THE GARDEN OF GRACE

THE GARDEN OF GRACE
Glory be to the name of the Lord Jesus. Welcome as we gather once more to learn from Scripture.

We are reading from the book of Genesis. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil — the tree God had commanded them not to eat from — their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked.

Genesis 3:6‑7, NIV)

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” 

Here are some deeper theological observations to enrich our understanding:

1. The opening of the eyes is spiritual more than merely physical.

When their “eyes were opened,” it was not primarily that they gained new physical vision, but that their conscience and spiritual awareness were awakened — they became aware of their moral nakedness, their separation from God, and their vulnerability. (truthaccordingtoscripture.com)
In theological terms, this marks the entrance of sin and the fall — not just disobedience, but a change of state: the human heart is now self‑conscious, guilty, and ashamed before its Creator. (kukis.org)
Thus: even though Adam and Eve physically lived on for many years, from the moment of eating they began the process of spiritual death (separation from God) and eventual physical death — “dying you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). (thestonescryout.com)

2. Their nakedness is a symbol of lost innocence and exposed relationship with God.

Before the fall, Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame (Genesis 2:25). After eating, they realized their nakedness and attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves. The commentary explains:

“The form in which the knowledge of good and evil comes to us is the knowing we are naked … The first movement of conscience produces shame.” (truthaccordingtoscripture.com)
Their attempt to sew fig­leaf coverings was an inadequate human attempt at covering sin. Later, God makes “garments of skin” for them — implying sacrifice and substitution (Genesis 3:21). (Precept Austin)
Theologically, this foreshadows the work of Christ: we are “clothed” by his righteousness, not by our own fig leaves.

3. This fall from grace shows the seriousness of apostasy and the importance of the new covenant.

In the New Testament, for example

in Hebrews 10:29 (NIV) we read:

“How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as unholy the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
This passage warns that rejecting Christ after having known him — repudiating the blood of the covenant (i.e., Christ’s sacrifice) and insulting the Spirit of grace — is a serious matter. (Bible Hub)
Thus our earlier text about Adam and Eve’s fear and hiding foreshadows the later New Testament truth: there is glory in being in fellowship with God (as Adam once was), but also judgment for rejecting that fellowship (as their descendants still face).

4. Grace now invites us into fellowship with Christ as Friend — but that invitation is not indefinite in the sense of ignoring holiness.

Jesus says in John 15:14‑15 (NIV):

“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
In the Garden of Grace (as you described), we walk with Jesus as friend, in fellowship, free from the fear that Adam and Eve felt when the eyes of their conscience were opened. But Scripture also warns: that grace‑friendship currently offered is one to be embraced and not ignored, because the same Lord who is Friend now will one day be Judge.

5. Practical application and invitation.

• If you have not yet entered this fellowship of grace, Scripture says now is the accepted time (2 Corinthians 6:2).

• Acknowledging Christ, repenting of sin, seeking the forgiveness that is found in his blood and the new life that the Spirit gives, is the way out of the shame and hiding of the first garden and into the freedom of the Garden of Grace.

• For those already in Christ, the call is to hold fast your confidence, to walk in holiness, to heed the warning in Hebrews 10, and not to live as though grace is trivial.

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