The Gospel According to Genesis - Genesis 3 (Part 2)

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

The 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

2 Corinthians 5:21 NET

God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

Jesus took our punishment for sin…

And gave us His righteousness in return

We see the 1st example of God sacrificing a substitute in our place in:

Genesis 3:21 NET

The Lord God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Instead of immediate death for their disobedience…

God sacrifices another life in their place…

To cover their nakedness and shame

That’s exactly what God does for us through Jesus’ sacrifice

He covers our sin & shame by clothing us with Jesus

Galatians 3:26–4:7 NET

26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise. 1 Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything. 2 But he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 So also we, when we were minors, were enslaved under the basic forces of the world. 4 But when the appropriate time had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights.6 And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, who calls “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.

God gave His Son so that we could become His children

When we choose by faith to join ourselves to Jesus through baptism…

We are clothed with Jesus:

Our sins are covered up by His righteousness

Our shame is covered up by His glory

We go from being orphans to being adopted into God’s family…

Sharing in Jesus’ relationship with the Father

We are now God’s children because we are clothed with Christ

Case Study:

Mike Sidwell 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 Mike if he confided in you?

Would you judge/condemn?

Would you listen, show compassion, & seek to help him overcome his struggle with sin?

Why is hiding often our instinct when we sin?

Shame

Fear of Judgment

Fear of being Ostracized/Shunned/Excommunicated from the group

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

It offers Mercy, Forgiveness, a Covering for our Guilt & Shame

No more shame

No more fear of judgment

No more fear of being shunned

At least, not from God

And Christians ought to follow God’s lead by seeking to…

Show mercy, forgive, and cover the guilt & shame of our siblings

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

We haven’t read the full extent of God’s reaction yet, but He:

Pronounces curses on the Serpent, Eve, & Adam

He expels them from the Garden & from the Tree of Life

He sacrifices an animal & covers their nakedness with it’s skin

Is there both justice & mercy within these responses from God?