Tag: the tree of life

Sin Originated From Satan

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the whole congregation of Israel and tell them: Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. -Leviticus 19:1-2 BSB

God is holy, without any sin or darkness, perfect in all His ways, and the standard of righteousness and goodness.

When God created the heavens and earth, He created them in perfection. Five times, God said, “it was good” and one time “was good” in reference to the light.

On day number six, God created land animals then He created Adam first then Eve in His image to rule over God’s creation. The word “image” in verses 26 & 27 does not imply in a physical sense. It’s in reference to dominion over God’s creation that is, land animals, sea creatures, and birds, as well as the earth.

God’s image in Adam and Eve can be seen in their human traits like being happy, sad, angry (in a righteous sense), being concerned for others, patient, having mercy, etc. Also, in communication with one another in a language form. And lastly, the ability to create things with their hands.

In the middle of the garden, God placed two trees. One was called “the tree of life” and the other “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). God created those two trees to test Adam and Eve to see if they would obey Him or not. Now, God already knew the answer to that, but it was to show them the level they really had when it came to trusting in God’s Word. All they had to do was obey one command.

When God created Adam and Eve, they were created without sin. They did not know what sin was in the sense of having a mind that would produce evil thoughts. All of their thoughts were innocent before the LORD God.

The LORD warned the man that the day he eats from the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. Adam didn’t know the full extent and reach that the death that God mentioned would bring him. It would permeate not only to his physical body but to his spirit, condemning him and his wife to hell unless the LORD would intervene with a way to atone for their sins. In Genesis 3:21, God made animal skins to cover their nakedness and shame, which resembled their sin. This is the first time that we get a glimpse or foreshadow of Jesus’ sacrifice for the sins of men.

If you notice the other tree in the middle of the garden (the tree of life), God did not forbid Adam to eat, which would have given him eternal life. When God created Eve, Adam relayed God’s command to her. God allowed them to exercise their free will. They had the choice to either eat from the tree of life or disobey and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God made a way to receive eternal life while Satan, in Genesis 3, deceived Eve to eat from the tree that would introduce sin and death to them and the rest of the human race through their descendants. After they ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, they became sinners, and God kicked them out of the garden lest they would reach out with their hands and eat from the tree of life and live forever in sin. God did this to save them.

Everyone who is born is born in sin not because God made them with sinful desires, but because Adam and Eve decided to listen to Satan’s lie and ate the fruit of death. Sin came through the influence of Satan and the disobedience of the first two people that were created.

Sin came through one man, Adam, and salvation came through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:12-21).

Picture from freebibleimages.org

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Why Did God Make The Tree Of The Knowledge Of Good And Evil?

15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Genesis 2:15-17 NASB

Why would God plant a tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that has the potential to destroy Adam’s relationship with Him?

If you look at it, God gave Adam two choices. The tree of life which represents Jesus Christ who gives eternal life to the one who believes in Him and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, representing the wisdom of the world which brings death.

Even though Adam was created in perfection, he did not have the Holy Spirit living inside of him. He was still vulnerable in losing his sinlessness. Just because Adam was sinless, it didn’t mean that he had eternal life, as Genesis 3:22-24 clearly states that God threw Adam and Eve, his wife, out of the garden lest they reach out to the tree of life and live forever.

Adam’s sinlessness was different from a believer today who has eternal life. Eternal life cannot be lost because the Holy Spirit is the one who keeps us from falling away. In Adam’s case, he didn’t have such protection putting him in a slippery slope of having the possibility of falling from his position of sinlessness to a sinful one and being condemned to hell.

Adam could have lived forever if he ate from the tree of life. Nowhere from Chapters 1-3 of Genesis did God ever prohibit them from eating from the tree of life.

God wanted us to know that without the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we cannot please God by living a life of righteousness. Even in perfection, Adam couldn’t stay in that condition. It was a matter of time before he would fall.

Just think about this for a moment. Two people, who were perfect and sinless had two choices. God only gave them one command. Not to eat from the forbidden tree. Despite having all of the trees and their fruits available, they still chose to rebel against God. No matter if you are created without sin, without God in your heart, you will end up choosing the world.

What is impossible for men to obtain which is eternal life, is possible with God. First of all, no one seeks after God. In John 6:44, it says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.” The Father is the one who brings you to Jesus by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Conviction simply means to convince you who Jesus is and what He did for you on the cross and that in your sinful state, you cannot make it to heaven unless all of your sins gets forgiven.

Getting back to the question at the top. Why did God make the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? It was to show us that no matter what, mankind was going to choose evil instead of good. By Adam falling into sin, it actually opened up the door to make a way for atoning for the sins of mankind through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who receive the gift that Jesus offers shall never fall away from Him. God worked out a bad situation at the beginning of time for the best scenario possible—indefinitely securing one’s place in heaven. All you have to do is believe that Jesus died for your sins on the cross and rose from the grave on the third day. Ask Jesus to forgive you for all the bad things you have ever done and commit your life to Him.