(Ver 1.3)  This is Part 3 in the Understanding Genesis 3 Bible study series and the continuation of the last lesson concerning “Does Eating Fruit Kill You?”   I took a break from Genesis to teach some new subjects, but today I will go back to Genesis to show you some more things found in the Bible about fruit.  In my last lesson on this subject called Does Eating Fruit Kill You? Pt 1, I showed you that Jesus said that it was not what you put into your mouth and into your stomach (natural fruit) that makes you unclean (Mat 15:11).  In this very important verse Jesus was teaching us that it was what comes out of our mouth, the words that we speak that causes us to sin.  Jesus was contrasting the fact that spiritual fruit was significantly different than natural fruit and giving us some very important clues into hidden Genesis 3 truths.  While natural fruits are a pattern or type revealing spiritual fruits, they are certainly two very different substantative things.  In speaking on this subject Jesus gave us some brand new insight into the story of Adam and Eve and why what they ate could not have been fruit from a physical or natural tree.  If that was the truth then this statement made by Jesus would have made Him a liar.  I also showed you a scripture in Proverbs that declared death and life to reside in the power of the human tongue (Prov 18:21).  This verse then spoke of the fact that those who love it will eat the “fruit” thereof.  We should now be able to see that if God told Adam don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die, that God was saying your tongue controls your destiny.   We should be able to look into this verse in the Bible to help identify what this tree that God was speaking of to Adam was; this tree must have been a spiritual tree that causes the fruit of death and not a natural fruit tree that when eaten kills like a poison.  Do you understand these important concepts revealed in the Bible?  We are just using the Bible to interpret the Bible.   According to Proverbs it was Adam’s tongue or the words of his mouth that caused him to live or die.  Our tongue, is the exact same and it also has the power to produce the fruit that causes us to live or to die.  I know that these are very different concepts than most things that have been taught in your church, but I’m just reading the Bible and putting the pieces of the puzzle together the best that I can, with God’s help.  So can you read?  Do you see what God is saying?  Here is another confirming witness to what I just said found in the New Testament:

Heb 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

In this verse in Hebrews we see a clear reference that it is our mouths that produces spiritual fruit unto God.  This fruit in this verse must be referring to the spiritual fruit of praise which comes from the words we speak glorifying God.  What is the antithesis truth to praising or blessing God?  I believe that it would be to curse God with our mouth like many people in the world do everyday.   Therefore, our words and our mouth can either produce words that praise (bless) God or words that curse God.  Two direct different opposing types of fruit, but yet the same mouth can produce either.  This is an important concept to learn for every Christian.  Your words have the power to bless or to curse someone.  This is not a single verse on this subject in the Bible.  James wrote about this concept very clearly when he wrote “out of the same mouth proceeds blessing and cursing and this ought not to be” (James 3:10).   Isn’t James saying the same things that God told Adam?  Blessing and cursing shall not come from your mouth or you will surely die?  I can find some amazing parallels in these scriptures.  Let’s take a look at another verse found in Proverbs from the book of God’s divine wisdom:

Pro 18:20  A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Here again is another verse from Proverbs that speaks of the fruit of our mouth.  If you understand what I have been saying, you quickly realize that this verse is speaking again of a spiritual fruit.  In this verse God again refers to our mouth as being connected to our belly.  But it is not speaking of our natural stomach, but rather our inner spirit man.  Did you realize that the only way your inner spirit man can affect any change in this world is by your mouth?  The only contact that your spirit man has with communicating to this natural world is with your mouth.  Jesus told us that the words that He spoke they were “spirit” (John 6:63).  In other words the words that came from Jesus’ mouth came from His Spirit.  The implication is given that we also speak the same type of spiritual words.  We should be able to compreshend that one of the only accesses that God has from this physical world into your internal spirit is through your external natural ears.   You ears and your mouth are the portals between the natural world and the unseen internal spiritual world.  Since the majority of unsaved people do not understand that they are spirit beings they would not understand anything about what I just described to you.  Let’s move on to another scripture that is certainly related:

Pro 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

We can see from this verse in Proverbs more valuable information given to us concerning the trees that were said to be in the Garden of Eden by many Bible teachers.  Did you notice that this verse in Proverbs is not speaking to us about a natural physical tree that produces fruit that causes us to live forever?  Wow, that was a loaded question.  If the tree of life was not a physical tree then the tree of death was not one either.  The reference is given to us about about a different type of spiritual tree that produces spiritual fruit.  This tree of life label is spoken of in the terms of those who are now called the “righteous” people.  Who could this be referring to?  Who are the righteous?  Do you know the answer to that question?  If you do then you are light years ahead of many Christians in the church.  Let’s find out using the N.T. who the righteous are:

Rom 5:19  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

We can see in this verse in Romans, that God contrasts the two Adams.  The first man’s disobedience caused many to sin, but by the faithful obedience of Jesus Christ many shall be made “righteous“.   You might quickly ask the question were there really two men called Adam in the Bible?   Yes, there was, but one was a natural man one was a spiritual man.  The natural man caused all to die, but the spiritual man will cause all who receive His life to live.  Let me show you an important verse to help confirm what I just said:

1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

This of course is comparing Jesus to Adam, but Jesus is symblically called the Last Adam in this verse as opposed to the first Adam.  If we back up in this chapter you can see more the context of what God is teaching us about these two opposite types of men.

