The Tree of Life

[Alex Summers]

If Adam was created to never die, what was the purpose of the Tree of Life, which according to Gen 3:22 would have allowed him to live forever?

[Guest]

If Adam was created to never die, what was the purpose of the Tree of Life, which according to Gen 3:22 would have allowed him to live forever?

 

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You Mean, What IS The Purpose Of The Tree Of Life

 

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:2

[OneLight]

Where in scripture does it say Adam would never die?

[Alex Summers]

That is a good question. It was the thread on physical death that got me to thinking about the tree of life.

In that thread the best answer stated that physical death was part of the curse of sin, if this is correct then Adam would have never died had he not sinned.

I actually struggle with that concept becaue our entire biological system is a continous cycle of life and death.

[other one]

If Adam was created to never die, what was the purpose of the Tree of Life, which according to Gen 3:22 would have allowed him to live forever?

who said that he was not eating of it before the tree of knowledge...   that one tree was the only one forbidden.

[Alex Summers]

If Adam was created to never die, what was the purpose of the Tree of Life, which according to Gen 3:22 would have allowed him to live forever?

who said that he was not eating of it before the tree of knowledge... that one tree was the only one forbidden.

I am very open to that idea, but I am not sure it squares with the idea physical death is part of the curse of sin!

[OneLight]

 

 

If Adam was created to never die, what was the purpose of the Tree of Life, which according to Gen 3:22 would have allowed him to live forever?

who said that he was not eating of it before the tree of knowledge... that one tree was the only one forbidden.

 

I am very open to that idea, but I am not sure it squares with the idea physical death is part of the curse of sin!

 

 

Nope, sorry, but he did not eat of the Tree of Life before he ate of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Otherwise, he would of lived forever.

 

Genesis 3:22

 

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”

[Alex Summers]

Then we are back to square 1.

If I am not mistaken classical Christian thought on this matter is that physical death is the result of Adam's sin, it is part of the curse of sin.

If this is the case, then it stands to reason that Adam would have lived forever had sin not entered the world.

If that is the case, a Tree of Life served no purpose in the original creation. But that does not really seem right either.

So, can anyone help me with the purpose of the Tree of Life in the Garden?

[WilliamL]

Then we are back to square 1.

If I am not mistaken classical Christian thought on this matter is that physical death is the result of Adam's sin, it is part of the curse of sin.

If this is the case, then it stands to reason that Adam would have lived forever had sin not entered the world.

If that is the case, a Tree of Life served no purpose in the original creation. But that does not really seem right either.

So, can anyone help me with the purpose of the Tree of Life in the Garden?

Adam had a choice between the two trees. Thus, he was in an in-between state of his heavenly and earthly natures. He chose his earthly nature, by following the choice of his wife Eve:

 

Gen. 3:6 ...good for food... pleasant to the eyes... a tree desirable to make one wise...

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.

 

Because the material world has no life in itself, Adam's choice of that path led to death. Not choosing at all would have led to a continuous middle state of limbo. Choosing the tree of life would have brought eternal life.

 

Each soul that comes into the world has to make the same choice at some time within their lives. Because God grants free will to every soul, in order that everyone who comes to him does so by their own choice out of love, and not out of compulsion.

[Guest shiloh357]

If Adam was subject to death before the fall, then why did God tell him that eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would result in his death?  What would be the purpose of telling Adam he would die if he was already subject to death?

 

Furthermore, Physical death is associated with the fall of Adam in Rom. 5:12-21.  

 

In addition to that, the result of our redemption are glorified bodies that will never die.  

 

As for the purpose of Tree o Life, God has purposes for it that He has not revealed to us at this time.   There is a long list of things in the Bible that we will never fully understand until another time, and we have to accept that reality.