The original plan of God is to be in constant fellowship with HIM. All things HE made were for our good and not to make us sin. This is one of the videos I watched in my devotion because it gave answers to the question that was lingering in my mind since childhood—why did God put the tree of good and evil in the garden?
Following Bro. Eli's teaching, he read from the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 31, which says,
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
According to the lesson, we see that Moses recorded the book of Genesis thousands of years ago, saying that everything God made was very good; Apostle Paul then affirmed this in 1 Timothy 4:4.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
Without a doubt, we can say that biblically, everything that God created is good; however, we have a part to play, which is our usage. Improper use of what God has created becomes an issue. For instance, marijuana, according to Bro. Eli, is a substance that is good; it relieves people of their pain, stress, etc., but if it is not used in the proper manner, it will destroy the human body. Relatively, the apple that was created by God was one of the trees made to be in the garden, but an instruction was given to the image of God (that is, Adam and Eve) in Genesis chapter 2: “…of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, 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.”
In Bro Eli explanation, it is called in the Bible as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; it is not an apple tree. The bible did not record that any tree was poisonous, because the commandment goes, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat,” including the apple tree in the Garden of Eden. There is only one tree that he prohibited, and that is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
BIG QUESTION—Why did Adam sin? It is actually simple; it is because he transgressed the order of the Lord.
Giving another instance, Bro. Eli shared—
In the world today there are a lot of things to be eaten, but a doctor can instruct a patient that not everything can be eaten because of his unique case. For example, if you are afflicted with a heart ailment, most doctors will prohibit you from eating pork or food with cholesterol or meat with fats.
Just as a doctor knows what is good for his or her patient, God also knew what was good for Adam and Eve. The fat remains; no one knows why God prohibited them from eating the fruit; in all, it is an instruction to follow.