How did the knowledge of good and evil make man like God (Genesis 3:22)?

Answer

Genesis 3:22 states, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” God is speaking in this verse. The question arises: how did knowing good and evil make man similar to God?

Adam and Eve already understood, intellectually, the distinction between good and evil because of God’s command not to eat the fruit of the tree. They knew it was right to eat from certain trees and wrong to eat from that specific tree. However, when they chose to disobey, they experienced evil firsthand by sinning against God. At that moment, they fully comprehended both right and wrong. God, who possesses all knowledge, already comprehended the essence of evil. When Adam and Eve lost their innocence, they, too, grasped the reality of evil due to its actual presence within them. They became “like God” in the sense that they now recognized the true nature of evil.

The serpent’s deception in the Garden contained a kernel of truth. Satan informed Eve, “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” «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). What the serpent omitted was that understanding evil would harm Adam and Eve’s relationship with God. Half-truths can be just as misleading as outright lies.

It was sufficient for humans to comprehend and experience goodness, and much goodness had been bestowed upon them «And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.», (Genesis 1:31). However, Adam and Eve desired more knowledge.People often underestimate the importance of wisdom and experience, to their own detriment. The introduction of sin into the world was a curse that resulted in a loss of fellowship with God and other judgments upon Adam and Eve. These judgments have impacted all of humanity (Genesis 3:16-19). Only at the end, when God establishes new heavens and a new earth, will this curse be lifted. Revelation 21:3–4 assures, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 22:3 further states, “And there shall be no more curse.”

The knowledge of good and evil did not bring positive outcomes for Adam and Eve; instead, it marked the entrance of sin into humanity. Presently, all individuals sin and fall short of God’s glory, as it is written, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and we all exist under the dual curse of sin and death, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25; cf. John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9).