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

Genesis 3:14–19 NET

14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the wild beasts and all the living creatures of the field! On your belly you will crawl and dust you will eat all the days of your life. 15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring’s heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your labor pains; with pain you will give birth to children. You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.” 17 But to Adam he said, “Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground thanks to you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, but you will eat the grain of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”

Notice where God places the weight of the blame for all of this:

“Because you have done this”

God’s curse upon the serpent seems to be the main point…

That the author wants us to focus on

There is a chiastic structure to the text:

God questions man

God questions woman

God curses serpent

God brings curse upon woman

God brings curse upon man

The center of a chiasm is the main point to be stressed

God curses the serpent for how it deceived humanity into rebellion

God cursed the serpent to eat dust

This obviously isn’t literal because snakes don’t eat dust

I believe the point is symbolic

He’s bringing the serpent low & humiliating it

We also see in the serpent’s curse…

Something they call the protoevangelium

“The 1st Gospel”

Genesis 3:15 NET

15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head, and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”

Christians for a long time have interpreted this…

To be the first mention of Jesus’ victory over the devil…

In His death & resurrection

Irenaeus (early church father) was the first to write about this (180 AD)

Another interpretation that isn’t mutually exclusive from that is:

That God is saying humanity & the serpent…

Will forever be in battle against one another

Humans will continue to try to crush the serpents head…

And the serpent will continue to bite their heal

And the struggle between humanity & the devil has raged ever since

But we know that Jesus has already won the war…

And our battle with the devil will finally be over one day

In God’s curses about woman & man…

They are both cursed to experience pain:

Woman’s pain will come from child-bearing

Man’s pain will come from hard labor

God also says to the woman that her “desire will be for her husband”

I think the NET that I read from is correct in its interpretation:

“You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.”

The same phrase is used of sin wanting to control Cain in Gen. 4:7

Since Eve took the lead & Adam obeyed her…

Women are now cursed with the fleshly desire…

To rule over their husbands

But women are now cursed with husbands who will act according to their fleshly desires…

And will dominate their wives

A curse that comes from disobeying God…

Is an ongoing conflict & power struggle between men & women

But Jesus came to show us a better way:

Ephesians 5:22–33 NET

22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife as also Christ is the head of the church—he himself being the savior of the body. 24 But as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her 26 to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, 27 so that he may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.28 In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, 30 for we are members of his body.31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.32 This mystery is great—but I am actually speaking with reference to Christ and the church. 33 Nevertheless, each one of you must also love his own wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Along with the painful hard labor curse given to man…

There is also the curse of death

We will work hard & experience pain all of our lives…

Until we finally meet our end in death

Death is now a reality because of humanity’s rebellion

But Jesus has also come to fix that:

1 Corinthians 15:20–28 NET

20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man.22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him.24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be eliminated is death. 27 For he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says “everything” has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him. 28 And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

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

Scenario: Ray and Joan 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?

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

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

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.”

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 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.