How God’s Secret Garden Can Add Peace,
Hope, And Purpose To Our Lives
By
J. Owen Allen, Ph.D.
Some of you might remember from your childhood – or from your children’s childhood – or maybe even from your children’s children’s childhood … a book entitled, The Secret Garden.
It was written in England many years ago, and has gone through many editions, plays, and movies. In fact, it was made into a new movie here in America as recently as 1993.
You’ll remember that the plot of The Secret Garden was that there was a mysterious garden in an English castle. The garden gate was locked and nobody was allowed in. But some children found a way in – and they liked to play in the garden because they had feelings of togetherness … and peace … and hope … and purpose in the garden that they didn’t have anywhere else.
Of course, the book The Secret Garden is fiction. It’s not real. It’s not true. But the Good News for Christians is that God likes gardens – and His gardens are real and true.
In fact, God planted three gardens. And if we understand how His three gardens work, it can help us grow Spiritually, and it can help us be more effective Christians. So let’s talk about the three gardens of God and what they mean to us today as Christians.
As you know, the Bible teaches that God planted three different gardens. And if we study what the Bible says about those three gardens, we find that –
• We’re too late for the First Garden.
• And we’re too early for the Third Garden.
• But we’re just in time for the Second Garden, the
one that’s between the other two.
And it’s this Second Garden that I want to talk about a few minutes. Because many Christians haven’t heard about it. More than that, some who’ve heard of it don’t understand it. And finally, some who’ve heard about it and understand it, aren’t sure how to enter it.
That’s why I call this Second Garden – “God’s Secret Garden“!
But, before we talk any more about “God’s Secret Garden” … let’s talk about God’s other two gardens … starting with His First Garden – the one we’re too late for.
The First Garden that God planted was The Garden of Eden. We know that’s true because the book of Genesis says –
“The Lord, God, planted a garden in Eden!”
Of course, we’re too late for The Garden of Eden. We missed it by several thousand years, didn’t we? And all we know about The Garden of Eden is what we read in the Bible. But the Bible says that God put four things in The Garden of Eden –
• He put a River in it. We see that in Genesis 2:10.
• He put Trees in it. We see that in Genesis 3:2.
• He put a Gate in it. We see that in Genesis 3:24 (because the
Hebrew word for “garden” means an enclosure with a gate).
• And finally, God made The Garden of Eden a place of Pleasure (we
know that because the Hebrew word, Eden, means “pleasure”).
In fact, we should really call The Garden of Eden, “The Garden Pleasure”! Did you know that? Because that’s its real name! And the truth is that God likes pleasure – if it’s the right kind!
So, as we continue, let’s remember that these four things are always in gardens that God plants: A River. Trees. A Gate. And they’re always a place of Pleasure. So The Garden of Eden had these four things. But now let’s check and see if God’s Third Garden has them!
God’s Third Garden is The Garden of Heaven. And we’re too early for it. We can’t enter it until God’s appointed time for us to enter it.
Of course – the first thought we probably have about heaven is that it’s not a “garden,” right? It’s just plain heaven, right?
But to play fair, let’s check heaven and see if it has the four things in it that God always puts in His gardens. Let’s see if heaven has a River. And Trees. And a Gate. And let’s see if it’s a place of Pleasure.
Of course, it’s easy to check up on heaven! Because if we read chapters 21 and 22 in the book of Revelation, we see that heaven does have a River. And it does have Trees. And it does have Gates.
But best of all – and this is the wonderful part! – heaven is a place of Pleasure. We know that’s true because another name for heaven is “Paradise,” right? Remember what Jesus said to the thief on the cross? He said –
“I tell you the truth … this day … you will be with Me in Paradise.”[2. Adapted from Luke, chapter 23, verse 43.]
Now the word paradise is an interesting word! It’s not a Hebrew word. It’s not a Greek word. It’s not an Aramaic word. And it’s not a Latin word. Those are the four languages that the Jews of Jerusalem spoke in the First Century, and it’s none of them!
Instead, the word paradise is a Persian word! And it can be translated as “heaven.” But, do you know what it actually means in literal Persian? It means –
So heaven does have all four of the things that God’s gardens are supposed to have. And, when we arrive there someday, The Garden of Heaven is going to give us feelings of togetherness … and peace … and hope … and purpose that we will never find anywhere else … just like the children in the children’s book!
But, now you can see the problem we have as Christians, can’t you? We were too late for The Garden of Eden. And we are too early for The Garden of Heaven. So the question is: Where, in this life, can we find the feelings of togetherness … and peace … and hope … and purpose that God puts in all of His gardens? Or, to ask the question a different way –
And the answer is: “YES!” God did plant a garden for us to enjoy in this life! And it’s right here. Right now. We mentioned it earlier. It’s the Second Garden that God planted. It’s the one between The Garden of Eden … and … The Garden of Heaven.
And because some Christians don’t fully understand this Second Garden – I like to call it: The Secret Garden of God! Of course, it’s not really a “secret.” But, because so many Christians don’t understand it, and don’t know how to enter it, I like to call it a “secret.”
