Are Jesus and God the Same Person?

The short answer is yes. But it's complicated… 

What is The Trinity?

Yes, Jesus is God, but we also see him praying to God. He claims to be God, and he claims that he was sent by God. This is quite confusing and the rest of scripture does not provide a simple answer. 

The Christian church has always understood God to be three and one. This conceptual framework of God is called “the Trinity” and it emerged very early on in the development of the church in attempts to make sense of passages of scripture like Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, John 1:1, Philippians 2:6–11, and Acts 5:3–4. The Trinity can be seen throughout scripture, but these passages really force us to grapple with it. 

The Trinity is a famously difficult idea to hold because it breaks our logic. The Trinity consists of three persons who make up the Godhead: The Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Spirit. Each member of the trinity is utterly distinct and unique from the other, but each member is also fully God. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God. But the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father. Yet there are not three Gods, but one God. Confused yet? 

The Trinity is tough. In fact, it's impossible to conceptualize. It is universally held that any metaphor we can come up with will lack in some capacity to describe the essence of the trinity. But this isn't too shocking, we should expect our language and logic to fail when we are trying to describe the God who created language and logic. While there is no one way to box in the Trinity, the christian bible offers us several helpful metaphors and images by which we can begin to conceptualize God.

Jesus: the Son of God & The Word of God

The Son (Jesus), is described in John 1 as “The word of the Father”. This is an important image and descriptor that gives us some insight into the essence of the Trinity. Think about your own words, they are, in a sense, you. Your words are a product of your thoughts and are a direct representation of what's happening in your mind, they represent who you are. But they don't just represent you, they are you. But also, your words are separate from you. Once you say them, they can go out and have unintended consequences. Your words can act on their own, affecting the world in ways that you cannot. We are imperfect, and our words often fall short of our intentions. We often say things that we wish we hadn't, our words affect things in ways we didn't expect, and they do not properly represent who we are and what we want. This is a huge problem for most people and this is why communication is the number one issue in almost every organization.

God is not like this. When the Father speaks, he speaks perfectly, out of his own perfect character. Therefore his words perfectly reflect him and their effects are fully aligned with the Father’s intentions. If God’s words PERFECTLY reflect him, then they are one with him, yet separate from him. This is the Son: One with the Father in every way, sharing all things in common, yet utterly distinct from him. It is important to emphasize that the Son has always existed with the Father, he is the eternal word of God, the perfect and full expression of the Father. 

So, we have the Father and the Son, but where does the Spirit come in? Well, the Spirit is most often described in scripture as “the Spirit of Love”. The Spirit descended upon Jesus after his baptism and poured out the love of the Father upon him. Jesus says that his followers will be filled with the Spirit and Paul says that God’s Spirit pours the love of the Father into their hearts. The Spirit is understood to be the love of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father. 

Does God Love Himself?

So, we get a beautiful picture of the Son as the Father’s eternal, perfect, and full self-reflection and the Spirit as the Father’s love for the son. The Father is constantly pouring out the spirit (love) to the Son and the Son is constantly pouring it back to the Father in an eternal dance of love. The Father, Son, and Spirit are perfectly unified yet perfectly distinct within the Godhead. So the Trinity can be understood as God eternally loving and worshiping himself. Does this sound conceited? I would argue that God’s supreme love for himself is the single most important concept in all reality. Let me explain. 

First let's answer the question: Is it unrighteous for God to love and worship himself? Well, if we were to run into a person who were worshiping themself and demanding everyone else do the same, we would be quite put off and maybe even call them a prick. Why is this? Because there are things that are more important than that person that deserve love and attention, like a beautiful sunrise or a new born baby. So, a person who is demanding love and praise from others is insisting that they are the most interesting and valuable object in the room. Righteousness is defined as giving glory to that which is most worthy. So as long as there is anything more worthy than you, it would be unrighteous for you to glorify yourself. However, nothing is more glorious than the creator God. Therefore, not only is it righteous for God to glorify himself, it would be unrighteous for him to give supreme glory and love to anything less than him, because he is the thing most deserving of love and glory.

