Genesis 3:4-7 English Standard Version

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Let us now deal with the information provided to us by God through Moses to understand the nature of humanities fall. We must be careful not to interject any thoughts or conjectures beyond what is written here.

Satan spoke to the woman. We do not know if Adam heard Satan. That is unknown. Then we are told about Eve’s thought processes after reasoning the lies that she has been told. Those are her thoughts. We have no way of knowing if Adam understood what she was thinking. That is unknown.

Eve ate in the presence of Adam, he was there. That is known. She gave to Adam the fruit of that tree and Adam ate. What was Adam thinking? We do not know. But then after Adam ate the eyes of both of them were opened to the nature of disobedience, they experienced shame for the first time. The way we know that is because of the coverup. Actions determine feelings.

If we only have scriptures that God told Adam “don’t eat” then to assume anything else is opening ourselves up to the possibility for error. At this point in the story there are too many questions that go unanswered.

1 Corinthians 15:45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Much later in history God has provided His Word to link the first Adam’s actions to the Last Adam’s actions. In this verse we can see that the responsibility for the fall of man was in Adam’s disobedience, not Eve’s. The cure for the curse that followed falls solely on the shoulders of the Last Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Adam was guilty, Christ was innocent. Adam brought separation, Jesus brings reconciliation.

How that is possible is another story to be told.