Chapter 15 | A Larger Context for Romans 5:12

The context used in the previous chapter was framed in the mystery of God and the new creation in Christ as outlined by Paul’s presuppositions. It highlights the divine solution to a divinely ordered problem; achieving the spiritual new creation by starting with the physical/natural first.[1] Included in this context is the definition of the condition humanity finds itself in when Yeshua the Christ, the Lamb of God arrives on the scene. Throughout his Letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul clarifies how that current condition, resolved by the last Adam, is introduced by the first Adam. What Paul doesn’t express in Romans 5 is what the first causes are for that condition, which he connects back to the first Adam. For that, we must expand the context to Paul’s other writings and beyond to see the larger context of God’s work in Christ. When we do, we arrive at a more thorough understanding of that work and its impact on our traditional viewpoints.

 

Recall that the process of achieving the new creation in Christ begins with the physical and the natural. [P5,P7][2] Our mistake is to assume God started humanity out as complete, perfect, and immortal. The reality and context established by the revelation to Paul is completely opposite to this presumption. [P2,P5,P8,P9]

Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (1 Corinthians 15:45-50)

 

Notice the similarity of Paul’s reference to man as dust with that of Genesis: for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.[3] The condition Adam found himself in, being dust, didn’t change after taking from the tree of exception. Paul understands the first cause for man’s condition as dust. He also understands the process by which we’re to inherit the imperishable kingdom of God and how that was never intended to come by the first Adam. [P1,P2,P4,P5]

 

Recall that earlier in chapter twelve of this book, I outlined the various means through which this transformation from the incomplete image of God is manifest into the image and likeness of Christ through what Paul called the fullness of time. [P4]

• Through a Designated Order
• Through Chaos
• Through Disobedience
• Through Death
• Through Resurrection
• Through the Knowledge of Good and Evil

 

Yes, God is even completing his intended creation in Christ through the knowledge of good and evil. There’s a reason the tree of exception became the focus for Adam and Eve, and we’ll delve further into the details of that in the next section. What’s important at the moment is to recognize the contrast being revealed regarding the roles of the two Adams. [P5,P7]

• The man of dust was given dominion over the earth, not dominion in the heavens. Along with mortality, Adam and Eve were given reproduction, marriage, and a blessing as the means by which they would fulfill the primary command.[4]
• The first Adam was initially created incomplete in the image and likeness of God.[5] To be God’s imager on earth would require a process that mirrored the new creation in Christ. The man of dust could never achieve this on his own, by his own righteousness.[6]
• Adam, and by extension, Eve, were created imperfect. Having free will and the ability to choose always carries with it the risk of disobedience or rebellion. God was willing to bear the burden of that risk, subjecting his creation to futility, in order to have children who can choose life over death and good over evil; children with whom he can build a relationship based on faithfulness and trust.[7]
• In contrast, the man from heaven gives the Spirit of life to all those God has called to himself. It is only through the addition of that Spirit that we are redeemed, and by which we can know God, please God, and trust God, and by which we can continue in the obedience of faith. It is only by that Spirit that we can attain the resurrection to life eternal.[8] This is an essential part of completing the image and likeness of Christ in us,[9] and it’s not something the first Adam possessed.
• The last Adam also leads humanity into justification and righteousness, overcoming the condemnation introduced by the second command and the disobedience of the first Adam.[10] Without the knowledge of good and evil humanity would also have no discernment of the righteousness extended to them in Yeshua the Christ. It is only in lacking their own righteousness that they can fully appreciate the grace of God in Christ.

 

What Paul doesn’t expand on in Romans 5, but does in Romans 6-7 is that humanity’s lack of righteousness comes as much from what we are as it does from what we do. [P4,P5] Like Adam, we too are dust; imperfect, incomplete, and mortal. But God has provided the means to reconcile his children in Christ, and he did so before the foundations of the world were set in place. [P1,P5] This congruency between the will of God, the work of Christ, and the events of Genesis 2-3 has been overlooked for millennia due to the lack of the larger context provided in the mystery of God and the new creation in Christ.

