The Fall of Man and His Expulsion from Paradise

Belgic Confession 14, Genesis 3:1-24

The documentary Three Identical Strangers described how triplets separated at birth were reunited. They looked the same, talked the same, behaved the same, had the same tastes in girls, and had all made the same or similar life choices. It was uncanny. One grew up in a low income family, another middle class, and one was adopted by a well-educated professional family. But yet they were more identical than in just their looks. Then the documentary revealed the agency that had arranged their adoption also arranged the adoption of other twins and triplets, separating them in infancy to run tests. The children remembered that from earliest ages, people would come to their homes to ask them questions and show them pictures - to run tests. Yes, they were part of a study to test the difference between nature and nurture. All the adoptive parents interviewed said these children would be inconsolable in their cribs, only realizing at the revelation of their adoption, it was probably separation anxiety. Two things were very clear as I watched that documentary - the place that nature plays in how we behave and the wickedness of man toward his fellow man. While other philosophies teach that man is inherently born good - like in Taoism, he’s the unformed block that is influenced for good or evil; or in Buddhism, he’s fundamentally good and there’s nothing inherently or permanently bad in him; the Bible teaches us clearly that man is born in his sin and he continues in that sin, unable to turn from it. And the source of that sin is the fall of man. Today we explore the fall of man - how he was created perfectly, but did not remain in that perfect state. And we’ll be explore it in 2 points. Firstly, perfect man was dissatisfied with perfect provision. Secondly, profane man cursed waiting for the perfect provided person.

Firstly, perfect man was dissatisfied with perfect provision. The Belgic tells us - “We believe that God created man of dust from the ground and He made and formed him after His own image and likeness, good, righteous, and holy. His will could conform to the will of God in every respect.” When God first created man, he was perfect. He was placed in a perfect place - the garden of Eden. There, he’d serve God. Now to be clear, he was not yet permanently perfect. And this garden was only provisional - not permanent. But it was the perfect set up. Adam was without sin. He was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) - whereas all other creatures were just given physical life, man was given spiritual life (Genesis 2:7) - God breathed into him a soul that would live on forever. Life eternal. There was no sin because God said everything was very good. Furthermore, he was placed into that garden which God blessed. In this garden, man had everything he could imagine. He had a companion - God gave him Eve, a helper. They could build a race of people to worship God and enjoy heaven on earth in that paradise. And God would provide them with everything they’d need to live. God gave him sustenance - all delicious provision - of every tree you may eat (Genesis 2:16) - they were good for food. In the garden were many trees, a tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Genesis 2:9. If they ate the tree of life, they’d live forever. God also provided him vocation in this garden - he could work. He was to name every creature; to tend the garden. But he didn’t have to do much to cultivate it - there were no thorns or thistles, and there was a natural irrigation system - waters sprang from the ground to water it. And God gave himself to have perfect communion with them. Genesis 3:8 says they heard God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day. They enjoyed daily, unrestricted, intimate, and personal fellowship with God in the morning. And as the Belgic says, this meant that man had high position, a position of excellency. Man could do all God commanded him. His will was tuned to the will of God. It was perfect. Genesis 1:31 says God looked at all he had created and said that it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

But it was not permanently perfect. It was only provisional. Why? There was a test. God said in Genesis 2:16-17 - “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But 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.” Man was to eat of every tree, even the tree of life, but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In order for him to continue to live to enjoy this paradise, he had to obey God. And if he disobeyed, he’d surely die - physically and spiritually. But if he had continued to obey and eat of the tree of life, he’d be confirmed in his perfection. It was eternal life by keeping the law. But this he’d have done if he valued what he had. But he didn’t - that’s why he fell into sin.

Instead, “he gave ear to the words of the devil and willfully subjected himself to sin and consequently to death and the curse.” So here we see that provisionally perfect man was deceived by devilish dissatisfaction. They took of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - and they died spiritually. Now, there are many questions. Here’s a hypothetical question - a what if question. What if Adam never took that fruit? Hypothetically, he would’ve continued in this provisional perfection until he ate of the tree of life - confirming him and his descendants in sinless perfection. But that didn’t happen. But could it have happened? My answer is this - provisionally perfect man wasn’t strong enough. I don’t think the hypothetical could’ve been realized. If you were there, you wouldn’t pass either. Then there’s the question of sin’s origin. How could there be sin if every thing was very good? How could Satan enter into that perfect garden? Now, Satan’s fall came after the 6th day - we’re not sure when - but probably not too long after. And therefore, even in this earthly paradise, because of sin in the spiritual realm, the devil was able to corrupt the temporal realm. This tells us that an alternate outcome would’ve been very unlikely. Why? Because provisionally perfect man willfully subjected himself to sin. He was unwilling to withstand the corruption of evil.

