Man's first moral choice was made by Adam and Eve through deception. It was not initiated on Adam or Eve's part; whereas Lucifer's choice to rebel against God was purely willful, saying "I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Lucifer's choice established him as false deity with his self-for-self nature. Adam's choice placed mankind within Lucifer's grasp. By this, Lucifer could and did infect Adam and Eve and the bodies of all men with his self-for-self evil nature, then he infected their soul-selves, their minds being darkened.

Mankind is the one

2 Cor. 4:4 In whom the god of this world (the Devil) hath Blinded The Minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Paul reminds and cautions the believers.

Ephesians 2:2-5 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world (Gk., aion, age), according to the prince of the power of the air, the (evil Satanic) spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation (manner of living) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Ephesians 4:17-18... walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

By now I hope you can see that all humans are born under the delusion of thinking their selves to be persons who act purely out of self-determination. In actual fact, fallen mankind is simply expressing another life and nature...that of the Devil himself. Certainly we can't expect otherwise. Can the seed of the apple tree produce anything other than apples? Can the Sin-seed in man's flesh produce anything other than that of the very same Sin-nature... called "sins."

All mankind is "driven" by a distorted desire to find satisfaction, so now, by the indwelling Sin nature, we are inwardly pressed to give expression to that Sin-nature that is "working" within us.

When we were sinners we thought it was "just us." But by now you should see that there never was a "just us." It was formerly "Sin" as us. But now, now being regenerated by Christ's "Spirit of life" it is "Christ" as the new us. Knowing this truth, John wrote of the believers of Israel saying, "... as he (Christ) is, so are we in this world." (1John 4:17).

The Sin-spirit himself – the Devil, was the first to occupy man's being, and he is at work in all "the children of disobedience." Therefore, the plain and simple outcome is that, through the fall, all mankind became spontaneous expressers of Lucifer's self-for-self Sin nature ("in sin did my mother conceive me" Psalm 51:5). Yet at the same time, we are deluded into thinking it is just we who are failing and having a hard time trying to be like Jesus of Nazareth.

Among Christians who are ignorant of the truth of Paul's mystery gospel, this delusion still exists. Unexposed, this huge lie prevents Christians from enjoying the life, liberty and power of the indwelling "Sprit of life in Christ Jesus" as their new life, now yielding rest to their souls. They think they are failing by simply having evil thoughts and tendencies when in fact these are simply is the impulse of the fallen flesh that works to deceive them. Sin prompts believers to sin and then blames the believer; but we know the truth that the power of Sin is broken in that we (our Old Man) died with Christ and are now alive by Christ's indwelling "Spirit of life."

The truth is that we are not to be "like" Jesus; we have no need to imitate Jesus of Nazareth. Paul says we ought not to follow Jesus of Nazareth.

2 Corinthians 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now Henceforth Know We Him No More.

Here "Christ after the flesh" means Christ when He was the man Jesus of Nazareth. Note that Paul, in his thirteen epistles to the believers, never refers to a single thing that Jesus did or said except His birth, death, burial, and resurrection as "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." (See the author's "The Last Gospel" series explaining the uniqueness of Paul's Mystery Gospel for "the body of Christ.")

Paul points us to the fruit of the Christ's cross – "the Spirit of life in Christ" who indwells "as many as received Him"... by grace through faith, apart from any works requirement to be saved or kept saved.

Paul's "mystery gospel" tells us we are established by the truth of Christ's sufficiency and by His indwelling Spirit.

Colossians 1:25-27 Whereof I (Paul) am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26 Even the Mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this Mystery among the Gentiles; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory:

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the Revelation of the Mystery, which was (had been) kept secret since the world began,

We Christians now have Christ alive within us, desiring to live His life through us as the new us, as we simply trust Him by clinging to Him in all that we do and say. We have come to realize that it is Christ who is the Christian within us, and He is One working in us in a normal and automatic way to renew our souls and thereby our expression of His glorious life.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.