This sermon is going to reveal what was the first sin our first parents Adam and Eve were guilty of, and the meaning of the forbidden fruit.
Over the decades, both in Judaism and Christianity; much focus and attention have been given to the nature of the main or original sin committed by our first parents.
While some dismisses it as simply disobedience, on the basis that Adam and Eve ate a literal fruit; against the command of God not to do so.
Majority who feels that the eating of a mere fruit could not have angered God to the point of cursing mankind to return to the source he was taken from.
Before finally pursuing them out of the garden; goes on to make certain assumptions about the nature of sin that our first-parents committed.
Sins proposed as the first sin.
The followiing sins have been proposed by Christian scholars and devotees as the first sin committed by Adam and Eve:
- Sexual sin
- Greed and pride.
But in as much as I disagree with the above as the first sin of our first parents.
What was the first sin?
As we are going to witness from this sermon, the first sin committed by our first parents, Adam and Eve was eating of the forbidden fruit.
And as we are going to see from this sermon, eating the forbidden fruit means idolatrty.
That is to say, Adam and Eve denied God, their creator; to worship the serpent, the creature.
1. Sexual Sin
The most popular assumption has been that it was ‘sexual abuse; and this assumption was built on the 4 facts below
- That the serpent which deceived them was seen as a sex symbol. Now the serpent was so cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made – Genesis 3:1
- That the ‘middle of the garden’ connotes the middle of the human body where their sexual organs are located. “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “you shall not eat it – Genesis 3:3.
- That it is in their sexual organs that they were made conscious of their sins. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked – Genesis 3:7
- That the pains in childbirth depicts that the sexual order is where the punishment is decreed for the woman. To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; – Genesis 3:16.
Why sexual intercourse was not the first sin.
But in order to prove that it was not sexual abuse that caused the fall of man; the above assumptions have been dismissed with the following reasons, that:
- God had already predestined the sexual act for procreation; since there is no way human beings can be fruitful and multiply without copulation. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it – Genesis 1:28.
- Since Eve was the first to eat the fruit before she gave it to Adam; there is no way she would have climbed on herself to perform the sexual act which she later taught Adam as proposed. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6
- In contemporary literature, there is nowhere that the ‘eating of fruit’ has been ascribed to sexual activities rather the term ‘knowing’ has been used, for instance. Then Adam knew his wife – Genesis 4:1.
2. Greed And Pride
The second most popular assumption is the sin of greed and pride.
And the reason given is that, it was this same sin that made Lucifer, the disguised serpent; to also fall from His God-given position. Ezekiel 28:2-5, Isaiah 14:12-14.
Why greed and pride is not the first sin.
But this assumption is incorrect when linked up to the deceit incorporated by the serpent.
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
(Genesis 3:5)
Because since they wanted their eyes to be opened so they could be like God, knowing good and evil; Adam and Eve would only gain the knowledge of what is greed and pride once they finish eating the fruit.
Thus, if you take a close study of the two passages before last; you will understand that Lucifer was already self-conscious; unlike our first-parents who were naked and unashamed:
And they were both naked, the man and his wife and was not ashamed. (Genesis 2:25)
That was why he could use his wisdom and understanding to make riches that made him proud.
But let’s not also forget that riches are not the only cause of pride because beauty; a new appointment or position of authority etc. can also make somebody proud.
And if we study the case of Adam and Eve, we might be tempted to conclude that the position that God placed them; that is to dominate other creatures must have given rise to the pride that caused them to fall.
However, we would immediately dismiss that fact, on remembering the last text above which shows us that Adam and Eve were like little children who play around naked and are not ashamed, since they are unconscious of whatever surrounding they dwell in.
And Jesus further revealed to us that little children are always humble and so can never be found with pride.
Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
(Mathew 18:4)
(You can observe your little ones who play around naked and the ones who knows how to dress; and see which ones know what pride is.)
