The Secret Purpose of The Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil

Did God Plant The Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil in The Garden of Eden To Test Man's Obedience?

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The Bible says God is love (1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16), so we may ask: why did He plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, knowing that it was hazardous to man’s well being? We may also ask: why did God create man and put him in a volatile environment? Did God plant the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden to test man as generally believed?

These and many others are valid questions that can help us understand the purpose of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Why? Why?? Why

How do we reconcile the love of God to the instruction given to Adam in the Garden of Eden?

The answer was somewhat perplexing and difficult to unravel, but thanks to the Holy Spirit for revelation knowledge.

Simply put, God wanted man to know that apart from HIM, whom Adam and Eve could feel His presence but not see, and other created beings (Animals, Aquatics, Birds) that they could see, there was in the garden another entity named Satan! God was communicating to Adam the reality of unseen forces in the garden.

As stated in the Bible, particularly in the book of Genesis 1:26-27, God’s primary reason for creating man is to make him rule over planet earth. That is, man should dominate both visible and invisible entities in the world. In that case, there was a big problem; because the first Adam was ignorant of an invisible entity in the garden. He could not see the devil let alone relate to him, so how was he going to exercise dominion over Satan considering that he (Adam) was confined, at that time, to the physical realm?

It was in light of the above stated premise that God planted in the garden the tree of life (representing His uncreated life), the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and many other trees. Prior to the creation of man, some notable events had taken place which saw God’s angels driving Satan and his demon slaves out of heaven; and to compound Satan’s predicament God created man to rule the earth. Subjecting Satan, a being said to be perfect in wisdom and knowledge and excellent in beauty, to the dominion of a sentient being that could not see him was indeed humiliating!

God created man a living soul, not a spirit or a mere physical being. A living soul implies a being capable of independent action. As far as man’s natural life was concerned, he possessed all the faculties needed to enjoy life in the physical realm; but in light of God’s ultimate purpose, Adam did not possess the life, knowledge and power that would enable him to execute God’s purpose – to deal with the devil.

The life possessed by Adam was neutral. It was neither pro God nor anti Satan; and that would not satisfy His Maker. However, there were some difficulties to solve before man could partner with God in dealing with Satan, which pertain to the complex nature of God’s enemy:

First, Satan is invisible to man.

Second, he’s more advanced than man in terms of knowledge, wisdom, and power.

Third, he can manifest in any form he pleases – This is the most complex aspect of Satan.

One can imagine an invisible being that is capable of manifesting in any form he pleases cohabiting with man in the garden, so the following facts apply:

First, Adam, Eve, Animals, Aquatics, Birds and Satan were in the Garden.

Second, God knew Satan was in the garden but Adam and Eve were oblivious to His presence.

Third, there was no sensible means by which God could communicate to Adam and Eve that some evil, but an invisible entity, was in the garden.

Fourth, Adam could not understand the whole idea of evil since Satan was not one of the beings named by him. In fact, Adam did not understand what God meant by “…thou will surely die.”

Fifth, God could not say to Adam “Hey, watch out! Satan is in the garden; he can show up in any form and at anytime. Watch out for any strange behavior from Eve, animals, sea creatures or birds…” because doing so would set God’s creations at loggerheads.

We can safely say that since God is all powerful and all knowing, He should have no problem imparting to Adam the knowledge of Satan. Granted! But that would require doing one or two things:

Impart to Adam the uncreated life of God, which consists of attributes like all knowing and divine power. Adam needed these attributes to dominate the devil.

Or

Impart to Adam some attributes of the devil. Thus man would be contaminated from the get-go. (We use the same method to create vaccines). Even with that method, Adam would still not able to identify Satan, nor his mode of operations.

To solve the aforementioned difficulties, God planted two trees in the midst of other trees that served as food. The tree of life, containing His uncreated life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which represents independence (the life and principles of Satan). Adam was permitted to eat the fruits of all the trees in the garden save the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

For Adam to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil implied that he would come to the knowledge of good and evil as opposed to the knowledge of God’s will. It also implied that man would live independent of God. By extension man would lack God’s basic attributes such as divine character, revelation knowledge, and divine power!

Adam made his choice and consequently entered into a union with Satan. Self awareness and deficiency were the instant results of his choice. Ever since Adam chose independence, mankind has been in league with Satan. There are many effects of the original sin, but the most devastating effect is inability to know and do God’s will. Man has since been limited to the knowledge of good and evil. Man is driven by sight, pleasure, emotion, and intellect.

What’s wrong with the knowledge of good and evil?

Man is pretty clear on the knowledge of evil, but the problem is that the natural man cannot say no or deny the promptings of his flesh to sin, especially when Satan bids him. Man is utterly corrupt!

On the other hand, God’s idea of good is different from man’s idea. In some cases what we consider good may not be God’s will. Moreover, we don’t need God’s enabling power to do the so called acts of good. It is only by having the God kind of life that man can know, live, and do RIGHT.

There are many good things that the natural man in his fallen state cannot do. All you need to confirm this is to study the life and miracles performed by the Lord Jesus and His disciples, and then compare your discovery with the good deeds of the natural man.

In conclusion, God planted the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden to communicate to Adam the situation in the garden. God wanted Adam to realize that an invisible enemy was in the garden. Who else but Satan will oppose God’s instruction? Adam didn’t know this truth in the garden.

http://faithfuljoel.com/2015/10/the-tree-of-knowledge-of-good-evil/

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Ok

I saw the secret purpose at the end of the post. Couldn't bring myself to read all that

The Gospel according to John , chapter one verses one to five summarizes the planning and control of life. The Breath of God in the moulded Adam is the Conscience of Knowledge of good and evil in humans today. It's the Tree in the first garden and shall be the Spirit of Eternity Life Trees in the New Jerusalem.