The never-ending experiment… (part 4)

Updated in July

Our journey through the “never-ending experiment” has brought us to the profound truth of our original identity and purpose that was perfectly established by God before the world knew brokenness. As confirmed in Scripture, man was created in God’s perfect image. However, sin marred that perfect reflection, creating a barrier between all of humanity and God. While we still bear the image of God, it’s not a perfect one, because it’s been distorted by sin.

We’ve all seen the dramatic portrayals of “good verses evil” in countless television series, movies, and across the news outlet. While those stories may not be entirely false, the true battle goes far deeper than what meets the eye. On a grand scale, we witness physical wars between individuals, groups, and nations. However, the main battle isn’t physical; it’s spiritual. Let’s go back to the account of Adam in the garden of Eden:

15 “ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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” (Genesis 2:15-17).

God gave Adam a clear command. Adam had unrestricted access to all but one tree, with a consequence for disobedience—death. Soon after, Eve was created as a suitable helper to Adam. Scripture tells us that they were naked and not ashamed, so they were living in a state of innocence. Now, while Scripture doesn’t explicitly state that God gave Eve the command directly, it’s evident she was aware of it.

Consider the dialogue that took place in the garden of Eden, initiated by the serpent:

1 “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ 2 The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die .’ 4 ‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:1-6).

Their life in a perfect garden took a shift due to Adam’s disobedience, stemming from Eve’s deception by the serpent, disguised as Satan, also called the devil, or the evil one who actively works against God’s will. The serpent began subtly challenging God’s nature. He planted a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind that made her question God’s Word and His goodness. The deception was to make her think that God was withholding something good from them, despite them being made in the likeness of God and had everything they needed. What they didn’t know was evil, but they didn’t need to know evil as it’s not part of God’s nature and since they were created in His image, they inherently knew all that was good. Furthermore, it didn’t help that Eve added to God’s Word, saying “…you must not touch it,” which further opened the door for this deception and subsequent temptation.

This highlights a critical truth for us today: if we aren’t rooted in the truth of the Creator that created us, we leave ourselves open to believe anything that sounds appealing. Adam and Eve’s act of eating the fruit from the forbidden tree brought into the world sin leading to death. As we continue to read Scripture, we discover the full extent of this inherited sin nature and the various forms of death humanity experiences.

It was intended for Adam and Eve to live forever. To increase in number. Fill the earth. They were to be functioning in the divine presence of God. There was no sickness. No suffering. No death. But with disobedience comes consequences. When God said, “you shall surely die,” part of that was a physical death; and though it wasn’t immediate, it became a certainty that no one will live forever. To jump ahead a bit, Genesis chapter 5 records, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.” Through Adam’s descendants to Noah, we see humanity’s progression, marked by their long life on earth, yet we are consistently reminded of the inherited sin leading to death because at the end of each person’s account, Scripture reads, “and he died.” However, there is one particular person in this lineage that stands apart from the rest—Enoch. Enoch had a close relationship with God and because of this close relationship he did not experience death; instead, God took him away. Additionally, God exiled Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden where they could no longer access the fruit from the tree of life and live forever, especially while being in their sinful nature.

Now back in the garden—immediately after eating the fruit from the forbidden tree, a drastic change occurred:

7 “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ 10 And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ 11 He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat’” (Genesis 3:7-11).

In this act of disobedience, when their eyes opened, it shifted them from a previous state of innocence to a newfound awareness of nakedness and shame. The shame wasn’t introduced by God, it was from their own feeling due to their disobedience. Not to mention, they developed a fear of God, leading to them hiding from His presence. Just as God already knew they had disobeyed, He also knew exactly where they were hiding. When God called out to Adam because God had given him the responsibility of keeping after the garden and his wife, it wasn’t because He couldn’t locate him, it was so that Adam could confess his actions and receive the consequences. Their choice to disobey God separated them from Him. This separation is the other part of “you shall surely die.” It’s the spiritual death. The spiritual death happened immediately; the physical death came eventually.

Let’s be clear on this, these living beings were created in God’s image and belonged to Him. As the all-knowing God, He was fully aware of their disobedience the moment it happened. Yet, God’s knowledge of their actions doesn’t negate the fact that they made a choice, a choice to be like Him in knowing good and evil, a choice they believed would make them wiser. This is our earliest and clearest example of free will in Scripture. God had granted Adam and Eve access to a perfect garden and gave a clear command with expected obedience. He outlined what they could do, what they couldn’t do, and the consequence that would follow if they did otherwise. They were given the freedom to obey or disobey. Their decision to eat the fruit from the forbidden tree was an exercise of this free will, leading to the spiritual and physical death of humanity.

God disciplined Adam and Eve and cursed the serpent and the ground. When God cursed the serpent, He also spoke a prophecy about the ultimate resolution between good and evil (Genesis 3:8-19). This pivotal moment reveals God’s redemptive plan, a plan centered around a Savior who will restore humanity back to God, only if they believe in the one He sent. From the very first book of Genesis, to the very last one of Revelation, Scripture points us to the Savior.

When Adam explained to God that they hid from Him out of fear of their nakedness, God responded by saying, “Who told you that you were naked?” This question resonates deeply with our own lives. Many of us have formed our own ideas about our identity and purpose. So, consider this: Who has told you about yourself? Who have you been listening to? Did it come from God or did it come from the world? This never-ending experiment is ultimately about helping us realize who we’ve been talking to that has been influencing who we think we are and what we ought to be doing.

Morgan