Sin
and Death
Death,
the consequence of sin, is the encroachment of chaos in to God’s
intended order. In my last post, I noted that the “Fall” is
not a biblical term; and, unless qualified (see "Moral Evil"
below), it is not a biblical concept. Rather, the so-called
“Fall” story, the narrative of Genesis 3, is about the loss of
the opportunity of immortality,2 (although there is more
to learn from this narrative). Adam and Eve had access to
immortality through the Tree of Life, but they lost that access when
they ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The
first point to observe is that death, mortality, belongs to the realm
of chaos. In the second post in this short series, I explored
how the first creation story (Gen 1:1-2:3) starts with initial
physical chaos, elements that are contra life.3
God’s creative activity by the Spirit is to breathe order into the
midst of that chaos, bringing it under God’s reign, so that life
may be produced and sustained. Working to the opposite effect,
Adam’s and Eve’s sin places them under the reign of death; that
is, chaos encroached into God’s intended order. Chaos/death
is the consequence of sin.
Moral
Evil
Second,
it should be noted that just as the first creation account begins
with unexplained surd evil (physical chaos), similarly, Genesis 3
opens with unexplained moral evil/chaos in the figure of a serpent.
The serpent is an ancient Near Eastern symbol of chaos.
Temptation is about listening to the allure of the false promises (of
chaos) rather than submitting to God and the creational order.
Such temptation, then, has always been present as a part of human
experience, with the result that Paul can say, "all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). In a
qualified sense, then, we can speak of Genesis 3 as a fall story; it
narrates how humans fall short of God’s intended order.
Original
Sin
Third,
Augustine’s popularized notion of Adam’s seed becoming corrupted
and “original sin” being passed down seminally misses the point
of Genesis 3.4 As long as the man and woman walked
in harmony with their Creator, order was maintained. However,
they succumbed to temptation. The temptation of original sin is
clearly stated by the chaos figure of the serpent: “You (plural)
will become like God."5 The temptation is to usurp
God’s role and to reverse the creational order by elevating oneself
to divine status; that is living by self-rule rather than under the
divine rule of one’s Creator. All “sin” (singular)
originates from the desire of self-rule.
The
Knowledge of Good and Evil
Fourth,
the phrase "the knowledge of good and evil” refers to concept
that is over debated. Its meaning here should be clear enough.
The idiom “to know good and evil” (yd’ tov wr’) in
used in the case of a child coming of age and being recognized as a
moral agent; that is, as an adult (see Deut 1:39).
[Traditionally in Judaism this is by the age of 13 for a male.]
Therefore, some scholars have postulated – wrongly – that Adam’s
and Eve’s sin was a good thing that brought them into maturity!
However, in the context of the serpent-chaos figure tempting them to
“become like God," the conclusion must be drawn that Adam and
Eve wanted self-accountability rather than accountability to God. The
idiom may be parallel to a child moving from parent-accountability to
self-accountability; but, in our text it does not signify maturity.
When Adam and Eve eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil, they are rebelling against God and the creational order.
Again, the narrative portrait displays that sin is about self-rule,
running one’s own life.6
Consequences
of Sin: Chaos and Death, A Reversal of Creation
The
consequences of Adam’s and Eve’s rebellious disobedience (Gen
3:7-24) is that order and harmony are lost. Chaos encroaches
into their relationship with God (8-13) into their relationship with
the natural world – fruit-bearing is laborious (16-19) – and into
their relationship with each other (16).7 That is,
sin results in reversing the creational order, an important motif
that is found in the OT prophets.8 Moreover, due to their
rebellious state of "becoming like God" in terms of
asserting self-accountability, God bans them from the Tree of Life
and they have to face their mortality (3:22-24). Humans come
under the reign of sin and death that Paul writes of in Romans 5.
Summary
Genesis
3 portrays the nature of sin and the condition of humanity. We
readily succumb to temptation, to the false promises of self-rule
rather than accepting the creational order of walking with God under
God's rule. That is sin. Such sin yields to the encroachment of chaos
and reverses the creational order. It brings discord into all of our
relationships, with God, with others, and even with our natural
environment. It brings us under the reign of death.
Lord,
you know how often I try to rule my own life. It is folly. It has
only brought me disorder, discontentment, and despair. Help me to
continually seek your face, your will, you pleasure, your gracious
rule in my life. Amen.
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1.
This is the last of a short series of posts on Genesis 1-3. For
the introduction, see Nov. 22, 2024, “Misreadings in Genesis 1-3:
Background.”
2.
Dec. 10, 2024, “Misreadings in Genesis 1-3: Why Humans Die.”
3.
Nov. 22, 2024, “Misreadings in Genesis 1-3: Order in the Midst of
Chaos.”
4.
A form of Augustine’s theology is often read into Romans 5:12-19.
I invite the reader to read that text afresh AFTER reading the
following discussion.
5.
The term here, elohim, can legitimately mean “gods/divine
beings” or “God.” Since the narrative starting at 2:4 has
not to this point explicitly mentioned other heavenly beings, and
Adam and Eve know but one God, I would translate it as “God.”
6.
Perhaps for another “devotional,” one could bring in the biblical
notions of discernment and the “heart.” Separated from God,
not only do humans lack sufficient knowledge to discern good from
evil (2Sam 19:35) without hearts that seek God, they will not
volitionally choose good over evil. Moreover, as their hearts
become hardened, they become increasingly addicted to sin.
7.
See post of “Misreadings in Genesis 1-3: The Role of Woman.”
8.
Recognizing this motif of the prophets is also key to understanding
Paul's train of thought in Romans 1:18-32.