Are Humans Made in the Image of God?

So, our aversion to this kind of self glorification is a human problem. We must be careful not to put our limited humanity onto God. But it is actually deeply good for us that God is obsessed with himself. The bible tells us that we are made in the image of God, designed to resemble him. Just like we erect monuments of famous individuals to honor them, God created us all as monuments of his glory. It was out of an overflow of God’s love for himself that he created us and it is by his love for himself that he values us so deeply. God’s perfect self love overflows into us as those made in his image. In fact, due to our nature as image bearers of God, our good and God’s glory are utterly connected, they are two sides of the same coin. This means that since God is dedicated to his glory, he is dedicated to us and our good.

“God’s self-exaltation is not the act of a needy ego, but an act of infinite love, drawing us into the only reality that can fully and eternally satisfy our souls—Himself.”

— John Piper, Desiring God

To step back for a second, this means that all of creation is a product of God’s love for himself, the Father’s love for the Son. All of reality is a product of love and we are invited to participate in that cosmic love. This was a unique idea in the time of ancient Israel. In fact, this narrative of creation was in direct opposition to all of its neighboring cultures which all believed that creation was an accidental and meaningless byproduct of a war between primordial Gods of chaos. Even modern, secular science contributes to this narrative suggesting “life and order are random and meaningless flukes in the eternal, chaotic flux of quantum energy fields.” The narrative set forth in scripture could not be more different: Creation is an intentional and deeply meaningful product of the love of the Father for the Son.

So, God’s love for himself is deeply important. Not only is it not conceited, but rather perfectly righteous for God to love himself, his love for himself is the cosmic engine which drove the creation of the world and us.

Why Did God Create Humans?

Out of his great love for himself, God created us and loved us. He placed the first humans in a garden with unlimited abundance and goodness. He loved himself so much that he created us to resemble him and he loved us so much that he made us to be his children. He designed us to be perfectly dependent on him, giving glory and receiving glory for all eternity. We were created to participate with the Trinity in their eternal dance of love. 

The tragedy of the Bible is that the first humans rebelled against their Father, they decided that they did not want his love and they rejected him. The first humans, who were designed to glorify God, stopped glorifying God and sought to glorify themselves. Their function as a member in the eternally churning engine of God’s self glorification came to a screeching halt. In their break from their design, they incurred damage. A heart that stops beating, even for a few moments, can cause permanent and serious damage to the body. An engine that runs without oil gets torn up and mangled. In the same way, the human soul, which was designed to give and receive glory to God, was fractured and mangled. We, who were designed to receive life in connection with God, fell from our exalted position, sharing in the glory of the Trinity and now we are dying in disconnection from God. The Bible calls this “exile”. We are all lost and hurt in a far off land, homesick and in need. We are rebellious children who are scared and hungry for the love of God. 

Why Does God Allow Suffering?

We were designed to receive unlimited resources from God, but resources are scarce here in exile, so we have learned to take care of ourselves and our people at the expense of others. We were designed to experience fulfillment of all our needs in God, but we are lonely, sorrowful, and anxious in exile. We were designed to receive constant life and sustenance from God, but we are all slowly dying apart from him in exile. The utter shock and pain of the fall from heaven to earth was unbearably traumatic. We are all now cut off from our greatest need. Since there is no hope of restoration, we all live in denial, we make the best with what we have. Entering back into a relationship with God is not an option, getting back to heaven is impossible, so we do our best to find comfort here in exile, apart from him. In fact, the longing for our heavenly home is so painful that we curse it and try to forget it. We deny that deep homesickness and we say “that's life”. The situation is so dire and the pain of exile is so great that our best option is to forget and numb ourselves to the pain.

Is Jesus God?

