Let’s go back to the first book of the Bible: Genesis. You may be generally familiar with the creation story of Genesis. However, this study isn’t going to focus on creation. Instead, we’re going to look at Genesis 3, which is an equally (if not more) important story in the Bible.

Overview of Genesis 1-2

First, let me give a brief rundown of Genesis 1-2. God created everything, including the first humans: Adam and Eve. God created them in His own image. This means that their very being reflects aspects of God and His nature. God then placed them in the garden of Eden to rule on His behalf—to work it and care for it. They worked, but the garden was fruitful and easy to maintain and take care of. And finally, God blessed the man and the woman. God told them to 1) be fruitful in their work, 2) increase in number and grow as a family of humans, and 3) rule over the earth and subdue it on God’s behalf. To subdue the earth means to make it hospitable for other living beings, particularly humans. But there was one rule God made clear to them: they could eat from any of the fruit trees in the garden except one: the tree of knowledge of good and bad. 

This is all the essential background information for today’s study. Now let’s take a look at Genesis 3, where sin makes its first appearance. Take some time to read all of Genesis 3 and think about this first question.

We talk about sin all the time when it comes to the Bible, so I thought we should look at how sin got started. Original sin (or the first sin) occurred when the man and woman ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, but eating the fruit itself is not necessarily the sin. It’s deeper than that. Adam and Eve were given a choice. They could trust God’s wisdom and concept of what is good, and live according to God’s plan by listening to His command. Or they could disregard God’s plan, take wisdom and knowledge into their own hands, and decide what is good for themselves. Adam and Eve chose the second by taking and eating the fruit.

The serpent planted doubt into the woman’s mind and deceived her by telling her that she would become like God: wise and powerful. This is truly tragic because as we know, humans were already created in God’s image. They were already like God in a beautiful way. But the woman and man chose to try and become like God in their own way rather than trusting God’s way.

God’s will and purpose is infinitely good and wise. And to rebel against it is to reject what is truly good—something only God can determine. This was the original sin. Humanity rejected what was good and chose to live against God’s plan. Any kind of rebellion against God’s will is sin. The man and woman’s rebellion was the first sin that entered God’s good and beautiful creation, and it was one full of condemnation and judgment.

The Consequences of Original Sin

Now take a moment to consider this next question.

I want to teach you something about the word “knowledge” in this passage. In Hebrew, this “knowledge” of good and bad refers to a sort of experiential knowledge. To know good and bad is to experience good and bad. After eating the fruit, the man and woman realized they were naked, began to distrust one another, and allowed doubt, shame, and fear to enter their hearts…they experienced, or “knew” bad. They now not only distrusted each other, but they also feared God, hiding from Him when God looked for them. Their fear completely overshadowed the goodness they previously knew about God.

There are several other consequences to their decision. God first curses the serpent. There will be hostility between the serpent’s offspring (evil) and the woman’s offspring (humans), and the serpent will surely be destroyed. The woman has her own unique consequences, too. Women will now experience more pain in childbirth, and will also experience anguish and hurt from their relationships with their partners. 

The man also has consequences to face. God cursed the ground so that humanity will have to work and toil for their food (compared to the easier work in the Garden). Humanity will now also die and return to the dust they came from. Humanity is cut off from God’s presence, the peace of the Garden, and the eternal life God originally gifted to us in the tree of life. The consequence of sin, as God said before, is death. Humanity is now bound for death—physical, relational, and spiritual. The ultimate judgment.

Hope and Grace in the Midst of Sin

This all sounds depressing, right? It should, because it is. We weren’t meant for death. We were meant to have life—with God. But there is hope. Let’s take a look at question 3.

God hasn’t completely given up on humanity. First off, God doesn’t take away the original blessing He gave to humans (that is, to bear fruit and multiply). Humans can still bear fruit in their work, although it takes more labor and struggle now. And women can still have children and grow their families. God has not completely forsaken humans and their purpose.

But there’s something even better than this. God promises that the offspring of the woman—a human—will crush the serpent’s head. A human will destroy evil! Although it will come at a cost (the bruised heel). Who is this human? It’s Jesus.

The Hope of Jesus

Since the very beginning, God was planning for Jesus to come and save us from the consequences of our choice—from death. Jesus will defeat this evil that brought us to sin, although it is at the cost of his life. He already has, actually. As we learn from the rest of the Bible, Jesus will restore us and reconcile us with God, and we will have life with God once again through Jesus—the life God originally intended for us.

God loved us so much that He created humanity to live and work with Him, not just for Him. More than that, God loved us enough to give us free will, even though God knew we would choose rebellion and sin in the end. Even with this knowledge, God still gave us this free will, and had a plan to restore us to life and peace with Him through Jesus.

And here’s the pinnacle of God’s love: God himself came as Jesus Christ to die for our sake—to defeat sin when we couldn’t—so we can be together with Him again. How amazing is that? We are bound for death. Our sinful, human choices have determined that. But that doesn’t have to be the final word in our lives. We have God’s gift of free will, too. We can continue to choose rebellion, or we can choose life. We can choose God’s plan. We can choose Jesus. Let’s not waste this gift that God gave us.