What We Became is the most difficult and most ignored by many. There are far more people than we might realize who openly acknowledge their sin, and if asked if they have broken any of God’s commandments, if honest, they will say yes. Yet scripture says, most of the world will ignore their predicament, and the fact that they have no peace from within, and will end up chosing the road that leads to destruction.
And so, Eve was deceived by the serpent and gave to Adam and he ate. Scripture tells us Adam lived to be 930 years old, so did he die? After all, God warned him of pending death if he ate. In the previous section, Who We Were, we discussed the composition of human beings, which consists of the spirit, soul, and body. Therefore, it’s easy to understand that the appropriate answer is yes, they died immediately. The spirit is the part of us that allows us to commune with God, and that is what died first. Although the spirit was still alive, because without it there's no life in the person, their spirits are now very much alive to all that is dead - sin; and now dead to all that is life - God. Physical death would follow, as is the case for all generation's of Adam's offspring, including the last human being who will be born of Adam, with exceptions.
We might see physical death as punishment and it is partly, but it's also God's love, mercy and grace poured out on mankind. Let's let scripture tells us why. "Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life." (Gen 3:22-24.) If God had allowed Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life, they would live forever in a fallen sinful state. Imagine to continue in corruption forever, always decaying but never dying. This is a part of God's goodness which we'll discuss in greater detail in the next section, God's Response, but for now, let's continue...
I've heard some say, "It was Eve's fault." Scripture says, "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman (Eve) being deceived." (1 Tim 2:14.) Adam disobeyed a commandment given directly from God. Scripture is clear on who was responsible for this inherited body of sin that leads to death. Since I've used the term, 'body of sin,' let me quickly explain what that means. It’s not referring to the physical components of our earthly body, but rather to our inner nature, which has become sinful. It is the 'mass' of who we really are and is similiar to when we reference a 'body of water'. I believe it is also referred to as the 'body of death'.
Scripture is clear, Adam plummeted the entire human race to a death sentence, not Eve. So who are we now after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Scripture says, "...the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil..." I believe this is where we acquired our conscience, enabling us to know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Now mankind is consciously aware of and responds to their surroundings from their perspective; they are fully awake to self. The bible says God came down in the cool of the day and ask, “Adam where are you?” I once heard someone suggest that Adam should have responded, “We’re lost!” The response from Adam as recorded in Genesis 3:10 says, “So he said, ”I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” This statement by Adam holds immense significance and is crucial to understanding Who We Became. Before I delve into those important statements from Adam, let me share how I came to the revelation of what scripture is revealing.
While reading in the book of Romans, a book I often revisit, I came across verse 15 of chapter 8. This time, it felt as if time had come to a halt and the breath of God came alive. “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” This verse resonated in my spirit due to hearing for eight years, "You better or God's gonna get you" from the pulpit and what started out as me running to God, suddenly I'm hiding from Him for fear I might get in trouble with Him. My new Pastor said to me I have an "orphan spirit," and I thought, me, the one who used to run telling people "I don't have time right now, get out of my way, I got to get into the Holy of Holies, talk to you later!" Yes me, who is now struggling to come before His presence.
As I read the verse, certain words suddenly caught my attention, highlighting their profound significance in a manner I had never saw before. Words like "again," "spirit of bondage to fear," "Spirit of adoption," "cry out," and, "Abba, Father" stood out to me. I still couldn’t grasp the purpose, location, and significance of the verse. At the same time, at my church we sang a worship song written by Bethel Music called “No Longer Slaves.” The chorus is “I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.” When I first heard the song, I thought it was strange that the verse said, “slave to fear,” instead of “slave to sin.” I've been reading Romans for years now and very much familiar with, "slaves to sin," but not "slaves to fear."
Now I know scripture says, "We have not been giving the spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind," - (2 Timothy 1:7); and I have always been taught that scripture is for when we're afraid of facing something new or of confrontation, like afraid of public speaking or of people or taking a exam for school. I no longer believe that. I believe that kind of fear must be conquerored in order to overcome it. We must confront that ‘deception’ or 'lie' directly remembering that we are not alone and possess the divine power of the Holy Spirit to assist us. I’m certain before the fall, this type of fear never existed either. However, now it does, and I propose that a part of this fear may be a safety mechanism, a response to the “fight or flight” instinct. Before God’s creation became disordered, we had no reason to fear lions and flee. Furthermore, certain types of fear can arise from various factors, including our environment, parents, society, and personal experiences.
This verse about “bondage to fear again” continued to deeply resonate within me. What does it truly mean, and why is it placed in Roman’s chapter 8, often referred to as the Christian’s victory chapter? While Romans chapter 8 undoubtedly holds our victory, it’s crucial to understand that a significant portion of this chapter contrasts two opposing individuals: one unregenerated, driven by the flesh, and the other regenerated, born-again and led by the Spirit. The unregenerate mind dwells on thoughts that lead to death, harboring an enmity against God and being unable to please Him. In contrast, the regenerated mind sets its focus on spiritual matters, guided by the Spirit, which leads to life, peace, and righteousness. The Triune God is so good, and as a child of God, He saw my mediation, questioning, and yearning for truth. Consequently, the Holy Spirit led me to Genesis 3:10, and there I saw it.
