Ⅰ
In Revelation 2:7 the tree of life signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ, who today is in the church, the consummation of which will be the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment and enjoyment of all God's redeemed people for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14; cf. Exo. 15:25-26).
Ⅱ
The churches in Asia, including the church in Ephesus, had turned away from the apostle Paul's betrothing ministry (2 Tim. 1:15; 2 Cor. 11:2-3); thus, we see that approximately twenty-six years later, when the apostle John wrote the epistle to the church in Ephesus, they had left their first love and lost the genuine enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life (Rev. 2:4-5, 7):
A
The genuine ministry of the New Testament always stirs us up to love the Lord Jesus with the first love, strengthening us in the simplicity of eating and enjoying Christ as the tree of life for our life supply—2 Cor. 11:2-3; 3:3-6.
B
To love the Lord with the first love is to give Him the preeminence, the first place, in all things, being constrained by His love to regard and take Him as everything in our life—Rev. 2:4-5; Col. 1:18b; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Mark 12:30; Psa. 73:25-26.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 2:7 …To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.2 Cor. 11:2-3 For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts would be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ.
In the Bible the tree of life always signifies Christ as the embodiment of all the riches of God (Col. 2:9) for our food (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). In Revelation 2:7 it signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ, who today is in the church, the consummation of which will be the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment of all God’s redeemed people for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14). (Rev. 2:7, footnote 6)
Today’s Reading
Paul told the Corinthians that he was jealous over them with a jealousy of God. He went on to say that he had betrothed them to one husband in order to present [them as] a pure virgin to Christ… Paul’s word in 2 Corinthians 11:2…touches our heart in a deep way and stirs up our love for the Lord Jesus. Very often the life-study messages touch our hearts in the same way. After reading a few pages of a message, the tender feeling within you for the Lord Jesus is stirred up, and you realize afresh how dear and precious He is… Spontaneously you say, “O Lord Jesus, dear Bridegroom, I love You. Lord, thank You for Your word, for Your ministry, and for Your recovery.”… The genuine ministry stirs up our love for the Lord Jesus as our Bridegroom.We should say, “Our dear Lord Jesus is our unique Husband, and I am part of His virgin… I care only for the ministry that ministers Christ to me. He is the pleasant and dear One whom I love.”
The goal of the Lord’s recovery… is to recover Christ Himself as the unique Husband for us to love. We should belong only to Him. As long as we have been brought as a pure virgin to this Husband and love Him, appreciate Him, and belong to Him, we shall be preserved. This will keep us, sanctify us, saturate us, and transform us…We are for Him, and we should be attracted to Him, loving Him, appreciating Him, and treasuring Him.
In 11:3…the apostle Paul indicates that the teachings of the Judaizers can be compared to the deceitful word spoken by the serpent to Eve in Genesis 3… From reading Genesis 3 we know that the serpent distracted Eve from the enjoyment of the tree of life. The way he turned her away from the enjoyment of the tree of life was to point her to another tree, to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which issues in death.
God’s goal is life. This life, signified by the tree of life, is God Himself in Christ as the Spirit. The way of the enemy, Satan, the serpent, is to distract people from this life. He seeks to turn them to knowledge, good, and evil, the issue of which is death. Death is separation from the enjoyment of God. Satan seeks to separate us from the enjoyment of God as our life. For centuries the subtle serpent has been using teachings to keep God’s chosen people from enjoying Him as their life. For the most part, these teachings are related to knowledge, good, and evil. But such teachings result in separation from God. Any kind of teaching that causes your enjoyment of the Lord to cease is something of death, no matter how good that teaching seems to be. As long as someone’s teaching or preaching deprives us of the enjoyment of the Lord as our life supply, that teaching is of the serpent. However, the genuine ministry of the Lord always strengthens us in the enjoyment of Him as our life supply. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 462-465, 468, 470).
Further Reading: CWWL, 1986, vol. 1, “Elders’ Training, Book 7: One Accord for the Lord’s Move,” ch. 8; CWWL, 1972, vol. 1, “Eating the Lord,” chs. 1-2