"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org) The Three Trees Introduction. I. The most remarkable book in the world is the Bible. A. It is a library of 66 books - 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. B. It was written by about 40 men over a period of about 1542 years. (1446 B.C. to A.D. 96). C. It is the inspired word of God and tops the best seller list every year. D. The Bible is God’s book and equips us “for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:21). 2TI 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 2TI 3:17 that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2PE 1:21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. II. Giving a summation of its contents could be done in a very lengthy fashion or it can be done in a simple fashion. A. One of the simplest ways to summarize this grand book is to discuss “The Three Trees.” B. The story of the Bible revolves around “The Three Trees.” I. The Tree Of Knowledge - The first tree is “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” A. This tree is mentioned in Genesis the 2nd chapter. B. After God created man, He placed him in the garden of Eden. 1. Here is what the Bible says. (Gen. 2:7-17). 7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 And the name of the second 1 river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die. " 2. Moses tells us here of the creation of the first man and woman and of them being placed in the beautiful garden of Eden. (1 Cor. 15:45, 47). 1CO 15:45 So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. See Gen. 2:7. “Became” is in italics in the original Greek, and literally should be translated “The first man,Adam, a living soul.” The last Adam [Christ] a life-giving spirit.” In the case of Christ it implies a false teaching. Christ has always existed (Jn. 1:1-3), and He is the Spirit who created “all things.” (Jn. 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6: Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15-17). 1CO 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. a. There were many kinds of trees in the garden of Eden as suggested by the words “every” and “any.” (Gen. 2:9,16). GEN 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. GEN 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; b. Adam and Eve were permitted to eat of “every” or “any” tree in the garden, but not “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” 1) This tree was “in the midst” of the garden. (Gen. 2:9). GEN 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 2) The various trees were good for food. (Gen. 2:9). c. They were absolutely forbidden to eat of “the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” lest they die. (Gen. 2:17). d. This was an actual tree in the garden that Adam and Eve were clearly warned not to eat of it. (Gen. 3:4). C. Later Satan came to them in the garden and insisted they would not die if they ate of this forbidden tree. 1. Adam and Eve ate of the tree and sinned. (Gen. 3:6). GEN 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. a. It is made very clear they committed sin when they ate of this forbidden tree. 2 b. Some have attempted to make their sin sexual intercourse, but this is utter foolishness. c. God had commanded them to have children. (Gen. 1:28; 2:24). GEN 1:28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." GEN 2:24 For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. d. See 1 Cor. 7:1-5; Matt. 19:4-6. 2. As a result of their action of eating of the forbidden tree, they sinned and were separated from God as sinners. a. This was the first sin. (Rom. 5:12). It came into the world through Adam. ROM 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned-- b. Not eating of the tree was the only revealed limitation placed on the father and mother of humanity. c. God had made them creatures of choice, and they chose to break God’s law. 3. They did not die physically that day, that is, the day they ate of the forbidden tree. (Gen. 2:17). a. Adam lived a long life of 930 years. (Gen. 5:5). GEN 5:5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died. b. It is not known how long Eve lived. c. She and Adam were 130 years old when Eve bore Seth. (Gen. 5:3,4). See “the sixth day” Gen.1:27-31. GEN 5:3 When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. GEN 5:4 Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. d. She did live long enough to have “other sons and daughters.” (Gen. 5:3,4). e. It is not clear if some of these children were born after Seth. 1) It is possible some were born after Seth, but in view of what is said of Sarah centuries later it does not seem probable that many were born in her advanced years. 2) Sarah was convinced she was past the age of child bearing at the age of 90 when she became pregnant with Isaac. 3) The birth of Isaac when she was 90 was a miraculous birth. (Gen. 17:17). GEN 17:17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?" 3 4) Isaac was the only child of Sarah. 5) Abraham did have other sons after this through Keturah. (Gen. 25:1,2). GEN 25:1 Now Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. GEN 25:2 And she bore to him Zimran and Jokshan and Medan and Midian and Ishbak and Shuah. a) Keturah only had the status of a concubine according to Genesis 25:6 and 1 Chronicles 1:32.