Why was it wrong for Adam and Eve to know good and evil (Genesis 3:22)?

Answer

In Genesis 3:22, God says, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.” Knowledge itself is not wrong (see Luke 2:52), so what was so bad about man “knowing good and evil”?

It is crucial to understand the context of God’s statement. God had already instructed Adam not to eat from that tree. Adam was already aware that doing so was wrong, and he knew the consequences, yet he chose to join Eve in eating the fruit. When they ate, they were not merely aware of evil; they experienced evil to the extent that they became evil—sinners by nature.

Man knew what was good: he was created in goodness and was surrounded by it «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). He had been given everything God wanted him to have, including authority over all the rest of God’s creation. Adam had everything he needed for a fulfilling life. He did not need to “know” evil, especially when the only way for him to “know” it was to experience it. It should have been enough that God had warned Adam against disobedience. God did not want Adam and Eve to “know” evil in the sense of participating in it. The sin of Adam and Eve was not in attaining knowledge but in rejecting God’s will in favor of their own.

Because of their sin, Adam and Eve faced dire consequences. First, Eve was told, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” «Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. », (Genesis 3:17).

Third, for both Adam and Eve, “You are dust, and to dust you will return” «in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. », (Genesis 3:19). They had been told they would “die” if they ate from the tree «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). This consequence did not happen immediately, but Adam and Eve did both physically die, a pattern followed by all other humans.

Fourth, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden: “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken” «therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. », (Genesis 3:23).

Adam and Eve began life in ideal conditions: an idyllic garden, plentiful food, a harmonious relationship with one another, and close fellowship with God. Due to sin, they lost their garden, were required to work to produce food, experienced interpersonal conflicts, and damaged their fellowship with God. These c

Consequences of Adam’s sin still affect us today.

The apostle Paul spoke about the last Adam (Jesus) who came to restore our broken relationship with God «And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. », (1 Corinthians 15:45). Paul also noted, “Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man” «For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. », (1 Corinthians 15:21). Adam was responsible for sin’s entrance into humanity. Jesus Christ was responsible for providing the way for resurrection. After sin entered humanity, Jesus became the perfect substitute to allow every person the opportunity to believe and receive eternal life «For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. », (John 3:16).