𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗠-𝗨𝗣
• Do you like following instructions? Why or why not?
• How do you respond when things don’t go according to plan? Recall an instance explaining this.
• Tell us about a recent argument or fight you had with a loved one. What happened?

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗
𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟲–𝟳

(Read also 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯–𝟰.)

We are looking at the biblical narrative as four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. In Act Two, the Fall, the idyllic story goes bad. Adam and Eve refused to trust God for knowledge of good and evil. In an act of total defiance to God, they sought to determine “the good” on their own. Their disobedience has far-reaching consequences. Man died, first spiritually and later physically, and along with him, so many good things in creation were broken. Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s moral mandate led to the corruption of human life, society, culture, and the environment. In this lesson, we will look at four relationships that were broken because of the Fall.

𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗼𝗱

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟬

Man was created in close relationship with God. This relationship is seen in many ways in Genesis alone. We were created in His image and mandated to act as vice-regents and reflectors of His glory all over the earth. We are God’s image-bearers.

When man rebelled against God, our ability to bear His image was shattered. We fell into sin; we lost the glory of God; we were separated; we died. Something very fundamental to our humanity broke. How did Adam react when God looked for him, and how is this characteristic of us as well?

𝟮. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗲𝗻

𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵?” 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘵𝘦.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟭–𝟭𝟮

Right after the breaking of our relationship with God was the breaking of our relationship with fellow men. Human relationships turned out to be the second casualty of the Fall. This is why Adam’s first impulse was to blame Eve when God confronted him, and the first crime in the Bible is a murder between brothers (Genesis 4:8).

This also eventually played out in society. In Genesis 4:23–24, we see how Lamech killed a man for wounding him. He even called seventy-sevenfold revenge on the person who would kill him. From warring families and tribes to battles between nations, we see how the Fall created an avalanche of broken human relationships that is evident until today. How is this true in the relationships around you?

𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶?” 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.” 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘥? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵?” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟵–𝟭𝟭

In their pre-Fall state, Adam and Eve were both naked and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:25). After the Fall, they began to look inward and noticed their own nakedness. Something shifted. God was no longer their source of authority and identity. The wide, wondrous world in front of them shrunk until it was only about the self. Today, we overestimate our importance while we relegate God to the sidelines. What are some ways you have seen this happen?

𝟰. 𝗠𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶, ’𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵,’ 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦; 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶; 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥. 𝘉𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯.” 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗦 𝟯:𝟭𝟳–𝟭𝟵

Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden was one of the most dramatic consequences of the Fall (Genesis 3:24). Nature used to provide for their needs. After the Fall, they needed to work the soil and toil harder for the ground to yield fruit. Nature was no longer as friendly or yielding to their needs.

Moreover, in Genesis 6–8, God’s punishment came through a great flood. Nature had become an instrument of punishment. And in Genesis 9:2, God planted fear and dread of humans among the members of the animal kingdom. As a result, we no longer enjoy companionship and affinity with most animals. Their impulse now is to run away from us.

It is in the context of this breaking of fundamental relationships that we ask, “So what happened to the mandates God gave humanity?”

While the world God created remains structurally good (it remains in good order and still allows human flourishing), it is now directionally corrupt. This means that we take what God has given us, such as the commands in Genesis 1:28, and twist them toward wrong ends:
• The mandate to be 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 was distorted and caused issues of overpopulation, abortion, and the breaking of families.
• The mandate to 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘵 turned into war, colonization, and military takeovers.
• The mandate to 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 and benevolently rule over the animal kingdom became an exploitation of natural resources.

This explains why contemporary politics has become contentious and toxic. God’s design for the ordering and governing of society remains good, but our sin and spiritual corruption poisoned it. Instead of viewing civil government as a place for us to wisely steward resources and public trust, we grasp for power and trample on the weak. But the problem runs deeper than most political analysts and theorists ever conceived.

Some think that the problem is politics or political parties and ideologies. Others think it’s the systems and forms of government. But these things are the symptoms, not the root cause. Politicians are not the problem. Party lists are not the problem. Activists are not the problem. We are. We all are—because sin has corrupted our hearts and we all have this twisted tendency to turn God’s good creation into idolatry.

This is precisely why the solution to the brokenness of the world doesn’t start with politics. It starts with redemption that is revealed in Christ.

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡
• We are inherently sinful and selfish. How will this awareness cause you to appreciate God’s original design and His plan for our redemption?
• How do you think God wants you to respond to the broken relationships around you?
• How would you respond to people who dismiss politics as something inherently bad?

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥
• Thank God for His original design and purpose for our world. Thank Him for the Scriptures that shed light into this original design and reveal how we can be saved.
• In a world of broken relationships, ask God to make you a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18).
• Pray that your understanding of God and the world would be based on Scripture and filled with hope in His redemption.