Did Mankind have Free Will before eating of the Tree of Knowledge?

In all fairness to the individual who asked the question, here is the complete question – “Does the fact that mankind chose to eat of the fruit show that man had free will before they knew good and evil?”

There is both a simple and a complex answer to this question. The reason for this is that the wisdom and the will of God are nuanced. Another consideration is the varied traditional views of this event and their supposed consequences. It gets even more complicated when sorting out the numerous interpretations of the event.

In this series my goal is not to replace the traditional view of the garden event because it has a role and a place, which will become evident as we progress through this series. My goal is to broaden the scope and purpose of this event (the context if you will), to understand the nuanced will of the Godhead better. This larger context comes about, not by personal revelation, but by the revelation of Yeshua the Christ, as indicated in the previous article. The mystery of God revealed in Yeshua the Christ is an essential part of God’s plan to bring about the fulfillment of his new creation in Christ.

For details on the scope and purpose of the Mystery of God? Discover more.

In this mystery, Christ is the centerpiece of everything God intends to complete in us his children. Those worshiping God before Christ was first manifest on the earth didn’t have the benefit of that insight, truth, and vision. Much like Adam and Eve, those before Christ lacked a level of maturity and wisdom concerning the work God was engaged in. It was necessary for Yeshua to reveal this to them, though many resisted. Let’s look at an example.

You Must be Born Again

In the third chapter of the Fourth Gospel⁽¹⁾, the author records Yeshua’s encounter and discussion with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews (Fourth Gospel 3:1-15). Now we must stop here momentarily and realize this was not your average Jew on the street. Nicodemus was an honored Rabbi in his own right, a Pharisee, and part of the religious ruling class throughout Judea. They were privileged in one significant way – they had full access to the written scriptures, the writings, and theological commentaries available in their day. They were the most learned men of their time. Much more so than the typical Jew on the street, who, although taught the scriptures as a child, would not have been versed in their many nuances.

Here is Nicodemus, who for the first time in his rabbinic career as a teacher of teachers, finds himself the student. What was it Yeshua was revealing to him that was so incomprehensible? Christ is giving him just a glimpse of the mystery of God.

• A kingdom not of this world
• Entrance to this kingdom requires rebirth
• Rebirth of water and of the Spirit of God
• What they (the Pharisees) know is incomplete (Fourth Gospel 5:39-47), having come from and living in the physical/natural realm
• Yeshua will reveal to them heavenly (Spiritual) things of the realm from which he came
• Access to eternal life (to the Tree of Life) and this spiritual realm will come through the death and resurrection of the Son of Man

In the Image and Likeness of God

Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV, emphasis mine throughout)
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

Whether image and likeness are similes or refer to different aspects of God’s nature has been and probably always will be a subject of debate. To form my perspective I will rely not only on the known context of the first creation, but also from the context of the new creation in Christ (Romans 5).

• The gift of grace, after many trespasses brought justification (vs 15-16)
• Through Christ comes the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness (vs 17)
• That gift of grace will reign in righteousness which leads to eternal life through Christ our Lord (vs 21)

From this we can see that the Son of Man, the Son of God, brings two important elements of the new creation to the forefront for humanity through the gift of grace:

A) Righteousness (Godly wisdom, discernment, and the exercise of righteous judgment)
B) Eternal life (immortality for those made of the dust – Genesis 3:19)

So whatever the image and likeness of God is, it must include these two important characteristics. Now if we gain them in and through Yeshua the Christ as part of the new creation, then we did not possess them and they were not available through the first creation. This is what we see in the garden narrative of Genesis 2-3.

Though created in the image and likeness of us, the elohim⁽²⁾, Adam and Eve were not created complete. They were created natural/physical living beings, to dwell in the natural/physical realm which God created for them. God was even willing to manifest the Logos in the flesh so that he could walk among this earthly creation with them (Genesis 2:8-9,15; 3:8-9). But to dwell in the spiritual realm in God’s presence would require two additional characteristics; the righteousness and eternal life opened to us by Christ through God’s grace. These are represented in the garden narrative by the two trees placed in the midst of the garden; the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil⁽³⁾.

