The Mystery of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

“And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”Genesis 2:9

In the preceding verse of the above scripture, the Holy Scriptures elucidate that God created the first man in His image and likeness, after breathing into man, Adam became a living soul. This is recorded in the verse 7 of Genesis chapter 2. In verse 9 it is revealed that after man was created God planted him and the woman in the Garden where there were trees, some delightful and pleasing to the eye and good for food. The trees included the tree of life and also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a matter of fact this above verse speaks of lust, God actually planted lust in man. Do not get me wrong, lust is not evil, it depends on where you channel the lust to and which object is your point of focus and worship. Lust is actually a passion which was supposed to be channel towards God but due to perversion of the conscience of man as a result of the fall, the lust is channelled towards an object which stands in place of the passion and energy which was supposed to be directed towards the worship and service to God. For the spirit lust after the flesh and the flesh lust after the Spirit. There is a constant battle of the flesh and the spirit of man as a result of man’s exposure to the tree of knowledge of good and evil.


For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.(Galatians 5:17)


What this blog seeks to do is to throw light on the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I do believe that the tree which the devil, satan, the adversary tempted Eve with was not just a tree which bears just a physical fruit. The bible says it was pleasant to the sight meaning the devil presented the case to Eve in a very seductive, subtle and cunning and appealing way, though God had already instructed them not to even touch it, for the day they do that they will surely die.

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”Genesis 2:17

Which I also do believe that it was not just a physical death but a spiritual death, that is total separation from the presence of God. For Eden was not just a physical location but a delightful and pleasant spot where the presence of God was in constant fellowship with man; for God visited them in His voice every now and then in the cool of the day as the account of creation puts it in the book of Genesis. The tree of knowledge of good and evil does represent the exposure to the systems of this world.
As soon as Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil; the system of this world was exposed to her: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life. God was training man in the Garden from the place of sonship in innocence unto a realm where he will be able to handle the matters of life in a very matured way. However, this was not just the case. Man was lured by the suggestion, seduction and the enticement of the liar , the adversary , the devil, the serpent, who first of all rebelled against God in heaven and as he was cast down by the Arch-Angel Michael, satan decided to introduce man to the system in which he abides by that is constantly walking and perpetually opposing the desire, purpose, plan and the will of God. This exposure of the tree of knowledge of good and evil has given birth to all the sins, transgressions and iniquities every man can think of in this world, and even the ones which have not yet been exposed to this generation. So I do believe that depending on the type or level or the degree any man has been exposed to will determine the kind of sin, transgression , and iniquity one will battle with in life and destiny. There are several ways and means through which sin, transgression, and iniquity are embedded in the tree of knowledge of good and evil that is able to enter a man’s life .


Ignorance /Misinformation


Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5).
One of the most powerful forces that is likely to destroy man apart from the spell and devices of the devil and his cohort is to walk in ignorance and to be misinformed.What informs you has the power to transform you negatively or positively. Knowledge is power. The type of knowledge you are exposed to will determine and shape your thought pattern and belief system, even your identity, how you view your relationship with God. When you walk in ignorance, you walk in darkness and the strength of darkness is the absence of light, that is making you believe lies and also walk in deception. I do believe that in this discourse between Eve and the serpent she deceived Eve, because she was aware of the commandment , law, ordinances God had already spelt out to them in the midst of the garden. Yet she went ahead to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil , which purported to offer a temporary pleasure but in the end the entire destiny of the human race was brought under total bondage and destruction and eternal damnation. Not until the light of the world showed up, Jesus Christ the only Son of the living God paid the price for our eternal redemption.

To walk in ignorance of the word of God and in deception is to walk in darkness. For my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge(Hosea 4:6). The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy one is understanding(Proverbs 9:10). As the Epistle of John puts it, he who does not walk in light walks in darkness and the love of the father is not in him for he has no fellowship with the father, the son and the Holy Spirit.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7)

Imagine a young boy who is innocent and ignorant right from a tender age being exposed to sexual immorality by friends. Just as the serpent metaphorically presented the idea of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to Eve. Who do you keep in company?

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat (Genesis 3:6).

