Two Trees In The Garden

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machew

Junior Member
Feb 10, 2016
23
1
3
#1


In Genesis 2:9, we learn that God created many trees, but Genesis specifically points out two trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

It is a familiar story to most Christians how humanity fell because Adam and Eve eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil. However, I have always wondered why it is important for us to know specifically what the Tree of Knowledge was for. Why put a tree of knowledge if you are not supposed to eat from it? And, why was it a bad thing for us as humans to know good and evil, right from wrong?

I spent many years pondering these questions, often afraid of what the answer might be. Of course I would never admit it, because a “good” Christian doesn’t talk about such things that would dispute the goodness of God. it wasn’t until I came into contact with a fellow brother in Christ who was visiting from Nicaragua who shared with me the first importance is relationship with God, even above getting things right, that it finally hit me. That’s it!!!!!!

Why did the snake want Eve to eat the fruit, then to convince Adam to eat the fruit? God said that they would surely die if they ate the fruit. What kind of death was He talking about? Why would God even put a tree in the garden he didn’t want them to eat? Years ago. I arrived at the revelation that Adam and Eve needed to have a choice, otherwise it wouldn’t truly be Love that they actually chose towards God. This was the whole point to the Garden of Eden. A paradise where they could have unhindered fellowship with the Trinity(God). God created Adam and Eve in His Image and in His Likeness. The serpent tempted them with the ploy that they would be like God, and added on “knowing good from evil.” What seed did the serpent plant? Basically, they could know something on their own, independent of God, independent of knowing it through the dance of having relationship with God. They can take the fast track into greater knowledge and be more like God. They must have thought “why, would God withhold such knowledge? Aren’t we entitled to know good from evil?” They decided that it was good that they could know things and be completely independent not needing God for the knowledge.

What did the serpent tempt them with? Pride! They could be like God without taking things at God’s pace and knowing things through relationship with Him. It was a seed of independence and pride that grew and bore the fruit of death, separation from God. it seemed appealing to them to have this knowledge all at once, so they could know how to behave rightly, and to avoid what is wrong. What they didn’t know was, this knowledge would be too heavy of a burden to bear on their own. The reality of living right and wrong apart from God, finally manifested itself in the law given to Israel through Moses. The knowledge that the human race was “entitled” to, was finally given to a people that, since Adam and Eve had forgotten. I don’t actually know, but I think Adam and Eve didn’t want the knowledge they gained from the Tree of Knowledge passed down to their children, because of the crushing weight of the knowledge. Such knowledge is knowledge only God could carry, and now that they were separated from God, no parent would want their children to have to bear that weight because of their mistakes. Despite, their best efforts, the knowledge of good and evil still continued to crush the human race.

God knew that Adam and Eve would eat from the tree, and I have pondered the thought that perhaps God wanted this thing settled in our hearts once and for all. Can we live rightly by what we know, apart from God? The answer, a resounding no. I think God really wanted the human race to know for themselves and settle it for themselves that they need God to know such things, and even begin to carry it. The knowledge of right and wrong is an impossible thing for us as humans to steward perfectly. The Old Covenant and Old Testament proves this point over and over again, as Israel goes into a repetitive cycle of rebellion, repenting, and rebellion again. But. in order for us to fully become the sons and daughters of His Kingdom, to willingly Love Him, and want to do His will; the entire human race had to go through a process in their hearts called life on earth, to come to this realization, of their dire need for God, Who is the only One who could possibly fully satisfy the need for adventure, curiosity, and need for new knowledge.

In our independent quest to find knowledge, the human race has found their identity in what they know, and pride themselves on what they know over the other person. This is nothing new, as this seed was planted in us since the beginning. Because we as humans feel so empty, without God, we gain knowledge to try to cope with this emptiness, constantly testing out the original premise that was planted in our hearts from Adam and Eve, that we would be more satisfied if we could gain knowledge on our own. However, despite the knowledge we gain, there is always the lurking emptiness that longs for something more.

We also are never really satisfied with every detail about ourselves and our lives. There is always something to critique, and always something that needs to be better. It always seems to be black or white, right or wrong. Again, it is the seed planted in us from the Tree of Knowledge, that raises the standard far above what we could possibly accomplish on our own.


The Apostle Paul writes:

Colossian 2:2-4
[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]2My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


To the Corinthians Paul writes (1 Corinthians 2):

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]1And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”b
the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?

But we have the mind of Christ.
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


These verses should have new meaning for us, as God’s intention has always been from the beginning, through relationship and by His power, to satisfy our longing for the secret treasures, the very knowledge and wisdom of God. This is what Adam and Eve got to experience until they fell, and were separated from God. But now because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His blood, we are given it freely, as we throw away the plant that was grown from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil, and embrace the Eternal God, who alone can carry all knowledge and give us the ability to carry it as we abide in Him. Jesus said to us in John 15:5

[TABLE="class: outer_border, width: 500"]
[TR]
[TD]5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


The questions that I am asking myself and God:

1. Is my lack of trust towards God, because somewhere in my mind or heart I believe I know better than God what I need?


2. Is my confidence still in my own knowledge to accomplish things?


3. What would it look like to actually invite God, and allow Him to give me ability to hold and carry His knowledge and wisdom?


4. Is God really so concerned that I get things right, or that I cultivate my relationship with Him? (Matthew 22:37-40)



 
B

BeyondET

Guest
#2
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Amazing
4. Cultivate
 
C

Chuckt

Guest
#3
Why did God put the tree in the garden? For Adam and Eve to guard it.
 
May 15, 2013
4,307
27
0
#5
Philippians 1:22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!

Proverbs 8:10 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,

Isaiah 7:15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,

John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but
people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

1 Peter 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
 
B

BeyondET

Guest
#6
Philippians 1:22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!