Though this is where we find ourselves today, it is far from the end of the story. God could not bear to see us in this broken state. The same love that drove God to create us in the first place is the same love that drove him to restore us. From the very moments following our fall from our position in the Trinity, God promised that he would personally ensure our safe return. There have always been groups of humans who tried to get back to heaven, but the entire narrative of the Hebrew Bible exists to prove that it's impossible for us to get back to heaven. Time and time again, the humans try to reach for God and find that the chasm is infinite. There was another group of people, however, who recognized this and determined that their only hope was for God to save mankind. These people lived in constant tension, hoping in God’s promised restoration but intimately aware of the horror of living in exile. These people were not especially righteous or good, they simply trusted God.

After thousands of years of exile, God’s promise was fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. We could not get to heaven, but God himself came down, on a divine rescue mission. Jesus came to set us free from the exile we live in. He died the death that we are all faced with and he, the source of all life, beat death and rose from the grave. He ascended into heaven to his rightful position in the Trinity. Jesus promises that anyone who trusts him, believing that he is the fulfillment of God’s promised deliverance, will be united with him and share in his resurrection. Jesus came down to free us from the pain of exile and bring us back up into the trinity. We could not get there on our own, but God came down to raise us up, just like he promised. Just like we could not earn our way back to heaven, we cannot earn this gift, we can only receive it. For anyone that will receive this gift, it is theirs. But in order to receive it, you must first hold out your hands, and if you are to hold out your hands, you must first believe that God’s offer of eternal life is real. 

God loves you dearly and longs for your safe return to your position in the Trinity. He has provided the way back in Jesus. He cannot force you to return, because that would be unloving. You must choose to return. It is free, no strings attached, the fulfillment of all your needs. This is the greatest news ever told.

How Old is the Bible?

WHEN WAS THE BIBLE WRITTEN?

The Christian Bible is not simply one book with one date of conception, it is a collection of 66 different books, representing 9 different genres of literature, written across approximately 2000 years, by nearly 40 different authors who lived around various regions of the Eastern World. When we consider the vast scope of inputs across history and cultures, the bible becomes a much more interesting text. We can consider the bible to be a library, the existence of which tells a strikingly cohesive story about the way that God engages with his people across time and space. What is compelling about the Christian Bible is not its diversity of ideas and unique perspectives, but rather, the remarkable agreement between all of these authors despite their cultural and temporal isolation from one another. In this article, we will explore the structure and compilation of the Christian Bible and highlight some of the core themes that are traceable throughout.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Christian Bible is split up into two segments, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament (OT), as the name suggests, is much older. In fact, before it was ever a part of the Christian Bible it was solely known as the Hebrew Bible. The OT is a compilation of historical narrative, poetry, Jewish prophecy, and wisdom literature that tell the story of humanity’s creation, relationship with their creator, and the transcendent hope of salvation from pain and death. The first 5 books of the OT are known as the Torah and they are the Jewish holy text. These books outline the history of the Jewish people from the beginning of human history all the way up to their foundation as a nation. Through the Torah, the ancient Hebrews understood their place in reality, their relationship to God, their role as humans, and the direction of time. The first of these 5 books, Genesis, is believed to be the oldest in the OT, put into writing around 1500 BC by a Hebrew priest named Moses. However, the narratives of Genesis existed many thousands of years before our earliest physical manuscripts in the form of oral tradition, being passed down from generation to generation.

The OT contains many other books that were all written by ancient Jews who were deeply and profoundly shaped by the Torah. Within the rest of the OT, there are narratives that further develop the history of the Hebrew people, detailing their cultural rises and falls as they go in and out of exile in various nations. There are books of wisdom written by kings to share their philosophical and religious musings. There are even books of prophecy written by people who heard directly from God about future disasters and blessings. The youngest book in the OT is the writings of the prophet Malachi, composed around 430 BC.

The authorship of the Old Testament was a 1000 year collaborative effort beginning roughly 3500 years ago and coming to completion about 2500 years ago.

