The Daily Word of Righteousness

Two Trees, continued

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:15,16)

God asks that we come to Christ and eat of the Tree of Life. This is to be done first. Then we are without condemnation in the sight of God. Meanwhile we are to be praying, reading our Bible, gathering with the saints, serving, giving, and participating in all wholesome Christian activities.

When God sees we are strong enough to bear it the Spirit of God begins to point out, one at a time, the sins in our life. As soon as He does we are to confess that sin and turn away from it by the strength of the Divine Life that has been given to us.

God clothes us with the righteousness of Christ and resurrection life, not with fig leaves or the skins of animals (Genesis 3:21).

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the eternal moral law of God. Like all the trees of Paradise, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is good for food. However, to eat of this tree before we have eaten of Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life, is to incur guilt, separation from God, spiritual death.

The great error of today's thinking is that God wants us to eat of Christ, of eternal life, and then remain babies as far as good and evil are concerned. Not so! Growth in Christ is growth in the ability to distinguish between good and evil, and growth in the desire and power to choose the good and reject the evil.

Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:13,14—NIV)

We would not be of much use as God's priests, God's rulers, God's judges of men and angels, if we remained babies without being able to distinguish good from evil!

God has no intention of putting people back into Paradise in resurrected bodies who have not been trained concerning good and evil. The whole chaotic mess would happen all over again.

Make sense?

If you are a new Christian rejoice in the Lord. You are without condemnation. God has received you as you are. It is a "come as you are party."

Keep on feeding on Christ. The time will come soon enough when the Holy Spirit will begin to guide you to victory over the several areas of darkness in your personality. If you are walking in joy and strength you will have no trouble putting these areas to death by the wisdom of the power of the Spirit and coming forth more than a conqueror in Christ.

This is the way you grow in Christ, the path that leads to the freedom of life lived in the Spirit of God.