Therefore, Adam and Eve might have become greedy and proud after their fall; but before then there is no way pride would have been found in them.
All they knew was that God, their Father; had put everything in place for them and whatever they need they just have to reach out and grab it.
All on the condition that they stay subjected to the ruler ship of their creator.
A simple illustration of this fact can be seen in a parent and child relationship.
The parent and child relationship.
From birth the child has to depend on the parent for everything: food, clothes, where to live etc. in other words, the child does not have to work in order to earn a living neither must he fend for himself since his sole dependency is on his parents.
But someday this same child must also become a parent.
And once this happens, the child, who is now a parent, will move out of his own parent’s house; since he is not to depend on them anymore.
He is now responsible for whosoever is his own child; and must provide for his child same as his parent provided for him.
This is exactly what transpired between God and our first parents.
Initially it wasn’t supposed to be that way, if only Adam and Eve would have obeyed Him and continue to remain naked and not ashamed.
But because they tasted of the fruit, their eyes opened; and they became like God they wanted to be (i.e. they were set to play the parental role)
On discovering this, God had no option than to pursue them from His home (the Garden of Eden).
(Genesis 3:22-23).
Once out of the garden, the parental responsibility of God was shifted to them, i.e; God will henceforth cease to provide for man and his offspring; rather it is the man that grows to maturity who will play that Godly role.
That is why we see the family setting today (the parents and children relationship) which first began with our first parents:
Now Adam knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
(Genesis4:1-2).
From the above passage we can see Cain and Abel who were now matured beginning to learn the art of making ends meet.
In that case, let us go back to study this passage closely
(“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:5)
Human independency
After studying that passage closely as we proposed; common sense should help us to understand that ‘Adam and Eve’s eyes to be opened so they could be like God knowing good and evil’ denotes that they wanted to relieve themselves of being subjected to God’s creatorship, ruler ship and leadership.
In other words they were seeking for their independence.
(As you ponder on this fact, remember Nigeria, being colonized by Britain since 1900; finally had the independence they were seeking for in 1960.)
Now let us take our minds back to the creation story in order to better grasp this point.
The creation story.
After God created everything and saw that it was good; he went ahead to create man whom He put in charge of all the things He created as we can witness in Genesis 1:27-30.
Now the above passage helps us to understand that God had already made human beings like Himself. Which means that, all the qualities that He (God) possessed had been deposited in human beings.
That was why He blessed them and told them to have as many descendants as possible; who will become kings and queens, presidents, senators, governors etc.
But we must note that what they were supposed to rule over was the fish, birds and wild animals; and not a fellow human beings as we can witness today.
And in order to keep these setting He (God) provided them with all they needed to eat in order for them to avoid hunger which will push them into trying to become independent and fend for themselves.
But as man rules other creatures, he himself was to be ruled only by his creator, God.
In other words God alone was supposed to lead human beings; to be their king, president, senator, governor, etc.
But unlike God, who could differentiate between good and evi; man was supposed to do this in his state of innocence – naked and not ashamed – knowing only what is good as Jesus revealed to us:
‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
(Mathew 18:3)
Did Adam and Eve lack intellect in their state of innocence?
At this point, I would like us to note very well that Adam and Eve being naked and unashamed does not mean that our first-parents were stupid or lacked intellect.
Fore if they had none, Adam would not have been able of give names to the creatures God brought to him. And even gave the name, woman, to Eve after knowing she was made from his extracted rib.
Therefore being naked and unashamed shows their state of innocence that is they were unable to distinguish what was good and evil; being created as the little babies who must learn how to crawl, walk and talk.
And all the while unconscious of what is called good and evil.
So what was supposed to happen was that; the Creator will gradually tutor mankind on only the right things to do and ways to live as they gradually grow up un till they reach the age of maturity.
After learning from God all that is good and totally unaware of what is bad; they will then take up the responsibility of ruling other creatures; while they themselves will continue to be ruled by their Creator.
