GOD'S PLAN
The Fall of Man
Genesis 3 describes the fall of humanity. However, the story starts in Genesis 2:17, in which God says, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” At this time, Adam and Eve had not sinned and were perfect.
Why did God say that? In our discussion on Free Will and Sin, we cover why humanity was given the opportunity to sin and provided an alternative to God. Starting in Genesis 2:17, and continuing in all of Genesis 3, we see God’s plan unfolding.
God put Satan in the Garden to give humanity an alternative to God. It was up to us to choose God. God started the entire discussion with clear instructions. He was not trying to trick us into sinning. God did not want us to sin. God to this day, does not want us to sin.
Yes, God is all powerful and capable of making us not sin, but that is not in His image. No, God’s image is not sinful, but it is all powerful. We have the option to think we can also be all powerful. We must learn that we are made in the image of God yet subject to God. We are His creation and not the creator. We are subject to the creator, yet mad in His image as all powerful. We must learn that we are powerful, but not equal to or above God. We have power over all other life in this creation, but not over our creator. That is how we are made in His image. He gave us power over all other life. God has power over us.
With that understanding, let us investigate the original sin.
The Original Sin
In Genesis 3:1(KJV), the evil one is introduced as the serpent. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Here Satan, speaking to Eve, is questioning what God has said.
In Genesis 3:2-3 (KJV), Eve responds with the facts of the matter. “And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.‘ “
Then Satan introduces doubt through deception. (Gen 3:4-5 KJV) “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
It is in Genesis 3:6 (KJV) where our world becomes a world of sin and death. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. “
Satan has made the claim that we humans can be like God. Satan has also claimed that God is a liar by saying “Ye shall surely not die”, after God said they would.
Satan tried to become like God and got cast out of Heaven. It was his pride that caused his fall. Now Satan knows his days are numbered and he has every desire to disrupt God’s plan. Satan knows that God has a plan to have a certain number of people accept God and become saved. His strategy now is to keep as many people from God as he can, to slow down or prevent people from accepting God.
In Genesis 3, Satan is now telling Eve that she can do what Satan has already learned God will not allow. He is getting Eve and through her, Adam, to also fall. Satan offered an alternative to God, which is to become like God and not to trust God.
It wasn’t difficult to get them to turn away from God. It was Eve that Satan convinced to turn away from God. Adam wasn’t present at the moment. Adam came around at some point later and Eve talked him into trying it.
They both wondered if it were possible to be like God. They believed that God was not telling them the truth and Satan was. Why would they think that? God has created them and provided everything they need. Satan has provided them nothing. Yet, they chose to believe Satan and not God. Why?
This goes back to what we covered in Free Will and Sin. Being created in God’s image, we have a natural desire to be over all things, as God is. Hence, the original sin.
Now let us look at what this original sin means to us.
In Romans 5:18-19 (KJV) it says, “Therefore as by the offence of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
This scripture let’s us know that sin entered the world and affects all people by the actions of Adam. We know that it was Eve that was deceived, so why is Adam getting the blame? First off, Adam wasn’t the one being deceived by the serpent, he listened to Eve and decided to believe that he could be like God and God was a liar. He chose to turn away from God without Satan’s help.
Marriage
There is another reason why Adam get’s the blame, marriage. This may not match up with modern cultural norms, but it is what the Bible says. According to the Word of God, woman came from man and through their marriage they became one flesh. In Genesis 2:24 (KJV) it says, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Through marriage, man and woman become one. This applies to all aspects of life. In 1 Corinthians 7:14 (KJV), it says “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” They are one in spirit as well as body. The salvation of one covers both.
In Genesis 3:16 (KJV), it says, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” The wife is subject to the husband and in this case, Adam is the head of the family.
To drive the point home, read Ephesians 5:23 (KJV), which says, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” We can see that marriage between a man and a woman is a shadow of the relationship God desires to have with us.
