During the creation of the heavens and earth, God created a garden in Eden. And He made man and placed him there to be the caretaker. In the midst of all the trees in the garden, He planted two trees unique from all others: the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The latter tree was the only one that Adam and Eve were commanded not to eat the fruit of, or even touch, lest they should die, as it is written,

“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” (Genesis 3:16-17).

There is nothing written in the Bible that prohibited Adam and Eve from eating fruit from the Tree of Life before they disobeyed. Access to the tree was denied only afterward, when God drove them from the garden. Only then is it mentioned that they were prevented from eating the fruit that perpetuated regeneration.

The Tree of Life also appears in Revelation 22:14, which says, “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.”

Adam and Eve were given the right to eat from the Tree of Life in the garden; only after disobedience were they restricted from its fruit. Aging was the consequence of being denied access to the tree; regeneration slowed to a stop; death ensued.

When Jesus prayed to the Father, he requested, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Just as food is a necessity of the body, spiritual life comes from eating the Word of God. Whether it is heavenly or earthly life, receiving nourishment is necessary for regeneration. Jesus is the Tree of Life, the Word of God that we must eat forever if we are to live forever.

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, the Word of God, is the bread of life; he is the Tree of Life. In him is all wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. By him all things were created (John 1). In the beginning, he was “rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth (the garden), and [his] delights were with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:31).

The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden is Jesus. He is the true Tree of Life. In John’s Revelation. Those who are saved partake in the Tree of Life in the midst of the street and live forever.

Adam and Eve had fellowship with the Son of God in the garden until they were separated from him by their sin. The serpent’s message to Eve promised eternal security. He sowed doubt in her heart, questioning God’s truthfulness by asking, “Hath God said?” He then answered her by saying, “Ye shall not surely die.”

Eve put enough faith in the serpent’s lie to embrace his message, and she was emboldened to partake in sin. As the Lord had spoken, death was the result.

The Garden of Eden was created by God to bring forth good fruit, pleasant to the taste and pleasing to the eyes, to nourish His children. It was a gift to his creation for his glory and praise. Similarly, we are a spiritual garden for the Lord, created to bring forth fruit to his pleasing glory and praise. We are to tend the garden of our hearts and plant his words in others also to fill his garden with much good fruit.

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 of man. “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23 KJV).

Christians must eat daily from the Tree of Life to nourish the soul and refrain from the mixed fruit of good and evil. When Jesus prayed for our daily bread, he did not pray for tomorrow’s bread; his message was sufficiency for the day.

If we stop eating earthly food, we die; that is God’s witness attesting to the truth that if we cease eating our daily spiritual bread, it is far worse. Without eating the Bread of Life, we wither and die spiritually.

When Jesus told his followers that he was the bread of life and that they had no life unless they ate his flesh and drank his blood, a number of them were offended. John 6:66 states, “From that time many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.”

To live with Christ, we must eat of him, as did the apostles, prophets, and all who have eternal 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)