Ron Auch Jr
Prayer House AG
Feb 9th 2020
Fundamental truth # 4 The FALL OF MAN
What would be the trigger word for truth #4? : Door
For this scene we will focus on the door going into your bedroom. This door has a hook centered on it near the top of the door.
Now, you are coming down the hallway to your bedroom, you are looking at the floor while walking, but as you get closer to your door, you look up! To your surprise, there is a man hanging by the back of his shirt collar on the hook. The second you notice him the hook breaks and the man immediately falls to the ground, unhurt but shocked.
That is all you need to picture to remember, fundamental truth #4 is THE FALL OF MAN.
The Assemblies of God (the fellowship we are a part of) founded itself on 16 fundamental truths. Though today’s message is basically an introduction to truth # 4 (the Fall of Man) we are going to look into the Creation and how man fell from grace.
I image there are many in our congregation and around the country and world who pay very little attention to what our doctrines are as Assemblies of God. So I’m hoping this will encourage you about our church as well as the Assemblies of God as an organization.
One of the things I emphasize in our membership class is the fact that the Assemblies of God is not a denomination. We are officially a cooperative fellowship. This organization was founded in 1914. When the Pentecostal movement hit our nation back around 1906 there was very little structure and all sorts of wildfire, snake-handling, and strange manifestations were happening all in the name of Pentecostalism.
In an effort to disassociate with the craziness and yet proclaim their Pentecostalism our founding fathers got together and established the Assemblies of God as a cooperative fellowship rather than a denomination, we knew there would be no way to denominatidonalize the moving of the Holy Spirit.
A cooperative fellowship is simply that. If you want to be an Assemblies of God church all you need to do is agree to corporate with the 16 fundamental truths that the founding fathers put together (plus a few other things)but there is no special under or handshakes or other freely stuff like that.…
We are as close to being an independent church as you can be and yet be a part of an organization.
We are independent in the sense that our district officials really have no role to play in the everyday operation of our church outside however, they are there for your protection and for the fellowship as-well-as being my spiritual authority.
These 16 fundamental truths have stood the test of time. Not only are they the doctrinal positions held to by The Assemblies of God but also by our church.
Fortunately for you and I, our movement has never felt the need to alter our 16 fundamental truths in any way since their adoption over a 100 years ago.
Of the 16 truths, 4 of them are considered our Cardinal Doctrines. 1. The Salvation of Man, we believe there is no way to have eternal life but by being born-again, 2. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, we believe God gave the church this gift on the day of Pentecost to help us live the overcoming life, 3. Divine Healing, our official position regarding divine healing is that it is always God’s will to heal. Isaiah prophesied that the stripes Jesus took on his back were for our healing. 4. The Blessed Hope, which speaks to our position that we believe Jesus is coming back for his bride through what we call the rapture of the church.
Today we are going to look at Creation and the Fall of Man. Though creation is not one of the 16 fundamental truths, it plays a pertinent role in the doctrine of the fall of man.
Through most of it’s history the A/G have held to the young earth theory – that the earth is approximately 6000 years old and that God created it all in 6 – 24hour days.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
It has often been pointed out that, If a person really believes Genesis 1:1, he will not find it difficult to believe anything else recorded in the Bible.
That is, if God really created all things, then He controls all things and can do all things.
Furthermore, this one verse refutes all of man's false philosophies concerning the origin and meaning of the world.
It refutes atheism, because the universe was created by God.
It refutes pantheism (the belief that God is everything and everything is God).
It refutes polytheism, for one God created all things not many gods.
It refutes humanism, because God, not man, is the ultimate reality.
It refutes evolutionism, because God created all things.
Suffice it to say, we believe Genesis 1:1, “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Following that are the first 11 chapters of Genesis, which details the rest of creation, which includes the animals and man. Gen chapter 3 details the fall of man.
I’m not going to debate the issue of creation vs. evolution but I intend to defend the A/Gs’ position of creation to some degree.
To me it simply comes down to this.
Either God is all that he says he is and can do everything his word says he can do – or - he cant, in that case, why should we even bother.
What is the use of being a Christian if you are not sure the Word of God is true?
If a person does not believe the first 11 chapters of Genesis then nothing else makes sense.
Many people today are wondering if the account of Adam and Eve is really a true account or a fable.
The danger in allowing yourself to believe that it might just be a fable is then there really isn’t what we call, original sin.
If there is no such thing as original sin then man does not need a redeemer and therefore Jesus is really a non-factor.
If man is not born into sin then all he needs to do is continually improve himself and he’ll be fine, so he thinks. We can see this belief played out in our politics today -
The fact that mankind fell from its original innocence and moral goodness, is ignored by humanistic philosophies.
