Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Eve first, and then Adam, sinned by disobeying God's command not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17).

(Although only Adam had been created when God gave that command to him, he apparently made Eve aware of it also, since she quoted it to the serpent (that is, Satan) when it tempted her (Genesis 3:2-3). (Adam was also apparently in close proximity to Eve when she was tempted (Genesis 3:6), but was not directly tempted by the serpent (1 Timothy 2:14). 

(However, Eve also mistakenly added a prohibition against even touching the tree that God had not commanded. The Bible does not indicate whether this error originated from Adam's relating of the command to her, or whether it was her own invention.) 

At its root, however, their sin was pride for believing Satan's lie that eating the fruit would cause them to become like God -- the same pride that had caused the devil's original expulsion from heaven (Isaiah 14:12-15).

December 16 2022 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

How did Adam and Eve sin?

Genesis 3:6 Rotherham Bible: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was desirable to the eyes, and the tree was pleasant to make one knowing, then she took of the fruit thereof and did eat,—and she gave to her husband also along with her, and he did eat.

Genesis 3. 23-24: So Yahweh God put him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground wherefrom he had been taken. 24 So he expelled the man,—and caused to dwell—in front of the garden of Eden—cherubim and a brandishing sword-flame, to keep the way to the tree of life.

Effects of sin: Sin put man out of harmony with his Creator. It thereby damaged not only his relations with God but also his relations with the rest of God's creation, including damage to man's own self, to his mind, heart, and body. It brought consequences of enormous evil upon the human race.

The conduct of the human pair immediately revealed this disharmony. Adam and Eve covered portions of their divinely made bodies, and their attempting to hide themselves from God was clear evidence of the alienation that had taken place within their minds and hearts. (Ge 3:7, 8) Sin thus caused them to feel guilt, anxiety, insecurity, and shame. This illustrates the point made by the apostle at Romans 2:15, that God's law was 'written on man's heart'; hence, a violation of that law now produced an internal upheaval within man, his conscience accusing him of wrongdoing. In effect, man had a built-in lie detector that made it impossible for him to conceal his sinful state from his Creator. God, responding to the man's excuse for his changed attitude toward his heavenly Father, promptly inquired: "From the tree from which I commanded you not to eat have you eaten?"​—Ge 3:9-11.

Adam and Eve were the first humans to sin. When they disobeyed God by eating from "the tree of the knowledge of good and bad," they committed what many call the original sin. (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:6; Romans 5:19) That tree was off-limits to Adam and Eve because it represented God's authority, or right, to decide what is right and wrong for humans. By eating from the tree, Adam and Eve took matters into their own hands, choosing to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. In doing so, they rejected God's moral authority.

How does the "original sin" affect humanity today?

Adam and Eve passed on their sinful condition to all their descendants. This is similar to the way human parents pass on genetic defects. (Romans 5:12) Thus, all humans have been born "in sin," meaning that we are born imperfect and inclined toward error.—Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:3.

Because of inherited sin, or imperfection, we get sick, grow old, and die. (Romans 6:23) We also suffer the consequences of our own errors and those of others.—Ecclesiastes 8:9; James 3:2.

In the Bible, the word "sin refers not only to wrong deeds but also to the imperfect, or sinful, condition that we have inherited.

The apostle Paul wrote: "Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned." (Romans 5:12)

3 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Justin Hale Supporter

'Adam and Eve' were nothing like most people imagine them to be, since we can really only relate to them AFTER they sinned. 

Originally, Adam and Eve were not a 'mating pair' designed to procreate a physical species. They were 'THE HUMAN' made up of all of the expressed traits of EVERYONE that could ever potentially be. They were perfect and didn't need to be 'improved' by children or any other natural process. 

How do I know this?

The New Testament describes Jesus Christ and His 'Bride' the Holy Church similarly, calling Christ, 'the last Adam.' (Ephesians 5:25-27, 1 Corinthians 15:45).

Despite remaining distinct 'souls,' we will all be so unified in spirit as His Church that GOD will interact with us as if we are simply the new 'Adam and Eve.' So this is how GOD viewed us all back when we were unified into the original 'Adam and Eve,' right up until we 'sinned' and GOD used Satan to provide us with a 'new narrative' for ourselves and even the entire history of the cosmos.

The confusing part is that we later see an 'Adam and Eve' existing as one physical mating pair of animals and giving rise to a lineage of people much more familiar to ourselves. That is where most of us begin in our understanding of them, since this pair is much easier to grasp and find relatable. 

Yet, it is only in understanding who WE were originally that we truly grasp how EVERYONE has sinned and fallen short of the glory GOD designed for us to experience. We ALL are this created Being both male and female made in His direct image and likeness.

We were ALL there 'in spirit' when the 'original sin' happened. Instead of remaining perfectly united together in a type of 'congregational being,' we each began to physically appear into history through a humiliating and painful process of birth, life and death. Rather than being in GOD's perfect personal paradise, we now found ourselves on a 'random space rock' hurling along towards a mathematically certain and fiery oblivion, the entire time ripped apart by decay and an ever encroaching death, trapped inside time and relentlessly driven by it to some unknown end, apparently 'randomly assigned' by a mindless process of evolution that accepts no appeals, hears no court cases and cares nothing for our well being. At best, we might be 'lucky' for a while. 

This absurd narrative comes to us courtesy of the 'harmless comical snake' once found in Eden, who here on 'earth' is transformed into a 'Dragon' breathing the fire of incendiary warfare and even nuclear weapons presumably capable of 'ending it all' even before our allotted cosmic timetable runs out. Absurd as it may be, it is our reality while we remain under the judgment of GOD for joining Satan and essentially calling GOD a 'liar.' 

Wow. GOD must be quite angry with us. 

Fortunately, He has not abandoned all of us to this inevitable fate. He has even come to us personally in the Person of Jesus Christ, offering us escape and a return to Eden by stepping in on our behalf as the 'consummate Adam.' All we need to do is accept His offer of forgiveness, acknowledge our sin and lay down our defenses along with any bizarre machinations and foolish 'escape attempts,' still being offered to us by the 'silly snake.' 

It is wisest not to take this 'snake' seriously. GOD doesn't:

"Why do the nations rage
And the peoples meditate on a vain thing?
The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against Yahweh and against His Messiah, saying,
"Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord mocks them." (Psalm 2:1-4).

December 16 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report