This collection of books known as the Old Testament, though written with no Christian influence, is essential to understanding the Christian New Testament, as its various authors across time and space all agreed and were waiting for God to bring heaven on earth through their lineage. The bold claim of the New Testament is that the entire Old Testament was fulfilled and this hope was finally accomplished through Jesus of Nazareth.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

The New Testament (NT) was composed by the followers of Jesus in the 1st century AD. The NT includes 4 different biographical accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus. These accounts are written from the perspective of four of Jesus’s closest friends and ministry partners. These biographies are narratives about real events, teachings, and relationships in the life of Jesus. Much of these biographical accounts are centered around the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. These authors cite eyewitnesses and trusted sources for their first century readers to fact check their shocking claims. In addition to factual narratives, many of Jesus’s teachings are in the form of parables, which are metaphorical puzzles designed to prompt meditation and consideration from the hearer. These books were all written between AD 40 and AD 95.

One of these 4 accounts, the Gospel according to Luke, has a sequel titled, “The Acts of the Apostles”. This book outlines the formation and work of the early church directly following the resurrection of Jesus, onward.

Much of the rest of the NT is a compilation of letters written from various church fathers to the churches they had been forming around the Mediterranean. These letters were full of teachings, admonishments, personal greetings, and laments for hardship. These so-called “epistles” were extremely personal, emotional, and specific letters to specific people. The last and youngest book in the NT, written around AD 95, is a book of prophecy regarding the promised return of Jesus and finalization of the redemption of the world.

The entirety of the NT was written over the course of about 50 years in the first century following the death and resurrection of Jesus.

HOW DOES THE OLD TESTAMENT RELATE TO THE NEW?

All in all, the OT tells a cohesive story about the perfect creation of the world, humanity’s fall into corruption, God’s promise to deliver humanity from its corruption, by establishing the kingdom of heaven through the Hebrew people. Every author shares a hope in the promises of God and writes with the belief that he will accomplish what he said. Every narrative story in the OT details failure after failure, reinforcing humanity’s need for a wise and righteous leader who can bring the kingdom. The 613 laws of Israel are designed to act as a litmus test for such a leader, but it’s exceedingly high standard only proves that no one is fit for the job. The OT hammers home humanity’s dire need for a savior; every leader of Israel is characterized as a hopeful candidate for this savior, but ultimately fails to satisfy the law, becoming a massive let down. 

The cycle of the OT is that of a hope for some righteous leader to rise to the occasion and establish the kingdom of heaven, followed by constant let downs when that person is shown to be just as weak and corrupt as everyone else. The OT ends on a somber note as candidate after candidate fall short of the standard of savior and seemingly no one is qualified for the job. The theme of the OT is a hopeful waiting on God’s promise to end corruption and death in the face of constant doubts and let downs. The readers are left feeling a great tension between God’s promised restoration and the current state of reality. But the heroes of the OT are not those who come closest to fulfilling the law, but those who, despite their failures, never gave up hope in God’s promises, even in the most dire of circumstances.

Much of the NT is written by Jewish authors who were steeped in the teachings of the Torah. They saw Jesus as the fulfillment of the entire OT and wrote accordingly, constantly citing OT prophecy, using OT imagery, and speaking about Jesus’s life and work as a mirror and consummation of Jewish history. It was the conviction of the NT authors that Jesus was the savior that God promised to bring, the one who fulfilled the law perfectly and led the way to the kingdom of heaven.

A visual representation of the 63,779 cross references made between books in the bible, showing the drastic interconnectedness of scripture.

These authors believed that Jesus came to fulfill God’s promised salvation, but with a surprise twist: not to establish heaven on earth, but to bring earth up to heaven. Jesus understood the OT better than anyone and he knew that everything on earth, no matter how good and pure, will ultimately be corrupted and destroyed. Jesus saw the need, not for a temporary kingdom here, but for a new, uncorrupted mode of existence. The NT authors believed that Jesus came, not to simply free Israel from oppression from foreign empires, but to free humanity from the oppression of suffering and death. He came to lead the way through death into resurrection life. They saw Jesus’s death and resurrection as the exact means by which all of humanity can be freed from the oppression of death and enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus entered death and defeated it by raising himself up from death. His promise is that anyone who follows him will also be raised from death. He promises his followers that they will conquer death with him, that death will not have the last word for them. 

