When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they died as a consequence, just as God had said they would. Because He is a God of Justice, He holds us accountable and responsible for our actions. This act of disobedience is evil in nature and resulted in Adam and Eve to bear fruit contrary to God’s holy nature, and therefore incurred His wrath, punishment for breaking His command (law).
The resulting fruit of this wayward decision of being independent from God is evil because it is a misrepresentation of His nature. To desire to be like God, having the knowledge of good and evil on the same level as deity is to be removed from being under His authority and sovereignty, to be self-sufficient, which morally degrades us, making us susceptible to the vanity of pride that seeks self-glory, which builds up within us into having rebellion toward God, making Him our enemy.
It is forbidden to be like God. To be created in the image of God is sufficient for us. Is it possible to be greater than our Maker? Would we be so foolish to think so?
A moral law was broken, a choice was made. Evil cannot dwell with holiness, and those who desire this nature will be designated to a permanent holding place called the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15). If they don’t want to go there they can accept the salvation accomplished through Jesus Christ, who suffered through God’s justified wrath and punishment for our sin by becoming sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13-14; Phil. 2:7-8; Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Pet. 2:24).
Why Does This Sin Result In Death?
God is the source of life. To reject Him is to disconnect yourself from life, making you dead. God is Spirit, and we relate to Him through our human spirit. We are not divine but human physical beings made from the dust of the earth. When God said we (Adam and Eve) would die if we ate from the forbidden tree, we die spiritually, leaving us to lean on our own understanding apart from the wisdom of God; and we eventually die physically in the slow process of decay. When God restored our relationship through the atonement of His Son Jesus Christ, He made a way to restore us back to life by the in-taking of the Holy Spirit through whom we receive the wisdom and revelation of God. Our physical bodies will die but our renewed spirit will be received in heaven for all eternity.
Why Wrath?
The wrath of God is His righteous response of anger and holy indignation towards all ungodliness and unrighteousness of humanity. Here is a definition from a Bible dictionary that describes it well:
“God’s wrath is an expression of His holy love. If God is not a God of wrath, His love is no more than frail, worthless sentimentality; the concept of mercy is meaningless; and the Cross was a cruel and unnecessary experience for His Son.
The Bible declares that all people are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) and that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). Since Christians have been “justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom 5:9). The magnitude of God’s love is manifested in the Cross, where God’s only Son experienced wrath on our behalf.”1
Think of an instance of how a father would feel toward someone who violated his child in some form of abuse. It would most likely stir up not just mere anger, but wrathful anger. In our hearts, we are either pro-God or anti-God. If we are anti-God then we would take on the characteristics of evil, the opposite of God’s character of love. To be evil is to take on the devil’s nature, and he attempted to murder God Himself. Now wouldn’t that stir you to pour out wrath against your enemy?
The wrath of God was satisfied by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, making us justified and no longer sinners if we believe and receive His provision of so great a salvation. The fall of man is not just about learning the difference between right and wrong, it’s understanding the incompatibility of holiness and sin.
1. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary