If God Knew That Adam And Eve Would Sin, Why Did He Create Them? In answering this question, there are a couple of things that we must keep in mind. To start, let’s remember whom we are talking about. God, the all-powerful Creator of the Universe answers to no one. He doesn’t ask for approval of His decisions. It’s about God’s plan for the whole world He created. God has not chosen to reveal each and every detail of his plan to us. We can only know what He chooses to reveal. Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Likewise, Psalm 135:6 says, “The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.”
The Bible clearly teaches us that God created things, including us, for Himself. The Almighty God is glorified in His Creation as we can read from Romans 11:36 – “From him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Truthfully speaking, it may be hard to see how Adam and Eve’s falling into sin could bring glory to God. As a matter of fact, some might even wonder why, if God knew ahead of time all the trouble they would cause, He created them in the first place. However, we know without a single doubt that God is Omniscient (Psalm 139:1–6), and He knows the future (Isaiah 46:10). Thus, He definitely knew that Adam and Eve would sin. But He created them anyway and gave them a free will with which they chose to sin.
If God Knew That Adam And Eve Would Sin, Why Did He Create Them?
While the fall of Adam and Eve serves the purpose of God’s overall plan for creation and mankind, it does not mean that God is the author of sin or that He tempted them to sin. In support, James 1:13-15 says, “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.“
How Biblical History Can Be Divided
A look into Biblical history can greatly help us understand what God has revealed about His plans for Creation. By considering what some theologians call the “meta-narrative” (or an overarching storyline) of Scripture, we notice that Biblical history can be roughly divided into three main sections: First, Paradise (Genesis 1-2), Paradise Lost (Genesis 3-Revelation 20), and lastly, Paradise Regained (Revelation 21-22). Amazingly, the largest part of the narrative is devoted to the transition from paradise lost to paradise regained. At the center of the story of Paradise Lost is the Coming, Teachings, Sufferings, Death on the Cross, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which was planned from the very beginning (Acts 2:23).
The Lord God Almighty Was Not Surprised By The Fall
By studying the Scripture carefully, we are led to understand that the fall of mankind was foreknown by God. Likewise, the Crucifixion of Christ, the atonement for God’s elect, was foreordained by God. A day is coming when all people will glorify the Lord God (Psalm 86:9), and the Lord God Almighty purposes “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ” (Ephesians 1:10). The Lord God Almighty’s purpose for creation was to create a world in which His glory could be manifest in all its fullness. Note that the goal of the creation was to display the glory of God, which is also the goal of everything that He does. The Bible teaches us that the Universe was created to showcase the glory of God (Psalm 19:1), and the wrath of God is revealed against those who fail to glorify Him (Romans 1:18-25).
The Lord God Almighty did not need to create; He chose to create. Through the unity of the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, everything was created. God created everything out of nothing to put His glory on display for the delight of created beings made in His image. The Lord God spoke Creation into existence (Genesis 1-3) for mankind to declare His greatness. Moses, in the Biblical Book of Genesis, records the stunning work of God in creation, where He created, out of nothing, by speaking it into being. The act of Creation, by the Lord God, displays His Royal Sovereignty and Majesty.
Understanding How The Wrath And Mercy Of God Display The Glory Of God
Truth be told, without the Fall of Man, there is no way for man to know the glory of God or the grace of God. With this in mind, it’s clear that God’s wrath and God’s mercy display the riches of His everlasting glory, but we cannot see either without the fall of mankind. That is, we would have never known grace if we had never needed grace. Therefore, all of God’s plan, including the Fall, election, redemption, and atonement of humanity, serves the purpose of glorifying God. Behold, Adam falling into sin displays the mercy of God by not killing him instantly or on the spot. The grace of our Lord God was immediately evident in the covering He provided for their shame (Genesis 3:21). Likewise, God’s forbearance and patience were later on display as mankind fell deeper and deeper into sin.
In the same light, God’s wrath and justice were on display when He sent the flood, and God’s mercy and grace were again demonstrated when He saved Noah and his family from destruction. God’s holy wrath and perfect justice will be seen in the future when He deals with Satan once and for all. In support, Revelation 20:9–10 says, “ And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.“
Understanding How The Glory Of God Is Revealed In The Love Of God
Brethren, God’s glory is also revealed in His love. In support, 1 John 4:16 says, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” Our knowledge of the love of God comes from the person and saving work of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior in this fallen world. In support, 1 John 4:9 says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” Let’s assume for an instance that God did not create Adam and Eve, based on His knowledge about their fall or if He made them robots with no free will, then there would be no way for man to know the love of God.
Understanding The Ultimate Demonstration Of God’s Love For Mankind
The ultimate demonstration of the love of God occurred at the Cross, where the wrath, mercy, and justice of God meet. The righteous judgment of all sin was executed at the cross, and God’s unfailing grace was on display in His Son’s Words, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). The love and grace of God are manifest in those who are saved (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8–10). The Lord God Almighty will be glorified as His chosen people worship Him for all eternity with the angels, and the wicked will equally glorify God as His righteousness results in the eternal punishment of unrepentant sinners (Philippians 2:11). Without the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we would never know God’s justice, mercy, grace, or love.
Understanding Foreknowledge, Foreordination, and the Freedom of Man
It is rather unfortunate that many people object that the foreknowledge and foreordination of the fall damaged the freedom of man. In other words, they are asking the question, if God created mankind with full knowledge of the impending fall into sin, how can man be responsible for his sin? The best answer to this question comes from the Westminster Confession of Faith: “God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established” (WFC, III.1).
In other words, God ordains future events in such a way that our freedom and the working of secondary causes (e.g., laws of nature) are highly preserved. This is what theologians refer to as “concurrence.” That’s, God’s sovereign will flows concurrently with our free choices in such a way that our free choices always result in the carrying out of God’s will (by “free” we mean that the choices we make are not coerced by outside influences). Although this is a complex interaction of wills and choices, God can handle any amount of complexity. Although God foresaw Adam and Eve’s fall, He still created them in His own image, to bring glory to Himself. He gave them the freedom of choice. Although they chose to disobey, their choice became the means by which God’s Ultimate Will was accomplished and by which His full glory will be revealed for all.
Understanding How The Sin Of Adam And Eve Affected Mankind
Romans 5:14 says, “Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.” We are made to understand by the Bible that Adam’s choices are our choices, which is why every human being shares in the consequences of Adam’s sin. Adam’s transgression is imputed to every human, so God regards everyone as guilty. Romans 3:23-24 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
The righteousness of Christ is imputed to sinners when they believe. In support, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Brethren, the righteousness of Christ is a gift of grace from God to mankind. After the Fall, God promised that Eve’s seed will crush Satan, the serpent’s head. Jesus, by His obedience, is that seed; for He crushed Satan, securing our right stand before the Lord God Almighty (Colossians 2:13-15). Likewise, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