Humanism teaches that the human race can be improved, and moral imperfection can be removed through education.
How’s that working out for us?
Does it appear that man is actually improving himself or is it possible that we are headed in the wrong direction?
The truth is, without God, mankind is fallen and morally defective.
The Bible teaches that mankind is destined to remain fallen, until his tendency toward evil thoughts and deeds is reversed and the only thing that is going to accomplish that is by accepting the salvation provided in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God the Son.
Education can improve a person intellectually and socially, but belief in the saving work of Jesus Christ is the only lasting means that can improve a person morally because a man is transformed by the renewing of his mind and the Holy Spirit is the only one capable of that kind of renovation.
When it comes to the fall of man one of the more confusing things is why God allowed it to happen.
Genesis 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (16) And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; (17) but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
The fact that God told man that he was fee to eat from any tree except for one, speaks of the free will God gave man.
If he didn’t have a free will why would God tell him that he is free to eat from any tree he wanted except for the one?
If he didn’t have a free will then God set him up to fail.
Without a free will it would have been as though God told the man – you are not suppose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but I’m going to make you eat it anyway, I’m going to make you fall from grace.
Knowing what we know about God as His word describes Him, why would God do that?
If indeed it was a sin to eat of that tree and yet man did not have a choice in it then God forced man to sin.
Facts and results of the fall
The Fall is the traditional term referring to the first sin of Adam and Eve which brought judgment upon both nature and mankind. Genesis 3:1-24 gives the account of the Fall of humanity. Sin and death entered the world, and humanity has been affected by it ever since.
This came about because Adam and Eve chose to disobey God's commandment not to eat of the "tree of knowledge of good and evil."
Before the Fall
The traditional thought is that before the fall man reflected the image of God perfectly – however, I wonder if that is not quite the case. If they had reflected the image of God perfectly in every way – would they have sinned? I wonder if it might be better to say that what God created was perfect but man’s free will took advantage of the goodness of God and rebelled against him.
Although today each person is still created in the image of God, that image continues to be veiled due to the sinfulness of humanity. Prior to the fall, Adam and Eve walked with God and enjoyed perfect fellowship with him.
After the Fall
But after the fall, it’s a different story. The effects of this first sin upon our first parents themselves were shame, a sense of degradation and pollution; dread of the displeasure of God, or a sense of guilt, and the consequent desire to hide from his presence.
These effects were unavoidable. They prove the loss not only of innocence but of original righteousness, and, with it, of the favor and fellowship of God.
Even Satan was created as a perfect being, though he was not a human being.
Ezekiel 28:12-14 “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You were in Eden, the garden of God.
He was created as a perfect angelic being.
Verse 14 says, …you were an anointed guardian cherub. But in verse 15 it says, Ezekiel 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
The same could be said of Adam and Eve. They were blameless in their ways until wickedness was found in them.
When Adam sinned, the state to which he was reduced by his disobedience, so far as his individual condition was concerned, was equivalent to that of the fallen angels. He was entirely and absolutely ruined"
Why God allowed the Fall
So the question is why did God allow the Fall? Why didn’t he just keep Adam from being tempted?
Why did God allow evil in the first place?
John 9:2-3And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (3) Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
There is a deep and instructive principle in these words.
I believe they throw light on that great question, why did God allow the origin of evil.
When Jesus answered his disciples and said, his blindness is nothing more than a stage for the works of God to be displayed, He revealed something quite critical.
God thought it fit to allow evil to exist in order that He may have a platform for showing His mercy, grace, and compassion.
If man had never fallen, or in this case, if this man had not been born blind, there would have been no opportunity of showing divine mercy.
But by permitting this, mysterious as it seems, God's works of grace, mercy, and wisdom in saving sinners have been wonderfully manifested to all his creation.
The redeeming of the church is the means of 'showing to principalities and powers the manifold wisdom of God.' That’s what Ephesians 3:10 is all about.
((((SLIDE)))) Ephesians 3:10-11 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, (11) according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here’s an interesting thought. God’s intent was that now through the church, through the redeemed, the wisdom of God would be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms. We see later in the book of Ephesians that these rulers and authorities are the devil and his hordes.
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
God’s intent in allowing evil to exist was to show these powers and authorities, which rebelled against him, that through the redemption of the church, God has righted what the enemy wronged.
Think about this for a moment.
We call Adam’s sin original sin, and it was in regards to man however the very first sin was Satan’s rebellion against God.
Some theologians believe that Satan existed in the garden with Adam and Eve before he fell from grace.
