Between the Now and Not Yet
Genesis 1-3 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Please turn to Genesis 3.
how full is this glass of water?
what do you see when you see this glass of water?
If it half-full you are said to be a what...optimist
if you are half-empty you are said to be a… pessimist
One writer, Claes Jonasson (https://claesjonasson.medium.com/half-full-or-half-empty-and-does-it-matter-c829d882ecfb)
says maybe there are other perspectives too:
If you are a realist, it’s just a glass of water. Period.
If you are a physical scientist, the glass is actually full. it has water in the bottom half and air in the top.
If you are skeptic—is that water in the glass?
an engineer says the glass is 2x the size it needs to be. It’s over-engineered.
Psychologist - how does the glass make you feel?
socialist- the water belong to all of us in equal measure.
capitatist—the glass belongs to me and I charge rent for it.
conspiracist: the government and the illuminati are using flouride in the water for mind-control. don’t. drink. the water.
so what do you see?
what should our perspective be as followers of Jesus on the state of the world—if the glass is our world around us—and society and culture—how optimistic should we be? or pessimistic or realist? and does it matter?
I think Genesis 3:7-24 helps answer this question so we can face anything as followers of Jesus.
glad you asked.
Let’s read Genesis 3:7-24 (this is right after Adam and Eve when tempted by the serpent Satan, they ate from the tree that God told them not to)
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
as we think about what perspective we should have—half full or half empty...
Let’s make a list—what are the consequences of Adam and Eve’s decision to eat from the tree that the Lord God told them not to eat from. Their Creator told them not to eat from:
The Fall:
Broken Relationship with God (vs. 7-11)
hiding from God (vs. 8)
afraid of God (vs. 8); they were used to enjoying sweet fellowship with God walking with Him but now that’s changed.
i will talk more on this later—but every consequence after stems from this broken relationship with God. no longer are we walking with God in the cool of the day.
Broken Relationship with Each other (vs. 7, 12, 16)
hiding from each other (vs. 7)
blaming each other (vs. 12) the man blames the woman, the woman blames the snake
not accepting personal responsibility
power struggle (vs. 16)
vs. 16b — “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
at first, we are not sure what that means.
but that word desire is found in Genesis 4:7 (the story of Cain and Abel—brothers) Cain kills Abel but right before that — God tells Cain
7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
sin desired to master Cain.
so back in Gen. 3:16—Eve desires to master Adam, and he is going to harshly rule right back. instead of doing life together before God—there is a power struggle in marriage. (and in relationships)
so really if these dynamics are unhealthy relational dynamics—hiding, blaming, power struggle, the opposite would be true for healthy relational dynamics - openness, honesty, transparency, taking the blame (admitting the blame and when we mess up), serving rather than lording over each other.
If you read Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5, we actually see that God designed marriage for the husband to love the wife as Christ love the church—sacrificially leading. putting her needs first, and the wife to follow her husband’s leadership. The Bible doesn’t actually give us a playbook for it—but if a couple is trying to live this out (and it may look different from marriage to marriage) they point to the glorious reality of Jesus and His relationship with the church.
Continued struggle with Satan (vs. 15)
vs. 15 - “I will put enmity (strife, conflict) between you (serpent) and the woman and between your offspring and hers...”
there is a spiritual battle with Satan that continues. Ephesians 6 says our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
our enemy is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour
what else?
Painful Childbearing
3:16 “to the woman, he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.”
remember God had told them to be fruitful and multiply—this would be more painful, a reminder of the curse.
so women, mothers, every time you have a child and it’s painful. It’s part of our cursed, fallen world. when my wife was giving birth to our 3 children, I always felt helpless as I watched. I tried to be encouraging (not patronizing) “You’re doing great honey. just blame Adam and Eve.” and she really appreciated the theological lesson in that moment.
every time raising children is difficult (even adult children) thank Adam and Eve.
this is why infertility and miscarriage exists b/c of this. sadly.
Work is cursed! (vs. 17-19)
vs. 17 halfway through says “curse is the ground because of you. through painful toil you will eat frood from it all the days of your life.
vs. 18 - mentions thorns and thistles
vs. 19 - sweat
so if work is difficult (and it is!) we can thank Adam and Eve
whenever work seems overly stressful, or pointless thank Adam and Eve.
and as part of the thorns and thistles and ground being cursed.. I think you can add that all of nature is cursed. This is why we have tsunamis, tornados, floods, ice and snow and freezing fog.
