What Was Wrong with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
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When the Lord God completed His creation of the heavens and the earth, He created man in His image. “And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:27-31a). Since God declared all He created as “good,” what then was wrong with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
The truth is nothing was wrong with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But God allowed something to happen that involved the tree. Sin is what went wrong. We will investigate the Bible to see what happened, how the Lord God used the tree to test Adam, and how Adam’s sin affects us.
Why Was The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil Placed in the Garden of Eden?
Among all the trees in the Garden of Eden, two are given special mention in the book of Genesis. The Lord God placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the Garden of Eden. While both are referenced in other portions of the Bible, they are first mentioned in Genesis chapters two and three.
“And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9).
After God created Adam, He gave him a command, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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 shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16-17).
The Bible is not explicit about why the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was placed in the Garden of Eden. But based on what happened, we can surmise the tree was placed there as a test of Adam’s obedience to the Lord God.
What Happened at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
God declared everything He created to be good, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was used by Satan to introduce a humanity-changing event into the world — sin. This introduction is commonly known as the Fall of humanity. Let’s explore the development from Genesis 3:1-13.
The devil (Satan) enters the perfect setting of the Garden of Eden as a talking serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9). The Bible states the serpent was “the most cunning” of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.” The word “cunning” is in no way used in a complimentary sense, for its use here means “deceitful; trickish; employing stratagems for a bad purpose.”
When the serpent approached the woman (Eve), his first act was threefold in nature:
1. He referred to the Lord God as simply, God. The exclusion of Lord displays Satan’s blatant disregard for and rebellion against the Lord God as sovereign Master of all creation.
2. Satan’s use of a leading question (Did God actually say…?) caused Eve to doubt both her husband (to whom the command was given) and the Lord God (who gave the command).
3. Satan directly contradicted what the Lord commanded when he told Eve she would not surely die. He preyed upon her understanding of God’s clear command and he instilled a desire for something forbidden by the Lord God.
Adam was with Eve and said nothing as the conversation continued. His first action was to take some of the fruit from Eve and eat, also. His answer to the Lord God when He questioned Adam’s action was to pass the blame onto Eve, who blamed the serpent.
God already knew this would happen. The truth will always come out, and His question to Adam was merciful, as we will see. Ligonier Ministries tells us, “Yet even though they are given the chance to confess their guilt humbly, we will see that in describing their sin, both the man and his wife seem more concerned with blameshifting than with casting themselves on God’s mercy.”
Herein is the Fall and the consequences we have endured since that moment.
A Cascading Effect
When the Lord God commanded Adam to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He imposed a conditional promise of eternal life on Adam. Professor Stephen Wellum explains that we should view this command as a test of Adam’s obedience to the Lord. Wellum says, “The prohibition against eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not merely a restriction but a probation. If Adam obeyed, he would be confirmed in life and righteousness; if he disobeyed, he would face the covenant curse of death.”
We can look at this as part of the covenant of works, where God demands perfect obedience. Wellum continues, “Adam was created in a good state but not a glorified one. If Adam, as the covenant head of humanity, obeyed God’s command (Gen 2:16-17), he, along with all his posterity, would move from a state of probation to glorification.”
Sadly, Adam violated God’s command, and the end result was sin, death, and condemnation for himself and all his posterity, since he was the federal head of humanity (Rom 5:12-21). His sinful act required God to act by His redemptive plan in the provision and work of the Lord Jesus Christ (the covenant of grace God enacted at the very moment of the Fall).
We see this redemption narrative all throughout Scripture. What began at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is ended at the tree at Calvary — the cross where Jesus bore our sins and paid the price we sinful people could never pay. The ultimate consummation is coming when Jesus comes back for His church.
Notice that at that time before the Fall, Adam and Eve could still freely eat from the tree of life. Logos Word-by-Word writer, Brian Marks writes, “By eating from the Tree of Life, they would receive inward and spiritual renewal, eternal life, growing strong on God’s life and maturing in his goodness.” Those who ate of the tree of life would live forever.
After the fall, God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, both as punishment and for their protection. Had they eaten from the tree of life in their sinful state, or if they had children while still in the garden who ate from the tree of life, they would have all been forever condemned and cursed with no hope of redemption. Therefore, God in His mercy kept them from that, and in His grace, gave them the opportunity for life in Christ.
How Did Adam’s Sin Change the Course of Human History?
The Lord God told Adam that if he ate of the forbidden tree, he would die that very day (Genesis 2:17). While it was never a surprise to the Lord, Adam and every living person since has or will physically die (with only two exceptions as decreed by the Lord – see Genesis 5:24 and 2 Kings 2:11).
More importantly, however, we all have been spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins from before birth (Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:1). An unregenerate (unsaved) person dies and is consigned to eternal torment in hell. A true Christian dies physically on earth, but lives forever in the presence of the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:21-24), with their bodies and souls reunited at Christ’s return.
The events in the Garden still trouble us. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be corrupted from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).
We are all, every day, faced with decisions that can be driven by what 1 John 2:16 says, “For everything in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions — is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
Prayerfully, we can make wisdom calls that show our love, joy, and thankfulness to the Lord for what He has done (came in the flesh, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to atone for our sins, and ascended to the right hand of the Father), what He is doing (He is building His church and interceding for us), and what He will do (He’s coming back for His church and will judge humanity).
We cannot obey Him perfectly, but as He grows us in His grace and knowledge, we obey the best we can to show Him our love and thankfulness.
What Did the Lord God Do to Make Things Right?
What began as a Covenant of Works with Adam in the Garden of Eden culminated in the New Covenant of Grace in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-49), and He fulfilled the promise made in Genesis 3:15 to destroy the one holding the power of death (John 11:25-26, Revelation 1:18).
Because the Bible is all about Jesus, we see Him on every page of the Bible. God always keeps His promises, and He promised salvation would come to all who believe in His Son (John 3:16), even after what happened at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Take a moment to read the often-quoted passage in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” What we can miss in this promise is the mind-blowing truth that God will even use our sins to work together for our good. As He used Adam’s sin to commence His perfect plan of redemption, He can and does use our many sins for His purposes, and we won’t realize most of them until heaven.
One day, Jesus will rid us completely of the “dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan” (Revelation 20:2). Satan, who deceived Eve and the whole world, will soon meet his demise, “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, have no fear. Rest in Christ. He’s got you and He is for you. We live from life for life (Jesus lives, so we live, too).
“The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22-24).
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