Verse 1 tells us that the serpent - in representing the devil - was more subtle or cunning than the other creatures. And he caused Adam and Even to be dissatisfied with God’s provision. His deception was 3 fold - he made them doubt what God’s word said, he disagreed with what God had said, and he gave them an alternative to feed that dissatisfaction. So he made them doubt - in verse 1 - “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” God said they could eat of every tree except one - of every tree thou mayest freely eat. God only prohibited one tree. But he made them doubt what God actually said. He made a prohibition of one, into a prohibition of all. They had a whole garden of paradise - they had provision, they had work, they had communion - but he made them focus on what they didn’t have. Furthermore, he also disagreed with what God had said. While God had said - thou shalt surely die, the devil said, “you shall not surely die.” He lessened the severity of the prohibition and penalty. While they had the privilege of provisional eternal life, he disagreed that they’d ever lose that life. Lastly, he gave them an alternative to feed that dissatisfaction. He said in verse 5 - “For 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.” This was the danger - there was a certain amount of truth to what he said. God knows good and evil; if they ate the fruit, they’d know good and evil. Even God himself said once they took the fruit, they were like him, knowing good and evil, verse 22. But here’s the difference, God knows evil because he’s all holy - what is evil is opposite from him - so he knows it; they’d know evil because they participated in it. They actually knew evil experientially, while God knew it by separation. This is why when they sinned, they saw they were naked. Their eyes had been opened. Through experience, there was guilt. God knows sin, but is never guilty. He knows good and evil in a different way from man.

You see, it was not enough that God was with them, provided food for them, gave them meaning in a paradise, and gifted them eternal life as long as they kept it by obedience; they wanted to be him. And they were deceived to obtain it by sin. And by so doing, they’d never be like him. That’s the irony. In wanting to be like God, they forfeited the right to be like God. And we learn their 3 fold sin. They took the fruit, and it was pleasant to the eyes, good for food, and able to make them wise, verse 6. They lusted after it - out of all the other fruits they needed this one which was prohibited - none other would do. Only this could be for food - when others were given to them. And the reason why is because they wanted position - to be like God. Sin affected his whole nature - from eyes, to belly, to heart. Which is why the Belgic says that “by his sin he broke away from God, who was his true life; he corrupted his whole nature.” Every part of us is affected by sin. There is no part that’s untainted. This is the doctrine of total depravity - while we may not be as wicked as we could be, all areas of our lives are tainted with sin - from eyes, to belly, to heart and mind.

Secondly, profane man cursed waiting for the perfect provided person. Verse 7 says that after they sinned, they tried to cover up their shame - “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” This tells us something - they weren’t judged immediately with physical death. But they knew their guilt - they died spiritually. They were no longer innocent. That’s why when he came to the garden, they hid from him. They were spared for now, but they had to endure the consequences of their sin. They were cursed. In what way? What they had before, they now lost - all its perfection. They had fellowship with God before - now, they hid because of their sins. God and sinner can’t mix. Oil and water can’t mix. Good and evil can’t either. Holy and unholy; spiritually alive and spiritually dead; innocent and guilty; God and sinner. There was a loss of perfect vocation. Whereas before the fall, they were happy in tending the garden and naming the animals; but now, verses 17-19 say - “cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” Work would be a curse - the ground would bear forth thorns - not fruit. And it would not be easy or joyful - it would be in the sweat, in hard toil, that he’d ever produce fruit. Fruit once readily to him, would come by hard work. There was also a loss of perfect companionship. Verse 16 says, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” Not only would having families be tough, but marriages will be tough. The woman will desire to rule her husband, and he will subjugate her. And there was a loss of eternal life - verse 19 - you’ll work all the days of your life until you die. Where once man had life, he’d face the effects of the curse one day and die. As heavy as this curse was, we shouldn’t neglect to see the immediate effects of sin.