Exercising Free Will

By accepting the underlying lie of the serpent, their desire to be more God-like with respect to knowledge and wisdom (Genesis 3:5-6) meant they’d first have to master the natural/physical realm before the larger context of the spiritual realm is revealed to them (1 Corinthians 15:45-49). This is another way to view Eve’s motivation:

• Your understanding will increase (your eyes will be opened)
• You will be like God – knowing good and evil as he does (Genesis 3:22)
• The tree was desired to make one wise. Wisdom is a worthwhile pursuit (Proverbs 1-4,8-9), not an abhorrent lust as claimed by Augustine and others⁽⁴⁾

This desire to be better, to pursue more than we currently are is not a result of eating from the Tree of Knowledge, but is an ingrained characteristic of creativity. One might say it is also rooted in our self-determination, but I don’t see that being a negative if it’s part of the maturation process; the starting point to a more interdependent relationship with God and with others.

The Greater and Lesser Command

The command of restriction in Genesis 2:16-17 is not the first command, but the second. The first command has a larger context for God’s will – it fulfills his desire for all creation, including all the descendants of the first two humans. This is clarified and reinforced in that, unlike the elohim (Genesis 1:26), Adam and Eve were created for reproduction; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:28 – And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

It should be noted that the first command and the second command, with its restriction, produce tension in the narrative since they have contradictory outcomes for obedience. The greater first command to multiply and fill the earth would not be achieved within the confines of the walled garden. Nor would Adam and Eve reproduce the offspring needed within their current innocent state. Something more was required.

Obedience to the second lesser command results in their dwelling continually in the garden, while obedience to the first command requires them to leave the garden (and the direct provision it provides) and venture out into the real world where they would fend for themselves apart from God’s direct provision.

Since we see that the role of Christ was to lead humanity into the fullness of God’s Spiritual presence, Adam and Eve’s role comprises a narrower scope. As God’s image-bearers on earth, their scope is clearly defined through:

• The mandate to have dominion over all the earth
• The mandate to be fruitful and multiply and the establishment of marriage to achieve it properly (Genesis 2:24-25)
• The initial assignment to work the garden and to keep it (Genesis 2:15), which is later magnified as they set out into the larger world (Genesis 3:16-19,23)
• The task of naming all the birds and animals (Genesis 2:18-20)
• The assignment of humanity to the dust of the ground from which they came (Genesis 2:7; 3:19) confirming the limitation of mortality (Genesis 3:22-23)

Within these mandates, we see the lives of Adam and Eve blessed in multiple ways aside from God’s previous blessing in Genesis 1:

• Marriage is established and reproduction is encouraged
• Notice another aspect of that union between husband and wife. It is to be achieved by leaving the Father’s house (and his direct provision), and venturing out together on their own.
• Work is honorable. Not only were they given work within the garden, but they’re also forewarned about the work ahead of them as they venture out of the garden.

New Creation Through Disobedience?

As the tension between the two commands shows, God must have been prepared not only for the possibility that Adam and Eve would transgress, but for the likelihood they would. This becomes more evident when we observe that the Apostle Paul notes on more than one occasion that the work in Christ was established before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6). In addition, one cannot overlook that it was God who placed the Tree of Knowledge in the garden and commanded the restriction. This alone places more focus on the tree of restriction than there was on all the other trees whose fruit was pleasing to the eye and good for food (Genesis 2:9,15-17).

Certainly this was a test for mankind. Yet at the same time it was an opportunity to step into the unknown, a realm of knowledge and wisdom which would begin the process of maturation in God-likeness. God himself affirms that their disobedience to the lesser command resulted in their becoming more like the Godhead and the elohim who occupy the spiritual realm.

