Oneness and The Fall

So far we have seen that oneness is part of the nature of God, was sown into the fabric of creation, and was in reality the very purpose for creation. But the fall of man turned the idyllic oneness of the garden upside down. In fact the loss of oneness is the most visible and immediate casualty of the sin of Adam and Eve.

Clearly God’s vision for creation was for man to be one with God and with others. Man is made “in our image” which, as we have already shared, is an image of God’s oneness. And when you look into the future when Jesus prays on the eve of his death oneness is still God’s vision for mankind.

"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:20-21)

Oneness was the plan from the beginning…and from Satan’s viewpoint oneness was and is, therefore, the target. All of the serpent’s attacks are relational in nature. He does not talk of how beautiful and appealing the fruit is but implies that God is unfair and selfish.

But the snake said to the woman, "You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil and you will be like God!" (Genesis 3:4-5)

In effect Eve is told that God is depriving you of the very thing that makes him so special. The serpent calls into question God’s love and his character and therefore the foundation of their relationship with God. Eve, now thoroughly tempted eats of the fruit and gives some to her husband. Temptation is spreading and the conduit is relational—Eve wants to be like God so she disobeys, Adam wants to please Eve and he disobeys.

The result is instantaneously catastrophic on the oneness of the Garden.

Then, it was as if their eyes were opened. They realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves. (Genesis 3:7)

The innocence and intimacy they knew were shattered. Suddenly, walls went up between them and things like trust, confidence, and freedom went out the door. They would never be the same again

And then the sound of foot falls in the Garden replaces the peace they had always known with terror…God is walking in the garden! Like teenagers in trouble they scramble for cover while clumsily attempting to hide their nudity from the other.

Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden during the cool part of the day, and the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said, "Where are you?" The man answered, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid." (Genesis 3:8-10)

The first really sad words ever uttered in the world were said by God, “God called to the man… ‘Where are you?’” I am sure God could have given us Adam’s GPS coordinates. God’s question came not from a confused mind but a broken heart: Adam, where are you...we were so close…we were one…where are you? And thus a painful Christian bumper sticker was born…If God seems far away, guess who moved?

It would be impossible to overstate the loss Adam and Eve must have felt. That beautiful triangle of oneness that existed between God, Adam, and Eve is gone forever. Blissful memories of life in the Garden almost certainly amplified the biting pain now gripping their hearts. And to further illustrate their brokenness, Adam blames Eve and God and Eve blames the snake. Long gone are sentiments like, “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” Adam and Eve…tattered and pathetic, like the makeshift clothing they wear.

Sin is anti-oneness. Whatever brings us together sin tears apart. Whatever creates a bond between us, God and others, sin counters and compromises. God’s plan is oneness. Satan’s plan is the destruction of oneness. And so the eternal conflict of the universe is being waged on the battlefield of oneness. Thankfully, God’s plan cannot lose. Next time we will see that even God’s punishment is bringing about a new, albeit lesser, oneness between God, Adam, and Eve.