Part 3 - The Fall and the Restoration

The Rebellion of Man's Soul

The soul of man is not something that he has, it is who he is. The human soul is the person. It is not a portion or entity of man, it is his being. In the soul are the emotions, consciousness, and will of man. The soul of man communicates with the spiritual and heavenly things through his spirit, and communicates with the earthly things through his body. In the Fall, man became dead on the spiritual side to the things of God and in his unregenerate state is a worldly and fleshly creature, for his soul's primary avenue of sensory perception is his body. Because fallen man's spirit is dead to God, he is prone to demonic deception in spiritual pursuits.

God's design in creation was that man would cleave to God, finding in God all fullness. Thus man was created "poor and needy." This in itself is not a "bad" state, or an imperfect condition. Man was simply created without any possessions and resources of himself, for God's intention was to be all things to man. In cleaving to God, man is in his perfect state. Only in leaving God through rebellion did the poor and needy state of man become an issue.

Self-enrichment, self-fulfillment

In the Fall, Adam and Eve sought to provide for themselves apart from God. They rebelled against God's provision and resources. They sought their provision using their own resources. This was a rebellion of their soul. It was a rejection of God's design for their souls to be complete only in conjunction with Him.

That Adam and Eve looked for provision apart from what God provided, and used their own resources in doing so, is evident in the Genesis account. Genesis 3:6 states, "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." They acted apart from God and took that which He did not provide. They tried to enrich themselves and be sufficient in themselves apart from God.

Bankrupt

In rebelling against God, Adam and Eve became separated from Him. In their separation, their poor and needy state immediately became apparent. Their souls became bankrupt, for they suddenly lost that all-sufficient supply that God was to them. Genesis records, "Then 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" (Gen. 3:7).

The state of fallen man's soul is manifest in one of the seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. Jesus said, "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see" (Rev. 3:17-18).

Fallen man in his empty and bankrupt state tries to measure himself by his possessions and works. Because his heart is centered on himself and not on God, his soul seeks self-worth and self-importance by wealth and accomplishments. This is a delusion in which God reckons the fallen state of man to be "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked."