Immediately after Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, something cataclysmic happened. Everything changed. In a second, in a flash, Adam and Eve died spiritually and lost their spiritual connection with God. They lost the holy spirit of God within them. The nature of spiritual death replaced the nature of spiritual life. Sin poured into creation and corrupted the entire nature of Adam and Eve. Also by the disobedience of Adam and Eve, death infiltrated the human race. The seeds of physical death were planted in them, and their corrupted human nature would dominate them throughout their lives until they died. On that fateful day of disobedience, the dying process had begun, as Adam and Eve were mere mortals, embraced by sin and death. They were now free to make a world of their own choosing. They no longer could enjoy the intimate presence of God and the joy of close fellowship with Him. A curse settled in upon the earth and it still hangs over all the world like a dark cloud. Men and women became lost and alienated from the life of God. Shame and guilt before God replaced love and confidence. Fear and uncertainty replaced peace and security. They lost God-consciousness and became self-conscious. They lost the spiritual power and ability to do good and gained the power to do evil, which was now inherent in their nature. They became subjects in the devil’s kingdom and heirs to death, misery, pain, and affliction. The exercised power of darkness became a constant thorn and source of agitation in their lives.
Genesis 3:7 also reveals the birth of religion, as Adam and Eve foolishly tried to cover their sin of disobedience by making coverings for themselves. They thought that by the works of their own hands, they could somehow justify themselves and earn the favor of God. Religion always focuses on man and his rules, regulations, and works to try to be God-like. Religion always drives people away from the heart of God and puts them in bondage and fear. Religion always misunderstands the goodness of God and his loving nature. Adam and Eve had died spiritually, and their entire nature was infused by sin. A mere covering of fig leaves was not going to solve the enormous dilemma that they had brought upon themselves. Adam could not restore his perfect relationship with God by a simple covering. This disaster could only be rectified by God Almighty and His glorious plan of redemption and wholeness. God’s goodness is the only place where the future salvation of a person could reside.
Genesis 3:8-10 (Amplified):
And they heard the sound of the Lord
God walking in the garden in the cool
of the day, and Adam and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the –
Lord God among the trees of the garden.
But the Lord God called to Adam and
said to him, Where are you?
He said, I heard the sound of You walking
in the garden, and I was afraid because I
was naked; and I hid myself.
God would appear in the garden in some physical form to fellowship with Adam and Eve. What intimacy! What closeness! What communion! What friendship they enjoyed, and what a privilege to have such an uninhibited, close relationship with God Almighty. But on this day, something tragic had happened and Adam and Eve’s entire nature and disposition toward God changed. There was now a separation and barrier between God and people, and guilt and shame dominated their mindset towards God. Instead of running into the presence of the Lord with confidence and great freedom, Adam and Eve hid from God in fear. They lost the spirit of God and had no vital and living connection with their Creator any longer. Adam and Eve no longer had the innocent trust and love for God where their hearts were pure and unrestricted in their full sharing of themselves with their Heavenly Father. Now their hearts were full of panic and dread, as they were afraid of God and terrified to come into His presence.
The word “hid” in the Hebrew means: to hide secretly, to withdraw from the sight of another, and to conceal oneself generally for the purpose of security.” The word “presence” is paniym, which we have studied before, and it means: to direct or set one’s face toward, and to be face to face in the presence of someone and everything that person represents. At one time, Adam and Eve loved the intimacy of fellowship face to face with God. They loved His goodness, His blessing, and His caring heart. They thrilled to be in His presence and have a deep heart to heart sharing of everything they were and hoped to be. Nothing was hidden from God. Nothing was held back in their fellowship and worship of Him. It was face to face, eye to eye, and heart to heart intimate communion. It was profound and satisfying, as they had a deep yearning to know their loving God. In the presence of God, there is fullness of joy and great goodness for those who love Him and put Him first in their life. Before God’s face is a peace that passes all understanding. As God wrapped His loving arms around His children, they had security and comfort.
So why would anyone want to run from the presence of God? Who would want to hide from such an awesome God? After Adam and Eve sinned and died spiritually, something happened on the inside of them. The mind and heart of Adam and Eve became full of fear and shame in the presence of God. There was an enmity and a turning of the human heart away from God and all the goodness He represents. The human heart became twisted because of the sin nature that had poured into it. Selfishness, self-interest, pride, and rebellion against God became part of their inborn nature. God no longer was a priority. Adam and Eve now wanted to hide and conceal their thoughts, desires, and purposes from God Almighty. They wanted to hide in secret from God and withdraw themselves from His sight. They thought they had some warped sense of security in separating themselves from their Creator and fleeing from everything true, just, loving, and good that God represents.
The voice of God brings goodness, justice, mercy, and righteousness. The voice of God always has the best interests of His children in mind. Yet Eve listened to the voice of the serpent and obeyed his word. Adam listened to the voice of his wife and followed her right into disobedience. The sound of God’s presence and voice no longer brought them comfort, security, and guidance. The voice of God made them tremble in fear because of their unbelief in the goodness of God and His Word.
Verse 8 is the first usage of “fear” in the Bible, and it is enlightening to see that fear always drives a person away from God and the truth of His Word. Fear makes you hide from God and builds unbelief in the human heart. Fear drives a barrier in the human heart between God and man. Fear encases, binds, and enslaves a person in mind and heart. Fear keeps a person from walking in intimate fellowship with their Creator. Fear indicates a lack of trust in God and His Word.
God’s first words after the Fall of Adam and Eve wonderfully reveal the heart of God and His goodness. He could have deserted Adam and Eve and turned His back on them. He could have given up on them because of their rebellion and disobedience. But God called to Adam, “Where are you?” God was still seeking Adam, even in his sinful state and even after committing high treason against Him. What a God of love! What a God of mercy! What a God of goodness! Even in the midst of the ruin of God’s creation and the sentence of death on His children, God had a plan of restoration to bring men and women back to paradise. God came to the garden seeking fellowship with Adam and Eve, but because of their betrayal, He had to design and initiate His awesome plan of redemption. God deeply desired to rectify the enormous problem of sin because of Adam’s disobedience. The devil wanted to keep man forever in a state of death and destruction, unredeemed and crushed by the penalty of sin. God would not stand by and do nothing. God did not throw in the towel and say, “Kids, you are on your own now.” God would give hope even in man’s darkest hour, as He promised a Savior who would bring salvation, goodness, wholeness and righteousness back to the human race, and ultimately destroy the great enemy of God, the devil. The goodness of this legal plan of redemption is so great and magnificent that its riches and glory far surpass anything ever known in history. Truly it is the good news.
Genesis 3:11-13 (Amplified):
And He said, Who told you that you
were naked? Have you eaten of the
tree of which I commanded you that
you should not eat?
And the man said, the woman whom
You gave to be with me-she gave me
fruit from the tree and I ate.
And the Lord said to the woman,
What is this you have done? And
the woman said, the serpent beguiled
(cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me,
and I ate.