In light of this, he commands his followers to live with radical generosity toward one another, trusting in the abundant love and generosity of God. Only in a world where death is not a threat can we live truly generously toward one another. Jesus, in all of his teachings, puts forth a vision for communities characterized by generous love and self sacrifice. In this way, by bringing his followers into the kingdom of heaven, does the kingdom of heaven actually come on earth.

conclusion

If all this sounds fanciful, let me ask you to pause for a moment and consider that this text is one of the most studied in history. It has undergone centuries of critique and there is a real reason so many billions of people have considered it to be the truth. This book can handle your questions and critiques, so don’t let your concerns go unsearched. Whatever your opinions on the person of Jesus, what remains remarkable is the coherence between the 40 authors of the 66 books over 2000 years, the authors, all making identical claims about the nature, character, and promises of God. The beautifully cohesive story of God’s love for his people transcends time and culture in this compilation of books. It is the full and complete timeline of redemption from beginning to end and it has been the solid foundation for much of the western worldview for the last 2000 years. 

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW IS THE BIBLE DATED?

The strategy for dating biblical texts is the same strategy used for all ancient documents, achieved through a combination of textual analysis, historical context, linguistic studies, and, where possible, radiocarbon dating of manuscripts. For example, the Documentary Hypothesis suggests that the Pentateuch (the first five books) is a compilation of sources from different periods, identified through variations in language and style.

HOW RELIABLE ARE BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS?

The reliability of biblical manuscripts depends on textual transmission, manuscript evidence, and scholarly analysis. The Bible has been preserved remarkably well compared to other ancient texts. The Old Testament is supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (dating from 3rd century BCE to 1st century CE), which confirm the accuracy of later Hebrew texts. The New Testament has over 5,800 Greek manuscripts, some dating to within 100 years of the originals (e.g., Papyrus P52, ~125 CE). While variations exist, most are minor (spelling, word order) and do not alter core doctrines. Scholars use textual criticism to reconstruct the most accurate version.

WHAT ARE THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS?

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of Jewish texts discovered in the Qumran caves near the Dead Sea (1947–1956). Dating from c. 250 BCE – 70 CE, they include portions of every Old Testament book except Esther, plus apocryphal works and sectarian writings. The scrolls confirm the accuracy of later Hebrew Bible texts and offer insights into Second Temple Judaism. Notably, the Great Isaiah Scroll (c. 125 BCE) aligns perfectly with the Masoretic Text (c. 10th century CE), proving textual stability over a millennium.

DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD?

There are over 25,000 individual original manuscripts which attest to the resurrection of Jesus. For comparison, there are only 250 original manuscripts which attest to the life of Julius Caesar. The manuscripts of Jesus’s resurrection represent over a half dozen languages all within the first couple of centuries after Jesus’s death.

The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection primarily comes from early textual sources within the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, written by Paul around 50–55 CE, contains an early Christian creed stating that Jesus died, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to Peter, the Twelve, over 500 people, James, and Paul himself. This creed is widely recognized by scholars as originating within a few years of Jesus’ death, indicating that belief in the resurrection was not a later invention. The Gospels (Mark 16, Matthew 28, Luke 24, John 20-21) independently report the empty tomb, a detail unlikely to be fabricated, especially since women—whose testimony was considered unreliable in that culture—were the first witnesses. Additionally, skeptics-turned-believers, such as Paul (Acts 9, Galatians 1:11-24) and James (Mark 6:3, Acts 15), claimed to have seen the risen Jesus, leading to their radical transformation. The rapid growth of Christianity, despite persecution (Acts 4-5), further supports the sincerity of early believers' conviction that Jesus rose from the dead.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil

In Christian and Jewish tradition, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and humanity’s relationship to it, is of central importance in understanding the current state of humanity and the world. This symbol is part of an ancient narrative that humans have used for millennia to understand their place in the universe and their relationship to their creator. 

