The Fathers perfect Plan
In order for growth and maturity to take place, there must be an opposing force that resists or contradicts its opposite. For example, a muscle in the human body cannot grow unless there is a resistance or force applied to that muscle. This resistance first weakens the muscle actually breaking it down; however, with rest and proper nutrition, the muscle grows bigger and stronger. A child cannot understand what cold is until they touch something that is hot--they learn and become wiser by experiencing the opposite. Applying this to the spiritual, good cannot truly be understood until the effects of evil are seen and experienced. Obedience means nothing to us, until we see the results of disobedience. We cannot understand the holiness of God until we see the ravages and effects of hatred and selfishness in our lives and in the world around us. This is the “Law of Opposites� and it is the learning process that God has ordained for us. All we need to do is look at our own experiences to see if this is true. Does not a sunrise give us a great sense of peace and security only because we have experienced the loneliness and fear of the night? Can anyone really appreciate the joys of life until we have tasted the sorrows of death? Do we not appreciate the sweetness of His grace only because the law first condemned us? Is not the Cross of Christ embraced by us because we were first separated from God by our own sin? We must experience the evil in order to appreciate the good!
When Adam gained the knowledge of good and evil, he gained resistance that would also grow him up. You can only build muscle by repetitive motion against resistance. Adam was innocent and immature. He now could experience the power of love against the power of evil. He now had something to “overcome.� He would find that he could only be an “overcomer� by the infinite mercy of God found in Jesus Christ. In this, he would have the experience of knowing the love his Creator had for him, by the depth He would go to save and restore him. He could also build spiritual muscle by carrying the disciple’s cross. This is why Paul cries out in Rom. 11:33, “Oh the depth of the riches of both the wisdom and knowledge of God!� What a master plan!
Adam was created in the image of God, but that does not mean he possessed the knowledge of his Creator. A child is created in the image of his or her parents, but that doesn’t mean they are exactly like them. They may look like them and have some of the same mannerisms, but they do not possess the same knowledge and wisdom that their parents do. Parents cannot pass those things onto their children at birth. While children certainly inherit physical traits from their parents, the knowledge of good and evil is not one of them. This has to come through a long process whereby their offspring learn by their own trials and experiences—their own triumphs and failures. It was no different with Adam and Eve. God had a plan for Adam (man) that would involve a long process of struggle (good versus evil) in order for him (mankind) to be brought into full maturity (sonship).
God made a tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He made it pleasing to look at. He didn’t place it in some remote place in the garden, but right in the center of man’s reach. There was no fence around it, nor were there cherubs with a flaming sword to guard it (until after Adam sinned). On top of all that, God allowed a tempter in the garden to be an adversary to Adam.
God created man and as owner of man, He holds Himself ultimately responsible. God’s own law (which He cannot violate) proves this. In Exodus 21:33-34, God gives laws for landowners. If a landowner digs a pit on his own land and fails to cover it up, and an animal falls in and dies , the owner of the land shall make restitution to the animal’s owner. The landowner then gets the rights to the dead animal (all souls belong to Him—Ez. 18:4).
So God made a pit in the garden (the tree) and failed to cover it up. Adam, unable to discern the difference between good and evil because of ignorance, fell into the pit by eating of the tree. So in accordance with God's very own law, He was responsible to make it right—and make it right He did! God’s restitution to man was none other than the blood of His own dear Son, and in this way He provided the only avenue of escape from this pit of death. As Creator of man, “all souls belong to Him,� and so God, being the owner of all that is in the world did the only thing a responsible owner could do—take the responsibility of restoration upon His own shoulders.
God’s responsibility as landowner is ultimately greater than the choices of men, and because of this, God sent His only Son to reverse the damage that had been caused by Adam.
As in Adam, all die, so in Christ, all shall be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:22)
If God holds us personally responsible for Adam’s sin, then God is guilty of the biggest injustice in the history of the world. First, He sets up a chessboard that is impossible to overcome (the tree, the seductive beauty of it, and the tempter), and then as a result of Adam’s inevitable choice, He declares that most of His creatures will be lost forever. My dear friends, this goes against the very nature of God as love, His power to save all, and His ultimate responsibility to fix (not just provide a way) for man’s confused and lost state. According to modern theology, Christ did not fix the problem caused by Adam’s sin—He simply paves a way so that if a man chooses Christ by His own “free� will, then his own personal sin problem is cured. However, this clearly contradicts Paul’s universal thrust in Romans 5:12-18, 1 Cor. 15:22-28, Phil. 2:10,11, and all throughout the Scriptures
Excerpt from Ken Ekerty
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Topic: Adam and Eve were NEVER perfect and were born into sin. (Read 16958 times)