A Lenten Bible Study: Genesis to Jesus Lesson Four: Fall from Grace

Here is the second lesson in the Saint Paul Center for Catholic Biblical Theology's Lenten Scripture study, Genesis to Jesus. Follow along, and by the end of Lent, you'll understand the importance of Easter in light of God's plan for our salvation. Sign up to receive new video lessons [here] and buy related study materials.
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In our last lesson, we learned how, in the beginning, God established a covenant with creation. We learned that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a sign of the covenant. It completed and crowned God’s cosmic temple. We also saw that man and woman were created in the image and likeness of God. And that God designed marriage to be a covenant between man and woman. It is a sign, an icon of the Divine Family of the Trinity. Now we will consider how everything went wrong in Adam and Eve’s fall from grace and how it happened. But as noted at the end of lesson three, this story ends with an incredible promise.

At first, God’s work of creating the world went splendidly. His rest on the seventh day revealed the divine plan to bring all men into covenant relationship with him. And the marriage between Adam and Eve stands as an image and sign of God himself. But we know that even in Eden trouble eventually comes. There is a fall.

Understanding man’s fall from grace isn’t easy, but the Catechism gives us three guideposts for reading the Genesis account. First it tells us that, “the account of the Fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language…” [CCC 390]. But it goes on to say, that account “…affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man.” Finally, it tells us that, “Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents.”

In other words, the effects of our first parents’ sin has been passed on to us. What these three guideposts tell us is that the account in Genesis 3 is more like piece of poetry than a journalistic report. It tells the story of the Fall like a work of art tells a story, not like a documentary tells a story. That said, it does affirm an actual event – the original fault (sin) of our first parents that forever marked human history.

Now let’s look at how Scripture describes that event. It starts in the second chapter of Genesis. There we see a foreshadowing of the temptation that is to come. Genesis 2:15-17 states, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’

First, we learn that Adam is to “keep” or guard the Garden. But what exactly is he guarding it from? What is there to fear in Eden, a paradise filled with nothing but good things created by God? Then we learn that God has placed a limitation on Adam. He can eat of every tree in the Garden except for one. But again, if everything in the Garden is good, why is Adam not permitted to eat of this tree?

God gives Adam a warning. If he disobeys and eats from the forbidden tree, Adam will die that day. In the Hebrew translation, the verse reads, “you will surely die.” It’s important to consider that Adam had to have some understanding of what death was. Because if he didn’t understand what death meant, and he didn’t have some fear of it, the boundary God set for him would be useless because it would be meaningless…

The final assistance God offers Adam is Eve, his helpmate and bride. All of this suggests that neither Adam nor Eve was blindsided when temptation came. From the beginning, God had been preparing them for it, warning them of it. He also equipped them to handle it when it came. How? Scripture tells us that God breathed into Adam’s nostrils “the breath of life.”

One the one hand, this means that Adam was infused with the gift of natural life. But since Adam was created in God’s image and likeness, we can also say that he was infused with another kind of life – supernatural life. Another way of saying this is that Adam, with supernatural life dwelling with in him, was in a state of grace [See Catechism 375]. Adam and Eve lived in harmony with God, creation, and each other. They weren’t prone to sin. They weren’t simple minded. They weren’t unprepared for the test they would face.

Adam and Eve were upright, intelligent, and equipped to face whatever came their way. But along came a serpent. When we hear the word serpent, most people think of a long, thin, slithering snake wrapped around an apple tree – the same image we see in countless artistic depictions of the Fall. But that depiction of the snake is not what the Hebrew word used in Genesis implies. The word for serpent in Genesis 3 is nahash, which in other passages is a lot more dangerous than your garden variety snake. As we see elsewhere in Scripture, nahash refers to a terrifying and lethal creature.

