The Serpent And The Fall Of Man

by G.M. Hydon, Toronto | Category: Satan And His Kingdom | Feb 1981

In considering this fundamental part of divine revelation we can usefully examine the issues involved under four main headings; dealing with the character of the Deceiver, the initial environment of man, the circumstances of the Fall, and its consequences (the latter being divided into negative and positive aspects).

The Serpent

The principal characteristic of Satan is found in his name, which originally meant adversary. In his opposition to God and man we first find him in Bible revelation described as the Serpent. This title is confined mainly to the books of Genesis and Revelation and is usually linked to his work as the arch-deceiver (Gen. 3; Rev. 12:9; 20:10). In this his character contrasts diametrically with that of God who cannot lie (Heb. 6:18). In this series of studies we have already seen how evil was first manifested in pride in the heart of Lucifer. For the present purpose we may simply state that a wholly righteous God was clearly not responsible for the evil attributes of the creature in the Garden of Eden, the serpent. Moreover it would seem correct to assume that the deadly venom of the serpent now present in its nature is a development of Satanic involvement (Luke 10:18, 19), not a faculty that was present in its original constitution, seeing that death was experientially unknown until the Fall. We may conjecture that the subtle character of the serpent led Satan to choose that creature for his physical embodiment in Eden, but Scripture does not record whether that choice was made solely by the Evil one or with the acquiescence of God (compare Matt. 8:32). Nor does it explain the ability of the serpent to communicate effectively with the woman. As a general scriptural principle we are expected simply to exercise faith in what God has seen fit to record of the matter. One thing is clear from that record, the fall of man was conceived and precipitated by the wily intervention of the Deceiver in God's perfect creation. Thus the Serpent was allowed to bring the spiritual powerplay of evil against good into the realm of mankind.

The Scene

The effects of the Serpent's work in the Garden of Eden can only be judged properly when account is taken of the original creation, which bore the seal of God's approval (Gen. 1:31). Everything was good, in terms both of

man's environment and, more importantly, of his relationship with God his Maker. All that man required to satisfy him: sustenance, authority and companionship, were provided (Gen. 1:28,29; 2:24). Moreover, communion with God was a privilege enjoyed by Adam and Eve, as indicated in Gen. 3:8-9. What a wonderful revelation of God's will and work must have been theirs! They viewed with sinless eyes the wonders of a perfect creation. The holy, omnipotent, and loving character of God must have been clearly visible to them (Rom. 1:20) in a way that transcended even the experience of the psalmist, who, despite the taint of sin could yet witness to the magnificence of God's creation (Psa. 19:1-6).

The Fall

Into this glorious scene comes the arch-deceiver, the Serpent, with a triple temptation to thoroughly beguile Eve (2 Cor. 11:3). There is a subtle difference of degree between doubt and disbelief which is starkly brought before us in the account of the Fall in the contrast between the Serpent's words to Eve, "hath God said?", and his further statement "ye shall not surely die", the latter containing the prompting simply to disbelieve. He first planted the doubt, then suggested advantages if only Eve would disbelieve. In the same way we often are guided by his wiles to "just try", on the basis of doubts as to whether a course of action is really wrong. Which of us can point an accusing finger at Eve? In her case the Serpent's three-pronged attack was quickly completed when he prompted her, in view of the apparent benefits, to take the fruit (Gen. 3:5). In this connection the statements of 1 John 2:16 have often been compared to Eve's response to the tempter; the lusts of the flesh and the eyes and the vainglory of life being linked to her view of the fruit as (i) food; (ii) a delight to look upon, and (iii) being desired to make wise. How the course of our history would have been changed if she had fed on the food of God's ordinance, looked away to view God's handiwork, and satisfied herself with the wisdom of doing His will! But her initial resistance to the Tempter (Gen. 3:3) soon melted away. Maybe it was Adam who had told Eve not so much as to touch the fruit; he after all was the one to receive the command-even before Eve's creation (Gen. 2:17). Perhaps the instruction was repeated directly by God to Eve. By whatever means she received the proscribing words they were disastrously unheeded. Adam was not likewise beguiled (1 Tim. 2:14). As a consequence of the events that had taken place he had simply to decide, of his God-given freewill, his course of action. His sin was outright disobedience of the holy command - the result of his deliberate judgement

The Negative Consequences

At that point the Serpent had apparently accomplished his objective. He had successfully struck at the whole of God's earthly creation by striking at it's head - Adam. The venom of his deadly bite would now pass to all earth's inhabitants causing death (Rom. 5:12), which in man's case had a twofold aspect: a primary break in his relationship with God and a secondary spoiling of the physical harmony of man and his environment

