Adam did not die after eating of the tree

The the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it. The LORD God commanded the man. He said, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. But you must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because when you eat from it, you will certainly die" (Genesis 2:15-17)


Is this verse contradicting to the fact that Adam did not die after eating the fruit of the tree as the verse says that he should have died?

Adam certainly died and he died spiritually. The moment he sinned, he became "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). Ezekiel 18:4 says, "The soul that sins, it shall die." It is because we are born spiritually dead that Jesus came to give us spiritual life (John 5:40; 10:10; 14:6; etc.). This is why Jesus told us that we must be born again (John 3:3). When we repent of our sins and believe in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that we "pass from death to life" (John 5:24; Romans 6:13; 1 John 3:14).

Daniel, I agree with your answer concerning what's seems to be, for some, a contradiction. The apparent contradiction is more easily solved when we keep in mind that the heavenly Father created man in His image. An important part of that image is the Trinity. As image-bearers of our Father we too are a trinity: spirit, soul, and body.

It was the spirit within Adam and Eve that died that day when they ate of the Forbidden Fruit. With the spirit now dead the body would naturally come to reflect the same state of death. It is not until the spirit is born-again upon acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior that the body will be freed from its state of death "in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).

I would like to add one thought here, however, that I believe is important. I believe the spirit is a distinct from the soul. The spirit within man makes him God-conscious; the soul makes him self-conscious; the body makes him materially or worldly-conscious.

While the spirit and soul are similar in many ways, they are distinct and serve different functions. The spirit consists of our conscious, our intuition, and our ability to commune with and worship the Father.
"The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-25 NASU). The soul consists of our will, emotions, and intellect. It is what makes "us" "us" as individuals. The body, of course, consists of earthly materials which we interact with through our five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.

This is a truth that I feel is little understood (I certainly do not understand all of its implications), but very important. More to the point right now concerning Daniel's posting is: If the spirit died the day Adam and Eve ate of the fruit - and it did - how did they continue to live. The answer, I believe, is with the death of the spirit the soul usurped the position the spirit. With the Fall man became a selfish, prideful creature controlled by his own will, emotions, and intellect.

There is so much more to this truth than I have shared here, but I thought it was important to allow others the opportunity to think about this and pray over it.

Terry wonderful addition and I would surely want to learn more on difference between Spirit and Soul. This is a question and study I am currently into it with no relevant answers. I hope find one soon with Biblical references. Terry you are a learned man and I pray that I learn from you a lot. God bless you for your explanation.

blessed4ever,

Thank you for your kind words. I believe he differences between (and similarities of) the soul and spirit are important in understanding certain aspects of the Bible. You may want to read a couple of articles I have written that touches (somewhat) on this subject. One is entitled "The Woman Jezebel"; the other is "The Mark of the Beast". They can be accessed on my website: www.whispersofthespirit.com. FaithfulSon has reprinted "The Mark of the Beast" under the title "666" on this forum.

I am working on possibly writing a book that will delve more deeply into this subject.

Blessing in Christ to you.

great posts,so many read and believe there are contradictions within the word.when actually there is only truth.spiritual truth.God has said i set before you life and death,choose.choose jesu ,choose life,reject jesus, choose death, and though your body may be alive for a short while you,the real you is surely dead.

Great answers, I'd like to add yet another tid-bit if I may.

The king James version reads, Gen 2:17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

If we look at a "day" as God looks at it, didn't Adam actually die a physical death also "in that day"?

2 Peter 3:8
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

And Adam was what? Genesis 5:5
And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Dear Eric

Thank you for joining CHRISTIAN TALK and thank you for your valuable input.