Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden initially had no sin, but from the beginning they always had the propensity to sin and the capability for sinning. They were not created as perfect beings, because doing so would have made them a god. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden had the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, but in the Garden of Eden the spirit of Satan roamed about seeking the opportunity to tempt them. The spirit of Satan was not indwelling in Adam and Eve because the human nature can be indwelt by only one spirit at a time, either the Holy Spirit of God or the spirit of Satan. We know that Adam and Eve were indwelt with the Holy Spirit because they communed with God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Satan's spirit - Satan had been thrown out of Heaven to the earth by God because Satan rebelled against God. Satan's spirit roamed in the Garden in the form of a serpent. Adam and Eve had a mind, will and emotions with the propensity to believe Satan's lies, follow emotional vices and follow the incorrect decisions made by the free will. They were very naive and inexperienced in dealing with the evil traits of the Devil (Satan). Adam and Eve's logic failed them, as they believed the lies of the serpent that were in direct conflict with the instruction previously given to them by God.

The spirit of Satan in the serpent tempted Eve first. He was an extremely cunning and evil liar. He told her lies that would appeal to her negative emotions. Satan quoted God incorrectly with lies and drew conclusions that were lies.

Genesis 2:16 And 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." 

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, `You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "but of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God has said, `You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 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.

God did not tell Adam and Eve that they shouldn't eat of "every tree." That statement was one of the lies of the serpent. Eve also quoted God incorrectly when she added that they "shall not touch it." Eve's logic failed her. Satan lied to Eve when he said, "You will not surely die." God had said, "for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." It was obvious at this point that the logic of Eve's mind had failed her because she did not separate truth from lies. Eve's emotions failed her because she desired the false promise made by Satan that she "will be like God." She wanted to be like God. Her negative emotional traits of rebellion, arrogance, indifference, self-esteem and self-centeredness were in full force.

Eve ignored the indwelling Holy Spirit. Her free will decided to eat from the forbidden tree and directed her body to do so. She repeated the lies of the serpent to Adam and suggested to Adam that he should also eat from the forbidden tree. He made the same blunders and ate.

Genesis 3:7 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. 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. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where [are] you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 And 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?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave [to] [be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What [is] this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Adam and Eve received a conscience after they ate from the forbidden "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." They realized they were naked and were ashamed. They hid themselves from God because they knew good from evil, and they realized that they had sinned against the Holy God, their Creator.

All mankind has inherited a conscience from Adam and Eve. In a suggestive manner, the conscience teaches us the difference between good and evil from the depths of the mind. However, a person can ignore the conscience and in doing so weakens the power of the conscience to direct him. This weakening is referred to as "searing the conscience." Repeated ignorance of the conscience leaves one with a debased mind, not knowing right from wrong.

God Threw Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden
God Placed a Curse on Them and all Mankind

God would not commune with Adam and Eve after they sinned because God and sinful humans are incompatible. The absolutely Holy God will not accept sinful people in His presence. Therefore, God stripped Adam and Eve of the indwelling Holy Spirit, covered them with animal skins and expelled them from the Garden of Eden. God created a barrier to keep them out of the Garden, and God set a guard and a flaming sword at the gate to prevent their return.

Genesis 3:23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

The indwelling spirit of Satan entered Adam and Eve as they left the Garden of Eden because of the vacuum left by God's removal of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Adam and Eve's propensity to continue sinning outside of the Garden increased because of the presence of the indwelling spirit of Satan and the absence of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Adam still had the external influence of the Holy Spirit, but it was dependent upon the human free will to turn to God and the Holy Spirit for help and guidance.

Adam and Eve's son, Abel, sought to please God and therefore received more assistance from the Holy Spirit, but his brother, Cain, was full of pride and independence from God. Abel's actions pleased God, but Cain's actions were rejected by God. Cain would not repent when God rebuked his actions, so Cain rose up and killed his brother out of jealously.

Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the Lord." 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire [is] for you, but you should rule over it." 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

The escalation of Cain's sin confirms that mankind was in a worse situation outside the Garden of Eden than inside the Garden. This difference is caused by the indwelling of the spirit of Satan and the lack of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

God's Curse on Humanity - God truly and rightly cursed the human race because of Adam and Eve's sin. All mankind continues to struggle and suffer the negative effects of these curses.

Genesis 3:13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What [is] this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, You [are] cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." 16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire [shall] [be] for your husband, And he shall rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "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. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 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."

The modern "liberated" woman fails to recognize she is living under the curse and magnifies the effects rather than mitigating the effects by resisting the temptations imposed by the curse. God meant that the woman would have a sinful desire to control and manipulate her husband when He said, "Your desire shall be for your husband" but "he shall rule over you." The "battle of the sexes" is the curse in action. Older regenerate women should train younger women to be submissive to their husbands, and the older regenerate men should train younger men to love their wives as Christ has loved us.

Ephesians 5:244 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her.

The Nature of the Unregenerate (Lost) Person

The unregenerate (lost) person has the same nature as Adam and Eve after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Adam's body and soul did not change after his sin and expulsion from the Garden, but God stripped Adam of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The spiritual vacuum was immediately filled by the spirit of Satan who is the god of this world. Satan and his evil demons continue to have an external influence on all of mankind as well as an internal presence. This doubles mankind's propensity to cheat, steal and lie.

The deficiencies of the soul (mind, will and emotions) that Adam had upon his original creation still remain in mankind. The mind can fail to distinguish between right and wrong and between good and evil. The logic of the human mind is not error proof like a computer. This failure varies among individuals depending upon their free will to seek the truth. The emotions can vary among individuals either toward the positive traits or toward the negative traits. As an example, a person can be either generous or generous to a fault. A parent can help a child with "tough love" or hinder a child by enabling sinful actions.

The Holy Spirit has an external influence on the unregenerate person only to the extent that the person seeks His help. The Holy Spirit will soften the heart and give correct understanding to the soul only to the extent that He is invited to do so. The Holy Spirit resists the person with pride and a hard heart. God does not zap the unregenerate lost sinner with instant regeneration as falsely claimed by the followers of John Calvin (Calvinists). A person must use his mind, will and emotions to seek the truth, turn to God and believe by faith in order to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. The unregenerate person is not totally depraved as falsely claimed by John Calvin. The word depravity is not in the Bible.

Calvinism - The False Doctrines of the "Pope" of Geneva.

The indwelling spirit of Satan in the unregenerate person is described in the Bible as the "old man." The old man does not include the body and soul of a person. These have remained unchanged in mankind since the creation of Adam. The Biblical definition of the "old man" is the spirit of Satan, not the flesh, body or soul. The indwelling Holy Spirit in the regenerate person is described in the Bible as the "new man." We shall read more about this below.

Many pastors and Bible teachers incorrectly describe the modern unregenerate person as having the "Adamic nature" or "sin nature." Neither of these terms or phrases is in the Bible, and the definition, if given, varies from teacher to teacher. Adam had three different natures during his life, but he only had one nature at a time.

• Adam's nature in the Garden of Eden before he sinned included the indwelling Holy Spirit, and he had fellowship with God.

• Adam's nature in the Garden of Eden after he sinned still included the Holy Spirit, but he could no longer fellowship with God.

• Adam's nature after expulsion from the Garden of Eden included the indwelling spirit of Satan, and he could not fellowship with God.

The Bible uses the phrase "old man" to describe the condition of the unregenerate person. The old man is not the entire person, body, soul and spirit. It only refers to the indwelling spirit of Satan. Satan is the "old man." The unregenerate person is a "slave to sin" because the propensity to sin is magnified by the indwelling and external spirit of Satan.

