Wherein Lies the Sin?

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3:4-5

As I was going through the concept of opposites, I came to the conclusion that good and evil are not in fact true opposites. Evil is instead the breakdown of something initially designed as good. With that in mind, I understood Eve's desire to obtain wisdom and knowledge pure in intent but faulty in her logic that she could obtain it without God and instead attempted to obtain it through the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The second half of the lie told to Eve was that she would become like God. What does that mean? Was Satan telling her in a deceptive way that through the tree of knowledge of good and evil she would be able to partake in the divine nature? And is that intent evil? We are told in 2 Peter 1:4 that we are to partake in the divine nature through God. So to want to be part of God or like Him is not evil in intent... or so I assume from this verse. But where the evil lies is in attempting to become like God, without God in the equation. You cannot have a pure good without the source of all good. If you attempt to obtain good without the source of all that is good then you accomplish evil instead - because it is a twisting and break down of pure good.

With that train of thought we must then wonder how we are to truly partake of the divine nature and what exactly that means. In 2 Peter 1: 3-10 we are given a blueprint for cultivating and nourishing the divine nature within us. It begins with the seed of faith. We receive this faith through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:1). Faith is the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things. When we reach that point in life it does not simply end. We must continue on... it's much like raising a child. The life of a child does not end at the decision to conceive, nor does it end at birth; it is at these points that life begins... there is more after. And it is up to the parents to nourish and minister to the needs of that child. Following faith we must then nourish the divine nature with virtue. By virtue it means a virtuous course of thought, pure motives and good intentions. When you have arrived at this point you then nourish the soul with knowledge. Knowledge is to learn to know, to come to know, gain a knowledge of, to become acquainted with and intimate. Notice that there is reason also for the order. Knowledge without pure intentions or motives can be highly destructive. The next step is temperance. Temperance means to have power over, by strength, mastering, controlling, restraining; the power over sin (Gen. 4:7). When you have reached the point of mastering control over sin you are then at a point in the life of the divine nature to add patience. Patience means to endure, remain, abide, not receding or fleeing; to bear bravely and calmly with perseverance. The next step is godliness. Godliness is the point in life where we truly recognize the need to worship, and revere God; to be devout. After godliness we arrive at Philadelphia. At this point we recognize the divine nature within the other souls around us and we love them because we are a family; we have the same Father and are born of the same Spirit. All of these nourishing elements of the divine nature lead us to the ultimate goal which is agape. Agape is the love, affection, and good will towards all life; a contentment in all aspects of life.

All of that may seem pretty overbearing and hard to digest. It may even seem too overwhelming a task to accomplish, and you would be right - it is. But we are not to attempt it alone. This is a task we accomplish with God. It is His nature, and we are partaking in it. We have been given the Holy Spirit to nurture and comfort us through this growth as a parent to a child.

The word "add" in this passage which refers to the different elements of nourishment to the divine nature is "epichoregeo". "Epichoregeo" here is translated as add, nourish, or minister to. But in direct translation and break down of the word it means to lead a band of dancers in chorus. It is almost as if our divine nature is a symphonic production of nourishing elements that when brought into harmony present us with the song of true life. The conductor begins with Faith, it is the foundation of all music, the rhythm, percussion. Then come the winds, followed by the strings, and then add the brass. Altogether the elements create the music of the divine nature within us. Our pursuit of the divine nature, becoming like God, does not end at the moment of salvation - that is only the beginning of life. We continue on, nourishing that seed of life within us, element by element adding into the score, until it develops into an orchestral performance of God's presence within us. In this context we become like God. When we attempt to become like God without God, therein lies the sin. If God did not intend for us to become like Him, then He never would have created us in His image. Can you hear the music of the divine nature in your life?