IN THE BEGINNING
GENESIS PART 1 – ANTEDILUVIAN HISTORY
THE DOCTRINE OF DEPRAVITY
GENESIS 3
INTRODUCTION
- As we continue our look at the book of Genesis we are going to be leaving chapter 2 and moving on into chapter 3. At the end of chapter 2 all is well on the newly created planet earth. The man Adam has his companion, Eve; and now that mankind exists as both male and female God closes the sixth creation day by saying that everything is very good. God has instituted the marriage covenant between the man and the woman and everything is, forgive the cliché, in perfect harmony.
- The text says in Genesis 2:15 that Adam was put in the garden of Eden that God had formed for him to work it and keep it. Perhaps a better translation of that Hebrew phrase is “to worship and obey”; but either reading lets us know that God put Adam in a particular locale and gave him this single command in vv.16-17 of chapter 2: You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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. Up to this point Adam, and now Eve, had kept that command because the Scripture says in 2:25: And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. So shame was not known to them. Certainly there was no sexual shame, but we also get the idea that there was no shame about anything in general.
- But at the beginning of chapter 3 we are introduced to what Moses calls “the serpent”. The context of this chapter (and the rest of Scripture verifies this) indicates that the serpent is representative of Satan. The animal is said to have communicated with Eve; so this physical serpent that Eve sees and talks to is not your ordinary reptile. The devil, who had fallen from heaven some time prior to this, was speaking to the woman through the slithery snake.
- Now most, if not all of you, have read or heard of this story before. But maybe it’s been a while since you considered what happens here or perhaps you’ve never really given it much thought. Either way, I’m going to tell you right off the bat what occurs in this account, then we will read it, and following that we will explore the subject matter in more detail.
- In this passage the man Adam and the woman Eve fall from their perfect condition before each other and before God. They fall from this position because they disobey God’s explicit command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This disobedience was the first act of human sin. And Moses gives us the initial consequences of human sin, while the rest of the Bible presents a fuller picture.
- The theological term we use to describe mankind’s condition as a result of what we are about to read is depravity. Depravity speaks of moral and spiritual corruption. Prior to the event recorded in our text today Adam and Eve enjoyed moral and spiritual purity. They lose this purity as a result of their actions. Let’s look at what Moses tells us in Genesis 3; we’ll start with vv.1-7:
[READ GENESIS 3:1-7]
- Now think about what just happened. There are two trees that are given special attention in this whole narrative. I am of the opinion that neither of them have any innate, special, we might say “magical”, powers to them. They are what they are because God has designated them as such. The tree that appears in this passage is the aforementioned tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was a specific tree that God commanded Adam to abstain from. Adam was not to avoid the tree because it had rotten fruit. It’s not as if the tree was physically poisonous. The simple reason why the man and the woman were not to eat of this particular tree is that God told them not to do so.
- God did this as a perpetual test of obedience. So long as the humans obeyed God they would enjoy everlasting life, symbolized by the other special tree, the tree of life. But as soon as they decided to disobey God and eat what he commanded they not eat, they would die. That is exactly what they do here. Satan, through the serpent, convinces them that God is not telling the truth about dying, that the tree is good for food, and that they will be like God if they eat of it. So they do.
- This familiar story that many of us heard as little children in Sunday school is the single, most tragic event in human history. For in this story, mankind becomes separated from God; because he is no longer perfect, he is depraved. Now here is how we are going to make sense of what is going here. First, we are going to look at what happens as a result of this act of disobedience. Then we are going to see just how far these consequences reach. And we will close with a glimpse of the solution to the depravity problem.
- So let’s begin by examining:
THE CONSEQUENCES OF DEPRAVITY
- What happened here in this story? Well, what happened was that for the first time, humans sinned against God. They fell from perfection into corruption. That’s not hard to see, is it? For the first time since they were created Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s simple command. But what happened as a result of this fall? Let’s talk about some of the consequences that Scripture presents.
- The interesting thing about the way Moses composes this story is that there really isn’t a lot of information given. We would expect the single greatest human act of folly to get a lot more treatment. But it doesn’t. There aren’t a lot of details and the story is very short.
