Genesis Session 6

There is no easy road or path to take that will soften the topic or make our next area of Scripture for study more palatable. This evening, we dive into Genesis 3… the chapter that speaks of the fall of man.

We know the world suffers from a universal sin problem.

First… what is sin? How would you define the word sin?

Defined, sin is lawlessness or transgression of God’s will, either by:

Omitting to do what God’s law requires

Doing what it forbids.

1 John 3:4 NIV

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

Is sin limited to action?

Sin can occur in thought, through spoken word, or through action or deed.

Second, we know of sin because all have sinned. We know what comes with sin because sin is a universal problem.

Mankind was created without sin by the God who is holy and cannot sin. SIN WAS NEVER A PART OF GOD’S DESIGN.

Romans 3:23 declares all of sinned, but it also makes clear we were not meant for sin.

Romans 3:23 NIV

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Third, Sin in not represented in the Bible as the absence of good, or as an illusion that stems from our human limitations. Sin is portrayed in the Bible as a REAL and POSITIVE evil. Sin is a present evil that brings destruction to our lives.

Sin is more than unwise, inexpedient, catastrophic, behavior that produces sorrow and distress. SIN IS REBELLION against God’s law - the standard of righteousness.

So what in the world happened? How did sin become a reality within the creation that God declared to be good? Did God mess up? Did He implant a flaw within His creation that allowed for this happen?

The answer to this question is no. And the reality is… God created this world with perfection. Unfortunately, there exists a very real enemy who came on the scene and led Adam and Eve away from God’s perfect creation.

God’s creation was perfect. God Himself declared that all was good after He made it.

God’s Word to humankind was perfect. God had given Adam clear instruction regarding his liberties within the garden.

God’s love for humankind was… perfect. In giving them the choice to obey or disobey, God gave humankind the ability to choose to love Him or… reject Him.

God gave us free will… a subject we will tackle next week. He did not create us to be mindless, heartless robots. God gave us the ability to choose… even when He knew what the outcome would be.

God does not control our choices… but He knows what those choices will be. Paused until next week…

Tonight we unpack the details found in the first 7 verses of Genesis 3. These verses record the events that triggered the fall, and brought us to where we are today.

What I want us to see is… the enemy that was present then… is the same enemy that is present now. The enemy that was present then is still on the hunt… and he is looking to bring harm to as many people as he can. And his goal might surprise you...

Yes… the enemy attacks the people of God on a daily basis… but do we know who it is that Satan is ultimately wanting to attack? God. Satan’s attack in the Garden was an attack on God the Father. Satan tried to hit God in a round about way through bringing destruction to what God had created

But God… in His infinite wisdom, power, and authority, countered with a plan of redemption that would forever seal the fate of the devil. Satan’s days… are truly numbered!

The Deception

Genesis 3 opens up with the introduction of a new character to the story. No animal had been singled out yet in Scripture… and we know that the character presented is more than meets the eye.

Genesis 3:1 NIV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Take note of something interesting… who does the Bible identify as the One who made the serpent?

God created the serpent. The serpent is identified as “more crafty” than any of the other wild animals.

Genesis tells us who created the bodily form of the serpent… but this was more than just your average animal. We know that the devil was on the scene. Scriptures such as Revelation 12:9 identify the true nature of the serpent.

Revelation 12:9 NIV

9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

Isn’t it interesting that in the beginning, the devil is identified as a serpent, and in the end, he is identified as the same?

Next, what did the serpent do? He comes on the scene with the intent to make God look like… the bad guy.

“Gasp! Are you telling me that God is not letting you eat from any tree in the garden??? What kind of “loving God” would do such a thing?”

Satan… exaggerates. He expands on what was truly said for shock factor. He dramatizes the situation and works to open a door of incorrect thought in the mind of Eve. And Eve… took the bait.

Look at her response in Genesis 3:2-3

Genesis 3:2–3 NIV

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

Eve corrected one exaggeration… but did as the enemy led her to do. She added to the command as she began to walk down the “path of thought” the enemy was leading her to. God NEVER said “touch it and die.” God said in Genesis 2:17 “when you EAT from it you will certainly die.”

And thus the deceptive process took hold. Eve had just put words in the mouth of God. Her perspective of God had just changed a bit… and it was enough to open the door for the enemy’s next move.

Genesis 3:4–5 NIV

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

“Touch the tree or eat from the tree, pastor, what is the big deal? This seems superficial.” And that is EXACTLY what the enemy want us to think!!!

The enemy will do all he can to subtly plant a seed of deception in your mind.

One false statement led to another which opened the door for the devil to pounce. The devil influenced Eve to question God’s motives and the damage was done.

And look at one more thing the enemy did here. Did the enemy entice Eve to touch the tree? Why did he tempt her to eat from the tree?

Because eating the fruit was sin. God’s command would be broken through eating the fruit, not touching the tree.

Once a seed of DECEPTION takes root, the DISTRACTION from the truth begins to grow.

