Lesson No. 31 

Unit II Chapter 4 Original Sin Lesson No. 31 The Fall of Man

Outline: Although the main issue to address in this case is the original sin, nonetheless, for a better understanding of the topic, I wanted to mention the influential activity of Satan, his purposes as an enemy of God and the offenses committed by the first couple. Which influenced the determination of their disobedience.

Original sin: This topic is dealt with in Christian theology, as hamartiology, a word composed of two Greek terminologies, "ἁμαρτία" (hamartía: ["sin"]) and "λογία" (logía: ["treatise, discourse, study"]).1 (trans.) Which is interpreted as the study of sin.

The Holy Scriptures declare, according to First John chapter 3: verse 4: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. This generally implies disobedience to His word or divine command. Therefore, it is considered the most inclusive term of moral distortion.

Moreover, it is held that man's resolution to sin against God reveals his fatal determination to govern himself, instead of letting himself be governed by his Creator, and this puts him in a state of rebellion against the Supreme Being.

Sin, according to the definition of most theologians, has been cataloged into three different types: hereditary sin, sin of omission, and sin of commission. The first concept must be interpreted as the inheritance of sin. This consists of the sad condition that humanity has acquired due to the disobedience of the first couple. Which is reflected not only in the fact that all humanity has been affected by the severe consequences that affected Adam and Eve, such as aging, sickness, and death; but also in the inherited depravity, in other words, the constant tendency human beings have by their own nature to sin and wickedness. While the sin of omission consists in the act of not doing what is just or good, in circumstances where God demands that it be done. The sin of commission, however, consists of acting unjustly or with wickedness. With which some or several principles of God's will or His divine demands expressed in the holy commandments are always violated.

When addressing original sin, we aim to refer to the act of disobedience committed by the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden when they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which had been forbidden to them. Their disobedience caused a severe moral fall for both of them and all their descendants. Therefore, this topic is also discussed in theology as the fall of man. Regarding it consider the following biblical quotes:

Genesis chapter 2: verses 16 and 17: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”.51

We have already seen in the fallen cherub topic how the devil deceived the woman by defaming God and making Him a liar according to Genesis chapter 3: verses 1 to 5, as he told the woman: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in themidst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.51

This diabolical slander was enough for the woman to yield to temptation because she saw that the tree was good for food, as stated in the account in Genesis chapter 3: verses 6 to 13: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8And they heard the voice 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 God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.51

As I stated in the previous chapter about the image of God in man, it is confirmed according to the analyzed biblical narrative in this case, that humans did not conceive evil by themselves. Nonetheless, the fact of having disobeyed their Creator made them responsible for their acts and guilty as such. We must analyze the different aspects that influenced the cause of the first couple's sin.

As the main cause of the matter, we can see that the woman was surprised by an external temptation, a spiritual force that exerted a great influence on her mind. The passage read refers to a cunning serpent that spoke and deceived the woman.

Remember that, in the previous chapter according to the fallen cherub topic, we read the passage from Revelation chapter 12: verses 7 to 9,51 where it refers to the old serpent called Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. This is precisely that serpent that deceived the woman. However, according to the original Hebrew text, the term "נָחָשׁ" (najash) — translated as "serpent" in this passage—also alludes to ["a shining being"] when used as a noun. This interpretation was adopted by several early Church Fathers. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul states in Second Corinthians chapter 11: verse 14 that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. In either case, both interpretations refer to the same figure as the one responsible for the events.

According to the conclusion drawn from the study of the Holy Bible, the first manifestation of evil was seen in that being, who became an enemy of God in all his emissions.

As we have studied, Satan was cast out of heaven to earth with his angels. Therefore, having been prevented from continuing his conspiracy against God in the heavenly place, he wanted to attempt to prevent or frustrate His plans for man, whom the Supreme Being had created on earth and placed as the prince of His creation.

Satan well knew that humans had been created with the faculty of free will and knew also, God's recommendation to man concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as well as the anticipated sentence in case of disobedience.

Satan also knew that if he managed to make the first couple sin, those who had been created with the manifest purpose to live eternally happy under obedience, made in the moral image of their Creator, would become rebellious and disloyal sinners. That's why the enemy of our souls, who was then representing himself in the form of a serpent as one of the animals of the field, carried out his wicked plan. God had told man that if he ate from that tree he would die, but did not declare that they would be like gods knowing good and evil. Knowing this, Satan not only instilled in the woman that ambitious idea of being like gods but also affirmed in advance that they would not die even if they ate from that tree.

It is certain that Satan planned for the first man and woman, after eating from the forbidden tree, to also eat from the tree of life and live forever, they and their descendants, under that terrible condition of sin, pain, and a depraved mind. But God avoided it in His infinite wisdom, as declared in the following biblical passage:

Genesis chapter 3: verses 22 to 24: “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life”.51

Satan could not achieve this wicked goal, which would have been the culmination of his success and the eternal disgrace of the human race. Nevertheless, the success of his first attempt brought extremely disastrous results for humanity.

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It was thus that this external influence exerted its power over the woman's mind, leading her to conclusions that determined her free and fatal choice, turning the first couple into culpable sinners worthy of punishment. Although their action may seem very simple or innocent, the reality is that its causes were very serious. The woman was a victim of satanic temptation, yet it is evident that the Devil did not force her to eat the forbidden fruit; she freely chose between the divine command and the deceiver’s proposition, thus deciding to govern herself rather than be governed by her Creator.

Such an action therefore encompasses several violations that have been considered the influential causes in the sin of said couple.

Firstly: Among these causes, it reflects the fact that the woman doubted the word of her Creator, who had assured them that if they ate from the forbidden tree, they would die, but she believed the Devil, who assured her they would not die.

Secondly: She was driven by greed and the pretense of being like gods, which has been considered the gravest act among these violations. It is assumed that such a demand implies the desire to be like God or equal to Him.

The man likewise obeyed the voice of his wife and consciously sinned against God by eating from the forbidden tree, as expressed in the biblical passage in Genesis chapter 3: verses 12 and 13.51

Thirdly: As a result of these violations, they broke the covenant they had made with their Creator, as the Holy Scriptures express in the following passage:

Hosea chapter 6: verse 7: “But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me”.51

In conclusion, once again the enemy of God and of our souls managed to disrupt the order and ethical principles of morality established by God by seducing the first couple into rebellion and disobedience against their Creator.