John Calvin Commentary Genesis 3:6

"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat." — Genesis 3:6 (ASV)

And when the woman saw—This impure look of Eve, infected with the poison of concupiscence, was both the messenger and the witness of an impure heart. She could previously look at the tree with such sincerity that no desire to eat of it affected her mind, for the faith she had in the word of God was the best guardian of her heart and of all her senses.

But now, after her heart had declined from faith and from obedience to the word, she corrupted both herself and all her senses, and depravity spread through all parts of her soul as well as her body. It is, therefore, a sign of impious defection that the woman now judges the tree to be good for food, eagerly delights herself in looking at it, and persuades herself that it is desirable for the sake of acquiring wisdom, whereas before she had passed by it a hundred times with an unmoved and tranquil look.

For now, having shaken off the bridle, her mind wanders dissolutely and intemperately, drawing the body with it to the same licentiousness. The word להשכיל (lehaskil) has two explanations: that the tree was desirable either to be looked upon or to impart prudence. I prefer the latter sense, as better corresponding with the temptation.

And gave also unto her husband with her. From these words, some conjecture that Adam was present when his wife was tempted and persuaded by the serpent, which is by no means credible. Yet it might be that he soon joined her, and that, even before the woman tasted the fruit of the tree, she related the conversation held with the serpent and entangled him with the same fallacies by which she herself had been deceived. Others refer the particle עמה (immah), “with her,” to the conjugal bond, which can be accepted. But because Moses simply relates that he ate the fruit taken from his wife's hands, the opinion has commonly been received that he was captivated by her allurements rather than persuaded by Satan’s impostures. For this purpose, the declaration of Paul is cited:

Adam was not deceived, but the woman (1 Timothy 2:14).

But Paul in that place, as he is teaching that the origin of evil was from the woman, only speaks comparatively. Indeed, it was not only for the sake of complying with his wife’s wishes that he transgressed the law laid down for him, but being drawn by her into fatal ambition, he became a participant in the same defection with her. And truly, Paul elsewhere states that sin came not by the woman, but by Adam himself (Romans 5:12). Then, the reproof which soon afterwards follows, Behold, Adam is as one of us, clearly proves that he also foolishly coveted more than was lawful and gave greater credit to the devil's flatteries than to the sacred word of God.

It is now asked, what was the sin of both of them? The opinion of some of the ancients, that they were allured by intemperance of appetite, is childish. For when there was such an abundance of the choicest fruits, what daintiness could there be about one particular kind? Augustine is more correct, who says that pride was the beginning of all evils, and that by pride the human race was ruined.

Yet a fuller definition of the sin may be drawn from the kind of temptation which Moses describes. For first, the woman is led away from the word of God by the wiles of Satan, through unbelief. Therefore, the beginning of the ruin by which the human race was overthrown was a defection from the command of God.

But observe that people then revolted from God when, having forsaken his word, they lent their ears to the falsehoods of Satan. Hence we infer that God will be seen and adored in his word, and therefore, that all reverence for him is shaken off when his word is despised.

This is a most useful doctrine to know, for the word of God receives its due honor from only a few, so that those who rush onward with impunity in contempt of this word yet claim for themselves a chief rank among the worshippers of God. But as God does not reveal himself to people otherwise than through the word, so neither is his majesty maintained, nor does his worship remain secure among us any longer than we obey his word.

Therefore, unbelief was the root of defection, just as faith alone unites us to God. From this flowed ambition and pride, so that the woman first, and then her husband, desired to exalt themselves against God. For truly they did exalt themselves against God when, after honor had been divinely conferred upon them, they, not content with such excellence, desired to know more than was lawful, so that they might become equal with God.

Here also monstrous ingratitude betrays itself. They had been made in the likeness of God, but this seemed a small thing unless equality were added. Now, it is not to be endured that designing and wicked people should labor absurdly and in vain to extenuate the sin of Adam and his wife.

For apostasy is no light offense, but detestable wickedness, by which a person withdraws from the authority of their Creator, even rejecting and denying him. Besides, it was not simple apostasy, but combined with atrocious abuses and reproaches against God himself. Satan accuses God of falsehood, envy, and malignity, and our first parents assent to a slander so vile and detestable.

At length, having despised God's command, they not only indulge their own lust but also enslave themselves to the devil. If anyone prefers a shorter explanation, we may say unbelief opened the door to ambition, but ambition proved to be the parent of rebellion, so that people, having cast aside the fear of God, might shake off his yoke.

On this account, Paul teaches us that by the disobedience of Adam sin entered into the world. Let us imagine that there was nothing worse than the transgression of the command; even so, we will not have succeeded much in extenuating Adam's fault. God, having made him free in everything and appointed him as king of the world, chose to test his obedience by requiring abstinence from one tree alone.

This condition did not please him. Perverse arguers may make excuses, saying that the woman was allured by the tree's beauty and the man ensnared by Eve's blandishments. Yet the milder God's authority, the less excusable was their perverseness in rejecting it. But we must search more deeply for the origin and cause of sin.

