02.02. CHAPTER 02: ADAMS FALL AND ITS IMPLICATIONS

CHAPTER 2: ADAM’S FALL AND ITS IMPLICATIONS The Bible tells us that the first man, Adam, fell into sin and rebellion against GOD when Adam contravened GOD’s specific Word to him. In this process Adam fell victim to the lie – the root form of satan’s deception. By eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, explicitly forbidden to him (see Genesis 2:9; Genesis 2:16-17), Adam contravened the Covenant basis for the design, development, (proper) function and well-being of his state of being – in GOD. The spiritual fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil opened Adam to the lie – in a relativistic reality - based on self-denominated evaluations of good and evil.

GOD had instructed Adam and warned him that he would surely die if he partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And, we see that every form of knowledge system developed in the human mind actually loses its personal relevance in us with time. Its actual relevance and applicability to us - personally – actually dies on us. Our knowledge forms do not communicate life nor sustain life. The Bible declares that the Word of GOD stands forever. The Word that stands in accordance to WHO GOD IS and all THAT GOD IS stands in an abiding eternal reality. GOD has in fact designed a reality in truth, in which HIS Word will be formed – in growing functional terms – into our inward parts. This is the basis of Biblical Spirituality. The result of our being opened to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is an actual emptiness in our inward parts. This emptiness testifies to the lie and the absence of meaning - in an abiding spiritually fulfilling sense - in all of our self-centered, knowledge based pursuits. The Bible declares that when Adam disobeyed, he died in his spirit (see Figure 2). His being became a spiritual state of being in sin – devoid of the abiding realities of GOD. Adam lost his access to truth that stands in the abiding of GOD. Prior to his fall, Adam had been created with the capacity to actually receive the life of GOD into his being through his spirit. In his spiritual death, Adam’s spirit was now totally non-functional in GOD and without access to GOD.

FIGURE 2: Schematic Of The Consequences Of Adam’s Fall

Adam had been created to trust GOD and obey GOD as GOD taught him all things and, as GOD developed his capacity to live and function by HIM. This was the spiritual basis of the Covenant that GOD made with Adam. In the fall of Adam, the capacity and potential to live by GOD, through all that GOD invested in Adam’s spirit, was actually cut off. Consequent to his fall (through disobedience) and the emergent spiritual state of sin, Adam no longer had the capacity to draw from GOD. Adam’s spirit became non-functional in GOD.

Hence, in Adam’s fall, man could no longer function in his spirit – in GOD. Man’s spirit was now totally dead. This death was the result of sin - specifically, the actual and objective rejection of GOD and HIS Word. The spirit of man had been exclusively designed to respond to GOD and HIS Word. When Adam broke the design basis for his spirits function, his spirit died to its functional specifications and capacities in GOD. The lie received, denied Adam of all that GOD had designed for him. Similarly the Bible records the fall of the Covering Cherub called Lucifer in the reality of the lie that he developed – by faith - in himself and his self-denominated thought process. Lucifer believed that he could make himself like the MOST HIGH GOD (see Isaiah 14:14; Isaiah 12:1-6; Isaiah 13:1-22; Isaiah 14:1-32).

Adam opened the door to sin when he actually disregarded GOD’s Word. And, when Adam actually put that disregard into practice, by disobeying GOD – sin became a spiritual state in him. Adam became in spiritual terms a son of disobedience. Sin reigned over him in both heart and soul. In Adam’s fall, man only has the capacity to “live” by the “I” or “self” centered realities of his own soul. Without a functioning spirit, man no longer has the capacity to be alive in or by or to GOD. Man can only rationalize between good and evil on the basis of a man-centered perception of spiritual and natural realities - based on a self-denominated and self-reasoned system of beliefs. This is the same system of beliefs that Lucifer had developed in his self-denominated and self-reasoned thought forms.

FIGURE 3: Schematic Of Fallen Man

Designed to function or, to operate as a spiritual being, man’s functional state is necessarily based on a system of beliefs – true or false. [With no capacity for absolute thought, we each necessarily function by belief in something. We either believe in GOD or we believe in something that becomes a complex substitute for GOD. The complex substitute is the lie developed over the generations.]

Having disobeyed GOD, by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:9; Genesis 2:16-17), Adam no longer had the spiritual capacity to hear GOD. Adam no longer had the spiritual capacity to see GOD and, Adam no longer had the spiritual capacity to commune with GOD. Consequently, Adam no longer had the spiritual capacity to draw from GOD his every need.

Adam died spiritually and consequently, he then died in his body too.

We are all spiritual progeny of Adam’s spiritual legacy of death. This spiritual legacy of death stands in the lie developed in our personal state of being through our generations. With the fall, Adam’s spiritual and natural capabilities are now entirely confined to what he could actualize in himself and perceive of himself. This was Adam’s tragedy that he could now only function in and of himself!

Unless GOD intervened sovereignly through actual manifestations of the SPIRIT of GOD (as in the case of the Prophets of old: see 1 Peter 1:10-12), man had absolutely no means of drawing anything from GOD. Man was spiritually dead because he no longer had the hard wired, spiritual functional capacity to relate to GOD and to actually draw from GOD. Man’s spirit man and the spiritual functions associated with the spirit of man were comprehensively dead (or, non-functional in GOD).

GOD is Spirit and man can only worship GOD and commune with GOD in spiritual realities that the Bible describes as spirit and truth (see John 4:24). Hence, the essential reality of worship is actual communion with GOD in spirit expressed spiritualities of truth realized from GOD. Truth is an exclusive attribute of GOD. The lie however, can be sourced ‘freely’ in any form of thought that we choose to conjure up.

Without a functioning spirit man, true worship and communion with GOD - and function in and by and through GOD - would be impossible, unless GOD chose to manifest HIMSELF unilaterally as in the case of the Prophets of old (see 1 Peter 1:10-12; and, the specific examples in Jeremiah 1:1-19; Ezekiel 1:1-28; Ezekiel 2:1-10; Exodus 3:1-22; Exodus 19:1-25).

We are saying that mankind is faced with a fundamental problem. Man needs a process of restoration – in truth - that will re-establish him before GOD, so that man can exercise his free will in truth, to actualize the transforming power of GOD for a new beginning. This restoration – by renewal and regeneration in truth - the Bible addresses as salvation.

Salvation is therefore the essential and exclusive first step to true spirituality. In a world where there are many kinds of self-denominated spiritualities, we have to come into the essential understanding that truth has to be sourced and developed from GOD. This is the spirituality that this book outlines from the Holy Bible.