Resolving the Traditional Views

By injecting our expectations into the Genesis 2-3 narrative and Romans 5:12, we produce confusion and contradictions that continue even today. It cannot be overlooked that much of the conflict arises from differing viewpoints on the nature of man and applying expectations to Adam’s nature that don’t reflect the context of Genesis 2-3 or any of Paul’s cited presuppositions. I’ll enumerate five claims from the traditional perspective and delve into each one in order to resolve them from the larger context in Christ:

• The doctrine of original sin takes the judicial or penal approach to God’s judgment of Adam and Eve’s conduct in the garden and imputes Adam’s guilt to his progeny.
• The judicial impact of what Adam did brought about the consequence of condemnation and death for all. This takes several forms:

• Guilty before God
• Loss of integrity/righteousness
• Loss of immortality, because death passed to all humanity

• The existence of sin before the law was given can only be resolved by the application of Adam’s guilt to all.
• The relationship between the universal guilt, the universal state we all find ourselves in, and the universal salvation available in Christ.
• The equal and opposite disposition of judgment upon the wicked and the righteous; eternal and conscious punishing of the wicked, and eternal life and bliss for the faithful.

 

Before I begin my critique of the traditional and reformist views, let me clarify that it is not my intent to replace these views entirely but to expand on them significantly. Much the same way Christ shifted the focus from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law, so his work also shifts the human focus on judicial or legal justification to that of God’s righteous judgment based on the gift of grace in Yeshua the Christ. This latter shift, like the former one, reflects the process of maturing in the character and likeness of Christ our Lord.[11] The former had its place before the revelation of Christ, but now that the mystery of God in Christ has been revealed, the Spirit of Christ continues to lead us into a deeper and broader understanding of his work to lead many sons and daughters from dust to glory.

Is Humanity the Source of Sin?

Perhaps the single most essential factor to the misunderstanding of the events of Genesis 2-3 revolves around a lack of context. As I’ve observed earlier, it’s completely understandable for those influenced by the Spirit of God prior to the manifestation of Christ to view and interpret those events through a judicial or penal lens.[12] These things were hidden until Christ appeared as much to ensure the success of Christ’s role on our behalf as it was to hide the reality from those who would seek to corrupt God’s purpose.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. (1 Corinthians 2:6-10)

 

Now when the apostle Paul speaks of rulers, his context often expands to include those from the unseen realm.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

Spiritual Forces of Evil

Paul clearly operates from a supernatural perspective. The opposition to God’s work in Christ on humanity’s behalf expands far beyond the walled garden where Adam and Eve were tested and deceived by the serpent. Though many modern Christians are unaware, if you were to inquire from a second-temple period Jew about the causes behind the proliferation of sin among humanity, they would cite three influencing events; the serpent in the garden, the incursion of the Watchers, and the events surrounding Babel.

 

Clearly, the temptation of Adam and Eve is the most familiar example of deception brought into the physical realm by a being from the unseen realm. Though it was intended for humanity’s harm, God would use it for their ultimate good. Unfortunately, due to traditional presuppositions brought to the text, the underlying deception of the serpent goes largely unnoticed. We’ll delve into it more fully near the end of this chapter.

The flood of Noah is often cited as God’s righteous judgment upon a corrupted humanity, resulting in global destruction. Yet without the supernatural perspective, this event is also largely misunderstood, and humanity alone is cited as the core cause for God’s displeasure. Is it surprising then that many commentators regard the effect of Adam’s disobedience as the source of all the misery experienced by humanity?[13]

 

Here again, the impact of the unseen realm and its negative influence on humanity’s situation has gone largely overlooked. In his book The Unseen Realm,[14] Dr. Michael Heiser expands on the supernatural worldview by exploring the scriptural evidence for a larger role of the unseen realm in all of human history. When the supernatural influence of the Watchers leads to the further corruption of his creation, God is forced to cleanse not only humanity but much of the animal creation as well in the flood. Not only did the divine elohim corrupt the seed of Adam, they also exposed humanity to knowledge that would enhance their ability to oppress and destroy one another.[15]

