Genesis 3a
Genesis 3:1… 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’?”
Commentary
Immediately following the first marriage between man and woman and their subsequent placement in the Garden of Eden, the embodiment of sin appeared on the scene. Lucifer (the “shining one”) is said to have been an anointed cherub who was in Eden, and in both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 he is said to be the power behind the various pagan kings who oppose the Almighty God. When God looked out over His creation and declared it “very good” in Gen. 1:31 it was just that, but the potential for sin was just around the corner as this fallen angel sought his chance to rule. Lucifer’s fall from heaven had already occurred by the time the events of Genesis 3 had transpired, and like a lion on the prowl seized his opportunity to pounce on the prey: Eve.
The word for “serpent” here (also “snake” or “viper”) is representative of all snakes in the beginning. The serpent is said to be “crafty” – a word that is synonymous with “clever.” It pertains to being tricky and cunning with a focus on evil treachery (cf. Job 5:12; 15:5). This serpent was more cunning than any “beast of the field” created by God. Now the beasts of the field were originally created on the sixth day of creation in Genesis 1:24. On that day God also created the cattle and the creeping things. In the modern day snakes are equated with “creeping things,” but in the beginning they were apparently grouped in with the “beasts of the field” (lions, tigers, dinosaurs, etc.). The fact that the serpent is made to “crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life” (Gen. 3:14) as the curse for successfully tempting the woman to sin shows that the serpent was not originally created as a slithering “creeping thing.” Furthermore, his ability to speak shows that either the serpent was originally given this ability (more crafty than the beasts of the field), or that it was simply a metaphysical occurrence with Satan speaking through it. The fact that the serpent was cursed gives credibility to the distinct possibility that it could speak in the beginning. Certainly there was no problem in Eve’s mind as she carried on a conversation with this serpent. She was either ignorant to the fact that he wasn’t supposed to be speaking, or she was alert to the reality that this was a normal occurrence.
Revelation 12:9 reveals that the serpent is indeed Satan (“the accuser”), the fallen cherub Lucifer (“shining one”). His words in Genesis 3:1 show how cunning he really is: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Satan shrewdly attempted to plant doubt in Eve’s mind about God with this subtle question. God had said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (2:16-17), but Satan’s version contradicted the point as he attempted to show how God restricts, and he cast suspicion on God’s goodness. It was Satan’s goal to rule (Isaiah 14:13-14), and he apparently saw the woman as his best opportunity to gain that power.
Food for Thought
The first step into sin was doubt. Eve began to doubt God’s goodness from a creature that planted a question in her mind about God. It’s no different today, for all who ignore God or blaspheme His name do so because they doubt His goodness (and His existence). What things or people have placed doubts in your mind about God? Do you see Him as restrictive or even evil? Like a parent who won’t allow his children to play with matches or guns because they’re unsafe, so is our God who places restrictions on us for our own good. Thank Him for that instead of questioning His goodness, whether you understand it or not. Remember that the freedoms God gives far outweigh the restrictions. Both are given to us out of love and for our happiness.
Genesis 3:2-3… And 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, lest you die.’”
Commentary
After Satan had planted a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind, causing her to doubt God’s goodness in Genesis 3:1, she revealed what she knew and what she believed about the freedom and prohibition originally given to Adam in 2:16-17 about the fruit of the trees. In analyzing her response, there are at least three problems in the above passage. First, she omitted from God’s command. God had told Adam in 2:16 that he could freely eat from all the trees in the garden, save one. Eve omits the word “all” when she says, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat…” This may show that she was already beginning to doubt God’s goodness. Second, in v. 3, she recounts the restriction of God that they not eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. She puts greater emphasis on the restriction and little to no emphasis on the great freedom to eat from all the rest of the trees. In doing this, Eve makes no attempt to defend God’s goodness but goes along the path of doubt the devil is leading her down. Finally, she added to God’s words. Whereas God had told Adam not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in 2:16, Eve adds, “…or touch it.” God made no such prohibition, and the fact that Eve adds this phrase reveals that she had apparently already begun to feel that the restriction was a bit harsh. Since she thought it was harsh already, she just added to the harshness of it. The seed of doubt that Satan had planted was not only in rich soil in Eve’s mind, it was growing too.