The truth is that one reason many Christians don’t understand God’s Second Garden, and don’t know how to enter it, is because the Bible doesn’t call God’s Second Garden a “garden“! The Bible calls God’s Second Garden “The Kingdom of God.” So now let’s talk about The Kingdom of God.
As we said, the Bible calls God’s Second Garden “The Kingdom of God” in most of its verses. And in the Gospel of Matthew, the Bible even calls God’s Second Garden “The Kingdom of Heaven”[3. Adapted from Matthew, chapter 6, verse 33. Matthew used the phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven” instead of “The Kingdom of God” because he was writing to a Jewish audience, and they believed the word “God” was too sacred to speak aloud or write down.] – which totally confuses many Christians, who think Matthew is talking about the heaven we go to after earthly death!
So to keep things simple … let’s do what the Bible does in most of its books, and let’s call God’s Second Garden “The Kingdom of God.”
And to play fair again, let’s also check “The Kingdom of God” and see if it has all four of the things that God’s gardens always have. Let’s see if it has: A River. Trees. A gate. And if it’s place of Pleasure.
To begin, we know The Kingdom of God does have a River. Because in the Gospel of John, Jesus said –
“Whoever believes in Me – as the Scripture has said – Rivers of
Living Water will flow up within him or her.”[4. Adapted from John, chapter 7, verse 38.]
So The Kingdom of God passes the first test. It does have a River. Next, let’s see if it has Trees. And we know The Kingdom of God does have Trees. Because in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said –
“The Kingdom of (God) is like a mustard seed, which a man … planted
in his field. Though it’s the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it’s the
largest of the garden plants, and it becomes a Tree.”[5. Adapted from Matthew, chapter 13, verses 31 and 32.]
So The Kingdom of God passes the second test. It does have a Tree in it – or at least – Jesus said it’s “like” a Tree. Next, let’s see if The Kingdom of God has a Gate. And we know The Kingdom of God does have a Gate. Because in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said –
“Enter (The Kingdom of God) through the narrow Gate. Because wide is the
gate, and broad is the way, that leads to Destruction – and many enter it. But
small is the Gate, and narrow is the way, that leads to (Spiritual) Life. And only
a few find it.”[6. Adapted from Matthew, chapter 7, verses 13 and 14.]
So The Kingdom of God passes the third test. It does have a Gate. But it’s a “narrow” Gate … and some Christians have trouble finding it! We’ll come back to this point in a moment! But first, let’s finish our checklist! Is The Kingdom of God a place of Pleasure?
And we know The Kingdom of God is a place of Pleasure. Because in his letter to the Christians in the city of Rome, the apostle Paul said –
“The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking. Instead,
it’s (a matter of) righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Spirit.”[7. Adapted from Romans, chapter 14, verse 17.]
Now, “righteousness, peace, and joy” sound like pleasure to me! Don’t they to you? So The Kingdom of God passes the fourth test. It is a place of Pleasure.
So now we can safely say that “The Kingdom of God” is one of the three gardens that God planted! We can say that because The Kingdom of God has all four of the things that God always puts in His gardens.
But now that leaves us with the two important questions we need to answer. I think they’re questions that every Christian – and every Christian group – should answer. Here are the two questions –
• Where is The Kingdom of God?
• And how do we enter it?
Let’s start with the first question. Where is “The Kingdom of God”? Jesus answered that for us in the Gospel of Luke. Here’s what Jesus said –
“The Kingdom of God is not something that can be physically
observed. People won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ Or, ‘There it
is!’ Because … The Kingdom of God is … inside you.”[8. Adapted from Luke, chapter 17, verses 20 and 21.]
You’ll remember that we quoted Paul earlier, when he said The Kingdom of God is “Righteousness, peace, and joy, in the Holy Spirit.” So The Kingdom of God – the garden I call God’s Secret Garden – is an inner Spiritual experience. It’s an internal supernatural experience.
More than that, it’s a uniquely Christian experience. No member of any other religion can experience it. Only Christians have the ability – and the potential – to enter the Garden of God that the Bible calls The Kingdom of God.
So, at this point, we know where The Kingdom of God is. It’s inside us! But how do we “enter” it? In other words, how do we experience its peace, hope, and purpose?
We’ve now arrived at one of the most important questions any Christian – and any Christian group – can ask. That question is this. How do we enter The Kingdom of God? How do we experience the joys of the garden I call “God’s Secret Garden”?
Think about it this way. Since The Kingdom of God is inside Christians – how do they release its Spiritual power? Jesus said The Kingdom of God has a “narrow gate”! So how do we pass through that narrow gate?
The answer is so simple that we often miss it! It’s so simple that we often try to make it complicated! The “narrow gate” through which we enter The Kingdom of God is –
To be more precise, The Kingdom of God is being Spirit-filled. In other words, Spirit-filling is The Kingdom of God. Said still another way, when we’re Spirit-filled, we’re in The Kingdom of God, and when we’re not Spirit-filled, we’re not in The Kingdom of God. More, that rule has nothing to do with dying and going to heaven. The Kingdom of God is strictly an internal Spiritual experience designed for our time of life on earth.