 

Yet for all their efforts, God was able to bring one man Noah and his family through the deluge. Through Noah and his family, humanity and the animals were preserved, and the world was cleansed from the corruption which came by those of the unseen realm who trespassed into humanity’s realm.[16] Not only were Noah and his family blessed and reminded of the primary command,[17] but through them, the seed of the first Adam was preserved for the last Adam.[18]

 

On the other side of the flood, the impact of the Watchers continued, resulting in the events at Babel. A leading expression of humanity’s growing self-interest, especially as a result of this other-realm influence, is the growing “pride of life” and the desire to make a name for themselves apart from Yahweh. The entire context of the events at Babel is framed in their desire to centralize their habitation within a city and to ignore the prime directive of their Creator – be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it. This is a trend that continues even after they were scattered and divided into seventy nations. Dr. Heiser goes on to show the source of this influence comes largely from the lesser gods (elohim) who were part of God’s divine council and were set over these nations as a divine assignment. Rather than lead humanity in wisdom back to their Creator, these lesser gods sought instead to be the subject of human worship.[19]

 

Dr. Heiser is not alone in recognizing the negative impact these lesser gods have on humanity’s progress. According to Joshua Van Ee, the Sumerian epics and their lesser gods (elohim) appear to contradict the Creator in two key ways:[20]

• These Sumerian gods seek to restrain human population and limit its growth, while God’s command was clearly – be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
• These gods seek to increase the centralization and civilization of humans into prominent cities. It is the same hubris that brings God’s judgment upon those building the city of Babel, contrary to what God commanded.

 

It is not by accident that from among these dispersed and disinherited nations God calls one man, Abram, as the basis for a people dedicated for his purpose. It is this nation of people that assures the continuation of God’s first command for Abraham and his children.[21] God’s grace goes beyond the promise in Isaac and even blesses Abraham’s other son Ishmael, ensuring that he too will be fruitful and will multiply.[22] Of course, the story of the new creation only begins there. Through Abraham, God will also bring one who is a blessing to all nations. This one (the last Adam) brings a blessing by doing righteousness and justice in the land.[23]

 

Though this is only the briefest of summaries, its purpose is to broaden the context for events surrounding the conditions leading to the necessary advent of Yeshua the Christ. The claim of many that Adam and Eve alone are responsible for the corruption and sin prevalent throughout our history constitutes an incomplete picture of that history. This awareness also, in part, negates the idea of the imputation of Adam’s guilt upon all humanity. There’s more going on, and it’s not just about us humans. Unlike those who occupy the unseen realm, having been created and constrained to occupy first the physical realm, we’re largely at their mercy. This was the reality for our first parents, and it’s the same reality for their progeny. While admittedly this unseen realm is the source of our hope and future, we cannot continue to be ignorant that by the presence of free will and self-determination, it too has had a negative influence on humanity beyond the serpent in the garden;

• The incursion of the Watchers, their offspring, and the knowledge they exposed humanity to.
• The influence at Babel, and the continued movement of humanity toward its own progress and further from the will of God.
• The mismanagement of the nations by the sons of God, the elohim divinely appointed to lead them.

The soul that sins will die

It’s a narrow context that seeks to apply the sin and guilt of one man onto all humanity; accounting the children guilty for the fault of the father. To end this similar thinking in Israel, God made a clear and solemn proclamation. I strongly suggest reading all of Ezekiel 18, as I will note just some highlights:

“What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. (Ezekiel 18:2-4)

 

“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ezekiel 18:19-20,23)

 

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
(Ezekiel 18:30-32)

 

If God proclaims to Israel the need to abandon the assignment of guilt from the father to the children, will he be a hypocrite and do the same; applying Adam’s guilt to all his progeny? Clearly, something more is needed, and the solution doesn’t come from our view of justice but from God’s righteous judgment abounding in grace.

