The word sin in the Greek is hamartia which is a noun; it means to be without a share in. It comes from the root word hamartánō to sin which is a verb which comes from the root word meros meaning a part due or assigned to one, a lot, or destiny
So sin means not a part of, or not having a share in. It is the loss of our shared image as a son of God.
Genesis 1: 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
God created Adam in his own image. When Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he lost that image.
Genesis 3: 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
It is all about relationship, God said where art thou? Adam was no longer clothed with light; he was no longer God conscious but became self conscious.
He took on the image of the earthy; he became body, soul and spirit. He was no longer conscious of his spirit but became conscious of his body. He lost the glory of being like God and now was afraid.
What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What does it represent?
Genesis 3: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be (to become) as gods (God), knowing good and evil.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents becoming like God through self-effort. Becoming like God without God.
When Adam sinned he lost his identity. When we were born into this world we were born in this condition. We lost our identity, it’s like being veiled not knowing who we are and not knowing who God is. The god of this world who is a religious spirit had blinded our minds so that we might not see the light of the gospel.
God wants to reveal himself to us which will totally transform our minds and our thinking to be aligned with his.
The veil began when Adam and eve followed the wrong path; it is the do-it-yourself tree or path where we are trying to regain the image we lost through sin.
We are using our own efforts to restore something that already belongs to us through the finished work of the cross because we are veiled and can’t see the truth.
The knowledge of the tree of good and evil has become a part of our consciousness where we are attempting to please God, to get back what was lost through the fall of man. It is a consciousness to dead works.
All religious systems continue to create veils over peoples minds and we are not going to know they are there until those veils are removed. This is why God has to open our spiritual eyes and ears so that we can begin to perceive the kingdom and hear his voice.
The God of this age refers to the religious systems of this world, that people go to because they think that by faithfully going to church they will be accepted by God and if they miss a service they feel guilty.
There is nothing wrong in going to church, but if we go to church and we don’t encounter God in the service we may be part of a religious system that is blinding our minds.
When we encounter God we are being transformed into the same image because we are partaking of God’s Spirit.
Sin is the loss of our shared image as sons of God and our attempts to restore that image by self effort. Sin is doing anything and being anything that is not aligned to our image and identity as sons of God.