The prediction of the serpent in Gen 3:5 becomes fulfilled in Gen
3:7. Their eyes are opened and they know evil. And they know that they now need
clothing. And their sons and daughters after childhood also are generally aware
of the need for clothing. The now known specific evil, upon which each does not
wish to gaze, is the visible mortality of his own flesh.
We do not notice the visibility of sin in the flesh because it is
universal. Biology explains it in terms of the genetic programming of cellular
repair. Up until age eleven, cells are programmed to repair virtually all
deterioration in their structure. After eleven the programming allows cellular
deterioration. This is noticed by all of us in the condition of the skin.
Children have beautiful skin. The elderly have unappealing skin. Young adults,
as Adam and Eve were at their creation, are not all that bad, but the
comparison with children makes the small deterioration evident. Adam and Eve
could remember vividly their prior sinless perfection as evidenced by their
prior faultless skin.
The noun used for angelic messengers in scripture may be based on
the appearance of the flesh. They appear as men in order to communicate with
men. When they are called "angels" (Gen 19:1), it seems that their
flesh appears sinless, like the skin of a child (Gen 19:4-5). At other times
when they disguise themselves, as our Lord did in His incarnation, in the flesh
of sin, they are called "men" (Gen 18:16).
I2C 131025b Gen
3v7 Sinner mortality visible / I2C / 10/25/2013 6:13 PM / Gen 3v7 Sinner
mortality visible
