BACK TO THE GARDEN

INTRODUCTION:

1. God is triune.
   
   
   1. God the Father.
      
      
   2. God the Son - Jesus.
      
      
   3. God the Holy Spirit.
      
      
2. Man is triune.
   
   
   1. Body - dominion of the Holy Spirit.
      
      
   2. Soul - dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
      
      
   3. Spirit - dominion of God the Father.
      
      
3. Man's nous (mind) is also, now, triune - divided and fractured like a prism.
   
   
   1. Mind.
      
      
   2. Will.
      
      
   3. Emotions.
      
      
4. People, since the garden of Eden, are controlled by their nous (mind)- either their mind, their will, or their emotions.
   
   
5. The world understands there are three types of people.
   
   
   1. Coaches - those who "can't be bothered" physically (prefer mental activity).
      
      
   2. Players - those who "do" (perform physically).
      
      
   3. Observers - those who "watch" (I don't care).
      

DESIGNS, God placed a design in the heart of man - reflections of the triune God - but because of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil it was corrupted.

1. I John 2:15,16 - Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of Father, but is of the world.
   
   
   1. All sin in classified right here:
      
      
      1. Lust of the Flesh - sin against God the Father.
         
         
      2. Lust of the Eyes - sin against the Lord Jesus Christ.
         
         
      3. Pride of Life - sin against the Holy Spirit.
         
         
   2. Love of "the world" means love of the Father is not present in man's heart (vs.15).
      
      
2. Matthew 13:1-23 - Three soil types are listed and described:
   
   
   1. Wayside soil where the seed is sown but stolen by birds.
      
      
   2. The Stony soil where persecution or trials arise because of the seed and the heart is offended.
      
      
   3. The Thorny soil where cares of the world choked out the seed.
      
      
3. Matthew 13:14,15 - Three symptoms of the heart are listed - the three monkeys - speak no evil, hear no evil, do no evil.
   
   
   1. Heart waxed gross (hard) - Wayside soil - result of Pride of Life ("dumb" because the seed is stolen):
      
      
      1. Need to speak no evil.
         
         
      2. Clear the deck of reactions quickly or will harden their heart.
         
         
   2. Ears dull of hearing - Stony soil - result of Lust of the Flesh ("dull" because of offense):
      
      
      1. Need to hear no evil.
         
         
      2. Embrace negative evidence as evidence that heard correctly - Elijah. I Kings 18,19; Deuteronomy 21:17
         
         
   3. Eyes closed - Thorny soil - result of Lust of the Eyes ("closed" to God/open to cares).
      
      
      1. Need to see no evil.
         
         
      2. Must see the 'good report' - "Whose report will you believe? I will believe the report of the Lord."
         
         
   4. Matthew 4:3-11 - three temptations of Christ.
      
      
      1. Temptation to turn stones to bread illustrated by the Thorny soil is the lust of the eyes.
         
         
      2. Temptation to provoke God with His word illustrated by the Stony soil is the lust of flesh.
         
         
      3. Temptation to worship and serve everything but God illustrated by the Wayside soil is the pride of life.
         

IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN - INTRODUCTION.

1. Before the fall man was a living breath.
   
   
   1. He was whole, complete, unified.
      
      
   2. He was made in the image of God - Father, Son, and Spirit.
      
      
2. After the fall man was fractured like a prism.
   
   
   1. He became divided into body, soul, spirit.
      
      
   2. His soul was fractured into the psueche (breath) and the nous (mind.)
      
      
   3. His nous also fractured into three parts - mind, will, emotions.
      
      
3. God's goal in dealing with man - restore man to the pre-fall state in the garden.
   
   
   1. Growth in love - sanctification, transformation, perfection.
      
      
   2. Make man whole, complete, perfect by the bond of perfection - love.