The Knowledge of Good and Evil

I was asked a question: “Do you think Adam and Eve’s decisions to keep the commandments before perceiving  good and evil had the same value as after?” It’s an interesting question, but before it can be answered, we need to look at it more closely. Value is based on perception. In economic terms, the value of anything is based on its perceived worth. We don’t buy something for $500 that we believe is only worth $5. 

So the question is inherently complicated by my follow-on question: “Who evaluates the worth?” From one person’s perspective, there may be more value in obeying when we know what we’re giving up, when we perceive something good that we won’t get by following God’s commandments. 

In other words, we think we know what is good because we have decided it is good, and we can often label something “good” that is in reality a temporary and deceitful pleasure that is ultimately bad for us. For example, when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit they thought it would be good for them. In reality, it was an act of rebellion against God’s authority in order to become their own god.

“The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil." Genesis 3:4-5

The truth is, we may value one act of obedience over another because we don’t have God’s full understanding of what is at stake, and in our continued desire to live as if we are “god”, we see only a sacrifice at our expense over the good that comes from obeying the God who understands why something is truly good or evil. 

We may value it more, but objectively speaking the true valuation is made by God alone. Perhaps we value it more because we think there’s a greater sacrifice in obedience when denying ourselves a temporary pleasure without full consideration to the harm it poses to us. It’s the half-truth that tempts us, but focusing on the full truth should give us the motivation to obey God’s good and perfect desire for our good. 

So we need to answer the question from God’s perspective. Does He value Adam and Eve’s obedience the same after they ate from the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil? Man did not become something different by eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. There was no change in their agency or intelligence. Adam and Eve were free to obey or rebel against God. They weren’t forced to do one or the other. He gave them the ability to trust and obey Him which meant that they could also reject Him. He created all things, chose what was good and right, and He cautioned them to avoid the thing that would not be in their best interest. They chose to reject Him.

I can only imagine how God feels, knowing both their rejection, the pain it would cause them, and the pain that it inflicted on future generations as sin entered the world. Consider too how every act of disobedience since that original sin reflects Adam and Eve’s decision and has its own ripple effect that both re-emphasizes and reflects man’s rejection of God. Every. Single. Sin. We can accept Him, or we can reject Him. Every sin we commit rejects God again, and yet He still loves us.

So there was no difference in Adam and Eve’s ability to obey before or after their fateful decision, and there is nothing to suggest that the intelligence of Adam and Eve was changed by their knowledge. Knowledge is different from intelligence. By knowing something, we don’t become more intelligent. Intelligence is our capacity to understand. Knowledge is like a deposit into a bank, the size of which is determined by our intelligence. The intelligence of Adam and Eve wasn’t changed as they deposited this new knowledge into their limited understanding.

Man was made in God’s image, and we can reflect His image or we can distort it. Despite being made in His image, we are limited and He is infinite. He is all-knowing, all-powerful and fully-good. We can choose to trust and obey the One Who Knows All, or we can rely on our limited understanding. 

In the end, He doesn’t desire our obedience as an assertion of His dominance. Yes, He is God and deserves to treated as superior to us, but He as called us friends and made us family. He loves us and wants a relationship with us. We can obey out of love or out of fear, but He desires our love. 

So I believe from God’s perspective, obedience is valued regardless of our knowledge. It comes down to our trust in Him and our love for Him.

“The person who has my commandments and obeys them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him." John 14:21

From God’s perspective, obedience is valued as a demonstration of love. 

Jesus, help us trust and obey You as an act of love!

copyright ©2026 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)

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