Did Adam & Eve Know What Sin Was BEFORE The Fall When They Ate The Fruit? | Hard Questions

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The video addresses the profound theological question of whether Adam and Eve possessed a prior understanding of sin before consuming the forbidden fruit. The discussion clarifies that while they may not have fully comprehended the complex ramifications or the experiential nature of sin, they certainly understood the specific command given by God regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Sin is defined in this context as missing the mark of a clear divine instruction; therefore, even without knowing the full consequences, their act of eating the fruit was a deliberate disobedience that constituted a failure to adhere to God's will. This distinction highlights that they knew what it meant to disobey, even if they did not yet know exactly how sin would feel or affect them personally until the moment of transgression occurred. A central theme explored is the shift from intimate relationship with God to the introduction of distrust and shame. Before the fall, Adam and Eve enjoyed complete face-to-face intimacy with Yahweh, a state that was abruptly severed when they chose to step outside the boundaries God had set. The act of eating the fruit was driven not by confusion but by a desire to take matters into their own hands, leading to immediate consequences such as shame and the instinct to hide. This moment marked the transition from innocence to a state where humanity began to blame others rather than accept responsibility, illustrating how taking God's will into one's own hands inevitably leads to tragedy and death. The loss of that pure connection with God is identified as the most significant change resulting from their decision. The conversation further delves into the human tendency toward denial and the importance of transparency in restoring a relationship with the Father. Upon realizing their disobedience, Adam and Eve immediately engaged in the blame game, shifting responsibility to one another and the serpent rather than repenting openly. This behavior mirrors the carnal nature found in people today, where individuals often make excuses or deny their faults instead of admitting them. The speakers emphasize that true freedom comes from exposing these failures honestly to God rather than covering them up, suggesting that transparency allows for healing and restoration. This dynamic sets the stage for the rest of biblical history, which is portrayed as a narrative of God patiently calling humanity back to Himself despite their repeated attempts to hide or justify their actions. Ultimately, the video concludes by framing the story of Adam and Eve as the beginning of God's ongoing work to restore the broken relationship between Himself and mankind. Although they did not experience sin experientially before the fall, they were fully aware of the prohibition and chose to violate it, thereby initiating a cycle of disobedience, shame, and hiding that requires divine intervention to reverse. The discussion ends with a hopeful perspective drawn from the book of Revelation, where God's ultimate goal is to re-establish that original face-to-face relationship with humanity. This restoration process underscores the necessity of honesty and trust in God, contrasting the deception used by Satan with the clarity of God's commands and the transformative power of returning to Him through confession and humility.

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Well, we're taking questions and ask and digging deep into the scriptures to find the answers. So, let's go to number three. Did Adam and Eve know what sin was before they ate the fruit? How could they be guilty of disobedi- bedience without the knowledge of good and evil? Pastor Zach. >> Oh, such a good question. And and and as I look at this question, we can see the end of Genesis chapter 2 and the early parts of Genesis chapter 3. I don't see this understanding fully of what sin is, but I do see God give them a consequence. If you eat of this tree, you will surely die. So, we see an idea here of confusion take place. This came through distrust, not necessarily confusion though. You know, they they might not know what it is, but it came through distrust. And every time we take the the will of God into our own hands, it creates a world of tragedy and death. And that's exactly what took place. I don't know that they knew the ramifications of it all, but it does appear that they wanted to step outside of the boundary God gave them. It wasn't quite enough and and they didn't they didn't necessarily know what sin was. >> They knew they at least knew they were disobeying God, right? >> Yeah, that's exactly it. Sin means to miss the mark. That's what sin means. They knew what it meant to miss the mark in this straight command from God. He was clear. As Zach hit, the Lord said, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in that day you eat of it, you shall surely die." That's pretty clear. So, they knew if they did that, they missed the mark of the command of God. So, like anything, they were deceived by Satan. And to Zach's point, they didn't experience sin yet until that moment, right? We're born now into sin, right? For them, it was unique, but they owned their sin. It's clear in the consequences. And like Zach hit, you know, I think of anything, more than it was that pure intimacy with God was now gone, right? And that's the biggest thing for the fall for me was I can't imagine uh that moment before the fall of having that complete intimacy with Yahweh, but the moment of sin, that was the biggest thing that changed for them. And shame, boom, was the first thing they experienced, so. >> Wow, you think about that, you know, God showing up in the garden in the cool of the evening and all that relationship for who knows how long and then that's all changed, Pete. >> Well, you know, what I think of in my heart immediately, they they didn't repent. They covered up. And I'm wondering, what if at that moment they would, you know, what did Adam do? He blamed Eve. What did Eve do? She blamed the serpent. So, it was the blame game. And and I think even today in in our carnal nature, uh I think transparency is so important with the Father. Father, Satan didn't make me do it do it. I did it because I wanted to do it. I did it because my flesh went over. And I think in that transparency and in the exposing of that, we can have uh freedom from it when it's exposed in the proper way to the Father instead of denial. >> Yeah, better to better to get it out there, right? >> That's me. I believe that. >> Oh, absolutely, Dr. Glaze. >> Yeah, I think that uh these guys hit it uh right uh on the head. The only other thing that I would say is that at this point, you know, they didn't know uh sin from an experiential standpoint, you know, that they hadn't experienced it. Uh but they knew what God said, you know, and and he said he said, "Don't eat." >> [laughter] >> I asked my wife this question. I read the question to her and she right away she's like, "God told him not to eat." You know, "Mama knows when kids don't listen." You know, >> [laughter] >> it's it's like, you know, there's no no question about that. >> And and and the scripture says real quick, God gave Adam, he said, "Don't eat." Eve said, "We're not even allowed to touch it." So, she went a step further. So, we I'm Go ahead. Go ahead. I'm sorry. >> No, no, you're spot on. Keep going. Modify the >> So, she said, "Don't even touch it." >> The rest the Bible is now the story of God restoring that face-to-face relationship with man again though, and we see that in the end of Revelation. >> And since they're the same, disobey, shame, hide, and then God calls us back. >> Yeah, absolutely. Wow, well, great answers, you know, thank you for the question. >> [music] >> Let's go to the next one. >> [music]