The New Birth

Read Time: 11 Minutes

God said in Genesis 2:17

17   But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 
        thou shalt not eat of it: 
            for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

We learned in the previous teaching that Eve was seduced by the devil into believing his lie which was and still is:

Genesis 3
:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, 
        Ye shall not surely die:

Someone is lying, who are you going to believe. Either God was lying when he said they would die or the devil lied when he told Eve she wouldn't. I choose to believe God. So, the question is not when they died but what died. God tells us in His Word that Adam lived to be 930 years old (Genesis 5:5) so he didn't die a physical death at that time. Some propose that the seeds of death were planted in him but we have learned that man was a three part being, body, soul and spirit. After God created man He talked to Adam and Eve freely and they talked to Him. After their sin, their direct disobedience to God's Word, things changed:

Genesis 3

:7 And the eyes of them both were opened,
    and they knew that they were naked; 
        and they sewed fig leaves together, 
        and made themselves aprons.

Something changed here. They are still walking and talking and now sewing fig leaves together.

:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God . . .

Hearing is in the realm of the 5 senses. Adam and Eve no longer had the spiritual connection with God and God had to communicate with them via their 5 senses.

:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: 
    and Adam 
        and his wife 
    hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
:9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, 
    and said unto him, 
        Where art thou?
:10 And he said, 
        I heard thy voice in the garden, 
        and I was afraid, 
            because I was naked; 
        and I hid myself.

Adam and Eve were not ashamed of their nakedness (Genesis 2:23) prior to their disobedience, but now they were. Now they are exposed and merely body and soul. The spirit they had when God created them is now gone, dead. From now on God has to make Himself known in the physical world for people to hear him. 

:11  And he said, 
        Who told thee that thou wast naked? 
        Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

:12 And the man said, 
        The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, 
        she gave me of the tree, 
            and I did eat.

Adam shifts the blame.

:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, 
        What is this that thou hast done? 
    And the woman said, 
        The serpent beguiled me, 
        and I did eat.

Eve shifts the blame. We are all accountable for our actions. If Eve would have adhered to God's Word this would not have happened.

:14  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, 
        Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, 
            and above every beast of the field; 
            upon thy belly shalt thou go, 
            and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
:15    And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 
         and between thy seed and her seed; 
            it shall bruise thy head, 
            and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The seed of the woman was Jesus Christ, the only time a woman didn't need the seed of a man to have a child was when God created seed within Mary. God put enmity (strife, conflict) between that seed, Jesus Christ, and the devil. Yes, Satan bruised Jesus Christ's heel when he was crucified but Jesus Christ gave up his life (the devil didn't take it) and now Christ has bruised Satan's head for he is forever defeated; we can now be redeemed.

More consequences of disobedience:

:16  Unto the woman he [God] said, 
        I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; 
            in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; 
        and thy desire shall be to thy husband, 
            and he shall rule over thee.
:17  And unto Adam he said, 
        Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 
            and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 
                Thou shalt not eat of it: 
            cursed is the ground for thy sake; 
            in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
:18       Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; 
            and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
:19       In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; 
                for out of it wast thou taken: 
                for dust thou art, 
                and unto dust shalt thou return.

Now man has to labor for his food.  Man did work prior to his disobedience to God; he was in the garden dressing it and keeping it. But Adam and Eve were disobedient to God's Word and by doing so they walked away from God's blessings. There were no thorns and thistles prior to their disobedience. This is especially poignant for all of us gardening folks.

Since man was only body and soul, no spirit, God had to communicate a different way, He had talk to man by-way-of  his five senses. God talked to Moses via a burning bush while Moses walked in the wilderness. The people could see God's written Word in the 10 commandments. God had a High Priest enter within the veil, the Holy of Holies, once a year to sacrifice one goat and send another off into the wilderness as a scapegoat (Leviticus 16). People could see that.

From thenceforth man was body and soul. They could know things by their five senses. For those who walked according to God's Word He would put spirit upon them (Numbers 11:17) and as long as they did God's Word it remained. The record of Saul is a good example of such (see Saul King of Israel). He was anointed the first king of Israel and God placed His spirit upon him. As long as he obeyed God He took care of Israel (see also Saul's Disobedience).

God has sent many representatives so that His people could know Him.  There were many prophets, Men of God, in the old testament so God could communicate with His people. The Law and the prophets who administered it were present to bring us unto Christ (Galatians 3:24), to keep us on track until Christ came as the ultimate representative of God. 

