“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.“ (Genesis 2:8) 

The Garden of Eden was only a part of Eden (Hebrew: עֵדֶן‎ “place of pleasure”) in the eastward part of Eden. It was the habitable part of the earth (Proverbs 8:31) where the Lord planted every desirable fruit that was pleasant to the eye and pleasing to the taste, and he commanded that all He had planted should be fruitful and multiply.

Similarly, God created man from the dirt and placed him in the garden to tend it and serve as its caretaker—an illustration of how Adam resembled a garden created to produce fruit and multiply. This reflects the will of the Lord: to bring forth children for His own pleasure, to take joy in them, and to make them His own.

“And a river went out of Eden to water the garden”—a similitude of the river of life that proceeds out from the Lord to man—his Word and Spirit—to water and keep the soul of man alive.

But in the midst of the garden were two trees: the “Tree of Life” and the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” Likewise, in the heart of man are different fruits to choose from. Adam and Eve were alive physically and spiritually until they ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil that they were commanded not to eat.

Had they eaten exclusively from the Tree of Life, every other tree in the garden would have been acceptable, their regeneration would have been perpetual, and they would have continued forever. After tasting the fruit of sin, they were forbidden to take from the Tree of Life. Sin separated them from Jesus, who is the Tree of Life, and they were driven from the garden. They began to age until the day of their passing.

Adam and Eve were not denied the fruit from the Tree of Life before they transgressed. They were denied access when they were driven from the garden.

“And the Lord God commanded 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.'” (Genesis 2:16–17)

The Tree of Life was in the midst of the garden, as was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The only tree in the garden that was forbidden to Adam and his wife was the one that bore evil. Before eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve knew no evil.

Since the transgression of Adam, everyone who reaches the age of accountability is presented with the knowledge of good and evil in the form of conscience. We become torn between our desires and what we know is right.

However, the fruit we choose to eat becomes the one we develop a taste for. The more evil is tasted, the more it is desired. A constant indulgence in sin eventually leads to the point where there is no longer any hunger for righteousness. 

Jesus is the Tree of Life. Until we accept Christ into our hearts, we cannot eat from the Tree of Life; we eat from the tree of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil itself is not sin, but the partaking of the mixed fruit is—even when we choose to do good works, we remain corrupted by our evil.

God’s acceptance cannot come from the mixed fruit of good and evil; when the tree is corrupt, the fruit is also corrupt.

When we accept Christ into our hearts, the Tree of Life is restored in the garden; we come back into spiritual Eden in the presence of God bearing fruit for Him. By the grace of God, through the blood of Jesus, God allows us into the Eden of his Spirit.

When the Tree of Life is restored through Christ, we face the same choice and the same temptation as Adam and Eve did. If we learn from their failure and resist eating the corrupted fruit while choosing only to eat from the Tree of Life, we have eternal life.

Having now the knowledge of good and evil, we are more accountable and will receive greater condemnation if we knowingly and willingly continue eating forbidden fruits.

When Christ is planted in our hearts, we are the Garden of God. We are grafted as branches growing off of Jesus Christ, the Tree of Life. We are to bring forth other branches as well, all of which are nourished by “The Root,” who is God. Our purpose is to multiply and bring forth fruit pleasing to “The Planter.”

“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” (Matthew 7:16-19)