How Man was made.
Man was made in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26 tells us, ‘Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”’ (NKJV) When God made man, He formed him from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him (Genesis 2:7 NKJV). He then caused a deep sleep to come upon the man and, from his side, made woman (Genesis 2:22 NKJV). “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25 NKJV) Mankind was innocent, without sin, placed in the Garden of Eden, and given dominion over the earth and the things in it.
The fall of man.
When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, He gave them one “Do not” command. We read, ‘“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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 2:16-17 NKJV) This refers not just to physical death but to eternal death (see Rom 5:12, 6:23, and Revelation 20:11-15). Bible Scholar Arnold Fruchtenbaum supports this view, stating, “The major result of the Fall was spiritual death.” Both Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6 NKJV) and brought sin and death into the world and to the human race.
The Effects of The Fall.
The Apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 NKJV) The sin nature is passed down from Adam; it is transmitted through the man, which is one of the reasons for the virgin birth of Christ (not of the sinful seed of Adam). The fall has affected every part of man, as Paul declares, “There is none righteous, no, not one;” (Romans 3:10 NKJV)
“all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 NKJV). We “were by nature children of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:3 NKJV).
Man is totally corrupted by sin; we are still image bearers of God, and He has placed on us an incredible value in Christ
In Genesis 3, we read the account of how mankind fell into sin. The Apostle Paul expounds on the effects of the fall in Romans 5: “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation… and by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:18–19 NKJV). In his letter to the church in Corinth, we read: “For since by man came death… in Adam all die…” (1 Corinthians 15:22 NKJV). To the church in Ephesus, he wrote: “we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath…” (Ephesians 2:3 NKJV). Sin has affected every part of humanity—the mind (Romans 8:7 NKJV), the heart (Jeremiah 17:9), and the will (Romans 7:13–25).
Mankind is currently in spiritual darkness, and our sins separate us from God. Jesus said, “this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19 NKJV). He accused the Pharisees of being both blind (Matthew 23:16 NKJV) and able to see (John 9:39–41 NKJV). They were blinded by pride, jealousy, and hate, yet they were fully accountable for their own blindness.
Their sin, as it does for all who love their sin, kept them from the gospel, from accepting Christ, and from the salvation of their souls. It kept them in spiritual darkness and separated from God, just as the prophet Isaiah warned: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1–2 NKJV).
There is hope.
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22 NKJV). In the New Covenant, Christ has given us everything we need for life and godliness. He has given us salvation from sin (Hebrews 9:28 NKJV), a new heart and mind (Ezekiel 36:25–27 NKJV), the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV), the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14 NKJV), and the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:7–16 NKJV). When someone enters into this New Covenant by faith in Christ, the process of sanctification begins, and the means God has provided are more than sufficient for the task.
A New Man in Christ
In Christ, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV), born again “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13 NKJV), redeemed, beloved, and forgiven (Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV). We are temples of the Holy Spirit, elect, and chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:3-14 NKJV), and children of God (Romans 8:13 NKJV). Our position in Christ is based on His work and the New Covenant. In other words, our position in Christ was not something we earned but was given to us by the grace of God!
When a person is born again, God places His Holy Spirit within them and gives them a new heart and a new mind (see Ezekiel 36:25-27; 1 Corinthians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). We need to learn to walk in the Spirit (Romans 8:1 NKJV), to overcome and put to death the old man and his lust (Colossians 3:5 NKJV). The new heart and mind are given to us in the New Covenant, and we are called to take hold of the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2; Philippians 2:5; Colossians 3:2) and to “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV). One of the enemy’s tactics is to get us to identify with our sins and shortcomings. In our culture, we see this in slogans like “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic,” or in people identifying as a “Homosexual Christian.” When we identify in our sin, we identify with our old nature, with who we were before Christ. Paul David Tripp said, “When you forget your identity and the riches that are yours in Christ, you live like a poor person.”1 The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). We have to learn to see ourselves through the lens of Scripture. This new identity reminds us that, even in our weaknesses, it is Christ who defines us, not our successes or failures, and it provides the mindset to truly walk in the liberty we have in Christ, free from the bondage and guilt of sin.
- Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change, Resources for Changing Lives (P&R Publishing Company, 2002), 263.