As a result of our original mother and father eating from the forbidden tree, they are now exposed to themselves with every shortcoming, shame, failure, fear and a inner self that opposes God. That's why they hid. Adam’s response to God asking, “Adam, where are you?” reminds us of the five 'I will’s' of Lucifer which was the first sin recorded in the bible, the sin of pride found in - (Isaiah 14:12-15). Here with Adam we have four I’s. Read the four I’s again. “I heard Your Voice”, “I was afraid”, “I was naked and I hid”. Even the apostle Paul, digressing back before regeneration battled with the I do's... in chapter 7 of Romans. Think about it, the scripture could have read, "I heard your voice and was afraid because of being naked and so I hid, but if that were the case, you would not hear the very important emphasis of the "I's".
Can you hear the lust of the eyes (I), the lust of the flesh (I and self) and the pride of life (me, myself and I)? Scripture says, "...among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." (Ephesians 2:3) and, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16).
What did Satan deceived Eve with? Read the account in Gen 3:6 - ”So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (lust of the flesh), that it was pleasant to the eyes (lust of the eyes), and a tree desirable to make one wise…" (pride of life), she ate. Same temptation Satan tried to use on our Lord in the wilderness. In other words, Satan suggested to the Lord to get Himself on Self (Pride) and use His power as God, ignoring subjecting Himself in humility to the Father above and the Holy Spirit within. "though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered," (Hebrews 5:8). Being fully divine and fully human, He had to resist acting on His own inherent power, which He could have utilized, but chose not to for us. "Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." (John 5:19).
For our original parents, the fellowship with the Triune God has been shattered. They are now ensnared in the darkness of self, which is pride, and they are fully aware of it. I once heard someone define pride as, "Not thinking less of yourself, but less about yourself." In its purest form, sin is an expression of SELF. Joyce Meyer, a renowned author, speaker, and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries, gained significant recognition in the Christian community through a role as a robot repeatedly asking, “What about me? What about me? What about me?” All of the law is summed up in love God and love thy neighbor which liberates us from our self-centeredness and draws us closer to God and others, a concept that the sinful nature vehemently opposes.
Our original parents are now orphans. They have no Father. They are paralyzed with fear of God and the prospect of death. You can be certain something they had never experienced before has now seized them with an overwhelming immobility—the paralyzing grip of fear and the entrapment of self-absorption!
Knowing they were naked had very little to do with clothing and more to do with a loss of identity, no longer belonging to their Creator. They are now stripped of who they were. Have you ever been caught doing something or more importantly, having been found out? It leaves you feeling exposed and covered in shame. There are two references to this nakedness of falling man found in the last book of the bible - Revelation.
Look for the connecting dots from what Adam said in his nakedness and what the Lord counsels those during the tribulation to do in these two verses.
"The gold refined in fire" maybe in reference to; "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away sins;....He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire;" announced by John the Baptist in the four gospels. We also understand that when the Bible refers to Jesus’ eyes of flames of fire, it conveys His ability to discern through deception and reveal the genuine essence of individuals. Fire plays a crucial role in the process of removing our impure sin nature.
These two people suddenly have an awareness now they never had before, and now wanting to avoid God. Their new sinful nature is all that opposes God. This separation from Him, has now left them feeling empty, lifeless, and exposed. They have lost their connection and identity with God - their garment of righteousness has been stripped away, exposing their nakedness. They are characterized by a state of poverty of spirit, an insatiable thirst and hunger, and by a deep longing to be clothed once again. For the first time in their lives, fellowship with God has been severed, and these two individuals are now hiding from their Creator out of sheer fear.
In both of the above verses the Lord is admonishing both the pastor, and those yet unsaved during the tribulation period to seek white (righteous) garments and to keep the garments of righteousness on, lest a person is found naked and afraid. When Christ hung on the cross, there were 7 statements He made, one of which was, "I'm thirsty!" Christ hung on the cross, naked, despising the shame, dead to God as sin, and taking upon Himself all sins, thereby He THRIST!
The focus of Adam and Eve has now changed; no longer God conscious, but self-conscious; no longer God-aware, but self-aware; no longer God absorbed, but self-absorbed; no longer God-centered, but self-centered; feeding on self satisfication and self pleasure, rather than what is well pleasing to God. It's now all about I, I, I, & I's of self. When a child first begins to talk, what is one of his or her favorite words that's rooted in their Adamic nature? MINE! There is nothing wrong with having a healthy balanced concern for one's own being, but as a result of the fall, by nature we are out of balance. The bible tells us in Phillipians 2:4, "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others," and let's not forget the royal law, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (James 2:8). What We Became by inheritance as a result of Adam's disobedience, is orphans and children of God's wrath.
