The Genesis story of man in the garden is both practical and literal. It was a day like any other until…the Serpent saw his opportunity as Adam was not right beside eve (though he was near), so he came to Eve and began to have a cordial conversation and had her doubt God about eating from the one tree both Adam and her were not to eat from.

Eve responded how they were to keep from the tree and if they ate the fruit they would die. At this point they had not seen death but understood in its most simplistic fashion.

Gen 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (kee elohim) plural – as gods, both of you, this will come to pass if you eat the fruit.

He then made his appeal directly. He made it seem as if they were prevented from being like the one who made them and gave them life.

The very one thing The Lord told them not to eat, the only prohibition he gave them the devil had them focus on to disobey.

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

She looked and desired to taste and had bought the Devils line, she thought it would give her wisdom;

Heb. sakal - a primitive root; to be (causatively, make or act) circumspect and hence, intelligent (Strong’s concordance)

Without any hesitation she gave it to her husband and he willingly ate. Not knowing what the devil told her what it would do. But something happened, something changed immediately.

Gen 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”

There eyes were opened, they understood what wrong and right; good and evil is by experience.

Adam is called by the lord and hesitates, he is hiding. He comes out telling the Lord, “I was afraid because I was naked.” The Lord asks him how he knew this Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (v.11)

Adam’s response “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

The LORD questions the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The LORD curses the serpent then prophecies of a redeemer v.15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Then tells the woman her conception will have sorrow and pain when she has children; “This again telling her the future that will affect her family (Cain and Abel). Also, “her desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” So this too changed.

Adam is taken to task, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” Vv.18 -21

After they are confronted by the Lord and clothed, by him killing an animal and they see what death is, also illustrating their future. They are told that their bodies will return to the ground from where it was made; that their lifestyle of ease will no longer be the norm Gen. 3:22-24 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Here is what the Bible is telling us what happened. That man now learned in the wrong manner what is good and evil- by his experience from the Devil and not being trained by God as he matured. So not only was the ground cursed, the whole arena of what man was to rule over but now he could not eat from the one other tree, the tree of life that assure him eternal life. So they were both prevented from going back into the garden that would be paradise. He did this by having angels guard it (and they did until the flood came and they were no longer needed for this task).

The gaining of the knowledge of good and evil enacted the law. Sin came to life. Now we all inherited Adam’s sin, it became his nature and this corruption was passed on; it’s what we call original sin. We inherited that, so we inherited his sin, his flesh and death.

Rom 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned”

spread Greek: dierchomai- to go through, pass through.

Vincent's Word Studies of the New Testament “Entered into. As a principle till then external to the world.

Romans 5:12 For that all sinned ef' (NT:1884) hoo (NT:3691) pantes (NT:3909) heemarton (NT:261). Constative (summary) aorist active indicative of hamartanoo (NT:261), gathering up in this one tense the history of the race (committed sin). The transmission from Adam became facts of experience. In the old Greek ef' (NT:1884) hoo (NT:3691) usually meant "on condition that," but "because" in the New Testament. (Robertson, Grammar, p. 963). (from Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament)