The Fall of the Human Race & Why
We Need a Savior
By William Handschumacher
Rock of Offence Special Commentary
The following commentary is based
on Genesis chapters 1-3.
Unless we understand why the Bible was written and the importance of the information within its pages, the whole book can be read from cover to cover ... without producing any change. The Bible's general message from Genesis to Revelation, contained in two major covenant programs (known as the Old and New Testaments), is about how God "buys back" (or redeems) the human race from its fall into Satan's kingdom. God created man from the dust of the earth and gave him dominion over the works of His hands (or what some theologians call 'the world system'). He made the woman from one of man's ribs because He recognized that it was not good for man to be alone. He placed both of them in a garden called "Eden" and gave them one commandment to keep, which was never to be disobeyed. He told them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan, or the serpent as He is called in Genesis, tempted Eve into disobeying this Divine rule ... and Adam voluntarily followed her into this sin.
Unfortunately, disobeying God - in this unique situation - resulted in the impartation of death to Adam and Eve, since God had previously warned that in the day they would eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would surely die. As you read the account in Genesis, it becomes clear that the kind of death God was referring to was not immediate physical death.
God was speaking of a "spiritual death",
which would eventually produce physical
death - along with an eternal separation
from God that Bible scholars often refer
to as 'eternal death'.
This is the state of every person who has
not received God's solution for this
spiritual condition.
They may not be dead physically, but their
spirit is dead or, has death imparted to
it. If such a person does not have his
or her spiritual condtion changed or reborn,
they will die in a condition that separates
them from God for all eternity.
At funerals, ministers attempt to comfort
grieving family members by telling them
that their loved one is now with God in
heaven. Yet, according to the Bible, this
is a very misleading statement. Heaven is
only reserved for those who have accepted
God's solution for their condition of
spiritual death. If the deceased failed to
make this decision during their lifetime,
God clearly states that ...
'They are not with Him in heaven'.
We don't hear very much about hell in today's Bible teaching because it upsets the average church member. But, hell is a real place - whether you believe in it or not. The tragedy is that hell was not originally made for man. The Bible reveals that it was made for the devil (known as Lucifer at the time) and his angels who rebelled against God long ago. Man was included in the group destined for hell because of the act of disobedience in the garden, which allowed death (the nature of Satan or Lucifer) to dominate the original father and mother of the human race ... and all their future offspring. Hell exists for those who are under the dominion of spiritual death. There are no special exemptions.
More happened in Eden than just the breaking of a rule. Many people can't understand why God could not just forgive Adam and Eve's rebellion and go on with business as usual. The complexity of this problem can be seen in two principles.
First of all, Adam's disobedience involved the breaking of a covenant, which is a binding agreement that affects the core of the human identity. Up until Adam and Eve's disobedience ... they were fully identified and in right relationship with God - who is the source of life. They were in God's family and He was their Father. However, by breaking their covenant with God, they became identified with Satan (previously called Lucifer), who is the source of death.
At this point Satan, who originally tempted Eve,
became their new father, which removed God from
the relationship. Even worse, everything God
had previously given to Adam (the earth and
everything in it) now becomes the legal property
of their new father. Contrary to popular church
teachings; God did not and could not simply
'take these things back' - since they are now
the legal property of someone else.
When Adam violated his covenant with God, Satan
became the owner of everything that God originally
gave to Adam. This is why Scripture refers to
Satan as ...
"The god of this world"
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
Satan's ownership of earth is allowed to exist until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ ... when He will physically take back everything lost in the garden (Read Revelations 11:15). Yet, for humans under the spiritual dominion of death, Jesus - the Divine Son of God - paid the price, in blood, to redeem them at the cross. As a result, this blood-bought pre-paid salvation is available now. All we need to do is to reach out and accept God's gift ... as described in Romans 10:8-13, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 4:4-8 and Titus 3:5-7.
