Man and Sin

God demonstrated His creative genius when He created the Universe. He completed this breathtaking, beautiful creation with a masterpiece, and that was the creation of man.

· Man - Gods masterpiece:
Genesis 1:27
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
The Hebrew word "create" used here is "Bara" and means - a first time kind of creation.
A creature had never been created before in Gods image or likeness.
Genesis 1:26
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:"

The words image and likeness have two totally different meanings.
The Hebrew word for "image" is "Demooth" and means - in resemblance of. Therefore man in his outward appearance resembles God. He has a face, body, hands and feet.

The Hebrew word for "likeness" is "Charit" and means - an engraving or architectural plan. An architectural plan of a house, shows what it is made of. It could have rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.
The Godhead is one Being, made up of three Persons namely:
God the Father.
Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit.
If we are made in Gods likeness or architecture then we must be made up of three parts as well. God is Tri-une and we are Tri-partate.
We are created with three parts:
Body.
Soul.
Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

God created Adams body with clay and then He blew the breath of life into Adams nostrils, the breath becoming spirit. When the clay and the spirit came together, man became a living soul. Man had a Body, Soul and a Spirit.
Genesis 1: 7
"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 enabled man to have three kinds of consciousness:
1. With his Body he had world consciousness and could communicate with the outside world.
2. With his Soul he had self-consciousness and could communicate with himself.
3. With his Spirit he had God consciousness and could communicate with God because God is Spirit.

· Why was man created and for what purpose?
The five reasons why God created man:
1. Man was created for a relationship with God.
God wanted to walk, talk and fellowship with man.
Genesis 3:8-9
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day:
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?

2. Man was created to replenish the earth.
God wanted man to have children, multiply and fill the earth with people. God wanted an extensive family of billions of people to love and care for.
Genesis 1:28
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."

3. Man was created to subdue the earth.
Genesis 1:28
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
Man was placed in Authority and Management over all things on the earth.

4. Man was created to enjoy everything on earth.
God gave man things to enjoy that were pleasant, good and satisfying.
Genesis 2:9
"And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food;"
Genesis 2:10-12
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

5. Man was created to be under Gods authority and discipline.
God wanted man to recognize and respect His authority. God tested mans submission to Him and his obedience.
While they were perfect, without sin, God gave Adam and Eve a command and He expected them to obey it.
When they were disobedient, it showed their disrespect for His
authority and they became subject to His discipline and punishment.

God clearly warned them of the consequences of disobeying Him.
Genesis 2:17
"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."

· The fall of Man
This is described in:
Genesis 3:1-8
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field, which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die:
5 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.
6 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, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Here we have satan coming in the form of a serpent to tempt Adam and Eve. The temptation affected their entire being (verse 6). He caused them to doubt Gods word, disobey God and partake of the forbidden fruit. They felt the effects of their sin. They felt naked, defiled, guilty, fled from Gods presence and hid in the garden.

· The results of the fall of man into sin
The sin of Adam and Eve brought about five consequences:
1. Adam and Eve's sin came upon all men.
From that moment sin came upon all Adam's descendants.
All people born into this world are in sin.
Psalm 51:5
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Man's very nature is sinful.
Ephesians 2:3
"And were by nature the children of wrath."
It only takes the act of one sin to be a sinner and we have all sinned at least one time.
Romans 6:23
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Sin has affected many aspects of our lives including our conversation.
Ephesians 2:3
"Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh."
1 John 5:19
"And the whole world lieth in wickedness."

2. Sin has effected different areas of our life:
We have a sinful nature.
Our behavior is sinful.
Our entire being is contaminated with lust and sin.

People on earth experience the process of sin in their life.
This process is described in:
James 1:14-15
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
It involves:
Having an own lust.
Being tempted.
Falling for the temptation.
Committing sin.
Experiencing death.

3. Every person has a weakness or own lust to sin.
Lust is a negative appetite for something. Every person has his or her own lust. There are many kinds of own lusts.
When this lust is enticed and yields to a temptation, it produces sin and death.
Here is an example of a lust for money and how the sinful process works:
- A person has a love for money. (Their own lust )
- They see someone's money and are tempted to steal it.
(Temptation)
- They decide to steal it. (Here's where the sin actually occurs.)
- They steal the money. (The fruit of the sin becomes evident)

Jesus clearly teaches about this process.
Matthew 5:28
"But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

Our own lust lies in three areas:
a. The desires of the flesh.
These are sexual and food appetites.
b. The desires of the eyes.
These relate to attractions and possessions.
c. The pride of life.
This relates to desires of selfish achievement, exaltation and fame.
I John 2:16
"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."

