WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN THE GARDEN ?
The Original Love Story Between a Man and a Woman
by W. G. Guy
The following is presented as a theory since it opposes accepted traditional church doctrine. Please consider the following facts that are presented based on a more thorough view of the scriptures and the plan and purpose of God.
Was what Adam did considered an act of treason, as most have come to believe, or was what he did something else – an act of Love? This theory presents what happened in the garden between Adam and Eve of the Old Testament as a precursor to the relationship between Christ and His church in the New Testament.
First we must consider why God made man. God wanted someone much like himself with whom He could identify and have fellowship. He wanted someone that He could relate to and show His love toward; a being similar to Himself that could respond to His love and love Him in return by his own will. This is why God made man after His own image and likeness, but without His supreme powers. This is also why the great command is to love God and your neighbor.
1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Matthew 22:36-40 – Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Next we must consider what Adam was like before the fall. God fashioned Adam using himself as a pattern. Adam was God-like, made in the very image and likeness of God. God gave Adam His own character and nature; there was absolutely no carnality in Adam. However, God did put in Adam a will of his own; Adam was permitted self-determination. God did not make him a robotic slave.
Genesis 1:26-27 - "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
This means Adam was just like Jesus. Adam was the first human son of God; Jesus is the second human Son of God. Both came from the same source and were fashioned with the same character and nature. Both were sons or offspring of God! Both were absolutely righteous; there was no sin in either of them. There was only one difference between the two:
1 Corinthians 15:45-47 - "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."
Genesis 3:19 - "......till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
The first Adam was formed of earthly substance and divinely made when dust became a living soul by the Spirit of God. Jesus, the last Adam, was formed of divine or heavenly substance and earthly made, (born of a virgin). By the Holy Spirit, the Word of God became flesh, (or like dust).
Adam was equipped with wisdom and knowledge that came from God; he had intimate communion with God; he also had the God-kind of LOVE - and God IS LOVE! In contrast, now we only consider Adam as he was after the fall when he lost all his God-likeness and righteous character.
Adam had tremendous knowledge since it was given him by God; he even knew of God's plan of redemption since it was established before God made him:
1 Peter 1:18-20 - "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but manifest in these last times for you."
Next we need to consider who it was that was tempted; what was tempted, and how that temptation occurred. So let's consider the temptation process - Satan's deceitful seeding of the human will in order to stimulate lusts. It's important to recognize how temptation works and just who was being tempted because this is very significant.
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Genesis 3:1-5 - "Now the serpent was more subtle 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? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. 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."
The tempter, called the "serpent", was actually the spirit-being named Lucifer. The word translated "serpent" is nachash in the Old Testament language. One meaning of this word is "shinning one". The name Lucifer means "bright morning star", a shining one. Lucifer, or Satan, is the bright shining one who misrepresents what God made, said and did, in order to tempt, manipulate and control mankind.
2 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (Note: who was it that was beguiled and deceived? – the woman!)
This was not a literal snake, as is presumed, but a deceptive serpent like manner, character and nature of this spirit being, beguiling and enticing as a snake mesmerizes a bird before it devours it.
Nachash also means the same as to mesmerize by whispering words or vocalized hissing to cast a spell; to prognosticate. This creature was more wise and subtle than any creature that was found on earth - (Genesis 3:1).
Part of the ploy of temptation is that it is repetitive; subtle at first, then intensifies as the human will begins to lean in that direction, to pay attention, to give an open ear, mind or heart to the enticements.
The tempting was aimed at Eve - WHY ? She was, (as all women are), more sensitive and, thus more subject to be beguiled by deception from the spirit realm. NOTE: More women are in the occult than men. Likewise, more women are in church and church work than men because they respond faster and easier to the things of the spirit realm than do men. Men have the quality to judge, wait and observe, (often described as stubbornness by women). Women are also more impulsive; they act or respond quickly based on feelings, whereas men are slower to act because they are prone to judge and evaluate, wanting all the facts rather than act on feelings or impulse.
Adam was given the authority as king or ruler of the earth, having absolute dominion; and Eve shared in it as part of him - Mrs. Adam.
Genesis 1:26 - "....and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
Psalm 115:16 - "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."
Satan tries to avoid those in authority and goes for the more vulnerable ones. So it appears that the tempting was done while Adam was not present to stop it. Maybe he was off naming the animals.
Gen. 2:19 - "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
Remember that Adam had the character and nature of God, as well as great wisdom and knowledge, but Adam did not have the qualities of God. He was not Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent.
The tempting of Eve probably occurred over a period of time, and, as scripture indicates, it may not have occurred while she was near the tree. She referred to the tree in the "midst" of the garden which implies she was elsewhere when being seduced by the enemy.
Genesis 3:3 - "But the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden....".
Now let's look at just what manner of temptation was employed by the enemy, "To be like God". But they were already like God - created in His image and likeness.
Genesis 3:5 - "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."
What god was the devil tempting her to be like? Did not the devil attribute to himself a position of a god, and presumed himself to be as a god?
Isaiah 14:12-14 – How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning; how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heightsof the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (See also Ezekiel 28:1-19)
The devil was suing himself as the template of a god for Eve to emulate; and after she did eat of the forbidden fruit she did become like him acquiring his fallen nature: losing the holy and righteous character and nature that she had of God.
The tempting process began with the devil causing doubt and distrust in the word of God and what God said:
Genesis 3:1 - "Yea, hath God said...?"
Notice the attempt to discredit God in order to make Him appear devious and not to be trusted to Eve's mind. She was already like God, made in His image and likeness coming right from Adam. Satan wanted her to turn away from being dependent on God; to be independent of Him and be like the god that he was - determining what is right and wrong for herself. Remember the tempting was to partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good (right) and Evil (wrong).