In Numbers 21:6-9, the word refers to “fiery serpents” that bite and kill the Israelites in the wilderness. In Isaiah 27:1-3, it’s translated as “Leviathan, the fleeing serpent… the twisting serpent…” and a, “dragon that is in the sea.” We also see a reference to it in Revelation 12:3 and 9. There it is the “great read dragon,” the “ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan,” and the “deceiver” of the world. That is what Adam was up against, the deceiver of the world. In other words, this was no small challenge. Let’s consider what happens when the serpent makes his appearance. Genesis 3:1-6 records:

“1 Now the snake was the most cunning[a] of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?” 2 The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” 4 But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! 5 God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know[b] good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”

The serpent is talking with Eve, but it’s important to note that Hebrew word used here for “you” is plural, which suggests Adam is there too. The serpent is speaking to both of them. And as he talks, Adam is tested. That test involves four questions: As son, will Adam trust God, his Father, enough to obey him and not eat the fruit? As king, will Adam exercise dominion over the beasts and drive the serpent out of the Garden? As husband, will Adam protect his bride? And as priest, will Adam offer his life, if necessary, in sacrifice?

Unfortunately, we know how things turn out. Adam and Eve eat the fruit, and sure enough, just as God predicted, they die that day. But it doesn’t look that way at first. On the surface, it seems that the serpent, not God, had it right. After all, Adam and Eve didn’t experience immediate physical death. In fact, something much, much worse happens. When Adam and Eve eat the fruit, they lose something more important than physical life. They lose divine life, the life of grace in their souls. That’s true death – a death much worse than anything they would have experienced had they died a physical death then and there. What they did was commit the first mortal sin and experience its consequences – spiritual death, the death of the soul. Later of course, they also die physically.

Recall the four tests we mentioned previously. Adam failed each and every one of them. First, Adam failed to guard the Garden, which is how the serpent managed to worm his way in in the first place. Second, Adam was silent when he should have spoken. He never said a word while the serpent denied God’s truthfulness and planted seeds of doubt about God’s goodness in the mind of his wife. At least Eve struggled with the serpent briefly – but not Adam. Adam allowed his wife to lead him into sin rather than act to lead her into righteousness. He ate the forbidden fruit she offered. Fourth, Adam refused to offer himself to God. He preferred doing what he wanted instead of what his Father and Creator wanted.

Because Adam failed all four tests, he and his wife lost everything; their innocence, their intimacy with God, and the harmony they had enjoyed with each other and creation. Tragically, their sin plunged them into shame, suffering, and death. After Adam and Eve make their fateful decision, God confronts them in the Garden. Genesis 3:8 says: “8 When they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

The word the author of Genesis uses for sound, qol, tells us that God wasn’t just strolling through Eden on his evening constitutional. We learn from Psalm 29, for instance, that the qol of the Lord is “powerful,” “full of majesty,” “breaks the cedars of Lebanon,” “flashes forth with flames of fire,” “shakes the wilderness,” and “makes the oaks to whirl, and stripes the forest bare.” Not surprisingly, when Adam and Eve hear the qol of the Lord, they run and hide. But God finds them and asks a series of questions Genesis 3:9-13 says:

“9 The Lord God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” 11 Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? 12 The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” 13 The Lord God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”

God, who knows everything, already knows the answers. But in questioning Adam and Eve about their actions, he forces them to own up to what they’ve done. Instead of making a good confession, Adam and Eve start making excuses. They blame the serpent. They blame each other. Adam even blames God saying, “This woman you gave me!” After listening to them, God spells out the consequences of their actions. First, he addresses the serpent. In Genesis 3:14, he curses him with humiliation and destruction. He pronounces that there will be enmity between him and the woman, between his offspring and hers.

Then he addresses Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3:15-19, he tells them that childbirth will be painful. Relationships will be marred by sin. Work will be toil. It won’t always be fruitful, and at times we will have to deal with thorns and thistles. So even the ground is cursed. Finally, physical death becomes inevitable.

Fortunately for us, it doesn’t end there. God promises a savior to redeem mankind. In Genesis 3:15, he tells them that although the serpent’s seed will inflict harm on the woman’s seed, “bruising his heel,” the seed of the woman will ultimately triumph over the serpent, “crushing his head.” This promise was seen by the early Church fathers as the “First Gospel,” – the Protevangelium.

