Understanding the Fall, Redemption, and the Restoration of Man
Featured Scripture
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”
— 2 Corinthians 5:18 (KJV)
Introduction
We live in a world filled with violence, confusion, deception, and moral uncertainty. Most people recognize these things as evil, yet few stop to ask what evil actually is.
Over the past week, I have spent much time reflecting, reminiscing, and comparing the days of the past with the times in which we now live. The more I consider it, the more I realize how difficult it can be to fully grasp just how much things have changed.
Yet Scripture reminds us that the believer is not called merely to observe the times, but to understand them and walk wisely before God.
Ephesians 5:15-17 says:
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
The phrase “redeeming the time” carries the thought of buying up the opportunity. It speaks of recognizing the seriousness of the hour and making the most of every opportunity for the purposes of God. Paul’s exhortation is not simply a warning about the condition of the world; it is a call to spiritual understanding. If the days are evil, then the believer must not be ignorant of what evil is, how it operates, and why it has such a powerful influence upon mankind.
Most people recognize evil by what it produces: violence, deception, corruption, hatred, injustice, selfishness, and rebellion. Yet these are only the outward symptoms. To understand evil properly, we must look deeper than its visible effects. We must ask where it came from, how it entered the human experience, and why it continues to work so powerfully in the heart of man.
This raises several important questions:
What is evil?
Where did it originate?
How did it enter the world?
Why does man continually struggle against it?
And most importantly, what is God’s answer to it?
This article is not written merely to describe the evil we see around us. It is written to examine the deeper issue beneath it: how man departed from God’s intended order, how that departure opened the door to evil, and how God, through redemption, restores what was lost.
To understand this clearly, we must first examine what evil truly is. Then we must consider how God originally designed man, what happened in the Fall, and why Christ is the only remedy for man’s fallen condition.
Only then can we begin to understand that evil is not merely a problem around us, but a corruption within fallen man—one that only God can expose, judge, and redeem through Jesus Christ.
What Is Evil?
Before we can understand how evil works, we must first understand what evil is.
When most people think of evil, they think of actions such as murder, theft, hatred, deception, corruption, or violence. While these are certainly manifestations of evil, they are not evil itself. They are the fruit. To understand evil, we must look deeper than its outward expression.
This brings us to an important question:
If God created all things, and everything God created was good, where did evil come from?
Genesis tells us that God saw everything He had made, and it was very good. This means evil was not part of God’s original creation.
Evil is not a thing in itself. God did not create evil. Everything God made was good. Evil begins when something good is used against God’s original design.
Electricity is a simple example. Electricity can give light, power appliances, and serve many useful purposes when it is used properly. But if someone ignores the laws of electricity and places a wire into an outlet, that same electricity can injure or even kill him.
The electricity itself is not evil. The problem comes when it is used contrary to its design. In the same way, evil is the result of taking what God made good and using it contrary to His design.
Key Truth
Evil is the result of taking what God made good and using it contrary to His design.
This is why evil is so deceptive. It often does not appear as something completely separate from good. Instead, it hides inside something that may appear useful, desirable, or even right. But once that thing is separated from God’s purpose, it becomes corrupted.
This helps us understand why evil is not only a problem in the world around us. Evil also seeks to work within man by influencing his thoughts, desires, motives, and decisions.
Therefore, to understand how evil entered humanity, we must first understand how God originally designed man to function.
God’s Original Design of Man
To understand how evil entered humanity, we must first understand how God originally designed man. Evil does not operate in isolation. It works through the heart, mind, will, desires, and actions of man. Therefore, before we can understand the entrance of evil, we must first understand the vessel through which it began to operate.
Genesis 2:7 says:
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
This is one of the most important verses in Scripture concerning the nature of man because it reveals not only how man was created, but also how God intended him to function.
In this verse, we see God forming man’s body from the dust of the earth. We see God breathing into him the breath of life. And we see the result: man became a living soul.
Unlike the rest of creation, man was not merely spoken into existence. God personally formed him from the dust of the earth and breathed into him the breath of life. From the very beginning, man was created for relationship with God in a way that distinguished him from every other earthly creature.
