The Gospel According to Genesis - Genesis 3 (Part 1)

Genesis 3:1–6 NASB95

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Temptation almost always fits in these 3 categories:

1 John 2:16 NASB95

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

And the way the devil often likes to use them is by:

Twisting God’s word

Trying to make us doubt what God said

“He didn’t really say/mean that, did He?”

Making us doubt God’s goodness

Trying to make us doubt why God said it

“If God really is good then why…”

Enticing us with autonomy

Trying to make us think we can be our own God

“I want to do what I want to do”

Sin begins with a distrust in God

Distrusting His words

Distrusting His character

Trusting our own feelings over God’s

That’s why God has made faith our way back to Him

God wants humanity to trust Him again

And He continually shows Himself throughout Scripture…

To be a God who is worth trusting

Then Jesus comes to show us how to trust Him

Philippians 2:5–8 NASB95

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Adam & Eve grasped the fruit…

Because they believed they were grasping equality with God

They wanted to use equality with God to their own advantage

Jesus did not grasp after equality with God

He left heaven & became a human

He did so, not for His own advantage, but for ours

Jesus showed complete trust in God

Not seeking equality, but choosing submission

And He was highly exalted for it:

Philippians 2:9–11 NASB95

9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Blessings come when we choose to trust & submit to God…

Instead of distrusting & seeking equality with Him

Case Study: Judy is in college and being challenged by friends and professors who tell her that the Bible is outdated and that morality is a personal choice. She finds herself wondering if God’s commands are really for her good or if they’re just restrictions.

The serpent’s strategy of casting doubt: “Did God really say…?”

The temptation to define good and evil on our own.

Discussion Questions:

What parallels do you see between Judy’s situation and Eve’s?

How does Jesus respond to temptation and distorted truth (e.g., Matthew 4)?

How can the church help Judy navigate this?

How does trusting in God’s character protect us from deception?

Genesis 3:7–13 NASB95

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

They expected to experience true freedom when they ate the fruit

They thought they would experience true autonomy

They ability to choose what is right & wrong for themselves

Instead, they experienced shame, fear, & began to hide themselves

Innocence is replaced by guilt

Intimacy is replaced by alienation

Why did God ask Adam & Eve, “Where are you?”

Did He not know where they were?

They were now broken & lost…

And God came to them

Jesus said He came to seek & save the lost…

And I believe that’s what God is doing here

He’s seeking & He’s going to set forth a plan to save

When God confronted Adam, what did He do?

He blamed Eve

But He also blamed God for giving Eve to him

Then what did Eve do?

She shifted the blame to the serpent

Why is it so much easier to shift blame than to take the blame?

In Jesus, we see the opposite of Adam & Eve

He was the only one of us who was truly blameless…

But He chose to take the punishment for our sin anyway

Case Study:

Earl is a faithful churchgoer and volunteers regularly. But lately, he’s been avoiding those closest to him. He’s struggling with a secret sin and feels like if people really knew him, they’d reject him. He’s been praying less and feels distant from God.

Adam and Eve hiding in shame.

God’s question: “Where are you?”

Discussion Questions:

What would you say to Earl if he confided in you?

Why is hiding often our instinct when we sin?

How does the gospel offer a different way to deal with guilt and shame?

How is God's response in Genesis 3 both just and merciful?

3. God’s Judgment and Mercy (vv.14–19)

Curses reflect the consequences of sin: pain, toil, broken relationships, death.

But even in judgment, there is grace:

The serpent is cursed above all—God targets the enemy of humanity.

Genesis 3:15 – the first gospel (protoevangelium): “He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

The seed of the woman = anticipates Christ, born of a woman (Gal. 4:4), who defeats the serpent through His death and resurrection.

Crushed head vs. bruised heel = the cross is painful but not final; Jesus wins decisively.

Teaching Point: God’s redemptive plan begins immediately. He doesn’t leave humanity in their fall; He promises a Deliverer.