Scripture shows us that the tempting process focuses on three carnal desires of human consciousness that are the three areas of human vulnerability: lust of the flesh, or the "I will"; the lust of the eye, or the "I want"; and the pride of life, or the "I am".
1 John 2:16 - "For all that is in the world, (1) the lust of the flesh, and(2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
Note Satan's subtle tempting of these three areas:
Genesis 3:6 - And when the woman saw that the tree was (1) good for food, and that it was (2) pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desire to (3) make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat..."
First it was the lust of the flesh, provision - "good for food". Second was lust of the eye - "pleasant to the eye" or desirable to have. Finally came the big one, the pride of life - "to be desired of to make one wise" (as a god), and not being satisfied with what or who you are.
Jesus was tempted the exact same way.
Hebrews 4:15 - "For we have not an high priest (Jesus) which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
Matthew 4:1 & 3 - "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when the tempter came unto him, he said, If thou be the Son of God.....".
"If you are the Son of God"; here again you see the effort of Satan to cause doubt in what God said. Then we see Jesus tempted in the exact same three areas of human vulnerability as Eve was tempted in:
Matthew 4:2 - "....command these stones be made bread."
Lust of the flesh (1) is tempted by food; remember Jesus had been fasting for forty days and was now extremely hungry when the enemy entices him to use supernatural powers to satisfy a basic human need of the body. (Note also that Jesus responds with the Word of God and not his own efforts of defense - Matthew 4:4.)
Matthew 4:5 & 6 - "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Pride of life (3) is tempted at this point; pride being who you are, what you are or your position as you perceive it. Satan wanted Jesus to become vulnerable to prove who he was, thus showing pride. (Note that again Jesus responds with the Word of God and not by his own ability - Matthew 4:7. Also note that the order of the tempting is not significant as the Book of Luke records them in a different sequence.)
Matthew 4:8 - "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world , and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
Lust of the eye (2) is tempted in Jesus by showing him the world's domains that are presently under Satan's influence. Jesus, however, did not have to prove anything to anyone since he already knew that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" - (Psalm 24:1).
Note: Satan's claim to ownership of the kingdoms of the world was due to his getting possession of all the things man had when Mr. and Mrs. Adam yielded them up to him by partaking of the forbidden fruit, thus submitting all they ruled over to the devil, as revealed in Luke’s account of this event.
Luke 4:5-6 – And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Now back to Eve; the lust stimulated and enticed by Satan now takes hold as she happens to come near that certain tree.
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
The process of Eve's temptation, as referred to by James, now enters the second stage. She may likely have been alone at this point since verse 6 says, "when the woman saw", instead of saying "when they saw"; there is no reference to Adam being with her. So she sees the tree and the three vulnerable areas of human consciousness become a driving force - the, "I want (1), the I will (2), and the pride of life (3)" are enticed and she doesn't even think about what she is about to do. Her lust, or her "I want, I will and I am", acted.
So she eats; she sins; and she dies instantly. She is now spiritually dead, separated from God as well as from her husband. Next she carries the forbidden fruit back to her husband, “And gave also to her husband the fruit thereof”. She lost her righteous state, along with her Holy spiritual covering garments, and now stands naked and carnally exposed next to her husband. Adam knew exactly what happened, he could see the results. He now has a void in his life; she is now living in another realm, no longer on the same spiritual plain as he is still in. They no longer have any bases for relationship or fellowship together. She is now in darkness while Adam is still in the light as he still has a God consciousness and righteous spirit.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
Adam now has a very serious choice to make. He can go back and tell God that "....the women blew it; ....give me another woman...."; or he could join her by partaking of the fruit himself, thus taking part with and/or responsibility for her sin. Because he had the mind of God, and the God kind of love in him (before the fall), he could accept the responsibility and the blame for her sinful act.
Genesis 3:6 - "...and (she) gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
Adam knew God had a plan of redemption that covered not only them but all their offspring too. Scripture tell us that plan was established before the foundation of the world, 1 Peter 1:18-20. That plan would not go into effect unless he was willing to accept the responsibility for her actions. Remember, he is in charge and was given the authority to effect such action.
Consider the alternative; Eve would be thrown out of the garden, eternally separated from God and Adam; thus the first marriage would end in separation, definitely not what God wants for a husband and wife. She would eventually die physically while he would live on eternally since he would have access to the Tree of Life and she would be barred from it. Adam would have continued in God's presence without her.
What would be God's view of Adam's love for his wife had he chosen not to join her? That would be imperfect love! Not the God-kind of love which he possessed and reflected toward her. What Adam did was actually functioning as a forerunner of Jesus, or as scripture records – “a figure of him that was to come” Romans 5:14.
Ephesians 5:27 - Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Also consider that Eve she was part of Adam, more intimately joined than any husband and wife since. She came out of him and was part of him:
Genesis 2:22-23 - "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Women, because she was taken out of man."
Adam chose to partake of the fruit (her sin) so he could be with her (his love) and thus accepted the responsibility for her actions. Henceforth, we all blame HIM, not her, for the sin in the garden. But, consider that her name was ADAM too, (as you will see later on)!
Adam was not Eve's redeemer, but his act did allow God to implement his plan of redemption for both her and him. Adam was Eve's husband; that means that he was her protector, and provider, while God was Adam's protector and provider. Adam was the head of Eve, and God was the head of man, until Jesus came and took on the role of Adam – the last Adam:
1 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."
Since the fall in the garden we have held Adam responsible and he still bares the blame for it.