Interwoven into the sinful nature of man is to play “the blame game” by failing to take responsibility for his actions. Adam pointed the finger at the woman, but ultimately blamed God because He gave him the woman. The first words uttered by man after the Fall blamed God for the evil that had befallen him. Man has been blaming God for evil ever since. Instead of recognizing His goodness and love, men and women have blamed God for all the problems in the world. God is portrayed as evil, and the human race is painted as good. Neither Adam nor Eve asked for forgiveness. Neither Adam nor Eve said they were sorry. Neither Adam nor Eve admitted they did anything wrong. Pride and exaltation of self above God became an inherent characteristic of the sin nature. The finger of accusation pointed to everyone but themselves. Adam and Eve gave God an excuse for their disobedience. Adam failed to speak God’s Word, failed to stand up for God’s Word, failed to teach God’s Word, failed to follow God’s Word, and failed to believe God’s Word. He decided to remain absolutely silent. Then he blamed God, implying that He should not have given him the woman in the first place. Adam blatantly told God that He was an accessory and partaker of this sin and just as responsible as Adam or Eve for all of its consequences. Just a little bit arrogant, don’t you think? There simply is no humility in the sin nature. Selfishness and pride rule the day in this corrupt nature of sin. Eve finally realized that she had been cheated, deceived, outwitted, and tricked by the serpent, yet again, she did not accept responsibility for her actions.
Job 31:33 (New American Standard):
Have I covered my transgressions like Adam,
By hiding my iniquity in my bosom.
Adam tried to cover his transgression and hide his iniquity from God. This verse sets forth the nature of Adam’s disobedience and two dominating characteristics of the sin nature inherited from Adam. The word “transgressions” in the Hebrew means: to rebel revolt or rise up in clear defiance of authority by violation of a law, command, or duty. The fundamental idea is a breach of relationship between two parties. It is a willful deviation and rebellion against God and His way or path. It is a stepping aside from the right path. It is to cross a line, challenging God’s boundaries. It is to refuse allegiance and duty to whom they are due. It is to knowingly refuse subjection to rightful authority. At the heart of this word “transgressions,” there is a real absence of love, respect, and honor towards the rightful authority. What insight this word gives us into Adam’s disobedience! Adam made a deliberate decision to rebel against God, His goodness, and His Word. He refused allegiance and dedication to God and knowingly revolted against His commandment. He stepped outside of the right and good path God had established in the Garden of Eden and crossed the line, challenging the boundaries of God’s Word. It was an assault on the goodness of God’s character, blessings, and Word. It was a fundamental breach of the loving relationship God had established with His children. Adam turned his back on His relationship with God. At the heart of the disobedience of Adam was a lack of belief that God really loved him, and conversely, Adam showed a lack of a deep, heartfelt love and respect for His Creator. He was more concerned about his relationship with Eve than His relationship with God.
Adam tried to cover this transgression in the presence of God. The word “covered” in the Hebrew means “to conceal and to hide.” God saw Adam’s heart, and he could not hide his transgression from Him. Adam showed no respect for God’s authority and tried to conceal the rebellious purposes and desires of his heart from God Almighty. Adam tried to make his transgression look good by rationalizing his disobedience to God and then blaming God for the evil consequences. The sin nature seems to have a bent toward trying to make good look evil and evil look good. Adam became a rebel against the goodness of God.
The second word used to describe Adam’s disobedience is “iniquity.” This word in the Hebrew means: perversity, depravity, and crookedness, and comes from a verb meaning to bend or to twist. It is a twisting of the standard and deviating from it. It is to distort and twist God’s standard, deviating from His righteous design and purpose. It is rebellion from a twisted condition of the human heart. It is disobedience due to thinking and reasoning that is crooked or perverse. Adam had twisted God’s righteous standard and distorted the way of God. He deviated from God’s commandment by crooked reasoning, and his heart became twisted and turned away from God. Then Adam tried to conceal his iniquity in his heart from God. God saw right thorough Adam’s twisted logic and got to the heart of the matter. The sin nature specializes in twisted and distorted logic that deviates from the heart of God. The whole idea that God is not good and causes evil is twisted and distorted logic. God’s goodness is perfect, whole, pure, and without any distortion or evil deformities.
Deuteronomy sets forth in great simplicity what God wanted Adam and Eve to do yet they failed miserably.
Deuteronomy 13:4 (Holman Christian Standard Bible):
You must follow the Lord your God and fear
(reverence, respect) Him. You must keep His
commands and listen to His voice; you must
worship Him and remain faithful to Him.
John Eldredge, in Wild at Heart, describes the heart of God:
I am convinced beyond a doubt of this:
God wants to be loved. He wants to be a
priority to someone. How could we have
missed this? From cover to cover, from
beginning to end, the cry of God’s heart
is, “Why won’t you choose me?” It is
amazing to me how humble, how
vulnerable God is on this point. “You
will…find me,” says the Lord, “when
you seek me with all your heart” (Jer.
29:13). In other words, “Look for me,
pursue me-I want you to pursue me.”
Amazing. As Tozer said, “God wants
to be wanted.”
Adam and Eve failed to keep God’s commands and listen to His voice. They failed to remain faithful to God by putting Him first above all else. They failed to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. They failed to choose God, and ultimately Adam and Eve did not want God. This is just heartrending. Tragically, as a result, sin and death entered into the human race.
Romans 5:12 (Amplified);
Therefore, as sin came into the world through
one man, and death as the result of sin, so
death spread to all men, [no one being able
to stop it or to escape its power] because all
men sinned.
New Living Translation:
When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire
human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so
death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Message Bible:
You know the story of how Adam landed us in
the dilemma we’re in, first sin, then death,
and no one exempt from either sin or death.
That sin disturbed relations with God in
everything and everyone…
Adam introduced sin into God’s creation, and it corrupted all forms of life. The curse of sin and death passed on to all of Adam’s progeny. No human could stop the infiltration of the sin nature or escape its power. Death, which had not existed in any form before, became the strong ally of sin, as every human born on this earth was subject to death. This was not only physical death, but spiritual death also.
E.W. Kenyon, in The Bible in Light of our Redemption, writes:
Sin has ruled as king in the realm of spiritual
death, where man lives under the cruel Emperor,
Satan. Every effort of man has to failed to eradicate
the power of sin. Education has failed. History
confesses that every single rise in civilization has
been accompanied by a decline in morals. War
has dominated in every period of the life of every
nation, destroying the youth and strength of humanity.
It has brought untold suffering to man. Its cruelty is
but a manifestation of Satanic Dominion at work in
its destruction of man. Man has been unable to strike
at the root and the cause of sin, sickness and death.
The law of disease has fastened itself upon the
human body, blighting and scourging humanity.
Death is the supreme problem that all men at all
periods have faced. It casts its shadow on upon
every happiness born in the sense of man. Man,
lying in the embrace of Satan, cries in agony against
this vain struggle which only ends in a hopeless
death and doom…He is born to die…Spiritual death,
the nature of Satan, is the soil out of which has
grown sin, sickness, physical death and every sorrow
that has darkened the life of God’s man.