4. God's Covering and Banishment (vv.20–24)

Adam names his wife “Eve” (“life”), an act of faith in God’s promise of offspring (v.15).

God clothes them with garments of skin (v.21). A life is taken to cover their shame—foreshadowing substitutionary atonement.

They are banished from Eden, but even this is mercy: God prevents them from eating the tree of life and living forever in a fallen state.

Gospel Reflection:

God clothes our shame with righteousness through Jesus (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Cor. 5:21).

The loss of Eden sets up the hope of a restored garden (Rev. 22) through the work of Christ.

Summary Themes for Discussion

ThemeGospel ConnectionSin and ShameJesus bears our shame (Heb. 12:2)God’s PursuitJesus comes to seek the lost (Luke 15)Judgment with HopeCross and resurrection foreshadowedAtonementGod provides the coveringThe Seed of the WomanJesus defeats the serpentExile and RestorationJesus opens the way back to paradise

Would you like slides, handouts, or discussion questions built around this structure? Or would you like to explore how to connect this to the broader biblical narrative?

Great—let’s connect Genesis 3 to the broader biblical narrative and see how the gospel arc unfolds from this pivotal chapter. Genesis 3 isn't just the story of the fall—it's the seedbed of the whole story of redemption. Here's how you can walk your class through it, connecting Genesis 3 to the gospel and the whole Bible:

The Gospel According to Genesis 3 in the Whole-Bible Story

1. The Fall Sets the Stage for Redemption

Genesis 3 introduces the problem the rest of the Bible addresses:

Sin breaks our relationship with God, each other, creation, and ourselves.

Death and exile enter the human story.

But right in the middle of the judgment, Genesis 3:15 drops the first promise:

“He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

🔗 Connected Threads:

This is the first messianic prophecy. From here, the Bible traces a line of hope through a promised seed.

2. The Seed of the Woman Becomes the Hope of Israel

The rest of Genesis and the Old Testament keep this promise in view.

Genesis 4–11: Humanity spirals downward. But there are glimmers—Abel's righteous offering, Enoch walking with God, Noah finding favor.

Genesis 12: God picks Abraham, promising that through his offspring all nations will be blessed (Gen. 12:3; cf. 22:18).

The "offspring" theme is tied directly back to Genesis 3:15.

🔗 Paul’s Insight (Gal. 3:16):

“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed... meaning one person, who is Christ.”

3. The Covering Becomes the Pattern for Atonement

In Genesis 3:21, God clothes Adam and Eve with garments of skin.

This hints at sacrifice—something must die to cover sin.

🔗 Develops into:

Levitical system: blood of bulls and goats (Lev. 17:11).

Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant "bears our iniquities."

John 1:29: Jesus is "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

➡️ The idea that sin brings death, but God provides a substitute, is born in Genesis 3.

4. The Tree, the Curse, and the Cross

In Genesis 3, humanity is cursed and barred from the Tree of Life.

But Jesus comes and takes the curse upon Himself (Gal. 3:13).

He dies on a tree (1 Peter 2:24), reversing the curse.

Revelation 22:2 describes the Tree of Life restored—a healed Eden.

🔗 From Eden Lost to Eden Restored:

Genesis begins in a garden.

Jesus prays in a garden (Gethsemane), is buried in a garden, and rises in one.

Revelation ends with a new Eden, where God dwells with His people again (Rev. 21–22).

5. The God Who Seeks the Lost

“Where are you?” (Gen. 3:9) is not just a question for Adam.

It's a question God continues to ask across Scripture:

He seeks out Hagar (Gen. 16)

He calls Moses from a burning bush

He pursues Israel through the wilderness

He sends prophets to call people back

Ultimately, He comes Himself in Jesus—“to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10)

🔗 Luke 15 (Prodigal Son) is a New Testament echo of Genesis 3:

A child walks away.

There's loss, shame, and return.

But the Father runs to restore.

How to Use This in Class

You could walk your students through this Gospel Arc:

Creation – Everything is good, including humanity.

