These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled. (John 19:36 NIV)
The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden portrays the wonderful prophecy regarding the Lord Jesus and the Church. It speaks of the sacrificial love the Lord has for His people, but many teachers narrate the story by pointing to Eve as the one to blame for why mankind is suffering from sin and death.
Let us read the following passage:
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:6 NIV)
They say: “If only Eve had not desired to eat that fruit, mankind would probably have a completely different story now.”
They further say: “If only Adam had not conceded to his wife, the catastrophe could have been prevented.”
Others even blame God by saying: “If God had not created that tree or put the serpent there, Adam and Eve would not have been deceived or fallen from the temptation.”
These assumptions are totally absurd and take the listeners away further from the truth.
In contrast, this story is actually a representation of the Gospel from eternity and a prophecy that will guide God’s chosen people during their stay inside of time.
Let us read the following passages:
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:23–24 NIV)
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31 NIV)
Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. (Romans 5:13–14 NIV)
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. (Galatians 4:4–5 NIV)
From the above passages, Scripture clearly states that the man Adam represents the Lord Jesus, while the wife, Eve, represents the church (God’s chosen people). The prophecy states that the two shall become one. Moreover, Scripture states that Adam is a pattern of the One to come.
From the story, Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This represents that God’s chosen people have come under the Old Covenant, subjecting them to the penalty of death (separation from the Source of life).
Adam, because of his love for his wife, also ate the fruit (Scripture states that Eve is the one who was deceived, not Adam). This represents the Lord Jesus coming to this world, born under the Law to redeem those under the Law, as mentioned in Scripture. The Lord Jesus (as the Sacrificial Lamb) gladly took the penalty of death in order for us to be free from the Law and for us to become one once more with the Source of life.
We will discuss this prophecy further in another blog post, but let us first see the reason why man is prone to disobey and to commit sin.
Everything that has happened and will happen inside this world is actually directly connected to whatever has happened or will happen inside of eternity. Also, the Gospel from eternity is continuously being revealed from the events that have taken place and will take place inside of time, and this we can know through the help of the Holy Spirit.
Let us read the following passages:
For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. (Romans 11:32 NIV)
But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. (Galatians 3:22 NIV)
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:17–18 NIV)
The above passages clearly state that God Himself bound all mankind over to disobedience and under the control of sin, which means that man had actually no choice but to disobey and commit sin.
This is a very strong statement, as if God is playing around with people. But if we see the whole picture, we will be able to know and understand that God is actually relaying a message of hope to His people.
In order to do this, He needs first to make His beloved people understand their real situation—that from eternity past they were already under deep trouble that cannot be exactly explained in this world. Also, the above passage from the book of John states that man, without doing anything, stands condemned already, and the only way to get out of trouble is to believe in the name of God’s one and only Son.
God has used the Law (or the Old Covenant) as a vivid representation of that deep trouble and has used grace (or the New and Everlasting Covenant) as a representation of the only solution to get out of that trouble. Along with these, the cost involved (the blood of the Lamb—the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus) to establish that perfect solution is always an integral part of those representations. All other things of this world that were used by Scripture to relay the message of the eternal Gospel always point to the two covenants.
The real situation that we were in before the beginning of time is compared to a debt that is impossible to pay—there is no way for us to save ourselves. God, our Creator, is the only one who can save us but not without a price—a very high price that requires the death of His only begotten Son.
Let us read the following passage:
“Who then can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:26–27 NIV)
Going back to the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, notice the following representations:
- The two trees were there to represent the two covenants.
- The serpent was there to represent Satan (the deceiver).
- Eve was there to represent the church.
- Adam was there to represent the Lord Jesus.
- Adam and Eve to become one was mentioned to represent the prophecy about the wedding of the Lamb and His bride (unity between the Lord Jesus and the church).
- Everything was so well arranged by God to relay the message of the eternal Gospel.
To emphasize, there are no reasons for us to blame Adam and Eve for their disobedience, because God had exactly arranged everything to happen this way to tell us the real situation that we were in—that from eternity past, we were already deceived by Satan and chose to break the Eternal Covenant separating us from the Source of life. We were already under judgment and were condemned to die, but God sent His only Son to save us from death. We will again become one with our Creator and Savior as promised by Him before the beginning of time.
As for those who have not acknowledged Him as their Creator and have rejected Him as their Savior, Scripture has a lot to say about them:
For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? (Hebrews 2:2–3 NIV)
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another … God gave them over to shameful lusts … God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. (Romans 1:24–32 NIV)
All of mankind from eternity past has rejected the Eternal Covenant and has rebelled against God as Creator. This is the first rebellion. God is willing to forgive man of this ignorance, so He gave man a second chance (which is also the last chance because the required payment was the precious life of His most beloved Son—a once and for all sacrifice). It is indeed a great salvation, and as stated from the above passage, those who ignore this will never escape. This is the second rebellion.
To emphasize, the first rebellion is the rebellion against the Creator, while the second rebellion (which is also the final rebellion) is the rebellion against the Savior.
For those who have rebelled against God as their Savior, it is God Himself who gave them over to continuous disobedience and to committing unrighteous acts—things that ought not to be done. These are the people who have remained in the Old Covenant (the Law) and have rejected the New and Everlasting Covenant (God’s grace). The Law is the power of sin; therefore, those who remain under the Law will always be bound to disobedience. They may not want to disobey, but still they are sanctioned to commit sin because sin has dominion over them (and this is what it means to be under the Old Covenant).
As for God’s chosen people, they were once under this Law and were also bound to disobedience, but upon hearing about the Truth (the Lord Jesus) they realized that there was no way for them to be saved by observing the Law.
Let us again read the following passage:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (Romans 3:20–21 NIV)
To again give emphasis, being under the Old Covenant means that we are powerless against sin. We have no choice but to commit sin (because it is the Law that empowers us to sin, and sin has dominion over us), thus death became inevitable. Seeing this situation as a shadow, the reality from eternity past would mean the following:
- Being separated from the Source of life would put us in eternal death.
- Being separated from the Source of light would put us in eternal darkness.
- Being separated from the Source of holiness would make us evil and cause us to do evil continuously.
The good news is it would not end for us this way because God has now positioned Himself not only as our Creator but also as our Savior. And the prophecy will surely be fulfilled—we will again become one with God because God is one. Our Creator and Savior is indeed great and awesome.
As mentioned earlier, the first purpose of God is to make us realize our real situation. By realizing our real situation, we now see our real need—the need for the Savior. This will make us stop putting up our own effort and put our trust and faith in the Truth—and the Truth shall set us free. Free from what? We were freed from the Law (the power of sin). The Lord Jesus has broken the curse and has provided the access for us to be one with the Holy Spirit while inside of time. And being one with the Holy Spirit means the following:
- Being one with the Source of life has granted us life instead of death.
- Being one with the Source of light has granted us to live and walk in the light instead of darkness.
- Being one with the Source of holiness has granted us freedom from the curse (sin has no more dominion over us; we are no longer bound to disobedience)—because we are no longer under the Law. We are now under the power of righteousness, so we will be doing righteous deeds.
Let us read the following passages:
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. (1 Thessalonians 1:4–5 NIV)
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 NIV)
Download PDF: BOUND-TO-DISOBEDIENCE.pdf
We can refer to the following books if we want to know more about our origin in eternity past, our foretold journey on earth, and our new beginning in eternity future:
