The-Fall-of-Mankind---Physical-and-Mental

Auxano Ministry

By the grace of God I am what I am:

1 Cor. 15:10a

The Fall of Mankind Physical and Mental

God’s Peace Rejected

Adam, for all intents and purposes, was immortal before he sinned. His complete perfection had no time limit. His life, in all areas, had no faults or weaknesses that would have caused his life to end. Sickness enters with death, for sickness is death in part.

Romans 5:12

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. and so, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

The Greek word, thanatos, translated “death” means the natural end to life. With spirit, as the third aspect of Adam’s completeness, there was no end to the life of his body and soul.

It is like a child who disobeys his parents and gets into the cookie jar. When the parents walk into the room and see Johnny eating the cookies there is an immediate result called grounding or a time out. However, there can also be a result that is not as immediate, that being, a stomachache. This one act of disobedience has caused more than one result in Johnny’s life. Johnny’s parents did not cause the grounding, Johnny did when he disobeyed. Neither did Johnny’s parents cause the stomachache; Johnny is responsible because he disobeyed and ate the cookies.

When Adam sinned, he walked away from the perfection of God and the perfection God had given to him. This resulted not only in his spiritual death, it also corrupted his physical life or soul life.

Consider a car. All the parts in a car work together when it is operating at its optimum capacity. Man was designed as a three part being. All three parts are required for man to function at his optimum best. If your new car is lacking tires and wheels, so that it cannot move; not only will it never function to its best potential, it will sit there in your driveway and deteriorate in the weather. When man lost holy spirit, he lost the main aspect of the life God had given to him. From the moment man lost holy spirit his physical nature began to corrupt and deteriorate. Its natural end is now death!

Leviticus 17:11a

For the life of the flesh is in the blood...

There is a pattern to sin that is laid out in the book of James. It helps us understand what happened with Adam and Eve. We looked at this already in a previous teaching, the pattern of sin in James chapter 1.

James 1:14-15

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

This is a person who has a desire for something. Nothing unusual about having a desire, everyone has desires. But this is a desire that becomes excessive and it is all that the person can see. It dangles in front of this person like bait. By his own overwhelming desire, he is caught by the bait. The word conceived, syllambano in the Greek, means to seize. This is a free will decision on the part of the person to want something way more than it is needed.

Once the bait has been taken, it brings forth sin, or wrong conduct, and sin brings forth death. What man fails to realize is that all sin is separation from God. Separation from God only brings death. God is the Author of life. God gives life. Separation from God brings the opposite of what God offers to all men.

Remember, in the Garden, Adam is perfect in body, and soul and spirit. There is no death in Adam. Now, for Adam to die physically, the life in his blood must now be corrupted. This brings with it not only the ultimate effect of death, it also carries with it the temporary condition or situation called sickness. Sickness is death in part.

In his perfect natural nature, Adam would never have experienced sickness or disease. He would not have gotten the flu or a cold. He was perfect! The life of his flesh was perfect. The atmosphere and environment for Adam and Eve would have been the perfect fit to maintain and profit their lives.

Now Adam is cut off from God and the thoughts of God. Adam will begin to entertain thoughts that are not peaceful and loving.

Isaiah 32:17

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.

The effect of righteousness shall be quietness and assurance.

The first time this Hebrew word for quietness is used the nation of Israel had peace from war in the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The word assurance could be translated safety or safely. Further, the work of righteousness is peace.

Adam’s action of disobedience is attacking all these areas. Look at Adam’s response to God coming to the garden after he has sinned. Then compare this to how Adam was acting prior to his sin.

Genesis 3:8

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

What a verse of scripture! Adam’s first response is to hide from God! Why? Adam is hiding because he is afraid to face God. Fear is not peaceful. For the first time in his life Adam experiences anxiety and stress. He would have felt flushed as his blood cascaded through his veins a million miles an hour as cold sweat beaded on his skin, he would have felt his heartbeat pounding in his chest.

