This morning I want to talk about life, not the facts of life or difficulties of life, but how to have true life in the Lord. In our United States Declaration of Independence we encounter the phrase, “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” which is one of the most well known statements in human history. This phrase represents humanity’s search for quality of life, meaning in life, and freedom from tyranny, bondage, and condemnation.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6a). He also said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b). The way that Jesus brought us life was to reunite us with God the Father (Job 33:23-28; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:15) in a perfect love relationship with Him. Jesus came to reestablish the relationship that mankind possessed before the fall – the one enjoyed by the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden.
In the Garden mankind enjoyed true life, but life was lost when sin entered the picture. The Bible tells us, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12, NLT). 1 Corinthians 15:22, however, declares, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” Jesus came to bestow life – life eternal and abundant life! So, what is true life supposed to look like?
If we go back to the Garden we catch a glimpse of true life. The Garden of Eden was life as it was meant to be – perfect! Listen as I share some things about Eden from Genesis chapters 2 and 3. Eden was a place where all of mankind’s needs were met. There was unlimited food and water (Genesis 2:9-10); the man and woman had one another for companionship, friendship, and as helpmates (Genesis 2:20b-22); there was no pain there, or going through childbirth (Genesis 3:16a); there was no need to labor and toil, or work (Genesis 3:17-19a); there was no shame or guilt (Genesis 2:25), or blame (Genesis 3:11-12); no victimization (Genesis 3:13); and no need to hide and cover up in fear (Genesis 3:21); God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8a); and they were able to live forever, or have eternal life, while they were living in the Garden (Genesis 3:22-23).
This sounds like the depiction of life in the New Jerusalem after Jesus’ second coming, for we read in the book of Revelation how, “God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3b-4). We are not living in the Garden of Eden or in heaven, but wouldn’t it be great of we could taste that kind of life right now? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could say of our churches that they were places where people walked with God, needs were met, and that there was no shame, blame, or condemnation – churches that promote life!
Life has been bestowed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, the life-giver. In 1 Corinthians 15:45 we read, “And so it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being.’ The last Adam [Jesus] became a life-giving spirit.” Romans 5:17 in the New Century Version tells us, “One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now those people who accept God’s full grace and the great gift of being made right with him will surely have true life . . . through the one man, Jesus Christ.” Did you just hear that about having true life? We will surely have it!
So, why are there so many Christians who appear to be defeated, and who live in fear, guilt, shame, and condemnation? Why is there no apparent joy in their walk with the Lord? Why is it that we can enter some church services and the people seem cold and uncaring, and stiff and rigid? It’s because many Christians are still partaking of things associated with the former life of sin, and thereby they are partaking of death instead of life – though I must add that it is often unknowingly. They are eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, instead of eating from the tree of life.
This morning I want to talk about eating from the tree of life and walking in the tree of life. I have entitled our message for this morning, “Living in the Tree of Life,” and want to share some things that will help us learn to experience the abundant life that Jesus promised us.
Two Trees Are Presented (Genesis 2:8-9, 16-17)
8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil . . . 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 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.”
In verses 8-9, we are presented with two trees. These were literal trees and were among the other trees which were “pleasant to the sight and good for food” (v. 9). Adam and Eve were able to eat of these trees in a physical sense; however, the choices and reasoning that led to the particular tree of which they would partake, revealed something happening on a spiritual level. In verses 16-17, we read that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil led to death. The tree of life therefore would lead to life.
These two trees stood for obedience or disobedience. They represented walking in life or walking in the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life equals Jesus and redemption. In reference to the tree of life, Revelation 22:2-3 says, “The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse” (vv. 2b-3a). The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a way for us to enter into our own value and judgment systems, and this tree leads to death.
The tree of life equals extending the kind of love we see in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. It is being free to flow in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and it is a simple walk with God as before the fall. It is having the faith of a child – enjoying life and fellowshipping with God. It is living free from grudges, bitterness, or heartache. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are actually choices we get to make each and every day – choices that lead to either life or death in our daily walk. That is why it’s important to learn to walk and live in the tree of life! Every single day you have choices you must make and opportunities presented to you, and you need to choose the path based on what promotes life.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the formulation of a value system. It is a way of thinking about what is good and what is evil, or what is good in someone else and what is evil in someone else. We may ask “Who do I need to destroy because they have done evil things?” or “Who do I need to embrace because they have done good things?” Your life experiences show you what is good and what is evil and makes you an expert on good and evil, but knowing who is good and evil brings us death.
