Genesis 1:1 – 3:24
GOD Created
Referring to the invisible GOD Almighty, Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
But if that was the beginning, then how could a GOD exist to create? How can GOD exist before the beginning? Or did GOD come into existence at the same time “in the beginning”? And if a Creator created everything, then who created this Creator? To answer that, we need only to know if The Creator (GOD) would exist contingently because only contingent beings need a cause. The answer is that GOD must exist necessarily because GOD exists by necessity of GOD’s own nature. Things that exist necessarily exist by necessity of their own nature. An example could be abstract objects such as numbers. Many mathematicians would concur that numbers exist by necessity of their own nature. Some, however, would argue that numbers simply cannot exist if nothing exists; numbers can only come into existence once the first something comes into existence. Things that exist contingently are caused to exist by something else. For example, a painting exists because an artist created it. A globe that many teachers use in classrooms only exists because it was created. Earth is the same – it exists contingently. How do we know this? Almost all physicists and cosmologists agree that at some point in the finite past the universe began to exist. In other words, there was nothing — no time, space, matter or energy — and then there was something. It is logically possible that the entire universe did not have to exist. But it does exist. Why? The universe doesn’t exist necessarily; rather, it exists contingently. The universe didn’t create itself because nothing cannot become something unless a certain Something (or Someone) creates that something. Therefore, creation comes from either GOD or abstract objects; however, abstract objects do not create anything; therefore, GOD is The Creator. It is argued that GOD created the entire universe and all life – specifically humankind. The only adequate explanation of a contingent universe existing is that it was created by a non-contingent and supernatural Being. GOD exists necessarily. Who made GOD? That question is like asking “Who caused the ‘uncaused first cause’?” A “created GOD” is not even a coherent concept. However, supposing that the universe has always existed and energy is eternal and uncreated, of course no one created it. But if it is meaningless to ask, “Who created energy or the universe?” since it has always existed, then it is equally meaningless to ask “Who made GOD?” since GOD has always existed. If, however, energy and the universe is not eternal, it needs a Cause. On the other hand, if it has no beginning, it does not need a cause of its beginning. Likewise, if GOD had no beginning, it is absurd to ask, “Who made GOD?” It is simply a category mistake to ask, “Who made the Unmade?” or “Who created the Uncreated?” However, the vast majority of physicists and cosmologists agree that at some point in the finite past, the universe did have a beginning. If the universe had a beginning, the universe exists contingently; therefore, the universe was created; GOD is the Creator and GOD exists necessarily. In conclusion, GOD was not created, GOD simply is. GOD is the uncaused, beginningless, changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless, enormously powerful cause of the universe and is also a free agent who is not a mere abstract object. All minds can only come from a Mind. Life can only come from life. Creation comes from a Creator. Therefore, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Was GOD Lonely?
Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
But what was GOD doing before He created? Did He merely exist in boredom, surrounded by void? Was He isolated and lonely?
In John 17:24, Jesus says in a prayer for His disciples, “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
The Trinity of the Father, Son, and Spirit have always had relationship and union. 1John 4:8,16 informs us that “GOD is love.” And because love requires a beloved and a Spirit of love between the One who loves and the One who receives love, GOD is unable to be lonely. This illustration has the advantage of being personal, since it involves love, a characteristic that flows only from persons. And this three-in-one is even depicted and praised in the act of marriage. In marriage, the two become one with the spirit of love (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; 1Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:31). So, 1 male + 1 female + 1 spirit of love = 1 marriage, which is 1 unity. [see Genesis 2:22-24]
Referring to Jesus Christ (the Son), Colossians 1:16-17 says, “16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
But if Genesis 1:1 states that GOD created the heavens and the earth, then Jesus is GOD even though Jesus is the Son. Therefore, the very first verse of the Bible contains Christ even though Christ has not yet been revealed in the Biblical story.
Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:3-5 says, “3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.”