Romans 5:17-20 - "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
This was God's plan; Adam was a type or shadow of Christ who bore the responsibility for the sins of mankind.
Isaiah 53:4 & 5 - "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed."
We blame Adam, but that blame was transferred to Jesus at His crucifixion. God blamed (smote) Jesus as He took all that blame. So it appears that just as Adam gave himself for his bride, Eve, Jesus gave himself for His bride, the church.
Ephesians 5:25 - "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"
NOTE: Would you husbands give yourselves for your wives? Are you willing to bear the responsibilities of her errors, failures, weaknesses or mistakes, credit card debt, etc.? Many don't; that's why we have separation and divorce instead of the God-kind of love from husbands, (of whom it is REQUIRED - Ephesians 5:25).
Husbands are often selfish and self-centered, not having the God-kind of love for their wives as Adam had for Eve. How then can a wife reverence a husband that does not show the God-kind of love? Could it be that this is why most ministers call Adam a traitor to God and refuse to see him as exercising God-kind of love for Eve - because they don't exercise that kind of love for their wives. They probably don't even understand the God-kind of love.
Adam did not want another wife (as many do today); he did what he had to do to keep the one he loved. Jesus did the same thing for us, and we did not deserve it; it was His love, grace and mercy. Because of this, Jesus identified with Adam in His work and finished it:
1 Corinthians 15:45 - "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam ( man from God - Jesus) was made a quickening spirit."
Both men came from God and were equipped with God's perfect love to achieve similar tasks. So we see that Adam was a "type" (image) of Christ.
Romans 5:14 - Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come."
(Two things to note here: one, that Adam's transgression was different from all the rest of mankind that have sinned since. His was not an act of lust and overt disobedience as are the sins of the rest of mankind. Second, Adam was a type of the one who was to come to bring full redemption. This could be said of no other man than Adam.)
The agapao love, God's kind of love, will cause one to protect, die for, and even bear the consequences of the actions of the one loved. This is the gospel message demonstrated by Adam. Adam loved his wife with that perfect God-kind of love before the fall; he got that love from God. The God-kind of love (agape) is to seek the good and well-being of the other, even at one's own expense - (John 15:13).
Romans 5:14 tells us that Adam's sin was different from others; yet it also identifies him as a type or forerunner of Christ. How was Adam a type, image or pattern of Christ? Adam's action was not the result of LUST; he was not tempted; he did not yield to temptation; it was Eve that was tempted and yielded committing the first sin, not Adam. Notice also that it was Eve that was beguiled, not Adam.
2 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve (not Adam) through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
1 Timothy 2:13-14 - "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
Initially it appears that Adam was at fault, but a closer examination of scripture reveals that it was actually Mrs. Adam that initiated the fall of mankind – scripture also calls her Adam: Notice also that it was Eve that was beguiled, not Adam, ….why? ….we are soon going to find out. (God refers to her as Adam also.)
Genesis 5:2 - "Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created".
It was not Adam that sinned, but the woman. He did not do his act out of lust, but out of love. Sin is the result when lust is first conceived, then fulfilled:
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Adam was willing to die, taking upon himself the sin she committed, just as Jesus was willing to die for all mankind, taking upon Himself the penalty for all our sins. We need to understand that death means separation. Physical death is when the spirit is separated from the body - the body dies. Spiritual death is when the spirit is separated from God, the source of spiritual/eternally life (zoe).
Genesis 3:17 – And unto Adam He (God) said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Note that Adam was not tempted by the devil, in fact Satan did not speak to Adam about eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God saw that Adam responded to his wife, not Satan. Nevertheless, since Adam did eat of that tree he had to suffer the consequences as listed because he transgressed the command of God; even though it was not out of defiance of God as was Eve’s act.
Adam did not turn away from God but instead fulfilled God's plan to allow himself to partake of Eve's sin so God could initiate the plan of redemption that He already had predetermined before the foundation of the world. (Note: the word world comes from the Greek word kosmos which means "social system" or society, thus mankind.) The plan of redemption was established before there was a human society, or before the world (kosmos) was.
The motive for Adam's actions was different from Eve's; her motive was driven by LUST; his motive was driven by LOVE. As Christ paid the price for sin to provide redemption for all mankind, so Adam sacrificed his spiritual life so that God could provide redemption for his wife. No greater love can a man have for his wife!
Adam became separated from God so that he could remain with her. He became guilty of sin with her and for her, yet having not sinned in his heart through lust - just as Christ became sin for us yet not having sinned in his heart.
NOTE: Jesus' heart remained pure to God even as He became clothed with our sin. It was God who turned away from Jesus because of the cloak of sin He accepted. Jesus became separated from God, but His heart was still pure, He never turned away from God.
Matthew 27:46 - "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
So we see God turned away from Jesus. In a similar way with Adam, he did not turn away from God, God turned him away (put him out of the garden) because he accepted responsibility for Eve's sin. Adam's act was planned, reasoned, calculated, purposeful; Eve's act was lustful impulse. Adam committed an act of TRUE LOVE, not the Hollywood or TV stuff! As a result of taking on the responsibility for Eve’s transgression, Adam lost contact with divine knowledge and wisdom in his fallen state and had to rely now on his own carnal resources that were totally inadequate:
Genesis 3:7 - "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."
Now that mankind has entered a whole new realm, God set about to initiate the plan of redemption for Adam and Eve to restore what was lost. God now had to show Adam how to make blood atonement. God shed the first sacrificial blood; He killed the animals, shed the blood, and made coverings for their sin:
Genesis 3:21 - "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
NOTE: Why would God do this if Adam's sin was the way of traditional belief claims since God would have nothing to do with him after the fall. But God did intervene because Adam's heart was still pure before God, just as was Jesus' heart. This allowed God to enact His plan of redemption and to make atonement for Adam and Eve by the blood of sacrificed goats and lambs. (This also represents how God intervened for His Son in raising him from the grave.)