The Bible clearly speaks about the dangers and the futility of adding and/or subtracting from God’s Words (cf. Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32, Proverbs 30:5-6; Matthew 15:6-9, Revelation 22:18-19). Eve both added to God’s Words and subtracted from them because she did not completely trust in them. Satan indeed came to the right person when he began his wicked scheme to take away from man what God had given over to him. It’s as if he clearly knew that he couldn’t take it from God, but he had a hunch he could take it from man. Once God made man in His Own image and gave him dominion over His creation, Satan pounced, and he went straight to the weaker vessel who was seemingly already doubting God’s goodness.
If the Garden of Eden was as large as many scholars believe, and given that there was only one tree that was forbidden, why was Eve so close to that one forbidden tree? Her doubt of God’s goodness, and her lust for that which was forbidden led her into sin. It’s just as James said: “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (1:13-15). Eve’s sin was conceived when she doubted God, because it was then that she subtracted from God’s words. Then she subsequently added to them. It all began when she was standing around in the one place she shouldn’t have been.
Food for Thought
What do you believe about God’s Word as found in the Bible? Do you take it with a grain of salt? Do the traditions of men override God’s Words for you? There are many passages in the Scriptures that are difficult to obey because they’re passages that tend to rub us the wrong way. However, the weakness that led to sin in Eve’s life is also the very weakness that leads to sin today: adding to and subtracting from God’s Words because we doubt their truthfulness. Man did it and led the human race into sin. Let that be a reminder to us of the seriousness of God’s Word.
Genesis 3:4-5… And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall 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.”
Commentary
After Eve displayed her ability to doubt God by both adding to and subtracting from His commands in vv. 2-3, the serpent become keenly aware of the fact that he had her right where he wanted her. In v. 3 Eve admits that she is aware of the consequences of eating the forbidden fruit. Even though the command to abstain from it was originally given to Adam without Eve being present, Eve had obviously been informed and knew the directive. She wasn’t ignorant.
Now the serpent lowers the boom. He moved from suggesting that God was restricting her full freedom to a boldface contradiction of God’s directive. Whereas God promised Adam would die if he partook of the fruit of the forbidden tree, the serpent said otherwise. This is the first lie in the Bible, and it’s what Jesus referred to in John 8:44 when he spoke of Satan as the father of lies. Satan’s statement, “You surely shall not die!” is the first lie, and it not only insults the goodness of God, it also calls God’s character into question by calling Him a liar.
Verse 5 is the serpent’s explanation to Eve as to why God lied to her. It’s almost as if Satan saw the woman’s head tilt in curiosity. She, however, gives no defense of God’s character, and like a fish toying with bait in the water she followed the serpent’s reasoning not knowing that the hook would pierce her soul, her husband, and every life that would come from her (all humans). The serpent falsely told her that God’s prohibition of the one tree in the garden was to keep her from being like God. He said that just eating the forbidden fruit would open her eyes and make her just like God – knowing good and evil. Satan was attempting to make God out to be some jealous God who doesn’t want anyone to be like Him lest they be a threat to Him. Once he was able to plant this seed of doubt about God’s impeccable character and sovereign holiness, he was able to expound on the lie that God’s love is defective, and His character is flawed.
Satan knows that God tolerates no rivals (cf. Isaiah 42:8). He of all created beings knows this, and he also knew that he himself could not prevail upon God, his creator. So he took his knowledge of God and preyed upon one whose knowledge wasn’t so great, namely Eve and then Adam. They fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and in so doing handed over what God had given to them to Satan. It’s why Satan could offer it all to Christ if he would only bow to him (Matt. 4:9).
Edward J. Young, in commenting on Genesis 3, sarcastically says this: “Modern psychology, we can hear the tempter saying, has brought to light the deep recesses of the human soul. That soul is a very tender thing, and to restrain and bind it by the imposition of the categorical law is to harm it. The soul should be free to develop and to express itself, and this it can do only through freedom and love. Narrowness and restriction, such as absolute authority impose, must be abandoned, if there is to be any development of the personality. Would you be warped in your personality? If so, then continue submitting to God and His commandments.”
Food for Thought
Satan’s words to Eve are the same words he uses today: “You can’t trust the Bible! God has restricted your freedom and stolen your right to be happy by imposing His laws upon you. You are free to do as you please with your life. There are no absolutes, no final judgments on ‘sinners,’ and there are no consequences like death for sin.” Amazing, isn’t it, how so many people continue to fall for the lies of the devil. It just goes to show that God’s Words are true and that man has a continual and dire need for a Savior. His name is Jesus Christ.