Sin and spiritual death brought enormous consequences upon the human race. Every type of suffering, pain, misery, sickness, affliction, torment, and anguish began to grow and flourish upon the earth because of sin and spiritual death. A great separation and barrier now existed between God and men, women, and children. The human race’s relationship with God was thrown into chaos and confusion. It was like a thick, iron door was shut on a person’s access, communion, and fellowship with God. Adam and Eve had become alienated from the life and presence of God, and their understanding became darkened. They were like blindfolded people wandering aimless in a fog of darkness. The light and spiritual life within them was extinguished, and it left a great void of hunger and need for their loving Creator. Adam had sealed the fate of the human race, and now the great cry was for a Redeemer, a Savior, and a Liberator. No matter how smart, how talented, how strong, how powerful, or how rich a person may be, no one could free themselves from the bondage of their birth nature of sin and their condition of spiritual death.
The word “sin” in Romans 5:12 in the Greek means: to miss or fail to hit the mark, like when someone fails to hit the target with a bow and arrow; to fall short of any goal, purpose, or standard, and a failure or aberration from a prescribed law or duty. Trench, in Synonyms of the New Testament, states that the word means “a falling and missing the true end and scope of our lives which is God.” Wuest, in Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, says it means “missing the divinely appointed goal, a deviation of what is pleasing to God, doing what is opposed to God’s will…a missing of the goal conformable to and fixed by God.” In A Critical Lexicon and Concordance of the English and Greek New Testament, Bullinger gives some great insight into the history of this word as:
A duct or canal by which water flows down to
any place… and which implies an evil influence…
in which it has the idea of turbidity and excitement,
muddy confusion in water, acetous fermentation
in wine, bitumen arising from hot natural springs,
collection of mud brought down by tumultuous
waters, bitter and brackish waters, etc…and then
is the defiling influence and bitter principle of
disturbance which has flowed down upon the
creation of God.
God had a wonderful divinely appointed purpose for Adam and Eve and all their progeny when He blessed them in the Garden of Eden. He had a great plan of goodness for Adam and Eve and their children, desiring to bring them into the full accomplishment of His destiny for them. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin poured into their nature, causing them to miss the purpose and goal that God had designed for their lives. Their entire relationship with God was defiled and disturbed as bitterness, hostility, separation, and enmity against God flowed into their nature like raw sewage or muddy contaminated waters. Adam and Eve now had a sin nature that was against God and His will having the dominant characteristic of continuously missing the standard of God, like a reckless archer who can never hit the target. The affections, desires, motives, reasoning, and thoughts coming from the sin nature were in rebellion against God and His authority. The sin nature is inherently grounded in a hostility against walking with God, trusting God and relying on God as its only sufficiency. The heart and soul of the human race became polluted with the sin nature, which is twisted to an enmity toward all the things of God, all the goodness of God, and all the words of God.
In Romans 5:12, “sin” is in the singular, and the word “the” is before the word “sin” in the Greek text. “The sin” does not describe the acts or deeds of sin, but the root cause: the totally depraved nature, or the basic active principal of sin. PreceptAustin gives us some valuable insight on their website:
What Paul is doing by using the phrase “The Sin”
is to use this word not to describe the actions or
results of sin (sins [plural] which are committed)
but to describe the underlying root cause, the
basic principle or, in medical terms,…the
“virus” that killed (first spiritually and then
physically) Adam and which has infected
all men for all men can trace their physical
lineage to Adam. Think of The Sin as analogous
to a highly contagious, 100% lethal virus which
every man, woman and child has contracted
because every person alive is related to Adam,
the first man, who himself was infected. Or
think of The Sin as analogous to an abnormal
“gene” which transmits a defective moral/ethical
“DNA code” to all of Adam’s offspring, this
defective code explaining why every individual
commits sins (plural)…The Sin is man’s Adamic
SIN(inherent) nature (that every baby inherits
from his spiritual father Adam) in distinction to
“SINS” one commits each day, these being a natural
outworking of the (inherent) SIN nature in every
man, woman and child. PERSONAL SINS then
are those sins we commit because we are by nature
SINNERS having inherited THE SIN “virus” that
entered the garden from our first spiritual “father”
Adam.
Romans 5:12 declares that this sin nature, this deadly virus, this defective gene that directs a person’s life away from what is pleasing to God, entered into the world through Adam’s disobedience to God. The word “entered” in the Greek literally means: to come into and contains the force of distribution, meaning it made its way to each individual member of the human race.” The word is in the indicative mood, the mood of certainty, which states that the action is factual and certainly occurred. The word “world” is kosmos in the Greek which in this verse means: the harmonious arrangement and order of God’s creation. It was the creation in perfect order and harmony before the entrance of sin. The word “spread” in the Greek means: to go or pass through; to send out in all directions like a highly contagious virus disseminating and spreading completely through an entire population.” Sin and death certainly spread to every member of the human race and ruined God’s original perfect order and harmony of His creation. No one had a pass; no one was exempt; no one was immune; we all inherent this sin nature from Adam.
Romans 5:17 says that “death reigned,” and Romans 5:21 says that “sin reigned” over the whole human race. The word “reigned” means: to rule with the authority and power of a king, to possess regal authority to reign, and to exercise the highest influence and control. The human race was now subject to the rule of two great kings, namely sin and death. The power and authority of sin and death wreaked havoc and destruction on all peoples of the earth, and no one could break free of its rule nor escape its power. They exercised kingly authority, not to liberate its subjects but to bring them into bondage. People became slaves to sin and its consequences, as they desperately needed a deliverer who would conquer the twin kings of sin and death.
Before Adam fell into sin, he had a nature perfectly suited to bearing the image of God and representing His goodness. The sin nature was not part of our humanity as God had originally designed it. Adam was designed to represent His Maker, and God gave him a divine nature in which he shared some of the attributes and qualities of His Creator. Characteristics of God, such as love, joy, goodness, peace, kindness, faithfulness, and wisdom must have been abundant in Adam, as he was a son of God and bore His image. He had every godly quality necessary for him to exercise his dominion upon the earth. There was nothing in his nature that caused him to act contrary to the will of God.
When Adam fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, this perfect image of God’s character that he represented was shattered into pieces. Sin was now mixed into this nature like a virus in the blood, and the image of God inside us was greatly dimmed. These great qualities that God had designed intrinsically in men and women became mixed with sin which obscured and obstructed their demonstration in the world. This sin nature is not an intrinsic part of who God designed you to be, but is a contamination and intrusion into our lives that caused physical and spiritual death. We still see great acts of compassion, courage, creativity, and kindness that exhibit that we were made in the image of God. However, qualities of selfishness, hatred, cruelty, lust, indifference, violence, and idolatry all flow out of this sin nature and obscure and suffocate these godly qualities. The sin nature is very strong and dominates over the image of God, so no one has exhibited an ability to habitually be free of its impulses and characteristics. Man’s relationship with God was broken and separated by sin, which made it even more difficult to exhibit the qualities and attributes of God, our Creator.
