Fall Of Man Lesson

The Fall Of Man Lesson

Posted on February 18, 2016 Updated on November 30, 2017

Scripture

Genesis 3

Memory Verse

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12

Objective Of The Lesson

We will look at the narrative of when Adam and Eve sinned against God and the consequences of their sin. Your kids will also have an understanding of what sin is and how it affects them.

Teacher Exhortation

This lesson covers the bad news of the consequences of the fall. Take the opportunity at the end of the lesson to present the Gospel to your kids.

The Clear And Simple Command

Quickly go over the command that God had given to Adam. Recall that this command was clear and easy to understand.

“16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17

Adam would have no excuse for disobeying God’s command!

The Fall Of Man

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3:1-2

The Bible presents us with man made in the image and likeness of God working in the Garden of Eden. And who happens to slither by, a serpent or snake,

This wasn’t any simple serpent, this was the devil himself in the form of a snake. (Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 11:3)

The Bible describes the serpent as more crafty than any beast of the field, meaning cunning or deceitful.

And who does he talk to? He talks to Eve. Although at this point she was sinless, she was still temptable.

He asks her “indeed, has God said, you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?” Ask your kids if this is what God truly said.

The devil was twisting God’s words. The very first thing that the devil does in his temptation of Eve was to question the word of God. He wanted Eve to doubt God’s word.

The devil is not a truthful person. The Bible describes him as the father of lies. (John 8:44) He cannot be trusted.

The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” Genesis 3:3

“The woman said.” Here we see the first problem. Eve continued her conversation with the devil even though she knew he was wrong and was twisting God’s words.

She answered the devil, but her answer was differed to what God actually said in three ways.

First, she misquotes God. ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden, we may eat…” God had said that they could FREELY eat of every tree. She left out God’s generosity.

Secondly, she added to what God had said. “You shall not eat from it or touch it…” God never forbid them from touching the fruit.

Thirdly, she left out the urgency in Gods warning. “…or you will die.” God had said that they would SURELY die.

When we ignore the fact that there are consequences to our actions we can get ourselves into a lot of trouble.

“The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Genesis 3:4-6

“You surely will not die!” First, the devil twisted God’s words. Now he is directly calling God a liar. He tells Eve that they will not die if they eat the fruit.

“In the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Adam and Eve already knew the good. They were sinless and were in fellowship with God. The sad thing is that because of her desire to be like God her eyes would be open, but they would be open to the evil. She and Adam would come to understand evil by looking at their own fallen nature.

“When the woman saw…” When the devil openly calls God a liar what does Eve do? Does she walk away saying that God is good and does not lie? No, she starts justifying the temptation. She starts rationalizing the temptation to disobey God’s command.

She went through every step in justifying the temptation (1 John 2:16).

The Lust Of The Flesh– she saw that it was good for food.
The Lust Of The Eyes– she saw that it was a delight to the eyes.
The Pride Of Life– she saw that the tree was desirable to make one wise.

Eve, in the end, was deceived into eating the forbidden fruit. (2 Corinthians 11:3) But she ate the fruit out of her own free will and so did Adam.

“She took from its fruit and ate, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” Neither Eve nor Adam was forced to eat it. They were both guilty of their own disobedience, but as we will see neither one of them will take responsibility for their actions.

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.” Genesis 3:7

Their eyes were open and they could see their sin. Adam and Eve did gain knowledge from their sin, but it turned out to be knowledge of evil. shame and death.

“They knew that they were naked.” Adam and Eve were now filled with shame as they realized that they were naked. Before they were not ashamed, they had nothing to be ashamed about. (Genesis 2:25) Once they ate from the fruit their conscience instantly attacked them.

“They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.” Now they made clothes for themselves out of fig leaves. Their plan was not well thought out because fig leaves are prickly and are not an ideal material to make clothes out of. But they were not thinking about this in their rush to cover themselves.

They were not only covering their nakedness, but they were attempting to cover their shame. And as we read in the Bible, nothing good comes out of trying to hide our sin. The Bible tells us that we need to confess our sin, not hide it. (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13)

And even if we try to hide it, it is no use, because God sees everything. Nothing is hidden from Him.