This knowledge can be found in Hebrews 8:10-11
Another illustration can be drawn from God giving instructions to the Israelites through Moses; while leading them through the wilderness in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Exodus 13:21https://biblehub.com/exodus/13-21.htm
And because our fore parents did not live up to this expectation; God commented through the mouth of His prophet Isaiah:
Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go. Oh, that you had heeded my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
(Isaiah 48:17-18)
The Serpents temptation
As the sad story continues, the serpent became jealous of human beings; mostly because it was subjected to his rule. And went ahead to plot on the ways he will deceive them into seeking for his freedom to rule without the help, lead and control of His creator.
This instance has been repeating itself in the human generation almost every time.
An example can be seen in Exodus 32 where the children of Israel rejected God’s representative, Moses, as their leader; and asked Aaron to make for them gods who will lead them.
Also in 1 Samuel 8 when the Israelites again rejected God’s representative, Samuel; as their leader and sought to have a king, as they saw in other countries.
And God granted their wish by giving them a king named Saul, whom He rejected afterwards.
That was why it so happened that immediately Adam and Eve tasted the fruit and found out that they were naked; that is they had disobeyed God, they began to provide for themselves by sowing fig leaves to cover their nakedness.
But since it is God’s will and wish for His creatures that must stand; God had to strip them of the fig leaves and used animal skin to cover their nakedness.
Proving that He is still the one that must rule and provide for the human beings He created.
Idolatry as the original sin committed by Adam and Eve
Therefore from this knowledge acquired so far; we can go on to understand that when one seeks independency from His creator.
What will happen is that: He must first of all deny that he has a creator, even though he knows he did not create himself. And this will push him into relying on his own human strength and power which may be found in acquiring leadership positions, storing up riches etc. or seek for other gods to depend on.
That is why we find many people engaging in self-worship – selfism -or worship of deities – idolatry; while so many belong to secret societies in order to seek for false providence and security.
Now let us outline the story of the fall and use the knowledge we have acquired so far and try to discover what nature of sin(s) our first-parents committed as we can see in Genesis 3:1-7.
Symbolism of the story of the fall of man.
The serpent symbolizes Satan, the entity that misleads the human race.
He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. – Revelation 20:2.
The fruit symbolizes the figure of the sin committed, hence idolatry.
While the tree symbolizes an idol, which was first carved from the wood of a tree in antiquity.
For the customs of the people are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of a workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good.” (Jeremiah 10:3-5)
From Isaiah 44:13-21 we can understand the craftsman to be (the serpent who was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.).
He cuts wood from (the tree which is in the midst of the garden).
And carves it into a figure made to look like man (the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden).
He gives it to our first-parents who did not know nor understand. (And they were both naked, the man and his wife and was not ashamed.)
To worship (she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.).
And this revelation takes us to the next scripture where we can clearly see the main sin of our first parents, which continues to be inherited by their descendants as we can see in Romans 1:18-31.
Analogy of Romans 1:18-31
Now let me further analyze the above passage so that we can have a vivid understanding of this mystery.
Our first parents, who originally could not distinguish between good and evil, (being both naked and unashamed) only had the knowledge of God.
That is to say, they knew they were created by God; having woken up to life to see Him as their Father, guardian and provider, and this in essence was the truth they held – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Plus they also had the witness that it was God Who created everything, and even brought it to them to give names – For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.
But even though they had this insight, they refused to worship God as their creator and also appreciate all He freely gave to them – Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful.
As the devil told them, they wanted to become like God – Professing to become wise.
They ended up naked – They became fools.
After submitting to worship the devils image (forbidden fruit) – And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.
Which was later developed by their descendants into images that resembled animals which they were supposed to dominate and rule over – and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things.
And from this particular sin other sins originated – Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness.
Like Sexual abuse – in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.
Philosophy – Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie.
Occultism and Satan worship – And worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.
Lesbianism – For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Homosexuality – Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalties of their error which was due.
