Discovering what can be learned from original sin
Throughout the centuries, much has been said about the original sin that took place in the Garden of Eden. Some blame Eve and leave it at that. However, there are many factors that led to that world changing event. If we look at those factors, we can uncover what we can learn from original sin.
What was the original sin?
There are untold millions of things that have been written and said about original sin. Some blame Eve, while others blame Adam. And some blame Satan, while others outrageously blame God! Without getting to all of these arguments, let’s follow what I call my motto when it comes to knowing truth: “When you know the normal, the abnormal stands out.”
By this motto, we can save lots of time by not learning all the things people have said over the centuries and learn what God says about it. So, when we know the normal of what God says, then we can easily spot the abnormal and the Holy Spirit will bring verses to mind that show us. So, what did God say was the original sin? We can find out by reading the second and third verses of Genesis.
God gave one commandment to man
In Genesis Chapter two, God had finished the creation of the heavens and the earth and detailed His creation of man and the garden of Eden. Starting in Genesis 2:7, God described how he had formed man of the dust of the earth and breathed life into him, making him a living soul. After that, God also planted a garden eastward of where He created man and put him there. It was there that God gave one commandment to man as follows:
Genesis 2:15-17. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
We see that God put man in the garden of Eden to take care of it. He told man that he could eat from every tree of the garden, except for the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God added that he SHALL NOT eat of it and if he does, the day he eats of it, he shall die.
What do we notice about this one commandment?
We notice three things about this one commandment:
- God told man he can eat freely from every tree. This authorized man to choose any tree he wanted to freely eat from. Using the words, “freely eat” comes from a Hebrew word that is a verb and means to eat, eat up, devour, consume, or feed from. It is like God said to man, eat as much as you want from any tree. However, God also added a restriction when He used the word, “but” in the next verse. (1)
- God told man he cannot eat from one tree. This tree, described by God as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was restricted. This meant man could not eat from this one tree.
- God told man that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the day his did it, he would “die”. Using the word, “die” comes from a Hebrew word that is a verb and means kill, be dead, put to death, destroy, slay, or cause to die. (2)
So, we see one simple commandment, eat from any tree, but just don’t eat from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die. Pretty simple with no confusing terms or other possible meanings.
What happened right after this commandment?
Man was in his place to live with all that he needed to survive. However, starting in Genesis 2:18, God said there was one more thing man needed. That one thing was that man would not be alone and God provided a “help meet” for him. So, God had all the beasts of the of the earth and air that He had formed come before man. It is here, we see that God first called the man, Adam, as follows:
Genesis 2:18-20. “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.”
God physically created a wife for Adam
We see here that God was looking for a “help meet” or one that can stand by Adam’s side and help him. This help meet would be like him but would also be able to help him in all the things he does. Of course, today, most people refer to this person as a partner or wife, but what we see next is this helper or partner, would be created from the very body of Adam as follows:
Genesis 2:21-23. “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
We see that God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam. In a prior career as an Operating Room Scrub Nurse at a church affiliated hospital, I once discussed the history of anesthesia with an anesthesiologist. To my surprise, he said that anesthesia has been around since man was created. He then referenced these verses saying the first surgery was a thoracic surgery and God used general anesthesia. While we chuckled about it, it does teach us that God made a help meet, or woman, that was biologically, genetically, and physically compatible with man.
God made them physically, emotionally, and Spiritually compatible
We see that they were physically compatible. However, God made the man and the woman emotionally and Spiritually compatible through their one flesh marriage as follows:
Genesis 2:24-25. “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
Combined, these physical, emotional, and Spiritual areas of a relationship with each other are built upon the physical, emotional, and Spiritual foundations of the relationship they had with God. We see this as follows:
- God provided food and an environment to live for their physical needs
- God provided relationships with each other and Him as a person for their emotional needs
- God provided supernatural power and Spiritual guidance for their Spiritual needs
The seduction and introduction to sin
Starting in Genesis 3, we see that Satan approached Adam and his wife, (we later come to know her as Eve – Genesis 3:20). Through subtle words and deceptive reasoning, he approached Eve and began a conversation with her as follows:
Genesis 3:1-3. ​”Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
We see here that the serpent, later known as the Devil and Satan (Revelation 12:9), starts a conversation with her. He starts by questioning her about the commandment that God gave Adam, but he left off the second part about not eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve responded by telling Satan what God had said. Unfortunately, she didn’t quite quote God accurately, as follows:
Genesis 3:3. “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
Satan’s attack on Eve’s understanding
Looking back at Genesis 2:16-17, God never made any mention of not touching the tree. He only said Adam could not eat of that tree. This is not to say that touching the tree is a good idea as we will soon see because touching it could lead to a temptation to eat from it. Satan wasted no time and replied in a way to try and explain what God meant and why it was not a bad thing to eat from the tree as follows:
Genesis 3:4-5. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 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.”
Now, the seeds of doubt have been planted and Satan waited to see what Eve would do. Eve responded as follows:
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.”