While rampant sin would soon have its disastrous effects, the initial changes resulted from the righteous judgements of God. The ideal surroundings of the Garden were put out of bounds. The ground was cursed, changing man's enjoyable labour to arduous toil. Mental and physical anguish began, as evidenced by Adam's and Eve's hiding from God (Gen. 3:10), and God's statement to Eve concerning childbirth (Gen. 3:16). Subsequently, man's dominion over the animal kingdom was disturbed; killing and being killed came to be parts of a new natural law of survival, and animals had to be put to death to meet the physical and spiritual needs of man (Gen. 3:21; 4:4). Death had entered the world, and in its primary form it cut the links between man and God (as evidenced by the ejection from the Garden and the need for sacrifices in order to approach God thenceforward).

Clearly, God's pronouncement as to the punishment of death in Gen. 2:17 had wider significance than the cessation of Adam's heartbeat and respiration. Death in that physical sense was to occur much later (Gen. 5:5), although the biological process of ageing immediately began. Physical obstacles to communion as a result of expulsion from the Garden were subsequent to a spiritual break in the relationship between Adam and God, which caused the man to hide from his Maker as a result of his sin. It is this spiritual 'death' to which God was principally referring when giving Adam the command concerning the Tree of Knowledge. We may describe such a severe break in communion as death. Consider for a moment what it is that first suggests to us the death of almost any living thing. It is the lack of response. We sense that something has occurred which has cut off all lines of communication and we describe that circumstance as death. So God said that Adam would die, in the sense of being separated spiritually from God and lacking in response to Him, even whilst his blood was still coursing through his veins. The root of the problem lay not in his heartbeat but in his heart condition, in the change of his very nature which governed his attitude towards God. Resulting from that change is the propensity to sin which we see in ourselves today. Man had a God-given ability to decide either to obey or disobey the command of God and that ability has progressively been exercised in disobedience since the Fall. Vigorous attempts by individuals and groups throughout history to prove that man can cleanse his character if

his surroundings are improved have been doomed to failure because of the continuing work of the Deceiver, who caused the basic change in man's nature to occur. When Satan struck at Adam he had in view not only changing Adam's nature and staining his character, but the marring of God's creation for all time. How close he came to success because of the inexorable transmission of sin by Adam to all his race! For surely we now take our characteristics from the fallen nature of Adam (Rom. 5:19; 1 Cor. 15:22,48). We now sin because we are born sinners (Psa. 51:5; Rom. 3:10; Eph. 2:1). Death in Eden was so far-reaching. The effects on us of the Serpent's attack are awfully reflected in Gal. 5:19-21 where the term "the flesh" describes the disposition of the fallen nature. As we may envisage how a child's hands once disobediently plunged into the paint pot will lead to marks of that paint in every quarter of the child's activity, so we conclude that a fallen nature will result, in varying degrees, in works of the flesh.

The Positive Consequences

The Fall was a seeming victory for the Serpent, but what of the positive consequences? The reference to the "Lamb... slain from the foundation of the world" in Rev. 13:8 indicates that God in His foreknowledge had planned to circumvent the Serpent's activity in the Garden. Hence the triumphant statements in Gen. 2:24 and 3:15. The first of these verses could not fully apply to motherless Adam himself, but was directed to his race. It foreshadowed, moreover, the relationship of Christ and his Church (Eph. 5:31-32) which would surpass even the initial bliss of Adam and Eve in their sinless state. The Second Man exercised His freewill in perfect submission to His God and Father. That unique obedience accomplished a perfect salvation, and also provides for a perfect unity between Christ and His Church. Man had a testing point for his obedience - the tree of knowledge - and he failed, but in doing so proved that he possessed true freewill, a freewill that could have been exercised in obedience to God (as was demonstrated by the Son of Man). The final testing point for the Lord Jesus came at Calvary, where Satan attacked the Head of all Creation. But the Serpent's head was bruised and Christ, as progenitor of a new race, gives new life and a new nature to those who become His seed. This triumph brings, and will bring, glory to God in Christ - the eternal purpose of creation (Col.1:16-18). Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ today can glorify God by surrendering their will, the right to do as they please, to His will. This logically makes them prime targets for attack by the subtle Serpent who despises the victories of the garden of Gethsemane and the Cross. We rejoice, however, that in subjection to God we can resist the Deceiver and he will now flee from us (James 4:7, 8).

G.M. Hydon, Toronto | Feb 1981
Satan And His Kingdom