What happened in the Garden of Eden? The answer to this question is of paramount importance to the Christian person. The reason is this — God’s plan of redemption is, at its very core, the reversing of what happened in the Garden of Eden; and, typically, the Garden of Eden is a shadow of something so much greater than what the Garden could ever have been. This, of course, is the eternal state of all of God’s redeemed creation, being forever in His presence and kept by Him for His pleasure.
It is, of necessity, impossible to grasp the need for redemption outside of what happened in the Garden of Eden.
Man has put forth his greatest intellects, and, the very topic of what ails mankind has been at the forefront of philosophical thought for millennium. The Golden Age of Greece is undoubtedly the apex of mans work in this field of explaining the sinfulness of man, and, even with their superior intellect and powers of reason and imagination, there was never a philosopher who was able to state the fact of the matter. Not a single one was able to comprehend that God created everything perfect, and, that through two subsequent falls from grace the world was cast into an invariable state of physical and moral decay.
Every idea ever put forth by man regarding the solution to the continued state of man’s inability to maintain a moral life has utterly failed. Wether in Greece, or today, all of the great thinkers have failed to put forth anything that has been helpful to man’s plight of being desperately wicked.
There is, however, a person who does know the reason and the solution to man’s desperate state — the Christian. It is only the Christian who has an understanding of why, and how, the plight of man has become to be.
Unfortunately, though, these days Christian people are very confused as to this very matter; a matter that was very simple for Christians in the past is now experiencing a great attack by the devil. The devil seeks to muddle the Christians understanding of so many things; especially the gospel. And, the very fact of what happened in the Garden of Eden is essential to the gospel; as we have stated above, “God’s plan of redemption is, at its very core, the reversing of what happened in the Garden of Eden.” So, we must endeavour to re-claim this most foundational doctrine from those who would have this doctrine perverted; by ‘those’ we mean they who, either wittingly or unwittingly, are agents of the devil; they, who, in this very day and age, of which the time of our final salvation grows nearer and nearer, are laying their traps of false gospels all about the world. For, these are “they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”(Rom 16:18)
So, what did happen in the Garden of Eden? We will take a detailed look at this, according to Scripture; and, like some of the great saints of the past and present, will prayerfully meditate on what Scripture has to say about the events and ask the Spirit for knowledge and understanding. What we are invariably going to find, in the general, is that God created everything, and, that He had a plan that He foreknew in eternity; and, that everything is within His providence, and, whatever has happened, or, is going to happen, is for His glory alone. And, we, as Christians, hold His majesty in reverence and awe, as we pilgrimage through this life, bearing witness to His wonderful and amazing redemption of this world that has fallen under the terrible influence of what has happed in the Garden of Eden. But, we will strenuously endeavour (Lord willing), to investigate the great details of the events in Garden of Eden and expound their significant importance to our understanding; both, of the necessity of the events in the Garden of Eden, and, of gospel in relation to those events.
Scripture Alone 