From Adam to Christ

Before our rebellion, it appears we were spiritually ²neutral, i.e., as image bearers we had the capacity to fellowship with God and did, unlike any other creatures i.e. to willfully receive and return love. But we weren't ²inclined toward or away from God. 

But we were also finite and had no way of verifying with absolute certainty who was or wasn't truthful and trustworthy, God or the serpent. 

Ultimately, it came down to trust. Our ¹trust in God hadn't yet been tested. This is why there were 2 special trees in Eden. (And not just anywhere in the garden but at its center.). We were also given two contradictory claims or promises and had to choose between them, which one we believed. In God's original instructions, "do not eat..." it is clear God wanted them to choose. 

When humanity's trust was tested, we chose (and continue to choose) to trust ourselves and not God. We believed we could - and can - decide what was best for us without God, by knowing ²good and evil and not looking to or depending on Him for this. 

Ever since our rebellion, we are naturally inclined towards distrust of others, both God and other image bearers. We (and society) are now broken, fragmented, and continue to come "unglued" as we seek to find life and make it work without God. 

Without God's help, all our actions are rooted in self-trust and distrust in Him. 

The solution... the second Adam compared to the first. 

The Spirit led Christ into the wilderness after His baptism (where the Father said He was well pleased in His Son), and thus Christ's formal ministry began. 

Christ's trust in the Father was tested 3 times in the wilderness; Adam's only once. Unlike Adam, Christ passed each time. Christ's trust was also tested throughout his incarnation, particularly in Gethsemane right before his betrayal and crucifixion when he said "...let this cup pass from me...not my will but yours..." and on the cross "...My God, why have you forsaken me?" 

Being placed into Christ vs remaining in Adam. 

Christ's passing of these tests of trust was for us, not him. His passing them can now be assigned to us as if we passed them when we didn't and haven't. 

But we are asked to trust one more time and must accept this offer. It is not forced on us. Yes, we can refuse to trust, but we are left to bear the consequences of our rebellious distrust (as Adam was) and the harm it causes ³God, others, and ourselves. 

For a further discussion on the initial rebellion of man - i.e. "the fall" - click here. 

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Footnotes:

¹As finite beings, we cannot operate without trust. To operate without trust, we must be all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. Only God is infinite and has these attributes, not us. 

During Christ's incarnation, he was not all-knowing. This was part of his emptying himself (the kenosis). He said many times there were things he did not know in his present human form. This is also why Christ operated by faith at that time, like us.

²knowing good and evil was basically knowing right from wrong. Apparently, in their original state and before their rebellion, they needed to confide in God when presented with a choice between right and wrong. The serpent suggested we could be "free" from this seeming shackle if we ate from the forbidden tree. We made our choice without confiding in God and are now reaping the consequences. 

³we can not harm God personally. God needs no one outside of Himself and nothing from us. But we can bring dishonor to Him, hindering others from seeing Him as He truly is, resulting in their harm.