God saw Adam as the head of the family and attributed the sin to them both, through Adam. Even though Eve is the one who was first deceived, Adam is responsible for the union. Adam also joined Eve in the sin. It is only conjecture, but perhaps Eve’s sin put Adam in a precarious position.
When Eve told Adam what happened, or at least made the suggestion that they could be like God, he had to ponder the decision. He knew what God told them about dying if they do eat of the tree of life. Did he question her? Had she already eaten of the fruit of the tree? We do not know. Was Adam wondering if maybe she and the serpent were right? Was he thinking, well darn, my wife has just sinned against God, so I’m in trouble now, I might as well join her and see if she and the serpent are right? Or did he think, yeah, I can be like God? What we know is that the answer to that question didn’t matter. What does matter is that he did go along with what Eve opened the door to sin.
Marriage is an essential part in God’s Plan. The marriage between Adam and Eve is a shadow of things to come. It is required for a man and a woman to come together physically in order to biologically, or physically procreate. Man cannot reproduce without woman, nor woman without man. This is a symbol or shadow of the union we must have with God in order to have eternal life.
A marriage is the core of the family, which needs to stick together and help each other to grow into tribe and eventually nations. This shows the need to love one another, as Jesus said was the second most important commandment (see Mat 22:36-40).
Marriage is what eventually the church will be to Christ. We the church will be come the gentile bride of Jesus, as described in Revelation 19:7 (KJV) “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” And in Isaiah 62:5 (KJV), “For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” God sees the church as Jesus’ bride. That means we become one flesh with Jesus. That is how God can look at us and see His perfect Son.
Results of Original Sin
In Genesis 3:7 (KJV) it says, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” When their eyes were opened, they saw their shame, which is physically displayed as nakedness. They did not rise up to the level of God, as the serpent, Satan had promised. It was at this time that they realized what it meant to have the knowledge of good and evil. Before that, they did not know what evil was. This is Adam’s first taste of the results of sin.
Then God came into the Garden and asked where they were. Did God really not know? We see many times in scripture where God asks a question. God knows everything, so the asking of a question is not form a lack of knowledge, but as a test to His students.
In Genesis 3:8-9 (KJV), God says, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?”
In the next verse, Adam must face his creator, whom he had turned away from. In Genesis 3:10 (KJV) it says, “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself.” Here, Adam is now feeling shame and fear.
God continues questioning Adam. (Gen 3:11 KJV) “And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” God’s intent is to bring into the awareness of Adam and Eve what they have done. He is educating them.
{Gen 3:12 KJV} “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Adam blames Eve instead of taking responsibility for his actions.
{Gen 3:13 KJV} “And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” Eve recognizes the deception of Satan at this point and blames him. They both were trying to avoid responsibility. They have not yet learned what it means to be repentant.
{Gen 3:14-15 KJV} “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” God sets into motion changes as a result of the original sin. The serpent is cursed to crawl upon the ground on its belly. Did the serpent have legs before this happened? Although, this is a good question from a biological standpoint, the purpose of this being in the story is spiritual, not physical. Not only will the offspring of Adam and Eve dislike snakes, but their offspring will have ongoing battles with the powers of darkness from this point forward.
{Gen 3:16 KJV} “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” An outcome of the sin is that childbearing will be much more difficult and painful. From a spiritual standpoint, humanity will struggle to raise children in a spiritual way because of the presence of sin. Future generations will struggle.
{Gen 3:17 KJV} “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;” Humanity is now barred from the tree of life. Remember, it was the tree of knowledge they were previously barred from eating of or touching. Now that they chose to know good and evil, they lost the right to the tree of life. The earth will not produce abundant food for them to eat. They will have to work harder to maintain themselves. Prior, God setup the Garden of Eden to be plentiful and automatic. Now that they chose to do it on their own, they have to do it without God providing plentifully for them. Doesn’t this sound like what a parent would do to a bratty child who didn’t want to follow his father’s direction? The impression this gives is one in which God might be saying, “Fine, then do it on your own and see how hard it is. I’ll be right here waiting for you to come back to me and ask for forgiveness and help.” This is very much like the prodigal son parable taught by Jesus.
{Gen 3:18 KJV} “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” As God has said, if they eat of the tree of knowledge, they would surely die, so God reminds them of this severe consequence. Notice God did not strike them dead at the moment He confronted them about their sin. He could have, but He did not. God instead imposed a limited lifespan. Previously Adam and Eve could have lived eternally, because they had access to the tree of life. We will see in the next few verses how that is no longer the case. The reason for this is so that those who do sin do not go on forever in sin. The consequence of sin is death. God and sin do not mix. God is eternal life, sin is death because sin cannot be in the presence of God. Those who sin and are not redeemed through God’s Plan for redemption, have to spend eternity separated from God in the lake of fire.
This world is a reflection of the eternal heaven, a shadow of things to come. God provides eternal life, but sin cannot be with God. In the physical world, sin causes a separation from the eternal life God offers.
{Gen 3:20 KJV} “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” It may seem odd at first glance for this statement to be her, but it is so by design. It is at this point we see God is tying in the offspring of Adam and Eve to this original sin. This verse is wedged between the consequences of sin and the shadow of things to come regarding the way out of sin. We are all born into sin because it is through Adam and Eve that sin entered this world and we are all their offspring. As their children, we are as they are. We are now in a world that has been changed because of sin. We are in a world where the serpent, Satan is put in opposition to all the people of the world. We are all born into a world condemned of sin and we have to find our way out of it.
{Gen 3:21 KJV} “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” This may not seem like a very significant scripture at first glance, but it has profound implications. We saw in Genesis 3:7 they sewed fig leaves together to make aprons to cover their nakedness, which represents shame. In this verse God is showing them a better way and is already introducing the concept of redemption. Remember, at this point they are vegetarians. There was no eating of animals in the garden or even up until after the flood. They had no concept of killing animals, by God shed the blood of an innocent animal to make them coats of skin. It takes a sacrifice of innocent blood to cover your sins! This is the first shadow of the redemption to come.
{Gen 3:22 KJV} “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:” God is speaking amongst Himself as the trinity. This is a plural “us” in reference to the singular God. God never intended for man to be equal to or greater than Himself, but subject to Him. As such, the prideful thoughts that we can live without God means we have to live without Gods eternal life. Without God, we cannot live forever.
{Gen 3:23-24 KJV} “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” God set a Cherubim in place to guard the entrance to the garden and the tree of life. Angels are covered in a separate lesson. In which we discuss that cherubs are the highest form of angels. There are only 3 cherubim (plural of cherub) named in scripture. They are Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. God did not need to place cherubim in the entrance to the garden to keep out Adam and Eve and their offspring. Any angel could have done that. God did this to keep out Lucifer, so that he could also not live forever physically. Lucifer’s days are numbered, and he knows it.
Summary
Adam is responsible for the entry of sin into humanity, even though it was his bride’s sin that started it. Adam is a type of Christ in that he was responsible for his bride and it is through him that salvation will be made possible for all mankind. Jesus takes on the sin of those who accept Him, or the church, who becomes His gentile bride. Adam is a figure of what his offspring will eventually become.
In Genesis 3, we see the introduction of the two seeds that will oppose each other until the end of the Millennial Kingdom. The seed of Adam and Eve will eventually produce Christ. The seed of the serpent is Satan and his fallen angels and demons. God has enabled this opposition for a purpose. That purpose is to offer humanity an alternative to God. It is through the choice of mankind to love God and accept that we need God in order to have eternal life that true love is demonstrated.
God has just changed what is known as a “dispensation”, or God’s way of working with humanity. God created the world as a perfect place with no sin and no death. God walked with man directly and man could see His face because they were perfect. Now that sin has entered the world, everything changes. In this case, man now must face death and struggle in this life. God has enforced the consequences of the crime they committed. See the lesson on Understanding Dispensations for more information.
God also laid the groundwork for the redemption of mankind. That is covered in the next lesson, The Plan for Redemption.