John 1:1-5 says, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
The phrase “in the beginning” brings us back to Genesis 1:1 and the “Word” is what is written in Genesis 1:3 when “God said” and then creation was formed through the Word. John makes it clear that the “Word” and “God” are distinct from each other yet at the same time the “Word was God.” The “Word” is Jesus (the Son) and “God” is the Father. The Son and the Father are distinct yet they are One.
John 3:19-21 says, “19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
John 8:12 says, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’ ”
John 9:5 says, “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
John 11:9-10 says, “9 Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
John 12:35-36 says, “35 So Jesus said to them, ‘For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36 While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.’ ”
John 12:46 says, “I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”
Colossians 1:13-14 says, “13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
So, Jesus was the Light of the world while He was in the world, but because Jesus ascended to Heaven after His resurrection, He gave authority to His children. Matthew 5:14-16 says, “14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Revelation 21:23-25 says, “23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;”
Genesis 1:14 says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years”
Genesis 15:5-6 says, “5 And [GOD] took [Abraham] outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ 6 Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
In Matthew 2:2, the magi from the east said, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:9-11 says, “9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him.”
Matthew 24:29-30 says, “29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky…” [see also, Joel 3:15; Isaiah 13:10; Revelation 6:12-17]
Therefore, Genesis informs us that GOD made stars and they would serve as signs. The stars also represented the seed of Abraham being fruitful, from which Jesus eventually came. A specific cosmic sighting expressed as being a star led the wise men to Jesus. And in the end, the stars will again serve as a sign of Christ’s second coming when they fall from the sky and shine no more. And so yet again, Christ is in the beginning, which is Genesis.
What have you noticed about creation that calls attention to GOD’s design? Is there anything specific that has the signature of GOD?
Image of GOD
Genesis 1:26-28 says, “26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ ”
Us? Our image? Our likeness? Why the plural form? The plural pronoun “us” is simply required by the plural Hebrew noun אֱלֹהִים [H430] ‘ĕlōhîm (el-o-heem’), which is translated “God.” The plural nature of the Hebrew word is designed to give a fuller, more majestic sense to GOD’s name. “Us” portrays GOD deliberating in the midst of His court just as a king might have a court and discuss his plans among them (2Kings 22; Job1-2; Psalm 82; Isaiah 6). But “Our” cannot be so easily explained in the context of the ancient world. No evidence exists for the creation of people in both the image of GOD and the image of His angels. So, is it a coincidence that the plural Hebrew noun translates to “us” and “our”? It seems more likely that this implies a greater complexity to GOD’s nature and is a reference to the Trinity (Father, Son, Spirit). But should it truly surprise us that GOD’s greatness cannot be fathomed? It is written in Isaiah 55:8-9, “8 ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. 9 ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.’ ” And though the special divine revelation of the Trinity is not fully developed in the Old Testament, it is definitely foreshadowed (Psalm 110:1; Proverbs 30:4; Isaiah 63:7-10). Now examine: Genesis 1:1 describes the Father, Genesis 1:2 describes the Spirit, and Genesis 1:3 describes the Word (who is the Son). That’s the Trinity in the first three verses of the Bible. Yet we are created in “His” image? Whose image? In the image of the invisible GOD? No, but yes. We were created in the image of Jesus (the Son). From the beginning, humans were designed according to the design of Jesus’s body. We were modeled after Jesus. Daniel 3:1 describes the statue of Nebuchadnezzar with the same Hebrew term for image. Thus, “image” and “likeness” and synonymous. But even the use of Elohim is an incomplete picture of GOD. In Hebrew thought, a name was not just a way of identifying a person; it was a way of revealing his/her very identity and essence. It is the same with the names of GOD, but in Scripture, GOD’s identity is expressed not just in one name but in multiple different names, each one describing something new we need to learn and know about GOD. Each name of GOD is like a curtain covering a window. When the curtain is drawn back, the name becomes more fully known and glimpses of GOD can be seen. Elohim is the most common of the names used within Scripture, but there are many names associated with GOD because GOD’s greatness cannot be described by only one name.
Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
Jesus (the Son) is the image of the invisible Father, and humans were created in His image. The word “firstborn” is an English translation of the Greek word πρωτότοκος [G4416] prōtotokos (pro-tot’-ahk-ahs), which references Jesus’s preeminence over all and superiority in position. Even Israel had been referred to as GOD’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 21:16-17). Paul depicts Christ in terms similar to the presentation of the person of “Wisdom” in Proverbs 8:25-31 in that when everything was established, “I was there.” Wisdom was always present; likewise, Jesus was always present. In later Jewish wisdom literature, personified divine wisdom is described as the image of GOD. So, it would be a grave mistake to think in purely physical terms here, as if Paul were asserting that the Father existed before the Son and that the Son had a physical origin or was somehow created (the classic Arian heresy) rather than existing eternally as the Son, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, in the Godhead. What Paul had in mind was the rights and privileges of a firstborn son— especially the son of a monarch who would inherit ruling sovereignty. This is how the expression is used of David in Psalm 89:27: “I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.” So, not only are we created in Jesus’s image by physical appearance of the human body GOD designed, but we are also created in His image because we are supposed to be a reflection of GOD’s glory and character in our capacity for reason, creativity, humor, joy, speech, and free will for love and all its characteristics. As the image and likeness of GOD, humans were granted authority over earth, but that rulership only equates to stewardship because as it is written in Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” But even though we were supposed to be children of GOD who reigned over creation as fruitful males and females (Genesis 1:28), Paul would later write in Romans 1:22-32 that the opposite happened due to the Fall:
“22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
But how did that happen? It happened due to the Fall (which will soon be discussed). Before the Fall, however, in Genesis 1:31, “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” The creation is good because GOD the Creator is good (Psalms 34:8; 100:5; Jeremiah 33:11; Nahum 1:7; 1Peter 2:3). And because we were created in His image and likeness, we were designed for the very purpose of being good and doing good.
How many attributes of GOD can you think of that are good? How many of those good attributes do you accurately reflect for all mankind to see so that they might see your goodness and glorify GOD who is in Heaven?
If every human being is created in the image of GOD, how should you treat every human being you encounter? Do you meet that requirement? If not, what can you do to meet that requirement?
Breath of Life; Living Being
Genesis 2:7 says, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
The Hebrew אָדָם [H120] ‘āḏām (aw-dahm’) for “man” sounds like the Hebrew אֲדָמָה [H127] ‘ăḏāmâ (ad-aw-maw’) for “ground” in order to highlight the fact that human beings truly are nothing special without GOD’s breath of life. GOD spoke everything else into existence (Genesis 1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24), but He was intimate and personal when He created us in His image (1:26-27)! We were shaped and formed! Though the most common English translation of the Hebrew עָפָר [H6083] ʿāp̄hār (aw-fawr’) is “dust”, it may also be translated as dry earth, loose earth, ground, or even clay. And this would make sense because the Lord is the Potter and we are the clay (Isaiah 29:16; 64:8; Jeremiah 18:6; Lamentations 4:2; Zechariah 11:13; Romans 9:20-21). And then we received the Breath of Life! When it is written that man became a “living being”, that is the Hebrew נֶפֶשׁ [H5315] nep̄hešh (neh’-fesh), which means soul, self, life, that which breathes, that which possesses the breath, the inner being of a person, mind, living being, creature, desire, emotion, passion, or activity of the mind, will, or character. This is the same word used in Genesis 1:20,21,24,30 which describes all sea, land, and air animals that possess breath. And so the breath of GOD is what gives the creature its value. Humans have value; however, what is the value of the chemical elements that make up our bodies? If humans are without souls, what would the body be worth based on the material value? We were formed from the ground. Without the Breath of Life, the body is a mere shell. Scripture calls our bodies vessels and holy temples (John 2:21; Romans 9:21; 1Corinthians 6:19-20; 2Corinthians 4:7; 1Thessalonians 4:4; 2Timothy 2:20-21; Revelation 2:27). The substance is dependent upon its Source. GOD spoke to the source to create the substance. Without the source, the substance dies. Water is the source of fish; if you take a fish out of water, it will die. If you pull the vegetation out of the ground, it will die. If you separate a human body from the Breath of Life, the body will die. Is death an instantaneous response to the separation? No. The death happens slowly. Does a flower automatically die once you pluck it from the ground? No, it slowly withers to nothing. A human without GOD is like a fish out of water or a flower plucked from the ground. GOD spoke to the source to create the substance! But GOD spoke to Himself when He created humans! Nothing else was created by GOD speaking to Himself. Only humans. But GOD is The Source of everything (Deuteronomy 8:3; Psalm 42:1-3; Matthew 4:4; 5:6; Luke 4:4; John 4:10-14; 6:35,41,48,51; 7:37-38; Revelation 7:17)!
