The Forbidden Fruit

1. The ForbiddenFruit– 18th May 2017
“Youwill not certainly die,” the serpent saidto the woman. 5
“ForGodknows that when you eat from
it your eyes will be opened,and youwill be likeGod,knowinggood andevil.” (Genesis3:4-5)
The phrase “forbiddenfruit”isreferstothe storyof Adamand Eve in the Gardenof Eden. Ingeneral
termsthe word ‘forbiddenfruit’isreferredtoanimmoral or illegal pleasure.AdamandEve were
forbiddenbyGodto eatthe fruitof the tree of the knowledge of goodandevil aswe can readfrom
Genesis2:9, “The LORD Godmade all kindsof trees grow outof the ground—treesthat were pleasing
to the eye and goodfor food.In the middleof the garden were the tree of lifeand the tree of the
knowledgeof goodand evil.” AgaininGenesis2:15-17),“The LORD Godtook the man andput him in
the Garden ofEden to work it andtake care of it. 16
Andthe LORD God commandedthe man,“Youare
free to eat from anytree in the garden; 17
but youmust not eat from the tree of the knowledge ofgood
and evil,for when youeat fromit you will certainly die.”We canalso read the continuityof the incident
whenwe read Genesis3:2, “The womansaidto the serpent, “Wemay eat fruit fromthe trees in the
garden,3
but Goddid say,‘Youmust not eat fruit from the tree that is inthe middleofthe garden,and
you mustnot touch it, or you will die.’”The Bible saysnothingaboutwhattype of fruititwas but from
the textof Genesis,everyindicationisof aliteral tree withaliteral fruit.
The keyelementinthe passage isnotthe fruititself,butthe prohibitionagainsteatingit.Godgave
Adamand Eve onlyone prohibitioninHis instructions.Whetherthere wassome spiritualproperty
withinthe fruitisreallyirrelevant.The sinwasindisobeyingGod'scommand.Byeatingthe fruit(an act
of disobedience),AdamandEve gainedpersonal knowledgeof evil.Theyalreadyknew good,butnow
theyhad the contrastingexperience of the evilof disobedience andthe guiltandshame thatcame with
it.Satan's lie wasthat knowinggoodandevil wouldmake themlikegods:“Youwill notcertainlydie,”
the serpent saidto the woman. 5
“For Godknowsthat when you eat from it your eyes will be opened,
and youwill be likeGod,knowinggoodand evil.”(Genesis3:4-5).Inreality,theywere alreadymade in
the image of God and had the blessingof Hisgoodpleasure…buttheywantedmore thanthatto the
extentof disobeyingHim!
The lessonthatwe needto bear in mindasChristians isthat when Godprohibitssomething,itisforour
owngood!DisobeyingHim,goingourownway,or decidingforourselveswhatisandisnot beneficial to
us will alwaysleadtodisaster.OurheavenlyFatherwhocreatedusknowswhatisbestfor us,and when
He prohibitssomething,we shouldlistentoHim.Whenwe choose toobeyourown willsinsteadof His
perfectandholywill,thingsnevergowell forus.AdamandEve made that sad discoveryaftereatingthe
forbiddenfruit,andmankindhassufferedthe consequencesof theirdecisioneversince aswe canlearn
from) Romans5:12, “Therefore,just as sinentered the world throughone man, anddeath throughsin,
and inthis way deathcame to all people,because all sinned.”
In reference tothe subjectof the forbiddenfruit,whentheyhaddisobeyedGodscommandwe readin
Genesis3:22, “And the LORD Godsaid,“The manhas now become like one ofus, knowinggoodand
evil. He must not be allowedto reach out his handand take alsofrom the tree of lifeand eat, andlive
forever.”He saidthat man has nowbecome like one of usknowinggoodandevil…Knowledgeinitself is

2. not wrongbecause we can readthat Jesusalsogrew as statedin Luke 2:52, “AndJesus grew in wisdom
and stature,and in favorwith Godand man.”