People today make a habit of doing what Eve did while under the influence of the enemy. Satan wants the world to see God as the bad guy… as the guy who is withholding something good from us! Yet, this could not be further from the truth!

The Distraction

What happens next is something we are all too familiar with. The temptation is now alive and strong in the heart of Eve and Scripture shows us that temptation in motion.

Genesis 3:6 NIV

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

The deception had taken hold. Before this conversation took place, I doubt very much that Adam and Eve had ever thought about breaking God’s command. But now they are seeing the tree in a different way… now they are dealing with the distraction of temptation and verse 6 gives us the details.

The tree was physically appealing. Scripture says it was good for food.

The fruit of the tree was abundant!! The deception plus the distraction leads to questions like “There is so much fruit… why won’t God let me have some?”

The fruit of the tree looked delicious… it was pleasing to the eye! The deception plus the distraction might have had heard thinking, “The fruit looks incredible! Why would God keep something so delicious from me?”

The fruit would give her wisdom… who doesn’t want more wisdom! “Why doesn’t God want me having the knowledge of good and evil? Why doesn’t God want me… to be like Him?”

And with that, the distraction of temptation led her to take and eat. She gave some to Adam who also ate.

Verse 6 gives us inside details as to what was going through the mind of Eve after her conversation with the serpent. What I find most troubling is… there is NO mention of God’s original command. God’s Word was NOT the word being considered.

Eve trusted the word of the serpent over the Word of God. She believed the serpent when he said, “You will not certainly die.” As if the enemy had some kind of inside track to the mind and motives of God.

Eve’s focus had shifted. Pleasing God was no longer at the forefront of her mind… She now aimed to please herself.

And the really sad part in all of this was… Adam did noting to stop her.

When the serpent was speaking to Eve in the garden, every time the word “you” pops up, in the original language, it is in the plural form of the verb meaning Eve was NOT alone.

In her answer, Eve does not say “I may eat” but she says “We may eat” indicating Eve was NOT alone.

Verse 6 specifies that after Eve ate the fruit, she gave some to Adam who was with her indicating that Eve was not alone.

Eve did all the talking but Adam was present. So… why did the serpent talk to Eve instead of Adam?

I believe it was to get as far removed from God’s original command as possible. That command was given to Adam… who would have known it best. It was given in a face-to-face conversation between God and man. I believe Satan talked to Eve because she was the easier target - not because she was a woman - but because she was not present when the command was initially given.

It was Adam’s responsibility to step up and silence the deception. Adam was just as deceived and distracted as Eve.

My point is: distraction brought on by temptation is a POWERFUL thing. It plays on our desires in a very negative way.

Once DISTRACTION has fully grown, it leads to the DESTRUCTION God desires to keep us from.

Eve’s sin, was a sin of initiative. She took, she ate. Adam’s sin, was a sin of acquiescence or conformity. He just went with the flow.

The Destruction

Sin… was now present. Sin had now taken hold. And no one had to tell Adam and Eve of this new terrible reality. They immediately began to feel its effects.

Genesis 3:7 NIV

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.

Instead of knowing good and evil, the couple now know they are naked. This was NOT what they had bargained for. What was formerly understood to be a sign of a healthy relationship between the man and the woman has now become something unpleasant and filled with shame.

The beautiful reality they once shared was now stained with sin… and they immediately tried to do what they could to cover their shame - their nakedness.

With SIN comes a CONSEQUENCE that we cannot OVERCOME on our own.

As soon as sin entered the picture, it was accompanied with destructiveness and death.

The innocence they once shared was now dead and gone. Purity had given way to shame. And all this started with the simple planting of one little deceptive seed.

The devil purposely exaggerated the command. Eve countered but did not fully correct the wrong. The devil saw that sliver of opportunity and… the rest is history.

The enemy is very strategic in how he attacks. His methods are crafty and he wants nothing good for you.

Satan did not care one bit if Adam and Eve gained anything from eating the fruit of the tree. All he cared about was the inevitable death that would come for disobeying the word of God.

He deceived them with the “delight” of what could be gained only to lead them to the destruction they had been warned of.

He did it then… and he is still doing it now.

Closing

Thankfully, we know this is NOT where the story ends. Thankfully God comes to the rescue.

But church, we need to be mindful of the enemy and his ways. He hasn’t changed. His motive hasn’t changed. He does not care about you one bit.

So how do we counter these attacks?

First, we need to be under the covering of Jesus’ blood and the power of God.

Second, we need to know His Word and I mean KNOW His Word.

Do NOT let the devil twist or spin the truth. Stand on the Word of God and remain grounded in His love.

Third, listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit! Adam may have remained silent, but God’s Spirit will guide and direct. Conviction is NOT a bad thing! Choosing to ignore conviction… is a bad thing.

Next week we are going to talk about the free will God has given each of us and why it is so important.

But I pray that we would choose to trust God… to listen to His Holy Spirit, and to follow in the footsteps of His Son, Jesus. Do not give the enemy an inch. Stop the deception before it takes root in your heart.