English
Português
Español
Français
Response
The fall of humanity occurred sometime after God created the world and after Satan’s rebellion in heaven. The biblical narrative of creation and the fall of humanity can be found in Genesis 1–3. According to the book of Genesis, God spoke everything into existence: the sky, planets, seas, vegetation, animals, and everything else. He declared it all as “good” «And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and every creature that creeps upon the earth after its kind: and God saw that it was good. », (Genesis 1:25).
However, when God created humanity, He knelt down in the dirt and formed the shape of a human body from the clay «And the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. », (Genesis 2:7). Then He breathed His own life into the man’s nostrils, and “man became a living soul.” He named the man “Adam.” Adam’s life was distinct from plant and animal life. He was created in God’s image «So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. », (Genesis 1:27), indicating that he possessed an eternal spirit, similar to God’s. Adam was meant to reflect God, commune with God, think like God, and delight in God eternally. Therefore, God placed Adam in a garden specifically designed for him «And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. », (Genesis 2:8). In this flawless environment, God walked and conversed with the man, delighting in the creation He had made.e and Adam’s delight in it (Genesis 2:19-20;3:8).
Because God did not want the man to be alone, He formed a woman, Eve, from one of Adam’s ribs. He provided them with everything in the garden to enjoy except for the fruit from one tree (Genesis 2:16-17). God informed them that if they consumed fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die.
Genesis 3 introduces us to another entity involved in the downfall of man: the serpent. Satan had already been cast down to earth due to his rebellion against God in heaven «And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. », (Luke 10:18). Satan approached Eve in the form of a serpent and insinuated to her that God had not truly forbidden the fruit for her benefit but was actually withholding good from her (Genesis 3:1-4). Consequently, she ate it and gave some to Adam «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. », (Genesis 3:5). Adam also partook, and at that moment, everything changed. Sin had infiltrated God’s flawless world «Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: », (Romans 5:12). Humanity had fallen.
The downfall of man was triggered by Adam’s transgression. Sin encompasses any human behavior, word, or thought that contradicts the perfection of God. As a result of Adam’s sin, God placed a curse upon the world, the people, the animals, the plants, and the very ground (Genesis 3:14-19). Their sin had brought upon them the judgment of God, and the only just punishment for such high treason is eternal death “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”, (Romans 6:23). But God then put into play a system by which human beings could find pardon for sin. God killed an animal and made garments for the man and woman to cover the nakedness that now brought them shame “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”, (Genesis 3:21). In doing so, God painted a picture of what He would do thousands of years later when the Perfect Lamb was slain to take away our sin (John 1:29; Revelation 13:8).
After the fall of man, God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden and placed a cherub to guard the entrance. This was so that Adam and Eve could not return and possibly eat from the tree of life and live forever in their cursed state (Genesis 3:23-24). They were forced to find their own food and shelter. Adam had to fight weeds and thistles to eke out an existence from the ground, while Eve had to suffer in childbirth. Suffering and toil are part of the curse God put upon this world because of sin.
We call this episode in human history the fall of man because, in that act of disobedience, Adam brought a curse upon every person yet to be born. The man who was designed to walk with God in unbroken fellowship had fallen from that exalted position. He was doomed to live in a broken state, in a broken world, apart from ongoing communion with a holy God. God promised that the Seed of the woman would one day save them fromThe eternal consequences of their sin «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. », (Genesis 3:15), but the temporary earthly consequences of sin remained.
We all suffer the consequences of the fall of man. Our salvation is in calling upon the name of the Lord and trusting in Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for our sin (Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18). The world groans under the curse, crying out for the relief that will come at the ultimate redemption of God’s people when Christ returns (Romans 8:22-23). When Jesus comes for all those who have trusted in Him, God will restore all things «whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. », (Acts 3:21). He will create a new heaven and a new earth to replace that which sin destroyed (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:12-13; Revelation 21:1). Mankind will no longer be “fallen” but restored and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God «And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. », (Revelation 7:14).
