Eternal Life, the Fruit of the Tree of Life

 

Thus, because of the sin of Adam and Eve, God guarded the way of the tree of life so that man might not eat of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever. Through Scripture, we can learn that all things become possible only when God permits them by His word, and that if God does not permit, nothing is possible for man.

 

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 “17and lest thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as at this day.”

 

Daniel 4:34-35 “34And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. 35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”

 

Numbers 23:19-20 “19God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and will he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and will he not make it good? 20Behold, I have received commandment to bless: And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.”

 

1 Samuel 1:26-27 “26And she said, Oh, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto Jehovah. 27For this child I prayed; and Jehovah hath given me my petition which I asked of him.”

 

Proverbs 19:21 “There are many devices in a man’s heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.”

 

Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny¹? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father.”

[¹Penny: a small Roman coin used at that time.]

 

Hebrews 6:3 “And this will we do, if God permit.”

 

John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.”

 

As these passages say, all sovereignty belongs to God (Dan. 2:20-23), and therefore the sovereignty of life also belongs to God (John 5:21). Therefore, if God guarded the way of the tree of life and prevented man from eating the fruit of that tree of life, then no one, as man, can ever eat of the fruit of that tree of life.

 

Then what happens if God permits it?

 

The answer is very simple. Then, as it is written in that word, man can also eat of the fruit of the tree of life and “live forever.” To speak plainly, in the beginning God was concerned lest man eat of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever; but because God is love, in His everlasting compassion, mercy, and love, He sent Jesus to this earth in order to save us sinners. In other words, to man, who could only die because of sin, God has permitted eternal life, just as He promised in the Old Testament!

 

1 John 4:8-10 “8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

 

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

Therefore, because God sent Jesus in His great love to mankind, who could only die because of sin, Jesus is the tree of life and also the fruit of the tree of life. Therefore, all of us must “eat Jesus,” that is, receive life through Him, in order to live. The expression “only begotten Son” means that there is no other choice, or salvation, given to us (Gal. 1:7, Acts 4:12).

 

John 6:33-35 “33For the bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34They said therefore unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

 

John 6:53-58 “53Jesus therefore said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves. 54He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he that eateth me, he also shall live because of me. 58This is the bread which came down out of heaven: not as the fathers ate, and died; he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.”

 

For a more detailed explanation of eating the flesh of Jesus and drinking the blood of Jesus, please see Concerning the Lord’s Supper (I): “Take, Eat” and Concerning the Lord’s Supper (II): “Drink Ye All of It”.

“Eating Jesus” ultimately means that we must all “live through Jesus.” This is also the core of the gospel. When all of us live not by relying on ourselves, nor on this world and the things of this world, but through Jesus, that is, by the name of Jesus, then we will receive life.

 

John 10:9 “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shall find pasture.”

 

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

 

John 20:30-31 “30Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: 31but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.”

 

Amen. Jesus, whom God sent to save us, is our life (John 11:25-26). Therefore, as these words testify, we must listen to the words of Jesus (John 16:23-24), and whatever we do, whether in word or in deed, we must do all in the name of the Lord Jesus (Col. 3:17), that is, we must live through Jesus. This truly becomes a profitable life for us because only “the law of the Spirit of life” in Christ Jesus sets us free from “the law of sin and death,” so that now there will be no condemnation at all for us who are in Jesus (Rom. 8:1-2). Therefore, Scripture testifies as follows to those in this world who believe in the name of Jesus:

 

1 John 5:11-13 “11And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath the life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not the life. 13These things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.”

 

And so, truly, in the last days, whoever calls upon the name of Jesus in faith will be saved.

 

Acts 2:17-21 “17And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams: 18Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of the Lord come, That great and notable day. 21And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

 

Amen.