Paul proclaims – the Grace of God is greater-than the Sin of Man

The entire context of Romans 5 is to reveal that in spite of the situation brought upon us by the first Adam, God has prepared the last Adam to more than offset the sufferings we bear now. Those with a more judicial bent might find such a claim heresy, yet it was Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit who made the claim. He also understands and appreciates the enormous gap Christ fills to bring many sons and daughters from this dust of which they were created to a place of glory.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:18,31-32,37-39)

 

What’s lacking in the perspective of the traditionalist who is resting on God’s penal judgment of Adam and all humanity is the insight provided by the work of God in Christ, as we’ve seen expressed by the presuppositions of Paul and other Spirit-led authors of Scripture.

Yes, the first Adam comes to his role through disobedience, and brings to his progeny the awareness of good and evil. Their choice moved humanity closer to God-likeness, not further from it. And it is only through this awareness that humanity can develop the self-discipline, moral discernment, and spiritual character necessary to dwell in the good and overcome the evil. However, they were never intended to achieve the maturity of Christ by their own efforts. That was and always will be the role of the last Adam. The righteousness that is a requirement for all God’s children who desire to express the fullness of his image or dwell in his kingdom for all eternity only comes through Christ our Lord. This is the message of Paul and the Spirit of Christ who inspired him.[24]

Condemnation and Death in Adam

The expectation of judgment and condemnation upon Adam and Eve might be a reasonable one if God’s underlying purpose was framed in the law or the command. Yet Romans 5 suggests a different underlying purpose must be at work; one of grace and mercy. Such penal views must be added to the narrative of Genesis 2-3 as are the qualities that are traditionally taught as being lost, namely integrity or righteousness and immortality. How is it that Adam and Eve can lose the two things, righteousness and immortality, that they’re then punished for seeking to obtain from the two trees in the middle of the garden?

 

The presupposition that Adam was created perfect, complete, and immortal has no basis in the narrative. When viewed objectively, it contradicts not only the narrative but everything Paul claims in his letter to the Romans, as indicated previously by his presuppositions. [P2,P3,P5,P8,P10]

When an objective comparison is done of what changed in the narrative before and after Adam and Eve took from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it’s primarily their awareness that changes.[25]

• Just as the serpent said when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, they were opened. Compare the serpent’s claim in verse 5 with that of the author in verse 7.[26] This change is also apparent by Adam and Eve’s behavior after taking from the tree of exception.
• God also validates the change in their awareness of morality, the knowledge of good and evil, by his claim, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.[27] If Adam was created complete in the image of God, how is it that something so significant could be added to the image and likeness?
• They emerged from a state of innocence into a state of maturity, now having to discern what is good from what is evil. Like the law for Israel, which defined sin further, the Knowledge of Good and Evil reveals sin for what it is – the lack of Godly wisdom and righteousness in discerning what is good and what is evil. Innocence is not righteousness. They are diametrically opposed because innocence reflects the lack of maturity, accountability, and character upon which righteousness is based.One can be born or created innocent since innocence is the lack of knowing, especially in an experiential way. Wisdom and righteousness and character are the product of congruent thinking, knowing, and acting. They are developed through struggle, challenges, suffering, and even sacrifice. This kind of experience is developed over time, a lifetime. This is the example demonstrated by our Lord and Christ, in whom we find the Godly character that models the image of God in those who receive him. Most importantly, we cannot hope to attain nor even see that image without the addition of God’s Holy Spirit.

 

So instead of judging Adam and Eve for their conduct in a state of innocence, we ought to be thanking them for their willingness to step into the unknown and seek the knowledge of good and evil in an effort to be more God-like. Though it came through disobedience, even God claims that it brought them closer to his image and likeness. Without such knowledge and experience we would not be able to discern or even value the righteousness offered in Yeshua the Christ. Without that discernment, how would one choose? The ability to choose properly is the one character trait God seeks for all his children.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

 

Now when Adam and Eve made their fateful choice, was it from the state of knowing and maturity or was it from the state of not-knowing and immaturity? Clearly, it was the latter since they were not even aware of their own nakedness.[28]

 

Certainly they understood the command of restriction given by God – but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Yet could they understand it fully? In what way would they have experience with the reality of death while dwelling in the walled garden under God’s direct provision? They could be taught the concept and given knowledge about it, but once on this side of the tree of exception, one knows more than just the concept. Thanks to them, we have an intimate awareness and experience that goes far beyond the conceptual.