The sin nature energized the thoughts, reason, will, and emotions, as Adam and Eve were living in a state of separation from God. The sin nature is absolutely rooted in selfishness and intrinsically pushes people to glorify themselves rather than God. The sin nature drives one to habitually act and speak in a manner that satisfies its evil desires. Adam turned the image of God into an image of sinful man, as the world throughout all ages of history has not lived up to the image of God. No one can break free of the ultimate consequence of sin, which is death, without the Lord Jesus Christ, who would be the liberator, the deliverer, the conqueror, and the Savior from the kings of sin and death and all their evil consequences.
The sin nature within us does not mean that God has not designed us for a wonderful purpose and given us qualities and talents that we can use to glorify Him. The dim image of God that comes forth at times is a reminder of man’s original destiny and purpose that had God had designed. Man and woman were meant for so much more than an enslaved obedience to the sin nature. We retain a shadow of the image of God in ourselves, but the primary nature is this fallen nature of Adam. The human nature has fallen, and the original image has been marred. Humans struggle with a nature that has been crippled by the loss and continued absence of a relationship with God. The sin nature, like a deadly disease, is lethal to life. The sin nature brings no meaning, purpose, goodness, or blessing to life. In Mark Cosgrove’s, Foundations of Christian Thought, he states:
The result of the Fall could be called, not selfishness
but self-centeredness…they (Adam and Eve) became
the center of their own experience or existence, rather
than God being the center of their lives…it is clear that
after the Fall they, and everyone born after them,
seemed bent inward on self and prone to selfishness.
Isolation and emptiness of soul…What the fall of
human nature into sin means practically speaking
is that while human beings are possesses with
great potential and desire from the image of God in
them, at the same time, they are incapable of
reaching this potential and happiness.
There is great emptiness of soul and meaningless in life without God. Mankind has lost their true heart, their true destiny, and their true purpose. David Needham, in Birthright, Christian Do You Know Who You Are?, gives a vivid illustration of the emptiness and meaninglessness of the sin nature:
Try to imagine for a moment the entire human
race as though it were an art gallery full of
picture frames. Long, long halls. Billions of
picture frames-without any pictures! Empty
can you visualize it? Some of the frames are
very carefully carved. Some boast very delicate
gold leaf, others are rather gaudily painted. A
few are dirty, chipped. But every frame is
wrapped around-nothing-emptiness. Is it
possible the human race is seen in such a
way by God? An art gallery with no paintings!
Each human being was intended to frame an
inimitable, individual masterpiece of God’s
own reflected glory. But where God should
be, there is only emptiness, a bare patch of
wall. Since the frames are conscious, however,
the fact of emptiness is simply too devastating-
too self-destructive-to acknowledge. And so
human kind becomes obsessed with the only
thing left to it: its own flesh. The frame. Life,
if it is to be found at all, must be found in each
one’s own frame, and the frames around him.
So, ingeniously and carefully, man lights the
gallery, carpets and air-conditions the halls,
creates all sorts of special displays, and
leads community crusades to clean up the
dirty and broken frames…No wait. It wasn’t
suppose to work out this way! We thought
all our inventions and progress would solve
the difficulties and…if only we had more
time. But the air is getting foul. Lights are
beginning to flicker. Sounds of confusion
are coming from every corner. And anyway-
there are no pictures. We all know that.
Emptiness. Everywhere emptiness. What
difference does it all make anyway? Oh,
the tragedy of Eden! Rejecting dependence
upon the will and character of God, Adam
and Eve rejected life! Looking for fullness,
they found instead a fathomless despair.
Even in some twisted sense they fulfilled
by sinning what they were-sinners-they still
were missing the destiny for which God had
created them. There one bridge to meaning,
their fundamental reason for existing, lay
collapsed in hopeless ruin before them. Man’s
essential nature was now “in the flesh.” And
the Bible says that “those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.”
So, by his very nature, man is a sinner.
Cut off from his Creator.
Cut off from any hope of meaning.
A rebel trapped in futility
That is what sin is all about…
So it was, long ago in the Garden, human
beings forced upon themselves the task of self
fulfillment without any hope of success. Authentic
meaning, significance, and purpose lay always
beyond their grasp. It is this fact that underlies
the darkness of evil. This then, is sin-a tragedy
for human beings and an offense to God. Apart
from God’s intervening miracle of changing us,
there is no hope.
Emptiness, meaninglessness, hopelessness, and lifelessness became the destiny of the human race because of their rejection of God in the Garden. The beautiful, breathtaking picture and exquisite masterpiece that God desired for every person became broken, stained, marred, and shattered. The picture was lost and the frame was empty and without true meaning. A bare patch of wall with a blank piece of backboard now was the focal point of the frame. No vibrant colors, no living images, no spectacular scenes of beauty, and no inspiring reflections, but only an image of emptiness. Oh, if we would only listen and obey the words of the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 44:22: (New International Reader’s Version):
I will sweep your sins away as if they were
a cloud. I will blow them away as if they
were the morning mist. Return to me.
Then I will set you free.
The sin nature will never bring meaning to life. It does not want a relationship with God, but desires to follow the course set by the god of this world. God had such goodness planned for the human race, but they turned their backs on Him and fell into ruin. John Eldridge, in Epic: The Story God is Telling and the Role that is Yours to Play, describes the human race after the Fall of Adam and Eve and the entrance of sin into the world:
Something has gone wrong with the human
race, and we know it. Better said, something
has gone wrong within the human race.
It doesn’t take a theologian or a psychologist
to tell you that. Read a newspaper…Most
of the misery we suffer on this planet is
the fruit of the human heart gone bad. This
glorious treasure has been stained, marred,
infected. Sin enters the story and spreads
like a computer virus…Any honest person
knows this. We know we are not what we
were meant to be…Something has gone
wrong. We know that much. Whatever else
we know, whatever else our convictions
may be, we know that something has gone
terribly wrong with the world, with us, with
life. Haven’t you ever wondered , if only for
a moment, why life comes nowhere close to
the desires that are written in your heart?
Where are the beauty, intimacy and adventure?
Why can’t we make these things last? The poet
George Herbert declared, “I cried when I was
born and every day shows why.” Dear God-
what has happened to our world?
The human heart desperately cries out for the goodness of God. Yet, it has become contaminated and hardened by sin and dull to the heartbeat of God. The relentless onslaught of the god of this world exercising dominion upon the earth has further driven the human heart away from its loving Creator. Tragically, some people live their entire lives without ever tasting and experiencing the goodness of God.
Job 21:25 (New American Standard):
While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting anything good.
(NIV) :
Another man dies in bitterness of soul,
never having enjoyed anything good.
(Moffatt Translation):
Another man dies, broken-hearted, and
never gets the good of life.