- Even the consequences given don’t seem all that horrible at first glance. The serpent is told that he will crawl on his belly and eat dust. Despite what you may have seen in cartoons, it’s likely that the serpent was already crawling on its belly. There are no indications that it ever had feet; although I suppose it’s possible. The punishment for the woman is painful child bearing and submission to her husband’s rule. Sure, child bearing is painful (though I have no direct knowledge of that), but that’s it? That’s my punishment for disobeying the Creator of the universe? And what about Adam? The punishment for Adam is that he has to work the ground in order to make a living. The ground would now produce thorns and thistles. Sure, those are a pain; but that’s it? Surely there has to be more than immediately meets the eye? And in fact, there most certainly is.
- The most important phrases in this narrative are found in 2:17, 3:3, and 3:19. In 2:17 God says this to Adam: 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. In 3:3 Eve says this to the serpent: but God said, ’You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ (Now, God did not command them not to touch the tree, or at least it’s not recorded that he did, but the consequence is the same.) And after the fall into disobedience and sin God tells this to Adam in 3:19: you [will] return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
- Something happened to the human race that day that is bigger than just birth pains and prickly plants. On that day, when they disobeyed God, Adam and Eve died.
- You might say, “No they didn’t. They went on to have children and live long lives, etc., etc.” And that’s right: their physical death comes later. But physical death is just a symptom of the real problem. The real problem is spiritual death. The punishment for the fall is not primarily physical in nature. Oh, there are certainly physical aspects of the consequences. But the primary nature of the problem is spiritual. They were immediately spiritually dead.
- And there’s only a tiny hint of this in this passage. We will get what the rest of Scripture says in a minute but I want you to see this. After all of the punishments are handed out, vv.22-24 say this: Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
- Now what’s so bad about that? Some say, “Well, the tree of life was in Eden and God didn’t want Adam or Eve to eat from it and live forever in sin.” That’s true, but God could have simply removed the tree from the garden. The tree was only a picture of the life God gives anyway. I don’t think we’re talking about magical life-giving fruit here. Others think that there was some life-giving property to the tree; but even still, take the tree out of the garden.
- “Well, Eden was plush with trees for food and now Adam has to work hard and labor for sustenance.” Okay, but why not just make thorns and thistles grow in Eden? Evidently Eden eventually came to look like every other place on earth. There is no garden in the Middle East still protected by angels and a flaming sword. So even Eden succumbed to the consequences of the curse. Why make Adam and Eve leave the garden?
- Because Eden was where Adam and Eve enjoyed their perfect fellowship with God their Creator. Eden was where God gave Adam his wife Eve. Eden was the place where evidently God met with the man and the woman in some sort of tangible way. By banishing them from the garden, God is banishing them from his perfect presence, and showing them that the life they had while they were there was now gone. And there was no way they could get it back in their own power.
- Notice that Moses says that God placed cherubim at the east of the garden to guard the entrance. This is another example of why it is so important to understand Genesis within its larger context of the Pentateuch. Where else do we see cherubim in the Old Testament? Images of cherubim were placed on the ark of the covenant and on the veil for the Holy of Holies, where God met with and spoke to the priests. We see them elsewhere in the Prophets indicating the holy presence of God. These angelic creatures signify God’s presence.
- So forget the plush green plants for food. Forget the nice scenery and flowing rivers. That’s not what the garden was about. The garden was about the manifest presence of God. And now Adam and Eve were driven out from it. It is a startling picture of their spiritual death. Tragedy of the highest order – broken fellowship with God.
- Now, let’s take a look at what the rest of Scripture has to say about this event and the results of this event. This first issue that we just discussed really deals with what the fall into depravity did; or what happened as a result of that fall: Adam and Eve spiritually died. And remember, physical death goes along with that, but it’s just a symptom of the real problem. Now I want to address:
THE EXTENT OF DEPRAVITY
- How does this fall affect us, if at all? And how much does it affect us? Let’s survey a few texts.
- In Romans 5 Paul is comparing Jesus to Adam. If you’ve ever heard Jesus called the Second Adam, this is one of the texts where that terminology comes from (also 1 Corinthians 15). Why should we care about what some ancient couple ate from some tree? This is why. Romans 5:12 says that:...sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.
- Sin came into the world through one man – Adam. Sin results in death, so death spread to all men. Adam’s sin was passed to every single person after him. You and I are on that list. And he says the same thing a few different times. Later on in the chapter he says one trespass led to condemnation for all men and by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners. Because Adam sinned and became a sinner, and you came from Adam, you are born a sinner.
