How Did Adam And Eve Learn Right From Wrong?

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Adam was not born, he was suddenly created as a full grown adult man. The same applies to Eve. Many would suppose that both were created with a storehouse full of knowledge automatically implanted in their minds. But this assertion is wrong.

Consider: How do adults of today come into possession of the knowledge that they have? They are not born with it. A newborn babe knows nothing at birth, but absorbs knowledge slowly, cumulatively additive. It must learn, must be taught.

Now let’s examine the difference between Adam at the instant of his creation and  a baby at the instant of birth. within a portion of a single day, an adult man was created out of the dust of the ground with a mind, as yet unfilled with knowledge, but capable of receiving knowledge, reasoning and acting upon it. The difference between Adam and a baby is that Adam started off as an adult, with an adult capable mind, but as much without knowledge, and therefore as helpless, as a newborn baby. So he had adult capacity, but no adult knowledge.

Therefore his very first need was to be given essential knowledge. And herein lies a truth even religion has forgotten – that god – besides being a creator, is also an Educator.  God instructed both Adam and Eve in the basic foundation of all knowledge – the same as is available in the bible today. And yes, this includes the Ten Commandments. We know that Adam and Eve sinned and sin is the transgression of the law (I John 3:4). Only by the law of God is the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20), or else Eve would not have known to say that she and her husband could die if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3:3).

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (Jam. 4:17).

Our first parents rejected God’s revelation of knowledge through rebellion. And their children have been rejecting and rebelling against the supreme Educator of all mankind ever since. They reject Him as both Ruler and Educator, and most reject him as Creator.

God the Educator

The very last act of God’s creation by work was the creation of man. It was on the sixth day of that first week and it was the final act of the work of creation. That day, by God’s order, ended at sunset (Gen. 2:2).

Now here is a point of distinction which must be made. God did not end creating at this point, only His work – those things made by work. Now he created the sabbath by rest, not by work, blessing and sanctifying it (setting it apart as Holy from other days). He established the sabbath as the day for assembly and spiritual instruction.

Now this was a good thing, because here was Adam and Eve needing instruction. Did the creator walk off or vanish out of sight, leaving the man and woman helpless and without knowledge? No, the record shows that the Eternal God began speaking to the man – communicating knowledge – giving instruction.  He taught the Gospel to the very first man, giving that man, so far sinless, His fellowship on His Sabbath day.

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying…..(Gen. 2:15-16).

The eternal God immediately began speaking to, teaching and instructing, the man. We can know certain things with of what was said, but the inspired record in the first few chapters of Genesis reveals to us only the briefest summary – hits only the high spots. But even though the record omits many of the details, it spans the fields covered. Much of the detailed instruction may be accurately filled in from other parts of the Bible.

The fields covered then were:

1. the true Gospel (spiritual truth).
2. the Ten Commandments (God’s way of life).
3. man’s transcendent potential (gift of eternal life).
4. necessary physical knowledge to live in a healthy way.
5. knowledge of the marriage institution and of sex.

One of the trees in the Garden of Eden was the tree of life, symbolized as God’s gift of the Holy Spirit. “But,” continued God, “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die”(Gen. 2:16-17). Here, in briefest condensation, we find the teaching of the Gospel – that “the wages is sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life” (Rom. 6:23).

The Bible says all have sinned – including Adam and Eve (Rom. 3:23, 5:12). God could not have allowed Adam to sin, without first having taught him what sin is.

[Via http://breakthroughtogod.wordpress.com]