The Fall (Part 1)

Webster’s defines sin as an act considered to be a transgression against divine law. While this is true, it doesn’t even scratch the surface of just what exactly sin is and what is does to us and our relationship with God. If we are truly going to look at the nature of sin the best place to look is where sin started, in the story of Adam and Eve. In this story while Eve was in the garden, the serpent (Satan), came to her and asked her, “Did God REALLY say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?’ Eve responds, “We may eat 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 surely die.’  Then Satan does something here that would change the course of history forever - Satan tells Eve, “You will certainly not die.  For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then the bible states 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.

In this couple sentence conversation the Serpent was able to so manipulate Eve’s perception of God  that she would desire something OUTSIDE of God’s goodness. The tree of life now had an appeal that was never there before because suddenly there seemed to be a choice – obey God or eat from it. As soon as Eve desired the fruit she had fallen victim to the scheme Satan continues to dangle over us today – that somehow something APART from God is better.

At that moment when direct disobedience of God occurred, sin entered into our nature. Satan was true in one way, man would from that point forward be able to know both good and evil. It says in the bible that God created us in his image and that image was perfection. Once sin entered into our existence our very nature changed. Sin was now a destroying force that would stay with humanity, destroying us from maintaining the image of God.

It states in Genesis 3:7 that when they ate from the tree their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then when they heard God come walking in the garden they hid.  And when God approached he called out to them, asking where they were. Then Adam says something that gives what happened away, he states I heard you coming, I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. God then asks, ‘Who told you you were naked?’ God knew that if man could feel shame and fear that he’d come upon knowledge that God never wanted for us.

When God finds out what has happened he curses the serpent but he also tells Adam and Eve how the sin that has now entered the world will corrupt it – the ground with wither, growing thorns, there will be pain, war, toil, and death. It is this way because sin has become a cancer of the world. Then God removes Adam and Eve from the perfection of the garden and the knowledge of the tree of life, guarding them against it. What sin did is it separated us from God, it kept us from being in his likeness. That’s what sin is a constant destroyer of our ability to be who God wanted us to be, never allowing us to be the qualified to be in God’s 

perfection.

In this dark hour, creation changed as did our relationship with God and our purpose on this Earth. But God’s righteousness is too big to be defeated, he love for us is too strong, and his plans are too perfect. Even through sin has now entered creation God creates something that will once again unify us with him, something so perfect and so good that nothing will keep him from being victorious. Come back for part 2 to see how God turns our death into an amazing victory!