We read that verse earlier from Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 28:12-13 “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You were in Eden, the garden of God.
Some believe he might have been there for 100’s of years before God found unrighteousness in him.
Keep in mind that Adam named all the animals before the fall.
God said that he put Adam in the garden to work it and to keep it.
We don’t really know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before they sinned.
We don’t even know how long Adam was there by himself before God created Eve.
But the greater point I want to make is this; ((((SLIDE)))) no one deceived Satan in the way Satan deceived Eve.
The bible says he was crafty and lied to Eve.
However when it comes to Satan he flat out rebelled against God, no one tried to deceive him.
He thought he could become like God.
That is the craftiness he used against Eve when he said to her in Genesis 3:5, “When you eat of this fruit you will be like God.”
Satan committed the original sin and then he deceived innocent man.
I’m not attempting to excuse Adam’s sin.
God himself explicitly told him that he should not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So he chose to sin and paid a price for it.
Do you know how easy it would be to deceive an innocent person?
First of all innocence has no sense of deception, it wouldn’t even know it’s being deceived.
An evil person could easily deceive someone who is innocent.
My little boy, who is just 2 years old, is quite innocent.
Do you know how easy it would be for me to start telling him lies about life?
It would be simple.
It’s not that different from parents who refuse to teach their children about Jesus.
If you are teaching them humanism you are deceiving them about life.
It appears that because Satan deceived man, but was not deceived himself, but openly rebelled against God, there has been no redemption offered to him and his fallen angels like there is for man.
There is no evidence anywhere in the scriptures where God offers redemption to Satan and his gang of fallen angels.
Man was deceived but Satan knew what he was doing.
God, through the redemption of man, has made known to these principalities and powers, which wage war, against us, that in his manifold wisdom he has righted the wrong they put upon us.
We need to praise God that He offers to us redemption through, Jesus, God The Son.
Without the Fall of Man we would never have known anything of the Cross and the Gospel.
Redeemed or Innocent
A few weeks ago I made mention during our Wednesday night the book of Revelation. In Revelation 21 we were talking about the fact that God makes all things new.
Rev 21:5-6 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."
When this verse stated, He who sat on the throne said; that is an authoritative announcement, coming from the throne of God itself. This is one of the few times in Revelation where we clearly see God speaking directly from His throne. And His words are: Behold, I make all things new.
This statement is in the present tense, meaning; “I am making everything new.”
“This is the consummation of God’s work of renewal and redemption.
Paul saw this transformation at work on this side of eternity:
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day . . . Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 4:16, 5:17)
This is a brief glance at the thinking behind God’s eternal plan which was to allow sin and its destruction, in order to do a greater work of making all things new.
At this point in His plan of the ages, the plan is complete. If you are in Christ then all things have been made new.
Your old life has passed away and all things have become new to you.
Psalms 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Because of Adam’s sin all men are born in sin, however when we are born-again the stain of original sin is removed and God makes us new.
Why do you think a person’s life changes so dramatically when they receive Christ as their savior?
It’s because he literally brings them into a new life.
It’s the life of the redeemed.
And it’s almost as though He is rubbing it in Satan’s face and saying, “I have made new - the very thing you corrupted. But you will be lost forever.”
We need to understand something about redemption and that’s that it is much better than innocence.
Our instinct is to romantically consider innocence as man’s perfect state; so we wish Adam had not sinned.
Have you ever said something like that?
Have you ever had the thought, “I wish we were still in the Garden?”
I have, however, in that state of mind we fail to realize that
Redeemed man is greater than an innocent ma. As redeemed we gain more in Jesus than we ever lost in Adam.
God’s perfect state is one of redemption, not innocence.
Innocence has no revelation of the mercy and grace of God.
In innocence Adam walked with God.
In redemption God dwells within man.
Which is better?
In the Old Testament, prior to the redemptive work of Jesus the Holy Spirit was with men.
But in the New Testament, because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross the Holy Spirit can now dwell within man. Which is better?
The redeemed of the Lord are those who openly and willfully choose God over this world.
The lost are those who openly and willfully choose the world over God.
Those who are redeemed prove their love for the Lord.
If a man had no free will then he might end up saved without even having an affinity for the Lord. He wouldn’t even have to care whether or not he served the Lord because he’s got no choice.
Freedom of choice is the beauty of every relationship.
If there were no choice there would be no attractiveness to marriage.
If divorce were not an option, marriage would have very little merit.
But because you can walk away – staying together is proof of your love.
The same is true in our relationship with Jesus.
Man fell because we willfully chose to sin, redemption comes to us when we willfully chooses to follow God.
Yes, we fall, but God redeems...
Praise Him.
