THE

FALL
OF MAN

Lesson 7
1. The Perfect
Environment
Man was in a perfect environment in
a special position with a perfect wife.
Therefore man’s sin does not stem
from his environment.
2. The Responsibility of
Man
Obedience to the will of God: was
involved in dressing and keeping
of the garden, not to eat of the
fruit of the tree.
3. The Probation of Man

1. Why God had to command Adam

not to eat from the fruit of the Tree
of the knowledge of good and evil?
2. Why did God allow Adam and Eve to
be tempted by Satan?
A. Its Purpose

Man was created in God’s image. He was

endowed with intelligence, emotion and
will. He was a free moral agent,
therefore, he was capable of making a
choice.
– Man was created for God’s glory
– Man could best glorify God by freely
choosing to worship and serve Him
– Therefore, it was necessary that Adam be
given an opportunity to make a choice
How can beings who were created
with holy natures sin?

– Our first parents had holy natures

• But they did not yet have holy characters.
A holy nature is the result of creation; a holy
character is the result of testing in which a choice
of good is made, where a choice of evil was
possible.
B. Its Character

The probationary commandment given to

Adam was personal, not moral. There was no
obvious wrong in eating from the forbidden
tree; the Fall of Adam and Eve was the result
of disobedience, not the result of a clearly
immoral act.
 C. Its Reasonableness

– An all-wise God knew what was necessary to bring

Man to his highest potential development and to
his greatest blessedness.
– If Adam had obeyed, resisting Satan’s temptation,
he would have possessed holy moral character, and
would have risen to a new level of blessing and of
fellowship with God.
God, having foreseen Adam’s failure, provided
a plan for his redemption. God is not the
author of sin; He did not cause Adam to fall,
for Adam had every reason to obey. However,
God purposed to bring out of human failure a
glorious Redemption.
4. The Process of the
Temptation: 4 Steps
1. Eve doubts the goodness of God because of
Satan (3:1)
2. Satan outright denies the truth of the Word
of God (3:4).
3. Eve begins to rationalize the wrong she was
about to do (3:6).
4. They sin (3:7).
5. Lessons to Learn from
the Fall
• God made man upright.
• Man having the gift of freewill had
chosen to disobey his Maker.
• Disobedience to God has terrible
consequences.
• God is sovereign, His purpose is to
bring man to his highest end.
• Although we have imperfections today,
God has purposed to bring perfection
in us through the death of His Son.