1 John 3:8 King
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
Romans 5:12
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin
Since the devil sinned before Adam and sin will bring death, why is death a result of Adam's sin instead of the devil's?
Human death is the result of Adam's sin--which brought sin into the world. But the devil's turn is coming as well, for his own sin, which brought sin into the universe (beginning in heaven).
The devil is addressed under several identities.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9, KJV)
Of him God says:
By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:16, KJV)
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25:41, KJV)
While his time is not yet come, the devil is to be destroyed by the "everlasting fire" (remember Hebrews 12:29--God is a consuming fire).
Because devil is not made of matter but the man is. The result of Adam’s sin is the multiplication of humans and because earth resources are limited his descendants may not live forever together on earth.
Since the devil sinned before Adam and sin will bring death, why is death a result of Adam's sin instead of the devil's?
Clarification
Well, to be precise, the Bible does not deny that death is a result of the Devil's or the serpent's sin or even Eve's sin as one might consider the causal order of things. But what it does assert is that the sin ultimately came into the world through one man and that death through the sin of that one man had spread to all men in that all sinned.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
If the sin came into the world through the sin of Adam, it could not have come into the world prior to his sin. Not by the serpent and not by Eve. The sin referred to isn't simply sin, but "The Sin." This isn't the same thing as an individual sin or two, but the whole regime and rule of sin (failure) that brings death to all even babies who do not sin (fail) morally but may sin (fail) physically and some so sufficiently that they die in the womb or shortly after birth. "The Sin" can be understood as the regime or rule of sin (failure both moral and physical) that we all are born into as David declares:
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Explanation
To understand Paul's thinking on why it could be said that death had come into the world through Adam, it may be helpful to look at the comparison that Paul makes between Adam and Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, he explains things this way saying,
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruit of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Now we can understand the idea of "in Adam" and "in Christ" the same way. To be "in" Adam or to be "in" Christ means to be within or under, relationally, the domain/jursidiction of Adam or of Christ. Under the domain of Adam all have been made to die and all those relationally under the kingdom/rule of Christ will be made alive.
This sin regime that we all were born into could not have come to power in the world through the serpent, and it could not have come through Eve. It could take over and exert dominion over God's creation only through the sabotage of the relationship between God and his firstborn human image whom he has appointed as ruler, by His power and on His behalf, over all in the heavens and of the earth and seas, over all His creation.
Genesis 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Once that relationship was broken not only was the relationship between God and Adam broken and Adam cursed, but the relationship between God and that which was under the jurisdiction of Adam's rule became broken and the relationship between Adam and the creation he was to rule over became broken and the whole world became cursed under the oppressive regime of sin (failure/error) and death that entered through the moral sin and betrayal of Adam...
17 And to Adam he said, ...cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” -Genesis 3:17-19
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. -Romans 8:20-21
Now it's a struggle just to survive and no matter how hard we strive we eventually fail and die anyways. This is the new world order that could only have been brought into the world through the disruption of the relationship between God and his representative ruler over this world Adam.
Implications
Now this is why Jesus is compared to Adam: As curse and death can only come through the broken relationship between God and the appointed firstborn human ruler of the heavens and the earth, so too can reconciliation and life come only through the relationship between God and his newly appointed firstborn human ruler of the new heavens and new earth.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. -Matthew 28:18
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. -2 Corinthians 5:17-19
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, -1 Timothy 2:5
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. -Ephesians 1:9-10
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. -Colossians 1:19-20
I hope this explanation seems reasonable. The mystery of God's plan for man is indeed great, and understanding it in light of his firstborn human ruler (Adam of the old creation and Jesus of the new) is the key to understanding the fall and the rehabilitation of all His creation.
“What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? 7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Hebrews 2:6-8
If we follow the text strictly, God's commandment "not to eat" was given to Adam, not the devil (symbolized by the serpent). So the consequences were given to the human race. Eve is included in Adam's punishment as she was also aware of the commandment.
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ (Gen. 2)
Beyond this, there is the fact that, as @grammaplow as indicated, the devil has no physical body capable of dying. It is possible that he did "die" spiritually, as Adam and Eve also did, when they disobeyed. In fact it is not physical death that we need to be saved from, for our spirits, like the angels', are eternal. Spiritual death is more important than physical death.
The verse at 1 John 3:8 sets up a comparison. "He that commits sin" is a man or woman whom God created since He creates all children as each are born.
"By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.' (Psa. 71:6, KJV)
"I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly." (Psa. 22:10, KJV)
"Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me." (Job 10:8, KJV)
"Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?" (Isa. 29:16, KJV)
Who is it that is responsible for sinning against God? Who is it that commits the sin? He that commits the sin is mankind. The phrase "of the devil" is where the thought of sin comes from.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Gen. 6:5, KJV)
"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders," (Mark 7:21, KJV)
"9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." (Jer. 17:9-10, KJV)
The comparison at 1 John 3:8 is between man's thoughts and desires (the devil) and man's actions. That little cartoon picture of an angel on one shoulder and a red "devil" on the other shoulder whispering in our ears is correct. Our minds think of our lusts and desires, and we are the ones that give into the temptations we create in our minds for ourselves.
Otherwise, how can God righteously punish us if the sin is of another?
