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With some understanding as to the identity of the spiritual Tree of Life, we can now by the Word of GOD identify the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As we have learned in our study thus far, a tree is defined by the fruit it produces.
In defining the types of trees to His disciples and the multitude that sat before Him, the Word said, "a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.
"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth
that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh" (Luke 6:43-45). |
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From the passage of Scripture presented above, the Word has planted in the minds of the people that sat before Him the concept of the good tree verses the corrupt tree. In presenting this concept, He was then able to compare the good tree with the good man and corrupt tree with the evil man, then comparing the fruit of both trees; He was then able to compare the treasures of the heart.
After presenting the treasures of His heart to the people who sat before Him, He said to them, "...Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
"But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great" (Luke 6:46-49). Again, the Word continued to plant the treasures of His heart in the minds of the people that sat before Him. He applied the same concept by comparing the people to houses being built on the earth or upon the Rock, which He compared to the Wisdom of God and the earth to the wisdom of men. He was then able to show the people the result of doing or not doing His words, which they heard. Understanding the concepts presented above, we can now look to the Word to understand the importance of doing the will of God, and not eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Based on the method of defining trees in this world, we know that no tree on earth is known by man to have knowledge of good and evil. It is only after studying the Word that we begin to understand the concept of the tree that might have both the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit of this tree would then be known as the treasures of the heart. The Word defined for us the difference between a good tree and a corrupt tree, which were two different trees. However, we are seeking to identify a tree that has as its fruit both the knowledge of good and evil. In looking to the Word for help in identifying this tree, He said, "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit" (Proverbs 15:4). In looking at this passage of scripture, we find that the person who has a wholesome tongue is one who speaks healing words, or words that continue the flow of life. Wisdom has revealed to us that there is no perverseness within His words. This would mean that His words are wholesome words, which continues the flow of Life. But if a person speaks perverse words, or words of deception from within the treasures of the heart, it would brings about a breach, or a breaking of the connection in the flow of the Spirit of Life. Is it then possible for a person to have as the treasures of the heart, the fruit of a good tree, yet produce from the heart the fruit of a corrupt tree? The Word says, "A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof" (Proverbs 18: 20,21). |
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Understanding the concept of the power of the tongue, James, a disciple of the Word, said to the church, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same [is] a perfect man, [and] able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though [they be] so great, and [are] driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
"Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue [is] a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; [it is] an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
"Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and
bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so [can] no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Who [is] a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him
shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not,
and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but [is] earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits,
without partiality, and without hypocrisy" (James 3:1-18).
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In studying the words of James regarding the power of the tongue, we begin to understand more clearly the condition of a heart that has the treasures of words that are pure and words that are deadly poison.
In turning to the Word to discern this person in whom the treasures of the heart are pure and impure, the Word revealed that the LORD said through Him to the one with such a heart, saying, "Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart [is] lifted up, and thou hast said, I [am] a God, I sit [in] the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou [art] a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Behold, thou [art] wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
"With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee
riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: By thy thy great wisdom [and] by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of
thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
"They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of [them that are] slain in the midst of the seas. Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I [am] God? but thou [shalt be] a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee [so]: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou [wast] perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
"By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never [shalt] thou [be] any more" (Ezekiel 28:2-19). In studying this passage of scripture, we find that this anointed cherub was one who was able to walk up and down in the very presents of GOD. He was the total accumulation of wisdom and beauty. Every precious stone was his covering. He was perfect in his way from the day he was created, until iniquity was found in him. His heart became corrupted because of his self glorification. He was also in Eden, the garden of God.
Again the Word revealed to us through the earthen vessels how the heart of this cherub became corrupted. The LORD spoke to this cherub by the Word and said, "Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? Behold, the Assyrian [was] a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her
rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little
rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
"All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that
all the trees of Eden, that [were] in the garden of God, envied him. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness" (Ezekiel 31:2-11). Knowing the thoughts of the heart, the LORD revealed through the Word to the cherub the contents of his heart. Through the use of symbols, the Lord revealed to us how this angel had gotten great wisdom of God and sought to gain all the glory to himself that should have been given to God. And through his wisdom the shadow of darkness has over shadowed all great nations of the earth. Because of this darkness, some might enquire as to how our hearts became corrupted and why do we do the things that we do? Click on the sowers in the field to find the answer. |
Notice: To identify the forbidden tree and its fruit by faith, read each section in the order presented.
1. What is the forbidden fruit?
2. Identifying the tree by Faith?
3. The Tree with Knowledge
4. The Sowers in the field
5. Eating the Fruit
6. Bearing Fruit