One detail in the Genesis story that many people miss is this: Sin did not enter the world the moment Eve ate the fruit.

It entered when Adam did.

By the time the serpent appeared in the garden, sin was already present in creation - in Satan himself, who had rebelled against God and was now deceiving humanity. But it had not yet entered the human race or corrupted the world under Adam’s authority.

When the serpent spoke to Eve, she was deceived. She actually believed what the serpent was telling her. We can even see confusion about God’s command in the way she repeats it: “God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3:3)

But God never said anything about touching the tree. The original command was simply not to eat it: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.” (Genesis 2:17)

That command had been given directly to Adam before Eve was even created, so Eve most likely received the instruction second-hand from Adam. Scripture also makes something very important clear about the difference between the two of them: Eve believed the serpent’s lie. But “Adam was not deceived...” (1 Timothy 2:14)

Paul was not giving Adam a pat on the back for not being deceived. He knew exactly what God had said. Yet when Eve handed him the fruit, he ate anyway, meaning he was intentionally rebelling against God, which is far worse.

The Bible never says sin entered the world through Eve. It says: “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin.”(Romans 5:12) Adam had been given authority and dominion over the earth. When he knowingly rebelled against God’s command, sin and death entered the human race and the world under his authority.

This is why the Bible calls Jesus the “last Adam.” The first Adam brought sin and death into the world. The last Adam came to defeat them.

From Traci Coston