1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

What is God describing here?  Can you see the emphaisis to the two trees of the garden first mentioned in Genesis 2?  Adam caused all men to die but Chirst came to give each of us a new choice to live to have a different result.  There is a definite death and there is a resurrection from the dead that will cause us to live.  These are some amazing truths to consider when studying these chapters in Genesis.

Who did Proverbs call the “tree of life”?   You see we, the church have been made “righteous” by what Jesus Christ did for us and gave to us by God’s grace.  We are now the ones that are expected by God to produce new  spiritual fruit of life instead of death.  We therefore must be these spiritual trees of God described in Proverbs.   What you must see in this verse is the clear but indirect reference to two opposing trees.  You have one that Adam ate from that gives us death and then you have one that Jesus ate from that gave us life after death.  One spiritual man was obedient and one natural man was disobedient and the end results are dramatically different.  Do you understand what Jesus did?  Now do you also understand what Adam did?  Adam chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and Jesus chose the tree of life.  That is some very important information to fully grasp.  There are so many verses in the Bible that speak about this subject that I just can’t include them all in my lesson today.  Here are some verses that have a direct commentary given to us by Jesus Christ:

Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

How many of you realize that Jesus is not talking about literal physical natural fruit trees in these verses?  We know that these words are directly related to Genesis because Jesus starts out talking about the subject of thorns and thistles.  If you recall these two subjects were God’s words to Adam in Genesis 3:18.  Do you see the parallels and the connection?  Jesus is referring to men and women as being analogous to trees that produce fruit.  Every tree will produce some kind of fruit, either evil or good.  The evil trees will bring forth thorns and thistles, while the good trees will bring forth grapes and figs.  One spiritual tree produces good spiritual fruit.  While the other spiritual tree produces evil fruit.  God says good can’t produce evil fruit and evil can’t produce good fruit.  The evil trees will be cut down and cast into the fire of hell and the good trees will be harvested to God’s barn.  So we can see that spiritual fruit corresponds to what we produce out our mouths.  Whether you choose to offer the sacrifice of praise to God or produce evil things, you make the choice.  It really depends upon what you let go into your spirit that determines what you get to come out of your mouth and your spirit.  I learned from being a computer programmer that if you put garbage in, you will get garbage out.  If you put the Word of God in you will get the Word of God to come out.  It is an awesome responsibility that God has given to us.

Mat 12:34  O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

I thought I would include this verse to end this lesson on spiritual fruit.  Jesus gives us the insight into how to produce good fruit.  In this verse, Jesus is speaking to the religious Jews of His day.  He tells them there is no way that they can produce any good fruit.  How could Jesus declare this?  Jesus knew that nothing good can come from a container after someone has put evil things in it.  Jesus knew that if you plant evil things you will also reap evil things.  Jesus declares that from the abundance of the things that you put into your heart is what you will get back out of your heart.  I told you earlier that your external ears and your mouth were the portals/gates in and out of this unseen internal spiritual world.  What you listen to abundantly with your ears is what you are putting/planting into your heart to produce and bring forth either good or evil fruit from your mouth.   Jesus often times said “take heed to what you hear” (Mark 4:24).  Why would it be important not to hear some things?  Why would it be advantageous to hear other things?   Jesus says that whatever you listen to abundantly will cause you to produce either good fruit or evil fruit with your mouth.   No one becomes a radical Islamic extremist overnight.  There are no evil men born into the world.  Men become evil or good based upon what they are taught and hear.  If you plant evil things continuously in your heart, you will eventually produce evil.  These are the spiritual laws given to us from Genesis to Revelation.

I probably have said enough on this subject for now.  I don’t want to overwhelm you with new things to think about, but sometimes I know I do.  What we must do is interpret the Bible using the Bible, only.  See what God says on every subject and just ignore what people think the story is about.    Rightly dividing the Word of Truth involves putting the pieces of the puzzle together correctly.  When you start to see what God is saying in the Bible, the Bible is much more enjoyable and eventually becomes easier to understand.  You will eventually see that truth will build upon truth.  So start by learning the basics and getting a solid foundation built into your life and then step up to the more advanced topics found in the Bible.  God Bless!

If you would like to continue reading in this series of lessons found in Genesis 3 please go to “We are God’s Garden” (Part 4).