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Every genuine believer in Christ is a miniature garden of Eden, with God as the tree of life in his spirit and Satan as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in his flesh—Gen. 2:9; Rom. 8:2, 5-6:
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We are a miniature garden of Eden because the triangular situation involving God, man, and Satan is now within us—Gen. 1:27-29; 2:9, 16-17:
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Before man fell, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life were outside of man—vv. 9, 16-17.
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Through the fall the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is in us, and through regeneration the tree of life is now in us.
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Our spirit is mingled with the Triune God, and our body, which has become the flesh, is mixed with the sinful element of Satan (1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 5:12; 6:6, 12); this makes the Christian a miniature garden of Eden.
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As those who were represented by Adam in Genesis 2, we have the tree of life in our spirit and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in our flesh—v. 9; Rev. 2:7b; 22:14:
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Whenever we contact the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we become dead; whenever we contact the tree of life, we gain life—Rom. 8:5-6, 10.
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If we stand on the side of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and contact Satan, we will live out the life of Satan, the devil, and the result will be death—2 Cor. 11:3; Rom. 3:23; 1 John 3:4.
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If we stand on the side of the tree of life and contact God, we will live out God, and the result will be life—John 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 4-5.
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Romans 8:5-6 shows a miniature garden of Eden, with the flesh and death on one side, the spirit and life on the other side, and the mind in the middle:
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We learn from Romans 8 that we need to turn our being to the living One who dwells in our spirit and stay one with Him—v. 6b; 1 Cor. 6:17.
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When we set our mind on the spirit, we have life, peace, light, comfort, and strength; our thirst is quenched, and our hunger is satisfied—Rom. 8:5, 6b; John 4:14; 7:37-38; Matt. 5:6.
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When we set our mind on the spirit, our mind is full of life and peace—Rom. 8:6b:
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We have peace because there is no discord between our outward behavior and our inner being—v. 6b; Isa. 9:6-7; 26:3.
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When we speak with our mind set on the spirit, life is embodied in our words because we are one spirit with the Lord—Prov. 18:21; John 6:63; Eph. 4:29.
Morning Nourishment
Rom. 8:5-6 For those who are according to the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are according to the spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.Man is tripartite: he has a spirit, soul, and body. The spirit is our innermost part, the body is our outermost part, and the soul, the main part of our being, stands between them. As a result of the fall, Satan as the tree of knowledge came into man’s flesh. As a result of our believing in Christ, God as the tree of life came into our spirit. Therefore, the two trees that were once in the garden outside of man are now within us, one in our flesh and the other in our spirit. If we read Romans 7 carefully, we will see that Paul said in his flesh nothing good dwells, only sin. Sin is actually the evil nature of Satan. To say that sin dwells in our flesh means that Satan, the evil one, is in our flesh. Romans 8:16, a verse which proves that God is in us, says that the Spirit of God witnesses with our spirit. Thus, every genuine Christian is a miniature garden of Eden. The mind of your soul represents your self, sin in your flesh represents Satan, and the Spirit in your spirit represents God. As in the garden of Eden, the three parties form a triangular situation within us. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 177)
Today’s Reading
The seed of this triangular situation was sown in Genesis 2, and the growth of the seed is found in Romans 8, where we see the outcrop of the two trees. Romans 8:6 says that the mind set on the flesh is death and that the mind set on the spirit is life and peace. In Genesis 2 the two trees were objective; in Romans 8 they are subjective. We should never say that these two trees are no longer with us. Even as you read this message, they are within you….Thus, in Romans 8 we find a present-day garden of Eden. Romans 8:2 mentions the law of the Spirit of life, which sets us free from the law of sin and death. Therefore, in Romans 8 we have two laws—the law of life and the law of death. These two laws are the two principles of the two trees in our subjective experience. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 177-178)In the garden man faced the tree of life on the one hand and the tree of knowledge on the other. Now, as those who were represented by Adam in Genesis 2, we have the tree of life in our spirit and the tree of knowledge in our flesh. We need to decide whether we shall set our mind on the flesh and suffer death or whether we shall set our mind on the spirit and enjoy life and peace. By setting our mind on the spirit we abide in Christ who as the life-giving Spirit dwells in our spirit.
We have learned from Romans 8 that all we need to do is turn our being to the living One who indwells our spirit and stay one with Him. When we turn to Him and set our mind on Him, we have life, peace, light, comfort, strength, and all we need. Our thirst is quenched and our hunger is satisfied.
In order to set our being on the mingled spirit, we need to pray. How easily we are distracted from the divine Spirit in our spirit! Our mind is so quickly drawn to other things. Therefore, we need to pray, not mainly to ask the Lord to do things for us, but to keep our mind set on the spirit. Be assured, the Lord will take care of you and do everything for you. Hence, in prayer you need not be occupied with your needs [such as love or patience]. Instead, pray to keep in touch with the living One in your spirit. The more you keep in contact with Him, the more you will enjoy Him….We should simply praise the Lord that He is our love, our patience, and our everything. If we praise Him in this way, declaring how good the Lord is, spontaneously love and patience will flow out of us….The more we set our mind on the living One in our spirit, the more He lives Himself out of us. (Life-study of Romans, pp. 452-454)
Further Reading: Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 13-16; Life-study of Romans, msgs. 19, 21, 37, 39; CWWL, 1955, vol. 4, “Further Talks on the Knowledge of Life,” ch. 13; CWWL, 1953, vol. 3, “The Knowledge of Life,” ch. 9