Eventodaymany, includingChristians,inquire asto what wasso bad aboutman “knowinggoodand
evil”?Itisvital to knowthe contextof God’sstatement.Godhad alreadytoldAdamnotto eat fromthis
tree.Adamwasalreadyaware that doingso was againstHis will,andhe knew the consequences,yethe
chose to joinEve ineatingthe fruit.Whentheyate,theywere notsimply awareof evil;they
experienced evil,tothe extentthatthey becameevil—sinnersbynature. Evil iswhatis morallywrong,
sinful,orwicked.Evil isthe resultof badactionsstemmingfromabad character.Biblically,evil is
anythingthatcontradictsthe holynature of God We can learnwhere the psalmiststates: “Againstyou,
you only,have I sinnedand donewhat is evil in your sight;so you are right in yourverdict andjustified
when you judge.”(Psalm51:4).Evil behaviorcanbe thoughtof as fallingintotwocategories:evil
committedagainstotherpeople(murder,theft,adultery)andevil committedagainstGod
(disobedience,unbelief,idolatry,blasphemy).Fromthe disobedience inthe Gardenof Edento whatis
goingon today, existence of evil andsinfulnesshasenhancedinleapsandbounds…andwillamultitude
of religiousteachingpresentinthe worldtoday,evilcontinuestogrow eachday!
Comingback tothe forbiddenfruit,the bibletellsusthatman knew whatwasgood: he was createdin
goodnessandwassurroundedbyit.He had beengiveneverythingGodwantedhimtohave,including
authorityoverall the restof God’screation.Adamhad everythinghe neededforafulfillinglife.He did
not needto“know”evil,especiallywhenthe onlywayforhimto“know”it wasto experience it.It
shouldhave beenenoughthatGodhad warnedAdamagainstdisobedience.GoddidnotwantAdam
and Eve to “know”evil inthe sense of participatinginit.The sinof Adamand Eve wasnot inattaining
knowledge butinrejectingGod’swill infavorof theirown.
Because of theirsin,Adamand Eve receiveddire consequences.First,Eve wastold, “Iwill make your
painsin childbearing verysevere; with painful laboryouwill give birthto children.Your desire will be
for your husband,andhe will rule over you” (Genesis3:16). Second,Adamwastold, “Cursedis the
groundbecause of you;through painful toil youwill eat foodfrom it all the daysof your life” (Genesis
3:17). Third,for bothAdam andEve, “Youare dust,and to dustyou will return” (Genesis3:19). They
had beentoldtheywould“die”if theyate fromthe tree as we readin Genesis2:17, “…butyoumust not
eat from the tree of the knowledge ofgood andevil, forwhen you eat from it you will certainlydie.”
Thisconsequence didnothappenimmediately,butAdamandEve didboth physicallydie,apattern
followedbyall otherhumans. Fourth,theywere expelledfromthe Gardenof Eden: “Sothe Lord God
banishedhimfrom the Gardenof Eden to work the groundfrom whichhe had been taken” (Genesis
3:23). Adam and Eve beganlife inideal conditions:anidyllicgarden,plentiful food,aharmonious
relationshipwithone another,andclose fellowshipwithGod.Due tosin,theylosttheirgarden,were
requiredtoworkto produce food,experiencedinterpersonalconflicts,anddamagedtheirfellowship
withGod. These consequencesof Adam’ssinstill affectustoday.
But Jesuscame to save mankindandbridge ourseparationfromGod.He was the atoningsacrifice to
save us frometernal damnation. The apostle Paul statedin 1Corinthians15:21,“For sincedeath came
througha man, the resurrection of the dead comes alsothrougha man.” Adamwas responsible for
sin’sentrance intohumanity.JesusChristwas responsibleforprovidingthe wayforresurrection.After
sinenteredhumanity,Jesusbecame the perfectsubstitute forsintoallow everypersonthe opportunity
to believeandreceive eternal life:“ForGodsolovedthe worldthat he gave his one andonly Son, that
whoever believes inhim shall not perishbut have eternal life.”(John3:16).