So, learn to walk in simplicity and turn the other cheek. Do not get caught up in identifying who’s right, who’s wrong, or who’s evil. That makes you captive to that situation. If you do not turn the other cheek then your defenses go up. You determine what needs to be done – revenge, punishment, or what have you – and who’s right or who’s wrong. And you may be correct in your formulation, but that doesn’t mean you’re right. Amen?
“You may be one hundred percent right. Perhaps that [person] is a gossip and a liar. In the tree of life you would speak words of life into that [person], and bless them. You would love him back into life and befriend him. If you get caught up in pointing the finger and judging – even if what you say is right – it is what we call empty victory. So, your right! Congratulations! [You’re dead right!] because that is where the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will take you.”(1)
The tree of life equals choosing to flow in innocence. Be forgiving, be gracious, go the second mile, give your cloak, pray to God and trust Him to take care of your situations. Remember how God says, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Romans 12:19). Also, do not take anyone else’s offense. You have probably noticed before that when someone is hurt and offended that they want you to take their defense, and when you don’t take their defense they are offended at you. Right? Ask yourself, “Does this promote life, or the knowledge of good and evil?” If you feel bitter, hurt, offended, and you grab the reigns on what’s good and evil, right or wrong, then you have succumb to the tree of the knowledge of good evil.
These two trees are about how you weigh or see everything in life. Walking in the tree of life is being able to make your decisions on what gives you life in the Lord, and on what stimulates the life of God in other people. It stimulates life, freedom, trust, healing, deliverance, joy and strength in everyone you touch. We praise and worship, treat people with kindness, and we give our offerings because it stimulates life in us and the others around us.
Remember how we read in Revelation that the leaves of the tree of life are “for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2b). The word for “nations” is the Greek word ethnon, from which we get our word “ethnic,” and this word means “all people.” We must make choices that lead to healing for all people; for each and every person we come into contact with daily. Ask yourself, “Do my thoughts, words, and actions promote life?”
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil causes death. How? Death comes through a violation of God’s principles. In Romans chapter 5, Paul stated, “Sin is not imputed when there is no law . . . Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound” (Romans 5:13b, 20a); and in Romans chapter 7, he said, “I would not have known sin except through the law” (Romans 7:7b). The law is a defining of right and wrong, which is the result of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Knowing right from wrong is what convicts us of sin, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). However, though Jesus, the life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45), “the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23). Paul declared in Romans 8:1-2, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Amen!
Death is what causes people to be separated from God, bitter, angry, sinful, and rejecting God’s very best for their life. If you approach life from this tree and from the law, you will become legalistic and only serve religion; doing because you are “supposed to,” or not doing because you are “supposed to.” There is no life stimulated in you, no relationship with the Lord, and God’s Spirit, the Spirit of life, is not flowing through you.
Have you ever met people who were experts in the Scripture but they just seemed dead – there was no spark to their life? You might find a “cemetery professor” – or excuse me – a seminary professor like this. He can tell you the Documentary Hypothesis of the Old Testament, or tell you every theory of gospel criticism, but he can’t encourage a hurting or struggling student with the “Word of Life.” You can read the Bible and find life, be forgiving, and pleasant to be around, or you can read the Bible and become an expert at what is good and evil, become legalistic and despise everyone who doesn’t agree with you, and form your own group and say that you have exclusive revelation, and that you are the only one who is correct, and everyone else is bad and you’re good.
This is how the Pharisees acted, and they were experts on good and evil. In John chapter eight, we find the account of the woman caught in the very act of adultery. The Pharisees were appalled, but Jesus on the other hand was not offended. The Pharisees told Jesus that the Law of Moses required that she be stoned to death (v. 5). Adultery was wrong and was worthy of death – adultery is still wrong and leads to death on a spiritual and relational level – but Jesus didn’t want her dead, He wanted her forgiven and alive! Amen! Jesus did not jump to take their offense. The Scripture tells us that, “Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear” (v. 6). Because Jesus didn’t take their offense, He could see clearly that forgiveness was what she really needed.
