Fall

Fall and Original Sin

Two most important Greek words in the Bible are logos and Rhema.

Rhema means (spoken) word, whereas logos includes thought (hence logic). Rhema is not just the spoken word, but any means by which the Logos (the substance of what is being communicated) is conveyed. Written text, spoken text, text in Hebrew, Greek, English, etc. are Rhema.[i]

     What is our world view?

        The system of the  world is trying hard with different experimental models of attempting to solve various moral issues, and problems of the world. These trials are doomed for failure, if our worldview is different from what is already written and spoken.

According to God’s Word, every human being has intense interpersonal needs. Romans 1 shows that in their various relationships people may develop complicated and even unconscious patterns of response. Psychology can help us pinpoint the ways in which the fall has distorted our relationships and behavior, leaving our spiritual and social needs largely unfulfilled.^[ii]

God said, “It is not good for a man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18). Adam needed human companionship and social and sexual intercourse for inner happiness and satisfaction. Eve was created to meet those needs, as he would meet hers. After the Fall not only the need for close relationships magnified, but the relationships which remained had become severely distorted.^[iii] 

William T. Kirwan says: “God has created us with spiritual needs. Good interpersonal relationships (with God and with other people) are necessary to fulfill those needs. If our needs are not met by interpersonal relationships, then, like Adam, we will tend to become spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally disoriented.” ^[iv]

 

           However, since man has sinned, he is certainly not as fully like God as he was before. His moral purity has been lost and his sinful character certainly does not reflect God’s holiness. His intellect is corrupted by falsehood and misunderstanding; his speech no longer continually glorifies God; his relationships are often governed by selfishness rather than love, and so forth. Though man is still in the image of God, in every aspect of life some parts of that image have been distorted or lost.^[v]

 

God man made upright, but they have sought out many devices; Ecc. 7:29.

 

What happened at the Fall?

 

            We still represent God- but the image of God in us is distorted; we are less fully like God than we were before the entrance of Sin.

            Louis Berkhof, on the topic of ‘Sin in the Life of the Human Race’ writes: The sinful state and condition in which men are born is designated in theology by the name peccatum originale, which is literally translated in the English “original sin.”^[vi]

          Original sin is derived from the original root of the human race. This is present in the life of every individual from the time of birth.  This is the inward root of all the actual sins that defile the life of man. All kinds of evil we see around us are Infact derived from this Original sin!

        We have to go back to what was already written and spoken by the breath of God, the wind of God, the Spirit of God. We have to set our mind on the spirit, to be saved from and being consumed by our negative thought pattern.

Do we want to enjoy life in full?

       We are ushered peace from God which passeth all understanding. The Lord used the constant word (logos), Ref. Rom. 8; to speak an instant, personal word to us (rhema) in our particular situation; or whatever circumstances we are facing in our life. The Lord’s instant speaking can strengthen us to turn to Him, and we experienced life and peace.

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths; Prov. 3: 1-6.

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            [i] logos and Rhema word in Hebrew…

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          [ii] William T. Kirwan, Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling, A Case for Integrating Psychology and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1984), 40.

That description of the inner processes by which people deny God’s existence as well as their own spiritual needs reads like modern psychology. A study of Paul’s words and the process that they describe shows that they meant, for Paul, exactly what we take them to mean today. Repression is a major defense mechanism, a common form of denial used by all of us. Repression is the process by which we exclude legitimate desires and impulses from our consciousness. One they are denied satisfaction; those desires and impulses are left to operate in the unconscious. Sproul notes that this is the very process that Paul has in mind in Romans 1:18, where repression of God’s truth is said to result in an ungodly lifestyle and sinful behavior.

[iii] William T. Kirwan, ibid., p. 38. Harry Sullivan, on good interpersonal relationships wrote, “personality is formed by the interpersonal relationships that an individual has, especially with close persons in his entire life time…Personality consist of the characteristic way a person deals with other people in his interpersonal relationships.”

[iv] Ibid., p. 41.

[v] Wayne Grudem. Ibid., p. 444.

[vi] Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 231, 244.

Sin is a moral evil. Sin should not be confused with physical evil, with that which is injurious or calamitous. Sin is the result of a free but evil choice of man. This is the plain teaching of the Word of God, Gen. 3:16; Isa. 48:8; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Jn. 3:4.