1. The Command of God in the Garden
The Lord God commanded Adam, 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." This command was given to Adam before Eve was created. It was a test of obedience, a covenant of works. The tree was not evil in itself, but it was the appointed symbol of God's authority. To eat was to rebel. To obey was to demonstrate trust in God's goodness. The penalty was clear: death—physical, spiritual, and eternal.
2. The Serpent's Temptation
The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. He came to the woman and asked, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" The serpent questioned God's word, then denied it, then slandered God's character. He said, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The serpent attacked the truthfulness of God's word and the goodness of God's heart. He promised that disobedience would bring enlightenment and divinity.
3. The Disobedience of Adam and Eve
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. She gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived. Adam sinned with his eyes open. Eve was deceived by the serpent; Adam deliberately disobeyed. Both are guilty. Their sin was not merely eating fruit. It was unbelief in God's word, distrust of God's goodness, pride, and rebellion against the Creator. They reached for what God had forbidden, seeking to be like God without God.
4. The Immediate Consequences of the Fall
The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 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 among the trees of the garden. Shame replaced innocence. Fear replaced trust. Hiding replaced fellowship. The harmony between God and man was shattered. Sin brought alienation, guilt, and terror.
5. The Examination and Confrontation of God
The Lord God called to Adam and said, "Where are you?" Adam said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." God asked, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Adam blamed the woman and ultimately God: "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." The woman blamed the serpent: "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Neither repented. Both shifted blame. God's examination exposed their guilt and their unwillingness to confess.
6. The Curse Pronounced upon the Serpent, the Woman, and the Man
The Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." This is the protoevangelium—the first gospel promise. To the woman, God said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." To the man, God said, "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."
7. The Expulsion from the Garden and the Tree of Life
Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. The Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. An innocent animal died to cover their shame, foreshadowing the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"—therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and placed cherubim at the east of the garden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
8. The Transmission of Original Sin to All Mankind
Paul explains the consequences of the fall: "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." Adam was the federal head and representative of the human race. His sin is imputed to all his descendants. His corrupt nature is transmitted to all his descendants. Therefore, all men are born in sin, guilty before God, and under the sentence of death. There is no one righteous, no, not one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
9. The Extent of the Fall: Total Depravity
The fall affected every part of man's being. The mind became darkened, the will became enslaved to sin, the emotions became disordered, the body became subject to decay and death. The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Every intent of the thoughts of man's heart is only evil continually. Total depravity does not mean that every man is as evil as he could be. It means that sin has affected every part of man, and man, apart from grace, is unable and unwilling to come to God.
10. The Fall and the Promise of Redemption
The fall did not take God by surprise. Before the foundation of the world, God had determined to redeem His people through the Seed of the woman. The curse upon the serpent contained the promise that the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. Adam's failure is undone by Christ, the last Adam. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. The fall brought judgment, but it also set the stage for the greatest display of God's glory: the redemption of sinners through the death of His Son.
Conclusion
The fall of man is the historical event that explains the universal condition of sin and death. Adam's one act of disobedience plunged the entire human race into guilt, corruption, and misery. Every human being is born a sinner, under the wrath of God, and deserving of eternal death. But the fall is not the final word. God promised a Redeemer, the Seed of the woman, who would crush the serpent's head. As condemnation came through Adam, justification comes through Jesus Christ. The fall is great, but grace is greater.