This is where Adam learned how to make atonement by sacrifice which knowledge he passed onto his children Cain and Able, etc. One son did it right, and the other tried to do things his own way rather than what God required and that Adam showed his sons.
Genesis 4:3-4 - "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.....".
Why did God not accept Cain's offering? It took shed blood to atone for sin, not fruits and vegetables because there is no life's blood in them. This pattern of blood sacrifice passed on to Noah and was the fore shadow of the ultimate plan of redemption that was to follow and was, at God’s timing, initiated by Jesus.
Hebrews 9:22 - "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood: and without shedding of blood is no remission."
This fact alone testifies that Adam bore witness of, and had foreknowledge of, THE ATONEMENT. If Adam chose to stay with God and reject Eve, he would have forsaken his wife and not shown her the God-kind of love. She would have been lost forever and no plan of redemption would reach her unless it was initiated by Adam. Her offspring would have been a mixed lot that would have a complicated life on earth, even more drastically than the chaos we have now.
Remember, God placed all the affairs of earth and man in Adam's hands, he and his fallen offspring determine man's affairs and the outcomes ever since - so people should not blame God for the evil things that occur on earth; its all because of the fallen, sinful nature of man that is under the influence of Satan.
Psalm 115:16 - "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."
The fall so changed Adam's nature that he lost ALL the character and nature of God that he formerly had; especially lacking was the God-kind of love. Now he has the character and nature of the enemy, the one he yielded to when he accepted the fruit from Eve. So now, self-centered Adam has a love of self, instead of a self-sacrificing love for his wife; he is now motivated by carnal actions.
Genesis 3:12 - "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
Even though the blame was hers, Adam took the responsibility for it before he ate. Now, in the fallen state, he will have nothing to do with it; he blamed her, and even charged God with being complicit - what a change.
Most men today rarely experience or express the God-kind of love for their wives; yet that God-kind of love was restored to us and made available by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5:5 - "....because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Jesus restored all that was lost in the fall, yet too many of us still live short of the glory of it:
Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
The God-kind of love is in each believer and is able to be demonstrated only when a full intimate relationship and fellowship with God the Father is restored and maintained through Christ. Thus a true Christian is evident by a life of walking in the Spirit and being led of the Spirit.
Romans 8:14 - "For as many as are led by the Spirit of god, they are the sons of God."
Christ having achieved full redemption of what was lost in the garden now requires us to live with that love and all the fullness of God that he brings us:
John 15:12-13, 17 - this is my commandment, That ye love one another, as i have loved you. Great love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. These things I command you, that ye love one another."
and
1 John 4:7-8 - "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is Love."
Men have been less responsive to God than women since that time in the garden. On that first day of the week, the resurrection, men (Jesus’ own disciples) refused to believe his resurrection, yet the woman believed.
Mark 16:9 - "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene...."
Christ revealed himself to a woman in verse 9, but notice the men’s response in verses 10-11:
Mark 16:10-11 - "And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not."
Jesus showed himself to a woman first to show her that the act of Eve's transgression was forgiven and women no longer had to bear the reproach of that transgression. A woman (Eve) was the first to see spiritual death; and a woman (Mary) was the first to see spiritual life - the resurrected Christ. This was no accident, it was deliberate! The TRUE gospel is the message of God's total and complete love for mankind.
Adam had the character of God within which caused him to react as he did toward his wife. Satan and the spirit of antichrist does not want the church or the world to know and experience the TRUE GOSPEL of God's LOVE. So Satan dreamed up the scheme that the whole church believes to day - that Adam was not a type of Christ, and that he was a no-good traitor, (as is taught in most seminaries).
Was the first man from God an absolute failure as most Christians have come to believe? What does God say about it?
Genesis 1:31 - "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good....."
God made Adam and he was good, along with everything else God made on the earth. When the story is complete at this end of the age we will see that God did not make a mistake, and that Adam (the man) was not such a failure. Satan changed our understanding of what happened in the garden to obscure the true gospel message of LOVE - God's love, that was resident in Adam, is fully restored in redeemed man through Christ and the Holy Spirit - (Romans 5:5).
Women: if you marry a man who is not a true “born-again” Christian you will have trouble because of your spiritual father-in-law who is Satan, the cause of all of our problems.
John 8:44 – Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
You want your husband to be genuinely “born-again”. One who will love you with the God kind of love that the Holy Spirit has put in his heart.
Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
This is a man who will be like Adam before the-fall, he will be willing to give himself for his wife; cover her mistakes with the checkbook or credit card, etc. That man should be one who has died to self, put off the old satanic selfish nature, and openly expresses the character and nature of God – called the Fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Men: if you are truly born-again, and have the Spirit of the Christ in you, then you should be loving your wife as Christ loved the church. Failure to do so indicates that you are living by the dictates of the flesh – self (selfishness); you have not put off the old man (nature), and it stands in the way of allowing the fullness of the character and nature of God from coming forth in you.
Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Such a spirit led husband will produce a Godly family and home environment; representative of the Kingdom of God.
So let's receive it - God's Love! Let's apply it - God's love! Let's act on it - God's Love. Let's show it to others - God's Love; especially husbands for their wives. Thus we are fulfilling the plan and purpose of God as His sons.
Romans 13:8 – Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Romans 8:19 – For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
The Original Love Story Between a Man and a Woman
by W. G. Guy
The following is presented as a theory since it opposes accepted traditional church doctrine. Please consider the following facts that are presented based on a more thorough view of the scriptures and the plan and purpose of God.