“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8

“They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden.” In the middle of covering their shame, they heard God coming.

“The man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.” Adam and Eve tried to hide themselves from God amongst the trees. This is foolish because there is nowhere that we can go to get away from God. Physically we can’t hide from God (Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 139:7-12). We can’t even hide our sin from His knowledge (Jeremiah 16:17; Hebrews 4:13).

God is everywhere and God sees everything. God had already known that Adam and Eve would disobey Him.

By hiding themselves from God, they clearly showed that the special fellowship with God that they had before the fall was now gone. Their relationship with God was now broken. This is precisely what our sin does between us and God as well.

Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:9-13

“Where are you?“- God knew where they were. He is starting to guide them into confessing their sin.

“I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” In reality, they were afraid because they knew that they had done wrong and disobeyed God. Adam was focusing on the effect, not on the problem.

“Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” God asks them if they had eaten from the tree from which He commanded them not to eat. Did God truly not know? As we have already seen God knows everything and sees everything. God already knew that they had sinned.

God is presenting Adam and Eve with an opportunity to confess and repent of their sins. But as we see in these verses neither one of them will repent. Neither one of them wants to take responsibility.

Instead of taking responsibility for their own sin, they each blame someone else.

“The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Who does Adam blame? He blames Eve, but not just Eve. He ultimately blames God as well. He said, “the woman whom YOU gave me.” Adam had the audacity of blaming God for his sin.

“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Who does Eve blame? She blamed the serpent. Now it is true that the serpent deceived her, but she still had no excuse. She ate the fruit of her own free will, knowing full well that she was disobeying God.

Ask your kids if either Adam or Eve had a legitimate excuse. Neither Adam or Eve had an excuse. They each sinned and were each responsible for their own actions.

“The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:14-15

Here we find the consequences of the serpent’s involvement in the fall of man.

First God punishes the instrument that the devil used, the physical serpent.

God curses the serpent and punishes it by forcing it to crawl on his belly all the days of his life. This tells us that snakes might have had legs before the fall. How many and where they were located we will never know.

“…dust you will eat All the days of your life…” This would be a sign of degradation and humility.

“…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed….” There is a natural aversion between mankind and serpents. They are avoided and feared.

The important thing to keep in mind is that these were the punishments for helping to cause the fall of man.

Second God punishes the spiritual serpent, the devil himself.

“He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” This is the first prophecy concerning Christ in the Bible. God is promising to send the Savior. The devil will bite His heel and he did so. Christ was brutally tortured and nailed to the cross. But Christ would bruise the devils head. Christ would physically die, but He would come back to life and in this way, He would destroy the work that the devil accomplished in the Garden of Eden (1 John 3:8).

“To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16

God was not only going to punish the serpent. He was also going to punish Adam and Eve. Here we find the consequences for Eve’s disobedience.

“I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children.” First, her pains would be increased not only in giving birth but in raising children.God’s original plan for childbirth and child rearing had been free of pain and sorrow. Now mothers would struggle through pain, not only in giving birth, but also suffer heartache in the raising of their children.

“Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” Secondly, Eve would struggle against the established roles set by God for husbands and wives. God had ordained from the time of creation that man and woman should live together in harmony and cooperation, each perfectly content and satisfied with his role or her role. But now, sin had corrupted that relationship, and the women would strive to take control. Before the fall Eve gladly submitted herself to her husband, but now, their would be strife.

“Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3:17-19

Here we find the consequences for Adams sin.

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife.” Both Adam and Eve turned their backs to God and disobeyed His commandment. Eve listened to the voice of the serpent and Adam to the voice of his wife.

“Cursed is the ground because of you… both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you.” For his disobedience, the ground would be cursed. Thorns and thistles would grow. Every kind of plague and infestation appeared. Adam’s sin had an effect on all of creation.

“In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life… by the sweat of your face You will eat bread,” Adam would also have to work the ground in order to feed himself and his family. Not only would he have to work, but it would be hard work. Before the fall Adam worked in the garden, but it was enjoyable. Now it would be tedious and laborious.

“Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” Finally, we have the consequence that affects all humans, men, and women. They would no longer be immortal and would one day die. They would return to the dust of the ground from which they were made.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit God’s warning took effect. God warned them that they would surely die. At the moment they ate the fruit they did not die physically, eventually, they would, but they instantly died spiritually. No longer would they have perfect fellowship with God on earth and now they would need a Savior.

“Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” Genesis 3:20-21

“The man called his wife’s name Eve.” Up to this point Even had no name. Adam names his wife Eve, meaning life because she would be the mother of all the human race.

“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” In order for Adam and Eve to be clothed, a sacrifice had to be made. An animal had to die. (Hebrews 9:22) Adam and Eve were clothed in a garment that was purchased with the life of another. A reminder to them of their need of a Savior who would one day destroy the work that the devil accomplished in the garden.

“So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:24

Before the fall Adam and Eve had intimate fellowship with God. He would spend time with them in the beautiful paradise that He had made for them. Now God was throwing them out. God is holy and does not take pleasure in sin and cannot have fellowship with it.

To prevent them from entering the garden He placed a flaming sword and a cherubim to guard access to the Garden of Eden.

They would no longer be allowed to enter into the paradise that God lovingly prepared for them. Wanting to have it all they sinned and ended up losing everything.

Sin

As we saw in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve sinned against God.

Ask your kids what sin is.

The Bible itself gives us a clear definition of what sin is. Sin is breaking Gods law.

“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4

Sin is incompatible with God and His law. Sin is being in open rebellion and disobedience against Him.It is a disregard for the law of God, which is a disregard for God Himself. It is living as if God’s law didn’t exist or as if we won’t have to one day give an account for our actions.

How did Adam and Eve sin against God? God had given them a very clear and easy to understand commandment, but they both chose to openly rebel against Him and disobey His commandment. They both willfully chose to eat the fruit.

The Effects Of Sin

This first sin introduced evil, suffering and death to the world. This contaminated all human beings because we are all descendants of Adam.

“Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die.”Romans 5:12

“I have sinned and done wrong since the day I was born.” Psalm 51:5

As a result, every person who has ever lived with the exception of Jesus Christ, is a sinner by nature and by choice.

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.” Romans 3:23

There are many consequences of human sin, but we’ll talk about two: Physical Death and Spiritual Death

Physical Death

Adam and Eve did not instantly physically die, but the process of decay started immediately.

Some people think that because things like illness, suffering, and death exist, this must mean that there is no God. But the Bible has a very good explanation for the origin of death. Before Adam sinned there was no death. Death is a result of the sin of man. Everyone who has ever lived has sinned and is worthy of death.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

Spiritual Death

Unlike physical death, the moment Adam and Eve sinned, they immediately died spiritually. Their relationship with God was broken. Their sin separated them from Him.

Spiritual death is the death of eternal punishment in hell that separates us from God for all eternity. Instead of spending eternity in heaven we deserve to be forever separated from God in hell.

“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

“These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” 2 Thessalonians 1:9

The Hope For Man

Take this opportunity to end the lesson with the Gospel presentation.

Remind them that after passing judgment God promised to send the Savior. God kept His promise through the death of His Son.

Review Questions

What animal came to talk to Eve? Who was in possession of it?
What did the snake first say to Eve? What was he doing?
What was Eve’s response/her answer? What did she add and leave out?
What was the devils response to what Eve said? What was he calling God?
Did Eve end the conversation with the devil? What did she start to do with the sin?
When both Adam and Eve ate from the apple what happened to them?
What did Adam and Eve do when they heard God coming? Was it a smart thing to do?
Who did Adam blame for his sin? Who did Eve blame?
What was the consequence to the physical snake?
What was the consequence to the spiritual snake, the devil?
What was the consequences of Eve’s sin?
What was the consequences of Adam’s sin?
What is sin?
Who has sinned?
What are the affects of sin?
DId GOd keep His promise of sending a Savior?