Spiritually speaking, Adam's disobedience was a legally binding act that was expensive to correct. Contrary to modern-day thinking - the spiritual world operates according to vastly different rules. For the person who breaks a covenant (a spiritually-based institution), the death sentence is mandatory. This also reveals the second reason God can't simply forgive Adam's disobedience. It has to do with God's nature. God's nature is established on the characteristic of justice, which requires a corresponding act or payment that balances the equation - in order to dismiss an offense. However, the problem involving man's rebellion against God is both unique and unfortunate. Since all of the human race is now under the dominion of spiritual death (as a result of the original sin of our 'father and mother' in the garden) ... they are legally disqualified from providing their own deliverance. Only someone who is 'outside of death' can provide the payment necessary for their complete deliverance. God is the only one Who meets these conditions ... and has a plan that carries a price only He could pay. He was willing to pay this price because of His love for us.
This is God's problem: How can I
help man who I love while at the
same time satisfy My justice,
which must be maintained?
When Adam rebelled against God's authority, he cut himself off from God's kingdom and was joined to a new kingdom; the kingdom of darkness ruled by Satan. At this point God ceased to be their 'Father'. Unfortunately, because of their disobedience in breaking a Divine covenant, they are required to receive a new father; which in this case is Satan (or Lucifer). This is revealed through a statement that Jesus made to some religious leaders in John 8:40-44...
"But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father. Then they said to Him, we were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God.
Jesus said to them, if God were your father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
All the offspring that came from Adam and Eve were born with 'death' imparted to their spirit. Adam is the 'head of the human race'. Everyone born after Adam has this "spiritual death" imparted to them. Everyone after Adam is born into Satan's family, which is why we see murder, stealing, lying, immorality and every evil practice continue to dominate the human race today. Contrary to the atheistic teachings of secular humanism; the human race is not inherently good. Unfortunately, this includes everyone living today. The Bible reveals this truth in Romans 3:10-11...
"As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: There is
none that understandeth, there is
none that seeketh after God. They
are all gone out of the way, they
are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good,
NO, NOT ONE."
And again in Romans 3:23 ...
"For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God..."
Scripture reveals God's solution to
this problem. The price is so high
that no human under the dominion of
spiritual death can pay it, regardless
of how hard they try.
The solution cannot be obtained by trying to be good or by perfectly keeping the Ten Commandments. It can't be reached through human merit - or through religious activity, commitment and church affiliation. All the good works performed since the creation of the world are insufficient to pay the price necessary to buy the human race back from Satan's kingdom. (Note: the Bible refers to this buy-back as 'redemption')
God had to send His Son, sinless and
blameless, in order to buy us back
into His family. Only Jesus could offer
the sacrifice necessary to satisfy God's
justice and pay the price necessary to
redeem (or purchase) us. It required
The "power of a sinless life"
to complete the purchase. Man could
never do that from his position in sin
and death. This is why the term "born
again" is used so much. It describes
perfectly what happens. You were born
the first time into this world and into
Satan's family. When you are "born again"
you are spiritually born a second time
and placed back into God's family ...
With God as your Heavenly Father.
The following Scriptures describe what
is happening:
"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins..." (Colossians 1:12-14)
"Therefore, as through one man’s (Adam's) offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s (Jesus Christ's) righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s (Adam's) disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience (Jesus Christ) many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5:18-21)
God leaves no excuse for man failing to come back into His family. The New Testament reveals that salvation (or eternal life) is the gift of God (Read Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:21-28, 5:14-21). You receive gifts; you don't try to earn them. In a sense, if a person refuses to receive God's gift of eternal life and righteousness through what Jesus did on the cross, he or she sends himself or herself to hell. God isn't really the one making this decision. He has freely made the way for man through His unmerited and undeserved favor called 'Grace'. The blame rests on human pride if the free gift is not received.
Let's keep all of this in mind as we discover more about God's great salvation. If you are someone on the outside, we beg you to seriously consider the things that are said ... and believe it enough to act on it. Your eternal life depends on making the simple child-like decision to receive what Jesus has done for you. If you already consider yourself to be a Christian, you need to test yourself to see if you are 'in the faith' - as Paul commanded in 2 Corinthians 13:5. Currently, many false gospels exist that will trick you into thinking you're an authentic Christian - when just the opposite is true.
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him..." (Hebrews 2:3)
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