The Fall of Man

What we believe, and why we believe it is the title of this series. Tonight we are discussing the “fall of man” and its effect on mankind. The what is simple - the fall is the reason we sin, suffer, and die. Why is this important? Becasue, until we understand the impact of sin, we cannot understand the remedy for our sin.

Here are the effects of the fall, we see...

The Immediate Effects of Sin

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and died spiritually

Genesis 2:17 KJV 1900

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.

Genesis 3:7–10 KJV 1900

7 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.

Death = separation.

They were now separated from God spiritually - that is their personal fellowship was broken.

Their former standing was destroyed, and their current standing put them in need reconciliation. (Brought back together)

They now begin to experience physical death. The began to age and were subject to death and disease. (Adam lived to be 930 years old! How is this possible? You’ll have to come to church on Sunday to find out!)

Not only did they experience the separating effects of sin, but they learned the devastating effects as well...

Adam lost dominion and authority over the earth Genesis 1:28

Genesis 1:28 KJV 1900

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Hebrews 2:5–9 KJV 1900

5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

Adam surrendered his dominion over the earth to Satan. What happened next? Notice...

The Subsequent Effects of Sin

Eve’s punishment was passed down to all women Genesis 3:16

Genesis 3:16 KJV 1900

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.

The sorrows and pain involved in conception and childbearing were multiplied

Some interpret this to mean she would be subordinate to her husband and no longer able to exercise her own will, considering it was her will that got her into the mess. However, this verse has a prophetic interpretation to it as well, that because of sin, a woman’s place next to her husband would be marred, and men would take advantage placing themselves above women.

Adam’s punishment was passed down to all men Genesis 3:17-24

Genesis 3:17–24 KJV 1900

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. 22 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.

God cursed the ground for his sake

Works would now become toil and unpleasant

They were both driven from the garden of Eden

Adam’s sin brought sin into the whole human race. We are all guilty by association, because we all sinned in him. Romans 5:12

Romans 5:12 KJV 1900

12 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:

Adam’s sinful nature has been passed down to all human beings Gen. 5:3

Genesis 5:3 KJV 1900

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

All men and women are now sinners Gen. 3:16-19

Genesis 3:16–19 KJV 1900

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.

Sin, however, did not only affect mankind. It affected all of creation. This is seen in...

God’s Judgment on the Serpent

The question is “Was it a literal serpent, or something else?”

We do not have time to get into the details, and I will address this question in our study of Genesis, but suffice it to say the reason snakes are so frightening to us today is that we lost dominion over the earth in the fall.

The curse on the serpent is symbolic. It was Satan that was cursed here. God place “enmity” between his “seed” and “her seed.”

His seed = the lost, working against God’s plan.

“Her seed” = Christ, the only mention of seed of the woman Luke 1:31

Luke 1:31 KJV 1900

31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

Genesis 3:15 KJV 1900

15 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.

This verse is the death sentence placed upon Satan

Satan will cause Christ to suffer “bruise his heel” - the nail driven through his heel.

Christ would destroy the works of the devil “bruise they head”

This verses is the first mention of our redemption. The promise of the coming of the Savior, fulfilled in His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Promise of His return for us in the future.