So, are you seeking the Source? David – a man after GOD’s own heart (1Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) – would later seek the Source while writing Psalm 8:3-9, declaring, “3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; 4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? 5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! 6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!”
Genesis 2:15 says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”
This is the rulership that becomes stewardship. GOD appointed Adam to be over the garden. Similar verbs describe the later role of the priests and Levites in the tabernacle and temple (Numbers 3:7-8; 8:26). These verbs, however, can also be translated as “serve” and “guard”. So, the man (Adam) was appointed a priestly role to protect the garden sanctuary.
You are a living being because you possess GOD’s breath of life within you. How long can you hold your breath? How long can you claim you don’t need GOD? After holding your breath for as long as you can, what adjectives can you use to describe the gift of breathing?
How does Adam’s priestly role over the Garden of Eden relate to your life? What has GOD allowed you to rule over? Are you being a good steward of what GOD has allowed you to rule over? If so, what are the ways you believe you are a good steward? If not, what do you need to start doing to be a better steward of all that GOD has given you?
The Woman
Genesis 2:18-20 says, “18 Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.”
This is the first occurrence we see of GOD’s great gift of free will granted to man. Whatever Adam chose to call the animals, GOD permitted Adam’s freedom of choice. Why? Because GOD was setting Adam up for an even greater decision he would soon need to make regarding his compatibility with the animals. GOD first showed all the animals to Adam so that he could realize on his own that animals are not suitable for being a sexual partner and life helper. That’s simply not the design. Animals are not equal to humans in value.
Leviticus 18:22-23 says, “22 You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. 23 Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.” [see also, Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 20:10-22; Deuteronomy 27:21]
Genesis 2:22-24 says, “22 The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.’ 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”
Therefore, one male and one female for one lifetime is GOD’s design because GOD made female for male and presented her to him as a gift. Marriage was GOD’s idea. For this reason, no relationship other than what GOD designed and approved of can ever be called a marriage. GOD used Adam’s “rib” to form Eve in order to show that they were actually the same created being, two halves of a whole — two become one (Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:8; 1Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 5:31). The female was not created as a separate being, second to the male. She was formed as part of the initial man, as the continuation of the creation, in order to be a suitable helper for the male, being compatible, complementary, and complete just as the North Pole and South Pole are both necessary for the whole earth to be complete as one. And because the two are one, if a man hates, hits, or hurts the woman, he hates, hits, and hurts himself. In fact, man was incomplete without woman; likewise, woman is incomplete without man. Relationship is essential to purpose. Adam lost a “rib”, but what he gained was more valuable than what he lost. Everything of value is worth the sacrifice that is required to obtain that something of value. But why did GOD use Adam’s “rib”? The Hebrew word for “rib” is צֵלָע [H6763] tṣēlāʿ (tsay-law) and always means “side” where it occurs elsewhere in Scripture. Marriage, therefore, is a natural relationship of the side reuniting with the man missing his side. The puzzle is not complete without the missing piece. Eve came from Adam’s side. In other words, Eve is the other half of Adam. This would explain why Adam exclaimed that Eve was bone from his bone and flesh from his flesh. This also explains why he calls her woman — she was taken from man. And because bone refers to strength and flesh refers to weakness, Adam’s declaration of his delight of the woman would be equivalent to a modern marriage vow: “In strength and weakness, whether good or bad, health or sickness, we are one!” When GOD created Eve from Adam’s