The Fruit of Life and the Fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
The
Fruit of Life and the Fruit of the Knowledge of
Good
and Evil
Genesis 2:8-9 "The LORD
God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed the man whom He had
formed there. And out of the ground came forth trees that were pleasing to the
eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
What is the
meaning of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Since it literally
enables the knowledge of good and evil, the true identity of this tree is the
Bible, and it corresponds to the Law of Moses.
The heart that
looks toward the law can be directed toward good or toward evil. The law
consists of as many as 613 rules, and God commanded the people of Israel to
keep all of these rules. And He told them to offer sacrifices when they could
not keep them.
"Those who
view the law as good" are those who, while trying to keep the law,
realized their own sinfulness and came to contemplate the Messiah who was to
come through the sacrificial offerings. They were a very small number of
prophets of faith. Therefore, they come to eat the fruit of the tree of life.
The fruit of the tree of life signifies resurrected life. The ultimate purpose
of faith is to obtain resurrected life and return to God. Although confined in
the flesh and severed from God, by eating resurrected life in Jesus Christ, one
becomes one with God.
"Those who
view the law as evil" are those who believe that they can attain God's
righteousness by strictly observing the law. These are called legalists, and
the Pharisees and scribes in the time of Jesus were legalists. Wickedly, they
caused Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to die on the cross.
They are those
who ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The purpose of
eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to eat it
with the mindset that one can become like God, and at its foundation lies the
idol of greed.
Therefore, when
"the word of the Bible known as the Law" is pursued through the pursuit
of good, it is transformed into the Gospel, leading to the eating of the fruit
of life. However, if this word is transformed into legalism, one becomes one
who eats the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. A divided mind regarding
the Law becomes the Gospel and legalism. The Law is the word of God's truth;
however, if one discovers the truth within it, one discovers Christ, and if one
fails to discover the truth, one becomes the Antichrist.
In the parable
of the wheat and the tares, a farmer sowed wheat, but one day tares appeared. A
servant asked the master, "Should we pull up the tares?" The master
replied, "Leave them alone," adding that he would gather the tares
and burn them at the harvest.
The field is the
heart of believers looking toward the biblical word known as the Law. The wheat
are those who plow the field of their hearts, sow seeds, and finally eat the
fruit of resurrection life. However, the word means that the tares are
legalists who become chaff devoid of the fruit of resurrection life.
Today, within
the church community, those who possess resurrected life and the legalism of
eating the forbidden fruit are intermingled. Furthermore, even within the
hearts of the saints who call themselves the church, there are wheat and tares.
Just as there is the new man born again of resurrected life, there is the old
man, like tares, tainted by legalism. The old man stirs up the desires of the
flesh. However, the new man, guided by the Holy Spirit, pursues heavenly
things. Spiritual warfare takes place within the hearts of believers every day.
Those who eat
the resurrected life become those who walk the path of eternal life, while
those who eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil become
those who seek to achieve their own righteousness and are destined for
judgment. One must seek the fruit of the tree of life within the law.
Otherwise, everyone becomes a legalist who eats the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
Why do believers fail to find and
partake of the fruit of resurrection life? It is because they do not understand
the meaning of resurrection life. Resurrection life cannot be found in the
physical body. However, most believers believe in the resurrection of the body,
which is due to false doctrine.
Jesus died on
the cross in the flesh, but was resurrected and made alive in the spirit. This
is evidenced in 1 Peter 3:18: "For Christ also suffered once for all for
sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He was put to
death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit."
John 6:63 also states, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh
is useless." In 1 Corinthians 15:50, it says, "Brothers and sisters,
I tell you this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can the
perishable inherit the imperishable."
Believers are unwittingly eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and
evil. Now, believers must cast aside that fruit, discover the tree of life
within the law, and eat the resurrected life, which is the fruit of life. Then
it will be like Ephesians 2:5-6: "He made us alive together with Christ,
even though we were dead in our transgressions (by grace you have been saved),
and raised us up together with him and seated us together in the heavenly
places in Christ Jesus."
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