Tree of Life

Dove represents ‘God-encompassing.’

Sea creatures and land animals are below.

A D A M ’ S   P R E D I C A M E N T

Gn. 2.5, “…and there was not a man to till the ground.”

Man will till the soil, keep himself up, and he will experience the earth.  As God is constructive, the labor the man assumes and his experiences are meant for man’s soul development.  Man is integral to earth’s creation.

We can assume Adam is a special man.  He is not only the first, but is given special or priestly status, and this is shown through Adam’s relationship with God.  He is also given a kingly status in Gen. 1.26-30, as God gives Adam authority over what He had already created.  The word “rule” is accentuated, as in “…rule (dominion) over all the earth.”

In Psalm 8:5, “crowned him with glory and honor,” Adam is encompassed with glory, light, life, and wholeness, which corresponds to the Tree of Life.  By contrast, the Tree of Good and Bad presents an option Adam may not understand as well.  Verse 2.17 of Genesis, “not eat of it,” indicates that firm standards are needed to stay with what is good (Tree of Life) and that evil should be left untouched, as in “surely die.”

Experience sharpens lessons in discernment, of that there is no doubt.   In Gen. 2.19-20, Adam gains his first steps into a new experience—Adam is given experiences by being given the authority to name.  God then forms all the animals and brings them to Adam, “…brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them.”  God wanted to see how Adam would name the animals.  Nor is the naming random, but named after the nature of the animal, understood through spiritual perception.

The groundwork is laid for how we discern and how we name.  Scripture thus associates Adam with the attribute of discernment and the authority to name, and authority in general, as he is to have dominion over the earth.  Discernment and the power (authority) to name are the first denoted attributes of Adam.  These two attributes are closely associated to “rule,” or “dominion,” in v. 1.26.  Adam is naming after what is apparent before him, he names after his discernment.  Discernment and authority form a proper pathway toward soul development.

The latter argument from the Satan-Serpent, that one should eat of every fruit, perhaps offers a looser way to travel through life, and shows itself as a kind of greed.  It bends toward rebellion, for there are no standards and there is no great need for discernment.  With standards and discernment left vacant, man can only flop from one circumstance to another.  There is no pathway here.  Known as the Temptation, the Satan-Serpent offers only chaos (Adam and Eve).

Adam has now assumed responsibilities under the auspices of his naming.  He is, after all, ordering the world he sees before him.  He is beginning to take dominion over his world.  The attribute of responsibility is introduced, for only Adam can be responsible for what he has named.  What Adam had in the Garden was good.  Still, through the adventure into Good and Evil, Adam divests himself of his fundamental responsibility, loses the association of obedience-wisdom (v. 2.17 “not eat of it”), and seals all fates for himself and Eve.  Lack of insight and spiritual perception, especially in important matters, leads to the denigration of the soul, loss of awareness, and the proverbial grind of learning by trial and error.

In the moral equation, God has denied nothing to Adam.

Adam blames “the woman you gave me,”
for having eaten the fruit from the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. Interestingly,
 Eve is later given her actual name (Gn. 3.20).

Adam abdicates his responsibility.
It is he who is told about the Tree of Good and
Evil (Bad) (Gn. 2.17). “The Woman” arrives in Gn. 2.19.

Every day, we make discernments, and we name the world around us.  Naming to the good, we partake, and to the evil, we shun.  As to the Garden, discernment (wisdom) of good and evil takes on new significance.  Without understanding, Adam and Eve become responsible for how they name what is before them.  Much like Adam and Eve, our discernment, speaking, and naming, as well as our final choices, deliver us into our daily lives and the consequences that accompany them.

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T H E  W O R D  and  N A M I N G:  O R D E R  O F  E V E N T S

Without the power to name, neither God nor we would possess spiritual power.  Nothing could be clearly defined.  Just as God created by His word, what you release from your mouth defines you and begins to shape your created life.  Like the Creation itself, life flows from inward out.  It does not matter how high or low your spiritual condition may be—events in your life will appear because of how you speak and name, much as they did for Adam and Eve.  By how you talk, the order of your life and the order of events become set in motion.