The act of God giving a person the indwelling Holy Spirit is called regeneration. The regenerate (saved) person has the same nature as Adam and Eve as they were in the Garden of Eden. Adam's body and soul did not change after his sin and expulsion from the Garden. We have the same body and soul as Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had the indwelling Holy Spirit of God in the Garden, and the regenerate person has the same indwelling Holy Spirit. However, the curses that God placed on the human race after Adam and Eve were ejected from the Garden of Eden remain on the human race today whether saved or unsaved.

Many pastors and Bible teachers claim that the regenerate (saved) person has two natures, a new nature and a sin nature. They often refer to the "sin nature" as the Adamic nature or as old Adam. All of these descriptions are false and none can be found in the Bible. The definitions presented for these terms, if given, are definitions of men. The "sin nature" doctrine is not in the Bible. The "two natures" doctrine is not in the Bible. The "Adamic nature" doctrine is not in the Bible. Many teachers who use the "Adamic nature" phrase fail to give a definition. We do not know if they are describing Adam in the Garden of Eden before he sinned, after he sinned or outside of the Garden after the fall. 

The Apostle Paul clearly stated that he did not have two natures. He did not have a sin nature (or Adamic nature) in addition to the indwelling Holy Spirit. He said in 1 Corinthians 6:17, "But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit [with] [Him]."

1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make [them] members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body [with] [her]? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit [with] [Him]. 18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit [who] [is] in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

The saved person is still tempted by the external influence of the spirit of Satan, and a saved person can certainly exercise poor logic, follow negative emotions and by free will arrive at sinful decisions. However, the saved person has the wonderful advantage of the indwelling Holy Spirit to help him should they choose to "walk in the Spirit."

Jesus defeated Satan and crucified the "old man" in the believer. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer and give him eternal life. The "old man" has been crucified in the believer. Jesus' death, burial and resurrection reversed the fall of Adam in the believer to restore him to the same nature as Adam in the Garden of Eden before he sinned.. We have been crucified with Him (Jesus), meaning the old man (spirit of Satan in us) has been removed from us.

Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be [in] [the] [likeness] of [His] resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Him], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For [the] [death] that He died, He died to sin once for all; but [the] [life] that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members [as] instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new [man] who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave [nor] free, but Christ [is] all and in all.

The regenerate person is alive to God in Jesus Christ our Lord and dead to sin. Satan's indwelling evil influence has been purged from the believer and replaced with the God's Holy Spirit. The believer is declared righteous before God, having all his sins nailed to the cross by the death of our Lord Jesus. We now walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 

Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The regenerate person is a new person. The believer has been "born again" to newness of life. He no longer possesses the "old man." He is no longer a slave to sin. He does not have two natures as many false teachers claim. The believer does not have the old Adamic nature.

1 Peter 1:20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.

We believe that salvation (being born again) is by grace through faith based upon the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus took upon Himself the sins of all mankind by His death on the cross, and His resurrection from the dead provides salvation to all who believe. All who confess the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become the children of God.

The controversy of Romans 7 verses 14-25 is resolved.
The Apostle Paul had neither a sin nature, Adamic nature nor was he a wretched sinner.

Are the Sins of All Mankind Forgiven?

Where Does Faith Come From? Faith of the Son of God or Your Faith?

God's Attributes - Does God hate?

God's Election & Man's Free Will

History of the New Testament Scripture

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False Doctrines of the "Pope" of Geneva

What Love Is This?
Calvinism's Misrepresentation of God by Dave Hunt

The Seven Dispensations
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
by Dr. C. I. Scofield

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The best book for the study of dispensations is:
Gods' Plan for Man
by Finis Jennings Dake, 1990 ISBN-10: 1558290265

Highly recommended book for studying many different theologies is:
The Moody Handbook of Theology
by Paul Enns, ISBN: 0-8024-3428-2

An extremely well written and documented book in refute of Calvinism is:
The Other Side of Calvinism
by Laurence M. Vance, Ph. D., ISBN: 0-9628898-7-3

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