The Beginning | Genesis 3:1-15

Turn to Genesis 3

We’re starting a new series this semester and it’s gonna go all the way through the beginning of next semester. It’s called “It’s All About Jesus”. This series is gonna be a little different from previous series’ we’ve done because in this one we’re not gonna be in the same book of the Bible. Instead, we’re gonna be hitting all the big parts of the Bible and seeing where Jesus is in each.

And that’s because who is the Bible all about? Jesus. And we often see these big stories in the Bible like the ten plagues and the Exodus, David and Goliath, the exile of Israel, but we don’t actually think about how all these things point to Jesus.

So today we’re gonna start at the beginning. In Genesis. And we’re gonna see where Jesus is in the story of creation. Specifically where He is in the fall of humanity into sin.

So just to kinda give y’all some context before we hop into Genesis 3, let’s talk about what happened in the first two chapters.

What happened in Genesis 1 and 2? Creation account, God created Earth in seven days, at the end of each day he called it good and “very good” when He created humans, Adam named all the animals, God gave him a companion in Eve

And that brings us up to where we are now. So now we’re gonna see what happens after God creates the world and humanity in chapter 3.

[Scripture Reading]

Genesis 3:1–15 NLT

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” 14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Alright so that is where we’re gonna stop and camp out tonight. And we’re gonna go back over these 15 verses and see what’s going on in this passage.

And we’re gonna start with the first 6 verses, which brings us to our first point tonight, which is…

1. The root of sin: we want to be like God (vv. 1-6)

So God just finished up creating everything and the humans God made, Adam and Eve, are in perfect paradise. And all of the sudden this serpent slithers up to Eve and starts talking.

Now, I don’t know how the world worked back in the Garden of Eden, but if a snake slithered up to me and started talking, I’d be freaking out. But apparently this doesn’t spook Eve. Which makes sense cause up to this point Eve has just been in perfect paradise and has had no reason to worry about anything, so why be worried about this talking snake.

Now there is something significant about this serpent. Do y’all know who this serpent is? Satan

Satan, who was an angel that rebelled against God, pops up in the form of a serpent. And Satan slithers up and asks Eve, “Did God really say you weren’t supposed to eat the fruit from any of the trees?” And Eve responds, “Yea, we can from most of the trees, just not that one in the middle of the Garden. God said if we so much as touch it, we will die.”

And here we see the first lie told in the Bible, and maybe even the first lie ever. Satan responds to Eve and says, “You’re not gonna die! God just told you not to eat it because when you eat it you’re gonna become like God, knowing both good and evil.”

And Eve falls for the trap. And she ate the fruit on the tree that God commanded her not to eat from. Then she gave some to Adam and he ate some.

And here we see what the root of sin is, and that is what Satan said in verse 5.

What does Satan tempt Eve with? He says she will be “like God”

And that’s not just the root of the very first sin committed. The reason every sin in the world is committed comes from the desire to be like God.

Think about it. God is the ruler of the universe. What does a ruler do? He makes the rules. It’s in the name. And when you sin, you’re basically saying, “God, Your rules don’t matter. I’m gonna do my own thing and make my own rules.”

When you sin, you’re taking God’s role into your own hands and doing what only God should be doing. We call that pride. Thinking you are better than you actually are. But the truth is, we’re not anything. No human is anything. We’re not worthy of worship. When a baker bakes a good cake you don’t compliment the cake. You compliment the baker.

In the same way, it’s not our role to make the rules, because we’re the created beings. God is the Creator. He makes the rules, not us.

And any attempt to make our own rules is defiant to our Creator. Which brings us to our second point.

2. The penalty of sin: we are separated from God (vv. 7-12).

3. The death of sin: Jesus reconciles us to God (vv. 13-15).