Do you remember the first time you were utterly and completely afraid, filled with genuine fear? Then you know how Adam and Eve felt, except their fear was of God Almighty whom they were about to encounter, face to face!

Understand, just moments after Adam commits sin the peace in his mind has totally evaporated. This is natural man considering spiritual matters without the benefit, the insight, and the presence of God’s gift of spirit.

Does Adam really think he can hide from God? This is the One who created the heavens and the earth! Where can anyone hide? Next, he is holding fear concerning God. God has never demonstrated anything but love to Adam. Adam’s spiritual understanding has become so limited he invents a different character for God. Adam is afraid of something God has never shown nor conveyed. Adam is afraid God will get him and therefore, he hides.

Many natural men want to hear nothing about God because the thought of God scares them to death, their own death!

The word “hid” basically means to withdraw due to fear. Adam experiences fear and anxiety for the first time in his life. Adam is hiding from God due to a fear he has of possibly being rejected or hurt by God. Suddenly, Adam remembers the words of God, "thou shalt surely die," but he no longer understands that his spiritual death has already taken place. He becomes afraid that God's words refer to his physical life! Adam sins and suddenly, he has no idea about the nature or character of God!

Man is a complete mess, in all areas of life and living, when he lacks holy spirit. The mind of a natural man, meaning a man of body and soul only, is so corrupt that he can become delusional about someone who he has never met. Christianity has aided this perception as time and again we hear of God’s wrath and anger.

Someone who has only freely given to Adam is now considered to be a source of peril and harm. Adam has no concept of death; his spiritual death is the first and only death that has occurred during his brief existence.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

God had not given Adam a spirit of fear. God can only give what He Himself is! But the moment Adam losses his spirit from God he is filled with fear. Further, this verse goes on to say that the spirit men and women have received from God brings a sound mind. The word used in the Greek text here could literally be translated a sane mind. Clearly, Adam’s mind is not sane after he has lost holy spirit.

Isaiah 26:3

Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Perfect peace comes when your mind is stayed, or focused, on God. But that is not the whole of this verse because in Genesis 3:8 you could say that Adam’s mind was stayed or focused on God. Today many people have their minds focused on God but have utterly no peace, just like Adam who is hiding. The second portion of this verse says that not only is your mind to be stayed on God but in order to have this perfect peace you must trust Him.

Adam’s problem in Genesis 3:8 is the same problem many people have today. They have no trust in the words that God has spoken. When you do not trust God, when you do not trust His words, then you will not hold the perfect peace that He has made available.

But, how can you trust God’s Word if you do not know God’s Word? Do you know God as a God of love or a God of wrath? What have you been taught?

Adam gave away, or gave up, his perfect peace when he made the decision to obey the words of the Devil rather than the words of God.

God has told people today that His Son Jesus Christ accomplished redemption for every person who wants to accept it. With this redemption God will make any person as righteous as He, God, is Himself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Yet many still work to make themselves righteous before God. Many still work to achieve what God has freely given to all people in the sacrifice of His Son. When we act in this manner, we are acting like Adam and it will cost us our peace because we do not trust the words of God.

This results from Adam’s sin go beyond his loss of holy spirit. Physically his blood, the life of his flesh, has become corrupted. He will now have to deal with sickness, and he will have to deal with a natural mind that has thrown away the peace God gave to him.

There are still more results to the sin of Adam that mankind will now have to deal with daily.

The Fall of Mankind

Result’s of Adam’s Decision to Disobey God

Spirit lost Genesis 2:17, Ephesians. 2:1

Cannot understand spiritual matters 1 Corinthians 2:14

Physical nature is corrupted Leviticus 17:11 Bodily - sickness and death enter Romans 6:23

Mentally - Peace is replaced with anxiety, stress, fear Genesis 3:8 Isaiah 32:17 Romans 8:5-8

The Fall of Mankind