Genesis 2: 7 - 9 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 soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 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 knowledge of good and evil.
Here we have a very interesting portion of Scripture, one that few people ever give much consideration to. I want to warn you beforehand that some of the things I am going to say tonight may seem to be new, and they certainly will be different from what most people believe, but I believe these things are true, and will help you to understand more fully the sin of our first parents Adam and Eve.
1/ To start with, it is necessary that we understand the word, Adam. Or the name, Adam. The word, Man, in the Hebrew is Adam — the word by itself always refers to the human race, which is made up of male and female. When it has the definite article, Ha, in front of it — Ha-Adam — it is not the human race, but the first man, Adam, himself.
2/ Let us look at Genesis. 5: 1 - 5 where he says, “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” That is just plain Adam and that means humanity, the human race — in the day that God created man, and here the definite article is in front of it — it is Ha-Adam, the man Adam himself.
Genesis 1: 1 - 5 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth: And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Verse 2 Male and female created He them and blessed them and called their name Adam — that is just the name Adam, so it means humanity, the human race, in the day when they were created.
Then in Verse 3 “…And Adam lived 130 years”, and here it has the definite article in front of it again — it is Ha-Adam, or the man Adam himself — so we have to learn to distinguish between Adam and the man Adam himself.
Genesis 5: 1 - 3 ”This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. And Adam lived an Hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth.”
3/ Genesis 2: 7 — It says the Lord God formed man; this is Ha-Adam, man himself, of the dust of the ground.
"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 soul."
4/ Genesis. 2: 8 — And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put man whom He had formed.
Adam was put in the garden, and the word GARDEN means luxury, and he was placed in the very lap of luxury in a place of par-excellence. We have those who are constantly talking about the environment. God surrounded him with luxury absolute — there was not a want nor a need that could not be supplied. Everything was supplied. How could Adam and Eve ever appreciate God Himself or His gifts?
Genesis 2: 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
5/ By contrast. It is true that he had fellowship with God. He walked with God. The Bible says He is a God of love. He is love. Some say that is in a figurative sense. But that is not true. God is love — His essence is love. How can Adam or anyone else understand God as a God of love, except by contrast?
6/ We find the answer to how man will understand God in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life.
7/ If you are born rich and you always live rich, you can never understand poverty. It would be completely foreign to you to be in poverty, to know what it means to do without. Even if you are in the middle class, you really can't understand poverty unless you have been there. Take for instance someone who has lived where it is always warm and nice — that person cannot really understand the four seasons. They can't understand ice and snow and cold sub-zero weather, never really appreciate what they have. You have to live in the four seasons to appreciate having it nice all the time.
8/ Adam, as he was created and placed in the Garden of Eden, was really filled with apathy as far as God was concerned. Apathy means LACK OF PASSION OR EMOTION OR EXCITEMENT — A LACK OF FEELING — or we could say HE WAS PHLEGMATIC. NOT EASILY AROUSED OR MOTIVATED. He was really neutral. He would be indifferent, and I think we have to understand this about Adam and Eve.
9/ So God plants the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, or the tree of living, in that garden. When He was finished He said everything was good.
Genesis 1: 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
10/ Now we have to ask ourselves the question: Good for what? And this is the answer we must seek.The tree of the knowledge of good and evil had a double duty. Someone asked me, what kind of tree was it? I really don't know. We have the fig tree mentioned — they sewed fig leaves and made clothing for themselves. I think there was a palm tree, a vine, but what kind of tree this is I don't know. What kind of fruit it was, I don't know, and it is not important.
11/ As we said, it has a double duty. One, it gives the knowledge of good, and two, it gives the knowledge of evil, and Adam lacked this. The foremost thing, which was placed first, was good — secondly evil. Good should be foremost because good will always be with us throughout all eternity, but evil will cease to be one day.
12/ Most people dwell upon evil. They say Adam and Eve ate of the tree and they learned to be evil, and they neglect the fact that he was also given knowledge of good. Knowledge of good is not sin. So this is really our conscience, isn't it? Up to this point, Adam and Eve did not have a conscience.
