Please explain Genesis 2:17 and 3:4. Is the word “death” physical, or both physical and spiritual death? Why do all human beings die physically? Is it because when they ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden? (2024)

In Genesis 2:16-17 God commanded Adam, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for IN THE DAY YOU EAT OF IT you shall surely die.” I am quite sure that Adam immediately thought of “physical death,” for he would not have known anything about spiritual death. Now let’s read 3:4, “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die.” Again, I’m sure the woman thought the serpent (the Devil; see 2^nd Corinthians 11:3 with Revelation 20:2) was speaking of “physical death,” for there had been no revelation from God about “spiritual death.” Yet as we read on in Genesis 3, we see that Adam and Eve did NOT die physically on the very day they ate of the forbidden fruit. God had told Adam “…in THE DAY you eat of it you shall surely die.” This implies that they did “die spiritually” the moment they ate of the tree. Spiritual death is spoken of in Ephesians 2:1 where the apostle Paul reminded the saints at Ephesus that they were once “DEAD in trespasses and sins.” The word “death” means “separation” and “spiritual death” is the “separation of the spirit from God.” Adam and Eve’s spirit was immediately separated from God, which means they lost all desire to have fellowship with God. This led them to hide from God as we read in Genesis 3:8, “And 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. Before they sinned, they must have enjoyed walking and talking to God in the garden, but sin had now separated their spirit from Him and communion with God was completely broken. Sadly, their state of spiritual death passed on to all men, for all that are born into this world are “spiritually dead” and need to be “born again” (see Psalm 51:5 with John 3:1-8).

Now you may be thinking, “But Adam and Eve did eventually “die physically.” Yes, they did. If we read on in Genesis 3:17-19 we see that God told Adam, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth, for you, and you shall eat the herb of the filed. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till YOU RETURN TO THE GROUND, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and TO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN.” What we learn from these words is that “physical death” is also the result of Adam’s sin. Yet this “physical death sentence” was PROGRESSIVE in contrast to the “spiritual death” that was IMMEDIATE.

We saw that “spiritual death was passed on to all men” and now we shall see that “physical death was also passed on to all men.” We read of this in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and DEATH BY SIN; and so DEATH PASSED UPON ALL MEN, for that all have sinned.” I believe this teaches us that Adam’s sin brought death to all who would be born into this world. Scripture teaches us here and in other passages that Adam was the Federal Head of the human race and when he sinned, he acted for all those who were under him; in other words, for all the human race that would follow. This is confirmed in 1^st Corinthians 15:21-22, “For since BY MAN CAME DEATH, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as IN ADAM ALL DIE, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” The answer then to your last two questions is: All human beings die physically because of Adam’s sin of eating of the forbidden fruit. This answers the question, “Why do babies die when they have never sinned?” They die too because “death passed upon all,” including infants. When Adam sinned, “all sinned in him.”

You may be thinking, “This isn’t fair!” But to show that God is fair, His love designed a way to rescue all men from “spiritual death” (read again John 3:1-6 with 14-16) and to deliver them from “physical death” too through “resurrection from the dead.” Through His Son’s death on the cross, men can gain eternal life and immortality. We saw the truth of “resurrection of the dead” through Christ in 1^st Corinthians 15:21-22, and if your read on in Romans 5:14-21 you will see that through Christ one can receive eternal life. This means that just as Adam’s one act of disobedience brought DEATH to all men, Christ’s one act of “obedience unto death” (Philippians 2:5-8) brings LIFE to all who will believe on Him. (DO) (585.1)