And because after realizing their fault, Adam and Eve, would not own up to their sin, turn to God and beg for His forgiveness rather they tried to run away from His presences.
(And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the cool of the day, and Adam and his Wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8)
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.
Every other sin that abounds on earth originated – God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness (greed), maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud (pride), boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;.
And as we can see from the above analogy, sexual abuse, greed and pride, proposed earlier by many as the main sin of our first-parents originated as the result of Adam and Eve first denying God to worship idol.
The true meaning of idolatry.
Gathering all the facts and discoveries the Spirit has given us above, we can finally come to the understanding that the devil technically deceived our first-parents, Adam and Eve, into denying the existence of their creator, God, and in that very instance misled them into idol worship.
In other words we can say that idolatry means denying the existence of God. Job clearly reveals this to us:
If I have observed the sun when it shines, or the moon moving in brightness, so that my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand; this also would be an iniquity worthy of judgment, for I would have denied God who is above. (Job 31:26-28).
That is why the first two commandments that God gave to Moses centered on this fact.
1. You shall have no other Gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
And as the passage above further helps us to understand, it is from this sin that every other sin originated.
And that was after they were thrown out of the garden to till the soil where every other tree that grew those evil fruits were available.
We must note this point very well so that we might not be confused on the fact that it was only one tree in the garden that bared the bad fruit, and start to wonder where they had the other fruits that grew evil seed.
Secondly, so that we can come to the understanding that every other tree in the garden, that God commanded Adam and Eve to eat, bared the good fruits we see in the next scripture:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
In case you are wondering what was the tree of life that made God pursue Adam and Eve out of the garden, please refer to my sermon on the same topic: TREE OF LIFE.
And ever since the fall of man, from generation to generation, the descendants of Adam and Eve have continued in the same sin they inherited from their first parents.
So many people do not have and does not even want to have the knowledge of God, so they deny His existence even though they know they are not the ones that created themselves and as the scripture shows us man cannot even control his live.
O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)
A man’s steps are of the LORD; how then can a man understand his own way. (Proverbs 20:24)
But then human beings deny God every day and everywhere by thinking they can achieve it in life on their own.
An example of how human beings deny God.
They claim they have a positive nature, “if only I can set my mind into it then I can achieve it, they say, “power of positive thinking is the key to success” they acclaim, “I will make it against all odds” they retort, “rise up and claim your destiny” they preach.
So many seminars and sermons on how one could achieve whatever goals he has in life abound, even in our so called house of God.
That is why after facing difficulties and some can’t achieve it the devil misleads them into entering secret societies and making blood sacrifices for wealth.
And others who try and achieve it easily ends up thinking their wealth and riches will save them when disaster strikes, but when it does they return to dust quickly as naked as they came.
But if only this people were taught that the only way they can achieve anything in life is by totally depending on their Creator, obeying his commandments and submitting to His will, they won’t be suffering the consequences of the sins of their first parents as they continue to do today.
When the son of God came down to earth, the same old serpent tried the same old trick that he used to deceive our first parents on Him. But because He had the knowledge He has revealed in this sermon to us, He was able to overcome him.
Now let us review the temptations of Jesus and see how it links with that of our first parents.
How temptations of Jesus relates to that of Adam and Eve.
In the first temptation, the devil wanted our Lord and Savior to deny God; by first offering Him food (bread) as he also offered food (fruit) to our first parents; so that He might act against God’s word found in Deuteronomy 8:13.
(“So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.)
But Jesus immediately quoted what God said in the above passage for him.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread. But He answered and said, “it is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Mathew 4:3-4)
When you observe this first temptation closely; you will discover that this was the same thing that transpired between the devil and Eve. I.e. he wanted her to also go against God’s commandment that they should not eat of the forbidden fruit.
(“Has God indeed said, ‘you shall not eat of the tree of the garden’?”)
But because Eve knew where that portion she quoted it to overcome him.
