There is good and there is evil. Because of what Adam and Eve did, we have a knowledge of what is good and what is evil. However, because of what Jesus did, neither matter anymore.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was never meant for humankind to have. Jesus, who represents the Tree of Life, is what we were supposed to partake of instead. Jesus has set us free from the binding of the old tree. Many times we would do what we ourselves, our own conscience thought was good, but our conscience was corrupted due to the sinfulness of Adam’s blood that was in our veins. We called anything that felt good, or made us happy, good. We twisted the very meaning of the word. Look at what Jesus said to the rich young ruler.
Matthew 19:16-17 NKJV – 16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Only God is truly good. We can’t discern good and evil perfectly. We like to think we can though! We try to play God and say what is the best for ourselves or what will truly make us happy. We try to tell God what it is that He should do for us because it would be, “good,” for us. “If I only have a lamborghini, then life will be good.” “Once I win the lottery, life will be good.” “Once I get married, life will be good.” “Once I have children, life will be good.” So on and so forth to ad infinitum. However, God is the only One who has ever been good. He has good stored up for us once we choose to follow Him!
Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been given the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. Our conscience awakens and we do more good just by seeking after the Lord and loving people than trying to do good out of fleshly ourselves. Paul said it best; there is no good thing coming out of the flesh. (Romans 7:18). But contravertibly, there is good in the spirit! We can know good!
Our spirits have been made brand new in Christ. We can discern what is good because we can discern God. If the thought, belief, action, or doctrine lines up with the Word of God with the illumination of the Holy Spirit, then you can say it is good. We can say that God is good because He has proven Himself throughout history as the Source of all goodness. He created us. Who are we to say He isn’t what He has said He is? How arrogant we can get at times! God is good all the time and He can’t be anything else.
Jesus is good and will always be good because He relied on the Word of God to define Him. When we rely on the Word of God, just like Jesus did, we also will know what is good and be able to do good works out of an overflow of our relationship with Him! Good works are not a drudgery, they’re not pulling teeth, and they’re not as difficult as we think to do; it’s loving God and loving people like He loves us. When we can understand the simplicity of the Gospel, we do more good focusing on the Tree of Life instead of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
“God, thank You for sending Jesus to graft me into the Tree of Life. I’m living righteously because of Your spirit in me. My flesh has submitted to the spirit. I shall never again be entangled with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I seek after You with my whole heart. As You continually reveal Yourself to me, I naturally love others out of the abundance of goodness You’ve shared with me. Thank You Jesus, for Your lovingkindness and tender mercies toward me. I’m forever changed by Your love! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
If this article taught you something then let me know! I can be reached through Facebook, contact form, or by commenting on this post.
