Original Righteousness and the Knowledge of Good and Evil

[Sam Jer]

Quest. 10. How did God create man?
Ans. 10. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.

(1) Gen. 1:26-28 KJV; Col. 3:10 KJV; Eph. 4:24 KJV.

~ Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q. 17. How did God create man?
A. After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female; formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man; endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls; made them after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, having the law of God written in their hearts and power to fulfill it, with dominion over the creatures; yet subject to fall.

Gen. 1:27 KJV; Gen. 2:7 KJV; Gen. 2:22 KJV; Gen. 2:7 KJV; Job 35:11 KJV; Ecc. 12:7 KJV; Matt. 10:28 KJV; Luke 23:43 KJV; Gen. 1:27 KJV; Col. 3:10 KJV; Eph. 4:24 KJV; Rom. 2:14-15 KJV; Ecc. 7:29 KJV; Gen. 1:28 KJV; Gen. 3:6 KJV; Ecc. 7:2 KJV.

~ Westminster Larger Catechism

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)

Given this doctrine,
How are we to understand the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? (Genesis 2:16-17 KJV, Genesis 3:4-5 KJV, Genesis 3:7 KJV, Genesis 3:22 KJV)

 

[RamistThomist]

Given this doctrine,
How are we to understand the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? (Genesis 2:16-17 KJV, Genesis 3:4-5 KJV, Genesis 3:7 KJV, Genesis 3:22 KJV)

What is your specific question as to how the two relate?

 

[Polanus1561]

Per Vos. Adam was to know evil by his resistance towards it.

 

[Sam Jer]

What is your specific question as to how the two relate?

What is it? What does it mean that Adam "knew good and evil" after eating the fruit (Genesis 3:22 KJV)?

 

[RamistThomist]

What is it? What does it mean that Adam "knew good and evil" after eating the fruit (Genesis 3:22 KJV)?

Several possible answers:
1) He now had an experiential knowledge of good and evil.
2) "Knowing good and evil" is often an idiom for kingly wisdom. God designed his people for kingship, but one of the dangers is seizing kingship too early.

 

[MW]

What is it? What does it mean that Adam "knew good and evil" after eating the fruit (Genesis 3:22 KJV)?

It is not as if the tree itself possessed this power. In itself it had the same qualities as every other tree. But once identified by God it would serve as a test for man. If man obeyed he would positively know the good as something he loved and evil as something he abhorred. This is the point earlier drawn out of Vos by Polanus. By disobeying he came to learn it to his hurt. The book of Proverbs is useful here for seeing the value of wisdom in cause and effect.