 

From this perspective, we can see that at least two things were needed for Adam and Eve’s emergence out of innocence; the command and their choice. Yet it was by their choice that Adam and Eve opened the doorway for all their children to be able to grow in the intimate knowledge and experience of both life and death. Both were necessary as were good and evil. We can’t discern the one without the other, and we can’t overcome the other except by developing the one. Should we think then that we have the formula and the ability to displace evil entirely from our world through our exercise of the good? According to Paul, without the role of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can never attain that on our own.[29]

 

Recall that the condemnation of sin and death that Adam exposed his progeny to doesn’t come only by what he did but also by what he is; imperfect, incomplete, and mortal. This condition is not the result of anything Adam did but is according to the will and purpose of God.[30]

Adam and Eve are responsible for opening the doorway for all their progeny to grow in the image and likeness of God. However, there were clear limits in our ability to achieve that image in any significant way while we lived in the flesh, the physical realm. Yet in this realm into which we were created, we could fulfill the first command given by God – Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.[31]

 

Finally, the apostle Paul expands in Romans 6-7 what he only introduces in Romans 5:

• It is the body of sin that is enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6-7). Now Paul uses the term body to represent the living soul, the complete person. The body doesn’t sin apart from the mind, where sin begins. From God’s perspective, it’s the living soul that sins, and therefore, it is the living soul that dies.[32]
• Due to our natural weakness we are enslaved to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness (Romans 6:19).[33]
• Without the law (command) I would not have known sin (Romans 7:7). Yet Adam and Eve came under the command of restriction by taking from the tree of exception. In doing so, they also came to know sin, perceiving what is good and what is evil.

 

It is by their choice, though it came through disobedience, that all humanity shares in the awareness of morality, the knowledge of good and evil, and is able to discern between the two. Also, as a result of their choice, we all remain under the judgment of God – in dying, you shall surely die. Yet what death is it that we find ourselves subject to as a result of God’s command and Adam’s disobedience? Is it the death common to man – the first death? The first death common to man is not the result of what Adam did, but is a result of what Adam is – mortal. The death that passes to all humanity doesn’t come about by the loss of immortality but by the lack of it. Like Adam, we are made of dust, and to the dust we will return.[34]

The Universal Relationship

To begin to understand the universal state we all find ourselves in and its relationship to the universal impact introduced by the first Adam, we’re better off as Christians starting with the universal salvation gifted to us in Yeshua the Christ, the Lamb of God and the last Adam.

The nature of the contrast between the first Adam and the last Adam, one being a type of the other, and the penal substitution of Christ on our behalf, is a noted observation of N. T. Wright.[35]

• Between the progression from sin to death and the astonishing reversal available through the gift in Christ.
• The judicial imbalance between sin that brings condemnation and death and the grace that brings righteousness and life.
• Christ’s reign in righteousness and life upsets the reign of sin and death.

 

Now, we’ve seen previously that guilt isn’t what we’ve inherited from the first Adam as a result of his disobedience. Instead of guilt, we have a moral context, a conscience, and free will to pursue Godly righteousness. This is the test of life. Though we are insufficiently equipped of ourselves to achieve our place in heaven, we can demonstrate an earnest desire to grow in the wisdom and knowledge and character of he who created us;[36] and Yahweh is his name, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

To start with Christ means to look at what he does for us and in us. From this, we can compare the state we’re currently in with his intended goal – the new creation. It’s not by accident that Paul in Romans 5 clarifies what is gifted to those willing to receive Christ:

For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

 

Now this shows us several things:

