Life in the Garden is good, indeed, it is very good (Genesis 1:31).  

But it is not perfect.

God's good creation allows considerable room for growth and the development of potentialities inherent in humanity. But this potential for growth also brings with it the possibility for decay. One is not possible without the other.

The question that lies before us as Genesis 2 comes to an end is: Will humankind be faithful to God's will or will humankind stray from the divine intention? Anyone with a faint acquaintance with the biblical story knows the tragic answer. Humankind will, through faithless disobedience, fall into sin.

In order to understand what we've lost through sin, we must consider what conditions made sin possible, and why so much was at stake.

The Beauty and Wonder of Humanity

Humankind was made by God to share in a unique and satisfying relationship with God, others, self, and the environment.

According to the creation account, humankind stands in a special relationship to God, bearing the divine image and likeness. Having been created as a result of the affectionate counsel of God (Genesis 1:26), humankind exists as the nexus between heaven and earth (Genesis 2:7). Humankind shares in the divine life and yet also is deeply grounded in the earth. As such, humankind is a microcosm of reality - encompassing divinity and creation. This particular combination of qualities is communicated by the fact that humanity bears the divine image (Genesis 1:26-27).

Being fashioned in the divine image, God speaks directly to humankind with words of blessing (Genesis 1:28) and vocation (Genesis 2:16-17). Only humankind speaks back to God (Genesis 2:23) - an indication of humankind's uniqueness. God has made us to be like God in a moral sense - walking upright in righteousness. William Harmless argues that "[o]ur bodies are symbols of what we should be: we walk upright, we should be upright in heart and spirit."[1]

We possess a unique responsibility due to our unique nature. Our unique relationship to God reveals our special relationship to the created world as stewards of God. Like God, we are to fill and form the earth. This comes about through bearing children together, but also by creatively "making something good of the world." The "good" is ultimately defined by creation's purpose, that is, God's intention to fill the heavens and the earth with God's glory. This ultimate purpose is evidenced on the seventh day of creation when the earth is filled with the blessed presence of God (Genesis 2:1-3). God structured the world with this goal in mind, for as Aristotle wrote, "What is last in execution is first in intention." Though humankind is the pinnacle of God's creation, humankind is not its ultimate purpose. The purpose of creation is to be filled with the knowledge and glory of God - a purpose that Paul summarizes in the phrase, "God will be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28; see Numbers 14:21 and Habakkuk 2:14).

The Harmony of Life in the Garden

What was life like in the garden before the intrusion of sin? Life was nothing less than peaceful harmony with God, others, self, and the environment.

In the garden, humankind dwelt in harmony with God. God walked with the first couple in the cool of the day (see Genesis 3:8). The phrase, "walking with God," speaks of dwelling peacefully with the divine presence (Genesis 5:42; 6:9; Leviticus 26:11-12; Deuteronomy 23:14; 2 Samuel 7:6-7). It is our likeness to God that makes union with God possible. Being fashioned in the divine image and likeness, we correspond to God. We are made like God in order to interact with God. As Pope Benedict writes, "The essence of an image consists in the fact that it represents something... It points to something beyond itself."[2]

Humankind also walked in harmony with others - at peace with one another and with one's self. The first couple were free of guilt and self-centeredness (Genesis 2:25). They experienced no shame - no sense of being anything but what they ought to be. Neither viewed the other as a rival or threat to their existence. They were at ease with one another, in a state of absolute intimacy. This is what we were made for - what we long for, and what we continue to be haunted by!

Finally, humankind dwelt in harmony with the environment. In the glorious beauty of the garden, and the abundant provision of all things good, humankind was granted the gift of divine permission. Almost everything in the garden was theirs for their enjoyment and delight. Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann reminds us that "[i]n the popular understanding of this story, little attention is given to the mandate of vocation or the gift of permission... The God of the garden is chiefly remembered as the one who prohibits."[3] The one limitation that God spoke of (and that we will address below) was hardly a burden in light of God's abundant provision.

To summarize: Humankind dwelt in harmony with God, others, self, and the environment. It is important to emphasize this harmony, for it is precisely this good order that sin disrupts, undermining God's purpose for creation, bringing alienation, disorder, and tragically, death and destruction.

The introduction of death into God's cosmos brings a new concern into God's creation. The fear of death begins to control and direct human action. Life becomes a frantic and often violent effort to ensure survival at all costs - often at the expense of the good of others. This is the reason sin is so destructive. It is not simply because it is a transgression of God's commands or a failure to recognize human limitations. Rather, sin brings about a complete disruption of the communion and harmony God originally intended for creation.

