In this month's issue of Chapter and Verse I'd like to consider the topic of Spiritual Signatures. In order to do this we go to Genesis chapter 1, where we can observe God's original intent.
Gen 1:27-28 27And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28And 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 birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
So when mankind was created, they were created to have dominion. The fall of mankind is recorded in chapter 3.
NIV Genesis 3:1-7 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" 4"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
There you have it. The fall recorded in a few short verses. However, what is not stated in these seven verses is just as important as what is. Now what I am going to share with you may be new to some of you. However, if you get the truth of what I am setting forth I believe you will begin to understand some problem areas in your life that up to this point may have eluded you.
I'd like to now introduce you to the reality of Spiritual Signatures on spiritual contracts. Just because we don't see something, or we are not conscious of its reality, does not negate its existence or its effect in our lives.
Look at verse 16.
NIV Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.
Now what I'd like you to note are the results of disobedience. Please note also that there is no clue of this in chapter 1 or 2. The closest we get is, "thou shalt surely die." Why did Satan leave this part out when he told Eve, "you will not surely die?"
From this point on every woman who would ever give birth would do so in labor. Ladies, you can blame the devil for the birth pains and mankind's disobedience - not your husband the next time you give birth.
Look at verse 17:
17And 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.
The NIV, NAS, NRS, all read, "Cursed is the ground because of you;" Because of Adam? No, Adam's disobedience. Why should the earth pay for his sin?
The earth was something he could see, however, the greater reality was what just transpired in the spiritual realm that he didn't see. The sad truth was Adam had just entered into a legal binding contract with his adversary.
He signed a Spiritual agreement with the Devil that now gave him legal rights to all of mankind. This teaches us a Spiritual law. You may say "Is that fair?" Well is the Devil fair?
From that point on, the Word begins to record just how extensive the consequences of Adams sin were. Let's compare some facts before the fall and after.
Before the fall we read in Genesis 2…
Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Look at the condition after.
Genesis 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;NLT Genesis 3:19 All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day. Then you will return to the ground from which you came. For you were made from dust, and to the dust you will return."
Was there any indication that this would happen in the conversation between Eve and the devil? God's instructions were clear.
Genesis 2:16-17 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But 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.
Thou shalt surely die was just the tip of the iceberg. What Adam had signed away was much more than his life.
Before the fall we read…
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
After the fall it's a different story.
Luke 4:1 and 6 1And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 40 days tempted... 6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
The word power is the Greek word exousia which means "the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)." In Genesis 1:26, who had authority to rule? ...Adam. Jesus never questions the devil on this point because he knew it was true.
Before the fall we read in
Genesis 2:8-9 8And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
After, we read Genesis 3:24:
24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Here we see another aspect of the devil. He wants the opposite of what God wants. He works to steal and cheat you out of what God gives us. God gives life, the adversary gives death in the guise of spiritual enlightenment. Our perception of reality and God's are sometimes worlds apart.
Isaiah 55:8-9 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
We are taught to view reality in socially prescribed ways and are under constant pressure from other members of our society to maintain those perspectives.
Our worldview is fashioned from our assumption of reality. Worldview is culturally structured assumptions, values and commitments that underlie a person's perception of reality.
Worldview is the major influence on how we perceive reality. People will then react on the basis of their worldview instinctively.
A gas can offers a valid illustration.
The assumption is that if a can has no liquid in it then it is empty. However, many a person has been hurt even killed because of this preconceived assumption. If you strike a match too close to an "empty gas can" it may explode because of the vapor you could not see.
Spiritual realities work the same way. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. Furthermore, the effect that they have on every day life is not only real but inseparable.
The spiritual and the natural realms are inextricably bound together by invisible spiritual laws that govern life itself. For example, take gravity... You can see the manifestation of gravity but not gravity itself.
Thus, as we learn from experience, we can classify and categorize certain results and activities. Some have arrived at the conclusion that if you can't see it, it doesn't exist.
When dealing with the spirit realm, we have then dismissed all activities we can't see or understand to mental illness, such is the case when people say they hear voices. We simply classify them as "crazy," or we just choose not to believe. And if the above excuses don't fit we can always blame it on being God's will.
The adversary loves when this happens. He is now free to operate under the cloak of these and other unknown or unbelieved truths.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners …
Could it not be possible that we are affected in more ways then we have allowed ourselves to consider?
If these spiritual truths are valid and still in effect today, would it not be wise on our part to investigate them to see what kind of ties the adversary may have in our lives, ties that have possibly eluded us thus far.
To be continued …ÿ