Trees Of Life

A. In the Garden of Eden, God planted a tree of life to which man had access until sin entered. GEN 2:9; 3:22-24. 1. If it was still there by the time of Noah’s flood, it would have been destroyed since nobody, including Noah, had a right to touch it. GEN 3:22-24. 2. It evidently, though, was removed to glory. REV 2:7; 22:1-2, 14. 3. The Second Adam (Christ) restores man to what the first Adam lost: the right to the tree of life. ROM 5:17-18. 4. NOTE: Christ is our life (COL 3:4), made so to us by His cross: He turned His tree of death into a tree of life for His people. GAL 3:13. 5. We cannot yet personally access the tree of life but we can by faith taste its benefits.

B. Wisdom is “...a tree of life to them that lay hold on her” (PRO 3:18). 1. God’s word is our wisdom and understanding in the sight of men. DEU 4:6. 2. By meditating in it and obeying it, “...length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee” (PRO 3:2) by saving us from sin which will shorten our days. PRO 10:27. 3. God’s word will lead the believer to Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God. 1CO 1:24; COL 2:3. 4. Those who by faith patiently, continually walk in God’s word in practice show they have a reward of eternal life in Christ. ROM 2:7.

C. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life...” (PRO 11:30). 1. From a personal standpoint, the righteous should be producing the fruit of godliness (2PE 1:6) which has “...promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1TI 4:8). 2. There is no law against the Spirit’s fruit (GAL 5:22-23), thus its benefits cannot be harmful to anyone as a breach of “...love thy neighbour as thyself” (ROM 13:9). 3. Righteous men will have branches full of healthy fruit for all: “...the righteous are as trees of life; the fruits of their piety and charity, their instructions, reproofs, examples, and prayers, their interest in heaven, and their influence upon earth, are like the fruits of that tree, precious and useful, contributing to the support and nourishment of the spiritual life in many; they are the ornaments of paradise, God's church on earth, for whose sake it stands.” (Matthew Henry) 4. The righteous should be fruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2PE 1:8) and so improve men’s understanding of God, His promises, and their duty, winning their souls per PRO 11:30.

D. “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life...” (PRO 15:4). 1. Controlling it is beneficial to our personal holiness. 1PE 3:10; JAM 3:2. 2. The tongue trained by and in righteousness is a blessing to others. ISA 50:4; PRO 15:23. 3. May our speech be “...alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (COL 4:6), a tree of life to those around us.

E. “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life” (PRO 13:12). 1. The realization of something long hoped for makes its appearance all the sweeter! 2. The joy of finally having one’s hope fulfilled more than compensates for the wait if love binds the object to the waiter. GEN 29:20-30. 3. How much more shall we rejoice and be filled when “...the desire of all nations shall come...” (HAG 2:7), that is, shall come again, our better hope (HEB 7:19) and Tree of Life! ISA25:9. 4. Our lively hope in Christ should make this world’s woes small. 1PE 1:3-9; ROM 8:18.