This 3rd Part of our series on the Bible’s Teaching Regarding the Judgments is concerned with The Fall of Man and the Consequences of that Fall.

THE FALL OF MAN.

The Fall of Man occurred in the Garden when Adam and Eve disobeyed the command of God concerning the sole prohibition He placed upon them. Genesis 2:16-17 contains this singular prohibition along with the penalty for disobedience: “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.”

After an undetermined time from the giving of this command, Satan in the form of a serpent, engaged Eve in conversation. His apparent aim was to convince Eve that her best interest was served not by obeying God’s command, but by disobeying it (Genesis 3:3-4 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Satan, being successful in his deception instigated the Fall of Man (Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”)

Eve was deceived (1Tim. 2:15) and Adam disobeyed knowingly. The judgment of God was executed just as He said it would be. Adam and Eve died the moment they ate of the forbidden fruit. Their death was both immediately and gradually. Their immediate death was spiritual and their gradual death was physical as their bodies began the progressive deterioration that results in the cessation of physical life. Their spiritual death resulted in their acquisition of the “sin nature”: the nature that is self-centered and devoid of any interest in the things of God.

By sinning, Adam and Eve lost the blessed state of Innocence; the state in which they were created and they became subject to the following far-reaching effects:

1. They became subject to both spiritual and physical death. God had said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17); and this divine declaration was fulfilled. Adam and Eve passed immediately into spiritual death, which is separation from God and an existence of being completely out of fellowship with Him. They also suffered the penalty of physical death: the separation of the soul from the body.
2. The very creation itself was affected by their sin: briars and thorns were introduced, labor and sorrow were added, and the enjoyment of Eden was withdrawn.
3. Their sin, resulting in the receiving of the sin-nature, affected the entire race of Man. Adam and Eve became sinners by sinning, we, their descendants, sin because we are born sinners.

THE CONSEQUENCES UPON THE RACE OF ADAM’S FALL

In carefully considering the effect upon the race because of Adam’s sin, we are introduced to the doctrine of “Imputation”. This is one of the most profound doctrines in the Bible.

Three imputations are presented in the Bible: (1) The sin of Adam is imputed to his descendants (Rom. 5:12–14); (2) the sin of man is imputed to Christ (2 Cor. 5:21); and, (3) the righteousness of God is imputed to those who believe the gospel of Christ (Gen. 15:6; Psa. 32:2; Rom. 3:22; 4:3, 8, 21–25; 2 Cor. 5:21; Philem. 1:17, 18).

It is obvious that there was a legal (judicial) not an actual transfer of the sin of man to Christ the Sin-Bearer. Jehovah hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:5; John 1:29; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18). So, in like manner, there is a legal(judicial) transfer of the righteousness of God to the believer (2 Cor. 5:21). There never been nor could there be any other grounds of justification or acceptance with God. This imputation belongs to the new relationship within the New Creation. Being joined to the Lord by the baptism by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17; 12:13; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal 3:27), and vitally related to Christ as a member of His body (Eph. 5:30), it follows that every virtue of Christ is extended to those who have been made a part of Him. The believer is “in Christ” and thus a partaker of all that Christ is.

Likewise, all that is of the old creation is actually transferred to those who by natural generation are “in Adam.” They become possessed of the nature of Adam and are said to have sinned in him. This is as real in forming sufficient ground for divine judgment as the imputation of the righteousness of God in Christ is sufficient ground for justification. The result is the imputation of Adam’s sin is the divine judgment upon the race whether they have sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression or not. Though men argue that they are not responsible for Adam’s sin, the divine revelation remains that because of the far-reaching effect of representation through the federal headship, Adam’s one initial sin is immediately and directly imputed to each member of the race with the unvarying sentence of death resting upon all (Rom. 5:12–14). Additionally,

the fall of Adam the effect of the one initial sin is transmuted in the form of the sin nature by inheritance, from father to son throughout all generations (Gen. 5:3). The effect of the fall is universal; as is the offer of divine grace.

One does not fall because their first sin; they are born fallen offspring of Adam. One does not become sinful by sinning, but one sins because by nature they are sinful. No child needs to be taught to sin, but every child must be encouraged not to sin.

The holy judgments of God must rest upon all men out of Christ: (1) because of imputed sin, (2) because of the inherited sin nature, (3) because Man is under sin, and (4) because of men’s own personal sins.

The penalty resting on the current creation is: (1) physical death, which is separation of the soul from the body; (2) spiritual death, which (like Adam’s) is the present estate of the lost and is the separation of the soul from God (Eph. 2;1; 4:18, 19); and (3) the second death, which is the eternal separation of the soul from God and banishment from His presence forever (Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8). Though these holy judgments of God cannot be diminished, the sinner may be saved from them through Christ. This is the good news of the gospel.

John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Romans 1:16-17: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”