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knowledge has no connection with
material knowledge. Man was
created with a mind capable of
acquiri ng knowledge concerning
matter-dealing with wood, metals,
agriculture-the sciences and tech–
nology. Good and evil are con–
cerned with relationships with
other minds.
Man was made to have and need
a relationship with his Maker- the
supreme mind. He was made to
engage in relationships with fell ow
humans- who have minds. Good
and evi l concerns MINO in relation–
ships with other minds. But man's
mind was not a fi nished creation.
It
contains a spiritual content, not
present in the brains of nonhuman
vertebrales. Animals are equipped
with instinct, but not thinking, rea–
soning, knowing minds. The human
mind not only can receive knowl–
edge of the·material and its use, but
also ATTITUDES in relation to other
minds. That is, attitudes of love or
of bate. Attitudes of self-centered–
ness and vanity; attitudes of envy,
jealousy, animosity, competition,
st r ife and violence; attitudes of
rebellion or, on the other hand, atti–
tudes of outflowing love, humility,
reverence for God, obedience,
cooperation, helping, serving, shar–
ing-concern for the welfare and
good of others.
God L ives and Wo rks
God the Creator from eternity has
existed as God-a supreme spirit
Personage-and the Word- also a
supreme spirit Personage, willingly
and by nature subservient to God in
love. Constituting the God fami ly,
these two exist eternally (John 1: 1-
5, 14). They
lived!
How did they
live- by what relationship? God
loved the Word who 1,986 years ago
became Jesus Christ. The Word
loved God . Two can' t watk together
except they be agreed. They were
in perfect harmony. Neither can
two conti nu.e happi ly together
excep~
one is leader or head. God
has always been head over all.
Living, they were
doing.
What
have they been doing? They have
been CREATING. Planning, design–
ing, br inging into existence- posi–
tive constructing, not dest roying.
They worked thus together in love,
peace, harmony. God created all
2
things BY the Word who became
Jesus Christ (Eph. 3:9).
This way of LOVE, peace, cooper–
ation always was thei r way of life.
That way of life became t he
supreme LA
w
of the universe-for
law is merely the wAY of life.
People make laws to regulate their
lives. T here is a basic law or consti–
t ution on which every government
is based. Even games in sports have
rules. So outflowing LOVE is the
foundational LAw of the govern–
ment of God. Sin is the transgres–
sion of that law.
Adam transgressed that law-he
sinned-when he rejected the tree
of LIFE and continuing contact with
God and chose, instead, to take to
himself the knowledge of good and
evil-the knowledge of HOW to live
in relationship with other MINDS–
both God and human. T hus he
rejected the law of God.
Now, WHAT
IF
he had taken of
the tree of life? God closed off the
tree of life unti l Christ the second
Adam carne to redeem mankind.
Jesus said, " 1 wi l l build my
Church." He chose 12 disciples.
(The word
discip/e
means student,
one being taught.) Jesus taught
them about the kingdom of God.
He promised them they wou ld
receive the Holy Spirit. On the day
of Pentecost, A.D. 31, the Holy
Spirit carne with a supernatural
display (Acts 2). The Holy Spirit is
the divine spiri tual sperm, wbich
impregnates with eternal LIFE
(Rom. 8:11). Also it is the LOVE of
God shed abroad in our hearts
(Rom. 5:5).
What Did the Tree o f Life
Symbo lize?
Therefore, the tree of life in Eden
symbolized the Spirit of God,
which imparts eternal LIFE. Adam
was not created with eternal life. In
that respect , his creation was not
yet complete. Human creation is
still goiqg on!
IF Adam had taken of the tree of
LIFE, he would have received that
u
FE just as the Christian may
today-by receiving the Holy Spirit.
Only, Adam had not yet sinned–
until he d isobeyed. He would have
needed no repentance as we do
today. But he would have BELIEVED
God. He would have received . the
Holy Spirit-the LOVE OF Goo,
which divine love fulfills God's law.
What more? Like Christians
today, he would have become an
HEIR of God. He would have been
begotten to become a child of God ,
not yet born.
In 1 Corinthians 2:9, we read
that the knowledge of spiritual
truths, attitudes and purposes of
God cannot be seen by the eye nor
heard through the ear. All knowl–
edge receivable by humans enters
the mind through the five senses.
But (verse 1
O)
God reveals spiritual
knowledge through bis Spirit.
Without the Spirit of God in com–
bination with our human spirit, no
human can comprehend spiritual
knowledge. That is the reason the
greatest, most intellectual, most
highly educated minds CANNOT
UNDERSTAND the Bible-which
imparts spi ritual knowledge.
Therefore, as the forbidden tree
was one of knowledge leading to
death, so the tree of LIFE was one of
spi r itual knowledge leading to
immortal LIFE. What Adam took to
himself was spiritual knowledge,
which his mind, without the Holy
Spir it of God, was not capable of
compre~ending.
He decided for
himself what is right and wrong.
But Satan influenced him, through
Eve, to decide selfishly.
Consequently, he decided what
he thought was right or wrong in
relation to others from an attitude
of self-centeredness-not from that
of outflowing love toward others.
The tree of LIFE-symbolic of
God's Holy Spirit- was shut off
and CLOSED to humans unti l Christ.
Thu s the fou n dation of this
world- this civilization-was laid .
Man has acquired material know–
how to produce awesome progress,
especially in this 20th century. But
his progress is materialistic and
physical. The uncompleted human
mind has been capable of that. But
the human mind has been only
HALF there!
In relationship to God, what lit–
tle mankind knows has been per–
ver ted by Satan. Man has been self–
ish in his relationship with people.
He has lived the way of GETTING,
not GIV ING. He has been filled with
greed, animosity, competition, vio-
(Continued on page 6)
The
PLAIN TRUTH