| “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:”(Romans 5:12) |
Now today we want to look at the fall of man into sin. We have already seen how God made man
and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress and to keep it. There was then given one test for man,
and that was not to eat from the tree of good and evil. But Adam disobeyed this commandment,
and he fell into sin. This is the place where sin entered into the world, and death by sin. It is this
fall that we want to consider in this lesson.
and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress and to keep it. There was then given one test for man,
and that was not to eat from the tree of good and evil. But Adam disobeyed this commandment,
and he fell into sin. This is the place where sin entered into the world, and death by sin. It is this
fall that we want to consider in this lesson.
The Test
The Bible says in (Genesis 2:16-17) “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. 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.” During the time
Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were tested for their obedience. They were free to eat the
fruit of every tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This test was to
see whether or not they would believe and obey God.
Now we need to understand right here that the manner in which God governs His creatures is by
laws in which all are to obey. This is the way God morally rules and governs His creation. We see
in the Bible that God gave His law for the angels in which most kept, but the Bible reveals that
some disobeyed and plunged themselves into everlasting darkness and torment.
Now, God gave a law to Adam, and this law was in the form of a covenant. Beloved, it is very
important; it is essential to understand this, as we study the fall of man, and the entrance of sin into
the world, because it affects us all. Now again, God gave this law to Adam in the form of a
covenant; therefore, Adam stood as the covenant head to all his descendants and posterity. This
made Adam the federal head of the human race.
God, as the creator of all things, the Judge of all the earth, and the Divine Ruler over all the
universe, has a right to give what laws He pleases to His creatures, and we are obligated and bound
as His creatures, with gratitude, to obey and keep His laws. Now God gave to Adam a natural law;
that is, the law of nature. and it was written in his heart. The law of nature was put in his nature
from the very moment he was created. This law of nature was the way in which Adam was
acquainted with His Creator. This law of nature is in the conscience of all rational mankind, the
Bible tells us this in (Romans 2:14-15) where it says, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the
law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing
witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;).” You see,
beloved, this shows us that Adam was the federal head of the human race. What was in Him,
which he did not lose when he fell into sin, and what he inherited as a result of his fall, is passed on
to his posterity. What he lost in the fall can only be regained in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the
Bible calls “The Second Adam.”
Now, beside the natural law, God gave Adam a law concerning the way in which Adam was to
worship Him. Adam knew by the light of nature and creation, that there was a God to be
worshipped, but he did not know how and in what manner he was to worship Him. This He could
not know except God reveal it to him. To know how to worship and please God requires Divine
revelation. It cannot be known through the natural laws of creation and conscience. In all the
dispensations God has revealed His divine ordinances of worship. To illustrate this, under the
dispensation of the Law; that is, the Law of Moses that was given at Mt. Sinai, God gave the
ceremonial law concerning the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. This was given to
Moses by divine revelation, and the people of Israel followed this law until the Lord Jesus came.
When He died on the cross, He fulfilled the law, blotting out the ceremonial law, and now we
worship God in spirit and in truth, through Christ. We are no longer under the dispensation of the
law, the law of Moses, but under the dispensation of grace, the law of Christ. As Adam was the
federal head of the human race, so is Christ the federal Head of the body, the church which He has
purchased with His own blood.
Beloved, these things could only be known by divine revelation. The natural law given to man
through creation and conscience could not make these things known. God had to reveal them to
man, and in every dispensation He revealed His way and manner of worship to man through
commandments to be obeyed. In each dispensation God revealed the way in which He was to be
approached. Each one was a type, a foreshadow, and a progressive revelation pointing to the only
way of approach to God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Adam’s test was to believe God and
not eat from the forbidden tree. Our test since Christ came, is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation, and obey His commandment as born again believers.
Again let us consider the federal headship of Adam over all the human race. Adam’s test was not
just as a private person, but as a federal head and representative of all his descendants, the human
race. Adam alone is the federal head of the human race. Eve is not a federal head, because she was
taken out from Adam, and through Adam’s seed, all his posterity came out from him. His nature is
our nature. The only Person that is not of the nature of Adam is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus did
not descend from Adam by ordinary generation. He descended from eternity in heaven, conceived
in the virgin Mary by the Holy Ghost, and is the Mediator and Federal Head of another people,
who are born not of the flesh, but of the Spirit.
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. 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.” During the time
Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were tested for their obedience. They were free to eat the
fruit of every tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This test was to
see whether or not they would believe and obey God.
Now we need to understand right here that the manner in which God governs His creatures is by
laws in which all are to obey. This is the way God morally rules and governs His creation. We see
in the Bible that God gave His law for the angels in which most kept, but the Bible reveals that
some disobeyed and plunged themselves into everlasting darkness and torment.
Now, God gave a law to Adam, and this law was in the form of a covenant. Beloved, it is very
important; it is essential to understand this, as we study the fall of man, and the entrance of sin into
the world, because it affects us all. Now again, God gave this law to Adam in the form of a
covenant; therefore, Adam stood as the covenant head to all his descendants and posterity. This
made Adam the federal head of the human race.
