Tying the death spoken of in Romans and Corinthians discussed in the 5/31/14 post to the death spoken of in Genesis 2 and 3 which was discussed in the 6/7/14 post.
Genesis 3:23: “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” The word “till” here means to serve or WORK.
Adam was now producing “works” from the ground, rather than living from the garden. He was now living by the LAW OF WORKS.
Matthew 13:22-23 “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
The ground represents our mind and the way in which our mind accepts and believes the seed (the words). Our mind is also the ground spoken of in Genesis. The ground in Matthew and Genesis are the same thing, our mind. When we serve our own mind, which eats of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we are living the law of works (see 5/10/14 post).
1Corinthians 15:36: “Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:”
John 12: 24-25 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
From John 12:24-25 and Corinthians 15:36, the seed which is the word that we understand in our mind to be true, must die [and grow into something else]. From John 12:24 we see that unless the seed (word) dies, it stands alone. In other words it needs to transform or it does not mesh or make sense with the other words [of the Bible]. The understanding gained from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which is the initial understanding that produce the law of WORKS, must die and transform into something that produces the life producing fruit [rather than the fruit OF our works which is death, Romans 7:5]. This transforming of the word, or the seed that dies, is the flaming sword (words). That flaming sword that turns every way to keep the way of the tree of life. This tree of life grows and produces fruit AFTER the tree of knowledge of good and evil fruit (law of works) dies and transforms to the law of faith. See previous posts on May 10 and May 24. Romans 3:20 “…for by the law is the knowledge of sin”.
The knowledge of good and evil, produces the law of works. But through the “death” of that knowledge within our minds, the same word(s) die and transform to the law of faith.
Romans 8:3-7: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh…. 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. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
The fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil produces carnal judgment and a carnal understanding. The tree of knowledge of good and evil causes us to live through the flesh or our five senses, see post on 4/15/2014. This is the death God warned of in Genesis 2:17, which also correlates with their eyes being opened and the skin (flesh) covering that was obtained after eating of the tree of knowledge. Obtaining the tree of knowledge of good and evil allows us to live through the law of works and be carnally minded, which is actually “death” in God’s eyes, but “life” in the serpents mind. But it says we need to learn to hate that kind of life, see John 12:25 above, and loose it (let it die). It is the pride of life and the false belief that we already “know” what is good and evil that condemns us to live outside the tree of life.
Could the very process of understanding the words we are going through here in this post be an example of what is being spoken of concerning the transformation of the words or flaming sword that turns every way?