"For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do." (Rom 7:19, KJV)
"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." (John 3:20, KJV)
"14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14-15, KJV)
So it is our lustful thoughts that bring forth the sin that we do. And, those that live by the flesh, and commit those sins will die in their sins (2 Chron. 25:4; Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13, etc.)
So, looking further into the text at 1 John 3:4 we find that sin is also defined as lawlessness.
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." (KJV)
If we are going to be literal, then in Gen. chap. 3 who committed the sin? Wasn't it Adam and Eve? It was Adam and Eve who were punished with death, both by being separated from the garden, and from God's special presence, and eventual bodily death.
What happened to the serpent who lied? His form was changed from a beast or cattle with legs to a reptile that crawled through the dust. Thereafter, in the scriptures the serpents, dragons, snakes were used metaphorically for people who lied and destroyed others.
Speaking of Jeshurun who waxed fat and forsook God (Deu. 32:15) God said,
"Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps." (Deu. 32:33, KJV)
And God described the wicked Pharaoh of Egypt,
"Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself." (Ezek. 29:3, KJV)
The word "devil" is strong's Gr. 1228, "diabolos" and is an adjective for someone who falsely accuses, or slanders another. Anyone who falsely accuses or slanders another is a devil, and there have been many "devils" in every generation upon this earth.
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8:44, KJV)
Who was Jesus calling a liar from the beginning? Most people will think of that snake in the garden in Gen. 3. But, specifically in John 8 Jesus was speaking of the scribes and Pharisees, and the Sanhedrin.
As every evil thought comes from within the heart of man, then who is lying and falsely accusing ? Isn't is man? And, isn't it man that is punished with death if he does not repent and turn back to God?
It is pagan theology and the belief in pagan idols that has been laid over God's word to distort this belief in one evil spiritual being called "the devil" who was supposedly cast out of heaven, and became a "fallen angel".
Excerpt from my post Testing the Spirits - Part IV(a): Slandering Angels,
Isaiah 14 is the prophesy of the fall of the king of Babylon. God was calling the king by a descriptive name, an appellation for the king’s pagan god Ishtar. Ishtar was the morning star, Venus – “O shining one”. The king of Babylon called himself the son of Ishtar, ie. the son of the dawn. Therefore, “O shining one, son of the dawn” equals son of Ishtar.
Keeping this prophesy in context, looking at all of the verses of the chapter we can tell this downfall was pronounced upon a living man, and not some spiritual entity.
“Thy beholders look to thee, to thee they attend, Is this the man causing the earth to tremble, Shaking kingdoms?” (Isa. 14;16, YLT)
God was going to remove the king from his rule and power because of the king’s proud declaration that he was “like to the most High” (vs. 14).
This same pagan overlay is applied again in the translation about the king of Tyre in Ezek. 28.
“13Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” (Ezek. 28:13-14 KJV)
Again, in Young’s:
“12`Son of man, lift up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, And thou hast said to him: Thus said the Lord Jehovah: Thou art sealing up a measurement, Full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
13In Eden, the garden of God, thou hast been, Every precious stone thy covering, Ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle, and gold, The workmanship of thy tabrets, and of thy pipes, In thee in the day of thy being produced, have been prepared.
14Thou [art] an anointed cherub who is covering, And I have set thee in the holy mount, God thou hast been, In the midst of stones of fire thou hast walked up and down. 15Perfect [art] thou in thy ways, From the day of thy being produced, Till perversity hath been found in thee.”
Many want to make this prophesy of the fall of the king of Tyre apply to Satan. But, they are not taking into account the poetic, figurative nature of prophesy. Just as in other prophesies of the down fall of kings and nations, the figurative imagery is superlative and hyperbolic. God is comparing the surroundings and settings of the king of Tyre to the perfection found in His garden, Eden.
Excerpt from Jamieson-Fausset-Brown:
“13. in Eden—The king of Tyre is represented in his former high state (contrasted with his subsequent downfall), under images drawn from the primeval man in Eden, the type of humanity in its most Godlike form.
garden of God—the model of ideal loveliness (Eze 31:8, 9; 36:35). In the person of the king of Tyre a new trial was made of humanity with the greatest earthly advantages. But as in the case of Adam, the good gifts of God were only turned into ministers to pride and self.
every precious stone—so in Eden (Ge 2:12), “gold, bdellium, and the onyx stone.” So the king of Tyre was arrayed in jewel-bespangled robes after the fashion of Oriental monarchs. The nine precious stones here mentioned answer to nine of the twelve (representing the twelve tribes) in the high priest’s breastplate (Ex 39:10-13; Re 21:14, 19-21). Of the four rows of three in each, the third is omitted in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the Septuagint.” (4)
It is not the fall of Satan that is being compared in Ezek. 28, but the fall of Adam. (Cite: ShreddingTheVeil)
This rearranges our thinking, and needs a lot of time to reconsider everything we were taught by the church fathers and traditional religious institutions. God's judgments are righteous judgments (Psa. 9:8; 19:9; 97:2; 103:6; 119:137, 160; Isa. 5:16, etc.) The death sentence is placed exactly where it belongs upon the man or woman who sins. Therefore "the devil" is within our hearts.
For more, please see the following posts:
Testing the Spirits - Part IV(b): Slandering Angels here
Testing the Spirits - Parts V(a)(b) & (c): Demons, Devils and Idols here, here, and here.
