The Fall of Man

We have talked about the creation of man and how we are created in the image of God.  We would be remiss if we didn’t discuss the fall of man. We will spend more time looking at the reality of sin and what that means for us at a later time. Today, we are going to look at two important aspects of the fall of man.

            The first important aspect of the fall of man is the temptation itself. The burning question is why Satan chose to tempt Eve rather than Adam directly. Paul seems to weigh in on this question in his letter to Timothy. “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety.” (1 Timothy 2:11-15). We will dive into the complexities of this passage later, but Paul here shows the role of a man and a woman. It is the man’s responsibility to exercise headship and leadership over the woman. It was Adam’s responsibility to teach Eve God’s commands. Satan didn’t tempt Eve first because she was in some way more incompetent or vulnerable than Adam. Rather, Satan tempted Eve first to disrupt the divinely ordained authority pattern.

            Satan’s temptation tactics are not any different than how he tempts us today. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’  “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:1-6). The first thing that Satan does when talking to Eve is challenge God’s Word and then contradict it. Satan brings doubt into Eve’s mind by asking “did God really say?” He then substitutes lies for God’s Word. He tells Eve that she will not die, will gain further knowledge, and will achieve a new, greater status. Satan does the same with us today. He causes us to question scripture and then tells us lies to make us believe him. He often even misuses scripture to try to make himself sound even more convincing.

            The second important aspect of the fall of man is the punishment that followed. All three parties were punished in some way. The first punishment was on the serpent. It seems odd that snakes would be cursed because of Satan’s actions. However, this was a symbol of death for man’s benefit. Satan was cursed as well. God will maintain a remnant in opposition to Satan and his seed. This seed of woman will ultimately crush Satan. The fancy, theological term for this is protoevangelion. This was the first promise of a Messiah to come and save humanity. This is the first place that we see a glimmer of the gospel in scripture.

The second punishment was on the woman. The mandated responsibility was cursed. Childbearing was rendered painful. The relationship between man and woman was also cursed. “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16b) The wife rebels against submitting to the leadership of her husband. The way the husband responds to the rebellion is also tainted. This leads to the battle between men and women for leadership, especially in the home and church. This is why it is repeated throughout the New Testament how the Christian home and church ought to look.

Finally, the third punishment was on the man. Just as the woman’s mandated responsibility was cursed, so was man’s. Work became hard and toilsome. In the same way that relationships were cursed for the woman, men’s relationship was cursed as well.  However, it was his relationship with God. He was cursed with death. This death is separation from God. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19). He received physical death. He began aging that day. He received spiritual death. He could no longer be in the presence of God. This spiritual reality was symbolized by being expelled from Eden. He also received eternal death. Eating from the Tree of Life while fallen would have resulted in eternal death. Life can be enjoyed only in fellowship with God. We are able to only through the death and resurrection of Christ.

Mankind had turned their backs on God and rejected him. We now live in reality. We naturally want to be outside the presence of God and want to reject him. This place that we’re in leads nowhere except for eternal damnation in hell. Outside of God working, that is all that is possible. However, God is a loving God, not wanting any to perish, so he gave a solution to our condition. He sent his Son to die in our place so that we can spend eternity with him. If we acknowledge our need for a Savior, believe in him as our Lord and Savior, and then confess our sins to him, we will be saved. Because of God’s irresistible grace that he extends to us, we are able to do this. If you haven’t yet received Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you today to respond to this call and God’s irresistible grace and call upon the Lord to be saved.