzlement as he hears the serpent say to Eve, "You shall not surely die. For the Lord knows that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Thoughts race through his mind. What does being gods have to do with anything? We have fellowship and intimate friendship with the Lord God, our Creator, even now. We have been given dominion over the earth, and over every creature that walks upon the earth. There has been nothing withheld from us. Do we need something that He has not given us? We have been created in the likeness and image of the Lord God. Are we not "as God" even now? Hmmmm.............what is good? For that matter, what is evil?
It had been my intention to continue today with the theme we took up a few weeks back, and look at the life of either David or the apostle Paul. Those are not complete yet, and the subject of the Throne of God is one that is fresh in my spirit. It seemed appropriate to go there today, and perhaps for the next few weeks. We will come back to the life of David, and the life of Paul in the weeks to come, so bear with me. Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden for a bit.
We continue this week with our look at what happened with Joseph, how the integrity of the Lord operated in him even when he was a slave, then falsely accused and thrown into prison. I said this last week, and I will say it again! The authority of the Lord is not cheap! If we are going to operate in all that we’ve been designed and created for, our flesh is going to undergo pain, deprivation and occasional periods of what seems like torture.
Let’s continue today with where we were last week in our discussion. We have a ways to go with these scriptures as a part of our foundations. Let’s explore the real cost of true authority. We are going to look at the lives of some individuals in Scripture who exercised the authority given them by God. That authority did not (and does not at any time in history or the present) come without cost.