What does the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represent?
This subject is very crucial to our believing in Jesus Christ. The entire Bible is like a perfect embroidery with no loose ends, all the books interconnected, making sense and giving life as a whole to all who believe and only through God’s Wisdom for all who believe - Grace Himself: Jesus Christ. No One better to interpret the Word than the Word Himself.
Just a quick background before we address what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents for believers in Christ:
Remember those two disciples (Cleopas and his companion) on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24? They were sad because they felt that all hope was lost since Jesus had been crucified. They did not recognize the Lord Jesus as the one who walked with them on the way. Here's what Christ did as they went:
"27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."
That same evening, the two disciples went to Jerusalem to share their experience of Christ with the other disciples. Jesus appeared to them there; check out what He did in verse 45 (MSG)-
“He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”
There was no New Testament at this time. Christ taught His disciples about Himself from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is filled with faith pictures of our Saviour Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him.
Christ teaches us to read the Old Testament by bringing Him out of ALL the Scriptures.
In one of the most popular passages of the New Testament, Christ Himself made one reference to Himself in the Old Testament: the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness is a picture of Christ lifted up to save the world from sin and death. See John 3-
14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
Christ Himself draws a parallel between how the Israelites that were bitten by snakes got to escape death and how we who look to Jesus for salvation from sin and death get to “not perish but have eternal life.” This typology is by Christ Himself- the bronze serpent lifted up is a picture of Christ lifted up for our salvation from sin and its deathly effects.
We'll get to the typology for the tree in a bit.
The Israelites that had been bitten by snakes only had to look at the bronze serpent on the pole - for us, Christ lifted up to free us from the power, pleasure and penalty of sin, grant us everlasting righteousness apart from our puny attempts at keeping the Law and give us eternal life - every blessing in John 3:16. All of these have nothing to do with our puny attempts at keeping the law or sowing seeds, just as the Israelites only had to look at the bronze serpent in order to live. Believing this way is seeing Christ lifted up. When your believing is right - looking solely unto Jesus and not depending on what you can do by your own might to get rid of the snake sting (sin nature) and its deathly symptoms (acts of sin that lead to death,) right living will follow, just as life was given to the affected Israelites who looked to the bronze serpent alone for salvation.
Imagine the Israelites trying to rid themselves the snake sting/venom, rushing off to do burnt offerings, give gifts to God or doing their best to keep the Ten Commandments and the rest of the laws in order to be free from the snake sting and escape certain death instead of looking at the bronze snake on the pole. They would have been distracted from looking at the pole-hoisted bronze serpent with all of their futile human attempt (arm of flesh) at doing what the Law commands in order to be free from the snake sting and its deathly effects. The effects of the snake sting/venom within isn't stalled by these futile and useless activities aka law-keeping in order to be godly. Rather, it gets worse. Death is the result. The letter kills.
But this is exactly what many in the church today are doing with that false doctrine that says- “Yes we are saved by GRACE but we still have to obey the LAW in order to be godly, made whole, escape God's wrath and make it to heaven.”
1 Corinthians 15:56 says: “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.”
Romans 6:14 says: "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
1 Corinthians 15:56 says: “The sting of death is sin, and the law gives sin its power.”
The snake sting represents the sin nature that Adam passed on to all of his descendants-
“By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.
The one with this sinner/old nature is not a new creation in Christ. He does not believe that he is made righteous through Christ's obedience. He believes that his puny human attempts/arm of flesh-driven efforts at getting rid of his snake sting (sinner/old nature) and its deathly effects (acts of sin that lead to death) can contribute towards causing him to “not perish but have eternal life.” He strives to be godly by obeying the law. But the more one tries to do things by human strength (aka obey the Law that kills like a certain tree) in order to be godly and saved, the more sins will multiply —
“When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.” Romans 7:5
- the same way the Israelites would have died if they had opted to run around looking for how to be free from the snake sting (sin nature) and its symptoms (acts of sin and their consequences) that lead to death, giving the snake sting/venom time to spread and wreak havoc. Anyone who is keeping the law in order to get right with God rejects God's gift of righteousness and everlasting life that Christ died that we might have. Here's more on Christ's analogy of the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up as Himself:
Recall what Christ did on the road to Emmaus:
"27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."
