17/07/2025
What was the true purpose of the tree?
Many of us struggle to grasp why God the Trinity would permit its existence in the first place. It's deeply intriguing to reflect on its ultimate purpose. At its core, the tree represents conscience, awakening our awareness as we mature. It marks a shift: from innocence to self-awareness, from dependence on God to dependence on our own understanding.
As we grow, the tree seems to separate us from God. We begin to rely more on our own consciousness on what we perceive to be right or wrong rather than seeking truth from God Himself. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil becomes symbolic of our modern and secular pursuit of self-definition. It reflects how we often live according to our own standards, formed from a blank slate of innocence rather than divine wisdom.
In doing so, we overlook the true source of knowledge: the eternal Creator of the heavens and the earth. We become so entangled in our limited understanding so captivated by our ignorance cloaked as insight that we forget that perfect knowledge cannot be reached through human effort alone. After all, the universe is vast, complex, and far beyond our human grasp.
God Himself permitted the existence of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil not as a trap, but as a test. It was a way to see how His creation would respond in the face of choice, even knowing the imperfection that would come from it. He allowed the seed of conscience and independence to be planted not to doom man, but to test his heart.
The first fall was rooted in greed and pride, as seen in Lucifer’s rebellion:
“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth...”
Ezekiel 28:17
In response, Elohim created man in His image of perfection (Genesis 1:27), but allowed a measure of freedom—what you called a "disease of independence"—to test whether man would seek God or seek knowledge apart from Him, defining truth through rebellion and man-made ideologies:
“The Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’”
Genesis 2:16–17
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Proverbs 14:12
Over time, humanity began building communities and moral systems based on what they thought was right, shaped by social constructs rather than divine truth. But knowing good and evil apart from God does not establish justice. Instead, it often leads to rebellion masked as righteousness, rooted in the very seed of that tree.
People think their version of truth and morality originates from the divine, but apart from God, it leads only to spiritual death.
Humanity then fell into creating its own standards, its own justice, its own truth insulting the holiness of God by rejecting His standard. Though man did not realize it, a spiritual separation occurred. While people outwardly celebrated their independence and intellect, the soul began to wither, starved of its only true nourishment, God.
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 2:14
Thus, mankind remains spiritually blind, unable to comprehend true knowledge, mistaking the fruit of human wisdom for truth. But the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil when consumed apart from God leads to confusion, pride, and ultimately, separation from the very source of life.
God desires connection, not independence. From the very beginning, His purpose was to walk in fellowship with us in holiness and love. But both unbelievers and agnostics reject this, calling it foolishness:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:18
Even among Christians, there is a hidden pride in self-effort, a reliance on religious performance rather than on the finished work of Christ. This mindset mirrors the modern-day Pharisee, who exalts personal obedience over grace and humble dependence on God.
“Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?”
Galatians 3:3
God hates religious pride especially from those who judge others while boasting of their own righteousness:
“They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.”
Matthew 15:8–9
The law, while holy, reveals sin but cannot save. In fact, it kills:
“The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
2 Corinthians 3:6
On the cross, Jesus fulfilled and disarmed the demands of the law:
“Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”
Colossians 2:1
Now, God calls us into a new way of life not by law, but by love:
“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
Romans 7:6
He wants us to be free from malice, free from a conscience corrupted by self-righteousness and self-knowledge. He calls us not to more rules, but to relationship, governed by the law of love:
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Galatians 5:13–14
