BBC: Genesis 2:15-17

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” - Genesis 2:15-17

This passage provides insight into two compelling truths. The first is that man was created for work. This is a pre-fall requirement of man! It is on this basis that Paul writes that those should not eat who do not work (2 Thess 3:10). Not simply because of some moral obligation but that in the laziness of their behavior they deny the bountiful blessings provided in creation by God.

The second principal is a more established doctrinal truth. God's command to man not only must be seen as a dictated obligation but also as a passing over of authority as long as the dictate is obeyed. Adam is in charge of ensuring the dictate is followed as well as confirming the blessings of God by following the dictate. The consequences of the falling out from this covenantal command is death.  

Man's death must be seen as a spiritual death for that is how Paul reads it (Rom 5:12; 6:23). This spiritual death is restored from above (John 3:3,7). It remains to be shown how Adam's sin can be repeated by the regenerate. Since this death is the rejection and denial of the covenantal requirements of obedience, I do not see a basis for the born again to fall from grace in the manner of Adam. Adam's fall was once for all just as Christ's death was once for all (Rom 5:17-19).

*The Bible Blogging Commentary is a slow and simple treading of the Scriptures. No quotes from other theologians and no explicit Greek/Hebrew lessons.*