THE THREE STAGES OF SELF PRESERVATION
 
In Genesis 3:14 to Chapter 4:2 the Holy Spirit opens the reader to some amazing truths. There is such incredible symbolism in the book of Genesis.  If you hang with this article and of course that is up to you, I will show you how Adam and Eve went through three stages after they sinned.  Most people know Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden.  We travel through the same three steps in our walk with Jesus Christ.
 
After Adam and Eve sinned they pointed fingers but the final verdict rested with God Himself. Of course this is the same way God deals with us. Nothing can happen to us apart from the Divine Godhead and whether we know it or not we ultimately answer to Jesus Christ.God did issue 3 punishments to the serpent,Adam and Eve. The Devil is referred to as the serpent in Scripture.  Because of the curse of Adam and Eve he could only have the ability to crawl on his belly.  The first prophecy was given in Genesis 3:15.  Believe it or not it is one of the most popular verses in the Bible.  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed,it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  Genesis 3:15. Ultimately Jesus Christ will completely defeat the Devil. The curse placed on Eve was child bearing pains and Adam had to work in the fields with sweat,toil,thorns, and thistles. There was a curse that came with sin and of course this spread into the wideness of humanity. When God sets up the New Jerusalem after the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ everything that was lost in the Garden will be restored. It never totally made any sense to me when Christians would say they were not interested in the return of Jesus Christ.  Even when I was  a young believer in Jesus Christ  there was always something missing in the conversation when my brothers and sisters in the Lord would put up walls and barriers to the Blessed Hope that we have in Jesus Christ.
 
As I read this part of the story the practical application just jumped out at me. I could not help but see the cycles in the story. Adam and Eve went through the three cycles of self preservation and that does not surprise me because three is the number of divine completion. We also go through these same three stages. If you read through the stories of the Bible and have a trained eye you will see how they typify our lives.
 
The first stage was obviously despair, confusion, abandonment, a sense of loss and just a mental confusion of perplexity. Let me just say that a human being or group does not have to sin to be thrusted into this. The individual or group may be the victims of sin. I sometimes refer to this as the ravages of sin. A husband may leave a wife, a person could get beat up in an alley or just maybe they themselves committed the sin and have to bare and carry the consequences. How long will the individual or group stay in this despair?  It all depends on the situation but be assured of this- God desires the individual or group to move on to the 2nd stage. Remember Adam and Eve knew they could not go back because angelic Cherubims were guarding the Tree of Life. God has His law but humanity also has their laws. Did you ever notice when a situation takes place in a family or wherever all kinds of guards start to go up in and around respective parties?  Adam and Eve knew in their hardship they had to move on to step two.
 
In stage 2 although still in hardship their cognitive skills were exercised in building their new home. They were now thinking practical-building a house,clothes,and farming. Creativity and focus were now going through their minds.  In like manner God desires that we become productive human beings after or perhaps even in the mist of our hardship because staying in one place (stage one) is not stepping out in faith. It is destructive. This will harm us. Adam and Even were moving forward.
 
Adam and Eve then moved to an advanced stage in the self preservation process by thinking and longing for the best in other people.  At this point they were not too concerned with themselves.  I don't desire to get into Genesis 4:3 because that is for a different study; however,the truth by implication is evident. Adam desired to teach his children that obedience to God is the path that his children needed to take. Notice Adam went from hardship (stage one) to innovative construction (stage two) to a longing for what we would call in this age of grace the "Great Commission."  He wanted to share truths about the one true God that created the universe. Notice there were two characteristics in him. He was contrite (He felt bad that he sinned against God),and he had conviction (he was bound and determined to get this message across). Jesus said "Go ye therefore,and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son,and of the Holy Ghost teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,even unto the end of the worlds.Amen." Matthew 28:19-20. Hopefully as we do our part in the great commission (helping spread the gospel around the world) we will remember the model of Adam and Eve regarding the three stages of self-preservation.  Ask yourself where you are.  Are you in stage one ( hardship) stage two ( construction) stage three ( a longing to get the Gospel of Jesus Christ out).  If I'm down I pray to God that He will move me along into His Will in getting the message of the Gospel out.  God has a way of bringing us to this point but only by His Grace.  By the way most successful missionaries around the world are contrite in spirit with conviction ( the model of Adam) in their hearts that Jesus Christ Redeemed their sins and they in return have such a burning desire to share the Gospel with other people.
 
Bob D.