Is Your Agreement Bringing Destruction?

 

 

Short Answer: Sin entered the world when the first husband and wife came into spiritual agreement that eating the fruit of unrighteousness was acceptable.

 

What the Bible Says

·       This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2:23)

      So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)

 

Although Eve was the first to eat the fruit (Genesis 3:6), we’re told that sin entered the world through one man (Romans 5:12) - Adam. The argument that Adam bears responsibility because he was created first is valid, but alone this explanation misses a deeper spiritual truth. When God brought Eve to Adam, Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). He was acknowledging and accepting that he and Eve would exist and operate in unity, as one. Jesus reiterates the spiritual implications of marriage in Matthew 19:6 when he says, “So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.”

What Do I Do With This?

There is spiritual power in agreement (Matthew 18:19). This specific verse in Matthew is in reference to God’s response when we come together to ask for something in His name; however, the events in Eden suggest that agreement in sinfulness can call upon opposing spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12). God considered two individual people (Adam and Eve) to be one flesh. As long as only one of those people (Eve) partook of unrighteousness (the fruit), only half of the body was damaged. Once Adam took a bite, the full body was overcome. The difference between remaining inside Eden’s paradise and being forced outside was one act that drew two people into complete agreement.

The full conversation about why Eve listened to a serpent in the first place is for another day, although I suspect that the event is not as dramatic as artistic impressions would have us believe. Since all the creatures that God made were in the Garden, and the serpent was a creature that God made, it would stand to reason that the serpent was expected to be there. He didn’t suddenly sneak in. Further, all things that God made at creation, including the serpent, were good (Genesis 1:31). What was there not to trust?

Hebrews 12:1 reminds us that sin “easily entangles.” Be wary of what you participate in and what you allow in your home. Even something familiar, something that we believe to be good or trusted, can turn us in the wrong direction. Stay watchful (Matthew 26:41). If sinfulness starts to creep in with a twisted truth, stand firm in your own faith. Agreement takes the form of both actions and words. Submit yourself to the Lord first (James 4:7). Pray for your spouse as if you’re praying for yourself because, as one flesh, you are.

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Relevant Scripture

·    For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

·      So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. (Matthew 19:6)

·      Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

^·    Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41) 

·      Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)

·       So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Romans 14:12)

·      Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)