Was what Adam did considered an act of treason, as most have come to believe, or was what he did something else – an act of Love? This theory presents what happened in the garden between Adam and Eve of the Old Testament as a precursor to the relationship between Christ and His church in the New Testament.
First we must consider why God made man. God wanted someone much like himself with whom He could identify and have fellowship. He wanted someone that He could relate to and show His love toward; a being similar to Himself that could respond to His love and love Him in return by his own will. This is why God made man after His own image and likeness, but without His supreme powers. This is also why the great command is to love God and your neighbor.
1 John 4:7-8 – Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Matthew 22:36-40 – Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Next we must consider what Adam was like before the fall. God fashioned Adam using himself as a pattern. Adam was God-like, made in the very image and likeness of God. God gave Adam His own character and nature; there was absolutely no carnality in Adam. However, God did put in Adam a will of his own; Adam was permitted self-determination. God did not make him a robotic slave.
Genesis 1:26-27 - "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
This means Adam was just like Jesus. Adam was the first human son of God; Jesus is the second human Son of God. Both came from the same source and were fashioned with the same character and nature. Both were sons or offspring of God! Both were absolutely righteous; there was no sin in either of them. There was only one difference between the two:
1 Corinthians 15:45-47 - "And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."
Genesis 3:19 - "......till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
The first Adam was formed of earthly substance and divinely made when dust became a living soul by the Spirit of God. Jesus, the last Adam, was formed of divine or heavenly substance and earthly made, (born of a virgin). By the Holy Spirit, the Word of God became flesh, (or like dust).
Adam was equipped with wisdom and knowledge that came from God; he had intimate communion with God; he also had the God-kind of LOVE - and God IS LOVE! In contrast, now we only consider Adam as he was after the fall when he lost all his God-likeness and righteous character.
Adam had tremendous knowledge since it was given him by God; he even knew of God's plan of redemption since it was established before God made him:
1 Peter 1:18-20 - "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but manifest in these last times for you."
Next we need to consider who it was that was tempted; what was tempted, and how that temptation occurred. So let's consider the temptation process - Satan's deceitful seeding of the human will in order to stimulate lusts. It's important to recognize how temptation works and just who was being tempted because this is very significant.
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Genesis 3:1-5 - "Now the serpent was more subtle 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? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. 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."
The tempter, called the "serpent", was actually the spirit-being named Lucifer. The word translated "serpent" is nachash in the Old Testament language. One meaning of this word is "shinning one". The name Lucifer means "bright morning star", a shining one. Lucifer, or Satan, is the bright shining one who misrepresents what God made, said and did, in order to tempt, manipulate and control mankind.
2 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (Note: who was it that was beguiled and deceived? – the woman!)
This was not a literal snake, as is presumed, but a deceptive serpent like manner, character and nature of this spirit being, beguiling and enticing as a snake mesmerizes a bird before it devours it.
Nachash also means the same as to mesmerize by whispering words or vocalized hissing to cast a spell; to prognosticate. This creature was more wise and subtle than any creature that was found on earth - (Genesis 3:1).
Part of the ploy of temptation is that it is repetitive; subtle at first, then intensifies as the human will begins to lean in that direction, to pay attention, to give an open ear, mind or heart to the enticements.
The tempting was aimed at Eve - WHY ? She was, (as all women are), more sensitive and, thus more subject to be beguiled by deception from the spirit realm. NOTE: More women are in the occult than men. Likewise, more women are in church and church work than men because they respond faster and easier to the things of the spirit realm than do men. Men have the quality to judge, wait and observe, (often described as stubbornness by women). Women are also more impulsive; they act or respond quickly based on feelings, whereas men are slower to act because they are prone to judge and evaluate, wanting all the facts rather than act on feelings or impulse.
Adam was given the authority as king or ruler of the earth, having absolute dominion; and Eve shared in it as part of him - Mrs. Adam.
Genesis 1:26 - "....and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
Psalm 115:16 - "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."
Satan tries to avoid those in authority and goes for the more vulnerable ones. So it appears that the tempting was done while Adam was not present to stop it. Maybe he was off naming the animals.
Gen. 2:19 - "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
Remember that Adam had the character and nature of God, as well as great wisdom and knowledge, but Adam did not have the qualities of God. He was not Omnipresent, Omniscient and Omnipotent.
The tempting of Eve probably occurred over a period of time, and, as scripture indicates, it may not have occurred while she was near the tree. She referred to the tree in the "midst" of the garden which implies she was elsewhere when being seduced by the enemy.
Genesis 3:3 - "But the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden....".
Now let's look at just what manner of temptation was employed by the enemy, "To be like God". But they were already like God - created in His image and likeness.
Genesis 3:5 - "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."
What god was the devil tempting her to be like? Did not the devil attribute to himself a position of a god, and presumed himself to be as a god?
Isaiah 14:12-14 – How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning; how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heightsof the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (See also Ezekiel 28:1-19)
The devil was suing himself as the template of a god for Eve to emulate; and after she did eat of the forbidden fruit she did become like him acquiring his fallen nature: losing the holy and righteous character and nature that she had of God.
The tempting process began with the devil causing doubt and distrust in the word of God and what God said:
Genesis 3:1 - "Yea, hath God said...?"
Notice the attempt to discredit God in order to make Him appear devious and not to be trusted to Eve's mind. She was already like God, made in His image and likeness coming right from Adam. Satan wanted her to turn away from being dependent on God; to be independent of Him and be like the god that he was - determining what is right and wrong for herself. Remember the tempting was to partake of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good (right) and Evil (wrong).