THE GARDEN NARRATIVE

Both Jewish and Christian religious traditions begin their holy texts with the same narrative of the first humans (Adam and Eve) living in a lush garden, in relationship with the creative force behind all reality. This creative force is personal, and humanity was designed to be in personal relationship with it. This garden is characterised as a place where heaven and earth overlap, where humanity’s needs are abundantly met by their creator, and where they are tasked to rule side by side with the creator, over all of creation. The image that is painted for the reader is one of friendship between God and mankind. The centrepiece of this narrative is a proverbial choice that the creator gives Adam and Eve. The creator fills the garden with all manner of fruit trees and places the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil at the centre. The two rulers are encouraged to eat from all the various trees of the garden except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If they do, the creator says, it will kill them.

In a strange turn, Adam and Eve are met by a wise serpent who tells them that their creator is lying to them. The tree won't kill them, it will actually give them godlike capabilities to rule over creation. With the promise of the fulfilment of their purpose, the two are enticed by the words of the serpent and they eat from the tree.

You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil. - Gen 3:4-5

Immediately the two feel ashamed and hide from one another. Shortly thereafter, they are visited by the creator but instead of meeting their friend, they hide from God as well. We see the immediate impact of this choice is disconnection from one another followed by disconnection from God.

In the following scene, the creator finds them and reminds them of his promise that the tree will cause them to be cut off from life and follows through with the promise. Adam and Eve are separated from their creator and forced to live outside of the garden. Life is hard outside of the garden, there is pain, scarcity, broken relationships, and death. This is the world we all live in and know quite well. But, before Adam and Eve are banished from the garden, the creator promises that he will bring humanity back, that he will personally ensure their safe return to paradise, to a relationship with him, where they will have perfect provision. 

This narrative is the setup for the rest of the christian bible, which tells the story of God’s plan to restore humanity to relationship with himself in the garden. But for millennia, this prologue has left readers with questions: Why couldn’t they eat from that tree? Why did God put the tree there in the first place? Why did God kick them out of the garden? We could go on, but we’ll focus on these three for now. 

WHAT IS THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE?

IS THE FRUIT A METAPHOR?

So, why is it a big deal that Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? To understand this, we need to understand that the tree represents a choice for the humans. Remember, God has created them to live with him and rule over creation with him. But the humans were fresh off the cosmic printing press and needed to learn how to be proper rulers. According to the narrative, God’s plan was to teach them, directly, how to rule through their relationship with him. They were to learn from God, personally, how to discern good and evil and how to rule properly. In other words, friendship with God is the channel by which humanity is designed to live, learn, and work out its purpose. The tree of knowing good and evil represents the alternative to this method of learning, the humans could try to get the wisdom they needed apart from God. They could try to discern right and wrong, good and evil on their own. The failure of Adam and Eve in the garden represents humanity’s choice to seek independence from God (whom they were designed to depend upon). 

WHY DID GOD PUT THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE GARDEN?

You may ask, Why did God allow such an alternative in the first place? Why did he make the tree so accessible? Why create it at all? Well, remember, the tree is a representative symbol of humanity’s rejection of God. As long as humans have free will, the option to reject God is always present, just like the tree was always present in the Garden. We are all constantly faced with a choice, to take from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong, or to trust that God loves us and choose to obey him instead.

WHY PUNISH THEM?

Okay, so the tree is logically necessary, but why does God punish Adam and Eve for choosing to be independent from him? He gave them free will and they chose independence. Isn't it rather tyrannical and unloving to punish that choice? Well, many ancient traditions imagine that God is life. This means that humanity’s choice to reject God is a choice to reject life, it is a choice to embrace death. The consequence of their actions is not some childish tantrum from God, it is the logical end of their choice. Seeking to live independent of the source of life is an oxymoron. It’s like a laptop seeking independence from the power cord. As long as we remain unplugged, energy is scarce, life is short, things are more difficult, and we are anxiously searching for something that will give us a bit of the life we so desperately need. However, nothing but the outlet will do.