God's redeeming grace restores these broken relationships. The message of the Bible is concerned with telling the story of God's redemption of a fallen creation. The fullness of redemption, revealed in the final chapters of the book of Revelation, mark the return of humankind to God's original intention (see Revelation 21-22). The reason we long to return to the garden is because this is our created purpose. Through the grace of Christ, a new creation results in the complete restoration of heaven and earth. Humankind is no longer haunted by the promise of paradise, but rather, enjoys life as God intended it from the beginning. Through the work of the second Adam, the new man, the image-bearer that truly fulfills the promise of the potential of humankind, paradise is regained. We see a small glimpse of this in Christ's words of the thief on the cross, "Truly, this day you shall be with me in paradise." We experience a foretaste of this promise in the fact that "if anyone is in Christ - new creation!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

But this is to get ahead of ourselves. We've considered what it is that is lost through sin. Now we wrestle with how humankind could fall into sin.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the one thing forbidden the man and woman in paradise. God warns the couple of this tree, but only after God clearly speaks of the beauty and abundance of paradise. Walter Brueggemann notes, "God's first speech to humans does not center on God's place in the world, but focuses instead on the creatures, on their place and role. And the gifts they are given."[4]

It is not until God's second discourse with humankind that God pronounces one prohibition: "And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die'" (Genesis 2:16-17). Even in paradise God is the lawgiver. Humankind must humbly recognize its inherent limitations. We are creatures and we must trust our Creator to know what is in our best interests.

What, then, is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What is God intending to teach humankind through this prohibition? What does disobedience to this command reveal about humanity's relationship to God?

First, it is helpful to distinguish what the tree is not. First, the tree did not possess magical properties that granted knowledge to its partakers. Second, the knowledge the tree offers is not universal or omniscient knowledge. At our best, we are still finite, limited creatures. Only God possesses unlimited or infinite knowledge. "Good and evil" is a merism indicating a whole range of knowledge relating to good and evil. It is not referring to all possible knowledge. This is also not a possible interpretation because of the way the phrase is used throughout the remainder of the Old Testament as a reference to sound discernment (more on this below).

Finally, to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not to participate in sexual intercourse - a suggestion that Clement of Alexandria made in the second century. This interpretation stems from how the word "knowledge" is used in a sexually intimate way in Genesis 4:1: "Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain." Sex was not forbidden by God, but pronounced as a blessing: "God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply'" (Genesis 1:28).

What then was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? The tree was a means through which God would teach humankind to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. God's instructions in Genesis 2:17 assume that Adam can grasp that it is "wrong" to eat the fruit. The point was not that Adam would know either good or evil depending on his obedience or disobedience. It is not "the tree of the knowledge of good or evil" but "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The knowledge of good and evil would come about through humankind's response to the tree, regardless of whether they transgressed or obeyed God's command. It is not the knowledge of good and evil that is forbidden Adam, but rather, Adam will learn the knowledge of good and evil by means of the tree.

The knowledge of good and evil is not inherently sinful knowledge. God himself possesses the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 3:22), so it is not sinful to possess it. There is nothing wrong with the tree itself. It is not intrinsically evil. Everything was created "good" - including the tree.

The truth is that God will teach Adam and Eve the knowledge of good and evil by means of the tree. And this knowledge has to do with godly, discerning wisdom. The Old Testament repeatedly uses this phrase to speak in this way. "Knowing good and evil is characteristic of God (3:22) but not of children (Deut. 1:39; Isa. 7;15-16), the elderly (2 Sam. 19:35), or the inexperienced (1 Kings 3:9)."[5]

Adam and Eve will learn "the knowledge of good and evil" by means of the tree - either through resisting evil's persuasive influence or by disobeying God and experiencing evil's destructive power. One doesn't have to practice evil to learn evil's power. Jesus is proof of this. He knew the full weight of temptation and evil, and yet never gave in to its seduction. As C. S. Lewis noted, only those who resist evil know its true power.

In one sense, we can picture the tree as a test of faith, for faith is always evidenced by actions. Will Adam and Eve make their choices based on God's definition of good and evil? Or will they seek to define good and evil by themselves, apart from God's word? If they seek to define good based on their own thoughts and desires, they make themselves the source of truth - the determiners of right and wrong. If they trust God's definition of good and evil, they will live in accordance to God's will. The choice boils down to either (1) self-dependent autonomy or (2) God-dependent faith and obedience. Walter Brueggemann writes,

The text defines who finally decides what is in the best interests of the human. The tree and the command together define the limits of creatureliness; to transgress these limits entails deciding about one's own best interests, to become autonomous, independent of the will of God for one's life.[6]

The same choice stands before us today.

In our modern world we assume that major issues can be approached without faith. But faith is central to today to all matters of life. When we disregard God's we become self-sufficient rather than God-dependent. In other words, we trust ourselves more than God.