For they never would have dared to resist God unless they had first disbelieved his word. And nothing allured them to covet the fruit but mad ambition. As long as they firmly believed God’s word and freely allowed themselves to be governed by Him, they had serene and duly regulated affections. Indeed, their best restraint was the thoughts that entirely occupied their minds: that God is just, that nothing is better than to obey his commands, and that to be loved by him is the consummation of a happy life.

But after they had yielded to Satan’s blasphemy, they began, like fascinated persons, to lose reason and judgment. Indeed, since they had become Satan’s slaves, he held their very senses captive. Furthermore, we know that sins are not estimated in God's sight by external appearance but by inward disposition.

Again, many find it absurd that the defection of our first parents is said to have led to the destruction of the whole human race, and for this reason, they readily accuse God. Pelagius, on the other hand, lest, as he falsely feared, God should be blamed for the corruption of human nature, ventured to deny original sin.

But such a gross error is plainly refuted not only by solid testimonies of Scripture but also by experience itself. The corruption of our nature was unknown to the philosophers who, in other respects, were sufficiently, and more than sufficiently, acute. Surely this stupor itself was a clear proof of original sin.

For all who are not utterly blind perceive that no part of us is sound: that the mind is struck with blindness and infected with innumerable errors; that all the affections of the heart are full of stubbornness and wickedness; that vile lusts, or other equally fatal diseases, reign there; and that all the senses burst forth with many vices.

Since, however, God alone is a proper judge in this cause, we must acquiesce in the sentence which he has pronounced in the Scriptures. In the first place, Scripture clearly teaches us that we are born vicious and perverse. The cavil of Pelagius—that sin proceeded from Adam by imitation—was frivolous.

For David, while still enclosed in his mother’s womb, could not be an imitator of Adam, yet he confesses that he was conceived in sin (Psalms 51:5). A fuller proof of this matter, and a more ample definition of original sin, may be found in the Institutes; yet here, briefly, I will attempt to show how far it extends.

Whatever in our nature is vicious—since it is not lawful to ascribe it to God—we justly reject as sin. But Paul (Romans 3:10) teaches that corruption does not reside in one part only, but pervades the whole soul and each of its faculties. From this it follows that they childishly err who regard original sin as consisting only in lust and in the inordinate motion of the appetites, whereas it seizes upon the very seat of reason and upon the whole heart. Condemnation is annexed to sin, or, as Paul speaks:

By man came sin, and by sin, death (Romans 5:12).

Therefore, he elsewhere pronounces us to be the children of wrath, as if he would subject us to an eternal curse (Ephesians 2:3). In short, that we are stripped of the excellent gifts of the Holy Spirit, of the light of reason, of justice, and of rectitude, and are prone to every evil; that we are also lost and condemned, and subjected to death—this is both our hereditary condition and, at the same time, a just punishment which God, in the person of Adam, has inflicted on the human race.

Now, if anyone should object that it is unjust for the innocent to bear the punishment of another’s sin, I answer that whatever gifts God had conferred upon us in the person of Adam, he had the best right to take away when Adam wickedly fell. Nor is it necessary to resort to that ancient figment of certain writers, that souls are derived by descent from our first parents.

For the human race has not naturally derived corruption through its descent from Adam; rather, that result is to be traced to the appointment of God, who, as he had adorned the whole nature of mankind with most excellent endowments in one man, so in the same man he again stripped it bare. But now, from the time we were corrupted in Adam, we do not bear the punishment of another’s offense but are guilty by our own fault.

Some raise a question concerning the time of this fall, or rather ruin. The opinion has been widely received that they fell on the day they were created; and therefore, Augustine writes that they stood for only six hours. The conjecture of others, that Satan delayed the temptation until the Sabbath to profane that sacred day, is but weak.

And certainly, by instances like these, all godly people are admonished to indulge sparingly in doubtful speculations. As for myself, since I have nothing to assert positively regarding the time, I think it may be inferred from Moses’ account that they did not long retain the dignity they had received. For as soon as he has said they were created, he passes to their fall without mentioning anything else.

If Adam had lived only a moderate amount of time with his wife, God’s blessing would not have been unfruitful in producing offspring. But Moses intimates that they were deprived of God’s benefits before they had become accustomed to using them.

I therefore readily subscribe to Augustine’s exclamation: “O wretched freewill, which, while yet entire, had so little stability!” And, to say no more regarding the shortness of the time, Bernard’s admonition is worthy of remembrance: “Since we read that such a dreadful fall took place in Paradise, what shall we do on the dunghill?”

At the same time, we must remember by what pretext they were led into this delusion, so fatal to themselves and to all their posterity. Plausible was Satan’s adulation, Ye shall know good and evil; but that knowledge was therefore accursed because it was sought in preference to God’s favor.

Therefore, unless we wish, of our own accord, to bring the same snares upon ourselves, let us learn entirely to depend upon the sole will of God, whom we acknowledge as the Author of all good. And since Scripture everywhere admonishes us of our nakedness and poverty and declares that we may recover in Christ what we have lost in Adam, let us, renouncing all self-confidence, offer ourselves empty to Christ, that he may fill us with his own riches.