At The Core of the Apple Was Treason

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6

Since the beginning of man, anyone who attempted to overthrow a government, or who helped the enemy in doing so, usually met with death. Adam committed a treasonous act. As a result of Adam eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he not only brought the overthrow of God’s intimate government (walks with him in the garden), but Adam aided the serpent, the Devil; who was God’s enemy. How do we know that the direct; albeit God-limited authority and rule over creation was conveyed to the Devil? In Luke 4: 6,  Satan offered it as an enticement to Jesus: “And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.”

As for Adam and Eve, they faced consecutive sentences for their sin. First, they faced the pronouncement of their physical death, which was an immediate result of eating of the fruit. But far worse, they faced an eternal life sentence which, after final judgment, would be spent in unending darkness and flame. For those who consider this ‘eternal life’ sentence excessive to the offense (particularly in our day and culture), let’s accept for the sake of argument that God is not predisposed to bend to our every whim and fancy as we have fashioned our gods to exist. For those who worship the God of the Bible, they know  His perfections, and the merciful steps He took in providing for our redemption and restoration as His people. If that is understood, then it follows that God could not ignore even the least of sins without becoming party and protector to the offender and the sin. Such an act would impugn God’s character: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

Adam’s treason also committed his descendants to live in the tenancy of the Devil. With the change in government, Adam was not only expelled from the garden, but he also became the Federal head or representative for the new world government. As a consequence of Adam’s sin, all men sinned and fell short of God’s glory, perfection and light. How is that so? Does it not stand to reason that the overthrow of any government will force its citizens to live under the rules of the successor? The Apostle Paul, when writing to the Ephesians, pointed out those rules: “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” Ephesians 2: 2,3. Therefore, Adam became the Federal head of this world’s intermediate government, and led all men into sin and separation from God. The Devil doesn’t care if we are left to our ways; which includes our knowledge of good and evil. Our knowledge of evil and our disobedience was sufficient to separate us from God’s perfections, and our knowledge of good, even if performed, would not justify us in God’s sight. Thus, Satan  remains to this day this world’s governor. He is  called the prince of the power of the air and a strong man who guards his palace. “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.” Luke 11:21

In summary, Adam, through his seed, committed his progeny to sin and death. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19. The latter part of this verse tells us that God was not deposed and for now insinuates a plan. Thank God that He had a plan for the salvation of His people and the restoration of His kingdom on earth! However, we will survey that and the Cross in the days to come.   

(Coming soon: Back to the Future, The ‘I am’ Sees All)