After making man, God placed him in the midst of the garden and instructed him…

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But 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.

Genesis 2:16-17

The nature of “death” promised to man in this text has been debated by many. I am of the opinion that God referred to capital punishment, meaning He would execute man if he sinned. Others argue it refers to spiritual death, the kind of spiritual separation that comes with transgression against the holy God.

The two opinions lead to vary different interpretations of the scene. If you take the position God is referring to spiritual death, then the events of Genesis 3 take on a more typified circumstance. Adam’s sin and subsequent spiritual separation typify every other man’s sin (Romans 3:23) and subsequent spiritual separation. The way for Adam to be reconciled back to God is the same as everyone else: through Christ.

On the other hand, if you take the word “die” to mean “execution” then the scene takes on a more prophetic tone. After all, Adam did sin..yet he was not put to death. Why? Because in the mind of God, the ultimate sacrifice for man’s sins (not just Adam, but every man) was paid in the form of Jesus’ death on the cross. Christ was executed so that I would not have to be. He died for me.

No matter how you interpret the meaning of the word “die” you still end up in the same place: All men sinned, but Christ paid for it, opening up the way for all men to be saved from their sins.

Thanks be to God for that!