What is the knowledge of good and evil?

Believers, see Genesis 2:17- "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

God made this tree and told Adam not to eat of it or else he would surely die in the day that he ate. Many of us have wondered at the stupidity of Adam and Eve, even told ourselves that we would have been obedient if we were the ones that were first created. Plus, the Tree of Life was right there in the garden. Why didn't they eat of that one instead?... until we realise that many among us are still eating from this tree of the knowledge of good and evil and shunning the Tree of Life!

But how can one eat of this tree today, since we seemingly no longer have access to it? How is it possible to disobey God the way Adam and Eve did, even to the point of choosing the tree that kills over the Tree of Life? Believers, it is by trying to be godly (be like God) by human effort aka feeding from the law which give the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. See Romans 7 (MSG):

"The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me."

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of the law, which makes us know what is good and what is evil. Satan perverts the law into a temptation and makes a piece of the forbidden fruit if it. What he told Eve was not a bad thing; afterall, what is bad in desiring and trying to be godly? In fact, God wants us to be godly! Many in the church are trying to be godly today but like Eve, are trying to attain this godliness (perfect righteousness) by human effort - trying to keep the law by which is the knowledge of sin! Just as Eve was seduced to eat of the tree, many in the church are being deceived into thinking that they can be righteous (like God) by keeping the Ten Commandments, doing good and shunning evil. But see what Romans 3:20 says about this-

"For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law."

The letter (law) kills. No matter what part of the forbidden fruit (the law) one eats from, even the good part, the result is the same: Death. Our knowledge of good and evil, when deployed to the pursuit of godliness, only leads to death. The good one does under law kills just as fast as the bad. What our common sense tells us is the right/lawful thing to do is often not the Spirit thing to do. This is why a good CEO can do a "good thing" by blessing an employee with a new car but the grateful employee and his family end up dying in a car crash on their way home from dedicating the same car in their church. The prodigal son might have delayed going back home if someone who thought he was "doing what God wants" had saved him from the pig-pen.

The letter kills, but this death is not necessarily immediate. The YLT translation says "for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die." Psalms 90:4 says of God "A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,"; Moses wrote this concerning God's view of the life of man (v.3) Adam did not die immediately but lived for almost 1,000 years aka one day gone by in the sight of God so this death from law-keeping is a process: first comes condemnation from being under law, then fear of judgment for sins committed followed by stress, then depression, oppression by satanic or just plain ignorant leaders who tell you that you need to try harder or do more and fight off generational curses that Christ hung on the cross to redeem us from; then stupid mistakes when under stress which just brings more stress and then grey hairs on young men. The result of this stress is overworked adrenal glands which cause sickness, high BP and a host of other diseases: death-accelerated. Why stay here when Christ died to free you from the law of sin and death?

The root cause of this death process is condemnation. As long as one is trying to get right with God by obeying the law, that one is under perpetual condemnation. The law condemns the best of us. But Grace - our Saviour Jesus Christ- saves the worst of us, transforming even the vilest offender to be like Himself.

Believers, we are not under law but under grace where there is no condemnation for the believer (Romans 8:1,) even when we mess things up. As we behold Jesus and not our faults, the Holy Spirit that dwells in us permanently is transforming us to the same image of Jesus Christ, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18.) Not by our might or power but by the Spirit of the Lord.

See 2 Corinthians 3:6- "who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

This life is not just being saved from accidents or life in heaven. Just as death starts with condemnation, then fear, stress, poverty, lack, disease and finally death, even the second death in hell, this "life" of the Spirit begins with "no condemnation" because of God's gift of righteousness to all who truly believe, then no fear, peace, love for all, health, wealth, every blessing of God and being caught up in the air to be with our Lord Jesus forever at the Rapture. These blessings are only for those who believe thus: Romans 3:27-

"Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

By God's grace, let's stop trying to be godly/believing that we can be saved by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the letter that kills.) Let us eat freely from the Tree of Life and live forever. How do we do this? Remember Genesis 3:22-

"And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Because He loved us so, God Himself made provision for us to live forever (not perish as was our lot under law, but have everlasting life.) and we find this in the most popular verse in the bible- John 3:16- "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Believing Jesus- that He has overpaid the price of our past, present and future sins; that we are made righteous by His obedience and not by our filthy rags law-keeping and good works and that in Him, there is no condemnation and no generational or other curse hanging over our heads (Gal. 3:13) - is to eat from the tree of Life. Partaking of His body and His blood (Holy Communion,) and discerning His body, is to eat from the Tree of Life. Our Saviour said in John 6:51-58:

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world...54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day...58...He who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life. By God's grace, stop feeding on the law that was given through Moses and turn to Grace and Truth that came through Christ. Believe Right in Him. Partake of His flesh and His blood and you will live forever. This is God's gift to us. Remember Christ said "has eternal life" and not "will have." Eternal life begins here on earth!