In part two of this topic, I will address four of the many questions asked by Philip, as they relate to one another. These have to do with the tree of knowledge, why God would tempt his children and why the punishment for disobedience was passed on to Adam and Eve's children. Discussing these issues will lead us to the forth issue, which is the idea of all people being God's children.
I will go back to the bible to let it answer these biblical questions for us. I fully acknowledge there are those who do not believe the bible to be the inerrant word of God to man. My point is not to convince otherwise, only to offer answers as to why many Christians believe the way they do. I also acknowledge there are varying degrees of understanding and interpretation within the body of Christ. This makes perfect sense as we all come from different backgrounds and traditions. Nevertheless, there are many constants within the differing denominations of Christianity and three of them are the origin of man, the concept of original sin, and the need for forgiveness and restoration to a Holy God. It is with this in mind that I humbly and prayerfully offer the following explanations.
On the tree of knowledge –
"Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth"…Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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." Genesis 1:26,15-17.
In this passage of Scripture we see several things; that man was created in the image of God and in His likeness – what is God like? He is a spiritual being that has no end, and is pure in thought and action, and is a loving creator who will teach and discipline when necessary.
We see that Adam and Eve and all of mankind were never intended to die as is evident from the statement "in that day you eat, you shall surely die. Next, we see that freedom of choice was instituted by God when he laid out the commandment not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The question is raised, why would God tempt them on purpose? God did not tempt them, but gave them free will. He created mankind for fellowship in a loving relationship with Him. In order for love to be genuine, it cannot be forced – would it really be love if there were no choice? In God's love and foreknowledge, he knew they would stray, so he warned them what would happen if they did, and he already had a plan in place to restore them to fellowship when they did.
"Let no one say when he is tempted ‘I am tempted by God', for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away with his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." James 1:13 – 15
Eve was tempted by Satan, he planted thoughts in her head and told half-truths about God's intent in keeping them from eating the fruit, she fed on those initial thoughts, and it gave birth to sin.
"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate." Genesis 3:6
It was the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life that caused her to sin. (1 John 2:15-17) In effect, she allowed the twisted lies of Satan to lead her thoughts to a place where she convinced herself that God must be keeping something good away from them. God gave them everything – any tree for food, dominion over the land and freedom to fellowship with Him at any time, and it wasn't good enough.
The result was banishment from the Garden. Why – because in this same garden was the tree of life. And since they were now in a fallen and sinful state, God did not want them to eat of this tree. If they had, they would remain in their sinful state for all eternity. (This is explained in detail in another article found here.)
One might suggest the bible's inconsistency in that Adam and Eve did not die that day, so therefore there is no reason to go on with this story. However, closer examination shows us they did die. They died spiritually (separated from fellowship with God) and they died physically as well – that "day" just as it says.
"And they heard the sound 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 among the trees in the garden. Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?' So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." Genesis 3:8-10
"Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." Isaiah 59:1-2
"But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter 3:8
We see that Adam and Eve ran away and hid from God, they didn't want Him to see them or hear them – and we learn that Adam lived to be 930 years old. (Gen 5:5)
The beauty is that we read that God reached out to restore fellowship. In his Justice he could have left them spiritually dead, but in His mercy he called out to them, giving them an opportunity to repent and acknowledge their sin. In God's Holiness, he had to keep his word in that sin brings death – and in this, he sacrificed an animal and made tunics to "cover" their sin – this was a picture of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus would make. God gave life for life.
The next question raised, is why were their children punished as well. The answer is as simple as looking at life today – if a woman were to drink alcohol and use drugs while pregnant, the child will suffer the consequences. They are not punished, but rather the unfortunate recipient of sinful behavior. Naturally speaking, they will have to do what they can to repair the damage caused by their mother.
And so it goes spiritually, which leads us to the final question/comment for this article.
On all people being a child of God –
As Genesis tells us, man was created in the image of God. But through disobedience, we lost the spiritual ability to display His attributes. We instead carry the image of the first man Adam, who birthed sin into the line of man and caused everyone to be born spiritually dead – hence the need to be born again by the Spirit of God, thus becoming his child, so that we may once again be transformed into the image of God through Christ.
The bible clearly teaches that God is the Father; however, not everyone is his child, only his creation. It teaches that we are adopted as children through faith in Christ. Before Jesus was born, people became a child of God through faith in God and his coming Messiah.
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all have sinned…For if by the one man's offense death reigned through one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" Romans 5:12, 17
"He [Jesus] came to His own, but His own did not receive him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:11-12
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26
"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Galatians 4:4
The choice is ours. God the Father is loving, but He is also just and His very character calls Him to be true to His word – He lays life and death before us as His creation, we decide our fate: Respond to His call and restore our fellowship with Him, or remain in our separated state for all eternity.
God is not the tempter; He is the giver of life.
Thank you again for staying with me, it was impossible to keep this short and still there is much more to say regarding these issues. I welcome continued discussion in the comments section, and as always, invite other believers to add insight to the topic.
I pray this will at least give cause to search the Scriptures with a heart that calls on God and His Holy Spirit to give spiritual eyes and minds to better understand the things of God.
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9
This brings us to the perfect will of God, the permissive will of God, and God's "chosen" people coming soon in part three.
© Teresa Ortiz
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