side, He accomplished the act in such a way that showed the woman was to complement and complete man in the integral union of marriage. Woman was created to be “beside” man, not beneath him nor above him. Side by side. Equal. And this would explain why there is neither male nor female, that all are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Adam sacrificed some of himself in order to have Eve as a partner in life. Ponder on that. Some people won’t donate any part of their bodies – not even to save a life – but Adam made the sacrifice of his side just to have Eve by his side and abolish loneliness from his life. He was thankful that he was able to make a sacrifice in order to abolish loneliness. What sacrifices are you willing to make in order to abolish loneliness from your life? Talk to people? Actually give someone a chance? Decide not to be judgmental about the way they look and instead make a decision to get to know that person’s character and personality? You may not need to have your side surgically removed, but you will have to give up something spiritually in order to gain something spiritual. If you think about it, all that you’re really giving up is the loneliness itself and trading it in for the joy of fellowship or relationship. And though Eve became the female human “helper” for Adam, all females are only capable of help according to the limits of being a finite and fallible human. Scripture informs us that ultimately, the Lord is our Helper (Psalm 33:20; 70:5; 115:11; 121:2) and He will help us return to the original design of relationship with Him while having joy, peace, security, and fulfillment of purpose on the New Earth under the new heavens (Revelation 21-22).
If you are a male, do you have a wife? If you are a female, do you have a husband? If so, when was the last time you thanked GOD for your helper?
When was the last time you thanked your spouse for being your helper?
What sacrifices are you willing to make for your marriage?
When was the last time you both prayed, praised, and/or worshiped GOD together as one?
The Serpent’s Slippery Slope
Genesis 3:1 [a] says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.”
Is Satan the serpent? Yes; he is also known as the dragon and the devil.
2Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
2Corinthians 11:14 says, “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
Revelation 12:9; says, “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
Revelation 20:2. says, “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;”
Satan is described as being crafty, cunning, calculating, and indirectly deceiving. The word “crafty” is an English translation of the Hebrew word עָרוּם [H6175] ʿārûm (aw-room’), which means shrewd, crafty, wise, sensible, or prudent. Now, it’s important to realize that this is a good quality to possess. In fact, the same word is used in Proverbs 14:15, saying, “The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps.” Unfortunately, neither Eve nor Adam would be sensible enough to consider their steps and would soon be naïve enough to believe the serpent who would use a good quality in order to do evil and achieve an evil end.
Genesis 3:1 [b] continues, “And he said to the woman, ‘Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden”?’ ”
Satan didn’t approach Adam directly; the serpent’s tactic was to slither in from the side in Adam’s blind spot. If Satan can’t get to you directly, he’ll go after all you love (see the book of Job). Just as Satan went after the wife (Eve) because he wasn’t able to get to the husband (Adam), Satan is after “the wife”/Bride of Christ/Church because he wasn’t able to get to “the husband”/Bridegroom/Jesus (Ephesians 5:22-33; 2Corinthians 11:2; Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; John 3:29; Revelation 19:7-9; 21:1-2; 22:17). Why did the serpent target Eve rather than Adam? Is it because females are inferior to males? No. Genesis 2:15-17 informs us that GOD had personally commanded and warned Adam about the forbidden fruit and then put him in charge of cultivating, keeping, and guarding the garden. It seems the serpent was confident that he would be able to trick Eve directly, but only be able to trick Adam indirectly through Eve because Adam already trusted Eve.
Genesis 3:2-6 says, “2 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, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will 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.” 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.”