In this attack we see three temptations that led to Eve making the choice to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil:
- Eve saw that the tree was good for food: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…”
- Eve saw that the tree was pleasant to the eyes: “…and that it was pleasant to the eyes…”
- Eve desired to eat from the tree to make one wise like gods, knowing good and evil: “…and a tree to be desired to make one wise…”
Overall, she saw it as good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make her wise like God.
How did these three temptations work?
- Satan used lust of the flesh or hunger, as a temptation.
- Eve saw that the tree was good for food
- Satan, knowing she was looking at food tempted her by saying, “Ye shall not surely die”
- This temptation spoke to the physical desire for food
- Satan used lust of the eyes, or the beauty of the fruit, as a temptation.
- Eve saw the pleasantness of the tree to her eyes
- Satan, knowing she liked how the fruit looked, tempted her by saying, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened…”
- This temptation spoke to the visual desire to possess something beautiful.
- Satan used the pride of life, or desire to be like gods knowing good and evil, as a temptation
- Eve considered what eating the fruit would do, make her wise like God
- Satan, knowing she wanted to be like God knowing good and evil
- This temptation spoke to the Spiritual desire or pride of life to be seen as a god or superior to everyone else
Overall, Satan used the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life as temptations to get Eve to ignore God’s commandment. We see this disobedience first referred to as sin, in Genesis 4:3-7. Satan uses these lusts and pride to seduce us all to do things that God does not want us to do. These three ways of temptation are what Satan uses against all of us. This is mentioned elsewhere in Scripture too:
Romans 13:13-14. “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
James 1:12-15. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
1 John 2:15-17. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
How did Eve’s temptation and sin impact others?
We see how Eve was tempted and ignored God’s commandment. But, we also see that although Eve was tempted to sin and actually sinned, what is not often mentioned is that Adam did too! Looking at Genesis 3:6 again we see:
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.”
Adam was impacted too
The question has to be, why did Adam take the fruit and eat it too? Was he tempted? Did he realize what his wife did and decided he would do the same thing? We don’t know exactly, but the fact they both disobeyed God’s commandment, their innocence and immortality died at that moment. Remember, they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so their innocence was gone. Their eyes were now open to the knowledge of evil. This set them up for temptation and other sins. We see this mentioned as follows:
Awareness of evil: Genesis 3:7-11. “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?”
New sinful behaviors: Genesis 3:12-14. “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Expulsion from the garden of Eden. Genesis 3:22-24. “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 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.”
The entire world inherited an original sin nature
Since Adam and Eve sinned, their physical, emotional, and Spiritual lives were infected with a new sin nature. This “Original Sin” was passed on down to all of humanity as follows:
Genesis 3:15-21. “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. 16 Unto the woman he said, I 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. 17 And unto Adam he said, 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; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 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. 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
John 3:3. “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Romans 6:23 – 7:1. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ​1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?”
Romans 7:5. “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”
Revelation 20:11-15. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
We see then that because of the sins of Adam and Eve, all of us have inherited their original sin nature. This nature makes us susceptible to the temptations of lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride. The only way we can escape this sin nature and have eternal life at the end of our life on this earth, is to be born again, under a new Father. When that happens, He comes to live inside of us in the personhood of the Holy Spirit, who is God. For more information about this, Spiritual maturity, see the following articles:
How does knowing what God says help us?
As we saw, Adam was told by God, what was expected when it came to eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He knew first-hand what God said. Eve, however, was not there to hear what God said. This shows us two things that we must act on to not make the same mistake.
We must study the Word of God, our Bible, for ourselves.
As we study the Bible and memorize Scriptures, then find ourselves facing a difficult or possible sinful choice, the Holy Spirit will bring these words and passages of God to mind. The more we make God a part of our life; study His Word, and worship and fellowship with other believers, the more it becomes ingrained into everything we say and do.
We must share the Word of God and help others
As we saw with Eve, she did not say exactly what God told Adam. Therefore, she was not prepared to resist Satan. At the same time, Adam did not help her resist the temptation. Instead of standing there and letting her be deceived, Adam should have spoken up and said, “No, that is not exactly what God said. Come over and let us get fruit from this other tree because God does not want us to eat from that one”.
While we were not there, we can imagine that stepping in and rebuking Satan was not something Adam and Eve were well versed in at that point. Therefore, we must study to gain confidence and know how to manage these situations so that we can:
2 Timothy 2:11-16. “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. 14 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
Final thoughts
We have seen a lot of things in this study of Adam and Eve about original sin. We all are born into a world that has been adversely impacted by it. We are tempted by our lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride, so we must study so that we have the Wisdom, strength, and knowledge to deal with it.
What can we know from original sin? It is deadly, but we can do all things through Christ to defeat it.
Philippians 4:11-13. “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
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(1) https://ref.ly/logosref/HebrewStrongs.398
(2) https://ref.ly/logosref/TWOT.TWOT_No._1169
