Lucifer’s sin infiltrated our nature when he enticed Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:1-7). Notice the original lie:
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
-Genesis 3:4-5, NKJV
So lucifer, who is already trying to be like God apart from God, convinces Adam and Eve to do the same… through knowledge.
The word for god in this passage is elohim, which you actually became when you were born again and became one spirit with Christ! The word know is the Hebrew word yawdah, which is Strong’s #H3045. It literally means: to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing), which has to do with creating what we see with the eyes of our heart (Ephesians 1:18). Yawdah is the root word of the Hebrew word da’ath, which is used for the Spirit of Knowledge in Isaiah 11:2.
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
-Isaiah 11:1-4, NKJV
This Messianic prophecy tells us that Yeshua did not make decisions independently of YHVH, judging by what He saw and heard in the natural realm. Instead, He chose utter dependence upon the Spirit of God, placing His creative power under the yoke of the Father. What lucifer, Adam, and Eve did wrong, Jesus did right! And in Him, we did, too! At salvation, we traded our fallen earth-knowledge, which is calibrated to pride, separation, and limitation, for the limitlessness of the wisdom that is from above.
That original lie in the garden was really an assault against the goodness of God, an inference that He was withholding something good. We, of course, know that could not be further from the truth.
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
-Romans 8:32, NKJV
And in I Timothy 6:17, we see that our Father gives us richly all things to enjoy. But there’s a stipulation…
But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to distinguish between good and evil.
– Hebrews 5:14, NASB
From this Scripture, do you see who is entrusted with the knowledge of good and evil that lucifer, Adam, and Eve tried to partake of illegally? It is the one who is mature and who has submitted to the training regimen of the Father. Now, we don’t know for certain from Scripture, but perhaps Adam, though he was innocent, was not yet mature. Maybe he would have grown to maturity and into this legitimate, godly discerning of good and evil. Whether that is the case or not, we definitely know it is available to us in Christ. And just like Adam and Eve, we are faced with a choice: to access counterfeit, low-level wisdom, which is earthly, sensual and demonic, or to access the wisdom that is from above.
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is !rst pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
-James 3:13-17, NKJV
Clearly, heavenly wisdom outshines the demonic counterfeit. Why, then, doesn’t everyone choose it? Quite simply, it is because heavenly wisdom comes in the same package as humble dependence upon God, and it is the polar opposite of that knowledge that inflates with pride (I Corinthians 8:1). You know, like lucifer…
The adversary was so blinded by his pride that he actually thought the cross was his victory. In his short-sighted, inferior wisdom, he had no idea he was ushering in salvation for all of mankind! We see from this passage that, had he known, he would have never crucified the Lord of Glory.
However, there is a wisdom that we continually speak of when we are among the spiritually mature. It’s wisdom that didn’t originate in this present age, nor did it come from the rulers of this age who are in the process of being dethroned. Instead, we continually speak of this wonderful wisdom that comes from God, hidden before now in a mystery. It is his secret plan, destined before the ages, to bring us into glory. None of the rulers of this present world order understood it, for if they had, they never would have crucified the Lord of shining glory. This is why the Scriptures say: Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine — these are the many things God has in store for all his lovers.
-I Corinthians 2:6-9, TPT
The cross was the ultimate display of love, of how God works ALL things together for our good, and of the magnificent wisdom of our God!
Our Father really does desire for us to be like Him! He really does desire for us to discern between good and evil! He desires for us to walk in heavenly wisdom that eclipses the wisdom of this world and outmaneuvers the adversary. And He really does desire for the eyes of our hearts to be enlightened, so that we can co-create with Him from Heaven to earth using our sanctified imagination. But, because of His love for us as His children, He insists that we access it IN Him rather than APART from Him. And He requires a level of maturity, so that we don’t destroy ourselves and others.
This is an excerpt from my most recent book, Restoring The Ancient Paths: Reclaiming Divine Technologies. You can order on my website HERE or on Amazon HERE.
Truly…. our God is GOOD!
-Virginia