Fall (Genesis 3) – Sin enters. Relationships shatter. A promise is made.

Promise (Genesis 12 onward) – God chooses a people. The "seed" becomes a central theme.

Atonement Foreshadowed – Sacrifice, substitution, and covering point ahead.

Christ’s Fulfillment – Jesus is the Seed, the Substitute, the Second Adam.

New Creation – Eden restored. The gospel ends where Genesis 2 left off—but better.

Would you like a visual timeline, printable handout, or slide deck based on this structure? I can also help write discussion prompts or case studies for group conversation.

Yes—case studies can make theological truths personal and practical. For your class, they would be short, realistic scenarios or characters that reflect themes from Genesis 3, helping learners connect the fall, God’s character, and the gospel to everyday life. These are especially good for discussion groups or application-focused Bible studies.

Here are several case studies based on key themes from Genesis 3, each followed by suggested discussion questions:

👨‍👩‍👧 Case Study 3: The Curse and the Pain of Life

Scenario: Marcus and Lily are going through a difficult season. He’s lost his job, and their marriage is under strain. Parenting feels exhausting. They’re asking why life has to be this hard and whether God has forgotten them.

Ties to Genesis 3:

The curse: pain in work, relationships, and childbearing.

The brokenness of the world as a result of sin.

Discussion Questions:

How does Genesis 3 help explain why life is so often hard?

What difference does it make to know that God didn't abandon Adam and Eve after the fall?

How does Jesus meet us in our suffering and brokenness?

Can suffering sometimes become a place of deeper hope?

🙋 Case Study 4: The Covering – Self-Made or God-Given?

Scenario: Tasha feels like she has to prove her worth to God. She reads her Bible, serves at church, and tries to do everything right. But she lives in fear that if she messes up, God will withdraw from her. Her identity is based on her performance.

Ties to Genesis 3:

Adam and Eve making fig leaves—self-made covering.

God providing a better covering through sacrifice.

Discussion Questions:

What’s the danger in trying to “cover ourselves” through good behavior?

How does God's provision of garments for Adam and Eve point to Jesus?

What does it mean to be clothed in Christ (Galatians 3:27)?

How can Tasha rest in the righteousness of Jesus?

🌱 Case Study 5: Hope in the Seed

Scenario: After a miscarriage, Rachel struggles to believe that God is still good. She had believed God was writing a beautiful story for her life, but now she feels abandoned and hopeless. Scripture seems distant and confusing.

Ties to Genesis 3:15:

The promise of the seed.

The reality of pain in childbirth, and hope in redemption.

Discussion Questions:

How can Genesis 3:15 offer comfort in the midst of grief?

Why is it important that God’s promise of hope came in the context of judgment?

How does Jesus’ own suffering bring comfort to people like Rachel?

What does it look like to trust in the long story of redemption when the present feels dark?

Would you like me to format these for printing or slides? I can also help you craft a few "summary statements" or a key takeaway line for each case study to drive home the gospel message.

You said:

A key takeaway line would be good

ChatGPT said:

Perfect—here are key takeaway lines for each of the case studies. These are short, memorable statements that summarize the gospel truth revealed through each scenario and its connection to Genesis 3:

🧍‍♂️ Case Study 1: “Where Are You?” – Hiding in Shame

Takeaway: God doesn’t ask “Where are you?” to condemn, but to invite you back into His presence.

🧍‍♀️ Case Study 2: “Did God Really Say?” – Trusting God’s Word

Takeaway: When we doubt God’s commands, we must remember His heart is always for our good.

👨‍👩‍👧 Case Study 3: The Curse and the Pain of Life

Takeaway: Life is hard because the world is broken—but Jesus entered our brokenness to redeem it.

🙋 Case Study 4: The Covering – Self-Made or God-Given?

Takeaway: Our efforts to cover our guilt will always fall short—only God can clothe us in true righteousness.

🌱 Case Study 5: Hope in the Seed

Takeaway: Even in our deepest pain, God’s promise stands—hope is born through the seed who will crush the serpent.