Now, let’s slow down and be deathbed honest a moment. I’ve been around the track several times in my years as a Christian. I’ve done and seen about everything that you can do and see as a Christian. And I know that some of you have, too.
So I can tell you from personal experience that the subject of Spirit-filling is confusing to many Christians. One reason it’s confusing is that the denominations today have so many contradictory teachings about it. For example –
• Some denominations teach that Spirit-filling doesn’t exist and never did exist.
• Other denominations teach that it did exist once … but it ceased to exist when the last
apostle died at the end of the First Century.
• Other denominations teach that it does exist … but only certain people have it.
• Other denominations teach that all Christians are automatically Spirit-filled the day
they’re Saved … so Christians already have everything there is to have and they
don’t need to worry about anything else.
• Other denominations teach that if you’re Spirit-filled, you’ll know it because you’ll express
one specific Spiritual gift.
• Other denominations teach that if you’re Spirit-filled, you won’t express one specific
Spiritual gift because there’s no such thing as Spiritual gifts.
And so on and so forth. You can see how contradictory some of these denominational teachings are. Worse, the truth is that none of these statements is true!
And the lesson is that these contradictory teachings are probably one reason why so few Christians are Spirit-filled today. Christians hear all these contradictory teachings, and they throw up their hands and give up on Spirit-filling. That might even be one reason why Jesus said the Gate to The Kingdom of God is “narrow” and that few people find it!
And by the way – we need to be careful when we talk about the “narrow” Gate to The Kingdom of God. Because the fact that many Christians are confused over Spirit-filling doesn’t mean that they won’t go to heaven when they die. It just means they won’t experience much of heaven here on earth!
Now – let’s stop here to catch our breath. Because this isn’t the time or the place for a full teaching on the subject of Spirit-filling. However, I do want to look at one Scripture about it.
I think that one of the best-known Scriptures in the Bible on Spirit-filling is in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in the city of Ephesus. That’s the letter in which Paul says he wants all Christians to –
Now, these five words answer a lot of questions about Spirit-filling, if we realize three important facts about them –
• First, Paul’s words are in the Command Tense that army officers in the First Century used to give orders to their troops.[10. The verb in Paul’s phrase “be filled with the Spirit” is in the Koine’ Greek Imperative Mood, the mood for verbs that are commands.] So Paul is commanding Christians to be Spirit-filled. He’s not giving them an option to consider, or making a suggestion for them to think about. He’s speaking to them in the form of a military command.
• Second, Paul’s words are Plural. So his command to be Spirit-filled applies to all Christians everywhere, regardless of age, gender, or background.
• Third, Paul’s words are in the present, or Continuous Tense, meaning that the command is always to be obeyed.
So, here’s a way to translate what Paul is saying to all Christians everywhere –
filled with the Spirit.”
This is a Spiritual law that all Christians need to implement in their lives – because that’s the only way they can experience the peace, hope, and purpose of The Kingdom of God on earth.
Now, let’s summarize. What have we said about God’s gardens? We’ve said the Bible teaches that God planted three gardens –
• The first was The Garden of Eden. And we’re too late for it.
• The third is The Garden of Heaven. And we’re too early for it.
• The second is God’s “Secret Garden.” It’s between the other two, and the Bible calls it The
Kingdom of God. Its purpose is to give Christians some of the wonderful supernatural
experiences of the other two gardens – but to do it in this life.
Finally, we said that the way to enter The Kingdom of God on earth is to be Spirit-filled, and that’s why the Bible commands Christians to be Spirit-filled. It’s God’s will for Christians to experience The Kingdom of God, and to participate in it’s supernatural experiences, because that’s the reason for Christianity.
In closing, how are Christians Spirit-filled? First of all, we know it’s not difficult. Because if it was difficult, the early Christians couldn’t have done it, right? Many of them were poor, uneducated, illiterate, and many were slaves. Yet they experienced Spirit-filling as a normal daily lifestyle. So it can’t be difficult! That means that all we have to do is –
• Believe in Spirit-filling.
• Pray for Spirit-filling.
• Expect Spirit-filling.
And God will do the rest.
So let’s close with a prayer for Spirit-filling –
“Lord God in heaven, we know you created the ‘secret garden’ of The Kingdom of God for our pleasure. We know life on earth can be unendurable without the peace, hope, and purpose of your Holy Spirit. So we need Him to flood up within us in the ‘Rivers of Living Water’ that are called Spirit-filling and are called The Kingdom of God on earth.
“We know the Bible commands us to be Spirit-filled, and so we’re praying for it now. Teach us to be Spirit-filled, we pray. Let the gifts of the Spirit, and the fruit of the Spirit, overflow in us, we pray. Teach us to enter The Kingdom of God, we pray. And grant all of these things to us this very day, we pray. Amen and amen.”
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