Scripture shows us that the tempting process focuses on three carnal desires of human consciousness that are the three areas of human vulnerability: lust of the flesh, or the "I will"; the lust of the eye, or the "I want"; and the pride of life, or the "I am".
1 John 2:16 - "For all that is in the world, (1) the lust of the flesh, and(2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."
Note Satan's subtle tempting of these three areas:
Genesis 3:6 - And when the woman saw that the tree was (1) good for food, and that it was (2) pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desire to (3) make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat..."
First it was the lust of the flesh, provision - "good for food". Second was lust of the eye - "pleasant to the eye" or desirable to have. Finally came the big one, the pride of life - "to be desired of to make one wise" (as a god), and not being satisfied with what or who you are.
Jesus was tempted the exact same way.
Hebrews 4:15 - "For we have not an high priest (Jesus) which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
Matthew 4:1 & 3 - "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when the tempter came unto him, he said, If thou be the Son of God.....".
"If you are the Son of God"; here again you see the effort of Satan to cause doubt in what God said. Then we see Jesus tempted in the exact same three areas of human vulnerability as Eve was tempted in:
Matthew 4:2 - "....command these stones be made bread."
Lust of the flesh (1) is tempted by food; remember Jesus had been fasting for forty days and was now extremely hungry when the enemy entices him to use supernatural powers to satisfy a basic human need of the body. (Note also that Jesus responds with the Word of God and not his own efforts of defense - Matthew 4:4.)
Matthew 4:5 & 6 - "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Pride of life (3) is tempted at this point; pride being who you are, what you are or your position as you perceive it. Satan wanted Jesus to become vulnerable to prove who he was, thus showing pride. (Note that again Jesus responds with the Word of God and not by his own ability - Matthew 4:7. Also note that the order of the tempting is not significant as the Book of Luke records them in a different sequence.)
Matthew 4:8 - "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world , and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
Lust of the eye (2) is tempted in Jesus by showing him the world's domains that are presently under Satan's influence. Jesus, however, did not have to prove anything to anyone since he already knew that "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof" - (Psalm 24:1).
Note: Satan's claim to ownership of the kingdoms of the world was due to his getting possession of all the things man had when Mr. and Mrs. Adam yielded them up to him by partaking of the forbidden fruit, thus submitting all they ruled over to the devil, as revealed in Luke’s account of this event.
Luke 4:5-6 – And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
Now back to Eve; the lust stimulated and enticed by Satan now takes hold as she happens to come near that certain tree.
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
The process of Eve's temptation, as referred to by James, now enters the second stage. She may likely have been alone at this point since verse 6 says, "when the woman saw", instead of saying "when they saw"; there is no reference to Adam being with her. So she sees the tree and the three vulnerable areas of human consciousness become a driving force - the, "I want (1), the I will (2), and the pride of life (3)" are enticed and she doesn't even think about what she is about to do. Her lust, or her "I want, I will and I am", acted.
So she eats; she sins; and she dies instantly. She is now spiritually dead, separated from God as well as from her husband. Next she carries the forbidden fruit back to her husband, “And gave also to her husband the fruit thereof”. She lost her righteous state, along with her Holy spiritual covering garments, and now stands naked and carnally exposed next to her husband. Adam knew exactly what happened, he could see the results. He now has a void in his life; she is now living in another realm, no longer on the same spiritual plain as he is still in. They no longer have any bases for relationship or fellowship together. She is now in darkness while Adam is still in the light as he still has a God consciousness and righteous spirit.
2 Corinthians 6:14 - "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
Adam now has a very serious choice to make. He can go back and tell God that "....the women blew it; ....give me another woman...."; or he could join her by partaking of the fruit himself, thus taking part with and/or responsibility for her sin. Because he had the mind of God, and the God kind of love in him (before the fall), he could accept the responsibility and the blame for her sinful act.
Genesis 3:6 - "...and (she) gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
Adam knew God had a plan of redemption that covered not only them but all their offspring too. Scripture tell us that plan was established before the foundation of the world, 1 Peter 1:18-20. That plan would not go into effect unless he was willing to accept the responsibility for her actions. Remember, he is in charge and was given the authority to effect such action.
Consider the alternative; Eve would be thrown out of the garden, eternally separated from God and Adam; thus the first marriage would end in separation, definitely not what God wants for a husband and wife. She would eventually die physically while he would live on eternally since he would have access to the Tree of Life and she would be barred from it. Adam would have continued in God's presence without her.
What would be God's view of Adam's love for his wife had he chosen not to join her? That would be imperfect love! Not the God-kind of love which he possessed and reflected toward her. What Adam did was actually functioning as a forerunner of Jesus, or as scripture records – “a figure of him that was to come” Romans 5:14.
Ephesians 5:27 - Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Also consider that Eve she was part of Adam, more intimately joined than any husband and wife since. She came out of him and was part of him:
Genesis 2:22-23 - "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Women, because she was taken out of man."
Adam chose to partake of the fruit (her sin) so he could be with her (his love) and thus accepted the responsibility for her actions. Henceforth, we all blame HIM, not her, for the sin in the garden. But, consider that her name was ADAM too, (as you will see later on)!
Adam was not Eve's redeemer, but his act did allow God to implement his plan of redemption for both her and him. Adam was Eve's husband; that means that he was her protector, and provider, while God was Adam's protector and provider. Adam was the head of Eve, and God was the head of man, until Jesus came and took on the role of Adam – the last Adam:
1 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."
Since the fall in the garden we have held Adam responsible and he still bares the blame for it.