Proverbs 8:10 Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,

Isaiah 7:15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right,

John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but
people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

1 Peter 4:3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
True....... :)
 

Joidevivre

Senior Member
Jul 15, 2014
3,838
271
83
#7
Did not the serpent tell Eve that she would be like God? Since they did not yet know what evil was, I think the draw was to be like God was. The same being who created them. Powerful.

God knew they would disobey. But he taught the very first people that a sinful nature could be covered - by the skin of an animal - and blood being shed.
 
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C

coby

Guest
#8
Why did God put the tree in the garden? For Adam and Eve to guard it.
Oh yes that's true. I thought they should have just burned it down. Problem solved.
 
C

Chuckt

Guest
#9
Oh yes that's true. I thought they should have just burned it down. Problem solved.
The garden was not in a fallen state so how do you know it would burn?
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
24,555
13,320
113
#10
The garden was not in a fallen state so how do you know it would burn?
The laws of thermodynamics require that burning could occur. The LoT make digestion possible, and they were eating. I've seen speculations that the LoT were a result of the fall, but, while I hold this lightly, I'd say that this is illogical.
 

valiant

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2015
8,025
124
63
#11
Why did God put the tree in the garden? For Adam and Eve to guard it.
The tree of knowing good and evil was a sacramental tree designed to let Adam and Eve know who God was. The fruit was forbidden as a testimony to YHWH's Lordship. They could do anything else they wanted but they could not eat of it.
 

valiant

Senior Member
Mar 22, 2015
8,025
124
63
#13
The tree of knowing good and evil was a sacramental tree designed to let Adam and Eve know who God was. The fruit was forbidden as a testimony to YHWH's Lordship. They could do anything else they wanted but they could not eat of it.

By eating it they wold be rebelling against God and would know evil by experience for the first time. The promise that they would be 'like God knowing good and evil' would be 'true'. They had taken over their own destiny, and knew now what evil was.
 

John146

Senior Member
Jan 13, 2016
16,537
3,502
113
#14
I believe the forbidden fruit was a grape. Any other takers?
 
Aug 25, 2016
236
1
0
#15
We all know or at least should know the Tree of Life is none other than Jesus Christ. None other it's a fact it is our Lord. So what is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It's absolute Satan himself. No other you can't possible miss this unless you have blinders on. Look at Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food- The tree of life also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The trees for food are separated form the other two trees. We know the tree of lifeis Jesus so he was there. Satan is this tree of the knowledge of good and evil so he was there. Chapter 2 verse 9 doesn't say these two trees were there to be consumed as food. It just says they were there. If one can't read and understand that verse I don't know how to explain it any better than the Father has so. Chapter 3 verse 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said Ye shall not eat of it neither shall ye TOUCH it lest yedie. Check out the word TOUCH in the Strong's it means to Lay holdoff. To know CARNALLY. What does the word CARNALLY mean. It means Relating to the physical and especially Sexual appetites. Check it out yourself. Don't just put aside what is written. Like it or not Satan lay with Eve and then also Adam. Some People don't want to believe this but their it is. Do with it what you wish.
 
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Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,247
25,714
113
#16
I agree that the Tree of Life is Jesus Christ :)

As Christians, we are exhorted to bear fruit.

We know we are not trees, but only {metaphorical} branches, offshoots of the true vine, Jesus Christ. I believe He was the
{metaphorical} tree of Life placed in the garden of Eden; He holds the keys to life and death; all life is in Him; He is author and giver of life etc, and eternal life is promised to those who abide in Him (John 15:4-5).

The fruit we are to bear has different aspects to it. One is character building:
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Peter adds to this: make every effort to add to your faith excellence, to excellence, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, brotherly affection; to brotherly affection, unselfish love. For if these things are really yours and are continually increasing, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately.

So our life surrendered to God, and our works through faith are fruit, and so are people who come to Christ through us (Rom 1:3; Phil 4:17), and there is also the fruit of our lips as we praise God and witness to others (Heb 13:15).

These are good fruits, partaken of when aligned with the will of God.

Evil fruits would be the result of disobeying God, defying God, following self will in opposition to God's will, severing ourselves from fellowship with Him, etc. That is the fruit Adam and Eve bore and ate (lived). They followed the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life, in turning away from God after being in fellowship with Him. It is what we all do before being regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God.

I think it will be wonderful to be restored to the garden in the new earth. Come LORD Jesus.
 

zone

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
27,214
164
63
#17
Like it or not Satan lay with Eve and then also Adam. Some People don't want to believe this but their it is. Do with it what you wish.
O wow...another shepherd's chapel disciple.
 
Aug 25, 2016
236
1
0
#18
I do follow SCN but I don't necessarily agree with all that is taught there.
 

Johnny_B

Senior Member
Mar 18, 2017
1,954
64
48
#19
Jesus is not the tree of life, God created the tree's in the garden on the third day of creation, so how does Jesus create Himself on the third day. While existing before the creation of the world. And Hebrews 1:10 says that Jesus created the heavens and earth. "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands."

So how did Jesus create Himself? He already existed before the world was created. John 17:5 "
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed."

 
Nov 22, 2015
20,436
1,430
0
#20
Jesus is not a real Lamb either. I believe the two trees in the garden are belief systems. One - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is trying to be like God apart from God - by whether we do or not do good or evil. It is what "we do" even if it is for good by our own will-power and flesh.

All D.I.Y. self-righteousness/holiness mindsets are still living from the fruit of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The tree of Life represents living by the life of Christ which is totally dependent on Him alone. This belief system is what the New Covenant is all about. Christ is in us and we are saved by His life manifesting in and through us.

The two trees are representations of belief systems. It is a shadow of the real things. A typology - same as the Law of Moses was.
 
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