Lesson Three

MAN'S FALL

Burden to Impart:

Man fell because he was deceived by the cunning serpent to believe a lie rather than trust the faithful word of warning he had received from his Creator. Eventually, whom he believed he obeyed. In this way man sinned against his God and became fallen. He could no longer stand tall and unashamed before God or himself. He could no longer express God's dominion, for he had disobeyed God's word and had fallen into sin and become a failure.

Facts to Teach:

1. Adam had every reason to trust in God his Creator. He created him, planted a lovely garden for him and put him in it, gave him all the fruits to "freely eat" (without toil), put all the animals under his authority and care, and made the most beautiful companion and friend he could ever have and gave her to him to be his wife. Surely God loved Adam and Eve and only wanted what was best for them.
2. In His wisdom God allowed one thing in the garden of Eden that was not good for Adam, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God faithfully warned both Adam and Eve not to eat of that tree, for if they ate of it they would die. Although they were warned, they still had their free choice. This tree was a kind of test to Adam and Eve.
3. Satan knew God loved man and had declared that man would have dominion over all the earth, so he came to destroy man. Since he could not overcome man directly (for man had dominion), he used deceit. He came to the weaker one, the woman. He began his smooth talk with an apparently innocent question. That was his bait. Once Eve swallowed the bait and entered into a conversation with that crafty serpent she was finished. He soon injected a bare lie into her thoughts, completely contradicting God's faithful warning (Gen. 3:1-5). So, Eve believed Satan's lie rather than God's word. She doubted God's love and truthfulness.
4. Eve had been outsmarted by the subtle serpent and was fully deceived (1 Tim. 2:14). She used her free will to make the wrong choice, to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She no longer believed God's word, that she would die. She believed Satan's word, that she would become like God and would be wise[ Her desire then led her to disobey God's command and eat of the forbidden fruit. She then gave the fruit to Adam and though he was not deceived, he also ate. Thus, man sinned and fell from his position of dignity and dominion. He was now a sinner and became a slave of Satan.