Chapter 2 of the Story of God The Fall

Luke 4: 3-4 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." Jesus answered, “It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone."

Hebrews 4:15 But we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.

Outline of Biblical History Genesis 3 The snake persuaded Eve to disobey God and to eat the forbidden fruit. She gave some to Adam and he ate also. Then God spoke to them in judgment, and sent them out of the garden into a world that came under the same judgment.

Unanswered Questions Why a snake as the tempter of mankind? Where did evil begin? Revelation 12:9, 20:2 Isaiah 14:12-15 (cf.v.4)

The guiding principle… The gospel and the overall message of the Bible must guide us when we deal with the Bible.

What can we learn from the Fall? There is no dualism of good and evil in which the forces of good have been in eternal conflict with the forces of evil. There really was one man, Adam, through whom sin and death entered the world. Since God created everything, he is the source of all truth. (All truth is God’s truth.)

Adam – for real? 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.  15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! (Romans 5)

Adam – for real? 16Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5)

The religious question Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” "We may eat fruit 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 die.' “ What was the purpose of the snake’s question? What did Eve think of God? (Reread her response.)

Contradicting the Word of God "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. Genesis 3:4 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5

The temptation: Satan’s suggestion that God’s word could not be relied upon as the absolute authority and source of truth for mankind.

The Fall

What happened? Instead of knowing good and evil by rejecting evil and remaining good, they choose rather to reject good and become evil. God is no longer regarded as the self-evident Creator. God’s Word is no longer accepted as self-evident truth. Man assumes the role of the judge of what is good and right.

The First Reaction to the Fall… SHAME!

The fall: The rebellion of the whole human race against God through the historic act of our first parents. Their disobedience was a failed attempt to become like God.

Judgment The man blames the woman The woman blames the snake When confronted by God… The man blames the woman The woman blames the snake But it is humans who are responsible for what they have done. The primary crime is the rejection of the authority of God’s Word.

Protevangelium The first hint of the gospel is found in Genesis 3:15. It is referred to in Romans 16:20. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

Judgment On the woman – pain with pleasure, relationships distorted. On the man – the earth rebels against the stewardship of man.

Paradise Lost To live is to live in fellowship with God. When that fellowship is broken by rebellion, the sentence of death is executed.

The judgment: The original sin of mankind brings the sentence of death. Fellowship with God is broken, dominion is challenged, and humans face an inevitable demise. Yet alongside judgment the grace of God operates for the good of the human race.

Human conflict Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

Human conflict Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field.“ And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Human Conflict The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth." Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me." But the LORD said to him, "Not so; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Human relationships Break down as a direct result of the break in the relationship between God and mankind. All human conflict reflects our conflict with God.

The Wickedness of Mankind Genesis 6:1-4 Difficult to translate (compare NIV and RSV) Who are the sons of God and the daughters of men? What was the 120 years? A shortened lifespan, a reduction or the time until judgment? Genesis 6:5-7 God’s regret What is the significance of the flood? Why did God do it? It did not purge the earth of evil.

God’s Judgment God’s judgment continued to be shown after the first sentence of death and ejection from Eden. Judgments in biblical history foreshadow final judgment, and show the situation from which God saves us.

Fall of Creation Mankind’s rebellion against God results in the fall of the whole created order from its place in the kingdom of God.

Fall of Creation Kingdom God Mankind World Creation Adam and Eve Eden

Main Theme Temptation Disobedience Mankind becomes self-centered instead of God-centered Judgment and death Dislocation of all relationships in creation Grace of God

Some Key Words Fall Judgment Death Grace

The Path Ahead Temptation of Adam-Temptation of Israel- Temptation of Christ (Luke 4:1-12) Snake-Satan (Revelation 12:9) Eden lost-Eden regained (Deuteronomy 8:7-9, Ezekiel 47:1-12, Revelation 22:1-6) Judgment-Final Judgment (Matthew 7:15-23, Revelation 20:11-15)

The Kingdom and the Fall The rebellion of mankind caused all relationships of the kingdom of God to be dislocated. God, mankind and the rest of creation no longer relate in the perfect way that God intended.

Homework Read Genesis 3 and note the stages by which the snake entices the humans to become rebels against God. In what ways is our humanness lost in the fall? How did the fall affect the harmony of relationships that existed from creation? How does the grace of God show itself alongside of his judgment?