The contents of the tree of knowledge are all things apart from God. Even the Bible inspired by God and the law given by God may be utilized in letters by Satan as the tree of knowledge. Even the experience of Christ that you had today can become the tree of knowledge tomorrow. I have already illustrated the experience of giving a message on Genesis 3:15 in complete dependence upon the Lord. That message was very living. Suppose, however, I am invited to speak in another city, and I think to myself, "I gave such a good message on Genesis 3:15. I think I'll repeat the same message." If I do this, that message will become the tree of knowledge. Two months ago that message was the tree of life; now, once it is repeated in the way of knowledge, it becomes the tree of knowledge. You may have a similar experience after offering up a living prayer to the Lord. One night you may be offering up a living prayer in dependence upon the Lord. Because that prayer was excellent and living, you decide to repeat the same prayer, word for word, in the next prayer meeting. To your surprise, the prayer that once was the tree of life becomes the tree of knowledge. Thus, even a living prayer can become the tree of knowledge.
Let us take an example from our family life. Parents often instruct their children by saying, "Don't you see that John is such a good boy? Why don't you act the way he does?" If John's behavior comes from a dependence upon the Lord, it is the tree of life. If another child imitates John, his imitation is the tree of knowledge. We need to apply this to ourselves. If we act in a certain way according to life and then repeat that action according to the knowledge derived from our first experience, that repetition becomes the tree of knowledge.
Even the one Bible can be two trees to us. If you depend on the Lord and exercise your spirit as you touch the Word, the Bible is the tree of life. However, if you exercise your mind and investigate the Bible as a book of letters, it will be the tree of knowledge. We can make the Bible in letters the tree of knowledge. The Lord Jesus told the Jews, "You search the Scriptures..you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life" (John 5:39-40). To merely search the Scriptures is to come to the tree of knowledge; to contact the Lord through the Word is to come to the tree of life. Never make the Bible the tree of knowledge. Always keep it as the tree of life. The determining factor is whether or not you are dependent upon the Lord as you come to the Bible. If you are independent of Him, whatever you may get is the tree of knowledge. If you are dependent upon Him, everything you receive is the tree of life. We should never think that the two trees mentioned in Genesis 2 are ancient history. Genesis 2 is not an antiquated record; it is a living, up-to-date, divine revelation of two principles.
The nature and result of the tree of life are both life because it is a tree of life. But the nature and result of the tree of knowledge of good and evil are both death because knowledge, good, and evil are all of death and bring in death. Anything that is not life is of death and results in death. Actually, the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the tree of death; yet it is not called the tree of death, but the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Death is not only behind evil; it is also behind knowledge and good. The title of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is subtle because Satan always likes to conceal himself. Satan has the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Since the tree of knowledge of good and evil is actually the tree of death, it signifies Satan.