Genesis 3:6… 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.
Commentary
The devil’s words in vv. 4-5, “You surely shall not die! 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,” had a profound effect upon the woman. After he finishes, the passage pictures her as being fully convinced of the lie fed to her. The three pitfalls for all humans were preying upon her senses, and she took the plunge. The three pitfalls are explained by the Apostle John in his first letter: “For all that is in this 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” (2:16). Eve’s first pitfall was her fleshly lust. First, she saw that the “tree was good for food.” This describes the “lust of the flesh.” There is no indication here, however, that the fruit she desired was an apple. This commonly held idea comes not only from the golden apple in Greek mythology but also from the fact that a big red apple is appealing to the eyes and good for food. Whatever the forbidden fruit was, it seemed too good a meal for Eve to be pass up. Her fleshly lust for more prevailed over her.
Second, she saw that the fruit was a delight to the eyes. This is the “lust of the eyes,” and it describes Eve’s desire for more. What she had – a perfect paradise in the Garden of Eden – was apparently not enough. Her eyes saw something that she didn’t have, and she wanted that too. She lost sight on all she did possess by focusing on the negative. It’s a perfect description of our modern-day materialism – an insatiable appetite for more that is never satisfied.
Finally, Eve saw that the tree was “desirable to make one wise.” This is what John calls “the boastful pride of life.” In Eve’s case she saw the appeal of the fruit to her mind and her pride as something that could make her great – even as great and powerful as God. This also describes man’s attempts today to question God and become like Him. Religions like Buddhism and Mormonism reflect this desire as they undertake good works and meditation to somehow attain to the rank of the Almighty. Their efforts parallel Eve’s in Genesis 3.
It’s interesting to note that the fall of humanity did not immediately occur following Eve’s deception. After she ate the fruit she gave some to Adam “her husband with her, and he ate.” It wasn’t until Adam ate that the human race fell into sin – the original sin Christ frees us from. But what was Adam doing all the while his wife was being deceived? The Apostle Paul comments on this in 1 Timothy 2:12-14. In speaking of the place of women and men in the worship of God, Paul relates that it wasn’t the man who was deceived – it was the woman. Adam was just spineless enough, it seems, to know the truth and yet willingly, without being deceived, allow himself to be led into the sin that humans suffer for today. For Paul also says in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” In saying this Paul relates that it was actually Adam, who though he was not deceived, was the one through whom sin entered the human race.
Food for Thought
Jesus Christ fought the war that we could not win. He too was subjected to the devil’s schemes in Luke 4 (cf. Matt 4). While he was in the wilderness the devil tempted him with the lust of the flesh (4:3), the lust of the eyes (4:5), and the boastful pride of life (4:9). Jesus prevailed, however, and this is why Hebrews 4:5 says that he was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. Jesus did for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves and saved us in the process.
Genesis 3:7… 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.
Commentary
Once Eve ate the forbidden fruit, she proceeded over to her husband to give him some. The question of whether or not Adam could have refused the fruit and thus kept the human race from sin has been a matter of discussion for millennia. It’s unknown what would have happened if Adam would have refused the fruit in accordance with God’s command. What is known is that he partook of the fruit, and it was then that sin entered the human race. What Adam did is what all humans do as a result of being sinful – choose sin. For the Apostle Paul says, “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). In a nutshell, all humans have sinned in the likeness of Adam, and sin requires death as its penalty. This is why all die – because all have sinned; no one is without sin. All have missed the mark; all need a Savior.
What mankind is left with after doubts about God that lead to rebellion against God is found in Genesis 3:7… “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.” First, they realized what they had done after Adam also partook of the forbidden fruit. They both did in fact know good and evil, but it was nothing like what God knew. The serpent suggested they’d be like God and be enlightened if they rebelled, but their enlightenment only revealed to them their guilt and shame. Instead of having true enlightenment and being like God, they were now separated from God and put into a state of spiritual blindness they could do nothing about. So they did what most folks do when they realize who they really are: they covered themselves. Adam and Eve all at once realized they were in fact naked. Previously they were naked and had no shame (2:25) – no fear of exploitation and nothing in which to feel embarrassed about. Now, however, they suddenly realize their state of being, and they covered themselves with leaves. What they once experienced in marriage as pure and lovely was now tainted with a sense of humiliation. What was once pure was now impure, and they were keenly aware of it and unable to hide from it. Ever since that day man has covered his nakedness with clothing as a universal expression of modesty. In the words of one theologian, contrary to what many espouse today about nudity, “it does not recover man’s fallen innocence; it only displays a denial of the shame we ought to feel.” Today there seems to be little to no shame in displaying one’s nakedness.
