III. THE FALL OF MAN

III. THE FALL OF MAN One of the most tragic days in the history of the world was when sin was introduced to humanity. Before that day, creation was approved when God “saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). God had prepared a beautiful garden and placed Adam and Eve as the sole human residents, who lived in harmonious community with God, nature, and each other. Satan entered the garden to tempt man to rebel against the stipulations given by God. Satan did not appear as a sinister character but as something with which both Adam and Eve were familiar, a serpent. Satan conversed with Eve, causing her to compromise her loyalty to God. He began by making God’s demands sound extreme and then seeking to show Eve how harmless it was to eat the fruit. When she ate and shared it with Adam, the evil purpose of Satan had been accomplished. Satan began by placing doubt in the woman’s mind concerning the word of God and then bringing her to the point of outright disobedience. When Eve began to entertain the thought that perhaps God was somewhat extreme, and perhaps He did not understand what was best for her, she opened the door of her mind to the lie of Satan. That moment of weakness resulted in the fall of all mankind, with all its consequences. The Westminster Catechism described the Utopia in Eden, which served as a backdrop where man fell in the first sin. How did God create man? After God had made all other creatures, he created male and female; formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable and immortal souls; made them after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it, with dominion over the creatures; yet subject to fall. What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? The providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created was the placing him in paradise, appointing him to dress it, giving him liberty to eat of the fruit of the earth; putting the creatures under his dominion, and ordaining marriage for his help; affording him communion with himself; instituting the Sabbath; entering into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death. Did man continue in that a state wherein God at first created him? Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God in eating the forbidden fruit; and thereby fell from the estate of innocency where they were created.9 It is difficult to discover a clear parallel to the unique position and sinless nature Adam and Eve enjoyed prior to their volitional act into sin. Adam and Eve, while enjoying direct communion with God, were limited in knowing what was God’s unfolding plan through the ages. They possessed no Scripture and knew nothing of redemption or the inevitable coarse their free will would lead. It is not correct to assume God withheld vital information from them, which might have prevented their fall, for what God had revealed to them was abundantly sufficient to allow them to exercise their will in accordance with God’s explicit demand. Much debate among biblical scholars has arisen in the struggle to resolve what is meant by “the image of God.” Sufficient for the moment, the phrase “the image of God” involves character likeness to God in the realm of reasoning, will, emotions, morality and spirituality. Under the study of anthropology, “the image of God” will be given greater attention. Scripture does not tell us how long Adam and Eve enjoyed the bliss of Eden. Perhaps it was only a brief period of time, possibly only several days. Support for a brief period comes from the command to Adam and Eve to replenish the earth. In order to keep in accordance with God’s will and not be guilty of disobedience, Adam should have begun the procreation process almost immediately. Obviously, Eve had not conceived before the Fall. Scripture clearly states that it was not until after the Fall that Eve eventually conceived and delivered her first child (Gen. 4:1). However, on the time issue one cannot be dogmatic, only speculative. In line with the nature of God’s law, man must honor his responsibility to his Creator. One prohibition was placed upon Adam and Eve, namely, to abstain from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. With so much good readily available to them, one seriously questions why Adam and Eve would choose to knowingly forfeit their surroundings for some thing or some knowledge they lacked. Perhaps their lack of trust in the knowledge God had given them (unbelief) was the prime motive for the Fall. The problem of evil will be studied in greater detail under an examination of the causes of man’s fall The prohibition placed upon Adam possessed greater significance than simply his ability to abstain from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam’s response to God’s command would demonstrate mankind’s response to the law and expectations the Creator placed upon His creatures. Also, Adam’s actions would affect not only himself, but all of mankind. Some have sought to place an unwarranted and unscriptural interpretation on the role of the Tree of Life. Some have suggested that the fruit contained a “magical” or innate element that ensured immortality. However, the Tree should not be understood to possess any inherent qualities; it served as an instrument to test the motives of Adam, to reveal if he could demonstrate his virtue through obedience. If Adam had obeyed, he would have lived. Buswell aptly described the role of the Tree: An eternal life of fellowship with God was symbolized by partaking of the fruit of the tree of life; but since sin has come into the world, such direct access to God is now unavailable. In its place there is the sacrificial system, pointing forward to the Way, which God will prepare for the attainment of this eternal life. Just as literally as the passover lamb was sacrificed, and the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs were eaten, just as literally as the manna was provided in the wilderness, so the tree of life before man fell had been “also in the midst of the garden” (Gen. 2:9). It is my suggestion that we should understand the tree of life in Genesis and in Revelation as something definitely analogous to the sacrificial system of the patriarchal age, the Levitical system instituted by Moses, and the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which we observe today. All of these are visible, tangible sacraments whereby faith in God is symbolized and fellowship with God realized.10 The term “knowledge of good and evil” should not be understood as cognitive knowledge, but as knowledge that seeks understanding in experience. Cognitive knowledge (reasoning) leads us