Until the flesh is subdued, man can never be set free from the dominion of Satan. And since by nature man is of the flesh, the fight against the flesh cannot therefore be initiated by man. The initiative must come from outside of him, the battle against the flesh must be initiated and fought by an opposite power. For the flesh cannot fight against itself. The heart of man is by nature inclined toward the deeds of the flesh. Therefore he has neither the will nor the ability to initiate the battle against the flesh, nor can he win such a battle by means of the flesh. As the Lord Jesus says in John 3:6a, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” This statement from our Lord points out the sin-prone condition of man and his natural ability to achieve only that which is consistent with his inherently sinful nature.

As we read from James 1:14-15, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Therefore we are without excuse whenever we disobey the commandments of the Lord, even when we are being tempted by Satan. For we willfully choose to reject God’s rules and defy His authority because of our unbelief and lack of trust in God – an attitude that is rooted in pride; we choose the things of the flesh over God and the things of God because we do not treasure God in our hearts, although He ought to be to object of our worship and the object of our joy. Therefore, Satan’s activity does not excuse our sinful deeds and disobedience to God.

 The devil has such a fiery craving for worship that when the Son of God was baptized and let into the wilderness by the Spirit of God, “the devil took [the Son of God] to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to [the Son of God], “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:8-9). 1 Peter 5:8 warns us that the devil always “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” For he knows that every time a man defects to his lies and deceptions, it is he, the devil, and not God, who gets the glory, he is the one who is worshiped, not God.

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the Garden?’ (Genesis 3:1). Satan’s question insinuated Eve's misunderstanding of God's will and incited her to question God’s goodness.  However, the first part of Eve’s answer, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden” (v.2), not only reveals God’s will for her and her husband and His abundant provision for their sustenance, but also expresses something they had been doing from day one: they enjoyed God’s provision every day. God had given them the liberty to enjoy the fruit of all the trees in the garden, with only one exception.

No one can reverse God's curse or cancel its effects on the sons of men. As Job 12:14 puts it, “If [God] tears down, none can rebuild; if He shuts a man in, none can open.” From the womb we are held captive by death because of sin. But we cannot deliver ourselves from this bondage. As Psalms 49:7-9 points out, “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit.” No human exertion, no amount of good work can save a person from the guilt and penalty of his sins, for it is against an infinitely holy God that they have sinned. And every sin deserves an everlasting punishment in the hell of fire. Therefore, in order to escape the pit, sinners must rely solely on the grace of the One they have offended. For He alone can open the prison door of death where He has cast them and restore them to freedom.

Because the sinful nature of Adam has been inherited by all men, all are subjected to the curse that befell him, for all fall short of the glory of God. As it is written, “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). The implication is that no one is innocent. So lest we be mistaken about our own corrupt condition, we must not conclude that the miseries and troubles in our lives are all the result of the one sin of Adam. Romans 3:23 reads, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Isaiah 53:6a, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way.”

The effect of the fall of man is apparent in the degradation of men’s relationships with God, with one another, and with the rest of creation. For every faculty of their being has been utterly altered: their minds have become depraved and dull, their volition perverted, their hearts hardened, their eyes blinded, their ears stopped and their tongues inflamed – “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes”(Romans 3:10-18).

The serpent said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” He denied the truthfulness  of God's threat and distorted the meaning of God’s prohibition in order to tarnish the beauty of the Lord. This led to man having a distorted view of God, a misunderstanding of God, which created in his heart the desire to live independently of God, outside of God's rules and authority; for the God of love was now seen by man as an oppressor. Hence his desire gave birth to sin, and as a result, peace was lost and death entered the realm of man. He severed himself from God and His blessings. 

When God made Adam and Eve, they were holy, just as the Lord is holy. They lived in the presence of God, enjoying His blessings, and were pleased to live, to the glory of the Lord, under His authority and according to the rules established by Him. They had no hostility toward God in their hearts, no conceit, but love, reverence and submission. They gloried in the LORD God and obeyed Him.

Visit https://www.faithintheoneaboveall.com/post/the-tragedy-of-the-fall-of-man for the full series.

Man is the crowning jewel of God’s creation, a volitional being equipped with a mind and a heart, to whom the Lord God gave the earth as his dwelling place. Moreover, he was chosen by God to reflect His holiness on earth, to act as God’s deputy regent on earth, caring for the rest of God’s creation as God Himself would. Man was designated by God to rule the earth, to fill it and to keep it. This was his original vocation. Of all His creatures, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

As God’s deputy regent, man is to faithfully represent His Maker on earth, so that the glory of God may shine in him.