A STUDY BY
GARY RAY BRANSCOME
Lesson 6
Since the historical facts
concerning Adam and Eve’s disobedience are basic to a sound understanding
of how sin and suffering entered into the world and the need for a Savior, the
pertinent facts are carefully recorded in the book of Genesis.
The first two chapters of Genesis
tell us that Adam and Eve were both created in God’s own image (righteous
and free of sin), and placed in a garden that God had prepared for them. In
that garden they were free to eat of all the trees except one, the tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. [Genesis 1:26,27,31,
Genesis 2:15-17, Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:10, Ecclesiastes 7:29.]
The third chapter then tells us
that Satan (working through a serpent) led Eve, and through Eve Adam, to
disobey God. The serpent began by asking Eve if she was allowed to eat from
every tree in the garden. When she told him that God had forbidden her to eat
of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil lest she die, he contradicted God
by telling her that she would not die but instead would be as God, knowing both
good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). Then, seeing that the fruit of the tree was good
to eat and looked delicious, she ate of it and convinced her husband to do
likewise (Genesis 3:6,7).
That disobedience on the part of
Adam and Eve was the first sin committed by man (Romans 5:12), After
committing it Adam and Eve both became conscious of their own nakedness, and
were ashamed, so they wove fig leaves together to make aprons.
Although the Bible does not tell us why
Satan chose to use a snake rather than a parrot or some other animal when he
deceived Eve, it suggests that his aim was subtlety (Genesis 3:1). He may
have also planned to carry out his deception in a way that some would later
find hard to believe. However, we know that he did use a snake to deceive Eve,
and just as his deception was subtle then we can expect it to be subtle today.
He wants us to regard our impure thoughts and desires as our will, not his
will. He wants women to believe that abortion is their choice, not his choice.
We are more likely to hear his voice coming from our own wishes and desires,
than from confrontation with anti-Christian bigots (Jeremiah 17:9, James
Due to the limitation placed upon
man's life span by the fall, God’s command to be fruitful and multiply
mandated an increase in the rate of reproduction, which resulted in an increase
in the sex drive (Genesis 3:16, Romans 5:23). That increase, coupled with the
corruption of our nature wrought by sin, turned male-female relationships
(outside God's ordinance of marriage) into a continual reenactment of the first
temptation (or first sin). For, apart from marriage a woman's body is a forbidden
fruit that provides a continual source of enticement and temptation to men. At
the same time, men have become a source of enticement to women, and the
widespread identification of the serpent as a phallic symbol reveals the
spiritual significance of that enticement.
If the Biblical record of creation
and the fall lacked any symbolism, the enemies of the Gospel would belittle it
as simplistic. However, since that is not the case, they go to the opposite
extreme and try to pass it off as entirely symbolic and nothing more. However,
their opinions are of little consequence (Luke
As a consequence of Adam’s
sin, Satan was able to gain dominion over him, his descendants, and the
physical universe which God had placed under his authority (2Corinthians 4:4).
In other words, because he chose to sin, we are born in the bondage of sin
(Romans
If it sometimes seems like the
innocent suffer, their suffering should be recognized as a testimony to the
fact that in the eyes of God “There is none righteous, no, not one”
(Romans
The historical record of the fall
is basic to our understanding of why it was necessary for Christ to come into
the world, and why we need a Savior (Romans
1-
What was the first sin committed by man?
2- Why did Satan use a snake to deceive Eve?
3- Is Satan always open and obvious?
4- What do Jeremiah 17:9 and James 1:13-15 tell us about human nature?
5- Was man originally created with a sinful nature?
6- What was the result of Adam's decision to yield obedience to Satan?
7- What is the presence of sickness, pain, suffering, and death a testimony to?
8- Why do those who seem innocent and righteous suffer?
9- If there was no pain or trouble in the world, would we ever realize that we
were sinners?
10- Why should we be thankful that God has not dealt with us according to our
iniquities?