Time, as we human beings know and understand it, is made up of three parts. The past is infinitely big behind us and the future is infinitely big in front of us, but sandwiched right in between the past and the future is the part of time we call "NOW",the present, and the present is infinitely small. Think about that for a minute. The present is infinitely small. That means that the present is less than a trillionth of a second, less than a trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second. However, in spite of the fact that the present is infinitely small, all action and movement in all of creation, everything we do and everything that happens, happens in the present, because the infinitely small present is where the Lord God Almighty dwells, so much so, that His name is "I AM." It is his ever-present presence that holds the universes together. Almighty God lives in the infinitely small present, and the more our minds are pre-occupied with the infinitely big past and future, the harder it is for us to find Him. GOD IS NOW!
Exodus 3:13-14, Isaiah 44:6, Hebrews 11:6
Although virtually every religion and philosophy of men acknowledges the simplistic logic of "living in the now", one moment at a time, we all know from experience that it is easier said than done. It seems as though our "now" is constantly being snatched from our mental grasp and we are all literally held captive in our minds by our anxiety over past failures and future disasters.
The fact is, for us humans, the past and the future exist only in the gray matter of our brains through our ability to remember the past and conceptualize the future. Of course, our memories don't always keep an accurate record of what actually happened in the past, and our conceptualizations are not always an accurate projection of what will happen in the future.
Adam and Eve were in the Garden, abiding daily in the present, presence of God, with little need to contemplate their past or their future. They had no traumatic childhood memories and no failed marriages to ponder, and they had no concept of bills, disease or even death. They only knew something called death would happen to them if they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The moment Adam and Eve ate, their defilement was instantaneous. Their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked. They had been naked all along but they didn't know it, but now, their self-consciousness was activated by their knowledge of good and evil, and immediately they both experienced two emotions they had never known before. The first was guilt; they were ashamed and "hid their nakedness" from each other. The second was fear; they were afraid and "hid themselves from God". From that moment on, they were held captive in their own minds, by the guilt of sin and the fear of death. They became unfit and unable to abide in the present, presence of God and they were expelled from the garden. Just like Adam and Eve, guilt always makes us hide from each other, and fear always makes us hide from God.
What an incredible fall that must have been for them. One moment they were worry free, with no concept of anxiety or problems, and the next they were slammed with guilt and fear, expelled from their perfect world, and forced to toil and sweat in order to eat. But, the worst part was, they no longer had access to the tree of life and they were going to die, separated from God. The serpent had accomplished his mission!
Even after Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden they still had some type of interaction with God, as did their sons, Cain and Abel. I am sure Cain and Abel heard many stories about the Garden of Eden as they were growing up and it is likely they even heard their parents argue a few times about who's fault it was that they ate the fruit in the first place. One thing is evident, the brothers both inherited the knowledge of good and evil from their parents. However, there was something very different about the two brother's attitudes toward God.
Abel offered a sacrifice that honored God, but Cain saw no need to honor God, and in pride, he offered a sacrifice that honored him, he offered the work of his own hands. He knew what was right but refused to do it, and when God accepted Abel's sacrifice and rejected his, he was very angry. Cain's knowledge of good and evil allowed him to decide that his problem was all Abel's fault, and he began to conceptualize a future without his brother around to make him look evil. He didn't need God to save him, he would save himself! In great arrogance, Cain decided, "my will be done", and conceived a plan to murder his brother. Pride (his own righteousness) and arrogance (his own will) caused him to sin, and as a result, he also was cast out of the NOW presence of God. Pride and arrogance is always man's way of trying to overcome their guilt and fear.
Take note; It was guilt and fear that caused Adam and Eve to be shut out of the presence of God, but for Cain, it was his pride and arrogance. These four things, guilt, fear, pride and arrogance are the result of the knowledge of good and evil, and unfortunately, that knowledge is passed down to all human beings. When we remember the evil of our past, we feel guilt, but when remember the good of our past we feel pride. When we conceptualize the evil of our future, we become fearful, but when we conceptualize the good of our future we become arrogant.
The serpent couldn't care less which of these four states we abide in, because any one of them can hold us captive in the past and future and prevent us from living and abiding in the present. He continually reminds us of all our past failures, and helps us conceptualize all possible future disasters. He tells us we are scum, and then he tells us we are the greatest, which ever one we will believe at the moment, all for the purpose of invoking guilt, fear, pride or arrogance, thereby keeping us trapped in the past and the future, out of the present, presence of God. That is the serpent's only mission.
However, Jesus also has a mission.
John 14:1-3, 16-20, 25-27
Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you ... that where I AM, there you may be also ... at that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you".
The purpose of God in the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glorification of Jesus is that a place would be prepared for us, that we human beings might once again, live in the freedom of his I AM presence, right NOW, free from sin and death, and the defilement of our knowledge of good and evil.
Jesus opened the way into the God's Holy presence by his own blood, unfortunately, many Christians are content to believe that their sins have been forgiven, past tense, and they are hoping to live in God's presence someday, future tense, but they know nothing of "peace that passes all understanding" or "joy unspeakable", and they have never one time experienced the power and glory of God's manifest presence. In fact, many are in bondage to anxiety and depression. But, if they are not experiencing God's glorious presence here and now, they are missing the eternal purpose of God for their life; that they might "be where I AM".
Hebrews 11:1,6
NOW faith, IS being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. ... And without faith it IS impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that God (NOW) IS, and that HE IS a rewarder of those who earnestly seek him.
Ephesians 3:10-12
His intent was that NOW, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
II Corinthians 3:17
NOW the Lord IS the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord IS, there IS Freedom.
II Corinthians 6:2
I tell you NOW IS the time of God's favor, NOW IS the day of salvation.
II Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace IS sufficient for you, for my power IS made perfect in weakness.
I Peter 3:2
Dear friends, NOW we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he IS.
May God grant you understanding right NOW, in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord!
"In that day, you will know that I AM IN MY FATHER, and YOU ARE IN ME and I AM IN YOU".
It is rest of the book is about using the means God has given us to BE FREE from our guilt of sin and fear of death, and,
- BEING IN CHRIST grace
- BEING FILLED WITH CHRIST, power
- BEING RESURRECTED WITH CHRIST, glory
- BEING SEATED WITH CHRIST wisdom