Recall what He did when He appeared to the rest of His disciples in Jerusalem in verse 45 (MSG)- “He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”
Recall there was no New Testament at the time? The Old Testament is all about Jesus and our salvation in Him. This brings us to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and what it represents for believers today.
Genesis 2:16-17: "16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 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.”
Many of us have wondered how Adam and Eve could be so silly as to disobey God. Plus the Tree of Life was right there in the garden and they could FREELY eat of it. 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 are 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 that which gives life? It is by trying to be godly (be like God) by human effort just like Adam and Eve did; for us today, it is trying to be godly (be like God) by keeping the law which kills (the letter kills) and which gives the knowledge of what is good and what is evil.
See Paul's typology of the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly (be like God) in Romans 7:8-12 (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 kills and gives the same knowledge. As he did with Eve, Satan, through his ministers behind some pulpits, is still seducing people with the law, perverting the law into a temptation and making a piece of the forbidden fruit out of it. The aspiration to godliness that he sowed in Eve (the same is being sown in the hearts of many churchgoers today) was not a bad thing when you look at it with human logic like Eve did; afterall, what is bad in desiring and trying to be godly? In fact, God wants us to be godly!
The danger here is that many in the church are trying to be godly today but are doing so after the example of Adam and Eve- by human strength aka the arm of flesh. Just as Eve was seduced to eat of the tree in order to be like God aka be godly by human striving at doing something, many in the church are being deceived into believing that they can be righteous/godly (be like God) by keeping the Ten Commandments, doing good things and doing their best to shun evil. Wonderful as these things are, doing them in order to be godly can’t help anybody. See what Romans 3:19-20 says about this-
"19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are."
Just like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the law kills and exposes the the nakedness (utter lack of righteousness) of those who try to keep it in order to be godly aka be like God. See this reference to “nakedness as having no righteousness" in Christ's counsel to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3-
“18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold that has been heated red hot and refined by fire so that you may become truly rich; and white clothes [representing righteousness] to clothe yourself so that the shame of your nakedness will not be seen; and healing salve to put on your eyes so that you may see.”
Doing what the law commands in order to be made right with God has this adverse effect: Galatians 5:4-
“For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace.”
Smack where Satan wants everyone to be. Some churchgoers who claim to be under Grace try to compartmentalize the law into moral law/oral law/ceremonial law and say that we who believe are still subject to some of these compartments of the law. What a horrid antichrist teaching! The law is a whole and just like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (a picture of the law which many are eating of in a bid to be godly/be like God - see Romans 7:8-12 The Message
) which has many parts, eating of any part of the law (the letter) kills, whether moral, oral, ceremonial or the one with which man privately judges himself in his heart (see Romans 2:12-15
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The more one tries to be godly (be like God) by human effort at obedience (dependence on even an iota law-keeping in order to “not perish but have everlasting life”) as Adam and Eve attempted to do, the more sin strengthens its grip over the life of that one, “For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace.” Romans 6:14.
Romans 7 also shows us that the law that we who believe are dead to includes the Ten Commandments; Paul used the 10th Commandment (You shall not covet) as an example in this chapter. In Christ, we are not under law but under Grace. Beloved of God, Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:
"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."
Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
How then can the one who has received sight from Christ and is being led by Him continue to wallow in sins?
Believer, God Himself made the Way for us to be godly (be like God) and it is through the suffering of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Isaiah prophesied of His suffering for us in Isaiah 53. See the effect of His sacrifice for us in Isaiah 53:11-
"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."
But preachers of what Paul calls “doctrine of demons” will tell you:
"Now that you are born-again, you have to obey the law in order to be godly like God and escape God's punishment so that you will not perish but have everlasting life.”
Everything that Christ died that we might freely have! This is the same false doctrine that Satan the chief demon used to deceive Eve when he told her that that she would be godly (be like God) if she did something by human effort.
Just as eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil made Adam and Eve see that they were naked (lacking in righteousness,) the law only exposes how sinful (lacking in righteousness) we are. So much to say here- their fig leaves covering is a picture of self-righteousness. You can never do enough to be right with God - unless you eat the whole tree, and no one can, for all have sinned. James 2:10 says-
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point he is guilty of all.”