John 14
:9 Jesus saith unto him, 
        Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? 
        he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; 
        and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 

God's people could see and believe Jesus Christ. God created seed within Mary so that he could have a son and a legal representative of Him among the people. He needed someone to stand in His stead so people could see and believe. Also, Jesus Christ needed to be the payment for Adam's sin, our Passover lamb so that we can be forever redeemed from our state of incompleteness. We can now be whole: body soul and spirit.

Have you ever wondered why some people can understand spiritual matters and others don't, and chose not to believe God's Word? 

I Corinthians 2
:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: 
        for they are foolishness unto him: 
    neither can he know them, 
        because they are spiritually discerned.

Natural man, man of body and soul, cannot receive or understand things of the spirit because they are spiritually  discerned, made known to the individual via the spirit that is in them. Spiritual things are foolish to the natural man because they are not in his realm of perception. 

I Corinthians 1
: 21 For after that in the wisdom of God [spiritual wisdom]
        the world by wisdom [sense-knowledge wisdom] knew not God
        it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe

Now the truths in Romans 8 become more clear:

Romans 8
:1 There is therefore now no condemnation [judgment] to them which are in Christ Jesus, 
    who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
    hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
:3 For what the law could not do, 
        in that it was weak through the flesh, 
    God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 
            and for sin, 
        condemned sin in the flesh
:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, 
        who walk not after the flesh, 
        but after the Spirit.
:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; 
    but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
:6 For to be carnally minded is death; 
    but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against [at odds with, striving against] God: 
        for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

We can only please God spiritually, the flesh cannot please God.

Even in the Old Testament the difference between walking by one's five senses and walking spiritually is explained:

Jeremiah 17
:5 Thus saith the LORD; 
        Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, 
            and maketh flesh his arm, 
            and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
:6     For he shall be like the heath in the desert, 
            and shall not see when good cometh; 
            but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, 
                in a salt land and not inhabited.
:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, 
            and whose hope the LORD is.
8     For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, 
            and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, 
            and shall not see when heat cometh, 
        but her leaf shall be green; 
            and shall not be careful in the year of drought, 
            neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

You have a choice to trust in man, walk by your five senses, what you can know by hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling and touching, knowing the facts or you can trust God, believe Him and walk spiritually which will defy the senses.

Proverbs 3
:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; 
        and lean not unto thine own understanding.
:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, 
        and he shall direct thy paths.

Your own understanding is carnal, and death.  It was death to Adam and Eve.  Eve walked by her five senses, the consequences were devastating.  Adam chose to walk by his five senses as well when Eve came to him.

Genesis 3
:17 And unto Adam he said, 
        Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 
        and hast eaten of the tree, 
            of which I commanded thee, saying, 
                Thou shalt not eat of it: 
        cursed is the ground for thy sake; 
            in sorrow [labor] shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Prior to Adam and Eve's disobedience there was no curse, no thorns, no thistles, no death and no sin. Adam and Eve had dominion over the earth.  But Satan tricked them and obtained that dominion and power. (Luke 4:5,6) With Satan having dominion he was able to cause death, disease, sin, thorns, thistles and hardship.

Why don't people know this, even those in the church?

II Corinthians 4
:3 But if our gospel be hid, 
    it is hid to them that are lost:
:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, 
        lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, 
            who is the image of God, 
        should shine unto them.

Who is the god of this world. It is Satan, he has blinded peoples minds.  Jesus Christ came to take the blinders off and make known his ways. Jesus Christ walked spiritually and redeemed man from the adversary.

We no longer have to be naked. We have been clothed :

II Corinthians 5
:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, 
        an house not made with hands, 
        eternal in the heavens.
:2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
:3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
:4     For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: 
            not for that we would be unclothed, 
            but clothed upon, 
                that mortality might be swallowed up of life. [spiritual life]
:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, 
    who also hath given unto us the earnest [token] of the Spirit. [this token which is the spirit]

Let us:

Ephesians 5
:14 Wherefore he saith, 
        Awake thou that sleepest, 
            and arise from the dead, 
            and Christ shall give thee light.
:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, 
        not as fools, 
        but as wise,
:16   Redeeming the time, 
            because the days are evil.
:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, 
        but understanding what the will of the Lord is.