Romans 5:17-20 - "For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
This was God's plan; Adam was a type or shadow of Christ who bore the responsibility for the sins of mankind.
Isaiah 53:4 & 5 - "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and with his stripes we are healed."
We blame Adam, but that blame was transferred to Jesus at His crucifixion. God blamed (smote) Jesus as He took all that blame. So it appears that just as Adam gave himself for his bride, Eve, Jesus gave himself for His bride, the church.
Ephesians 5:25 - "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;"
NOTE: Would you husbands give yourselves for your wives? Are you willing to bear the responsibilities of her errors, failures, weaknesses or mistakes, credit card debt, etc.? Many don't; that's why we have separation and divorce instead of the God-kind of love from husbands, (of whom it is REQUIRED - Ephesians 5:25).
Husbands are often selfish and self-centered, not having the God-kind of love for their wives as Adam had for Eve. How then can a wife reverence a husband that does not show the God-kind of love? Could it be that this is why most ministers call Adam a traitor to God and refuse to see him as exercising God-kind of love for Eve - because they don't exercise that kind of love for their wives. They probably don't even understand the God-kind of love.
Adam did not want another wife (as many do today); he did what he had to do to keep the one he loved. Jesus did the same thing for us, and we did not deserve it; it was His love, grace and mercy. Because of this, Jesus identified with Adam in His work and finished it:
1 Corinthians 15:45 - "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam ( man from God - Jesus) was made a quickening spirit."
Both men came from God and were equipped with God's perfect love to achieve similar tasks. So we see that Adam was a "type" (image) of Christ.
Romans 5:14 - Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come."
(Two things to note here: one, that Adam's transgression was different from all the rest of mankind that have sinned since. His was not an act of lust and overt disobedience as are the sins of the rest of mankind. Second, Adam was a type of the one who was to come to bring full redemption. This could be said of no other man than Adam.)
The agapao love, God's kind of love, will cause one to protect, die for, and even bear the consequences of the actions of the one loved. This is the gospel message demonstrated by Adam. Adam loved his wife with that perfect God-kind of love before the fall; he got that love from God. The God-kind of love (agape) is to seek the good and well-being of the other, even at one's own expense - (John 15:13).
Romans 5:14 tells us that Adam's sin was different from others; yet it also identifies him as a type or forerunner of Christ. How was Adam a type, image or pattern of Christ? Adam's action was not the result of LUST; he was not tempted; he did not yield to temptation; it was Eve that was tempted and yielded committing the first sin, not Adam. Notice also that it was Eve that was beguiled, not Adam.
2 Corinthians 11:3 - "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve (not Adam) through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
1 Timothy 2:13-14 - "For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
Initially it appears that Adam was at fault, but a closer examination of scripture reveals that it was actually Mrs. Adam that initiated the fall of mankind – scripture also calls her Adam: Notice also that it was Eve that was beguiled, not Adam, ….why? ….we are soon going to find out. (God refers to her as Adam also.)
Genesis 5:2 - "Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created".
It was not Adam that sinned, but the woman. He did not do his act out of lust, but out of love. Sin is the result when lust is first conceived, then fulfilled:
James 1:14-15 - "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lusts, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
Adam was willing to die, taking upon himself the sin she committed, just as Jesus was willing to die for all mankind, taking upon Himself the penalty for all our sins. We need to understand that death means separation. Physical death is when the spirit is separated from the body - the body dies. Spiritual death is when the spirit is separated from God, the source of spiritual/eternally life (zoe).
Genesis 3:17 – And unto Adam He (God) said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Note that Adam was not tempted by the devil, in fact Satan did not speak to Adam about eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God saw that Adam responded to his wife, not Satan. Nevertheless, since Adam did eat of that tree he had to suffer the consequences as listed because he transgressed the command of God; even though it was not out of defiance of God as was Eve’s act.
Adam did not turn away from God but instead fulfilled God's plan to allow himself to partake of Eve's sin so God could initiate the plan of redemption that He already had predetermined before the foundation of the world. (Note: the word world comes from the Greek word kosmos which means "social system" or society, thus mankind.) The plan of redemption was established before there was a human society, or before the world (kosmos) was.
The motive for Adam's actions was different from Eve's; her motive was driven by LUST; his motive was driven by LOVE. As Christ paid the price for sin to provide redemption for all mankind, so Adam sacrificed his spiritual life so that God could provide redemption for his wife. No greater love can a man have for his wife!
Adam became separated from God so that he could remain with her. He became guilty of sin with her and for her, yet having not sinned in his heart through lust - just as Christ became sin for us yet not having sinned in his heart.
NOTE: Jesus' heart remained pure to God even as He became clothed with our sin. It was God who turned away from Jesus because of the cloak of sin He accepted. Jesus became separated from God, but His heart was still pure, He never turned away from God.
Matthew 27:46 - "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
So we see God turned away from Jesus. In a similar way with Adam, he did not turn away from God, God turned him away (put him out of the garden) because he accepted responsibility for Eve's sin. Adam's act was planned, reasoned, calculated, purposeful; Eve's act was lustful impulse. Adam committed an act of TRUE LOVE, not the Hollywood or TV stuff! As a result of taking on the responsibility for Eve’s transgression, Adam lost contact with divine knowledge and wisdom in his fallen state and had to rely now on his own carnal resources that were totally inadequate:
Genesis 3:7 - "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."
Now that mankind has entered a whole new realm, God set about to initiate the plan of redemption for Adam and Eve to restore what was lost. God now had to show Adam how to make blood atonement. God shed the first sacrificial blood; He killed the animals, shed the blood, and made coverings for their sin:
Genesis 3:21 - "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them."
