“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2a)
Like the original earth before him, Adam remained not in his primitive state. A dreadful catastrophe occurred. Description of this is given in Genesis 3. ‘By one man sin entered the world, and death by sin’. Adam rebelled against his Maker; he ate of the forbidden fruit; and terrible were the consequences, which followed. The fair handiwork of the Creator was blasted. Where before there was blessing, there now descended the curse. Into a scene of life and joy, entered death and sorrow. That which at the first was “very good,” became very evil. Just as the primitive earth before him, so man became a wreck and a ruin. He was submerged in evil and enveloped in darkness. Unspeakably tragic was this, but the truth of it is verified in the heart of every descendant of Adam.
Here, then, is the key to human destiny. Here is the cause of all the suffering and sorrow which is in the world. Here is the explanation of human depravity. Man is not now as God created him. God made man “upright” (Ecclesiastes 7:9), but he continued not thus. God faithfully warned man that if he ate of the forbidden fruit he should surely die. And thus he died spiritually. Man is, henceforth, a fallen creature. He is born into this world “alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18). He was born into this world with a heart that is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah17:9). This is the heritage of The Fall. This is the entail of Adam’s transgression. Man is a ruined creature, and “darkness,” moral and spiritual, rents upon the face of his understanding. (Ephesians 4:18)