Chapter 25

Man and God

Man's Sin and Lost Dominion

Many of the world's philosophers have looked at the problems of mankind - war, sickness, disease, misery, and poverty - and tried to work out an acceptable explanation of the way things are. Christians have a valid explanation. The Bible describes events which caused the world to be in its present state of corruption and decay.

Genesis 2 records the detailed account of the creation of man. Moses wrote, "Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). Consequently, man is a partaker of two kinds of life. He is formed of the dust of the ground, which is part of the physical creation. But he is more than simply physical - he partakes of the spiritual also. God breathed into him the breath or spirit of life. Thus, man became a living soul.

Man's Duty - Obedience to God

After his creation Adam was put in the Garden of Eden and given a command:

		Genesis 2:16-17
	16	And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
	17	but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die."

God is absolutely perfect and requires, as well as deserves, perfect obedience from His creatures. He cannot be brought down to the level of man, nor can man be raised to the level of God. While man is created in the image of God, there still remains a great difference between the two. It can only be described as the difference between the finite and the infinite. Man the finite, should always be perfectly obedient to God, the infinite.

Man's Fall through Disobedience

Genesis 3 records the fall of mankind when he chose to do what God said he should not do. Apparently, Satan tempted Eve to sin soon after her creation. At first, the serpent did not openly contradict God, but he did cast doubt on His goodness and kind intentions. He implied to Eve that God had taken cruel delight in forbidding them to eat of every tree in the garden. Satan said to her:

		Genesis 3:1-3
	1	…"Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
	2	And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
	3	but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'"

Eve fell for Satan's attack against God's character. While she may have thought that she stated the truth, she actually added to God's Word saying that they should not "touch" the fruit. Then the serpent, seeing Eve fall into his trap, directly said, in effect, that God had lied. He flatly contradicted God saying, "You surely shall not die!" (Genesis 3:4). Then two short verses describe Adam and Eve's acts of disobedience and the consequences of their sin:

		Genesis 3:6-7
	6	When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
	7	Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

Disobedience Results in Death

Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were immediately out of fellowship with their Creator. The very next verse shows that they were afraid of God because they had sinned. They heard the Lord God walking in the garden and hid themselves from Him (Genesis 3:8). Their disobedience caused the world of mankind to be in its present terrible state.

The Lord God had said to Adam, "for in the day that you eat from it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil], you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). Those who misunderstand the real nature of death misunderstand what God said to Adam here. Death is not the end of activity or existence. It is a separation from the source of life. When Adam sinned he died spiritually - he was separated from God, the source of all life. The New Testament speaks of being "dead in your trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). Thus, it is obvious that death has both physical and spiritual aspects.

Lost Dominion and Fallen Nature

Adam's sin not only separated man from God, but man lost his dominion over the earth to Satan. In addition, because he could not be trusted, he no longer trusted others. A distinct inclination toward evil took place in his soul when he sinned. And he passed that change on to his descendants; there is a natural bent toward evil. This explains the widespread problems of mankind throughout the centuries, and throughout the whole earth.

In Romans 5:12-21, the Apostle Paul explained what happened when Adam sinned. He said in 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned." Paul makes his point from a fact we all see: all men die. Death is not the natural state of man. It is the result of sin. The proof that everyone sins is that everyone dies.

Paul then contrasts sin and death in Adam with grace and life in Jesus. He wrote:

		Romans 5:15-16
	15	But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
	16	And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment [death] arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift [eternal life] arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Then Paul brings his whole argument to its main point:

		Romans 5:17-19
	17	For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
	18	So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
	19	For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

The main point is that death came through Adam, but life came through Jesus Christ. The question is, "How does man obtain that life?" Look back at verse 17 again. It says, "much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." To obtain eternal life one must receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness from Him. Those who do, receive eternal life and can live triumphantly through Jesus.

The Gospel of John says this about receiving Jesus:

		John 1:11-12
	11	He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him [Jesus].
	12	But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

There are many people who have heard the Gospel and believe it with their mind. But they never receive Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior. Remember, you must receive Him in order to inherit eternal life.

Make It Personal

Ephesians says that mankind is without hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:12). Men fight God and each other, rather than live together in peace - indeed, this is the awful result of sin.

If you have not received Jesus Christ, you are still without the life of God. I encourage you to turn to Him, confess your sin, and believe He died in your place that you may have eternal life. I do not promise you a life of ease. Indeed, the life of a Christian is sometimes harder than that of others. However, Jesus offers something which no one can have without Him. He offers peace with God, peace with oneself, and the ability to live in peace with those around you, so far as it depends upon you. This truly is a treasure of great price - you can lay down your head at night and immediately go to sleep because you are right with God and men.

If you do not know Jesus, confess to God that you are a sinner, and trust Him to forgive your sins and cleanse you. The ruins of your life can be turned into a story of victory and glory in Christ Jesus our Lord.

		Romans 6:23
	23	For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord

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