They lost their innocence. They hid from God - a refusal to admit sin and take responsibility for it. They tried to cover their nakedness by their own effort, rather than going to God for forgiveness. We see a 3 fold blame as well. Blame demonstrates guilt. When God confronted Adam, he blamed it on Eve. When God confronted Eve, she confronted the devil. But behind all of this, as revealed by Adam’s words, was the blame they placed on God. It was the woman you gave to me. The woman said the devil who beguiled her to think what you gave was not good. Man changed what was good into darkness - as our confession says, “For whatever light is in us has changed into darkness.” And they also lost ability. It’s impossible to cover up their spiritual nakedness permanently, but they tried. They tried with fig leaves - with the works of their own hands - trying to sew together something that would cover their nakedness. In their innocency, they had to work for eternal life by not taking the fruit. In their guilty, they still thought that method was open to them - to work to cover their sin so they’d have eternal life.

But that kind of scheme is over. You can’t work for salvation - there’s nothing you can ever do to obtain it. That’s why we see God at the end of Genesis 3 placing an angel with a flaming sword at the east entrance of the garden. Why? Verses 22-24 tell us that since man knows evil experientially, he should not take of the tree of life. Otherwise he’ll live eternally as a wicked man. So he drove them out, and set an angel to guard it to prevent man from thinking he can work for his salvation anymore. Once, it was possible for him to keep holy and take the tree of life to be confirmed in his holiness. Now, there was no way for him to work for his salvation. He was evil and the old way to eternal life was no longer opened to him. He’s not able to be good enough to live unto God.

Sure, the confession says that “he has nothing left but some small traces.” But these traces are not sufficient to make him good, only to show that he is guilty of all the good he can’t do. Sinful fathers can love their children - but never enough. Sinful employees can be hard working - but never perfectly. Sinful wives can be submissive - but never perfectly. Sinful husbands will never love enough. The good in us only shows how sinful we are. The way to eternal life is not by that tree of life anymore - you can’t work for it. Man has been expelled from the garden - that old way of working for your salvation is no longer open to any of us. But neither can we - we’re corrupted by sin. If in the provisionally perfect garden, provisionally perfect man was able to sin and reject what was providentially provided for him; profane man can never desire, nor exercise himself to obedience. This is why we reject the idea of free will. Man has some free will - but not free enough for him to desire to please God and want to seek forgiveness on God’s terms. Man is always thinking he can do good for himself to merit forgiveness. But God’s ways are not man’s ways. This is why to cover the nakedness, God sacrificed two animals to clothed them. God provided salvation.

And lastly, we see that God provides a savior who was not spared but was crushed for sinners. In verse 15, God cursed the serpent and prophesied a coming savior - “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The woman’s descendent will deliver a crushing blow to sin and the effects of sin and deception; while he himself will be crushed by Satan. This is the Lord Jesus himself. As the confession says - “For who dares to boast that he of himself can do any good, when Christ says: No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him (Jn 6:44)?” Christ did what Adam and Eve could not. Not in a paradise, but in a wilderness did he face the triple temptation - of the eyes, flesh, and heart. Because rather than being deceived by the devil, he believed God’s promised blessings. This is why he died. He was not spared, but was crushed. Through his death, he grants life to all who’d believe on him. This is the wisdom of God.

Mankind is always wanting to go back into the garden to try and work for fulfillment - despite thorns we think we can find joy in work. We want to marry the perfect person - only to realize we’re all sinners - experiencing that tug of war of wills for power in marriage. And why we can’t find happiness in marriage is because we’re all scoundrels. And what happens when we think we can find paradise in work, family, and doing good? That angel cuts us down to the earth. Without God, work is a chore, marriage is a chore, family is hard. And any paradise on earth we think we’re forming can never be formed. The only way to have true paradise is to have communion with God. And he offers that communion through his Son - that when we believe in him - we receive from his hands salvation, blessings, and restoration of life. But this foolishness is not easily believed. The gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing. It can only be received spiritually. As the Belgic asks “who can speak of his knowledge, since the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:14)?” Only the one to whom that truth is given. Do you believe it?

1. Perfect Man Was Dissatisfied with Perfect Provision

A. Provisionally perfect in a provisional paradise

B. Deceived by devilish dissatisfaction

2. Profane Man Cursed Waiting for the Perfect Provided Person

A. Spared but cursed

B. Not spared but crushed