With the infusion of the sin nature, bitterness took root in the human heart. Most people live with bitterness dominating some portion of their heart and soul throughout their entire life. Bitterness breaks and cripples the human heart. The goodness of God melts away all bitterness of the soul and brings release, freedom, and deliverance from the oppression of bitterness. The devil wants your heart to be in a constant state of bitterness. New Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies explains that bitterness in the Hebrew means “to be bitter of soul is to be exasperated, angry, disgusted, uneasy, discontented, and exceedingly sorrowful.” There is great anguish, fierce resentment, and heart-crushing despair at the center of bitterness. Without God, a person’s life becomes a story of bitterness and ravaging disappointment. God desires with every ounce of His being for you to taste and enjoy His goodness. What a travesty to live your entire life and never taste, never experience, and never enjoy the goodness of God. Every day another soul has died in great bitterness, broken by life, and completely alienated from the goodness of God. Only by the power of God and the healing redemption available in the Lord Jesus Christ will the bondage of bitterness be obliterated in a person’s life. Yet Adam set the pattern of the human race in turning away from God and trying to find meaning and purpose in life in our own vain and futile efforts.
Romans 3:12 (New Living Translation):
All have turned away; all have become
useless. No one does good, not a single
one.
(Wuest):
All turned aside; all to a man became
useless. There is not one who habitually
does goodness; there is not as much as
one.
The words “turned aside” in the Greek means: to turn aside or away from; to shun; to bend away from the right course; to steer clear of; to stay away from, and to avoid. It was used to describe a soldier running the wrong way or deserting. The Greek word is in the active voice, which indicates that the turning away is a deliberate choice and not an accidental losing of their way. This sin nature of man drives a person away from the heart of God. All of us have at sometime deserted God and shunned Him. We all at some time made a deliberate choice to turn away from God and avoid Him at all costs. All of us at some time in our lives have rejected the goodness of God. It is simply amazing when one sees the goodness, faithfulness, and love of God, how anyone would ever want to turn away from Him. Yet the history of the world is largely a chronicle of people turning their backs on their loving Creator and following their own destructive paths.
Every single member of the human race became useless without God. The word “useless” is an enlightening word as to the nature of man without God. In the Greek, it means: to be worthless; to be useless; to be unprofitable; to render unserviceable, and to be unfit for any useful purpose. The Hebrew word used in the same verse in Psalm 14:3 means: to go bad and to become sour like milk. When I was a teenager, one of my first jobs was working at a fabric warehouse, and one day I noticed a refrigerator in the basement. I opened the door hoping there might be some food or drink, and there was a carton of milk sitting on the shelf. When I eagerly opened the carton, the most disgusting smell I had ever experienced filled my nostrils, and I became extremely nauseated. The milk had soured and was good for nothing. I could not even look at a glass of milk for months after that episode.
God vividly says that a person without God under the power and influence of the sin nature is like a carton of sour milk. Sour milk is worthless for any good use and cannot be used for its intended purpose. The highest and best the human race has to offer in society, government, academics, arts, and every other category amounts to nothing more than sour milk without God. Every life, every purpose, every idea, and every goal lived apart from the truth of God and His Word is wasted and worthless.
How mankind has often exalted ourselves in great arrogance against God. The human race has throughout its history been flooded with countless examples of unbridled pride and conceit. I remember taking numerous classes in world history in college, and the pompous nature of so many people, kingdoms, and rulers is astounding. I wonder how they would react if they knew that God Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and earth, thought they were no better than spoiled, rotten milk. Without God, a person can never fulfill their true purpose and destiny, as their lives begin to rot and waste away.
Spurgeon, in the Treasury of David, says, “The fallen race of man, left to its own energy, has not produced a single lover of God or doer of holiness, nor will it ever do so. Grace must interpose or not one specimen of humanity will be found to follow after the good and true.” The contamination of the sin nature, along with the turning aside from God, turned Adam and Eve’s once glorious lives into sour milk that was putrid and offensive to the true purpose and will of God. Sin rendered men and women unfit for what God had intended for them. Like a piece of rotten fruit that had gone bad, the human race desperately needed a Savior and Redeemer to restore all that Adam had lost in the Garden of Eden.
The word “good” in the Greek means: goodness in its widest sense with the idea of usefulness; kindness; the goodness of God’s divine attributes showing itself in benevolence to man; moral goodness and integrity; genuine goodness and generosity of heart, and goodness expressed in action and deed. Trench, in Synonyms of the New Testament, defines it as “ a beautiful word, as it is the expression of a beautiful grace…a grace of word and countenance, it is one pervading and penetrating the whole nature, mellowing there all which would have been harsh and austere…a goodness that has no edge, no sharpness in it.” The Tyndale Bible Dictionary defines it as “the state of being that includes the attributes of loving affection, sympathy, friendliness, patience, pleasantness, gentleness, and goodness. It is more volitional than emotional.” The word “do” in the Greek means: to make, form, produce or bring about the accomplishment of something. As Wuest indicates in this verse, it is in the sense of a habitual doing or making, producing, forming, and building something on a habitual and continuous basis.
Not one single person on the earth after the Fall of Adam habitually produces works of goodness, kindness, integrity, graciousness, generosity, love, gentleness, and compassion out of a heart loyal to honoring and serving God. The sin nature of a man or woman cannot produce anything good that glorifies God. The sin nature is inherently harsh, unforgiving, cruel, selfish, deceitful, arrogant, evil, hateful, jealous, and immoral and produces these types of words and actions. The image of God reflects all the attributes of His goodness, love, tenderheartedness, gentleness, grace, and compassion. However, because the human race is now under the power and control of sin and living in a world controlled and dominated by the god of this world, the devil, no natural man or woman without Christ can do, make, build, and produce great works of goodness that bring glory and praise to God Almighty. There is not one ounce or drop of goodness in the sin nature that poured into the heart and soul of the human race because of Adam’s disobedience. If you live by the sin nature and under its control, you will never accomplish the good purpose and design that God wants for your life. It is like building your life on sinking sand. It is living a life of very little meaning or purpose, and it becomes an exercise of futility and disappointment.
Romans 7:18 (NIV):
I know nothing good lives in me,
that is, in my sinful nature. For I
have the desire to do what is good,
but I cannot carry it out.
New Living Translation:
I know I am rotten through and through
so far as my old sinful nature is concerned.
No matter which way I turn, I can’t make
myself do right. I want to, but I can’t.
Wuest:
For I positively know that there does not
dwell in me, that is, in my flesh, good; for
the being desirous is constantly with me;
but the doing of the good, not.
God’s goodness does not make its home in the sin nature. God’s goodness does not live or abide in the sin nature. God is not responsible for the sin nature or the fruit, deeds, and actions that proceed from it. No matter where the sin nature turns or what it does, it is absolutely impossible for it to produce works and deeds that reflect and demonstrate God’s goodness. The sin nature and God’s goodness are polar opposites. The sin nature produces words, deeds, and actions that are evil. I like the Wuest translation, which sounds like a modern, hip vernacular: “but the doing of the good, NOT.” The word “doing” in the Greek means: to labor, work or engage in activity involving considerable expenditure of effort to bring a result or end to successful completion; to work out fully and thoroughly; it represents the full and final bringing of an enterprise to a successful conclusion; to carry something out to its ultimate goal and to do, accomplish or perform something successfully. The sin nature, no matter how much effort is expended, cannot successfully bring about a work of God’s goodness as its accomplished goal.
