What clothes are you wearing?

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2Cor5:17)

When Adam and Eve partook of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they became enriched in sin. This sin caused them to be separated from God, which Paul once described as the most terrifying position a person could ever be in. To regain a piece of their security, it what now seemed to be a violent and hostile world, God made clothes for them of skin.

Their seperation caused fear for their life, or perhaps one could even say, the fear of death. Their future became uncertain, and their life, both eternal and mortal was now on the betting table. Being separated from Him, God exhibited one of the greatest acts of love that exists in all the Bible.

His new creation, the image of his existence, instilled with a will and freedom of choice, chose the tree over Him. He was betrayed. The ultimate experience of betrayal, and God in His love felt the knife rip the deepest. If any of you have ever spoke long with me, you will know that for a long time, I have had a great fear of being cheated on. I have silly reasons for this, but the greatest wrong I think a person could ever do to me within a relationship would be to pick someone else over me. Through my eyes, that is what I see with the fall of man. Adam and Eve cheated on God... they betrayed Him. For whatever reason, they believed the servant over God, they trusted Him over their heavenly father who brought them into this world.

I cant even begin to imagine how hurt this must have made God. Once more, now that they were in "sin", God couldn't even look upon them, as it would have certainly killed them (as we saw happen to priests in the OT). And yet, in Genesis, we see a God that is a bigger man that I think I could ever hope to be. Though betrayed, he still loved. Seeing them afraid of the world without Him, he created clothes of skin for them, so that they would not feel too insecure in this new world. Knowing that life with Him would be fatal now that they had chosen sin, he took His new creation, the greatest act of his power and character, and separated them from Himself. Though His entirety was invested into their creation, and his only will was to live forever with them, he let them walk away, knowing they could never survive any other way.... and so, God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden, and guarded the gate with and Angel that would never let man in again. Though we often see God acting in great love by giving his only son, right then in that moment, He let two of His children walk away, as he knew it was what had to happen. (This is surely a God that would understand the prodigals father's reaction)

Fast forward several thousand years, and we find redemption. After God had lead all of mankind towards the greatest journey to His heart, God sent His son to die in the paints of mortality so that all of His creation may live, as he intended Adam and Eve to in the garden on day one of their existence.

Now, to my friends of the new creation, it seems that we are in the garden once again, or at least that is what I am under the impression of. When Jesus came, he wiped our sin clear, and sent the Holy Spirit to, for lack of a better phrase, walk with us in the garden once again. Now, knowing the history of all of creation, we have been given the same choice that Adam once had in the garden.

Do we walk with God in the garden, living in the Love of God, or do we once again choose to bite from the tree and adorn ourselves with clothes once again. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not necessarily talking about running around naked, though personally that doesn't sound like such a bad idea, haha. The clothes I speak of are the things created by us and even by God to satiate our security in a world without God. However, new creations, may I remind you that we are no longer wondering outside of the garden. The world we live in is safe and beautiful, as it is the kingdom of God. So, I ask you friends, what clothes are you wearing right now? What are the things that you once adorned in the world, that brought you safety and security while you were fighting with sin?

To a new creation, I do strongly believe, sin is inapplicable. To think otherwise is to believe that anything we can do as new creations would overturn the great sacrifice of the Son of God. I am strongly impressed that as a new creation, we are not bound by the limits of sin. The shackles of error and terror have been removed. Now that we are new creations, we have been instructed to "renew our minds daily". This, my friends, I do believe is because now as new creations, sin is a very different beast to your life. Whereas in the OT, sin was a physical plague, ensnaring all men who were trapped behind their error, the NT paints a new portrait. To those in the new covenant, the old has gone and the new has come. To you, my friends, sin is nothing more than a cognitive disillusion. There is no such thing (to you) as seperation from God. Yes, there are actions that are better for you and the kingdom of God than others, but dont think that they are always the most intelligent decisions either. May I remind you that it is our God tells us that he will use "the foolish things of this world to confound the wise", and we are still living in the disposition where as if a person wishes to become wise in the things of God, they must first become dumb to the things of this world.

Today, and forever, we live in the garden that God built. It doesn't make sense, and it hardly seems possible, but it is true. Today, as much as then, the Spirit of God walks with us still. Today, you know Him as the Holy Spirit. The errors of our past, by the grace of God, have been washed cleaned by the love and grace of God.

It is about time we stop wearing these silly clothes as if there was a world to fear, and start walking with God in the garden once more.