Food For Teens: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN? Part one

The world is what it is and it is in the state that it is in because of what transpired in the garden of Eden. In this edition of the food for teens, we will be answering this question by answering some other questions from the event that took place in the garden of Eden to get a proper perspective of how it affects you as a believer. 

Question 1. What was so wrong about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God told Adam and Eve not to eat of it? 

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented the flesh, and Adam choosing to eat of it decided to step down and live a lower life of flesh, he chose to work righteousness by his five senses (flesh) and judge good and evil from the lens of his physical eyes and subject his spirit to the wisdom of the flesh. 

Choosing to eat of this tree was to say to God ‘I don’t trust your judgement, I could decide my actions by what I see, feel, hear, smell or taste.’ No wonder when they ate of the tree, the first thing that happened was that their eyes opened and they knew that they were naked (Gens 3:7). One would argue that had they known the outcome they would not have eaten of it, but the truth was that the serpent described the experience and they chose it. Genesis 3:8, “And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not die surely, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, thine eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” The same sin the devil committed, wanting to be like God was the same sin he made Adam and Eve commit. Wanting to be like God but where did it get Satan? Hell and where did it get Adam? Subject to the elements of a world that he had been given dominion over. Jeremiah 17:5 “Thus saith the Lord; cursed be that man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” 

Question 2: Did Adam really die like God said he would, after he ate of the fruit? 

Genesis 2:17, “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 surelt die.” God specified that in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, but Adam didn’t die that day, so what happened? 

To understand and truly determine if Adam died just as God said, we must be able to define the word ‘death.’ Death is the complete disconnection of a person from life and God is life according 1st John 5:12, “He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” There is only one source of life and that is God and God is a Spirit. As Adam fellowshipped with God regularly, he was always accessing the life of God but as soon as he chose the life of the flesh, he totally cut himself off of the life of God. Therefore, he died immediately he ate of the tree but just like a phone without a charger he still had a limited life in his flesh until his flesh failed then the death is manifested in the physical (flesh). 

Question 3: If God knew that the tree would lead to the death of man, once eaten, why did God plant it in the first place? 

Our God is a just God, He wanted to create a love relationship between Himself and man, but you cannot force love on anybody. If done, that is no longer love but manipulation which is contrary to the nature of God, so God had to give man (Adam) the option of life and death. Deuteronomy 30:15, “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.” This was why God placed before Adam and Eve the tree of life (which represented life in Christ Jesus which is eternal life) and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (which represented death in the flesh and the ceding of man’s authority to Satan). So that in choosing life, true love relationship and fellowship is established between God and man willingly and not forcefully. 

To be continued. See you next month.