so He sacrificed Himself to give the spirit of
life. He perished in body so as to quicken others by the spirit.

The second meaning of sacrifice is this: Christ was like a seed, and this
seed sacrificed its own form so that the tree might grow and develop.
Although the form of the seed was destroyed, its reality became apparent
in perfect majesty and beauty in the form of a tree.

The position of Christ was that of absolute perfection; He made His divine
perfections shine like the sun upon all believing souls, and the bounties
of the light shone and radiated in the reality of men. This is why He
says: "I am the bread which descended from heaven; whosoever shall eat of
this bread will not die"(101)--that is to say, that whosoever shall partake
of this divine food will attain unto eternal life: that is, every one who
partakes of this bounty and receives these perfections will find eternal
life, will obtain preexistent favors, will be freed from the darkness of
error, and will be illuminated by the light of His guidance.

The form of the seed was sacrificed for the tree, but its perfections,
because of this sacrifice, became evident and apparent--the tree, the
branches, the leaves and the blossoms being concealed in the seed. When
the form of the seed was sacrificed, its perfections appeared in the
perfect form of leaves, blossoms and fruits.

30: ADAM AND EVE

Question.--What is the truth of the story of Adam, and His eating of the
fruit of the tree?

Answer.--In the Bible it is written that God put Adam in the garden of
Eden, to cultivate and take care of it, and said to Him: "Eat of every
tree of the garden except the tree of good and evil, for if You eat of
that, You will die."(102) Then it is said that God caused Adam to sleep,
and He took one of His ribs and created woman in order that she might be
His companion. After that it is said the serpent induced the woman to eat
of the tree, saying: "God has forbidden you to eat of the tree in order
that your eyes may not be opened, and that you may not know good from
evil."(103) Then Eve ate from the tree and gave unto Adam, Who also ate;
their eyes were opened, they found themselves naked, and they hid their
bodies with leaves. In consequence of this act they received the
reproaches of God. God said to Adam: "Hast Thou eaten of the forbidden
tree?" Adam answered: "Eve tempted Me, and I did eat." God then reproved
Eve; Eve said: "The serpent tempted me, and I d