• Though Christ died for all disobedient and wicked sinners like us,[37] one must receive him in order to receive righteousness and eternal life.
• This makes God’s gift of grace universally available to all. This is consistent with God’s expressed desire that none perish but that the wicked repent and accept Christ.
• It also makes God’s gift conditional in that one must receive the gift; believe and acknowledge Yeshua the Christ as the Son of God and the only source of righteousness and immortality (eternal life).
• Though the gift of grace is universally available, it doesn’t require that it be universally applied. The condition above makes this clear.[38]
• The imbalance noted by Wright is valid and is clearly being made by Paul; the grace of God is greater-than the sin of man or its consequence; the death of judgment introduced to humanity by Adam’s choice along with the death inherent to all who are made of dust.

 

This reflects the process God has employed to lead his children from the dust of the earth to the glory of his kingdom; the physical/natural first followed by the spiritual.[39]

The first man [Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man [Christ] is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust [mortal], we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven [immortal]. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood [mortal] cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
(1 Corinthians 15:47-50 emphasis mine)

 

This leaves us in the current state as I have described thus far; incomplete in our image and likeness of God, imperfect and immature in our character and likeness to Christ, and mortal, of the dust. Regarding the teleological aspects of this for humanity, Dr. Heiser adds some further insight:[40]

• No one ascends to heaven by any merit of their own.
• All humans need a savior. There is no other way of salvation, including obedience to the law.
• Humans “cannot not sin.”

 

As the apostle Paul has made clear, sin is as much a part of what we are as it is the result of what we do.[41] Yet our trust and God’s hope[42] is in Yeshua the Christ to lead us into the obedience of faith and ultimately into the new creation.

You will not surely die

To further address the claim about how the existence of sin before the law was given can only be resolved by the application of Adam’s guilt to all, I submit that more than coming under the righteous judgment of God, we also dwell under the deception of the serpent, but not in the way traditionally thought. Now, there is an additional condition to our current state that we’ve touched on partially by our review of the negative influence of elohim from the unseen realm and its impact on the increasing sinfulness of humanity. The first being the influence of the serpent in the garden, and the other two being the incursion of the Watchers and the events at Babel (Babylon). I would not presume to add anything to Dr. Heiser’s exhaustive work on the last two.[43] I can, however, add some clarification into the true lie of the serpent as it’s traditionally viewed.

 

When we compare Genesis 3:4 – you will not surely die with Genesis 2:17 – in dying, you shall surely die, the conflict comes from the assumption that the serpent is lying since both his claim about death and God’s claim about death can’t be true. This single statement in God’s command of exception has created an enormous stumbling block for interpreters of the Genesis 2-3 events. This is compounded by the unsolvable contradiction of the serpent’s claim about them not dying. How can God appear to be wrong and the serpent appear to be right? This is unacceptable, so theology is contorted and bent in order to avoid such a paradox, resulting in more confusion;

• They lost immortality (contingent or otherwise)
• God refrained from executing his judgment, leaving him to appear as re-active and ignorant of his creation
• Spiritual death – man is spirit (as a characteristic of God’s image), which died when he sinned

 

If we set aside the assumptions and accept the text on its own terms, what do we see? We see that Adam and Eve did not die immediately after eating the fruit. They lived out their natural lives, which, by the way, far exceeded the length of our lives today. So they did not die. That truth appears to be within the context of the first death – the death common to humanity,[44] thereby leaving the serpent speaking the truth. If the serpent is speaking the truth, the implication remains that God is lying in his restriction of Genesis 2:17, but this is unacceptable. The solution to such an apparent contradiction doesn’t lie in fictitious ideas of spiritual death or that God refrained from executing his judgment upon humanity. The solution comes from looking forward and recognizing which death it is that the Lamb of God would save humanity from; the second death of judgment.[45]

 