- King David knew this. He writes in Psalm 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. In that psalm David is pleading with God for mercy and forgiveness. He is confessing his transgressions and sinful behavior. He writes that his sin is constantly before him; he is constantly aware of it. He needs to be washed and made clean. He knows that he has offended a holy God and then he writes those words. It’s as if he’s saying, “I know how sinful I am: I am so sinful that even when I was conceived and unformed in my mother’s womb I was contaminated by sin.”
- And not only are we born sinners, but we are sinners by action as well. The familiar words of Romans 3:23 say: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That makes sense doesn’t it? Everyone sins because everyone is born a sinner. It’s our nature. It’s what we do.
- I think we understand that. Even those who don’t follow Jesus understand that. They know they are not perfect. They know they do things wrong. They may not know why they do those things or why they are wrong, but they know they are imperfect. So how does Adam’s fall affect us? We are condemned to spiritual death just like he was. We are not permitted into God’s presence. We are kept out of paradise. And if we physically die and enter into eternity without resolving the matter, things will stay that way forever.
- But here is something we don’t always get. Those outside of our faith most certainly miss this, but even we sometimes don’t grasp it. How would you answer this question: how sinful are we? Depravity extends to every person. That much is obvious. But how depraved is each person?
- The Bible tells us that each of us is so depraved that on our own we want nothing to do with God. The theological term is total depravity. Each and every one of us is totally depraved. What does that mean? It means that every part of our being is tainted by sin. Our minds, our hearts, our wills, our desires, our actions, our intentions – anything you can think of that has to do with who you are is corrupted by sin.
- Here are just a few things that Scripture says. Jeremiah 17:9 says: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? In Isaiah 59 the prophet is condemning Israel for their wickedness and he writes things like this: your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God...their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands...we grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes.
- And you might think, “Does that really apply to me?” Paul thought it did. He quotes Isaiah 59 in Romans 3 along with Psalms 5, 10, 14, 36, 53, and 140 as well as Proverbs 1 when he writes this: None is righteous, no, not one (that’s behavior); no one understands (that’s the mind); no one seeks for God (that’s desire). All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one...There is no fear of God before their eyes.
- Here is the clearest, simplest way I can put it. Depravity extends to every single person who has ever lived, is living, or ever will live. And it reaches every facet of their being. And that statement is sort of in third person, but it includes us. Depravity extends to us, and it reaches every facet of our being. No part of us is not tainted with sin. How depraved are we? Totally depraved.
- In Ephesians 2 the Apostle tells us that we are born dead in our trespasses and sins. We are by nature children of wrath. Before we come to faith in Jesus Christ we wondered things like: Why don’t I see God? Why don’t I feel God? Why can’t I experience God? And the Bible answers: Because you are dead in your sin. There is no spiritual life in you. You are a spiritual corpse.
- All of this because of what we find occurring in Genesis 3. So it’s easy to see that this was a monumental turning point in human history. This one event sent the whole human race on the path to Hell for an eternity without God. Thankfully, however, the story doesn’t end there. We close with a preview of:
THE SOLUTION FOR DEPRAVITY
- Sometimes we may think, “Man, talking about sin and depravity is so depressing!” It’s like watching the evening news. Why do we even bother? And yes, depravity is a depressing topic; but it only stays depressing if we leave this next part out. God has provided a way out of our sinful depravity, has he not? This is only the beginning of the story. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ dealt with our depravity on the cross. That’s why the good news is so good, because the bad news is so bad. We can be saved out of this wretched condition if we trust in him alone through faith. God solves the depravity problem for us.
- And you know what’s great about the whole thing? We don’t even have to leave Genesis 3 before we get our first glimpse of this resolution from God. Look at 3:15; God says to the serpent (who is Satan): I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. God, who knew this moment would come from all of eternity, says to the enemy on the day he thinks he has won, “The seed of the woman is going to crush you. You will bruise his heel, but he will bruise your head.”
- Who is the seed or offspring of the woman? What does it mean that Satan will bruise his heel? And what does it mean that he will bruise Satan’s head? Well, I think you know. But we’ll find out in detail next time as we look at the doctrine of redemption.
