JD Abshire Supporter

Genesis 2:17 " 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."
There was no requirement on Adam and Eve's behalf to discern good and evil. They were to only take God at his Word and operate accordingly out of reverential trust and faith.

February 26 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Seth Freeman Supporter

It was a trust issue. God gave them a command, and they should have trusted the Lord's Word. They didn't need to have a full understanding of the nature of good and evil in order to trust in the Word of God and obey His command. 

Just like my 2 year old doesn't fully understand the nature of good and evil, he is still required to trust my word and obey.

February 27 2014 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Thornton Supporter Bible student, unprofitable servant

If what you mean by knowing good and evil is, they could not know it was good to obey and evil to disobey. The simple answer is they couldn't.
However their moral nature didn't come from the tree. They could be expected to know that it was evil (because it would result in death) to disobey because they were made in the image of God with a moral, rational, emotional, volitional, nature that was functioning perfectly. To introduce the question, how could they know what death was having never experienced it will cloud the issue. They were created as perfect, mature, capable humans in the fullest sense of the word. Any attempted to explain the fall that doesn't lay the blame squarely upon them is to implicate God and undermine the trust that He alone is worthy of and to perpetuate the diabolical, corrosive, lies of the devil.

This is what we can know with certainty
- They had a moral nature because made in the image of God
- They had a clear understanding of the fact that the consequence of disobedience is ruin, because God is undeniably just and merciful.
- They were capable of defying Gods command and ruining themselves and their posterity, because that is what they did.

But thanks be to God this isn't the end of the story. Their is a second Adam who in absolute obedience was hung on a different tree for the sins of His people.
1 Corinthians 15:22 
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
Galatians 3:13 
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “ Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”),
2 Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
1 Corinthians 15:45
And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life- giving spirit.

February 28 2014 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Al Mari Supporter Private practice as a cardiovascular & thoracic surgeon

Adam and Eve were directly informed by their Creator what was good and what was evil. 

Prior to this commandment, they did not know.

February 18 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report