LEARNING MODULE

SALVATION HISTORY

LEARNING MODULE III. (WEEK V AND VI) TOPIC: THE FALL OF MAN

God is good all and all that He has created is good. The presence of evil in the world is due to the sinful
exercise of human freedom by human beings who seek to be like God, but without God, ahead of God, and not
according to God.

The Disobedient Son.

Once there was a rich farmer in a village. He had a lot of land,

cattle, money and many servants. He had two sons. He led a happy life
with them. After few years, the younger of the two sons became unhappy.

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 He asked his father for his share of property. His father advised him not demand like that. His
mother also advised her son to do so. But he would not listen to his father’s words. He got his share and
sold them. He had a huge amount with him. Once he got much money, he got bad company of friends.

With this amount, he travelled to a distant country where he did all he wished. He had another
bad company of friends there as well. Because of this, he fell into evil ways.

All the money was gone. He became poor. AT that time, no one helped him out of bad company.
Soon, he fell into debt. Then he understood his mistake and returned to his country and to his parents.

He afterwards obeyed his parents and led a happy life.

Do activity 1 on page 3

KNOWING THE MESSAGE.

Now the snake was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God
had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the
trees in the garden’?” The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the
trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that
God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’” But the snake said
to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was
good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So, she took some of its
fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so, they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths
for themselves. When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of
the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD
God then called to the man and asked him: Where are you? He answered, “I heard you in the garden; but I was
afraid, because I was naked, so I hid.” Then God asked: Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten
from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat? The man replied, “The woman whom you put here with me—
she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it.” The LORD God then asked the woman: What is this you have done?
The woman answered, “The snake tricked me, so I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the snake: Because you
have done this, cursed are you among all the animals, tame or wild; On your belly you shall crawl, and dust you
shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and
hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel. To the woman he said: I will intensify your
toil in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall
rule over you. To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I
commanded you, you shall not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all
the days of your life. Thorns and thistles, it shall bear for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field. By the
sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are
dust, and to dust you shall return. The man gave his wife the name “Eve,” because she was the mother of all the
living. The LORD God made for the man and his wife garments of skin, with which he clothed them. Then the
LORD God said: See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also
reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever? The LORD God therefore
banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken. He expelled the man,
stationing the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword east of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of
life.

DEEPENING THE MESSAGE

The book of Genesis narrated the story of the fall of man. It showed us that sin and evil
did not come from God but resulted from the free choice of human beings. The story of

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sin in Genesis continued in Cain’s murder of his brother ( 4:1-16); in the widespread sin of the human populace
in the story of Noah (6:9-9:29), and the sin of the prideful city in the story of Tower of Babel( 10:32-11:9) . All
these stories showed the progression of sin and the growing separation of God and humankind. God reached
out to humankind that He might once again be a God in their midst of their hearts.

The eternal plan of God for creation included the fall of man and all creation. There were painful
consequences for sin, the curses were divinely purposes to serve as a part of the cure. In dealing with the sins of
men, God’s glory is revealed. In forgiving the sins of men, the grace of God is manifested. And in the end, the
last state of the believer is far better than the first. God purposed the fall of man for His glory and for our good.

The plan of God is one that turns ruin to redemption and a curse into a blessing. Adam and his wife
failed to trust and obey God. They made a tragic mistake which brought sin and condemnation on themselves
and their descendants. No one has ever made a more tragic mess of their lives.

The tragic failure of man is part of God’s plan, as well as its painful and consequences. But it also
included a cure, a cure which provide a better paradise than that which was lost due to sin. Adam and Eve’s life
seemed to be ruined by their sin, but God promised a cure and a better paradise waits them.

Sin has its own consequences. Divine punishment is actually the consequences of sin, which is a
violation of one’s person in relation to God and others. God is always ready to serve, to offer renewal and
reconciliation.

THE CHURCH SAYS...

The Bible teaches that sin and evil come not from God, who created everything good, but from the
willful disobedience of man who abused his God-given freedom at the dawn of history. (CFC 400)

The Consequences of Sin, insofar as it is an act of separation from God, is alienation, that is separation
of a person not only from God but also from self, from other people, and from the world around. (CSDC 116)

The Genesis narrative of: “The Fall” is the inspired Scriptural response to this fundamental human
question of every age. Not God, but he original man and women, are the source of moral evil. And not just
“everyman” like the medieval plays, but the first members, the origin, of our human race. This alone can
explain the universality of evil in our race, and the moral evil which we experience in our world today. Yet, the
final biblical word is not that “human beings are evil” but that “GOD IS SAVIOR”. (CFC 373-374)

The CFC teaches the following points:

1. The root of sin is pride and disobedience
2. The Genesis story should not be read as strictly historical account. God uses the story to reflect on
the situation of sin in His own times.
3. God is not the source of evil, but it was the result of the sinful use of their freedom.
Do activity 2 and 3 on page 3

Activity 1.

A. If you were the son, what will you do to the huge amount of money you received from your father? What three
possible things.

Activity 2. Answer the following questions.

1. Explain how three moments of temptation, sin and judgement, are dramatized in the story of the fall of Man in
Genesis.

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 Temptation

Sin

Judgement

2. What are the effects of the fall on Adam and Eve’s descendants, including us?

BEFORE THE FALL AFTER THE FALL

1. 1.

2 2

3 3

4 4

5 5