Genesis 3:8
“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.”
Ephesians 1:10
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.”
Revelation 2:4-5
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works.”
Reflection
Before sin broke communion in Eden, Adam lived in a reality that today seems almost unimaginable: walking with God in the cool of the day, having simultaneous access to the spiritual and the natural, without the separation we experience today between heaven and earth. That ability to move in both dimensions was not a magical power or a spiritual technique; it was the natural fruit of an intimate, uninterrupted relationship of love with the Father. The dominion Adam exercised over creation was born from that closeness, not the other way around.
This reveals something fundamental about the nature of true spiritual government: it is not attained first through authority, strategy, or knowledge, but through love. When Revelation rebukes the church of Ephesus for having left its first love, it’s not merely pointing out an emotional lapse; it’s identifying the root of a much greater loss. Without that first love restored, everything else—ministry activity, correct doctrine, hard work—loses connection with the source that originally sustained access to the heavenly dimensions.
Jesus, as the second Adam, not only restored what had been lost, but brought the union between heaven and earth to an even greater fullness. Paul describes it with an extraordinary statement: all things, those in heaven and those on earth, were gathered together in Christ. This reunification is not merely a distant cosmic event; it is a reality every believer can personally experience by returning to that first love, by restoring the intimacy Adam enjoyed in the garden.
That is why the conquest of first love is not a passing feeling or an initial stage outgrown with spiritual maturity; it is the permanent doorway into genuine government. There is no shortcut to spiritual authority that bypasses this restoration; love is not merely the starting point of the Christian walk, but the continual foundation on which all true spiritual dominion rests.
Meditation for today
Have I left my first love, replacing it with correct but hollow religious activity lacking genuine intimacy?
Am I seeking spiritual government and authority as an end in itself, or as the natural fruit of restored, loving relationship?
What would it mean for me today to walk with the Father in the cool of the day, as Adam did, with simultaneous access to the spiritual and the natural?
Prayer
Father, help me remember from where I have fallen, and return fully to my first love. Forgive me for the times I have substituted intimacy with You for activity, doctrine, or ministry work without the genuine connection that gives it life.
Restore in me the communion Adam enjoyed, walking with You in the cool of the day, with access to the spiritual and the natural. May true government be born from that restored intimacy, the government You desire to establish in me, uniting what is in heaven with what is on earth, just as You did in Christ Jesus. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Ana Méndez Ferrell
This is just a portion of the teaching “The Tree of Life”