________ WHY NOT ________
How Did We Get into This Mess? (Part 2)
Adam’s sin
Last time, we left Adam and Eve (A/E) in the garden faced with a choice. Trust God or believe the lies of the serpent, who we know to be Satan. Most of you know the story. A/E chose to believe the lie that God was not enough to meet their needs. So, they ate from the forbidden tree, and that choice resulted in what many call the “fall of man”.
Certainly, Adam’s sin had severe consequences, but not just for himself. His sin also “infected” every person ever born on planet Earth (except Jesus). Romans 5:12 says that sin entered the world through one man (Adam), and that sin resulted in death. Furthermore, it says that sin and death passed to all men (mankind). Therefore, because of Adam’s one sin, all men were made sinners (Rom. 5:19). To better understand the power of sin, please read Controlling Power of Sin on this website.
The Effects of Sin
After A/E ate from the forbidden tree, they most certainly did die, just as God had warned. Yet, they could still walk around, exhibit emotions and exercise their freedom of choice. If this sounds like I’m talking about some kind of zombie movie, that’s not too far off.
When A/E ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they died spiritually. It’s helpful to understand that death in the bible most often refers to “separation” rather than “annihilation” (non-existence). A/E were separated from the life of God, and subsequently, all people are born in that same spiritually dead condition, separated from the life of God. Make no mistake, sin always results in death (separation from life).
The Effects of Death
All the life functions of man – spiritual (spirit), psychological (soul), and physical (body) were affected by Adam’s sin. (To help you better understand this, please read God’s Design for Man on this website). Since A/E were separated from the life of God in their spirit, they experienced death in their soul, which was manifested as shame, fear, condemnation, insecurity, guilt, self-consciousness, and emptiness. Then they expressed it through their body by attempting to:
cover their nakedness due to shame, self-consciousness, and insecurity.
hide from God due to fear.
blame others to deflect their shame and guilt.
Because we all show up on planet Earth spiritually dead to God, we struggle with these same issues - shame, fear, condemnation, insecurity, guilt, and self-consciousness. Here are some things the apostle Paul said about us in our “spiritually dead to God” condition –
We were dead in our trespasses and sins – Eph. 2:1-3
We lived in the passions of our flesh – Eph. 2:1-3
We were by nature, children of wrath – Eph. 2:1-3
We were darkened in our understanding – Eph. 4:17-18
We were excluded from the life of God – Eph. 4:17-18
We were ignorant of the truth about God – Eph. 4:17-18
We had a hard heart – Eph. 4:17-18
We were slaves to sin – Rom. 6:16-17
If that’s not bad enough, Paul says we had no hope! (Eph. 2:12)
Hopeless (apart from Christ)
Naked and Not Ashamed
Before they ate from the forbidden tree, A/E were naked and not ashamed (Gen. 2:25).
It is helpful to note that shame conveys the idea of a wrongness of “being”, e.g., “Something is wrong with me” or “I don’t measure up” or “I’m missing something that I need to be OK”. Vine’s Dictionary says this about the Hebrew word translated as ashamed in Gen. 2:25 – “the word has overtones of being or feeling worthless”. Recall, our identity has to do with our “being” – our value as a person.
A/E were not ashamed because they were experiencing the life of God and all that it brings – love, joy, peace, rest, fullness, security, etc. But the first thing Adam and Eve did after eating from the forbidden tree was to cover themselves. Why? Because now they were ashamed! Previously they were “God-conscious”, but now they were “self-conscious”.
Because Adam’s sin passed to all mankind, we are all born onto planet Earth with an identity that is full of shame, guilt, insecurity, etc. These issues can be with us our entire life if we fail to understand their origin and the remedy. In addition, we all try to cover our shame because we are self-conscious. We don’t want people to see our flaws!
But there is a “solution”, so stay with me for future posts to understand how you can live secure in your identity in Christ.
Ask yourself (and God) – Do I try to “cover” myself? If so, how and why?
Remember – You are valuable because you are “in Christ” (more on that later).
My Struggle – My tendency around other people has often been to come across as strong, confident, and sometimes cocky. The Lord revealed to me several years ago that this was a “cover” for my insecurities. I’m learning to be myself, secure in knowing my identity is in Christ alone!
Scripture References – Genesis 1-3; Romans 5, 6; Galatians 2:20; Eph. 2, 4; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
Back Next – Spiritually Dead, Now What?