God, as the creator of all things, the Judge of all the earth, and the Divine Ruler over all the
universe, has a right to give what laws He pleases to His creatures, and we are obligated and bound
as His creatures, with gratitude, to obey and keep His laws. Now God gave to Adam a natural law;
that is, the law of nature. and it was written in his heart. The law of nature was put in his nature
from the very moment he was created. This law of nature was the way in which Adam was
acquainted with His Creator. This law of nature is in the conscience of all rational mankind, the
Bible tells us this in (Romans 2:14-15) where it says, “For when the Gentiles, which have not the
law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto
themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing
witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;).” You see,
beloved, this shows us that Adam was the federal head of the human race. What was in Him,
which he did not lose when he fell into sin, and what he inherited as a result of his fall, is passed on
to his posterity. What he lost in the fall can only be regained in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom the
Bible calls “The Second Adam.”
Now, beside the natural law, God gave Adam a law concerning the way in which Adam was to
worship Him. Adam knew by the light of nature and creation, that there was a God to be
worshipped, but he did not know how and in what manner he was to worship Him. This He could
not know except God reveal it to him. To know how to worship and please God requires Divine
revelation. It cannot be known through the natural laws of creation and conscience. In all the
dispensations God has revealed His divine ordinances of worship. To illustrate this, under the
dispensation of the Law; that is, the Law of Moses that was given at Mt. Sinai, God gave the
ceremonial law concerning the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. This was given to
Moses by divine revelation, and the people of Israel followed this law until the Lord Jesus came.
When He died on the cross, He fulfilled the law, blotting out the ceremonial law, and now we
worship God in spirit and in truth, through Christ. We are no longer under the dispensation of the
law, the law of Moses, but under the dispensation of grace, the law of Christ. As Adam was the
federal head of the human race, so is Christ the federal Head of the body, the church which He has
purchased with His own blood.
Beloved, these things could only be known by divine revelation. The natural law given to man
through creation and conscience could not make these things known. God had to reveal them to
man, and in every dispensation He revealed His way and manner of worship to man through
commandments to be obeyed. In each dispensation God revealed the way in which He was to be
approached. Each one was a type, a foreshadow, and a progressive revelation pointing to the only
way of approach to God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Adam’s test was to believe God and
not eat from the forbidden tree. Our test since Christ came, is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
for salvation, and obey His commandment as born again believers.
Again let us consider the federal headship of Adam over all the human race. Adam’s test was not
just as a private person, but as a federal head and representative of all his descendants, the human
race. Adam alone is the federal head of the human race. Eve is not a federal head, because she was
taken out from Adam, and through Adam’s seed, all his posterity came out from him. His nature is
our nature. The only Person that is not of the nature of Adam is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus did
not descend from Adam by ordinary generation. He descended from eternity in heaven, conceived
in the virgin Mary by the Holy Ghost, and is the Mediator and Federal Head of another people,
who are born not of the flesh, but of the Spirit.
The Result of the Fall
Through the fall sin entered into the world, the human race. What an awful thing sin is. It is just a
three letter word, yet it has disrupted heaven and earth. It has brought shame and disgrace to
mankind, heartbreak and sorrow to God. Adam lost his original righteousness, and became full of
unrighteousness, and all his posterity is unrighteous. The Bible says in (Romans 3:10), “As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” We see this loss of righteousness pictured in the
realization of Adam and Eve’s nakedness. When they sinned, they discovered they were naked,
and they were ashamed. Before the fall they had complete respect for each other, there was no
reason for shame. But after the fall, their nakedness became an emblem of shame because they
had lost their inward righteousness, or we could say, their inward clothing, which was the holiness
and righteousness of their inward nature. And as they sewed fig leaves together to hide themselves,
so does fallen man try to hide his sinful nature by his own self-righteous works. But beloved, fig
leaves, and man’s self-righteousness cannot hide us from Divine Justice, or from the wrath and
judgment of God. We must have the righteousness the Lord Jesus Christ imputed to us if we are to
stand in the presence of God not condemned. Paul says in (Philippians 3:8-9), “Yea doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"
Adam also lost his peace and contentment with God in the Fall. Adam said to God, “I was afraid
because I was naked” Beloved, in every man, there is a fearful looking for the judgment of God.
Even since the fall, no one has ever overcome their fear of death and judgment, and no one has
ever found true rest and peace in their souls until they come to God. The person who comes to
God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and experiences the joy of His salvation, is the person who has
peace and contentment. He no longer has the spirit of fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby we
cry Abba Father.
Adam lost most of his knowledge and understanding about God. When he tried to hide himself
from God, shows us his ignorance concerning the omnipresence of God. He could not hide among
the trees and God not find Him. God knew where he was all the time. This lack of understanding is
passed upon all the human race. The Bible says in (Romans 3:11), “There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh afier God.” Even though we might understand natural
things, and even understand a few moral things, but to understand the things of God, no one can
until they are saved by the grace of God. The lost person cannot understand the spiritual things that
glorify God unless the Holy Spirit reveals them to him through God’s Word. Adam lost his spiritual
understanding, and this is passed to all mankind.
