God's warning to man concerning not eating the tree of knowledge indicates three things: God's greatness, God's love, and God's desire. God's desire was that man would eat the tree of life to receive God into him as his life.
God did not force man to take what He wanted man to take, but He left this decision up to man. His warning man indicates that, on the one hand, He was great and, on the other hand, He was loving. He did not force man to do what He desired. That shows that He was great. Yet He warned man not to take the wrong thing, and this implies that God had love. He put man mainly in front of two trees, and He warned man not to take the tree of knowledge. That surely implies that God wanted man to take the tree of life. Thus, God's warning indicates His desire. God wanted man to take the tree of life, that is, God Himself, into man as man's life.
This message is very crucial. It is a kind of revolutionizing concept to the human mentality. We must have this message as a preparation for the saints to go on in life.
Question: What is the best way to show that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents Satan's life?
Answer: The Bible shows us that in this whole universe there are only two sources. Satan came in to seduce man to partake of the tree of knowledge. That means that Satan captured man by getting man to take him in. This is a big thing in the Bible. The tree of life and the tree of knowledge actually are the two controlling lines through the sixty-six books of the Bible.
In the families, in the nations, and even in the churches, God is here as the tree of life, and Satan is here as the tree of knowledge. Which way would you take and whom would you contact? If you contact God, you get life and you depend upon God. If you take the tree of knowledge, you get Satan. If you get Satan, you become independent from God. To become independent means to rebel. The more you take the tree of knowledge, the more you rebel against God and become independent from God. When you take the tree of knowledge, you become one with Satan, who was and still is a rebel. If you take the tree of life, you are one with God and become dependent upon God.
These two principles are with us today, but most people always take the tree of knowledge. It is very rare to see persons who would take the tree of life. Even in our daily life, we have to admit that we take the tree of knowledge. When a husband argues with his wife, he is taking the tree of knowledge. The more we argue about who is wrong and who is right, the more of the tree of knowledge we eat. As a result we become deadened and independent from God. Then we have to repent and confess. We have to get the cleansing of the precious blood, and the blood brings us back into contact with God. When we contact God again, we become dependent on God. The next time we are tempted to argue we should say, "Lord, if You don't debate, I don't debate. If You don't argue, I don't argue. I am one with You." We all need to live a dependent life of the tree of life and turn away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.