Genesis 3:22-23
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

This leads us to two very significant clarifications in the narrative which must be resolved in the context of what God is achieving with his creation through Christ:

A) The initial creation of Adam and Eve was incomplete in regard to the full image and likeness of God. Not only were they incomplete, they were also imperfect, capable of transgression and disobedience as a result of the free will and self-determination within them. This is evident since the choice to take the fruit occurred before actually taking it.⁽⁵⁾

B) It was only after Adam and Eve came to the awareness of good and evil that the restriction on the Tree of Life was introduced. This restriction is far more consequential to God’s plan than the other, since now they are expelled from the garden so as to prevent them from having access to immortality through the Tree of Life⁽⁶⁾. If the lesser restriction were equally important, either the Tree of Knowledge would not have been available in the garden or God would not have placed Adam there.

Conclusions

The most glaring confirmations to the initial question revolve around where that free will took them. From the narrative, it’s no stretch to see that Adam and Eve were not created complete, perfect or immortal. These things must be added. Their free will choice resulted in their continued growth toward God-likeness⁽⁷⁾, consistent with having been created incomplete, imperfect, and mortal.

For this radical departure from the traditional interpretation of the garden narrative to be cohesive, the first stages of the new creation had to begin someplace. The work of Yeshua the Christ for the fulfillment of the new and glorious creation was as essential a part of God’s work then as we know it was two millennia ago and still is now. This is what we can see when we consider the revelation of Yeshua to his disciples. Here are some examples we’ll be building on as this series continues.

1 Corinthians 15:45-46 – Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.

Romans 8:20-21 – For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Romans 11:32 – For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

The divine concept of salvation through disobedience is not only revealed in the work of Christ under the new covenant, it’s also spelled out for the descendants of Israel in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. For an overview, read my series of articles on the Mystery of God.

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Footnotes:

1. Due to the dispute over the authorship of the Fourth Gospel, traditionally attributed to John, I will refer to this book as the Fourth Gospel. I have concluded on the side of such authors like J. Phillips (ISBN13: 978-0-9702687-3-0) who has shown conclusively John could not be the sole author and instead attribute primary authorship to Lazarus – the disciple whom Christ loved.
2. The Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.of Genesis 1:16 refers to the created spiritual realm consisting of elohim. These created beings share the spiritual realm with the Godhead, each having their specific roles. Most are loyal to the Godhead. Others oppose God and his plan for humanity. See The Unseen Realm – Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, by Michael S. Heiser for more details.
3. The connection between the Tree of Knowledge and the righteousness, opened to us through Christ, is derived from the God-like character (righteousness) produced in believers by God’s Holy Spirit. The knowledge of good and evil gained through Adam and Eve provides a moral context for the application of the free will God imbued us with, resulting in the desired character (fruits of the Holy Spirit) suitable for dwelling peaceably together for eternity.
4. City of God, St. Augustine, Book 14/Chapter 10; Commentary on Genesis, John Calvin; Pulpit Commentary on the Bible, Genesis 3:6; Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Genesis 3:6
5. The idea that Adam and Eve were incomplete and imperfect contradicts the view of numerous church fathers; Augustine, Calvin, and others.
6. It’s generally assumed that Adam and Eve knew of both trees, yet the narrative doesn’t confirm this. The author is aware and the reader is aware, but the narrative doesn’t mention it until after Adam and Eve have their eyes opened and serves as the reason for their expulsion from the garden. Note also the conversation Eve has with the serpent. She only mentions the singular tree of restriction (Genesis 3:3). Likewise, the serpent doesn’t tempt her with eternal life offered through the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:1-5). This seems like a significant oversight for the serpent, unless he too was unaware of the Tree of Life.
7. The pathway into the kingdom of God for all God’s children was always intended to come through death and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50). If God had intended Adam and Eve to inherit immortality in the garden, this would have required them to be created with a glorified body – negating the purpose for the entire physical creation.