Food for Thought
Humankind has been given over to sin, and as a result most folks have at some point questioned God’s goodness. God’s restrictions placed upon mankind through the Ten Commandments have angered men and women through the centuries, and the differing roles between men and women and the controversy they stir up have created many counter-religions and political/social groups like the Unitarian Universalist Church, the Church of Free-thought, and the National Organization for Women (and other feminist groups). These so-called “churches” and social groups all have one thing in common: they doubt the validity of God’s Word and the overall goodness of God as revealed in the Bible. Each one entertains questions like, “If God is a good God then why is there evil in the world?” This is the very question that the serpent used to tempt Eve and lead the human race into the condition it maintains today.
Truly, we all stand before God today with naked shame. He is a loving God, however, who has covered over our nakedness with His own blood. Believers in Jesus Christ have been covered.
(Introduction) The resurrection… it’s the greatest miracle recorded in the Bible, and the most wonderful miracle ever performed by God. Christianity is based solely on that one event in history. Without it Christianity falls flat on its face. I believe that Jesus Christ died on April 3, AD 33. He was crucified and suffered on the cross over the course of six hours. His death is sure because his death certificate was signed by the Roman governor. He was taken down off of the cross, wrapped in linens, and anointed with almost 100 lbs. of spices. He was placed in a tomb and had a one to two ton rock rolled over the opening. In addition, because the Jews feared he might be raised from the dead, they had a Roman guard placed at the site to keep his body from being stolen. On April 5, AD 33, however, he was seen alive by a handful of people, and over the course of 40 days he presented himself alive to over 500 people at one time. His empty tomb has never been explained, and the silence of Christ’s enemies speaks louder than the voice of his followers.
Many have undertaken the task through the centuries to explain away the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. On the day Jesus was resurrected the Roman soldiers ran back to Jerusalem to report to the Jewish authorities that the tomb was empty – a charge against them punishable by death! So the authorities, rather than believe that Jesus had indeed risen from the grave, began to spread the lie that the disciples stole the body – a charge they were never even accused of in the days that followed. They subsequently went out and died martyrs’ deaths for that so-called lie! But hundreds people don’t die for a lie. One, maybe two, but 12? 15? Hundreds? Never!
I grew up believing this story because my parents told me about it as a child. But as I grew up in and around our society I of course met many different people who did not believe. It always intrigued me as to why “intelligent” people rejected Christ and only the simple could grasp it, so when I was about 22 I began to read stories and histories about skeptics and why they rejected the Christ and his resurrection. I realized after listening to them that not a single one of them had a shred of evidence that made any sense as to why the resurrection of Christ was not true. There was the swoon theory, the myth theory, the hallucination theory, the conspiracy theory, the Jesus-was-eaten-by-dogs theory, and a few others. But all of them in the end took more faith to believe than simply believing the resurrection of Christ.
So I began to wonder, “Why do people reject such a well-attested historical event?” After all, most folks accept other stories of history even though they aren’t nearly as well-attested as the resurrection was. The answer I came up with is simple: deception. People have been deceived into thinking the resurrection didn’t happen and that it couldn’t have happened. So why are some folks deceived while others see clearly? And how can we get to the heart of truth, explain it, and proclaim it in such a way that causes people to believe? I’m not sure we can actually make anyone believe, but we can observe the problem of deception. And this is what we’ll do today in order to be challenged to be diligent students of the Word and to obey that Word.
Today among Christians who do in fact believe in the resurrection there are numerous deceptions among us that we must be mindful of. In addition to the anti-resurrection theories, today there is the Da Vinci Code which attempts to lead believers to question the historical accuracy of the Bible. The author, Dan Brown, introduces the possibility that Jesus had a wife (Mary Magdalene) and that they had children. After Jesus died his wife and kids moved to France, and his offspring begat many children – Leonardo Da Vinci being one of them. And although there isn’t a shred of evidence for this idea, and in spite of the fact that the documents which are in our possession state otherwise, people believe these lies and are led astray.