At first, Eve responded by repeating what GOD had said. Whether she heard the command and warning directly from GOD, we do not know, but she did possess knowledge of what GOD had said. If it had been Adam’s responsibility to tell Eve, then it is possible that she only knew because Adam told her. Noteworthy is the fact that Eve omitted the name of the tree (the knowledge of good and evil), which contains the rationale for not eating from it. So, did she know its name or had Adam simply told her about the tree in the center? Eve also added in a command that they shouldn’t even touch the fruit, which was not recorded in chapter 2. So, did GOD command not to even touch it or is that what Adam had told her? Regardless, the serpent’s first approach was to put GOD’s Word into question, but when the serpent realized she knew what GOD had said, his next tactic was to attack the true meaning of GOD’s words. This is what happens when we have GOD’s Word as head knowledge only without it being deeply rooted in our hearts. The serpent built off the foundation of what Eve knew and then used what she did not know in order to reinterpret GOD’s words to mean what GOD had never meant to say. Satan denied the consequence of sin and glorified its reward. If you’re going to lean on GOD’s Word, then Satan will try to use any area of ignorance about GOD’s Word in order to fill in the gaps with lies so that he can redirect you away from the straight path (Proverbs 4:20-27). Later on, Satan attempts to use this same tactic with Jesus while He is fasting in the wilderness, but Satan fails miserably because he tries to argue the Word with the One who is the Word (Matthew 4:1-11; John 1:1). And with the twisting of GOD’s words, the serpent presented to Eve a temptation to become her own god. All the serpent had to do was convince Eve that what she believed to be bad was not actually bad, but good that was being withheld from her by a deceiving dictator who wanted to prevent her from reaching her full potential. Have you ever heard a child say to a parent, “You just don’t want me to be happy!” or, “You never let me have any fun!”?
The serpent convinced Eve that she deserved better and that he wanted what was best for her. Sadly, even though we have GOD’s Word we can study, in 2024, there are deceived people who are claiming that Satan is actually the “good guy” and that GOD is the true villain because GOD wants to enslave us and withhold pleasure from us while Satan is trying to set us free so we can be happy without unjust restrictions. Ironically, both Adam and Eve were created in the image of GOD and were created to be like GOD, yet the serpent convinced Eve that she didn’t need GOD but needed to become her own god. Consequently, the tree became a “delight” to her eyes. That word translated as “delight” is the Hebrew תַּאֲוָה [H8378] ta’ăvâ (tah-ah-vaw’), which is a strong desire, a longing for something, or even a lustful appetite. This same word is used in Numbers 11:4 to describe the “greedy desires” of the Israelites who complained to GOD that they wanted what they did not have. When it says that “the tree was desirable”, the word translated as “desirable” is the Hebrew חָמַד [H2530] ḥāmaḏ (khaw-mad’), which means to covet. The same form appears in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21) where GOD forbids the Israelites from lusting after what does not belong to them. Eve desired to possess what was not hers to possess.
The devil is the deceiver and original liar (John 8:44; 2Corinthians 11:14; Revelation 12:9). We know that’s what GOD’s Word says. But do we truly believe it? To know what is written is mere intellectual assent, but to trust in GOD’s Word is the faith GOD desires. To question GOD’s commands is to question His love for us. To question GOD is to put GOD on trial and accuse him of wrongdoing; in fact, the adversary is the accuser who desires to put GOD on trial (see the book of Job).
Satan told a “white lie” (half truth) when he told Adam and Eve they would not die. There is a difference between the physical death and spiritual death. Adam and Eve immediately died spiritually; however, their physical deaths didn’t come until much later. Just as a flower slowly withers and dies after being plucked out from the ground, Adam and Eve were plucked out from the Garden and so began to slowly wither and die. And because of this spiritual death, Satan is known as the father of all lies and a murderer from the beginning. When the conniving counterfeiter conjured up his plan to ruin a blissful and content life for Adam and Eve, he did it with intentions of ruining life for their children as well. Satan knew what he was doing — he is crafty, remember? Never underestimate the enemy. Satan will use the truth against us, but embellishing the truth, building his clever lies on the foundation of truth in order to persuade us to do or not do something. Think of the classic fairy tale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The evil Queen convinced Snow White to eat the poisonous apple in order to kill her. Snow White only saw the outer truth which was the apple, but she did not see the inner truth of the poison. And so she died. Eventually, Snow White had a prince come to her rescue and save her through true love, taking her out of death’s hands. We also had a Prince that saved us and took us out of death’s hands because He saved us through true love – Christ Jesus (Isaiah 9:6; John 3:16-17; 1Corinthians 15:51-58).