The word “good” (a different Greek word than in Romans 3) means: that which is inherently excellent or intrinsically good, beautiful, honorable, admirable or precious and provides some special or superior benefit. It is something morally excellent and worthy of recognition. It is the beautiful, noble and honorable impression made by good as it manifests itself. It is goodness that is visible to the eye and radiates beauty and harmonious perfection that is pleasing to God. It is goodness that is excellent in its nature and characteristics. The sin nature through hard work cannot produce anything intrinsically good or beautiful that has any special or superior benefit to the kingdom of God. Nothing morally excellent or worthy of recognition comes out of the sin nature of ah uman being. The fruit of our sin nature never benefits God or promotes His kingdom in any way, shape, or form. No matter how wise, or how rich, or how connected a person may be, they have no ability in this corrupt sin nature to accomplish anything that reflects the beauty, loveliness, honor, wholeness, and perfection of the goodness of God.
The heart and soul are lost and wounded in the wilderness of this world, battered by sin and in desperate need of God’s healing redemption. John Eldridge, in Wild at Heart, Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul, describes the long and vicious war of sin and the waging spiritual battle for the human heart:
Its June 6, 1944..You are soldier on the third wave
at Omaha Beach. Thousands of men have gone
before you and now its your turn. As you jump out
of the Higgins boat and wade to the beach, you see
the bodies of soldiers everywhere-floating on the
water, tossing in the surf, lying on the beach.
Moving up the sand you encounter hundreds of
wounded men. Some are limping toward the bluffs
with you, looking for shelter. Others are barely
crawling. Snipers on the cliffs above continue to
take them out. Everywhere you look, there are pain
and brokenness. The damage is almost overwhelming…
this is one brutal war…But we do not think so closely
about life and I’m not sure why…Men (and women)
are being taken out right and left. Scattered across
the neighborhood lie the shattered lives of men and
women who have died at a soul-level from the wounds
they have taken. You’ve heard the expression, “he’s a
shell of a man?” They have lost heart. Many more
are alive but they are badly wounded. They are trying
to crawl forward, but are having an awful time getting
there lives together, they seem to be taking hits. You
know others who are already captives, languishing in
prisons of despair, addiction, idleness, or boredom.
The place looks like a battlefield, the Omaha beach
of the soul. And that is precisely what it is. We are
in the late stages of the long and vicious war against
the human heart…We were born into a world at war.
The battle for the human heart is fierce, as both God and the devil are at war for the soul of mankind. Even though the human race is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins and all the consequences of sin poured into God’s creation, God promised a coming Redeemer who would crush the serpent and break the power and penalty of sin. He would be the victorious captain of our soul, and our triumphant general in the battle for the human heart.
Let’s return to Genesis 3 to see some additional truths concerning this battle of good and evil, the curse pronounced on the serpent, and God’s awesome promise of redemption.
Genesis 3:14 (KJV):
And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed
above all cattle, and above every beast
(chayyah-living thing) of the field; upon
thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou
eat all the days of your life.
God reserved the harshest judgment and strongest curse for His archenemy, the devil, as revealed in verses 14 and 15. It was a proclamation of the death penalty; it was an announcement of his ultimate destruction, and it was a message that his future was doomed. Just when it appeared Satan had achieved a great victory, God boldly confronted him with a firm declaration of his annihilation. There was no discussion, no debate, and no question as sentence was at once pronounced. Satan did not get off the hook, but was cursed above every living thing upon the earth. The curse of God fell upon this evil fallen angel and will abide all the days of his existence until his final destruction, as described in the Book of Revelation. Although Satan gained the authority and power over the world from Adam, every action in his evil kingdom has the curse of God hanging over it. His power is not unlimited; his kingdom will not abide forever, and there is a time limit to his exercise of authority over the earth.
The first part of his curse is that “upon thy belly thou shalt go.” Bullinger, in The Companion Bible, states this is a figure of speech referring to the devil and “implies utmost humiliation.” He elaborates:
This figure means infinitely more than the
literal belly of flesh and blood just as the words
“heel” and “head” do in verse 15. It paints for
the eyes of our mind the picture of Satan’s ultimate
humilation; for prostration was ever the most
eloquent sign of subjection. When it says “our
belly shall cleaveth unto the ground” (Psalm 44:25),
it denotes such a prolonged prostration and such a
depth of submission as could never be conveyed or
expressed in literal words.
Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon on the The Serpent’s Sentence, says:
Note THE REMARKABLE PROSTRATION
which fell upon the serpent-”upon your belly
shall you go.” So does the serpent move and so
does evil labor to make progress. Satan moves
always as a fallen one-not with the dignity of
holiness, but groveling low. God has put upon
his every movement the indication that he is
no longer great and wise…The greatest potentate
of evil is doomed to cringe and crawl…All the
objects of the power of evil are groveling.
There is no dignity in Satan’s kingdom. There is no uprightness in Satan’s schemes. He sneaks, grovels, cringes, and crawls, but suffers humiliation on a daily basis. He has to masquerade as an angel of light; he has to deceive, and he has to counterfeit the things of God, for he cannot stand in truth. Even though he is full of pride and arrogance, he must prostrate and be subject to the power of the Word of God. His authority and strength must bow to and coil back from the living Word of God and those who believe it. He cannot extinguish or snuff out the light of God. He cannot conquer those who trust God and believe His Word. Any victory of Satan is short lived when seen in the light of his daily failures and humiliation in his fight against God Almighty. But nothing compares to his ultimate humiliation and destruction right before the eyes of the entire world. Ezekiel and Isaiah prophesied of this final devastating humiliation of the curse in Genesis 3:14, “upon they belly thou shalt go”:
Ezekiel 28:17-19 (English Standard Version):
Your heart was proud because of your
beauty; you corrupted your wisdom
for the sake of your splendor. I cast you
to the ground. I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
By the multitude of your iniquities, in the
unrighteousness of your trade you profaned
your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from
your midst; it consumed you, and I turned
you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all
who saw you.
All who know you among the peoples are
appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful
end and shall be no more forever.
Isaiah 14:15-20 (Christian Holman Standard):
But you will be brought down to Sheol
into the deepest regions of the Pit.
Those who see you will stare at you; they
will look closely at you; “Is this the man
who caused the earth to tremble, who shook
kingdoms,
who turned the world into a wilderness, who
trampled its cities and would not release the
prisoners to return home?”
All of the kings of the nations lie in splendor,
each in his own tomb.
But you are thrown out without a grave, like
a worthless branch, covered by those slain
with the sword and dumped into a rocky pit
like a trampled corpse.
You will not join them in burial, because you
destroyed your land and slaughtered your own
people. The offspring of evil doers will never be
remembered.
The god of this world, the devil, who ruined Adam and Eve in the garden, who contaminated God’s creation with sin, who turned the world into a wasteland of evil and trampled its cities, who made people prisoners in the bondage of his snare, who uses and destroys his followers, and who spreads fear throughout every age, will one day become like a worthless branch and a trampled corpse, as he is destroyed and reduced to ashes. This is the future of the serpent. He will enchant no more, fascinate no more, deceive no more, destroy no more, and oppose the goodness of God no more. This is the ultimate humiliation awaiting the great enemy of God and His people. This is the future of evil.