Death is a reality (vs. 19)
“for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
This story is the reason that we have funerals. this story is the reason that someday you and I, all of us will face our own mortality. it’s the reason that our bodies break down, we get diagnosed with cancer; we get things like Alzheimers and arthritis. b/c of Adam and Eve.
This is quite the list—if we only had this list—we would look at our current reality—this glass as half empty, maybe even totally empty, because this is disturbing!
We have a broken relationship with God, others, even ourselves, and al the created order. Everything is marred and affected by sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, all chaos was unleashed in our universe.
I have found when talking to unbelievers (and maybe that’s you—if so—thanks for coming). All unbelievers would believe that there is something desperately wrong with the our world. They see the chaos and disorder, the suffering, often senseless.
yet...we don’t always agree what is wrong with our world. nor the solution...
some say— “It’s the government. our leaders. if we just had better leaders.”
some say — “If people just had more education and more resources, life would be better for all, equality for all.”
some blame others - “If everyone was just like me and thought like me, I could solve the world’s problems.”
but the most difficult thing to see is that actually—the problem is not just out there—the problem is right in here. I can’t just blame Adam and Eve or society. If I were Adam and Eve, I would have done the same thing. They were our representatives in the garden, and while it may not seem fair that God set it up that all of us must now suffer, that’s how God set it up.
all sin and suffering stems from them and our broken relationship with our Creator.
and in verses 23-24—God drives us out of the Garden. vs. 24—places an angel to guard the garden.
and so the rest of the Bible is about how do we return to the Garden? how do we get back to Eden? how do we dwell again with God so that everything is right and in place and ordered, and at peace. The Bible uses the word Shalom - peace—everything is in its proper place. so that everything can be right.
i believe the glass is actually is not half empty...
we actually have a lot of reason to see hope in this passage.
Hope?
We can still be productive in work (at some level)
vs. 17-19 - we still eat, even though the ground is cursed.
despite the sweat, thorns and thistles and toil, we can still produce food.
we can still be productive in our work (at some level) that’s a gracious gift of God that even though work is hard and frustrating, there is some level of fulfillment.
We can still have children (at some level)
but it will be painful...
and there will be difficult things that come up. infertility, miscarriage
God gives them and us the ability to be co-creators with God.
and we have and will have victory over Satan
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
that verse can be confusing—but remember—God is talking to the serpent.
He says “I - God - will put enmity between you, Satan, and the woman, and between your offspring (Satan’s offspring) and her (the woman’s). He (the woman’s offspring) will crush your head, Satan, and you will strike his heel.
you don’t have to be a doctor to know that often a head wound is more serious and fatal than a heel wound.
what’s amazing is that before God utters his curses on humanity, he gives hope.
one day—someone will come from Adam and Eve’s line who would crush the head of the snake.
The snake crusher would come.
and it took a long time to come! In fact, as you read the story of the OT, you often think...well maybe that promise is fulfilled soon...when Adam and Eve have Cain and Abel, but it’s not.
maybe Noah is the snake-crusher...but he is not (drunk and in his tent)
maybe Abraham..but he is not.
maybe it’s someone in Israel—maybe Moses, or King David, or King Solomon—but they are not. all struggle with temptation and sin.
it’s not until we get to the NT—that we see the one who would fulfill HIs role as the snake-crusher. and that’s Jesus Christ.
interestingly when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane (note a garden) - he struggled with going to the cross, but He did...
and he began to crush Satan’s head, ironically, on the cross. on the cross, Jesus did this:
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
how does that work? since Jesus paid for all our sin, past, present, and future, no longer can Satan really accuse us. He can’t shame us or hold condemnation over us.
Jesus did it on the cross
and he will fully and finally do it one day...
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Jesus has begun to defeat Satan and He will finally.
so in the meantime, we are called to stand strong in the Lord and His mighty power.
4. God covers us and forgives us (3:21)
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
many theologians note that we have the first instance of sacrifice in the Bible. God covers them...
and we will see as the Bible’s storyline goes on—that sin is serious. someone must pay for sin because God takes sin seriously in his holiness. here we see the first hints that the way God does it is through blood sacrifice.
we can’t cover ourselves or earn our covering—we need God to cover us.
Really, God is initiating so much grace...
he initiates conversation with them...he pursues them
he initiates covering with them...
How do we have hope:
amidst all the brokenness in our world and problems, amidst all the relational breakdown and problems at work and suffering...
Focus on your relationship with God first. why?
all other brokenness stems from this fundamental brokenness.
if we get this one right—it will lead to healing and wholeness in the others.
so first, we have to evaluate our relationship with God. If we have never had one, today is the perfect day to begin one. and if we claim to currently have one—how is it going. are we walking with God, or are we hiding, blaming, avoiding...where is it? what would you personally about your relationship with God?
Own and confess your sin before God.
don’t hide from God
don’t blame others. or make excuses.
confession is simply bringing your sin out into the open; bringing it out into the light. when we hide it; when it stays in the dark; when we are isolated, sin thrives. it’s like mold. but when we bring it into the light and say it out loud to God, agreeing with Him about it, not holding any of it back or hiding it, healing takes place.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
if you are not a Christian, this is the hardest step. admitting your faults. admitting your sin. admitting you have messed up. it’s so much easy to avoid it, hide it, to blame others or your circumstances. but the path to true healing with God and others begins with humility and admitting. don’t sugar coat it.
admit “I have messed up.” “I have sinned.” “I have offended God.” “I have put myself in the place of God.
if you are a Christian, regular confession is a gift of God’s grace where we can fully admit because we are covered by the blood of Jesus which covers us better than animal skins.
and then once you do that...
3. Open up to others.
If you are married, what do you need to admit to your spouse? what responsibility do you need to take? Men, I would encourage you to be the leader God has called you to be in your marriage, and initiate this conversation.
if you have hurt a friend or a co-worker, or a family member, admit it. quit hiding, blaming, avoiding, open up. It is amazing what happens when we open up and bring things to light.
4. this holiday season, keep the focus on Jesus.
The end of Genesis 3 drives the rest of the Bible.
The rest of the Bible is “How can we get back to the Garden.”
“how can we dwell with God for eternity?”
as we read the OT, God did make a way for his people to dwell with him, but they had to do it with the tabernacle, and a temple. interestingly, the temple even had designs of palm trees carved in.
35 He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on them and overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.
reminding them of the garden. the temple was a type of garden where God would dwell with his people but it was more complicated now. the Israelites had to offer animal sacrifices, they needed priests, mediators to help them.
it was a temporary provision until Jesus could come, and he, dwelled among us.
God, in Christ, who is the real temple, dwelled with us from the moment he was born as a baby in Bethlehem. The Word, Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.
and so now, if we are going to get back to the Garden with God—it all comes through Jesus. Because of His perfect life on our behalf, his death on the cross for sins, his resurrection, the moment we surrender to Jesus—we can now get back to the garden now. and God dwells so intimately with us—the Bible describes life as Christ in us—the Holy Spirit living in us.
and one day in Revelation 21-22—when God makes the new heaven and new earth, we will dwell with God permanently and forever and fully in a new Garden City—the New Jerusalem (described as a city and a garden)
I believe if we have this view—this already but not yet.
we live between the now but not yet—we will have the best view of this glass.
we will not be pessimistic—after all Jesus has come! already, our sin is paid for, the devil is defeated, death does not have the last word. we have so much reason for hope b/c the biggest questions of life are settled.
we can expect good things to happen because Jesus, our Rescuer has invaded this world and began his kingdom.
nor will we be naively optimistic. or naive. we won’t be expecting perfection. we won’t be surprised when suffering comes b/c we still live in a fallen world with the world, the flesh, and the devil. we won’t be surprised when good Christians hurt us or sin against us—because yes sin is paid for, and the Holy Spirit helps us defeat sin now, but it is still present and lingers. and won’t fully be gone until Jesus comes back.
We will have the best perspective ever—one that is not knocked down by suffering nor surprised, but one that is not cynical either. We are not naive or cynical. we are focused on Jesus.
His kingdom has come and will come.
we live in the now and not yet. let’s pray.
