What is the purpose of the tree of life?

It was the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil that Adam and Eve partook of. The Tree of Life was removed to prevent Adam and Eve from eating it and live forever. Read the Genesis account. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was created by God. That was the only tree that Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from. They were not forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life. If they had chosen the Tree of Life, mankind would to this day live forever. Due to human nature when we are forbidden something sometimes it's hard to walk away from the forbidden. God created the serpent to test man using the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Everyone to this day has the free choice of following good or following evil.

All Human are loved by God. We are afterall created in the image and likeness of God. We were made to rule over the world, right? God bestowed that to the children(us) he created; We were given free will along side that, meaning we are to decide for ourselves and we are given that power to do what we will. Even angels were not given the chance! They only follow God, and his orders. The tree of knowledge was created and it sure has a purpose. I believe all trees created then have purpose and we are to know them in time - maybe if adam and eve waited for God to tell them it is time to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, then we would not have fallen. I remember in one of the class we took in college; it was discussed that the serpent was the devil himself, a fallen angel who Got envied with God - and his creations (us) that why we were given such power and why God loved us so... and so he revolted against God and has vowed to always come to the people God loved so much and try to steal them from him... That is why there was the serpent that tempted Eve... but due to the will that we have, she succumbed to the temptation and the rest is history!

i think it's the second suggested reason. to test man's obedience to God AND to give a reason for Jesus to come and save us and have us "evolve" into the fullness of man: the likeness of Christ. :) Just my two cents'. :)

I would have to say it was created as a test of man's obedience to his maker, and as you see we fell short. It is in human nature to not obey authority nor listen to our parents or elders, a legacy from that time.

i think there was a purpose why god put it on the center of the paradise. all gods creations have purpose in life. your right about the thing about to test mans obedience in god.