The Tree of Life

and
The Bread of Life
Genesis 2:16-17: And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Cebuano Version
2:17 Apan sa kahoy nga sa pag-ila sa maayo ug sa dautan, dili ka
magkaon niini; kay sa adlaw nga mokaon ka niini, mamatay ka
gayud.

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Genesis3:2-4. And the woman said unto the
serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of

the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it,
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not

surely die.
1 Corinthians 15:44: “It is sown a natural body; it is
raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and
there is a spiritual body”.

Cebuano

1 Mga Taga Corinto 15:44: “Kini igatisok ingon nga

lawas nga lawasnon, apan kini pagabanhawon ingon
nga lawas nga espirituhanon. Kon aduna may lawas
nga lawasnon, aduna man usab ing lawas nga
espirituhanon”.
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Matthew 8:21-22: “And another of his disciples said
unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my
father. 22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let
the dead bury their dead”.

1 Corinthians 15:31: “I protest by your rejoicing

which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily”.
First view:

Both spiritual death and physical death are the consequences

of Adam’s fall. The Hebrew wording of Genesis 2:17 allows for
a time lapse between the instantaneous spiritual death on that
sad day of disobedience and the later physical death.

Second View:

Spiritual death was the only consequence of Adam’s rebellion

at the Fall.
2 Peter 3:8 King James Version (KJV): But,
beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day.
Romans 6:23 : For the wages of sin is death;
but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Genesis 3:22,24: “And the Lord God said, Behold, the
man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live forever. So he drove out
the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of
Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life”.

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SDA Bible Commentary
The tree of life possessed the power to perpetuate life, and as long as
they ate of it, they could not die.

It was necessary to prevent man from continuing to partake of the fruit

of the tree of life lest he become an immortal sinner. The fruit that
produced immortality could now do him only harm. Immortality in a
state of sin, and thus of endless misery, was not the life for which God
designed man. Denying man access to this life-giving tree was an act of
divine mercy.
The Bread of Life
Joh:6:35: And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst.

Verses 47-50: “Verily, verily I say unto you, He that believeth on

me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did
eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread that
cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not
die.”

Verses 51,53: “I am the living bread which came down from

heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the
bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I will give for the life
of the world. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his
blood, ye have no life in you.”
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Verses 54-56: “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink
indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
dwelleth in me, and I in him.”

Verses 57-58: “As the living Father hath sent me, and I
live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall
live by me. This is that bread which came down from
heaven: not as your father did eat manna, and are dead:
he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.”

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SDA Bible Commentary
As physical bread promotes physical life, so Christ,
“the bread of God…which cometh down from
heaven,” is the source of spiritual life. Through
faith in Christ the Christian partakes of the life of
God. As he has faith now, so also he receives of
that eternal life now.

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 It is not enough once to have partaken of Christ; His
followers must continually nourish their spiritual
beings by feeding on Him who is the bread of life.
Jesus had just declared that “he that believeth on me
hath everlasting life”; now He added,

“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath

eternal life.” From this it is clear that to eat His flesh
and drink His blood means to believe, to have faith in
Him”.

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Christ the Tree of Life—Christ is the source of
our life, the source of immortality. He is the
tree of life, and to all who come to Him He
gives spiritual life (The Review and Herald,
January 26, 1897). 7BC 989.8