Untitled Sermon

The Text

Genesis 2:17 ESV

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

The Context

God had place Adam and Eve in the Garden, given them their marching orders which had included ONE prohibition- DON’T EAT of THAT TREE’s FRUIT

…and Satan said...

Did God really say that?

Did they die—immediately—no, not physically

But death would overtake them at a future time at the ripe of age of 930 for Adam

Which is Right

Beyond the physical aspect of death, there is the spiritual aspect

Up until the fall, God walked with Adam and Eve

After the fall, that ended—so, there was a spiritual death there that happened immediately

We remain so until we are are brought into a new life, when the Spirit enters us at salvation

From Jay Adams:

Fifty Difficult Passages Explained Genesis 2:17

Death is separation. Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body (James 2:26). Similarly, spiritual death is separation—the separation of the spirit from God. He who walked with God in the cool of the day prior to his disobedience, hid from Him afterwards. Their close union had been disrupted. Eternal death is the separation of the spirit and body from God forever.

Similarly, life is union: physical life is the union of the body and spirit, spiritual life is the union of the spirit with God through Christ, and eternal life is the union of the body and the spirit with God for all eternity.

So, there is no question about it: death that subsequently “reigned from Adam to Moses” began immediately upon Adam’s act of disobedience. It is also true that from that day on man began the process of deterioration (corruption) that inevitably leads to physical death. The Bible is not wrong; it is the materialistic literalist, who fails to see the greater spiritual consequences of one’s relationship to God, who is wrong.