INTRODUCTION TO THE TREE OF LIFE AND TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
The Tree of Life in the Bible grows along a river representing the fruitful and perfect life that flows from the Throne of God giving life to the Tree of Life whose fruit is good for food 12 months a year and whose leaves are good for healing. The Tree of Life and the life-giving river is first introduced to us at the end of creation in Genesis 2:7-10. To eat from the Tree of Life means to enter into eternal life.
In Genesis 2, God created man from the dust of the earth and breathed life into him and set him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. The Garden of Eden is described as full of life with trees growing for food and animals that are brought to Adam for naming. The implication is that man was living in paradise with God and had no need of anything as God provided everything in abundance.
All of the trees in the garden were good for food, which implies there was abundance and diversity. Man had no lack of anything. However, among all of the abundant trees in the garden, two particular trees are identified as growing in the midst of the garden, to wit: The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Whether these were two literal trees with two literal fruits is irrelevant to the story provided in Genesis. It certainly could have been literal and it also could have been purely metaphorical, or both considering a picture is worth a thousand words, as some say. In other words, the passage is clearly metaphorical in meaning but could certainly have occurred literally as stated.
Genesis 2:7-10 – 7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. (NKJV).
At this point, the Bible merely mentions these two trees. The Bible, however, soon revealed their significance
MAN IS PUT TO THE TEST
Man is not prohibited from eating from the Tree of Life n the garden, but apparently God did not allow man to eat from the Tree of Life until it was clear that he would refrain from eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The only prohibition God gave man was not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Man had no need to eat from this tree since he had more than abundance to eat from the other trees of the Garden. Furthermore, Eating of the fruit of this tree came with a promise of death and should have been easy for man to avoid. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the opposite of the Tree of Life. It is the Tree of Death brought forth through disobedience.
See Genesis 2:16-17: 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you[f] shall surely die.”
Man would know the difference between good and evil regardless of whether he ate of this tree. The real question brought about by this prohibition is whether man would gain this knowledge through obedience or through rebellion. Either way man would have this knowledge, but the consequences would be vastly different.
Think of it this way. If a person chooses to obey all laws of the land, that person understands right from wrong from a viewpoint of one who stands righteous before that government. However, if a person chooses to disobey the laws of the land, that person understands right from wrong from a viewpoint of one who does not have right standing with that government and cannot partake of its benefits.
If man gained knowledge through obedience, man would have been allowed to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Life and obtain eternal life. In other words, as Proverbs 11:30 says: 30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise. (NKJV). However, if man gained this knowledge through disobedience, he would be prohibited from eating from the Tree of Life until God provided redemption and salvation to man.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL OF MAN
Unfortunately, man failed this test and opted to know good and evil from the viewpoint of disobedience by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil . Also, Man failed to repent and God excluded man the Garden of Eden and from the Tree of Life until God redeemed man from the curse. Furthermore, God forced Man to live separated from God and to live off of the land from which God made man.
Genesis 3:22-24 – 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (NKJV).
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TREE OF LIFE TO THE GOSPEL MESSAGE
It is imperative that we understand the significance of the Tree of Life to the gospel message. Moses identified the Tree of Life at the beginning of Genesis as being available to man. God, however, prohibited access to the Tree of Life after the fall of man. But at the end of time, God will judge the saints and will declare them to be in righteous standing before the Throne of God, with their sins forgiven and their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. See the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
In Revelation, God unites the saints n right standing with God’s government, while God casts the wicked into the Lake of Fire, which is eternal damnation. For the Saints, however, they enter into eternal life absent of pain and sorrow, which is represented by life giving water flowing from the Throne of God that brings life to the Tree of Life which brings life to the Saints forever.
In Revelation, the Tree of Life is first introduced in the letter to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:7 – 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” (NKJV). This passage reveals to us that the Tree of Life in Genesis 2 that God prohibited after the fall of man is finally accessible to man only through the redemptive life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, eating from the Tree of Life through Jesus unto eternal life is our ultimate hope of glory.
The Tree of Life is more fully described in Revelation 22:1-2, 14 – And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations… 14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. See also Ezekiel 47:1-2,12.
This brings me back to my earlier point that the Tree of Life is metaphorical, regardless of whether it was a literal tree and fruit. It is clear that God have man free choice and life in paradise, but He also gave man a test. Man chose to gain knowledge through disobedience rather than obedience. The phrase “Eat from the Tree of Life” represents entering into eternal life only through the pure obedience demonstrated by Jesus as God and man, through his sinless life, death, burial and resurrection through which Jesus conquered death and hades once and for all.
CONCLUSION: JESUS IS THE TREE OF LIFE
Jesus now sits at the right hand of God the Father and all authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and earth. As a result, Jesus has the power to forgive the sins of each individual by grace.
The only requirement to obtain this salvation through grace is stated very simply in Romans 10:9-10 – 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through him. John 14:6 (NKJV). Jesus Christ is the only way to the Tree of Life and to eternal life. Salvation in Christ allows us to eat freely of the Tree of Life.