Day 3 of 30 · Week 1 · God's Loving Plan for Humanity

Expulsion from Eden

“Now the snake was the most cunning 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’?” The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 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.’” But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.”
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. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
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 LORD God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard You in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? The man replied, “The woman whom You put here with me—she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman: What is this you have done? The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the snake: Because you have done this, cursed are you among all the animals, tame or wild; On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel. To the woman he said: I will intensify your toil in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.
To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, you shall not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground from which you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made for the man and his wife garments of skin, with which He clothed them. Then the LORD God said: See! The man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever?
The LORD God therefore banished him from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. He expelled the man, stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the Garden of Eden, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
Genesis 3:1–24

Essential Concepts & Terms

Original Sin is the sin inherited by all humankind from Adam in his disobedience of God’s command not to eat from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. The Original Sin event is referred to as “The Fall of Man.” The Fall

Adam’s choice to disobey God’s command is considered a “fall” because his choice to sin represents a fall from grace. God created Adam in His image and likeness and saw that he was good, (Gen 1:26–31); Adam was created with an original grace and holiness. God shared His entire creation with Adam even giving him dominion over all other creatures and God gave one simple command for Adam to obey:

“The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden

except the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.” —Genesis 2:16–17

Adam and Eve were given the free choice to love and serve God. God gave us the ability to love God freely (free will) because true love is one that is not forced. With this ability to choose, mankind has chosen not to love God, hence our inheritance of a fallen nature.

Adam’s choice to disobey God and eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, after Eve was tempted by the serpent, demonstrated what is at the essence of all sin: that sin is rooted in man’s preference for himself over God. Instead of choosing God, Adam chose himself by eating of the fruit of the tree so that he could be like God, (Genesis 3:5). Humanity was forever changed through this event, losing its innocence of good and evil, bringing sin into the world.

Adam and Eve became aware of sin and its allure and, therefore, more susceptible to sin after having fallen to temptation. Making a choice to sin leads to weakness of the soul and a propensity to continue to sin. The Nature of Original Sin

Original Sin is not a committed sin, but rather a contracted sin. Unlike all other sins, which are acts of one’s own personal sin, it is a state of the soul, representing the fallen nature that was handed on to us by Adam who fell into death upon committing the original sin. It represents the fallen state of humanity in which we find ourselves devoid of the original grace and holiness with which humanity was created, (Genesis 1:31). Sin not only has personal consequences on one’s own soul, but collective consequences that damage all souls. The Original Sin forever changed humanity by allowing sin to enter the world. Sin is rooted in our preference for ourselves over God. Through the Original Sin humanity took on a fallen nature, one that is incomplete without Jesus’ saving work on the cross.

Christ’s Redemption and Original Sin

The sin of Adam is linked directly to Christ’s redemption; through one man, Adam, sin entered the world, and through one man, Jesus, humanity is restored, (Romans 5:12–21). Jesus is the perfect sacrifice that atones for all of our sins. Jesus, in His complete humanity and complete divinity, is the only sacrifice that could make up for a fallen human nature.

God’s first covenant with humanity, through Adam, was broken through the Original Sin. God has created a new covenant in Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice. Jesus has given us a way to enter into this new covenant, through baptism. Baptism removes Original Sin and any personal sin, and cleanses the soul making it new and fresh. It makes one a new creature in Christ. God invites us into this covenant with Him freely and it is up to us to choose to enter into it and uphold our end of the bargain.

Evening Prayer

Catechism (CCC #1704–1705)

The human person participates in the light and power of the divine Spirit. By his reason, he is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator. By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection “in seeking and loving what is true and good.”

By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an “outstanding manifestation of the divine image”.

What makes us in the image and likeness of God?

Answer: We are made in the image and likeness of God because we can love, create, and truly choose good. We are capable of truly and freely choosing to do good and to love. Human persons are not mere reactionary creatures but a creation that, like God, can choose to do good and to love one another. Human persons are also able to know and understand goodness and love. Human persons can mirror God in the manner we know, understand, love and do good.

Listen to Podcast: Fr. Chad Ripperger

Psychology of the Demon — 35 Minutes

Summary of Key Concepts

Original Sin: Original Sin is not one’s own personal sin, it is a state of the soul, representing the fallen nature that was handed on to us by Adam who fell into death upon committing the Original Sin.

Made in God’s Image & Likeness: We are made in the image and likeness of God because we can love, create, and truly understand, know, and choose to do good.

Questions to Consider

Do you understand how choices to disobey God’s commandments cause people to fall from His grace and can open the door to demonic activity?
Through God’s extraordinary love for us He sent His only Son to save us and invites us into a new covenant relationship. Do you understand how you need to choose each day to remain in this relationship by following Him?