The Sting: The First Whisper of Redemption on Earth

By Pastor Alex Ruelo

Genesis 2:16-17 says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” It continues in Genesis 3, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die. You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 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.” The Lord already planned for a Savior even before He whispered redemption because of our disobedience. There was already a Savior even before man sinned. It may not be scary to die because I know where I am going but what I am scared of not being in the presence of God when it happens. We learned to hide from God in the Garden of Eden. Many people do not go to church because they think they are too messed up. So they hide from the Lord. But all of us are sinners. So what’s the use of hiding when the Lord knows where you are all the time anyway?

People do not like to talk about death. But it is coming to everyone anyway. Although death was not really supposed to happen to anyone in the beginning, now it will. All it takes is time. God put man in paradise and commanded him to enjoy it. Although this is so, the Lord also gave them boundaries. They had an entire garden. Why did they have to eat from that forbidden tree? God’s rules aren’t restrictions on your freedom. They are protection for your soul. Every compromise starts with a lie. The devil tells you that God is trying to stop you from doing better; that you can do more than what He said you could. That’s why he was able to tempt Eve. And Adam followed. Because of that, death came in. Man’s life span became shorter. They died. Although not physically.

They experienced spiritual death. They were separated from the Lord. The fellowship with God was gone. Their eyes opened, shame flooded in and they hid among the trees. Immediate shame and hiding happened. Death entered through human rebellion but life happened through God’s pursuit.

The second death is physical. Originally, man is not supposed to die. But because of sin, death came in. Man’s biological clock started to wind down. Where there used to be no time, now time goes very fast.

The last death is eternal. The door was cracked open to permanent separation from the presence of God, an eternal punishment of separation from the Father. When you die out of His presence, there is no more chance for you to be united with God.

Religion tells humanity that he is searching for God. But the truth is, when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they started to hide form the Lord. The Lord came into the garden looking for them too. Not because He did not know where they are but He was searching for man because man was lost. We are all here because God brought us here. Are you searching for God? He came not because He does not know what He is doing. He came because we do not know what we are doing. This was the first gospel; the first good news that was shared since the beginning of time.

In the Bible, genealogies mention only the father and son, one after the other. Always. There is no woman mentioned whatsoever in it. But this time, in Genesis, God talks about the seed of the woman. Lineage is usually traced back to the father. But this time, the record talks about a woman who will conceive a Savior that is not from a man. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, sin came in and people died. But when Jesus died hanging on that tree, that wooden cross, he gave life. The gospel has been preached since the beginning of time. Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin just like the rest of the world; obeying the devil, the commander of power in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.” Our spirit is dead. But when Jesus came, He said in John 10:10 - “I came that you may have life.” Life that can come only from Him. You are no longer dead because Jesus died. If you believe in Him, you take back the authority that was taken from you in the beginning. The sting is no longer there..