One other way to view the tree and its relationship to Adam and Eve is to question our assumptions concerning Adam and Eve. We generally assume that Adam and Eve were adults. But what if we view them as young adults, perhaps even teenagers or children in a prepubescent condition - in childlike innocence? This is the view that the second century theologian Irenaeus held.

If this is the case, the tree was not prohibited because what it grants is bad. Instead, God's prohibition concerns proper timing. Examples abound: There is nothing wrong with driving, but there is something wrong with a five-year-old driving. There is nothing wrong with sex, but it is inappropriate at an early age.

Christ's temptations can be viewed through this lens as well. When the evil one offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world, he is offering something that truly is Christ's destiny. However, it is not the proper time for this, and thus, Christ resists the tempter. The essence of the evil one's temptation involved trying to get Christ to bypass God's process and timing, and seize the world's kingdom through deviant means rather than according to God's will.

If Irenaeus is right, this was not the right time for God to teach his children about good and evil. God would begin this training at an appropriate time based on God's knowledge and not their whims. As before, the humans transgress God's law and their own inherent limitations, but Irenaeus' picture allows us to see that this has more to do with the proper timing than it does with some inherent property in the tree.

Whether we agree with Irenaeus or not, the fact remains the same: through obedience or disobedience - by resisting evil and coming to see its heinousness or by capitulating to evil and experiencing its destructiveness - Adam and Evil will eventually come to the knowledge of good and evil.

The promise of obedience and the possibility of sin demonstrate the openness of God's creation. "God intends from the beginning that things not stay just as they were initially created. God creates a paradise, not a static state of affairs, but a highly dynamic situation in which the future lies open to various possibilities."[7]

The permission establishes an incredible range of freedom for the creatures; hence, the command that follows certainly does not seem repressive. The command may appear surprising, but it indicates the important role law has to play as a creational, pre-sin reality; command inheres as an integral part of the created order. To be truly a creature entails limits; to honor limits becomes necessary if the creation will develop as God intends. Yet, while the language takes the form of command, the issue involves trust in the word of God. Decisions faced by the humans will concern not only themselves, but also choices that have implications for their relationship with God... Trust in God will often manifest itself in concrete matters.[8]

Creation is good. It is not perfect. God's good creation allows considerable room for growth and the development of potentialities inherent in humanity. But this potential for growth also brings with it the possibility for decay and destruction. One is not possible without the other. God has given us plenty of rope - just enough to hang ourselves, if that is our wish. Tragically, that's exactly what we tend to do, apart from grace.

Image and Likeness as a Clue to the Promise and Peril of Humankind

One final question remains: If the possession of the image of God is necessary to humankind and cannot be lost, what then has occurred through sin that must be remedied by divine grace?

An historical insight from church history may provide us with the language to speak of how humankind maintains the divine image and yet needs to be restored to the divine likeness. This is done by recognizing a subtle distinction between "image and likeness." These are not identical terms. According to some ancient theologians, the image of God is given and cannot be lost but likeness to God is achieved through human effort.

There is no indication in the sacred scripture that the image of God is lost, distorted, obscured, or defaced.[9] To lose the image would be to lose our humanity. It is the image of God that is the basis for our communion with God. Because we are image-bearers, we are able to experience union with God.

Likeness is the full actualization of this potential. In other words, the image is ours by nature; likeness is increased or decreased by choice. In this pregnant phrase - "image and likeness" - we have the distinction between being and becoming. Both are important. We are what we are. And we are to become what we are. In the words of Gregory of Nyssa: "One who is made in the image of God has the task of becoming who he is."

Therefore, in Adam's case, being good by nature ("image"), meant Adam had to become good by choice ("likeness").

Contrary to what some assume, Adam was not created in a state of "perfection" - thus, making a lapse into sin impossible or, at the very least, extremely difficult to explain. Adam was created with an enormous potential ("image") that remained to be actualized ("likeness"). But this potential for growth in divine likeness also holds the possibility of deterioration and decay - the failure to realize his full potential.

Who are we? We are made in God's image and therefore possess an inherent nobility, a sacred dignity. This is impossible to lose or erase. This is what makes us human. But our vocation is to share the divine likeness - to be godly (godlike, or like God). And we have to choose to do this. Our failure to do this is our sin, and its like bad graffiti scattered over the divine image.

The tragedy of depravity is that we have been made for so much more. And yet, there is always reason to hope. No matter how anguished our condition, the nobility of our nature offers hope for change. As long as one possesses God's image, the possibility for change exists. God's grace in Christ and through the Spirit makes this change possible. After humankind's fall into sin, it is this grace which is the dominant theme of the remainder of the biblical story.

© Richard J. Vincent, 2008