The second part of the God’s curse on the devil is: “dust shalt thou eat all the days of your life.” E.W. Bullinger, in The Companion Bible, states:
“Dust shalt thou eat”. This is not true to the letter,
or to fact but it is all the more true to truth. It
tells of constant continuous disappointment,
failure and mortification: as when deceitful ways
are spoken feeding on deceitful food, which is
“sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth shall be
filled with gravel” (Prov. 20:17). This does not
mean literal “gravel” but something far more
disagreeable. It means disappointment so great
that it would gladly be exchanged for the literal
gravel.
Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon on The Serpent’s Sentence, says:
THE PERPETUAL DEGRADATION put upon
the serpent- “And dust shalt thou eat all the days
of your life.” Satan is now to live a defeated life,
for such is the force of expression. It signifies that
they are utterly defeated. So Satan, all his life,
exists as a conquered and chained enemy-his power
is broken and he knows it. He is defeated as to the
whole of his great scheme and he is to be defeated
in the details of it all the days of his life…Forever,
dust shall be the serpent’s meat, for what he gains
always disappoints him. He thought he had obtained
great advantage when he won the woman to –
disobedience-but he made a rod for his own back
since her Seed has become his Eternal Antagonist…
If Satan ever knows pleasure at all, it is of the foulest
and most unsatisfactory kind-dust is his meat. There
is nothing satisfying in the pleasures of rebellion. He
remains a disappointed, restless being. His whole cause,
for which he has labored these thousands of years with
horrible perseverance-his whole cause, I say-will
dissolve into dust and will be blown away as smoke!…
Everything that sin can bring you is just so much dust…
This is the misery of that great spirit who is called the
Prince of Darkness, that he must eat dust all his days.
Satan and his kingdom suffer bitter disappointment, frustration, and disillusionment on a daily basis. There is no joy or contentment in Satan’s kingdom. At every turn, at every corner, and at every path, the devil is constantly frustrated by God and His goodness. Evil always brings disappointment, as only the goodness of God can truly satisfy the heart and soul of a person. The best the devil has to offer is dust in your mouth, dust in your purposes, dust in your accomplishments, and dust in your life without God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan is constantly disturbed and aggravated because he cannot usurp God’s throne, cannot defeat God, cannot outsmart God, cannot overcome God, cannot overpower God, and cannot get away from the curse of God that permeates everything he does. The Evil One has a cloud of defeat and doom that hangs over all of his schemes and deceptions.
The next verse contains the greatest promise of the goodness of God in the Bible. When it seemed that all was lost and the devil had succeeded in ruining Adam and Eve, God promised a coming Savior, who will redeem mankind from the penalty of sin and ultimately crush the devil into oblivion. This was a promise of hope, goodness, and salvation, as God would not leave the world helpless, but would give them His only begotten Son. What a God of love and goodness to promise this to His children who had just committed high treason against Him. God threw the glorious light of His Word right back at the serpent, as the coming redeemer would not only restore everything Adam and Eve lost in the garden, but utterly destroy the devil and all his works. This was the final death blow of the curse of God on the devil that was boldly pronounced in the garden. God heralded forth this good promise so every fallen angel, including the devil himself, would hear about His magnificent goodness and shudder about their ultimate defeat.
Genesis 3:15 (Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible):
And enmity shall I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed,-
He shall crush thy head, but thou shall crush
his heel.
This is a declaration of war! This verse sets forth the fulcrum point of all history and defines the ceaseless battle that has raged since Adam’s fall in the Garden of Eden. This verse is the central theme of all scriptures, as the red thread of the coming Redeemer is interwoven into every book of the Old Testament. Its message is even written in the heavens, as each night the stars proclaim the sufferings and glorious triumph of Christ.
Who is the seed of the woman? In conception the seed comes from the male, but God’s Word clearly refers to the woman’s seed here. Seed implies birth, and this verse indicates a virgin birth of a man who would crush the arch-enemy of God. This man is the Savior, the Redeemer, the Liberator, the Messiah, the Second Adam, and the Conqueror over sin and death. This man is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Adam as a fallen man could not conquer death or sin, but was a slave to them. Adam or Eve could not of their own power crush and destroy the devil. Adam and Eve could not redeem themselves and pay the penalty of sin that hangs over the human race. They were in desperate need of the seed of the woman, the Redeemer, to free them from the curse of their disobedience. There was great hope in this promise of goodness.
God proclaims that the destiny of this seed of the women is to destroy the devil and all his works. God promises the destiny of the serpent is utter destruction at the hands of this man. The Second Adam will “crush the head of the serpent.” The word “crush” in the Hebrew means: to break or smite in pieces and to greatly injure or wound. E. W.
Bullinger, in The Companion Bible, states:
When it is said (v.15), “He shall crush thy head,”
it means something more than a skull of bone, and
brain and hair. It means all Satan’s plans and plots,
policy and purposes, will one day be finally crushed
and ended, never more to mar or to hinder the
purposes of God.
Charles Spurgeon continues in his sermon on The Serpent’s Sentence:
We now observe his FINAL DOOM…Here is the
end of the great conflict. Satan who heads the
powers of evil in the world, is to fight it out with
all his cunning and strength… but in the end the
Seed of the woman is to bruise his head…Hallelujah,
Hallelujah, He has cast the Prince of Darkness from
his high places…What can he do with a broken
head? This bruise upon the head of the Evil One is
a mortal stroke. If he had been bruised upon the tail
or upon the neck he might have survived. But the
Lord shall utterly slay the kingdom of evil and crush
its power.
In this great battle, the serpent will inflict some temporary damage as he will “crush the heel” of the seed of the woman. E.W. Bullinger, in The Companion Bible, explains:
It cannot mean his literal heel of flesh and blood,
but suffering, more temporary in nature…The
bruising of Christ’s heel is the most eloquent and
impressive way of foretelling the most solemn
events; and to point out that the effort made by
Satan to evade his doom, then threatened, would
become the very means of insuring its
accomplishment; for it was through the death of
Christ that he who had the power of death would
be destroyed; and all Satan’s power and policy
brought to an end, and all his works destroyed…
What literal words could portray these literal
facts so wonderfully as these expressive figures
of speech.
Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon The Serpent’s Sentence, expounds on this truth:
We see in the text THE LIMITED ACHIEVEMENT
of the old serpent. What will be accomplished by all
his schemes? “You shall bruise his heel.” That is
all…That bruised heel is painful enough…He was
betrayed, bound, accused, buffeted, scourged, spit
upon. He was nailed to the Cross. He hung there
in thirst and fever and darkness and desertion.
They pierced His hands and feet…Satan by death
death bruised the heel of the woman’s seed…but
when our Lord thought of the Resurrection, the
salvation of His chosen and the conquest of the
world, it seemed to him to be a light thing-”He
endured the Cross, despising the shame.”…Make
the best of it Satan, it does not come to much. All
that you are at your greatest is but a heel-nibbler
and nothing more.
