by Bud Paine

The ability for Man, used as a co-existent term here so as to apply to both male and female, to have the ability to make a choice, was first tested in the Garden of Eden with the deceiving of Eve which subsequently caused the Fall of Man.  

Naturally, it is impossible to say what is the absolute reason God gave man the gift of choice, and it truly is a gift for it allows us the ability to choose Christ as our Lord and Savior! But, by study we can come up with some basic ideas. God, having created Man in His likeness, would most likely want a being with which to fellowship. For that very reason they would have to have the ability to think and perform above the other classes of “beasts of the field”.  

¹⁹Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. (Gen. 2:19-20) 

God’s commandment to not eat fruit from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” was very specific and could not be misconstrued in any way. 

¹⁵Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:15-17)

They would experience the first sin of Mankind by directly countermanding this edict when Eve was tempted by the serpent and succumbed to his wiles. At this point sin is first introduced into the being and with it the concept of guilt, which was an instantaneous concurrence of their transgression of God’s command, followed by shame.

⁶So 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. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. ⁸And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden 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. (Gen. 2: 6-8)

God tested the obedience of Man by forbidding them the tree of knowledge. Satan, in that very way of which Satan is known for, his wiliness and cunning, undertook to seduce them into a sin, a transgression; and here we find how he prevailed. In this same instance we also see where God is permitting it for His own astute and divine outcome.

Here we also see that a choice had to be made when the seduction was complete.  The choice was to do this act on her free choice, and subsequently, their free choice of will. To either continue to obey their Creator or succumb to the wiles of Satan and with that act of sin man now had the ability to see themselves from a worldly point of view. They could now finally comprehend things from a true “human” view. They could feel shame, regret, remorse and a thousand emotions at once.

It is quite obvious that Man already had the sense of reason and logic or the command by God could not have been understood, let alone a choice made of the deception. 

¹¹And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” ¹²Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen. 3:11-13)

The subsequent story is known to all but one must remember that in creating a being to have fellowship with, God also had to give that being the ability to reason for itself, to think for itself and to speak for itself. Otherwise it would be but another “beast of the field”, an automaton with no feelings, thoughts or reason.

God wanted a being that would worship Him as He was, their Creator. It is also obvious that God didn’t want to just have them worship Him because it was already instilled in them but to worship Him as their Creator because they chose to. We also know that God wanted active participation with Man for He would come looking for them.

 ⁸And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… (Gen. 3:8a)

With this transgression another vital lesson was about to be doled out and learned….consequences for their actions. Punishment that is swift and decisive. Now they were to face the world, away from the safety of the Garden and God’s continual protection. Yet, despite their grievous act God still clothed them and guided them with instructions of how to live.

²²Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. (Gen. 3:22-23)

At this point God also made a “choice” and that is to continue to allow their existence. It would have taken nothing for God to just make them vanish away as a mere mist. But He would now show that trait with which we give thanks for…His mercy and grace.

⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2: 4-7)

¹¹For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”[Isa.28:16] ¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. ¹³For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Rom. 10:11-13)

They were banned to a life of toil, worse than the “beasts of the field”, for God continued to provide all for the “beasts”.

³⁰“Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. (Gen. 1:30)

But Man was responsible for part of his own survival, and his choices. But now they had another choice. To continue to worship God after their own fashion at this point or to never speak of Him again and it is obvious they chose the first for God continued in their lives, by their choice.

He continued on in the immediate coming events surrounding Cain and Abel, the next part in their lives. He has continued on in our lives ever since the Fall, but now we must choose Him. Choose to follow Him and His edicts, or there will once again be consequences…and punishment that is swift and decisive.

Parents have children, some of them turn out well, others bad; it is their choice. Agreed, there is a great deal of influence that plays part in that decision. Yet people continue having children knowing this risk factor. So did our Father.

Luke, in his account in the book of Acts gives us this explanation:

²⁶"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, ²⁷"so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (Acts 17:26-27)

God continues to love us with all that He is. He is our Father, our Creator, and our Protector. With that given us we have an awesome responsibility to spread the word of God’s love and all that He has done for us. To carry this message to the entire world all about His wondrous mercy and grace which he has bestowed on us.

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