Adam has the spirit and light of God imbued within him, or ‘blown into him.’  Through Adam’s spiritual inheritance, all men and women receive the power to name.  The spirit gives life (light) to the soul, and man’s spoken word is animated from the spirit within; thus, the spirit gives meaning and power to Adam’s spoken word.  The power of Adam’s naming was complete, as it is with you.  Just as with Adam and Eve in the Garden, just as with Jesus, the more awakened a soul, the more powerful his naming becomes!  The previous sentence partially explains why falling from a higher condition can be swift and devastating, just as Adam and Eve discovered.

God delivers His first great gift as he bequeaths Adam with the power to discern and differentiate, essentially the power to name.  Many spiritual gifts are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.  The Power of the Spoken Word cannot be emphasized enough for those who walk in the Way.  It is the one gift all people possess!

We also demonstrate our individuality as the power to name goes before us.  If we speak or name toward the good, then the basis for good becomes ordered; if we name the bad, then a like order is established.  Both Adam and Eve demonstrate this lesson within the Garden of Eden.  If we name to love and then to curse–the veritable mixed fruit–then a mixed order will follow.  Only confusion can result from such speaking.  

Be clear and direct when you speak the Word (spirit).

The Word should be spoken to rectify a person’s pathway or soul nature, for it can completely change the speaker’s life.  Remember that speaking the Word and proper naming resides as an act of creation, much as when first spoken (thought-expression) by God, “Let there be light.”  In time and with attentiveness (discernment), the spoken word can recreate a person’s life. 

Without the pathway created by the spoken word, no particular path unfolds before us, and we are at random.  Our actions meander as our moods may strike us.  What action is the person taking?  Are they haphazard?  What is the spiritual order of your life?  It becomes easy for a pathway to fall into mixed and stumbling steps, something most of us have experienced.  Similarly, if the door to be opened is not named, the door you seek remains hidden, and your direction and purpose become blunted.   

Because the spirit of God gave us this power, naming produces a basic order or pattern that the spirit must honor.  Thus, clarity and discernment in our spoken words create a broader pathway for the spirit to enhance us, whether we are always aware of this activity or not.  Proper speaking allows the spirit to proceed with purpose and direction.  This purpose or direction may also extend to various circumstances, whether in personal or spiritual life, or in the face of life’s vicissitudes.   

In John 4.19-29, this example of expansion is well-drawn, concerning the woman at the well.  It begins with, “Sir, I perceive thou art a prophet.” It ends with her going into the village and proclaiming, “Is not this the Christ?”  This section of scripture is worth studying closely.  The careful unfolding of this scripture provides an insightful view of the progression of expansive events.  Even though Jesus and the woman converse, the power of their conversation extends far beyond its initial beginnings.  

Just as Adam and Eve both accepted the mixed fruit of the Tree of Forbidden Knowledge and then named the fruit ‘good,’ a mixed consciousness entered their mind.  Adam and Eve fell from the illuminated state of consciousness into the darkness of self-consciousness, from spirit consciousness immersed into a new and heavier (lower) physical consciousness.  Both became split apart and were no longer whole or at one with God.  Their light left them, which is the correct interpretation of the biblical reference, “they knew that they were naked” (Gn. 3.7).*

*Knew:  “They knew before, but their knowledge now received new meaning.  Adam becomes “naked” by losing something of Elohim’s glorious likeness,” Kregel Companion Bible.  ‘Light’ and ‘power’ are somewhat synonymous.  Adam and Eve became “naked” and lost both.

Our speaking habits may show themselves in a moment of circumstance that will ‘make us or break us.’  Our nature may be impatient, even rash, or arrogant and condescending, with words that are sure to follow.  The lesson is straightforward: our circumstances are shaped by how we speak and what we speak before we take actions.  Thus, our speaking and naming order our circumstances.

As with Adam, naming our Garden becomes an individual exercise of the manifested spirit, for which the responsibility rests with the individual.  How we identify ourselves and our world becomes a constructive power for soul growth.  It is intended for our use.  View the gift and power to name as one faculty that takes authority over our circumstances and ourselves—this one great gift we all possess.

God Bless!