In Genesis, we read that when God created the garden where man would be placed as the caretaker, he had placed two trees in its midst—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Other trees were also placed in the garden that were good for fruit, but of all the trees in the garden, there was only one tree that Adam and Eve were prohibited to eat from or even touch lest they die.

Quote, Genesis 3:16-17,

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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 surely die.”

There is no commandment in the Bible that prohibited Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of life in the garden before they were driven out. Neither is it written in any place that eternal life was obtained by eating the fruit only once on one occasion. Nor is it written that Adam and Eve did not partake of the fruit of the tree of life as the sustenance that perpetuated their longevity, until they were denied access when God drove them from the garden to prevent them from any longer taking the fruit that perpetuated their youth.

These things are not addressed in detail, but the absence of clarity is noteworthy. It is also noteworthy that the Tree of Life reappears again in scripture in Revelation 22:14, stating that those who obey the Lord have right to the Tree of Life: “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Likewise, when Adam and Eve were created, they had the right to the tree of life and were blessed as long as they obeyed his commandment. After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, lest they live forever, they were prohibited from taking from the tree of life any longer, and they began the process of death by aging. Was aging the consequence of being denied access to the tree of life once they were partakers in sin?

When Jesus prayed to the Father, one of his requests was, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Life comes from continually eating the words of God. Eating the bread of life is not a one-time action that gives you eternal life. The tree of life is Jesus, the Word of God, which we must forever eat if we are to live forever. Life comes through eating every word of God. To continue in the life of the Lord, we must make the word of God our daily bread.

Jesus said in John 6:57, “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” Jesus is the Word of God, the bread of life, the fruit of the tree of life, encompassing all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. By him all things were created. Proverbs 8:31, says he was in the beginning “…rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth (the garden), and my delights were with the sons of men.”

The tree of life in Eden is a symbol of Jesus. He is the true tree of life. In John’s Revelation, those who are saved share in the tree of life in the midst of the street and live forever.

Adam and Eve had access to and fellowship with Christ in the garden until they were separated by their sin. The message of eternal security was the very first message preached by the serpent to Eve when he injected doubt into her heart by questioning God’s truthfulness, asking, “Hath God said…? And he answered Eve, “Ye shall not surely die…” When Eve believed the lie enough to embrace the message that her life was eternally secure, she was emboldened to partake in the fruit of sin, which brought forth death.

As the Garden of Eden was created by God to produce good fruit pleasant to the taste, to his pleasing, and to his praise, likewise, we are the true garden of God created to bring forth fruit unto his pleasing and praise. We are to tend the garden of our hearts. And as there were two trees in the midst of the garden, and one tree gave life while the other brought forth death, we have a choice of trees to eat from—for the midst of the garden is the heart. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23 KJV)

As Christians, we also must eat daily from the tree of life to nourish our souls while refraining from the mixed fruit of good and evil. Jesus prayed that our daily bread be given to us from God, saying, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He did not pray for tomorrow’s bread or for bread for the day following.

If we stop eating earthly food, we slowly die. This is God’s witness attesting to the truth. It is no different if we cease eating our daily spiritual bread, but it is far worse—without eating the bread of life, we wither and die spiritually.

Jesus told his disciples while there were still many that he was the bread of life and they had no life unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood—at that point a number of them were offended, and in John 6:66 we learn, “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.”

If we are to live with Christ, we must eat of him, as did the apostles, prophets, and all who have life in God.

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)