Furthermore, the narrative offers us a clue as to God’s posture in his decision to exile Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:22-23 tells us that God banished them to keep them from taking from the tree of life. Why would God want to stop them from taking from the tree of life? He says that if the humans took from the tree of life they would live forever. This almost makes it sound like God is afraid… Is God actually worried that the humans will threaten him as a rival?

“Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden” - Gen 3:22-23

Certainly not. God is all powerful and nothing can truly threaten him. But he is worried. He is worried that his beloved creatures, who are now corrupted with sin, will take from the tree of life and live forever in a state of eternal corruption. This eternal corruption is the worst possible reality for the humans, this is hell. It is a merciful act of love that God exiled Adam and Eve while they remained corrupt. But the same love that drove him to exile them is also driving him to restore them. God has already promised that he will heal them from their corrupt state. He insists that they eat from the tree of life and he will get them there. So, the humans remain exiled, outside of the garden, in a corrupt state for now. The rest of the bible is the story of how God executes his divine rescue mission and brings the humans back into the garden where they can finally eat from the tree of life and live in eternal wholeness.

HOW DO WE GET BACK?

We are all living outside of the Garden. We have all unplugged ourselves from life by choosing to be independent from God, the source of life. We are all in exile. We have done this for various reasons, but ultimately, it is because we do not trust God to adequately care for us and we suppose that we can do a better job caring for ourselves. We are in a strange situation, in need of life, constantly searching for it, but unwilling to approach and receive from the only one who can give it, God. We have chosen exile because we do not trust God. God has chosen our exile because he loves us, but it is that same love which drives his desire to restore us. All the pain and sorrow of life outside of the garden is temporary, if only we will come and eat from the tree of life.

The tree of life gives eternal life to all who eat of its fruit. This is why God did not want corrupted humanity to eat of it until they were restored. Jesus himself claims to be this tree of life. In John 11 says “I am the resurrection and the life, anyone who believes in me will live even though they die”. Later in John 15 he claims to be “the vine” which gives life to all its tendrils. In John 17, he prays to the father, “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus christ whom you have sent”. Jesus is the tree of life: To know him is to have eternal life.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME?

God has accomplished his promised restoration from Genesis 3 in the person and work of Jesus. He has plugged us all back into the outlet and will switch on the power for anyone that wants it. It costs nothing, it is a free gift, you must only receive it. The author of Hebrews says that anyone who wants to receive life from God must only believe that he exists and that he gives life to those who seek him. Eternal life IS relationship with Jesus, the tree of life. God does not force anyone to be with him, but he eagerly welcomes anyone and everyone who wants to be with him. God also does not ask you to pull yourself together and obey him, he only asks you to give him the opportunity to prove his love for you. You are now faced with the same choice as Adam and Eve: Will you turn toward your creator, looking to him to care for you, or will you take from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, trying to take care of yourself whilst unplugged from the source of life? The former is necessary, the latter is impossible. God wants to prove his love for you, will you turn toward him and receive it? 

FURTHER READING

For further reading, check out the full Garden narrative in Genesis Chapters 1-3. You can also read about the life, work, and teachings of Jesus in the following books: The good news of Jesus according to Matthew, The good news of Jesus according to Mark, The good news of Jesus according to Luke, The good news of Jesus according to John. Each of these biographies provides a unique perspective on Jesus’s life. Below is linked a playlist of summary videos for all 4 biographical accounts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tree did Adam eat from?

Adam ate from the tree of knowledge, following behind Eve, who was tempted by the snake. It may be easy to suggest that Adam was tricked by Eve, just as Eve was tricked by the serpent, but the narrative makes it clear that Adam was right there with her when she was speaking to the serpent. Meaning he overheard every word and went along with it, making him fully culpable for the entrance of sin into the world.

Is the tree of life and tree of knowledge the same?