(and the woman said to the serpent, “we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”).
And on realizing that Jesus had overcome him, on the first trial as our mother Eve did; he incorporated the second step he took with Eve; inverting, misquoting or misdirecting God’s word – trying to show her the false reason why God said they should not eat the fruit.
With Eve he said
(“you will not surely die. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”)
And with Jesus he misquoted Psalm 91:11-12:
(For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone. )
At this point had it been Eve remembered this passage: Genesis 1:26-27 )
(So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”)
She would have quoted it to show the devil that God had already created them in His own image and likeness. And most importantly, gave them the power to dominate him in his shape shifted form; that s the serpent.
But because she didn’t have this knowledge she succumbed and ate of the fruit.
Jesus who quickly remembered that God had already made human beings in His own image; and thus made them to understand that jumping from just a high cliff will end them up dead on reaching the ground. And further knowing that anyone who does such a thing will mean putting God to the test; quoted where that commandment was found in Deuteronomy 6:16
(“You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah.)
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’ and, ‘in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, “it is written, you shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”(Mathew 4:5-7)
N/B: God did not tell people He will send angels to guard them if they know what they should not do. That is something that is in their power to control, but still go ahead to do it.
In this case, the purpose of angels were to save human beings from dangers they cannot foresee or control. And not the ones they can prevent like jumping from the pinnacle of the temple; knowing that one must surely die before he even hits the ground.
Now when you review what happened to the Israelites at Massah as recorded in Exodus 17:1-7. You will discover that the Israelites had just arrived at Rephidim where they made camp; and knowing that God has been providing water for them anywhere they made camp, and will also do so in this their new camp; began to complain of thirst and forced God to ask Moses to strike the rock and bring forth water for them.
When you go to Numbers 20:1-13, you will discover that this same incidence occurred when they camped in Kadesh, but this time around God only asked Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock but in anger Moses struck the rock thrice and water gushed forth, but he and Aaron was to pay for this with their lives because they acted against God’s command.
And in Numbers 21:4-9, you will discover where these complain landed the Israelites; as God sent fiery snakes to bite and kill them.
After seeing that his tricks did not work on Jesus at this point, as it did with Eve; because Jesus knew the fact He just taught us above. The devil came out openly triying to entice Him with the good things of life, promising to give them all to Him if only He bows down and worship him.
But Jesus who knew that all that God wants from human beings is to worship and serve Him alone; as He commanded in Deuteronomy 6: 13
(“you shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.).
Finally showed him He had made up His mind not to worship him by quoting that scripture to him:
Again, the devil took him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “all these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to Him, “away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Mathew 4:8-11).
And as you can see from the above text, the devil immediately departed from Jesus when he realized that this second Adam knows the scriptures and has also decided to practice every word from it.
How Jesus teaches us to overcome the devil.
And after Jesus was able to overcome him, He gave us a very important teaching that will help us to overcome the devil; whenever he tries to play this same old trick on us.
In that teaching, He made an example with the birds of the air and flowers of the field; which God continues to provide for, even though they were not made in His image and likeness.
You can see this teaching in Mathew 6: 25-34
Jesus uses the Gentiles, who are idol worshippers; to set an example for us here that the reason they worship idols is because they worry their selves over the things of life.
Thus, if all of us could abide by this teaching of Christ; we will all be able to overcome the devil and his same old tricks.
Permit me to testify about my very life because; I am not and will never be idle since the scripture above helps me to understand that a man must work and it is only the birds of the air and lilies of the fields that are not supposed to work.
So I acknowledge that I have a Creator Whose Name is God; and I resolve to obey all His commands and never to worship any other god beside Him.
I prayed and hope to him and He gave me the wisdom to establish my businesses. And every day I do not worry myself about customers coming and going in quantum; I do not scheme on how I can expand my business beyond what my God wants it to be.
Thus, when I wake up every morning, all I do is appreciate Him for how the last day went, good or bad. And thank him for the security He gave to me, and every other human beings; which enabled us sleep the previous night and wake up to the present day.