They also saw in the reference to the seed of the woman, a reference to the Virgin Birth, since seed comes from a man, not a woman. The word used in the ancient Greek translation of Genesis is sperma. The early Church fathers also saw in Genesis 3:15 the promise of a New Adam and a New Eve who would do what the first Adam and Eve refused to do – face down Satan and trust God. In doing so, they would undo what the first couple did. This New Adam will be the one who achieves victory over the serpent. And the New Eve will be his mother, the one who gives birth to the Redeemer. Romans 5:17-19 says:

“17 For if, by the transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one person Jesus Christ. 18 In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. 19 For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.”

Just as death comes to the human race through the sin of the first Adam and Eve, so new life will come through the victory of the New Adam and the New Eve – Jesus and Mary. And looking forward in salvation history, we can see how that promise was fulfilled. Hebrews 2:14 states:

“14 Since, therefore the children share in blood and flesh, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who through fear of death had been subject to lifelong bondage.”

By taking on human nature, and freely accepting death, Jesus destroyed the power and fear of death, giving us a new path to eternal life. He also bore the covenant curses. How did he do that? In the Passion narrative we see that Jesus goes into a Garden and sweats drops of blood. He is given a crown of thorns, is stripped naked, and goes to the cross, called the Tree of Life by the early Church fathers. In other words, Christ undid Adam’s deed by doing what Adam should have done.

It’s interesting to note that just as Adam’s bride was formed from Adam’s side while he slept, so too was Christ’s Bride, the Church, born out of Christ’s side when he fell into the sleep of death. The Catechism [CCC 766] tells us that out of his side, “came forth the wonderous sacrament of the whole Church.”

The first Adam refused to offer himself for his bride, choosing his will over the Father’s. But Christ gives us the perfect example of self-offering by laying down his life for us on the cross, by uniting his will to the Father’s in an act of complete trust. And through that offering and his resurrection from the dead, he restores what Adam lost. Moreover, Christ makes it possible for us to be part of the family of God in a way that Adam never was. Through Christ we have the incredible opportunity to become partakers of the Divine Nature. And while Christ is the New Adam, Mary is the New Eve. In contrast to Eve’s disregard of God’s commands, Mary offers herself freely to the will of God and says, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” [Luke 1:38].

Jesus and Mary were God’s merciful provisions for humanity, a Redeemer and his mother who would right Adam and Eve’s wrong. But what about Adam and Eve? God makes merciful provisions for them too. He covers their nakedness – the shame of their sin – with animal skins. After they sinned and realized they were naked, they covered themselves with leaves. But God gives them animal skins, demonstrating the sacrificial shedding of blood is the divine remedy for sin. He also banishes them from Eden, preventing them from eating of the Tree of Life, because in their sinful condition they should not partake of it.

What should we learn from story of creation, fall, and mercy in the opening chapters of Genesis? Primarily, that the story of the Bible is the story of God’s love for his people. We can hardly grasp the extent of that love, so right in the first pages of the Bible, God uses the most powerful images of human love to help us begin to understand – the love of a husband and a wife, and that of a parent and child.

The opening pages of the Old Testament, when read in light of the New Testament, revel to us that covenant love requires total self-giving. That’s how the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love each other; that’s how God loves us, and that’s how we’re called to love in return. We learn this through sacrificing ourselves for others and for God. The Bible tells the story of man learning this, of God raising us as his family from infancy to adulthood. It’s the story of how God guides us, chastises us, teaches us, preparing us little by little, for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb – to be ready for a divine heavenly union with him.

In lesson five we’ll move to the next stage of salvation history – the story of Noah. As a righteous man of God, Noah’s obedience helped a fallen world endure a kind of cleansing and experience a rebirth – a new beginning. It’s an amazing story of tragedy, incredible faith, and a powerful covenant for the ages.