This is important because man was not designed to live independently of God. God’s purpose was not merely that man should exist, but that he should live in fellowship with Him and receive life, direction, and understanding from Him. Man was never intended to be his own source of wisdom, purpose, or direction. He was created to live in dependence upon God. This dependence was not a weakness, but the very foundation of God’s order for human life.
Key Truth
Man was never intended to be his own source of wisdom, purpose, or direction. He was created to live in dependence upon God.
Understanding this truth is essential because everything that follows in Scripture is connected to it. The Fall, sin, spiritual death, redemption, and restoration all find their origin in God’s original purpose for man. If we fail to understand how God designed man to function, we will struggle to understand why humanity is the way it is today.
From this verse we can observe three distinct aspects of man’s being. There is the body, formed from the dust of the earth. There is the breath of life that came from God. And there is the living soul that emerged from the union of the two.
Each part of man was created with a specific purpose, and understanding those purposes is essential if we are to understand how God’s order was later disrupted. The body connected man to the physical world. The soul gave him self-consciousness, enabling him to think, feel, and choose. The spirit enabled him to know God, receive from God, and commune with God.
When these parts function according to God’s design and within God’s order, man lives in harmony with his Creator. He receives life from God, direction from God, and understanding from God. But when that order is broken or inverted, confusion, corruption, and ultimately evil begin to work within him.
To understand how this divine order was disrupted, we must now take a closer look at the role of the body, soul, and spirit within God’s design for man.
The Purpose of the Body, Soul, and Spirit
As we have seen, man was created with three distinct aspects of his being: spirit, soul, and body. Each was created with a specific purpose, and together they formed the framework through which man was to live in fellowship with God.
The spirit is the part of man that is God-conscious. It was designed for fellowship with God. Through the spirit, man is able to know God, receive from God, and understand spiritual truth. Through the spirit, man was capable of knowing God, not merely knowing about Him. Unlike the body, which connects man to the physical world, and unlike the soul, which gives him self-awareness, the spirit is the means by which man receives divine life, direction, and understanding.
The soul is the seat of self-consciousness. It encompasses the mind, emotions, and will. Through the soul, man thinks, reasons, feels, desires, and makes choices. The soul is where personality is expressed and where decisions are made. It serves as the bridge between the spirit and the body.
This makes the soul especially important. The soul stands between the spirit and the body. It was designed to receive life and direction from God through the spirit and then express that life and direction through the body. Therefore, the soul became the place of decision. It was there that man would either submit to God’s order or turn from it.
The body is the part of man that is conscious of the physical world. Through the senses, it allows us to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. It enables us to interact with our environment and carry out physical actions. The body is not evil; it was created by God and declared good. However, it was never intended to govern man’s life.
Notice the order in God’s design. The spirit was to govern the soul, and the soul was to govern the body. The spirit would receive life and direction from God, the soul would choose whether to submit to that direction, and the body would carry out that choice.
Key Truth
The spirit would receive life and direction from God, the soul would choose whether to submit to that direction, and the body would carry out that choice.
In this way, God’s life and wisdom would flow from the Holy Spirit to the spirit of man, from the spirit to the soul, and from the soul to the body. Man would live under God’s government rather than his own.
This order is essential to understanding everything that follows. As long as man remained under God’s order, there was harmony within him and fellowship with God. But once that order was disrupted, the consequences would affect every aspect of human life.
Before we examine how that disruption occurred, we must first consider the two trees that God placed in the Garden of Eden and the significance they held in His purpose for man.
The Two Trees and the Choice Before Man
After God created man and placed him in the garden, Scripture draws our attention to two specific trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:8-9 says:
“And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
Then Genesis 2:16-17 says:
“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
These two trees were not mentioned without purpose. They represented a choice placed before man.
It is important to notice that God specifically warned man about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but He did not forbid him from the tree of life. This suggests that God’s desire was not to withhold life from man, but to preserve man in the proper order of dependence upon Him.