Doesn't seem fair, until we realise that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear. Peter found this out the hard way. He knew that he would never deny Christ. And then Satan came a-sifting….There is no good in man's fallen humanity (Romans 7:18.)
Absolute righteousness is demanded of those who are under law or else death. It is no coincidence what is written in 2 Corinthians 3:6-
“…for the letter [of the Law] kills [by revealing sin and demanding obedience], but the Spirit gives life.”
Just like the tree, the letter kills. No matter what part of the forbidden fruit (the law) one eats from, even the seemingly good part of trying to obey it in order to be a godly, the result is the same: Death.
Remember the curse fell on Adam and Eve after they ate of this tree? See Galatians 3:
“10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under His curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 11 So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 12 This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.””
The law is not of faith. The one who believes that his own efforts at obeying the law is what guarantees him godliness and God's blessings is faithless. The letter kills. A person will have life through the law only if he obeys ALL of the law, but no one can (Romans 3:20.)
Back to Adam and Eve:) They ate of the tree and they died. Same thing happens with those who are trying to obey the law in a bid to be godly. The letter kills, but this death is not immediate physical death. The YLT translation of Genesis 2:16–17 says:
“And Jehovah God layeth a charge on the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden eating thou dost eat; 17 and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, 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 drop dead physically immediately after his death sentence came into effect; his spirit died but he lived physically for almost 1,000 years aka one day gone by in the sight of God; this death from law-keeping in a bid to be godly is a process that begins with guilt from sin and condemnation of which there is none for all who are in Christ (Romans 8:1.) Then comes death begun in the form of fear (of judgment for sins committed,) stress, depression, silly mistakes, oppression, lack, sickness, discontent and every earthly ill. Physical death and the second death in hell follow after these symptoms of death.
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.
Just in case you were wondering about the Tree of Life:
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.”
Notice the words eat and live forever? Now see what Christ says 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.”
Because He loved us so, God Himself made provision for us to eat of the Tree of Life- Jesus Christ- and 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 with His single sacrifice for sins that is good for all time (Heb. 10:12;) that we are made godly (righteous) by His obedience (Romans 5:19) and not by our filthy rags fig leaves of law-keeping and good works and that in Him, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1) 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,) while discerning His body, is to eat from the Tree of Life. Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life. Freely partake of Him and eternal life is yours.
Remember the Lord God commanded Adam: “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely...;" We all now have the same choice as Adam and Eve did:
Try to be godly (be like God) by human effort at keeping the law which is a picture of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and die (the letter kills) or become godly by faith in Jesus Christ the Tree of Life of whom it is written in Isaiah 53:11-
"After He has suffered, He will see the light of life. And He will be satisfied. My godly servant will make many people godly because of what He will accomplish. He will be punished for their sins."
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of the law that gives knowledge of what is good and what is evil. Like Eve, many churchgoers are still trying to be godly (be like God) by keeping the law. This is rejecting Christ and the gift of righteousness/godliness that He died that we might have. The Pharisees did this and no one can stand their pompous, religious, bigoted, accusing attitude. Remember they strove hard to be godly aka be like God.
Churchgoers who are trying to keep the law in order to be godly misrepresent Christ and send out the same pompous, bigoted, accusing, “holier than thou” vibe that the Pharisees did without knowing it. It comes with the territory. This is why many people who are yet to see the Light see Christians as a pompous, bigoted, finger-wagging lot and want nothing to do with us. But Jesus was always at ease with outcasts, the scummy tax collectors and notorious sinners. This group who knew that they were sinners drew near to Him and in Him, we never remain the same. But he called the law-toting Pharisees “white-washed tombs" and “brood of vipers.”
Satan is still seducing people the same way he seduced Eve to believe that she could be godly by human effort. Friend, the result of feeding on the law is the same as it was in the garden of Eden: sin has dominion and death reigns. The law will only expose the nakedness (unrighteousness) of those who try to be godly by doing its works. Today, our Lord God says to us: "Choose life."
By God's grace, let’s stop feeding on the Law and turn to Grace and Truth that came through Jesus Christ. Believe Right. Partake of His flesh and His blood and you will live forever. This is God's gift to us. Remember Christ says in John 6 that the one who partakes of Him "has eternal life" and not "will have." Eternal life begins here on earth. Eternal life is a gift.
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