Genesis 2: 15 - 17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Here God warned Adam and Eve — the day you eat, dying thou shalt surely die. We have another point to think about. Most people believe that Adam and Eve were immortal at this time, that they couldn't die, and I have to admit for years I believed this. I do not believe this any more. I believe Adam and Eve, created out of the dust of the ground, were mortal right from the beginning, but they could die. What brought me to this conclusion? The fact that God put the tree of life, or the tree of living, in the garden right on the 6th day. Why did He do this? Because Adam and Eve had to eat of it to stay alive.
13/ Genesis. 3: 22 - 24 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Here we read that God drove them out of the garden, because they would put their hand forth and take of the tree of living and eat and, notice, live forever. Then God put the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way of the tree of life.
13/ Man down through the ages has always been looking for the fountain of youth — Ponce de Leon. It has ever been the dream of man that he will find something that will cause him to live forever.
14/ Adam, even in his unfallen state, depended upon the tree for continued physical life. When deprived of the tree of life, by an act of disobedience, he began to die. If he had access to the tree of life he would still be here living on this earth today.
15/ But to carry out the death sentence, God, Elohim, stopped them from eating of the tree of life. And so death passed upon all his children. We have partaken of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in disobedience in Adam.
16/ Some tell us that God caused sin. God is responsible for sin. He put the tree there because He wanted man to sin, but that is not true. Of course, before Adam sinned and plunged the whole race into sin, God knew it would take place, and He made provision.
Revelation 13: 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
17/ Genesis 3: 15 - 17 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
God commanded that they should not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If He commanded him, he certainly had the possibility of either not eating or of eating. Man was given volition. There are many people who do not accept this fact, but volition is one of the greatest gifts God gave to man. God was not interested in puppets. He didn't make Adam and Eve puppets who would automatically do His will. They were given the ability to either reject or accept God's will, and of course God's will was put aside and they disobeyed the command of God.
18/ Did God know they were going to break His command? Of course He did — that is the foreknowledge of God, but the responsibility still rests upon Adam. Man in disobeying God came to know the knowledge of good and evil. We can ask, why did God give the law to Israel? Did He expect Israel to be law-keepers? To be able to keep the law? Of course not. When He gave them the law, He knew they would not be able to keep it. Why, then, give the law? There was a very definite purpose.
Romans 3: 19 - 20 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin." (The law was given to stop every mouth, that all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
19/ Romans 5: 20 Here we read, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. The law was given, not that Israel would keep it, but that they may be taught by it.
Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
20/ Galatians 3: 24 The law was the schoolmaster to Israel. That means the law was the bodyguard, the school bus that took the children to school, and it was to bring Israel to Christ.
Galatians 3: 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Galatians 4: 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
Here we have tutors and governors.
21/ So God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden so that if man disobeyed, but by contrast he would better understand God.
Romans 8: 28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
22/ Now man can understand God much better than in apathy or in a phlegmatic way. Now man can understand the grace of God, the kindness of God and the gentleness and goodness of God. Something Adam and Eve in their unfallen state could never understand.
23/ James 1: 13 - 14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
I have long considered this a commentary on the sin of Adam and Eve. The word, TEMPTED, is in the middle voice — it means they were tempted out of their own volition.
The same thing is true in Philippians 2: 9 - 11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Here it says every tongue shall confess. That also is middle voice. God does not force them to confess this; they gladly do it. Even the lost will do this, for at this point they will see the folly of their stand against the Lord Jesus Christ.
James 1:13-14 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
I Corinthians 15: 51 - 55 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
We are mortal and our bodies are dying and we will die, for it is appointed unto man once to die, and here it says that all shall be changed.
24/ Then notice in this same Scripture, verses 54 - 55 When this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory, or Death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory?
That is not true today. Many people read this at a funeral, and talk and use it as if it were true today, but that is not true. This will be true only at the time of the Rapture, when our mortal bodies will have put on immortal bodies, our corruptible bodies will have put on incorruption. What a wonderful day this will be.
I Corinthians 15: 54 - 55 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The only One who has immortality right now is Jesus Christ.
II Timothy 1: 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
Jesus Christ is the only One who has an immortal body, a body that cannot die, but at the Rapture we are going to have a body that will not die. It will be an immortal body.
25/ We won't need the tree of life. This is what makes Romans 6: 23 so wonderful.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We don't eat to keep alive forever — we believe to live forever. We receive a gift here and now which is accorded to us for eternity — eternal life.
AMEN
9/19/1979 / 372 - THE TREE OF LIFE AND THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL / 8/6/2026
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