Adam and Eve were the first humans. They rebelled against God, with dramatic consequences: “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). This raises the question: Did God forgive Adam and Eve?
God could not simply forgive them in the sense of “let’s forget it and carry on as if nothing happened.” Their holiness was lost, and they had become sinners. The earth was cursed because of their sin. But God so loved the world — including Adam and Eve — “that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Only through His sacrifice could they be fully reconciled to God and gain entrance into heaven.
It is very likely that Adam and Eve did receive forgiveness, and that their relationship with their Creator was restored:
- Immediately after they sinned, God promised that a Savior would come who would defeat Satan, the one who had led them into sin (Genesis 3:15).
- In addition, God made garments for Adam and Eve to wear when they were ashamed of their nakedness (Genesis 3:21).
- In Genesis 4:1, when Eve gave birth to her first son, she said, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
- Adam and Eve also taught their sons to bring sacrifices to the Lord, as implied in Genesis 4:3–4.
All these indications suggest that Adam and Eve received forgiveness for their sins and were accepted as God’s children.
Why the punishment?
Yet, despite receiving and received forgiveness of their sins through Jesus’ death on the cross, Adam and Eve still got the severe punishment of being sent out of the garden of Eden and having to die (as God had warned them beforehand, see Genesis 3:3). Why could they not continue to live in the garden of Eden? Actually, this is because of God’s grace.
If God would have allowed Adam and Eve, who had lost their innocent nature and became sinners, to continue to live in paradise, it would have been a stained paradise. Paradise would be corrupted by their sin. And if they still would have had access to the the tree of life, they would have gotten eternal life as sinners. But that is not paradise, that is hell!
God had a higher goal
God did not want them to be happy with what this world has to offer. He wanted them to find their happiness in Him. Having a hard life on this earth, and a life that is not eternal, was God’s way of directing their thoughts to the Savior that they needed. It prepared them for being in heaven with the Lord, and one day, to be with Him on the new earth. On this new earth, the tree of life will be seen again. God the Father and the Lord Jesus will be there with us, and no sin will ever break the perfection.
Even more glorious that the garden of Eden is what God has prepared for those who believe in His name. Adam and Eve will be there. Therefore, make sure you will be there too, through faith in Jesus Christ who died to take away your sin.
Summary
Adam and Eve had to accept the consequences of their sin, so they were removed from Paradise. Why did God not just forgive them? He probably did, as Adam and Eve went on to worship God after they left paradise. But now that the world was corrupted by sin, staying in paradise would not be an option. Paradise would be spoiled by corruption and if men ate from the tree of life, they would live forever as slaves to sin. Instead, God’s plan of redemption kicked in.