Q17. DID OUR FIRST PARENTS CONTINUE IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN THEY WERE CREATED?

Q17. DID OUR FIRST PARENTS CONTINUE IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN THEY WERE CREATED?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12)

INSTRUCTION

I. OUR FIRST PARENTS WERE LEFT TO THE FREEDOM OF THEIR OWN WILL

“Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will,”

THOMAS BOSTON: “There was no force or compulsion here; all proceeded from free choice. Their eyes saw the fruit, their hearts coveted it, their hands took it, and their mouths ate it.”

II. OUR FIRST PARENTS USED THEIR FREE WILL TO FALL FROM THE BLESSED STATE OF KNOWLEDGE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, AND HOLINESS

“fell from the estate wherein they were created,”

Ephesians 4:22-24 “22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds (there is knowledge), 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

I) Consider the effects of the fall

(I) By Eve’s fall into sin, childbearing became painful (Genesis 3:16a)

Genesis 3:16a “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.’”

(II) By Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, marriage became difficult (Genesis 3:16b)

Genesis 3:16b “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

(III) By Adam’s fall into sin, the ground was cursed by God (Genesis 3:17-18)

Genesis 3:17-18 “17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.”

(IV) By Adam’s fall into sin, work became difficult (Genesis 3:19)

Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

(V) By their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lost knowledge for themselves and all their offspring (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Sin has made us blind in our understanding.

2 Corinthians 4:4 ”In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

(VI) By their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lost righteousness for themselves and all their offspring (Psalm 14:2-3)

Sin has made us unrighteous in our actions.

Psalm 14:2-3 “2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.”

(VII) By their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lost holiness for themselves and all their offspring (Genesis 6:5)

Sin has made us unholy in our very souls.

Genesis 6:5 “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

III. OUR FIRST PARENTS FELL BY SINNING

“by sinning against God.”

Q18. What is sin? A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. (1 John 3:4; Rom. 5:13)

APPLICATION

Consider how Christ reverses the curse of sin by His work of redemption.

I) By Eve’s fall into sin, childbearing became painful, but in Christ it is also redemptive (1 Timothy 2:15)

1 Timothy 2:15 “Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

II) By Adam and Eve’s fall into sin, marriage became difficult, but in Christ marriage is a glorious picture of Jesus and His church’s covenant relationship (Ephesians 5:22-25, 32)

Ephesians 5:22-25 “22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. . . 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

III) By Adam’s fall into sin, the ground was cursed by God, but Christ came to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found (Galatians 3:10,13; Revelation 21:23-27)

(I) Christ came to redeem His people from the curse on us for our lawbreaking in particular! (Galatians 3:10, 13)

Galatians 3:10, 13 “10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. . . 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”

(II) Christ came to redeem His people, and the entire creation, from the curse of sin in general! (Isaiah 25:7-8)

Isaiah 25:7-8 “7 And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.”

IV) By Adam’s fall into sin, work became difficult, but in Christ our work is rewarding and one day we will rest from all our under-the-curse-labor (Colossians 3:23-24; Hebrews 4:9)

(I) In Christ, your work is not in vain—you are serving Jesus in your vocation and you will be rewarded! (Colossians 3:23-24)

Colossians 3:23-24 “23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

(II) In Christ, there remains a sabbath rest for you, where you will cease from all of your under-the-curse-work! (Hebrews 4:9)

Hebrews 4:9 “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God”

(V) By their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lost knowledge for themselves and all their offspring, but in Christ a better knowledge is given to us (2 Corinthians 4:6)

2 Corinthians 4:6 ”For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

VI) By their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lost righteousness for themselves and all their offspring, but in Christ a better righteousness is given to us (Philippians 3:8-9)

Philippians 3:8-9 “8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”

VII) By their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lost holiness for themselves and all their offspring, but Christ has come to make His people purify, consecrate, and sanctify (Genesis 6:5)

(I) Christ has come to both purify His people’s souls and to sanctify us in our actions! (Hebrews 10:14)

Hebrews 10:14 “For by a single offering he has perfected (there is purity of soul) for all time those who are being sanctified (there is sanctification in actions).”

(II) Christ has come to consecrate His people, setting them apart for holy service to Him! (John 17:19)

John 17:19 “For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”

CONCLUSION

See the futility of free will!

If Adam and Eve, being made in the image of God and blessed with holiness, righteousness, and knowledge fell into sin by their free will, how much more futile is our free will now since the image of God is marred in us, and we are not born with holiness, righteousness, and knowledge.

(I) You cannot do anything good by your free will (John 15:5)

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

(II) You cannot even repent and go to Christ by your free will (John 6:44, 63; 1 Corinthians 2:14)

John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all.”

1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Your free will cannot save you, it can only damn you! Thanks be to God that He does not leave us in our natural state, nor simply woo us to come to Christ, because by our free will in a natural state we would never go to Christ. Oh! praise God with me, saints, that He regenerates us and renews our wills, making us who were once slaves to sin now slaves to righteousness.