The original sin

The story of Adam and Eve comes from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. Adam and Eve were the first humans. Adam was created first, then Eve. After God created the heavens and the earth and all living things, on the seventh day He rested from all His work.

On the sixth day, God formed a human from the dust of the ground in His own image to rule over all creatures. He breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of this clay figure, creating a living being with a soul, and named him Adam. After creating Adam, God made him the ruler of all things and built a garden for him to live in, called the Garden of Eden, which means “delight” or “pleasure.” Adam felt lonely in the garden. While he was in a deep sleep, God took one of his ribs and formed a woman, naming her Eve, which means “life-giver.” The word “woman” is a compound word, referring to the “rib of man.”

Adam and Eve lived a happy life in the garden. God gave them one prohibition: they were not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if they did, they would surely die spiritually. Satan, in the form of a serpent, came to tempt Eve, saying that if she ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge, she would become wise like God. The fruit was also vividly colored and attractive to the eye. The woman was lured by what she saw, so she took a fruit from the tree and ate it, and then gave some to Adam to eat as well.

After they ate the fruit, they gained wisdom but also a sense of shame. Seeing that they were naked, they picked fig leaves to cover themselves. It was from that moment on that humans began to wear clothes. When God walked through the garden, He discovered something was wrong with Adam and Eve. Adam, Eve, and the serpent each received their punishment. Because Adam stole and ate the forbidden fruit, God condemned him to a life of hard labor, having to water the earth that bore and nourished him with his own sweat to avoid starvation. Because Eve was so easily swayed by deception, God punished her with the pains of childbirth.

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:14). The term “offspring of the woman” is singular in the original Hebrew, referring to one person. This prefigures the Messiah being born of a virgin. “Bruise your head” is a fatal wound, referring to the Messiah delivering a mortal blow to the devil, which was fulfilled on the cross at Golgotha. “Bruise his heel” means that the devil could at most kill the Messiah’s physical body but could not prevent His resurrection. This final scene will appear in the vision in the Book of Revelation.

The consequences of our first parents’ sin were unprecedented. Humanity fell into sin and became separated from God. When humans became their own gods, they lost the ability to enjoy God’s grace. Everything was done by and for themselves, to satisfy their own desires. But they also lost their freedom, becoming slaves to their physical needs and a life of toil. As the one appointed to manage the earth, Adam’s sin caused all of creation to be cursed, subjected to futility, and to groan in labor. Only when Christ returns will creation be liberated from the bondage of corruption and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. At that time, all of creation will join in a harmonious chorus.