4. The spirit of man experiences death.
Genesis 2:17
"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."
Adam and Eve did not die physically the day they ate of the fruit. They died spiritually and their spiritual death was passed on to all mankind.
1 Corinthians 15:22
"For as in Adam all die."
Romans 6:23
"For the wages of sin is death;"

5. Because of sin, man is cursed.
Genesis 3:16-19
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

This curse was passed on to all men and women in three ways:
1. It was a curse of Toil and Sorrow.
From that moment of the first sin, men would work hard and endure a lot of sorrow, pain and suffering.
2. It was a curse of Sickness.
Man was destined to return to the dust of the earth, because of a sick, frail, and sinful human body.
3. It was a curse of Poverty.
Man was thrust out of the luxury, beauty and blessing of the Garden of Eden, into the hard, cruel world of lack and want.

· The Bible reveals three types of sin, man can commit:
1. The sin of innocence.
Innocent sin is better described, as a person innocently doing something sinful and negative.
Hebrews 12:1
"Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us."
Galatians 6:1
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault."

This sin occurs when satan suddenly, unexpectedly and easily misleads a person into sinning.
If we sin innocently, Jesus our Advocate will defend our case before God our Father.
I John 2:1
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
If we confess our sin, God will always forgive and cleanse us.
1 John 1:7-9
7 The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Wilful sin.
Hebrews 10:26
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins."
We sin wilfully when we plan, contemplate and commit sin in spite
of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. There is no innocence in this kind of sin.

David knew this when he prayed this prayer:
Psalms 19:13
"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous (wilful, planned) sins."
Against his better knowledge, David years later, went on to actually commit a wilful sin, when he committed adultery with Bethsheba and then had her husband killed. From that moment, for the rest of his life David was punished for sinning wilfully. His daughter was raped, his son Absalom rose up in rebellion against him and was killed.
We are warned about this type of sinning in the Bible and that it is punishable by death.
Numbers 15:30
"But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, (willfully) the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people."

Christians should not commit habitual, planned, wilfull sin.
When we are born again spiritually, as a new creation in Christ, we are raised to a higher level of life as a part of Gods family. This higher level of culture sets higher standards and expectations for us. Planned and wilfull sinning is not a part of the overcoming believers mindset.
1 John 3:9
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."
If a child of God commits a presumptuous sin, our sin may be forgiven but our punishment will not be remitted.
1 John 5:16
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it."
Willful sin is actually called a sin unto death.
It is not the sin against the Holy Spirit.

An example of this is Ananias and Sapphira:
They committed a wilfull, planned sin and it resulted in their death.
Acts 5:1-10
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost:
7 His wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
10 Then she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost:
If we irresponsibly continue with planned sin in our life, we will reap what we sow.
Galatians 6:7
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Paul warns us to examine ourselves when we participate in the Lords Supper.
We are to take Holy Communion worthily. Those who participate with wilfull sin will be judged.
1 Corinthians 11:27-30
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

3. The sin against the Holy Spirit.
This is also referred to as the unpardonable sin.
Matthew 12:31
"Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men."
This sin is described as speaking against the Holy Ghost.
Verse 32
"But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him."

Here Jesus was speaking to men who were ascribing the mighty powerful works of the Holy Ghost to that of the devil and Jesus said that they were sinning against the Holy Ghost.

Verse 24
"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."

· Sin is transgressing the Law or Commandments of God:
It is totally contrary to our new Divine Nature as children of God, to want to break Gods Law.
Ephesians 5:3-4
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
1 John 5:18
"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

We are born again of Gods Seed and this is overcomer seed.
We are destined to be overcomers.
1 John 2:13
"I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one."

Jesus gives a special promise of reward to those who overcome.
Revelation 3:21
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."

MAN AND SIN QUESTIONNAIRE

1. What does the Hebrew word "Demooth" mean?

2. What does the Hebrew word "Charit" mean?

3. What three parts of man did God create?

4. Give five reasons why God created man.

5. What caused the fall of man into sin?

6. What were the three consequences of the fall of man?

7. In the process of sin, what in man is tempted?

8. What are the three areas of our own lust?

9. What are the three aspects of the curse upon men?

10. What are the three types of sin man commits?

11. What will be the Lord's reward to those who overcome?