Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.
Synopsis
Adam was created in God's image, holding life as a gift dependent on union with God. In distrusting God's word he broke that union, and the race he headed fell with him. The fall is not merely a first bad act but the loss of a nature at home with God.
Key points
- The fall began with doubting God's goodness, not with eating fruit.
- Adam was the head of the race; his fall involved all who came from him.
- Fallen humanity lost innocence, dominion, and unbroken communion with God.
Key texts
- Genesis 3:1-7
- Romans 5:12
- Genesis 1:26-27
- Genesis 3:15
- Comprehension
1. What did the serpent attack first — God's law or God's character?
- Scripture
2. Read Romans 5:12. In what sense did all sin in Adam?
- Doctrinal Clarity
3. Distinguish between what Adam lost for himself and what he lost for us.
- Contrast
4. Contrast temptation from without with the inward bent we now carry.
- Scripture
5. Read Genesis 3:15. Where is the gospel in the sentence pronounced?
- Doctrinal Clarity
6. Why does the fall make self-recovery impossible?
- Application
7. Where do you see the Eden pattern (doubt, desire, disobedience, hiding) in your own failures?
- Application
8. How does God's search — 'Where art thou?' — shape your view of what God does after we sin?