By looking to this second death, God was speaking the truth in a larger context than that of the serpent. It could even be said that the author of the narrative was unaware of this context since it was hidden in the mystery of God in Christ. It’s also likely, but unknowable for certain, that the serpent was also ignorant of the second death. His focus was on the natural death attributed to all humanity as a product of their mortality. To be aware of the second death, the serpent would have had to also be aware of the mystery of God and his intended salvific work in Christ. This is unlikely given Paul’s claim that God maintains a secret and hidden wisdom only revealed in the work of Yeshua the Christ.[46] I’ll go so far as to submit that these statements about death were not fully understood by Adam or Eve. In what context could they have any real experience with death? In their innocence were they even capable of being aware of it? As is typical for the immature, they are left somewhat unaware of the full scope and impact of their decisions. This appears to be part of the reason for God’s clarification in Genesis 3:16-19. His statements to Adam and Eve are not to be considered curses. Only the serpent and the ground are cursed. God is clarifying for them the nature of the reality into which they’ve emerged as a result of their decision to pursue God-like knowledge. Again, God is looking at the larger context of humanity’s future and where it will bring them. It’s not surprising that after leaving the garden, Adam and Eve would become aware of death every day of their mortal lives. They would even experience it firsthand amongst their own children.

 

What we see by recognizing the distinction in the two deaths is the distinction in the roles of the two Adams. The role of the Last Adam resolves the issues brought to humanity by the choice of the first Adam.[47]

• The role of the first Adam was expressed in the context of the physical/natural realm in which he was created to dwell.
• The role of the last Adam is expressed in the context of the spiritual realm in which he dwells.

 

Each fulfilled their respective roles; one the natural, the other the spiritual; one unknowingly in disobedience, the other knowingly in obedience to the will and purpose of the Father.[48]

Your Eyes Will be Opened

The implication of Genesis 3:5a – your eyes will be opened is a claim of increased awareness and consciousness. It’s not accidental that this awareness went straight to the core of both their identity as divine imagers and their vulnerability. It also has implications for the fulfillment of the first command (1:28). That the serpent was speaking the truth in this claim is clarified by the author in verse 7 – Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. The truth of this claim is also verified by observing the behavior of Adam and Eve before and after taking the fruit from the tree of exception.

 

Before:

• Prior to this Eve was referred to as woman – made from the man (2:18-23)
• They were both naked and unashamed (2:25)
• Though given in marriage (2:24), there’s no mention of its consummation until after exiting the garden (4:1)

After:

• They experienced embarrassment and shame in their nakedness (3:7b,10)
• Adam doesn’t name Eve personally until after they’ve left the garden (3:20)
• They gained awareness of their sexuality, a form of maturity (4:1)

 

There also appears to be a relationship between their nakedness (arom 2:25) and the serpent’s shrewdness (arum 3:1). It’s only later, after they’ve taken from the tree of exception, when the author uses a separate word for naked (erom 3:7) that we get a clue:

• Though the serpent appears to be more shrewd (subtle and discerning), it is, like the humans, naked and has its vulnerability (3:15)
• The humans, previously naked and vulnerable like the serpent, have now entered the realm of the shrewd. This is a desirable thing[49]

 

It is this newly acquired discernment which will replace their nakedness and innocence; a necessary tool for their life outside the garden.[50] Another area where their eyes are opened is in relation to God’s level of provision for them. Within the garden they enjoyed God’s direct provision with minimal though honorable labor (2:8-10,15). Once outside the garden they would continue to rely on God’s provision, but now indirectly, through much labor and effort on their part (3:17-19; 1:28-29).

Adam and Eve’s role is clearly defined (including Genesis 3) within the physical realm and extends well beyond the borders of Eden; a role for which they were created, given authority for, and were blessed in its execution.

You will be like God, knowing Good and Evil

This claim by the serpent (3:5b) is also shown to be true, not just by the author but by God himself – Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil (3:22). I find it interesting that this divine claim to possessing the knowledge of good and evil, which God is claiming for himself, is ignored or rejected by some historic and modern biblical commentators. Yet God willingly claims more than awareness of both.[51]

 

Eve’s motivation doesn’t have to be viewed in a negative way when understood solely from the context of the narrative. The desire to share in the wisdom and discernment of their creator is something to aspire to even today, and the desire for the fruit of the trees was a normal one that even God appeals to – And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food (2:9).

