Freedom Series: the divine perspective (Part 3)
Freedom Lost
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die. (Genesis 2:15-17 NIV11)
As discussed previously, God created us in His image, which includes most importantly the ability to make choices through the exercise of our individual wills. Per the epigraph, God specifically declared that the first couple were free to make their own choices regarding food with one notable exception. He commanded them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or the consequence would be death. This command constituted a divine constraint on individual freedom. Since they didn’t die immediately when they ultimately disobeyed, what did God mean when He said their disobedience would lead to death? Stay tuned.
Let’s consider the sheer magnitude of what God had gifted to Adam and Eve. Essentially, they were offered paradise which, in the Christian worldview, is an eternal relationship with their Creator. Indeed, Jesus defined eternal life, not in temporal terms, but as knowing God. Given God’s incomprehensible perfection ably elucidated by A.W. Tozer in “The Knowledge of the Holy,” we could define paradise as the best possible life for human beings. In His perfection, goodness and love, God wants only the very best for those He has created in His image. The utter perfection of His motivation, power and plans for our good clearly implies that we should want nothing less than to obey Him in every facet of our lives. After all, His will and His purposes alone will lead not only to physical needs met but also to total fulfillment in every facet of human existence including life after death in the presence of the perfect Creator.
Notwithstanding the risk that His creatures might make wrong choices, God granted the first couple the freedom to decide whether or not to obey Him. As previously explained, our lives would be meaningless, indeed lifeless in the truest sense, without this gift of free will. One might consider His granting us the freedom to exercise our wills as the ultimate example of risk-taking. However, God had perfect foreknowledge concerning what they would do and had already formulated His perfect rescue plan.
The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed, which was, in essence, an act of high treason, they died spiritually.
Surprisingly, given the perfection of their lives in paradise including an intimate relationship with the Creator, they chose to rebel against God by disobeying his only commandment. And as He warned them, death followed - first spiritual then physical. The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed, which was, in essence, an act of high treason, they died spiritually. That is, they lost their intimate relationship with God whom they previously had known by the spirit. Since their spirits were now dead, close communion with God died too. And, in due course, the reality of physical death was visited upon them and every human being since then.
By shrugging off the yoke of divine constraint, had they achieved a greater degree of freedom and was this newfound freedom beneficial to their flourishing as intended by God? No! Having been evicted from paradise in an intimate relationship with God, they became slaves. We shall explore this sorry outcome next week.
Photo by Allan Vega on Unsplash