NOTE: Why would God do this if Adam's sin was the way of traditional belief claims since God would have nothing to do with him after the fall. But God did intervene because Adam's heart was still pure before God, just as was Jesus' heart. This allowed God to enact His plan of redemption and to make atonement for Adam and Eve by the blood of sacrificed goats and lambs. (This also represents how God intervened for His Son in raising him from the grave.)
This is where Adam learned how to make atonement by sacrifice which knowledge he passed onto his children Cain and Able, etc. One son did it right, and the other tried to do things his own way rather than what God required and that Adam showed his sons.
Genesis 4:3-4 - "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.....".
Why did God not accept Cain's offering? It took shed blood to atone for sin, not fruits and vegetables because there is no life's blood in them. This pattern of blood sacrifice passed on to Noah and was the fore shadow of the ultimate plan of redemption that was to follow and was, at God’s timing, initiated by Jesus.
Hebrews 9:22 - "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood: and without shedding of blood is no remission."
This fact alone testifies that Adam bore witness of, and had foreknowledge of, THE ATONEMENT. If Adam chose to stay with God and reject Eve, he would have forsaken his wife and not shown her the God-kind of love. She would have been lost forever and no plan of redemption would reach her unless it was initiated by Adam. Her offspring would have been a mixed lot that would have a complicated life on earth, even more drastically than the chaos we have now.
Remember, God placed all the affairs of earth and man in Adam's hands, he and his fallen offspring determine man's affairs and the outcomes ever since - so people should not blame God for the evil things that occur on earth; its all because of the fallen, sinful nature of man that is under the influence of Satan.
Psalm 115:16 - "The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men."
The fall so changed Adam's nature that he lost ALL the character and nature of God that he formerly had; especially lacking was the God-kind of love. Now he has the character and nature of the enemy, the one he yielded to when he accepted the fruit from Eve. So now, self-centered Adam has a love of self, instead of a self-sacrificing love for his wife; he is now motivated by carnal actions.
Genesis 3:12 - "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."
Even though the blame was hers, Adam took the responsibility for it before he ate. Now, in the fallen state, he will have nothing to do with it; he blamed her, and even charged God with being complicit - what a change.
Most men today rarely experience or express the God-kind of love for their wives; yet that God-kind of love was restored to us and made available by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5:5 - "....because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."
Jesus restored all that was lost in the fall, yet too many of us still live short of the glory of it:
Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
The God-kind of love is in each believer and is able to be demonstrated only when a full intimate relationship and fellowship with God the Father is restored and maintained through Christ. Thus a true Christian is evident by a life of walking in the Spirit and being led of the Spirit.
Romans 8:14 - "For as many as are led by the Spirit of god, they are the sons of God."
Christ having achieved full redemption of what was lost in the garden now requires us to live with that love and all the fullness of God that he brings us:
John 15:12-13, 17 - this is my commandment, That ye love one another, as i have loved you. Great love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. These things I command you, that ye love one another."
and
1 John 4:7-8 - "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is Love."
Men have been less responsive to God than women since that time in the garden. On that first day of the week, the resurrection, men (Jesus’ own disciples) refused to believe his resurrection, yet the woman believed.
Mark 16:9 - "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene...."
Christ revealed himself to a woman in verse 9, but notice the men’s response in verses 10-11:
Mark 16:10-11 - "And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not."
Jesus showed himself to a woman first to show her that the act of Eve's transgression was forgiven and women no longer had to bear the reproach of that transgression. A woman (Eve) was the first to see spiritual death; and a woman (Mary) was the first to see spiritual life - the resurrected Christ. This was no accident, it was deliberate! The TRUE gospel is the message of God's total and complete love for mankind.
Adam had the character of God within which caused him to react as he did toward his wife. Satan and the spirit of antichrist does not want the church or the world to know and experience the TRUE GOSPEL of God's LOVE. So Satan dreamed up the scheme that the whole church believes to day - that Adam was not a type of Christ, and that he was a no-good traitor, (as is taught in most seminaries).
Was the first man from God an absolute failure as most Christians have come to believe? What does God say about it?
Genesis 1:31 - "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good....."
God made Adam and he was good, along with everything else God made on the earth. When the story is complete at this end of the age we will see that God did not make a mistake, and that Adam (the man) was not such a failure. Satan changed our understanding of what happened in the garden to obscure the true gospel message of LOVE - God's love, that was resident in Adam, is fully restored in redeemed man through Christ and the Holy Spirit - (Romans 5:5).
Women: if you marry a man who is not a true “born-again” Christian you will have trouble because of your spiritual father-in-law who is Satan, the cause of all of our problems.
John 8:44 – Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.
You want your husband to be genuinely “born-again”. One who will love you with the God kind of love that the Holy Spirit has put in his heart.
Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
This is a man who will be like Adam before the-fall, he will be willing to give himself for his wife; cover her mistakes with the checkbook or credit card, etc. That man should be one who has died to self, put off the old satanic selfish nature, and openly expresses the character and nature of God – called the Fruit of the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Men: if you are truly born-again, and have the Spirit of the Christ in you, then you should be loving your wife as Christ loved the church. Failure to do so indicates that you are living by the dictates of the flesh – self (selfishness); you have not put off the old man (nature), and it stands in the way of allowing the fullness of the character and nature of God from coming forth in you.
Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Such a spirit led husband will produce a Godly family and home environment; representative of the Kingdom of God.
So let's receive it - God's Love! Let's apply it - God's love! Let's act on it - God's Love. Let's show it to others - God's Love; especially husbands for their wives. Thus we are fulfilling the plan and purpose of God as His sons.
Romans 13:8 – Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Romans 8:19 – For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