God will never tell His children to do something He has not given us power to do; but He will tell us to do something we in our own power can not do, but we need to know what we need to do. As born-again believers, the verse above tells us we have the power within to move away from the "I's" of self and as believers we have been delivered from the spirit of bondage to self in spirit and in truth. Truth be told, the most miserable people in the world are the ones who are the most selfish, and those who find purpose and healthy satisfication are those who are selfless.
According to the word of God we're now dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians 2:1 - "And you ...dead in trespasses and sins." We're now separated from God. Ephesians 2:14 "...you who ... were far off..." Romans 5:6 "..without strength....enemies of God and having v17 "death reign" in our lifes;" Eph 2:12 - "....having no hope and without God in the world." We are Romans 6:17 -"slaves of sin," v19"...slaves of uncleaness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness;" and as the prophet wrote in Isaiah 48:22 - "There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” We are now longing for that inner peace that can only come from God. We are now slaves to ungodlessness, unrighteousness, and unholiness with a death sentence hanging over us that grips us with fear and we know it. I can't emphasis this enough, we are afraid of God. With fear hanging over our heads, it can cause some of us to suppress the truth, even convincing ourselves there is no God. - (Romans 1:25). We are now aware of our SELF, and our inner thoughts of good and evil, right and wrong - all of which is encased in fear and a deep sense of loss from our God.
What does the word of God say we are as a result of Adam's disobedience? Colossians 1:21 says - "And you, .... alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works..." As recording in the gospel of Luke 4:18, Jesus calls out to those who are now - "...poor in spirit, brokenhearted, blind and oppressed. In Matthew 5:3-6, Jesus begins teaching, blessed are those who are poor in spirit; who mourn; who hunger and thirst for righteousness; ...." as He is bringing in the new kingdom. Whether you believe this or not, this is what our Creator God has said about us and deep in the heart of mankind we know it. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 7, "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" We are wretched and miserable. Something is missing that can't be found in power, money, fame or vices. Those THINGS will never satisfy man's longing to be restored back to His Creator. I will say it again, we are alienated from God, orphans of God and more importantly we are scared of death and scared to death of God. Hebrews 2:15 - "...and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Everyone of us comes into this world dead to God; enemies of God; separate from God and, with no hope. Many of us were raised in a church. We attended church service regularly, and some of us participated in church ministries all the way up to pastoring churches, yet all the works performed, however intentionally good they are, in and of themselves are rooted in self to the unregenerated, which is the greatest sin - self effort rooted in the pride of "I's". Imagine a heaven with people all over the streets of gold discussing with one another what they did for the Lord while here on earth and all their self efforts to ensure they keep themselves saved, boasting before the presents of the only One who saved us and kept us saved; the Triune God. I would be bragging and so would you "...comparing ourselves amongst ourselves, which is not wise,..." - 2 Corinthians 10:12.
Works of human effort may bring us temporary satisfaction and make SELF feel good, but those efforts cannot save us. The origin of all religions can be traced back to some form of human effort and works which are unacceptable in the sight of God. These efforts are ultimately meaningless in His presence and are considered an evil heart of unbelief. To anyone who believes they can earn their salvation through their own self efforts, please turn towards the Son. Scripture clearly states that the fleshly unregenerated, old Adamic sin nature we inherited from Adam is not subject to the laws of God, nor indeed can be. The flesh cannot please God.
It’s crucial to remember that even if you are actively participating in numerous church ministries, distributing hundreds of thousands of tracts daily, chanting endlessly, or beating your head up against the wall, all of these efforts are rooted in the Adamic nature of pride. I once heard Les Feldick say in his series 'Through the Bible,' "We are not sinners because we break God’s laws; we break God’s laws because we are sinners." This distinction is crucial. Most of the world believes that if they could simply be good enough, adhere to God’s commandments, and perform good deeds, they can secure their one-way ticket to heaven. Our sin nature is incapable of measuring up to the goodness of Jesus. Romans 8:7 - "...it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."
The scripture above is deliberately written to convey that Adam’s offspring now shares Adam’s likeness and image, not the likeness and image of God. Consequently, what initially began as good and very good has deteriorated into something truly bad, and even to the point of being ugly. This downward spiral will only worsen as we draw closer to our Lord, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as He descends onto Mount Olive. This will mark His second and final appearance on Earth, where He will establish His Kingdom.
Not everyone is a murderer or thief and some people do good things but with our sin nature left unchecked, given the right circumstances, a horse will buck you. We all have seen a little innocent child, who when tested, will take from the cookie jar or eat the candy they were told not to eat and when asked, they'll immediately without hestitation, say 'NO!" When further questioned, they will make up a lie to explain away the chocolate or cookie crumbs on their face blaming it on the cookie monster that stuffed it inside their mouth. You don't have to teach a child to lie or be selfish, it's his nature. He got from his first father, Adam. What did Adam say when God ask, "Did you eat from the tree...?" "The woman you gave me, gave to me and I ate...." Genesis 3:11-12.
This scripture is not in any way saying David's mother committed fornication or adultery. He's saying he came out of his mother's womb as a sinner, just as she was a sinner.