Another example to consider is the seaweed decorator crab — it places objects on itself in order to disguise itself. Like the crab, the conniving counterfeiter also disguises himself (2Corinthians 11:14). The seaweed decorator crab is the truth – it is what it is. But then it places different sets of truths on itself so that you only see those particular truths and can no longer see the truth of the crab. When the crab disguises itself in this manner, it makes it easier to catch prey. Likewise, Satan is the same. For this reason, it is written in 1Peter 5:8 that “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Satan distracts us with surface truth sometimes so that we may be easier prey. I call Satan “The Salesman” because he always tries to sell us on different sets of surface truths by highlighting the good about them without mentioning the bad in order to persuade us to take him up on his offer. You have a choice to make: Deal or no deal. But in the skillful art of negotiation, the key is knowing when to walk away. In fact, GOD will always provide for us an escape or way out if we are seeking Him and His will. For this reason, Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” For this reason, 1Peter 5:9 continues with a solution to the problem: “But resist him, firm in your faith.” If Satan is the Salesman, then you must be the negotiator who seeks his/her Consultant (Holy Spirit) prior to making a damning deal. It’s important to realize that the Salesman will often present two options as if they are your only two choices. This is the fallacy of false dilemma. Satan essentially presented Eve’s situation to her in this way: “Well, you could either not eat that fruit and forever be devoid of complete joy and never know your full potential or you could eat that fruit and be like GOD, know your full potential, and possess complete joy. Listen, GOD simply doesn’t want you to be like Him. But you don’t have to be like Him. You can be you, but the best version of yourself, living out your full potential.” However convincing that false dilemma may sound, there is definitely a third choice that could have been made! Eve could have responded by saying, “Or I can trust in GOD’s goodness, believe He wants what is best for me, and be content with all that I have already been given. Why do I need more when I’m already happy? GOD has given me a great variety of fruit to eat from this entire garden. So, if He says I should stay away from that one, then I’ll trust Him.”
Satan’s reasoning was as if he presented a prize to Eve. The goal was to get Eve to doubt GOD’s goodness and then convince Eve that she no longer needed GOD because she could become her own god. This is an attack on identity. This is the original sin – pride. Satan also got Eve to redirect her focus from what she did have to what she did not have. And then the tree in the center became her center focus. Eve then harped on what she believed was being withheld from her and she became self-entitled, believing she deserved what was forbidden [even though it was forbidden for her own protection]. Genesis 3:6 informs us that Eve was convinced — she had been convinced that she could not be content with what she had and that she needed more. The battle was lost in the mind. The best use of free will is not in doing everything we want to do but in the discipline of choosing to act in faithful obedience because we know what not to do. For this reason, Paul said that all things were lawful for him, but but not all things were profitable or edifying, and so he refused to be mastered by anything (1Corinthians 6:12; 10:23). When GOD told Adam and Eve what not to do, it was for their own good. Whenever GOD tells us not to do something, it’s not because GOD loves controlling us and enjoys withholding something good from us. No, it’s because GOD loves us and is giving us inside information, or helpful hints. When GOD gives us a list of what not to do (like the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17), He is essentially giving us a cheat sheet of correct answers so we can pass the test easier. That is an act of love! But take notice of Eve’s process: she listened to Satan, received his words, allowed Satan’s words to have more authenticity and authority than GOD’s Word, she looked where Satan instructed her to look, desired what Satan promised, justified wrongdoing, took action, and then passed the sin along because she didn’t feel any immediate consequences. The battle is often lost as soon as a person concedes to the process of the slippery slope. Perhaps that is why Jesus told us that even a lustful look equates to adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28) and the heart is where evil starts (Matthew 15:19). Sin is contagious and spreads like a virus (Matthew 13:24-30,36-43). Therefore, we need discernment to recognize Satan’s snares so that we will not even allow the process of the slippery slope to begin.
