Preface: This was written for my Theology Essentials I class when I was a student of Bible & Ministry and submitted March 19, 2001.
The Fall of Man
The fall of man is the descent from innocence to guilt after Eve, then Adam ate of the fruit in Genesis 3: 6, “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.”
There are different views concerning the validity of the fall that can be classified into three categories. First being that it is a legend and none of the facts are true. Second are those that believe it as truth, without accepting its historical worth. Thirdly, and more rationally, are those that take it to be a factual and historical truth. Being that the latter is what I agree with, I will use this to discuss the consequences of the fall. There are temporal and spiritual consequences in addition to two specific penalties resulting from the fall, and the reason that we needed Jesus to die on the cross.
There are two ramifications in addition to specific penalties to man . One being that all sin affects others. Eve’s sin to Adam and Adam’s sin to the entire race, even to us now, as without a doubt we are all born into sin as a result of the original sin. No one can sin privately, without having an effect on any single person as all that we do, or fail to do, will have some bearing with another person’s heart. The second penalty is that once committed, sin can never be undone. Forgiveness can occur, along with healing and fellowship to restore a person to who they were before, but the sin will always have happened. For example, the kingdom being taken away form Saul and his descendants in 1 Samuel 13:13-14, “Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: …But now thy kingdom shall not continue.” Also, Esau in Hebrews 12:16, “ Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance.”
There are more specific penalties incurred due to the fall in the temporal sense, or relating to time in the sense of being the opposite of eternity; plainly meaning our lack of an eternal and easy life. It starts when man is driven from paradise in Genesis 3:23, “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.” There were also penalties that were gender specific. Direct punishment for the man, was “…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;
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.” Punishment for the woman, “… he said, I [he] 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.” (Gen 3:16-19) The worst of all, though, being death, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”(1 Cor 15:21-22) and “… we have been planted together in the likeness of his death.” (Romans 6:5) None of these are pleasures in life, but would you rather have a physical penalty, or a spiritual one?
There are numerous spiritual consequences as a result of the original sin. Separation from God and “having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ;” (Eph 4:18-20) Being born in sin, or receiving the inherited sin, as “… in sin did my mother conceive me,” (Psa 51:5)
and thoughts of the heart that are evil, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matt 15:19). We are in bondage to sin as Romans 6:17 says, “… that ye were the servants of sin,” and to Satan, “…that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” (Heb 2:14b-15) Also, “being dead in your [our] sins” (Col 2:13), having “blindness of [in] their [our] heart” (Eph 4:18b) and depraved of all purity, as “…unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” (Titus 1:15). Lastly, we must know that the biggest penalty was the issue of our salvation being lost, but not to worry “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
So, with all this punishment and loss as a result of the fall, where does that leave us, The Body of Christ? Simply, there was a promise of redemption. Genesis 3:15 says, “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” This is a ‘protevangelium’, or the first announcement of gospel in Scripture. Christ would render Satan powerless, enabling man to be forever restored to fellowship with God, making possible man’s ultimate rule. (Heb 2:14, Col 2:4-15) Although, Adam and Eve sinned, God moved to resolve man’s
dilemma by pointing to a future Savior who would eliminate death, restore man to fellowship with God, and consummate history with Messiah’s reign on earth to restore all that Adam has lost. In addition, a few things should be noted during this time about God himself. God revealed himself as omnipotent and sovereign in the creation on the universe and the world. God is holy, demanding obedience for fellowship with himself, yet also a God of grace, with an example of through the promise of a Savior. Man is a responsible creature and a constituted sinner through the inherited sin, the sin of Adam.
What more would be necessary from a God, graciousness and one who will deliver us who are “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15b-16)
Knowing and believing that the “Fall of Man” was an actual occurrence that cost us our salvation, is something that one must understand before, I believe, you can minutely grasp the enormity of what Jesus did for all of us on the cross. We were all lost and dead to the world, literally. Then, came Jesus to save the world that wanted to be saved. Why would you not want to tell the rest of the people about the only one that can give everlasting life by calling on his name? “That whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered” (Joel 2:32) and “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8) Have you accepted your undeserved gift yet?
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© 2001 Shannon Yáñez