I analyze any mistakes I made so far and plead for His forgiveness. I also make intercessory prayers for my fellow human beings to come to the knowledge of the truth so that we could all be able to overcome our ancient enemy; the serpent, even Satan.
Then I conclude My prayers by submitting everything into the hands of My Creator asking Him to let His will be done in My life today and forevermore. Amen.
At this point, I know you would be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that; denying God to worship idol was the main sin committed by our first parents.
Idol worship as the origin of every sin in the world.
But permit me to lead you farther away from that conviction; and uncover to you that denying God to worship idol refers to every manner or occasions of sin present in the whole wide world.
Because whenever anybody commits any particular sin the devil receives the credit and at such that person has indeed worshipped him.
Let us go back to the garden and allegorically confirm this reality.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. –
As we already know, the serpent symbolizes the devil also known as the tempter.
“We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; – the fruits God told them to eat here are the spiritual fruits: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The trees symbolize righteousness, holiness etc. the garden is the earth: abode of mankind.
“But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, – This particular fruit symbolizes all manner or occasions of sin present in the world. The tree here i.e. in the midst of the garden symbolizes sin, evil, uncleanness etc.
God has said, ‘you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” – For the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23).
Thus whenever the devil tempts any human being, to commit any manner or occasion of sin; it means he has offered that person the forbidden fruit as he did to our first parents.
And when the human being ends up committing that sin it symbolizes the fall of our first parents.
In other words the forbidden fruit generally portrays every manner of sin: sexual abuse, greed, pride, etc. etc.
That is why the scripture below shows us that human beings deny God in every sinful action:
They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work. (Titus 1:16)
Why forbidden fruit can be used to explain every manner of sin.
That is why it is possible to use the forbidden fruit ate by our first parents; to allegorically explain any manner of sin.
For example, in fornication, it can be explained that; Eve allowed the serpent to make love to her and afterwards gave her privacy to Adam.
In pride it can be explained that; Adam and Eve wanted to show God that they too can be like Him.
For greed it can be explained that; they wanted to forcefully take what God did not want to give to them.
And in stealing it can be explained that; the serpent deceived them to steal from their creator who had earlier warned them not to touch it.
And so on and so forth.
So whenever you commit any kind of sin, keep it in mind that you have eaten of the forbidden fruit offered to you by the devil and like our first parents you have denied God and worshipped the devil and as such have fallen from the grace of God.
But thank God now because we have someone who pleads on our behalf whenever we fall as the scripture shows us:
My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
(1 John 2:1-2).
Please take note that the kind of sin Jesus can beg God to forgive us is the one we commit unknowingly and unintentionally, not the one we do on purpose.
For instance if you were about to take what rightfully belongs to another person in his absence. And your heart immediately reminds you that God has said, “thou shall not steal”; but you ignore your conscience and go on doing it, hoping to afterwards ask Jesus to beg the Father to forgive you.
The scripture shows us that we can never receive pardon for such sin; rather it is the wrath of God’s anger that will befall us.
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery imagination which will devour the adversaries. (Hebrews 10:26-27).
Conclusion
Beloved, what God wants us to do is to take our minds away from trying to find out what the main sin of our first parents were.
But rather to learn from their example and know what all befall us anytime we submit to the urge committing any type of sin.
Because the way our first parents were cursed and evicted from the garden is the same way those who disobey God and commit any kind of sin are cursed and evicted from His presence and grace; and thus comes short of ever glory they received from Him from birth.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:24)
So always remember after God created Adam and Eve He intended for them to live in glory by providing everything they needed in the garden, but when they denied Him through their sinful action, they were thrown out of the garden.
And so we can all finally agree and conclude that, whatever kind of sin people suggest is the first sin of our first parents; so long as that person uses it to draw people away from committing such manner of sin and in essence deny God to worship the devil.
