The Tree of Life as a Type of Christ

The tree of life is a type of Christ and His cross.

When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in the garden of Eden, where every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food was growing.

"Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."  (Gen 2:9).

As the Scripture says, among those trees were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The only one they were forbidden by God to eat from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when satan tempted Eve, she ate of it and gave some to her husband.

"Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" (Gen 3:22).

When Adam and Eve sinned, it brought death. For the wages of sin is death (Ro 6:23a). They would no longer be permitted to take from the tree of life and eat of it, lest they live forever in that fallen state.

"So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life." (Gen 3:24).

The Lord took a number of measures to ensure that man in his fallen state would not have access to the tree of life any longer. After He drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, He also stationed the cherubim with the flaming sword at the entrance to ensure they would not get back in.

We know that the garden of Eden is no longer on earth or we would have discovered it by now along with the tree of life. The garden of Eden is a type of Paradise, which is in heaven. The word Paradise means "garden" or "park." We recall the words of our Savior who said to the penitent thief on cross beside Him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Lk 23:43, NIV). Paradise is in the kingdom of heaven where Jesus and the Father reign.

And since Paradise is in heaven, that is also where we should look to find the tree of life. The apostle John was taken up to heaven and given a revelation of it. He wrote:

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." (Rev 22:1-2, NIV)

The Lord has promised the right to eat of the tree of life to those who overcome:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God." (Rev 2:7)

Likewise, He has promised the right to eat of the tree of life to those who wash their robes:

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city." (Rev 22:14)

Among the wonderful attributes of the tree of life, the Scripture says that if you eat of it you will live forever (Gen 3:22). The Bible also teaches us that whoever believes in Jesus will live forever, because "the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom 6:23, NIV).

There are many Scriptures that speak of His life-giving power, but here are just a few:

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."  (Joh 3:16)

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."  (Joh 6:40)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.  (Joh 6:47)

"Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me." (Joh 6:57, NIV)

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?" (Joh 11:25-26)

Jesus actually said that He is the Life! He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."  (Joh 14:6).

Peter succinctly made the connection between life and the tree (Greek, xulon, timber, tree), which was the cross upon which our Lord was crucified. He wrote: "He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that dying to sins, we might live to righteousness; by whose stripes you were healed." (1Pe 2:24)

The apostle John wrote: 

"What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us—" (1Jn 1:1-2)

"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life." (1Jn 5:11-12).

Jesus Christ not only died on the cross for you and me, but He is risen from the dead. He lives forever, never to die again. You either have the Son and have life or you don't have the Son and don't have life.

Closing Words

Since life is in the Son and He is the life, even the eternal life, then it is abundantly clear that the tree of life was a type of Christ pointing us to Him. It was His death upon the tree of Calvary, where He bore our sins on the cross, which made it possible for all who die to sins to live to righteousness in Him. The Bible tells us that eternal life is a free gift, but that in order to receive it you must accept it by repenting of your sins, believing in Jesus, and receiving forgiveness of your sins. Have you received His free gift of eternal life? Have you washed your robe in His blood? Only those who do so and endure to the end will have a right to eat of the tree of life in the Paradise of God (Mt 24:13; Rev 2:7; 22:14).

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image of Christ on the Tree of Life may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes only.

Author's note:  Also see Adam as a type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Black Hole as a Type, and The Mysteries of the Faith. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.