When Adam sinned, he lost the immortality of his body, becoming subject to disease and death.
This, too, is passed upon all the human race. In Adam all die. Also there was the spiritual death
that came upon Adam. This spiritual death caused spiritual darkness, his understanding was
darkened, his mind and conscience was defiled. His affections turned from God to himself and the
things of this world, his will turned toward doing that which was evil. The only hope for Adam,
and for mankind, is the grace of God in saving man from his sin and condenmation. All are under
the wrath of God, condemned under the curse of sin and the broken law. The only out is through
the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, from the paradise of God. What a loss this was.
The Bible says in (Genesis 3:24) that “God drove them out.” This is a picture of separation from
God, from the fellowship and communion with Him. Sin has set man at a distance from God. But
praise the Lord, Jesus has come to bring us, who are afar off, nigh to God through His precious
blood which He shed on the cross of Calvary.
Beloved, I am so glad for the proclamation that John the Baptist made when he introduced the
Lord Jesus to Israel and to the world. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world.” What Adam lost when he fell in sin, and the curse that has fallen upon all the human
race since, has been regained by God’s only begotten Son. On the cross of Calvary the sin debt
was settled by the death of Christ. He arose from the dead, and is alive for evermore. Do you
know Him?
three letter word, yet it has disrupted heaven and earth. It has brought shame and disgrace to
mankind, heartbreak and sorrow to God. Adam lost his original righteousness, and became full of
unrighteousness, and all his posterity is unrighteous. The Bible says in (Romans 3:10), “As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” We see this loss of righteousness pictured in the
realization of Adam and Eve’s nakedness. When they sinned, they discovered they were naked,
and they were ashamed. Before the fall they had complete respect for each other, there was no
reason for shame. But after the fall, their nakedness became an emblem of shame because they
had lost their inward righteousness, or we could say, their inward clothing, which was the holiness
and righteousness of their inward nature. And as they sewed fig leaves together to hide themselves,
so does fallen man try to hide his sinful nature by his own self-righteous works. But beloved, fig
leaves, and man’s self-righteousness cannot hide us from Divine Justice, or from the wrath and
judgment of God. We must have the righteousness the Lord Jesus Christ imputed to us if we are to
stand in the presence of God not condemned. Paul says in (Philippians 3:8-9), “Yea doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be
found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"
Adam also lost his peace and contentment with God in the Fall. Adam said to God, “I was afraid
because I was naked” Beloved, in every man, there is a fearful looking for the judgment of God.
Even since the fall, no one has ever overcome their fear of death and judgment, and no one has
ever found true rest and peace in their souls until they come to God. The person who comes to
God through the Lord Jesus Christ, and experiences the joy of His salvation, is the person who has
peace and contentment. He no longer has the spirit of fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby we
cry Abba Father.
Adam lost most of his knowledge and understanding about God. When he tried to hide himself
from God, shows us his ignorance concerning the omnipresence of God. He could not hide among
the trees and God not find Him. God knew where he was all the time. This lack of understanding is
passed upon all the human race. The Bible says in (Romans 3:11), “There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh afier God.” Even though we might understand natural
things, and even understand a few moral things, but to understand the things of God, no one can
until they are saved by the grace of God. The lost person cannot understand the spiritual things that
glorify God unless the Holy Spirit reveals them to him through God’s Word. Adam lost his spiritual
understanding, and this is passed to all mankind.
When Adam sinned, he lost the immortality of his body, becoming subject to disease and death.
This, too, is passed upon all the human race. In Adam all die. Also there was the spiritual death
that came upon Adam. This spiritual death caused spiritual darkness, his understanding was
darkened, his mind and conscience was defiled. His affections turned from God to himself and the
things of this world, his will turned toward doing that which was evil. The only hope for Adam,
and for mankind, is the grace of God in saving man from his sin and condenmation. All are under
the wrath of God, condemned under the curse of sin and the broken law. The only out is through
the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, from the paradise of God. What a loss this was.
The Bible says in (Genesis 3:24) that “God drove them out.” This is a picture of separation from
God, from the fellowship and communion with Him. Sin has set man at a distance from God. But
praise the Lord, Jesus has come to bring us, who are afar off, nigh to God through His precious
blood which He shed on the cross of Calvary.
Beloved, I am so glad for the proclamation that John the Baptist made when he introduced the
Lord Jesus to Israel and to the world. He said, “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world.” What Adam lost when he fell in sin, and the curse that has fallen upon all the human
race since, has been regained by God’s only begotten Son. On the cross of Calvary the sin debt
was settled by the death of Christ. He arose from the dead, and is alive for evermore. Do you
know Him?
| The Fall of Man |
|
Blessed Hope
A Continuing Ministry of Milford Cecil
A Continuing Ministry of Milford Cecil
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