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. Genesis 2:17
It cannot be said that prior to man’s fall, Adam and Eve were wholly ignorant of the existence of evil. Had they not been told that death would be the punishment for eating the forbidden fruit? Since the fall of Lucifer (which occurred prior to their own fall), God would have no doubt warned His beloved of this evil and menacing foe, and the steps that let to his demise. Indeed, we may know about something, and yet be without real knowledge of it.
Second century gnostics taught that salvation could be obtained through the acquisition of ‘occult gnosis’, or hidden knowledge. Thus it is argued that the serpent freed mankind from the ignorance imposed upon them by a jealous God, making the serpent out to be the real benefactor of humanity. During the temptation, Satan insinuated to Eve that God was restricting the sinless pair out of self-interest. Said the serpent, ‘For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil’ (Genesis 3:5).
It cannot be denied that after their fall, the once-sinless pair obtained knowledge that was previously unknown to them. The record continues: ‘And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons’ (Genesis 3:7). The uncomfortable shame of their now uncovered bodies was a brand of knowledge to which their eyes had previously been closed. When God sought Adam (who was hiding out of shame), Adam testified, ‘I was afraid, because I was naked’ (Genesis 3:10). Adding to their knowledge of fear and shame, the fallen pair would also graduate from the bitter schools of guilt, anxiety, grief, pain, and death. In the next chapter of Genesis, we read the story of Cain and Abel. It goes without saying that the intimate knowledge of losing a child is something that no parent wants to become acquainted with, let alone the knowledge that one child has murdered another.
In reality, the only benefit to acquiring the knowledge of evil – that God sought to shield us from – is in understanding that ‘the way of transgressors is hard’ (Proverbs 13:15). However, this knowledge could have been acquired without knowing evil by experience, by simply believing the words of God.
It is true that the redeemed will enjoy a greater appreciation of God’s character on account of their experience in this fallen world (for the mercy, graciousness, and longsuffering of God would not have been otherwise revealed to us). Yet in surveying the disastrous results of sin – the billions of eternally lost fathers, mothers, children, brothers, and sisters – it will not cross the mind of any creature granted immortality, that evil was a branch of knowledge worth pursuing.
Christopher Sparks