The Bible gives no direct answer as to why God allowed the fall to happen in the Garden of Eden. It simply states that God is in control of all things—even of that.

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, however, we are given a glimpse into God’s eternal plan. We see that God was at work before our world existed and was not caught off guard by the fall. When the kingdom was spoiled as a result of Adam and Eve’s rebellion, God already knew it would happen. Before Adam and Eve were created, before they were disobedient, God had already planned the rescue.

When we think about God’s rescue mission, which ultimately culminated in the cross, we ought not to see it as something supplied in a moment of crisis. Rather, we should see the cross as grounded in the eternal mind of God, who had determined from all of eternity to call a people to Himself through Jesus and to restore under Him everything that would be spoiled by the fall.

God’s purpose in this plan was and is “in accordance with his pleasure and will,” and it is “to the praise of his glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:5-6, NIV). The motivation in God’s eternal plan was not only a desire to make men and women happy—although men and women do become ultimately happy as a result—but a concern for His name. He was determined that everything should be brought under the feet and control of His Son, the Lord Jesus, as it ought to be. Thus, God’s eternal plan of redemption is about Him rather than all about us. It concerns us. It transforms us. But it is all about God. Until the gospel moves us to praise Him and live for Him, we have not properly understood it.

God is this world’s center. Since the fall, men and women have refused to accept His authority and instead expend their energies in trying to depose Him, with catastrophic results. There is no part of this present life that is not covered with the dust of death, because man has determined that he does not like the idea of God at the center.

Will you readjust your life and acknowledge God’s right to oversee every aspect of it? Will you live for His praise rather than yours and for His cause rather than yours? The paradox is this: it is in seeking His glory instead of your own that you will experience the joy that comes from making your life orbit around the Son—joy from living the way that God planned for you and all creation from eternity.