The tree of life pointed to life received from God. It represented fellowship, dependence, and continued living under God’s order. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented another way: the possibility of living by knowledge apart from God.
This was not merely about information. It was about whether man would continue to receive life, wisdom, and direction from God, or whether he would seek to determine good and evil for himself.
Therefore, the issue in the garden was not simply about eating fruit. The deeper issue was whether man would remain dependent upon God or choose to live from another source.
Key Truth
The issue in the garden was not simply about eating fruit. The deeper issue was whether man would remain dependent upon God or choose to live from another source.
This choice stood at the center of man’s testing. Would man continue to receive life and direction from God, allowing the spirit to govern the soul and the soul to govern the body? Or would man act from himself, allowing the soul to make its own judgment apart from God?
This question prepares us for the tragedy of the Fall, where man chose independence from God, and God’s original order in man was disrupted.
The Fall: The Inversion of God’s Order
At its core, the Fall was the rejection of God’s order and the choice of independence from Him.
When the serpent approached Eve, he did not tempt her with something that appeared obviously evil. Instead, he questioned God’s word and offered the possibility of obtaining wisdom apart from God.
Genesis 3:4-5 records the serpent’s words:
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
The temptation was not merely to eat fruit. The temptation was to become independent—to determine good and evil for oneself rather than receiving life, wisdom, and direction from God.
This is why the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was so significant. The issue was never knowledge itself. Knowledge is not evil. The issue was the source from which man would live.
Key Truth
The deception was not choosing evil instead of good. The deception was choosing what appeared good apart from God.
God had created man to receive life and direction through the spirit. But the serpent appealed to the soul. He appealed to Eve’s reasoning, her desires, and her ability to make judgments apart from God.
Genesis 3:6 reveals this process:
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise…”
The battle was won or lost in the soul. Eve’s body merely ate the fruit, but the decision was made before the fruit was ever touched. Her mind considered the serpent’s words. Her emotions were drawn toward what she saw. Her will chose to act apart from God’s command. The soul chose independence, and the body simply carried out that choice.
Eve was deceived, but Adam knowingly joined in the act. Together they chose independence from God, and the consequences of that choice extended to all humanity.
Notice what happened. The decision was no longer being governed by what God had said. Instead, it was being governed by what seemed right to the natural mind.
Before the Fall, man received life and direction from God through the spirit. The soul responded to that direction, and the body expressed it. After the Fall, the soul no longer looked to God as its source. Instead, it began relying upon its own reasoning, desires, and judgments.
At that moment, God’s original order in man was inverted.
Rather than receiving direction from God through the spirit, the soul began to operate independently. Instead of submitting to God’s wisdom, man began relying upon his own understanding.
The consequences were immediate. Fellowship with God was broken. Spiritual death entered. Fear replaced confidence. Self-consciousness replaced God-consciousness. The harmony that once existed between God and man was lost.
The Nature of Man After the Fall
The Fall did more than introduce sin into the world. It fundamentally altered the condition of man.
The effects of the Fall were not merely external. The inversion of God’s order within man produced a condition that every descendant of Adam would inherit.
What began in Adam did not end with Adam. The same inverted order became the condition of humanity.
Man was now born into a state where self rather than God occupied the center of life.
This condition is often described in Scripture as spiritual death.
Spiritual death did not mean that man ceased to exist. Nor did it mean that the spirit itself ceased to exist. Rather, it meant that man’s fellowship with God was broken and his capacity to receive life and direction from God was no longer functioning as God intended.
As a result, humanity inherited a nature inclined toward self-rule rather than dependence upon God.
The Apostle Paul described this struggle when he wrote:
“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…” (Galatians 5:17)
The flesh is not merely the body. It is the entire fallen system of life that operates independently of God.
Key Truth
The problem is not merely that man does wrong things. The problem is that the source from which he lives and the order by which he functions have been corrupted.
Because the problem is deeper than behavior, the solution must be deeper as well.
Man does not simply need better instruction.
He needs restoration.
He needs new life.
He needs the very order that was lost in the Fall to be restored.