The tree of life and the tree of knowledge are two different trees that represent two different ways of life. The tree of life represents relationship with God, where you learn from him, depend on him, and receive all manner of provision from him. The tree of knowledge represents the choice to try to learn apart from God, attempting to meet your own needs in a manner that suits your fancy. This is portrayed, in the bible, as a choice between life and death. Humans are not fully capable of meeting their own need apart from God because we were designed by God to depend on him. Meaning that life comes through dependence on God and separation from God is death.

What do trees symbolise in the bible?

Trees are a very common narrative theme in the bible. In order to understand why, we have to consider the context in which much of the bible was written: the arid, hot, desert of the ancient near-east. Trees were a source of shade, fruit, and life. What is interesting is that trees in the bible most notably symbolise people. Trees and Humans are often described with the same language and humans in the bible are often portrayed as trees of life or trees of testing (the tree of knowledge).

Who are the guardians of the tree of life?

At the end of the garden narrative, God exiles the humans and sets up to mighty angels to guard the way to the tree of life. These angels exist to protect humanity from taking from the tree of life in their corrupted state. They also represent the sharp divide that has been formed between heaven and earth. But the tree was not destroyed, it was guarded until the time when humans were to be restored and invited back in. That time came 2000 years ago when Jesus bridged the gap between humans and God, now everyone is invited back into the garden to take from the tree of life.

Does the tree of knowledge still exist?

The tree of knowledge does still exist as a choice facing all people at all times. The choice is this: Will you seek to carve out your own way in the world, defining good and evil on your own terms, or will you look to your creator who loves you and had promised to provide perfectly for you? The reality is that we don’t have the ability to judge rightly between good and evil. There is a lot of grey in the world and we don’t handle that grey very well. This makes doing the right thing and getting what we need very difficult. But for anyone that wants it, God has promised to provide for them in every way. In the book of Matthew, Jesus says: “God works all things together for the good of those who love him”

Where is the garden of Eden located today?

The garden of Eden was a place where heaven and earth overlapped, it was a place where God communed with his people and taught them wisdom. In Genesis 2, the garden was described as being between the Tigris, Euphrates, Pishon rivers. This correlates to somewhere north east of Egypt and Since the fall, heaven and earth have been separate places. But since the death and resurrection of Jesus, the pathway to heaven has been opened back up for anyone that wants to enter in. Specifically, Jesus promised to give his spirit to anyone that follows him. That means that heaven and earth overlap in the hearts of Jesus’s followers. So Eden has been restored within the heart of every believer, and the bible talks about the New Eden which will come when all things have been restored and the curse of sin has been completely undone.

Where is the tree of life now? Is Jesus called the tree of Life?

The tree of life is equally ubiquitous, it is the choice to be with God and learn from him. You may wonder, how does one “be with God”? Well, Jesus himself claimed to be God and is described by the Apostle Paul as “The fullness of God dwelling bodily”. Jesus came to bring God down to us. We can be with God, we can know God, we can learn from God by being with Jesus, knowing Jesus, learning from Jesus. Jesus has become to us the tree of life and anyone who takes from it will have eternal life.

IN MCR AS IN HVN

In Manchester as in Heaven

In Manchester as in heaven is a prayer of hope. It’s asking God to have this world reflect something better.

It can also be a cry of pain, as we have yet to experience this world as it ought to be. We all bear the scars from living in a world that is far from perfect.

Saying “in Manchester as in heaven” is also a protest. It means taking a stand against all that seeks to destroy us and our world, pushing back everything that stops us from being humans fully alive.

When Jesus taught us to pray, one of the lines he told us was to ask our Father to work “on earth as in heaven.”  God is building a family here on earth, one that reflects a new way to be human and flourish in this world, one that aches and yearns and sometimes even cries out to say, “in Manchester as in heaven.” Even in the midst of pain, though, this family is hopeful as it looks to the King to set things right.

If you’d like to learn more about what it means to experience this for yourself and live it out, why not learn more and join us on a Sunday morning?