This is the essence of the battle of good and evil throughout all history. The seed of the woman represents all of God’s goodness, and the serpent and his seed represent everything that is evil. The most intense war the world has ever known is about to begin. It is more fierce, more violent, more brutal, more ferocious, and more severe than all of the wars of human history combined. At the very root of this warfare is deep-seated enmity between good and evil, between God and His people and the serpent and his people, and between the Word of God and the word of Satan. This is a spiritual battle, an invisible war for the heart and soul of all peoples on Earth.
God states that there will be great enmity between the serpent and the second Adam, Christ. The word “enmity” in the Hebrew means: hatred and hostility with a desire to injure. There is no truce in this battle. There is no peace agreement. As long as Satan’s kingdom operates upon the earth, it will be opposed vigorously by Christ. Jesus Christ is the absolute pinnacle of God’s goodness, and he represents everything that is good in the heart and purposes of God. Christ represents God’s goodness, mercy, grace, love, righteousness, justice, holiness, faithfulness, truth, life, and peace. Satan has great hostility to the goodness of God and everything that Christ represents, as he tries to suppress the knowledge and understanding of God’s goodness in the hearts and minds of people. Satan wants to keep people in the dark about how good God is and the great salvation and deliverance available through Jesus Christ. He fervently desires to injure, hurt, destroy, harm, wound, impair, mar, impede, obstruct, hinder, frustrate, and discourage God’s people, God’s Word and God’s purposes. He does everything he can to turn people away from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan has raging hostility toward the second Adam, for he knows that his head will be crushed by him. This is a fatal blow from which there is no recovery. Once a serpent’s head is crushed, he cannot inject his poison into the world anymore or operate his schemes and deceptions on all mankind. The devil knew that there was a genealogical Christ line that would pass through Eve, as the seed of the woman would have to be born. Later, the Word of God was more specific that this Christ line would pass through Abraham and King David. The entire Old Testament is a record of the fierce attempts of the devil to wipe out the Christ line, and prevent Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, from ever being born. It is a record of God’s magnificent works and actions that repeatedly delivered the Christ line from extinction. Sometimes the survival of the Christ line rested on the faith of one individual like Noah, Joseph, Abraham, and Esther. Read the Old Testament with this truth in mind, and the Word of God will come alive in new and wonderful ways.
There is not enough space in this book to go into detail of the countless schemes and plots of the devil to destroy this Christ line, and God’s miraculous protection of it. The salvation and redemption of the human race depended on the preservation of the Christ line. The devil started with the murder of Abel and was absolutely relentless to try to destroy the Seed of the woman who would utterly crush and defeat him. He was not going to go out without a vicious and violent battle where he marshaled all his evil forces to bring about the destruction of the Christ line. The devil even tried to genetically corrupt the entire human race with nephilim, or giants of wickedness, (see Genesis 6) so that the Christ line could never come. This was a serious all out attack on the human race to prevent the coming of the Redeemer. The devil also tried floods, famines, warfare, idolatry, politics, religion, people, philosophies, and countless schemes throughout the Old Testament to destroy the true knowledge of God, and obliterate the genealogical line from which Christ would be born. But Satan was foiled again and again. He even tried to devour the infant Jesus through Herod’s decree of death, but God was always one step ahead of the devil in the preservation of His promise of the Seed of the woman.
The book of Romans sets forth the importance of this one man, the second Adam, the Savior and Redeemer of the human race for all who believe.
Romans 5:15,17,18 (Amplified Bible):
But God’s free gift is not all to be compared
to the trespass [His grace is out of all
proportion to the fall of man]. For if many
died through one man’s falling away (his
lapse, his offense), much more profusely
did God’s grace and the free gift that comes
through the undeserved favor of the one
Man Jesus Christ abound and overflow to
and for the benefit of many.
For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse,
offense) death reigned through that one,
much more surely will those who receive
God’s overflowing grace (unmerited favor)
and the free gift of righteousness [putting
them into right standing with Himself] reign
as kings in life through the one Man Jesus
Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One.)
Well then, as one man’s trespass [one man’s
false step and falling away led] to condemnation
for all men, so one Man’s act of righteousness
leads to acquittal and right standing with God
and life for all men.
God revealed His ultimate plan of grace with the Seed of the woman, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who by His death and resurrection made available the free gift of righteousness leading to acquittal from the penalty of sin and right standing again with God. The court of God legally pronounces the declaration of acquittal when a man or woman confesses Jesus Christ as their Lord and believes God raised Jesus from the dead. Sin and death reign in this world because of Adam’s one act of disobedience, but now through the obedience of one man, Jesus Christ, and his sacrifice, we can reign as kings in this life and the one to come.
Ray Pritchard in his Commentary on Romans explains:
Death reigned. That’s our heritage from Adam.
Death reigns on the earth because of Adam’s
sin…Ah, but that’s only part of the story. There
is a way out. There is a way to reverse what
Adam did…It comes, Paul says to those who
receive God’s abundant provision of grace and
the gift of righteousness…But notice the result
of receiving the gift of righteousness. Those
who receive this free gift now reign in life.
On one hand, death reigns; on the other hand,
those who know Jesus Christ as Savior reign
as kings right now, in this life and in the life
to come. We live in dying world, but in this
realm of death, we may through Jesus Christ
reign as kings. And in the life to come, we
shall reign forever, rising from the dead,
clothed with immortality. Only God could
take a slave and transform him into a king.
But that is what God has done through Jesus
Christ. So what Jesus did is far greater than
what Adam did. Greater in its nature. Greater
in its power. Greater in its effect.
The goodness of God has its ultimate triumph in the Lord Jesus Christ. Evil has its sentence of doom and ultimate destruction in the Lord Jesus Christ. What Jesus Christ accomplished at Calvary is so magnificent, so awesome and so astounding, that it permanently crippled Satan’s kingdom and one day will obliterate every remnant of it from off the face of the earth. The death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important event in all of human history, because he broke the curse of sin and death that hangs over the world like a dark cloud. He regained everything that Adam and Eve had lost on that tragic day in the Garden of Eden and so much more. He paid the price for the complete redemption and salvation of the soul of every person who comes to Him. Through Jesus Christ, righteousness is restored to a person so that they can stand in the presence of God without any sense of fear, shortcoming, guilt, or unworthiness. The ability to have deep fellowship and communion with the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ has been recovered and given as a gift to all those who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The Court of God has wiped our slate clean; we are as white as snow, as our redeemer has paid the ransom and penalty for our sin. We no longer have to live in bondage to sin, fear, worry, sickness, disease, poverty, misery, hatred, selfishness, and ignorance, for we reign as kings in life through the Lord Jesus Christ. We can walk in great power, wreaking havoc in Satan’s kingdom on the earth as we touch people with the great healing love and wholeness available in Jesus Christ. You are a super-conqueror; you are a new creation; you are a glorious son or daughter of God with all the dignity that comes with God’s calling through Jesus Christ.
