Internal vs. the External

In the story of the Fall, we read in Genesis 3:6:
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise....".

Where does sin begin? I believe this passage shows us that it begins internally first. But, it has an external result: "She took the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." So first the desire begins inside of us, and then the result is a fall from grace which is external to us.

Before Eve and Adam sinned, Satan had previously fallen from grace. Isaiah 14: 13-14 in describing Satan states:

You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north;

Thus, even for Satan who does not have a physical body like ours, the source of his rebellion began in his heart. What is the problem of the world today? It is a heart that is not attuned to the God who created us. Each of us, like Eve, wants to choose what it is that we do. Jesus taught us in the same manner. If a man lusts in his heart for a woman, then he has already committed adultery. If a person hates his brother, he is guilty of murder (in the eyes of God). Satan wants a kingdom like God. In fact, he was entrusted with the earth by Jehovah God from the beginning of creation. But, in his rebellion he wants to be ruler of this world forever. The message of the gospel is that there will come a day of reckoning and of final judgment for Satan, his angels and all of humankind. The only refuge on earth that is not under the control of Satan is the church. Jesus promised his disciples that the gates of hades would not prevail against his church. But, that means that everything else in this world is still under the authority of Satan. That is why our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the "the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. " [Ephesians 6:12] Outside the body of Christ, we have no hope of surviving in the fallen world. It is only the blood of Christ that gives us hope of our salvation by faith in Him. We must make sure that our internal heart is set upon Him, so that each of our lives in the external world in which we live does, in fact, become a beacon of light in this dark world.