Eve had a conversation with a Serpent, she subsequently ate the fruit.
She was deceived, pure and simple, no Free Will (required) to be deceived.
Dear Jiminz,
I read your posts and agree with most of your comments, especially when you said that mankind does not have a free will.
God's "will" rules supreme in His creation. God is spirit and He does His work "within" mankind. He is the one who gives us our thoughts and beliefs. Mankind's carnal nature makes us believe that we have a free will but it is only because God has put obscurity in the heart of mankind:
Ecc 3:11 He has made everything fitting in its season; However, He has put obscurity (the world) in their heart so that the man may NOT find out His work, that which God does, that which God does from the beginning to the end.
God's "work" is spiritual work and it happens "within" mankind. But because of our carnal nature and the fact that mankind is spiritually blind, we don't realize it when God does His spiritual work in our hearts. God's Word even says this:
Prov 16:1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
Prov 20:24 Man's goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
Jer 10:23 I know, Jehovah, that the way of man is not his own; it is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps.
Back to Adam and Eve, your comments are correct on them, too. But I will add that they were created
spiritually marred and because of such, they quickly became
carnally minded. But God made them this way on purpose so that Eve would be deceived by Satan and sin. God placed Satan in the Garden for the purpose for which He was created and that is to "destroy".
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food (LUST OF THE FLESH), and that it was pleasant to the eyes (LUST OF THE EYES), and a tree to be desired to make one wise (PRIDE OF LIFE), she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Isa 54:16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Eve displayed all three of the causes of sin (which originate from our carnal nature) BEFORE she sinned. She was made spiritually marred on purpose so that she would sin and become "evil".
This creation of God's is for the purpose of creating new children of God. This is how God produces His offspring. And to be like God, we must have a knowledge of "good and evil". For that reason, God placed the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden.
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
An experience of evil has also been given to us to humble us:
Ecc 1:13 An experience of evil God has given to the sons of humanity to humble them by it.
In this creation, God is working all things after the counsel of His own "will" to accomplish producing new children for Himself. He created us evil at the beginning. He is now in the process of restoring us back to Himself. He sent Christ to accomplish this great work:
1John 4:14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
Our salvation is 100% the work of Christ and He will not fail in the restoration of ALL mankind. In this present age, Christ is saving the First-Fruits (the Elect, the Heirs, etc.) of His harvest of mankind. He is not saving anyone else at this time. But He will not let the rest of mankind rot in the field. At the end of the harvest season (end of the Lake of Fire age), He will bring in the full harvest of mankind.
In the end, this verse will be testified to be true:
1 Tim 2:3-6 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Nothing in God's creation happens by
chance nor does God just
allow things to just happen. He is the cause behind all things, even the salvation of mankind. We do not have a free will to save ourselves. We are saved solely because it is God's "will" for it to happen.
Joe