Then there is the Gospel of Judas which depicts Judas as Jesus’ right hand man. The story goes that Judas and Jesus were working behind the scenes together and that Jesus actually employed Judas to betray him. Jesus was still around in AD 46 which means that he didn’t really die on the cross, and Judas, instead of being the son of perdition, is actually the real hero. Therefore the Gospel writers were all mistaken and full of lies in their histories. This “gospel” is a third century document and is part of the Gnostic gospels.
So how is it that “Christians” can be so deceived? The simple answer is that they are by and large ignorant to the fundamentals of the faith they so faithfully cling to. Of course the answer to this problem is knowledge – a deep and growing knowledge about God through a steady diet of His Word – the Bible. Let’s take a look at the first deception in the Book of Genesis and find out how we tend to be deceived by evil and in turn fall into temptations. Turn to Genesis 3:1-7, and we will look at three things:
· Gen 2:16-17… “You may surely eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good/evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”
I) Temptations lead to questions about the Word of God (vv. 1-3)
A) The Tempter (1a)
1) Later revealed as the devil (Rev. 12:9)
2) Among beasts, the serpent was more crafty than all (shrewd; clever)
B) The Tempter’s questions (1b)
1) Raised doubt about God’s goodness
2) Wanted to engage the woman in a discussion – one she knew little about
C) The Tempter’s discovery (2-3)
1) Eve minimized God’s provision
(a) God said, “You may freely eat”
(b) Eve said, “We may eat”
2) Eve added to the prohibition, exaggerating it (“neither shall you touch it”)
3) Eve weakened the penalty for sin
(a) God said, “You shall surely die” (certain penalty)
(b) Eve said, “Lest you die” (carries more a warning)
II) Temptation raises doubts about the integrity of God
A) The Tempter’s denial of God’s Word (4) “…not die you shall surely die!”
B) The Tempter’s explanation of God’s motive (5)
1) Raised doubts about God’s integrity to justify rebellion against Him
2) God was holding Adam and Eve back from happiness
III) Temptation succeeds with an appeal to the senses
A) The appeal of sin (6a)
1) Lust of the flesh (desire for food)
2) Lust of the eyes (desire for beauty)
3) Boastful pride of life (desire for wisdom)
B) The act of sin (6b)
1) Eve was fooled and deceived (1 Tim. 2:15; Rom. 5:12, 17-19)
2) Adam sinned willfully
· A thorough knowledge of the Word of God and an unwavering trust in the goodness of God are absolutely essential for spiritual victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.”
· We must know the word of God thoroughly (Deut. 6:5-9, 13-25; Ps. 119:9-16)
· Must resist temptations through the use of Scripture (how else are we going to refute false theories on the rez, gospel of Judas, and Da Vinci?)
· Satan’s craftiness preys on our ignorance (the rez, Gospel of Judas, Da Vinci Code).
· A good church teaches God’s Word; brings people out of ignorance to ward off devil’s wiles.
Life Lessons:
1. Came to the weaker vessel who had not been taught well
2. Presenting questions about God is good; questioning God isn’t.
3. There is no violation in paraphrasing God’s Word unless it weakens it.
4. “Being led by a subordinate is a curious way to achieve divinity”
5. Adam & Eve very easily “took” and “ate”; their sin required a costly remedy: Jesus to taste death so that “taking” and “eating” would then be transformed into verbs of salvation (Lord’s Supper; ID w/Christ in baptism)
Notes:
· Three times the word of the Lord is quoted but never appropriately. Once it is questioned in a misleading way, once it is paraphrased with major changes, and once it is flatly denied.
· Prior to Genesis 3 what God had said was quite clear, but now it becomes a matter of debate. So it was then, so it is now. Quote 2 Tim. 4:3.
· What once brought life and order has now been twisted by the serpent to bring death/chaos.
· What is shrewd and crafty today? sermons, materialism, conspiracy theories, etc.
· Temptation came from a creature that was supposed to be subordinate to the woman. Kids do the same thing to parents today. In the same vain, humans are supposed to rule over money fleshly desires, yet they tend to rule over us at times.
· Sometimes men do what their wives want them to do in order to avoid a fight.
· Eve was beguiled, but Adam sinned willfully (1 Tim. 2:14; Rom. 5:12, 17-19)
· When we put ourselves in the wrong place, with the wrong people, and are willing to question the goodness of God, deception is the inevitable consequence.
