“Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:3, NKJV)

Opening the eyes of our heart is about seeing with the eyes of faith, seeing what seems impossible with the natural eye but is certain with spiritual eyes. What competes with spiritual sight is sight colored by sin and death.

As those created in the image and likeness of our heavenly Father we are created for intimacy for covenant oneness. It is in our design to crave to be known and to know. This is why we could be tempted by the enemy to want to “know” good and evil.

“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."” (Gen 3:4-5, NKJV)

Knowing good was never the problem because God is good and the more we know God the more we know goodness. No the real issue is “knowing evil”. Remember from previous study that to “know” biblically is the have intimacy with and to produce the fruit of offspring of that knowing.

What is the offspring of evil? Death.

Evil always and inevitably destroys its lover.

“As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.” (Pro 11:19, NKJV)

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of the intimacy with good and evil, they experienced intimacy with death. Death was introduced to mankind through their desire to know and be known. Now they carried two seeds, one for life and goodness from God, and one for evil and death. This impossible situation forced God to remove them from eternal life by casting them out of the garden where otherwise, they could also eat of the Tree of Life, and live eternally but with evil and death in them.

“Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Gen 3:22-24, NKJV)

Once man was outside the garden the seed of evil and the result of death really took hold until in Genesis 6, God had enough.

“So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.” (Gen 6:12-13, NKJV)

As we spoke last time Noah found favor and he and his small family was spared to prepare the way for redemption through Yeshua.

“But Noah found grace(favor) in the eyes of the LORD.” (Gen 6:8, NKJV)

Since the time of Noah until the arrival of Yeshua we see the continual struggle between Godly good people and godless evil people. God’s solution to this dilemma is to use the very thing that began the problem to solve it, intimacy. Intimacy is the desire to be known and to know.

The mechanism to bring this about is covenant. First, God covenants with Noah. Covenant is a return to intimacy. It is a love declaration with commitment promised.

“Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: "And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." And God said: "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." And God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth."” (Gen 9:8-17, NKJV)

His covenant is His invitation to return to oneness with Him. It is like a marriage and it represents a new thing in the earth. In this way being in covenant with God is a new creation reality. The former things pass away and all things become new in the covenant. Similar to a marriage where a new family is birthed through the wedding vows and thus a new reality is birthed.

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them."” (Isa 42:9, NKJV)

Moving through the scriptures we see, next He covenants with Abraham, moving from a family to creating a people who can access Him intimately.

“On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—” (Gen 15:18, NKJV)

God tells Abraham that through this covenant:

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.” (Gen 17:1-9, NKJV).

This covenant created the people, Israel. Now a people could have intimacy with the Father. When anyone joined themselves to the people of the covenant they would become “born-again” into a divine romance. This term was used to represent a new life with a new identity.

Both Noah’s covenant and Abraham’s were bound by the knowledge of evil and death. By this I mean they were ratified or made official through death, a sacrifice. A covenant always requires a sacrifice to underscore the absolute commitment in the covenant.

Two more developments in God’s sovereign plan of restoration and love are the covenants of Moses and David.

Moses, as we know brought the nation of Israel out of slavery and Egyptian bondage. The Mosaic Covenant is a covenant made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-24). It is sometimes called the Sinai Covenant but is more often referred to as the Mosaic Covenant since Moses was God’s chosen leader of Israel at that time. The pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between a sovereign king (God) and his people or subjects (Israel). At the time of the covenant, God reminded the people of their obligation to be obedient to His law (Exodus 19:5), and the people agreed to the covenant when they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” (Exodus 19:8). This covenant would serve to set the nation of Israel apart from all other nations as God’s chosen people and was as equally binding as the unconditional covenant that God made with Abraham because it is also a blood covenant.

“And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.” (Exo 19:3-8, NKJV)

This established the covenant with a nation. What we call the Law was really a national constitution and system of living that was “Godly” or good. That it was difficult to live was NOT because the system was bad or wrong, but because it still competed with the “knowledge of evil” and the impulses to death. The Apostle Paul described this inner war in Romans 7:

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET." But sin,(the knowing of evil) taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.” (Rom 7:7-12, NKJV)

The final, pre-Jesus, covenant I want to discuss is that of king David. The Davidic Covenant refers to God’s promises to David through Nathan the prophet and is found in 2 Samuel 7 and later summarized in 1 Chronicles 17:11–14 and 2 Chronicles 6:16. This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience.

“And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever." ' "” (1Ch 17:11-14, NKJV)

This final aspect of covenant restoration restores a kingdom relationship to the goodness of God. This is why Israel wanted to see Yeshua conquer Rome because they knew that the covenant with God went beyond individuals or a people or even a nation. It included a restoration of a kingdom. The challenge was still the intimate knowledge of evil. So even the genuine God-given desire of the kingdom is distorted and brings only death. Yeshua however knew that once the evil seed problem was handled the ultimate reality is of a kingdom.

“and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."” (Mrk 1:15, NKJV)

But He also knew that without the cleansing of the seed of evil, what is called sin, even the covenant kingdom would be misunderstood and be based on violence and death.

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."” (Luk 17:20-21, NKJV)

This is the foundation stone of the New Covenant, a covenant where the pure restoration of the knowledge of good is restored to the people of the covenant.

“"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."” (Jer 31:31-34, NKJV)

This is a transformation and a restoration to the garden which will be fully consummated when He returns and every tear is wiped away!

Read Rev 21 and Rev 22 for the full picture. Here’s a taste:

“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev 22:1-5, NKJV)

The restoration of access to the Tree of Life is the symbol of the total healing of the seed of evil and death! Hallelujah!

Activation: Ask the Lord to show you a place where fear, shame, failure, or disappointment has colored your spiritual sight. Instead of hiding that weakness, invite Him to meet you there. Receive the truth of the New Covenant: you are known, loved, and being restored. Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart so that you can see and live from resurrection life.