In Genesis 1:26-27, the Bible says “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…And God created man in His own image…” We know that God is a spirit being with a spirit body, so the statement that man was created in His image does not refer to Adam’s body. It therefore must refer to the qualities God gave him in his ability to understand and reason. God possesses these qualities on a much higher level than human beings, but our capacities are similar in type to God’s and elevate mankind above the animals. God pronounced His creation “very good” in Genesis 1:31. If in God’s eyes it was “very good,” it must have been very good indeed! Adam was created sinless and, we believe, with a perfect physical body. If he had continued to obey God and eat the perfect food God provided for him, there would have been no death.
But the similar mental faculties that God gave Adam did not guarantee immunity from temptation. In addition to creating him as a sinless, physically perfect man, God gave him free will. He was not designed as a high-functioning robot. God had made clear the law He expected Adam to follow; the explanation of the law and Adam’s understanding of his responsibility to obey it must have been sufficient enough for him to be justly condemned because of disobedience. He was capable of perfect adherence to God’s instructions. Otherwise, it would have been unfair of the Father to give Adam the death penalty.
So, why did Adam sin? The Bible doesn’t tell us, but there may have been several factors involved. The penalty for disobedience had been described to him, but he did not yet have participatory experience with sin and death and thus may not have been fully able to appreciate the results of his misconduct. He had knowledge of but no familiarity with consequences.
The best clue we have as to why Adam chose to disobey is in 1 Timothy 2:14: “For it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.” Adam did know that Satan had lied. He did feel guilt after he transgressed or he would not have attempted to hide from God. The best explanation as to why Adam chose to follow Eve in her disobedience may be because he could not bear the thought of life without her. In his perfection, he would have had a great capacity for love and may have willfully chosen to die with her–a form of suicide. At this point there was no mention of a redemption, no hope of resurrection. The prospect of living forever without his beloved companion may have overwhelmed him. This was Adam’s first test of character and he failed it. He chose loyalty to Eve over loyalty to God, and thereby condemned the entire human race to death.