· Eve was deceived; Adam rebelled willfully. She was he weaker vessel, and that was why the serpent came to her instead of Adam.
· “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).
· Belief in God, or just simply believing God, has always been the requirement for salvation. When we fail to believe God we reject Him.
· Eve doubted God’s goodness; Adam doubted His holiness. Eve wanted to be like God believing that He was cheating her of things she ought to be able to have. Adam lost focus of who God is and gave into his wife apparently wanting to please her. When we lose focus of who God is we will succumb to any and all temptations. As I pray for Harvest Bible Church my prayer is that Satan will not tempt any of us to sin. Therefore my prayer is that all of us will remain focused on Christ, for our focus on Him is how we resist the devil’s temptations.
· We must focus on all that God has given us, not that which we don’t have.
· That quality of shrewdness or subtleness is not evil in itself (indeed, one of the purposes of the Bible is to make believers so, according to Prov. 1:4, where ‘ārmâh, shrewdness, is trans. “prudence”). But it was used here for an evil purpose.
· Where do temptations come from? The tempter was a serpent (Satan), thus suggesting that temptation comes in disguise, quite unexpectedly, and that it often comes from a subordinate (someone over whom one should have exercised dominion; cf. Gen. 1:28).
· How can we gain victory over temptations? Christ gained victory over Satan by His precise knowledge of God’s Word (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10).
· Giving into temptation never has positive results: they were anticlimactic. The promise of divine enlightenment did not come about.
· Wisdom is never attained by disobeying God’s Word. Instead the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 1:7).
· We simply cannot be ignorant to Satan’s schemes (2 Cor. 2:11)
· The devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:3-4). He does it through introducing subtle discrepancies.
Passages promoting deeper knowledge about Christ:
· John 17:3… "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
· 1 Cor. 14:20… do not be children in your thinking… but in your thinking be mature.
· 2 Cor. 4:6… God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
· Ephesians 1:17… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
· Ephesians 5:17… So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
· Philippians 1:9… this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,
· Philippians 3:8… More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
· Colossians 1:9-10… we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
· Colossians 3:10… the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge…
· 2 Peter 1:3… His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
· 2 Peter 1:5-6… in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control…
· 2 Peter 1:8… For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
· 2 Peter 3:18… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Sermon Outline:
· Resurrection miracle
· “You may surely eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good/evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17).
IV) Temptations lead to questions about the Word of God and His goodness (vv. 1-3)
A) Raised doubt about God’s goodness (“Did God actually say…?”)
B) Came to Eve who believed but wasn’t convicted
C) Eve minimized God’s provision (added, subtracted, weakened)
D) Quoted three times but never appropriately.
V) Temptation raises doubts about the integrity of God (vv. 4-5)
VI) Temptation succeeds with an appeal to the senses of 1 John 2:16 (v. 6)
VII) Sin brings a need for covering (7)
Life Lessons:
6. Came to the weaker vessel who had not been taught well (teach well; make strong)
7. The wrong place and the wrong people will cause us to question that which is right.
8. Presenting questions about God is good; questioning God isn’t.
9. “Being led by a subordinate is a curious way to achieve divinity”
10. A thorough knowledge of the Bible is essential for spiritual victory
11. Like Jesus, we can resist temptations through the use of Scripture
12. Satan’s craftiness preys on our ignorance (the rez, Gospel of Judas, Da Vinci Code).
13. A good church teaches God’s Word; brings people out of ignorance to ward off devil’s wiles.
14. Folks today are deceived because prophecy is being fulfilled (2 Tim. 4:3).
15. What is shrewd and crafty today? sermons, materialism, conspiracy theories, etc.
16. When we fail to believe God we reject Him; believing Him is about salvation.
17. Eve doubted God’s goodness; Adam doubted His holiness. Both lost their focus.
18. “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22).
19. The devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:3-4) through subtle discrepancies.
20. Adam easily “took” and “ate”; his sin required a costly remedy: Jesus to taste death so that “taking” and “eating” would then be transformed into verbs of salvation (Lord’s Supper)
· 1 Cor. 14:20… do not be children in your thinking… but in your thinking be mature.
· Ephesians 1:17… [prays for] a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
· Ephesians 5:17… So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
· Phil. 1:9… this I pray, that your love may abound more in real knowledge & all discernment
· Colossians 1:9-10… to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
· 2 Peter 1:5-6… in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control…
· 2 Peter 3:18… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.