Most of us who are Christians know that when God created Adam, He made Him a natural man out of the dust of the earth. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is the second Adam from the spiritual realm: a heavenly man. Paul outlined this in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49:
“Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.”
When the serpent tempted Eve, resulting in her and Adam eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the outcome was horrific for them and, of course, for all the generations of mankind that have followed. Their sin became our sin, and it prevented the first couple from experiencing everlasting life in the Garden of Eden. To prevent them from gaining eternal existence, God banished them from the Garden so that they could not subsequently eat of the Tree of Life. God couldn’t have them – the first of all humanity – acquire immortality in their sinful condition.
Sin has separated us from God and made us susceptible to Satan’s wiles. In the flesh, we are subject to his dominion of this earth. We see how this works in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4:
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Unbelievers are literally blinded from the truth of God by the veil of sin that brings them death. You’ve likely had an interchange with family or friends who aren’t Christ-followers. In that discussion, you’ve no doubt experienced the frustration of how dense they seem to be regarding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
You also know that your efforts only go so far in bringing them to saving grace. You’re God’s messenger for conveying His truth, but all the logic and rationale in the world that you might bring to the conversation is useless unless the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin and need for a Savior.
That Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was quite effective in conveying evil, as the Good became lost in the morass of time.
One of the miracles given by Jesus when He came was a reversal of this situation. Think about Psalm 34:8, which says:
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”
Consider also John 6:53-57:
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me.”
When we turn in faith to Jesus, God the Father forgives us of our sins. We are justified; we become, literally, just as if we have never sinned. And what does our salvation bring? Eternal life.
When Jesus came, He healed the breach between God and man. It is Christ through whom we can once more experience the Good – and not just the Evil – from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
When we eat of Him, we are no longer condemned to perish. In fact, because He rose from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection and donned His glorified body, we likewise have that same hope and promise. We will rise in the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the church and be changed in the twinkling of an eye into a glorified, eternal state of being.
What an amazing future we have because of what Jesus did for us!
Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross with the shedding of His blood on our behalf and all that this implies, one truth stands out: Jesus IS the Tree of Life. All who partake of Him will never see death and will be with the Lord forever.
—
Please click here to listen to the audio version of this commentary: https://rumble.com/v1ri850-biblical-audio-commentary-in-adams-fall-we-sinned-all.html
Gary Ritter website: books & blog
Kindle Vella story: Tribulation Rising
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B099Z462WD