In answering this question, it is important we appreciate the fact that God has good reasons for everything He does, including what He allows. So yes, God allowed the fall, but He has good reasons for allowing the fall of man whether we can discern rightly or not. Again, it is important to also appreciate that Scripture doesn’t tell us directly why God allowed man to fall but somehow it gives us some clues and that is exactly what we can rely on. These clues may however not provide all the answers we need.
Now in attempting to answer the question let me first establish that the underpinning reason behind anything God does or allows is for the manifestation of His own glory.
As He passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? 3 Jesus answered, It was not that this man or his parents sinned, but he was born blind in order that the workings of God should be manifested (displayed and illustrated) in him.
John 9:1-3 (Amp. Bible)
Let us note here that whenever the workings of God are made manifest, His glory is revealed.
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NIV) also reads:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
As in creation, God’s ultimate purpose in everything He does is that His glorious attributes be showcased and celebrated. If God’s primary purpose in creation and redemption is the display of His glory, what does that tell us about why He allowed the fall?
The fall comes between creation and redemption. Without creation there could be no fallen creation; without a fallen creation there could be no redeemed creation. Salvation presupposes sin; restoration presupposes a fall. Thus, it’s reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase His glory both in the original creation and also in His powerful and merciful restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption. This will be explained further in the next few paragraphs.
Now Isaiah 43:7 also says, “Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” So here again, God is saying, He created man for His glory. This is God’s original intent for creation and for man. When God created us, He was creating with a purpose; and that purpose was for His praise.
In going back to Ephesians 1, let’s now focus on verse 5. It says, “In love He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace.”
In this verse, Paul seems to be extending the logic further to include not just creation but also the redemption. He is saying that not only were we created to praise God, but we were created, and we are saved, in order to praise His glorious grace.
So in effect, man has been made to praise the fullness of who God is, which includes praising His grace. Grace is another word for underserved favour which was gloriously unfolded in His salvific plan for us – something we never deserved. And we were designed to praise Him for this grace offered to us in Christ.
So far, we have learnt that God created us for His praise and that we are meant to praise God in the fullness of who He is, which includes praising Him for His glorious grace He gives us through faith in Jesus. So, whether it is creating us or saving us or anything else, God does everything so that He might be praised for His glorious grace.
So, how does the Fall, or how does sin, allow us to praise God for who He is? We can also put it this way, “Could we truly worship God for His glorious grace if not for the Fall?” “Could we praise God for saving us from sin if there was no sin?”
The answer is definitely NO! If there was no sin, we couldn’t praise God for saving us. We couldn’t praise God for His grace in Christ’s sacrifice for sin, because there would be no sin needing sacrifice for. We could not praise God for the fullness of who He is if not for sin entering into the world.
While God certainly is not the author of sin, He allowed sin to come into the world so that we may praise Him for the fullness of who He is; namely, that we might praise Him for His glorious grace.
Remember Christ was even crucified even before the foundation of the earth (Rev. 13:8). Is this not interesting? Right from the word go, everything was for His glory. After all, He knew how creation will unfold and He made specific provisions for every happening. So, God’s response to the fall of man was not a plan B, it was part of what by His omniscience knew was going to unfold. And He perfectly made provision for that.
Apostle Benedict Eghan is a Minister of the Gospel with The Church of Pentecost and is currently the Resident Minister of Pentecost International Worship Centre (PIWC), Tesano. He also doubles as the Personal Assistant to the Chairman of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Kwabena Nyamekye. Read More…
5 Comments
This is really interesting. Indeed our God has plans for everything. A well planned creation has he created. Glory be to his name
Very powerful 🔥🔥🔥
That’s why I will forever praise your glorious name oh JEHOVAH God of my soul
Re last paragraph, the biblical reference should be Revelation 13:8, not Rev. 13:18.
Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who died for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Jesus mission became clear to mankind only after He had been crucified on the cross. Yet the scriptures reveals in Revelations 13:8 that “the Lamb was slain before the creation of the world”
Thank you very much, Ralph. It has been corrected.