God made man in his own image, male and female, and it was very good; but man sinned, and sin and death came to all of us.
All churches hold this. Of the Son, "who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven" (the Nicene Creed, traditional English). This lesson shows why we needed him to.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (1 Peter 2:2)
Lesson 2 showed who God is, and Lesson 3 who that one God is. This lesson shows who we are: made by him and like him, then fallen.
Three verses to start with
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12
Where you see it: the garden and the fall
God “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;” (Genesis 2:7) He gave one command: “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.” (Genesis 2:17)
The serpent asks, “Yea, hath God said,” (Genesis 3:1) The woman answers, “God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Genesis 3:3) The words "neither shall ye touch it" are not in the command as the text gives it in Genesis 2:17. God's word was changed before it was broken. The text does not say whether she added them or was told so by Adam; the command came before she was made (Genesis 2:18).
The Bible warns against exactly this: “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” (Proverbs 30:6) “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it,” (Deuteronomy 4:2)
Then the serpent says it flatly: “Ye shall not surely die:” (Genesis 3:4) “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.” (Genesis 3:6)
They hide. God calls, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9) The man blames the woman, and the woman blames the serpent (Genesis 3:12-13). And in the same chapter comes the first promise of a rescuer, “it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) and God himself clothes them: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:21)
How to live it
Every person you meet bears God's image, so no one is worthless. James warns against cursing “men, which are made after the similitude of God.” (James 3:9)
And every one of us has sinned, so the first step is to stop hiding, as Adam did, and say so:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
2BreadGo deeper: what the whole Bible says.
Why it matters
If we are not fallen, we need no Savior. Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) The bad news of this lesson is what makes the good news good.
Made by God, on purpose
“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground,” (Genesis 2:7)
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:” (Psalm 139:14)
“And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,” (Acts 17:26)
In his image, male and female
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” (Genesis 1:26)
Jesus: “he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” (Matthew 19:4)
Made to rule the earth for him: “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.” (Genesis 1:28)
“For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.” (Psalm 8:5)
Very good
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Sin was not part of how God made us.
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners,” (Romans 5:19)
It reaches every one of us
“There is none righteous, no, not one:” (Romans 3:10)
“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
David: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5)
“and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” (Ephesians 2:3)
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;” (Isaiah 53:6)
What sin is
“for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4) Doing wrong, and also not doing right: “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17)
The image is still there
After the fall and the flood, God still says man is made in his image: “for in the image of God made he man.” (Genesis 9:6) And James says it of people in his day (James 3:9). Marred, not erased.
The first Adam and the last: “The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45)
In Christ the image is made new: “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (Colossians 3:10)
“to be conformed to the image of his Son,” (Romans 8:29)
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
A second story: Cain
One generation out of the garden, sin is at the door of the next. God warns Cain before he kills his brother: “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” (Genesis 4:7)
The fall is not only something that happened to Adam; it is in every heart, and God calls each of us to rule over it.
3MeatDefend it: how it has been denied, and the answers from the word.
“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,” (Hebrews 5:14)
How it has been denied, and the answer
"People are born good; we can live without sin by our own will."
History Pelagius and his followers, around AD 400. The teaching stressed "the essential goodness of human nature and the freedom of the human will" and was condemned by councils of African bishops at Carthage in 416 and 418 (Britannica). Many today hold a version of it.
The answer from the word “There is none righteous, no, not one:” (Romans 3:10) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) “The heart is deceitful above all things,” (Jeremiah 17:9)
"Man is only an animal; there is no image of God."
History Common today
The answer from the word “So God created man in his own image,” (Genesis 1:27) His life is precious “for in the image of God made he man.” (Genesis 9:6) Man alone is made in God's likeness and given dominion (Genesis 1:26-28).
"Adam and Eve were not real people."
History Some today read Genesis 2 and 3 as a story only
The answer from the word Jesus spoke of them as real: “he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,” (Matthew 19:4) Luke's family line runs back to “Adam, which was the son of God.” (Luke 3:38) Paul: “For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” (1 Timothy 2:13) And “death reigned from Adam to Moses,” (Romans 5:14)
"There is no such thing as sin; only mistakes."
History Common today
The answer from the word “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) “For the wages of sin is death;” (Romans 6:23)
Where Christians differ: how deep the fall goes
All agree we are fallen and cannot save ourselves; even the teaching of Pelagius, that we can, was condemned by the church long ago. They differ on how much the fall took from us:
The Westminster Confession (Reformed, 1646) says the fall left us "utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good" (Westminster Confession, chapter 6).
The Remonstrants (Arminian, 1610) agree that man "has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free will"; they differ later, on whether God's grace can be resisted (Article 3).
The Catholic Catechism says "human nature has not been totally corrupted" but is "wounded in the natural powers proper to it" (Catechism 405).
Each reads Romans 3:10-12, “dead in trespasses and sins;” (Ephesians 2:1) and Genesis 9:6 its own way. No side is taken here. How God saves us, by grace through faith, is Lesson 8.
Hard questions
"Why did God put the tree there?" Explanation, not Scripture: the text does not say why. It does show a real command and a real choice (Genesis 2:16-17), and that God came looking for them after they fell: “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9)
"How old is the earth? Were the days of Genesis 1 twenty-four hours?" Christians who hold the Bible true answer this in more than one way. Explanation, not Scripture: this lesson does not rest on the answer; every point above stands either way. It belongs in Where Christians differ, with each side's verses.
"If I was born in sin, is a baby guilty?" “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,” (Ezekiel 18:20) When David's baby died: “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:23) Jesus: “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14) and “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3) God spared Israel's children “which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil,” (Deuteronomy 1:39) “for where no law is, there is no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin:” (John 9:41) Some also read “And the times of this ignorance God winked at;” (Acts 17:30) this way, though Paul said it at Athens about the nations' idol worship. Many Christians read these verses together as an "age of accountability"; others answer differently.
"Did Jesus have a fallen nature too?" No: he “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) That is why he could be the last Adam (Lesson 5).
Make it yours
Learn it by heart
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27
To think about
Adam hid and blamed. When you do wrong, do you hide, blame, or confess?
Who in your life is hard to see as made in God's image? How would you treat them if you did?
God's word was changed before it was broken. Where are you tempted to add to it, or take from it?
Every verse here is the King James text, checked word for word before the site goes up. Notes marked "not Scripture" are explanations, history or observations, labeled so you can tell them apart. Tap a place to read it in the Bible.