Which Tree Will You Choose? (Genesis 3:1-7)
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Right here, the serpent (or Satan) lied. He said, “Your eyes will be opened” (v. 5), which was a half truth. He capitalized on Eve’s desire to be like God. The Devil was saying, “If you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you’ll see things that you don’t see now, and you’ll be like the one you love so much and admire so much. You’re going to know more about good and evil; and in essence that’s not bad, however she went about it the wrong way.
Here’s the thing: we do not need to know just good and evil, but we also need to know life and death. We need to value everything based on life and death, or what stimulates life – the life of God – and what stimulates death, or death to our spirit. If we desire knowledge (or to know something), then all we really need to know are the basics that bring people the life of God. We don’t need to know all of the details and the intricacies of who did something good, who did something really bad, or who did something evil. What we need to know is how to get the life of God in people’s hearts!
We really need to be careful of what we are partaking, for we read in verse 6 where the woman ate and made it part of herself, and she gave some to the man and he made it part of himself. You are what you eat, and what goes into your heart comes out in your life (Matthew 12:35). After they ate, their eyes were opened and they knew good and evil, and this knowledge led to the realization that they were naked (v. 7). The knowledge of good and evil resulted in shame and condemnation. If someone ever disapproves of your actions and declares, “Shame on you!” then you will know of what tree they have partaken. We also see that shame led to a cover-up, which I would like to talk about in another message.
If you are living in the tree of life, then you will go to church, Sunday school, or home groups in order to celebrate with other believers in worship, because you “want to.” If you are living in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, this thinking says that if you are a good person, if you are a really righteous Christian, you would be at church every time the doors are open; and that if you miss one service then you need to repent you heathen! The tree of the knowledge of good and evil says you’re not good enough and will never be good enough or measure up. In the few areas that you are good at something, you need to find someone who is not as good at it as you, and then judge them and fix them and let them know how good you are at it, and that if they could be as good at it as you are then they could be loved by God. Allow me to illustrate what I mean by this:
Let’s suppose I am speaking to someone named George about Bible reading. Let’s start with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If I were speaking from this tree I would say, “George, I’ve been watching you for quite some time. Do you read your Bible everyday?” George says, “No.” So, I would say, “That’s what I thought. And if you would read your Bible everyday then you could be like me, and you could be happy, and understand God. And you better do it every morning at 5:00 a.m., got it?” This conversation leads to hurt, offense, and condemnation.
Now, let’s approach this scene through the tree of life. “George, do you read your Bible everyday?” George says, “No.” So, I would say, “Oh, man, let me tell you what God has done for me! I have been reading the Bible everyday and it’s making me fall in love with the Lord so much more, and I am learning so many new things I never saw before. And God’s been prompting me to get up earlier and read, and grow in that relationship. And I just encourage you to begin doing that too, and you will begin to know life. The Bible is awesome!” Do you see the difference between communicating death versus communicating life?
Time of Reflection
Hopefully, by now we understand eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil versus eating from the tree of life. It’s the difference between death and life, legalism and freedom, and religion and relationship. So, from what tree have you been eating?
In Deuteronomy 30:19-20, the Lord says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.” I like that last statement – “For He is your life!” We have life in the Lord! We have a choice to make – to live in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or live in the tree of life; to walk in death, or walk in life. Which one do you desire, and which one will you choose! The Lord urges us, “Therefore choose life!”
Jesus promises abundant life and joy in the Lord right now for those who are saved by the blood of the Lamb. If you are here this morning and you have never confessed Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, Jesus tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus tells us that He is the only way to heaven and the only way into the Father’s arms, and that His way is life.
Jesus says, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” (John 10:9a), and He also says, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (John 7:14). It is unfortunate that only a few people find life in the Lord, but it is my hope and prayer that you will be one of those few.
If you wish to receive life forevermore, or eternal life in Jesus Christ, Romans 10:9-10 tells us how: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
NOTES
(1) “Tree of Life,” Kim Wenzel, Smoldering Wick Ministries, Quapaw, Oklahoma; taken from the Internet in May 2007 at http://www.smolderingwickministries.org/index.html.