Always the devil trades on lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh and any craving which is untamed within our members as a result of the fall to entrap and ensnare man to fall. The first time this young boy will be exposed to sexual immorality will be the day he will be exposed to a realm called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This whole realm will purport to satisfy a desire and a vacuum in his soul which no substance nor man will be able to satisfy except the presence of God. When man got separated from God was when this battle of our desire and lust struggle came into being.

This exposure will also have a spirit attached to it especially when it moves from just a thought, desire to an action and later on into a habit (addiction). I tell you the end of the exposure into the realm of the knowledge of good and evil is the realm of darkness, destruction, destiny wasters. This realm is a realm of witchcraft that controls, dominates, manipulates the souls of men in the world. This is what the porn, alcohol and worldly music industry thrives on. They purport to provide satisfaction to quench the soul, desire of man but it is for temporary gratification. I do believe Jesus came to solve the problem of sin in this world. The only way we can get rid of sin is to be exposed to the light of the world. Jesus is the saviour of the world.






Ancestral Iniquity

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.Psalm 51:5

One of the major ways through which the tree of knowledge of good and evil enters into the life of a man is through ancestral iniquity. This is not anything strange but simply the type of iniquity which is when a man willfully and consciously struggles with sin and walks in constant disobedience against the laws, word, ordinances of God. Many of us from Africa had forefathers who worshipped idols. Hence we are the first or second generation of Christians and one of the sins that God detest is idol worship, witcraft (abomination), and worship of a deity other than God himself or when someone engages in occultism or sells his or her soul to the devil by joining a secret society. Because every man did not just appear but was born into a family. Due to this family tree of knowledge of good and evil embedded in idol worship allows the iniquity to transcends from generation to generation: unless this particular bloodline is cleansed and an individual will constantly walk in this same iniquity of their forefathers, even though he or she may be a believer.

If judgement is not served to revoke and purge this iniquity in the bloodline; from the courtroom of heaven the devil will constantly press charges against a person hence the person while walking in iniquity will constantly produce the lust of the flesh which include : witchcraft, idolatry, fornication, homosexuality, lasciviousness, pride, rebellion, stubbornness, and so on as Apostle Paul enshrined them in Galatians 5:19.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night Revelation 12:10.

This is as a result of ancestral iniquity that has not been purged in the bloodline. This also gives rise to besetting sins, this type of sin is deeply rooted not just in a persons’ act, behaviour but stem from an unpurged iniquity in the bloodline. Only the blood of the lamb can curb this unresolved issue in the bloodline in the form of ancestral iniquity, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Since every family symbolises a tree the root of every family determines the kind and type of fruit the family will bear. No wonder a family where the issue of drunkenness, adultery is not dealt with has a higher detency for members to be plagued with this iniquity.






Walking in constant disobedience

One thing I have come to realise is that iniquity constantly gives rise to disobedience and rebellion against God. Due to the stronghold that attaches itself to the issue of iniquity that stems from one’s bloodline, there is a stronghold that is fortified by demons in the mind of a person, this is there to influence a person’s way of thinking believe system and behaviour and habits whether consciously or unconsciously. It makes man very insensitive to the demands of the father and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. If deliverance or the curse of this ancestral iniquity is not dealt with it is likely for a person to walk in constant disobedience in life whether as a believer or an unbeliever, unless the justice is served through the blood of the lamb from the courtroom of heaven to savour and revoke and annul any warrant and verdict as a result of the presence of the generational curse or iniquity that produces this fruit of disobedience, rebellion and stubbornness in the life of a person.

May the good Lord through His multitude of tender mercies and the redemptive power of the blood of Jesus grant us mercy to be able to deal with the force behind the tree of knowledge of good and evil in our generation and families. We have work to do, dear believer. I charge you to get back to work for our failure will be the failure of many generations in our bloodline. God has anointed you to break any patterns and negative cycles that run through the bloodline as a result of exposure to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I pray we may encounter and taste the tree of life in Christ Jesus on a daily basis as we seek the Lord in the secret place.

In our next blog we will talk about how to deal with the tree of knowledge of good and evil through the finished work of Christ Jesus. For it is the power of the blood of Jesus and the Holy Ghost that breaks the bondage of sin, transgression and iniquity that runs through one’s bloodline.

Akwasi Acheampong