The Necessity of the New Birth
If the Fall merely caused man to commit sinful acts, then better behavior might be enough to solve the problem.
But the Fall did far more than affect man’s actions. It altered the condition of man himself.
Jesus declared this necessity when He said:
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
Notice that Jesus did not say man needed to become more religious, more educated, or more moral.
He said man must be born again.
Because the problem was deeper than behavior. The problem was life itself.
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God made possible the restoration of that life.
Key Truth
The new birth is not God improving the old creation. It is God imparting new life where spiritual death once reigned.
This regeneration begins in the spirit.
The very faculty that had been separated from God’s life is the first thing God restores.
Through the work of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, man receives new life from God.
Before the new birth, man lived from self as his source.
After the new birth, he possesses the capacity once again to receive life and direction from God through the spirit.
This is why regeneration is not merely a change in conduct.
It is the restoration of life.
It is the beginning of God’s work to restore within man the order that was lost in the Fall.
The Renewing of the Mind
While the new birth is the beginning of God’s work in man, it is not the completion of it.
Through regeneration, the spirit is made alive unto God and restored to fellowship with Him.
Yet the soul—the mind, emotions, and will—does not instantly come into full agreement with God’s order.
Romans 12:2 says:
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
Notice that Paul does not tell believers to regenerate their spirit.
That has already occurred through the new birth.
Instead, he speaks of transformation through the renewing of the mind.
Key Truth
The new birth restores life to the spirit, but the renewing of the mind restores God’s order to the soul.
The soul is the primary battleground in the believer’s life.
The renewing of the mind is the process by which God’s truth replaces the false assumptions, values, and perspectives that were formed apart from Him.
However, this is not merely the accumulation of biblical information.
Renewal occurs when God’s truth moves beyond information and begins shaping the way a person sees, thinks, judges, and responds.
The regenerated spirit delights in the things of God, while the soul is still learning to think according to truth rather than according to the old patterns inherited from the Fall.
As the mind is renewed, the soul increasingly submits to the direction of the spirit.
The order that was disrupted through the Fall begins to be restored in practical experience.
The spirit receives life and direction from God.
The renewed soul learns to submit to that direction.
The body increasingly becomes an instrument through which that life is expressed.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The restoration of God’s order within man is not something that can be accomplished through human effort alone. From beginning to end, it is the work of God. While the believer is called to respond in faith and obedience, the power that produces transformation comes from the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not merely an influence, a force, or an abstract power. He is the Spirit of God dwelling within the believer. Through Him, God’s life is communicated, God’s truth is illuminated, and God’s purposes are accomplished.
Jesus emphasized the importance of the Holy Spirit when He said:
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13)
This guidance is not merely intellectual. The Holy Spirit does more than provide information. He reveals truth, applies truth, and enables the believer to walk in truth.
The Holy Spirit and the Word of God work together in the believer’s life. The Holy Spirit never works contrary to God’s truth, and God’s truth is not meant to be understood apart from the illumination of the Holy Spirit. The Word reveals truth, and the Spirit gives understanding, conviction, direction, and power to walk in that truth.
This is important because the restoration of God’s order requires more than knowledge. A person may understand biblical principles and still lack the power to live according to them. The Holy Spirit works within the believer to make God’s truth living and effective.
Through the Holy Spirit, the believer is brought into living fellowship with God. The Holy Spirit is not merely the giver of power. He is the means by which the believer experiences the life, fellowship, and guidance of God on a daily basis. Just as the spirit was originally designed to receive life and direction from God, the Holy Spirit now restores that capacity and teaches the believer how to live from God once again.
The spirit, once separated from the life for which it was created, now receives life, direction, and communion from God. The relationship that was broken through the Fall begins to be restored through Christ.
Key Truth
The Holy Spirit is God’s provision for restoring in experience what Christ has restored in principle.
Through Christ, the believer is reconciled to God. Through the Holy Spirit, the reality of that reconciliation is progressively worked out within the believer’s life.