It’s worth repeating that the concepts of good and evil could not have been fully understood by Adam and Eve. Before taking from the tree of exception, they simply lacked the experiential knowledge and maturity that comes with this awareness. This, however, would change once they’re outside the garden. There, they would come face-to-face with the impact and responsibility having such knowledge would present. That, of course, becomes the very reason for allowing the test – so that they could learn.

• There can be no choice in the absence of two or more constraints. The knowledge of good and evil provides, as our history has shown, an enormous range of constraints from which we’re to choose life or death (I set before you life and death; choose life).
• When seen from the context of the work of God in Christ, this knowledge of good and evil is a reflection of the moral discernment, or righteousness, expressed by the Son of Man. Just as Yeshua is the source of eternal life (our Tree of Life), he’s also the source of Godly wisdom and righteousness as reflected in the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Through the obedience of faith and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we’re able to attain both.

The Hidden Lie

If we’re going to uncover the hidden lie buried beneath these truth claims made by the serpent, we’re going to require some of that discerning and divine Spirit. We can begin by looking again at the role of our Lord and Savior, which was established before the foundations of the world were set in place, and how that role fulfills God’s purpose in a way Adam and Eve never could.

• The knowledge of good and evil and the resulting moral discernment, which comes by seeing and experiencing the result of our choices, enables us to perceive what is good and what is evil and to see sin for what it is.
• By this understanding, we can perceive that Christ establishes the righteousness by which God’s children can dwell in the presence of the unseen God. This divine trait, initially missing in Adam and Eve, had its seed in the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
• In addition, Christ establishes the eternal life necessary for the children of God to dwell in God’s heavenly abode and for God to dwell in them through his Spirit.

 

Consider further that both of these divine characteristics, though represented by the two trees in the garden, would not have been fully understood until the mystery of God in Christ was made manifest.

One important point that is never addressed by the serpent, or by Eve for that matter, is how this gained wisdom would lead to satisfying the second constraint upon them – mortality. In the temptation, only the tree of exception is mentioned by both parties (3:1-6). The author knows of the existence of the Tree of Life, and certainly the Creator who placed it there knows of its existence since both trees were in the garden before the man was placed there (2:8-9,15-17). Yet there’s no clear expression indicating Adam and Eve or even the serpent had any initial knowledge of the Tree of Life. It’s not brought into full focus until after they’ve taken from the tree of exception, and only then is the Tree of Life mentioned when they are prohibited from having access to it (3:22b-24). It is to limit access to the Tree of Life that humanity is expelled from the garden, not as punishment or as separation from God; a God who continues to interact with his children throughout their history. It’s from that history that the Son of Man emerges, and it’s only by the Son of Man that humanity will ultimately emerge from dust to glory. This is what we see throughout humanity’s Biblical history. We don’t see a world rejected by God as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Instead we see the Lord and the Spirit of God intersect with the world so that the one command is satisfied (1:28) and the one promise is fulfilled (3:15b).

 

This, together with the enormous gap filled by the Last Adam to lead many sons and daughters to glory, leaves the real lie of the serpent unspoken: that humanity could learn and become like God, fulfilling our divine destiny on our own, independent of God. This is the lie that fed the events surrounding Babel, and it’s the same lie that deceives those of the materialist or humanist perspective in our post-modern era. As a result, they overlook or outright deny the very Creator that seeks to lead them to the eternal life they so desperately grasp for.

 

Not surprisingly, the awareness of this lie, which God desires us to know, cannot be simply declared. It must be sought out, sufficiently known, and experienced in order to lead one to humility and trust in God. Yet the independence opened to humanity through the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil has its risks. It’s the very same problem which crippled the descendents of Israel and caused them to stumble at their own Messiah[52] – self righteousness.[53] And like Israel’s disobedience, which was not unforeseen or unexpected but used to benefit the world,[54] the deception of the serpent is likewise allowed in order to plant the seed of the new creation in Christ for all God’s children.