Those who want to eat the fruit of the tree of life and the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

 

Those who want to eat the fruit of the tree of life and the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

 

Romans 7:12 "So then the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, just and good."

The Law is the holy word of God. Within the Law, there is the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Works states that by observing all 613 of the Law, one can become God's people. Therefore, the Israelites diligently tried to strictly observe the Law's provisions, but they were never able to do so. Ultimately, they received forgiveness of sins from God through sacrificial offerings. Receiving forgiveness of sins through sacrificial offerings is the Covenant of Grace.

Those who strive to keep the rules within the law ultimately fall into a covenant of works, or legalism. This represents the Pharisees of Jesus' time. Believers must not confuse the law with legalism.

Most pastors confuse believers by equating "keeping the letter of the law" with "legalism." They should explain it not through the law, but through legalism.

However, those who discover the Messiah through the sacrificial offering in the law enter into the covenant of grace. Those who enter the covenant of grace eat the fruit of the tree of life.

However, those who enter into the covenant of works within the law are those who eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Those who eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are those who believe that they can attain God's righteousness through their own efforts.

Both the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil are chosen based on the beliefs held within God's Word, the Law. Those who "cannot do it themselves, but only those who seek salvation through Christ" are those who partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life. However, those who seek righteousness through their own efforts are those who partake of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Jesus told the parable of the wheat and the tares. The wheat represents those who hear the gospel and partake of the fruit of the tree of life. They are those who place their identity in the spirit. However, the tares represent those who diligently strive to realize their own righteousness. They are those who place their identity in the flesh. Jesus told them not to pull out the tares, but to leave them in place. Even in the hearts of believers, tares coexist. God will later burn them.

Within the hearts of believers, a spiritual body (spiritual mind) and a fresh body (fresh mind) coexist. "Fresh" is distinct from the physical body, originating from the old self. Because these two coexist within the hearts of believers, confusion about their own identity arises.

Those who "place their identity in the fresh" consider themselves masters of the old temple. They eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and their spirits are trapped in the flesh, becoming dead. They are in hell. However, those who place their identity in the spiritual body see Jesus as master of the new temple. The spirits of the saints eat the fruit of the tree of life, and they achieve heaven.

A saint emerges when two minds intersect. Therefore, saints must daily establish their own identity. Romans 7:21-23: " I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."

For legalists, "keeping the law" means following the letter of the law, but for evangelicals, it means taking the letter of the law to heart, being guided by the Holy Spirit, and acting accordingly. Will a believer act literally, or will they take it to heart and be guided by the Holy Spirit? This depends on whether their identity is in the flesh or in the spirit.

In the Old Testament, Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the two stone tablets containing God's words. These tablets contained the Ten Commandments, God's command for all the people to obey them. However, when Moses did not come down from the mountain for forty days, the people made a golden calf and worshipped it, believing it to be God. Witnessing this, Moses shattered the two stone tablets. The two broken stone tablets symbolize the old temple, made of stone, destined to collapse. Those who sit in the old temple are described as the old man. The old man, a being destined to die, is represented by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

After Moses destroyed the golden calf, he made two more stone tablets. God told them to inscribe these two tablets in their hearts and keep the Ten Commandments. "Keeping" means keeping them in their hearts and acting according to God's will. This doesn't mean acting by the letter, but rather acting with the meaning in mind. These two stone tablets symbolize the new temple established in their hearts. Those who sit in the new temple are represented as new men. The new man represents those born again by the Holy Spirit, that is, the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:4-5「Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

In conclusion, the law's consequences vary depending on the state of mind with which one views and acts upon it. If one views the law as gospel, one receives the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If one views the words of the law as legalism, one becomes a legalist, striving to act literally, as if one were the master of the law.

For example, according to the Westminster doctrine, Question 99. What rules must we observe to understand the Ten Commandments correctly?

Answer. To understand the Ten Commandments correctly, the following rules must be observed:

1. The law is perfect, requiring the whole person to fully conform to its righteousness, to obey it perfectly forever, to utterly and completely fulfill all duties, and to forbid every sin, even the least.

In the Heidelberg Catechism, question 114 asks, "Can those who repent and turn to God keep all these commandments perfectly?"

Answer: No. Even the holiest people in this world cannot achieve perfect obedience. Nevertheless, believers should make every effort to keep all, not just some, of God's commandments.

In this way, the doctrine says that believers must strive to keep the commandments, so even though they say that believers are entering into the covenant of grace, the man-made doctrine is making believers enter into the covenant of works.

Saints wage a battle within their own hearts, and to overcome the fleshly self, spiritual growth is necessary. Rather than striving to keep every provision of the law through action, believers should first understand what their fleshly hearts desire through the provisions of the law. God desires believers to recognize the nature of sin and not be entangled in it.

To act in accordance with God's will, believers must daily establish their own identity and renew their spiritual minds. They must remember that while they die daily to the flesh, they are seated in heaven with regard to their spiritual minds. Even if believers live daily between heaven and hell, if they place their identity in heaven, God will lead them. Rather than striving to strictly observe the letter of the law, believers must judge the identity of their hearts within the law.

If a believer fails to establish his or her own identity, he or she will become someone who seeks to eat both the fruit of the tree of life and the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil every day.

If a believer is not born again, he or she will not be saved. However, if a born again believer commits a sin, God will prick them with Satan's thorns.