The Holy Spirit also plays a vital role in the renewing of the mind. As God’s Word is received, the Holy Spirit illuminates its meaning, exposes deception, corrects false thinking, and leads the believer into truth. In this way, the soul is progressively brought back into alignment with God’s order.
This process is not instantaneous. Growth occurs as the believer learns to yield to the Holy Spirit rather than to the impulses of the flesh. Day by day, God’s truth gains greater influence over the soul, and the soul increasingly submits to the direction received through the spirit.
The result is the gradual restoration of God’s intended order within man. The spirit receives life and direction from God. The soul learns to submit to that direction. The body increasingly becomes an instrument through which God’s life is expressed.
This is why the Christian life cannot be reduced to rules, rituals, or outward behavior. At its heart, Christianity is the life of God working within man through the Holy Spirit.
The goal is not merely outward conformity. The goal is inward transformation. God is restoring within man the fellowship, life, and order for which he was originally created.
Pull Quote
The Christian life is not merely the avoidance of sin. It is the restoration of God’s order within man and the expression of God’s life through him.
As this restoration progresses, the believer increasingly learns what it means to walk in the Spirit rather than according to the flesh.
Conclusion: Returning to God’s Order
Featured Scripture
“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;”
— 2 Corinthians 5:18 (KJV)
From the beginning, God created man for fellowship with Himself. Man was designed to receive life and direction from God through the spirit, to express that life through the soul and body, and to live in harmony with his Creator.
The tragedy of the Fall was far greater than the violation of a commandment. It was the rejection of God’s order and the choice of independence from Him. What began in the Garden of Eden was not merely an act of disobedience; it was the inversion of the very order for which man had been created.
From that moment forward, humanity inherited the consequences of that choice. Spiritual death entered. Fellowship with God was broken. Man began living from self rather than from God. The soul, which had been created to live under the direction of the spirit, became governed by its own reasoning, desires, and judgments.
Yet God did not abandon His purpose.
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God made restoration possible. Through the new birth, life is restored to the spirit. Through the renewing of the mind, the soul is brought back into alignment with God’s truth. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, the believer learns once again to live from God rather than from self.
This restoration is not merely about becoming a better person. It is not self-improvement, religious activity, or outward conformity. It is God’s work of restoring within man the life, fellowship, and order that were lost through the Fall.
The Christian life is therefore much more than avoiding sin or adhering to religious practices. It is learning to live under God’s government. It is learning to receive life and direction from Him and allowing that life to be expressed through every aspect of our being.
The question that confronted Adam still confronts every person today. Will we live independently of God, relying upon our own understanding, or will we return to the One for whom we were created?
The answer to that question determines far more than behavior. It determines the source from which we live.
God’s invitation has never changed. He still calls men and women out of independence and into fellowship. He still offers life where there is death, truth where there is deception, and restoration where there has been ruin.
The story of redemption is, in many ways, the story of God’s determination to restore what was lost. What began with creation, was disrupted through the Fall, and was made possible through Christ is now being worked out through the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who believe.
The ultimate purpose of God is not merely to save man from judgment, but to restore him to the life, fellowship, and order for which he was originally created.
Therefore, the question is not merely whether we understand these truths, but whether we will yield to them. Are we living from God, or are we still living from self? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to restore God’s order within us, or are we continuing to trust our own wisdom, desires, and judgments? The call of God is not only to believe the truth, but to return to the order for which we were created: life from God, fellowship with God, and obedience under God.
Scripture warns:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
— Proverbs 14:12 (KJV)
The history of humanity is the story of man choosing his own way. The story of redemption is God’s invitation to return to His. The choice remains before us today just as it did in the garden: will we live independently of God, or will we receive life, direction, and fellowship from the One for whom we were created?
Questions for Reflection
- Am I living from God, or from myself?
- Have I mistaken knowledge about God for fellowship with God?
- Is my mind being renewed by God’s truth?
- Am I yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit?
- In what areas of my life am I still relying upon my own understanding?
- Am I living according to God’s order or my own?
Final Scripture
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
— Proverbs 3:5 (KJV)