Sin gets accepted when it arrives in disguise under the notion of it either being able to bring us happiness or it being “progress.” But is it all truly progress? For what ultimate goal is this progress made? We are always making progress; we are always getting closer to a goal. But in which direction are we traveling? It is possible to travel with good intentions and still end up going in the wrong direction. Are we getting closer to praise or discipline? Every single step we take brings us closer to either Heaven or Hell. Humans have a long history of justifying their wrongdoings. Do any of the following sound familiar to you?
“It’s just a little bit…”;
“It’s only…”;
“Just for a little while…”;
“It’s not like I’m doing…”;
“At least I’m not doing…”;
“It’s not like it’s going to kill me.”;
“Well, it makes me happy, so…”;
“It feels good, so…”;
“Everyone does it.”;
“If it doesn’t hurt anybody else, it’s all right.”;
“If it feels okay, it must be.”;
“It’s not that bad.”;
“I’m just going to do it one more time…”;
“I deserve to be happy.”;
“My will be done.”
These subtle entreaties make Satan to be the salesman, the cunning counterfeiter, the master manipulator, the devil who deceives. For this reason, it is written in John 10:10 that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
How well do you know GOD’s Word?
Where do the gaps exist in your knowledge of GOD’s Word where Satan could fill in those gaps with surface truths that will ultimately lead to living out a deadly lie?
Where are you at in the process of the slippery slope?
If you have a spouse, is there anything your spouse does and/or wants you to do that is leading you away from GOD’s will? If so, how can you address this with your spouse in order to come back into alignment with GOD’s will?
How many counterfeits has Satan the salesman sold to you? What were they? Why were you fooled by them? What can you do to ensure it won’t happen again?
If you’re focusing on what you do not have, what can you do to shift your focus so that you can be grateful and content for all that you do have?
How many excuses are you making while trying to justify wrongdoing?
If you have justified your sin, have you passed the sin along to others? If so, who? And what can you say to that person now that you realize the wrong you’ve done?
The Fall
Genesis 3:7-13 says, ‘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. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ 10 He said, ‘I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.’ 11 And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ 12 The man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.’ 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’ ”
This section showcases GOD as the Good Father who is patient and loving. GOD is the One who sought them out; it was the Lord who came looking for them. So, are we all truly so different from Adam and Eve? Ultimately, Jesus seeks every single one of us out, leaving the 99 just to come get the one (Luke 15:3-6; 19:10). While it’s true that GOD sought them out in order to discipline and correct them, He also sought them out for the purpose of restoring their relationship with each other and their relationship with Him. The first disconnect and loss was when Adam and Eve felt shame at their nakedness. Why would they cover themselves simply because they discovered they were naked? Why would that matter? Adam and Eve already knew each other and had previously seen each other naked on many occasions. So, why would the fact that they were naked disturb them now? Apparently, out of their innocence, they had been ignorant of the concept of being naked because GOD asked them how they knew they were naked, implying that they should not have known they were naked. Like young innocent toddlers who don’t yet realize the concept of nakedness, Adam and Eve had not realized the concept of nakedness because they had been without the knowledge of evil. I personally believe they had not had sexual relations prior to the Fall. Not only is their sexual relation not documented until Genesis 4:1 (after the fall), but in Matthew 22:30, Jesus said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” But if our future resurrection and life on the New Earth is the restoration of the original Garden design, why did GOD design for Adam and Eve to be married if there will not be marriage in the future? Because from His omniscience, He knew they were going to sin, that He would have to banish them from the Garden of Eden, that they would need to be fruitful and multiply, and that a future Seed would bring eternal restoration. This would explain why they both covered their reproductive parts immediately after their eyes had been opened. Most likely, it was the first time they felt the power of the lust of the flesh. It might have even been the first time Eve witnessed Adam with an erection. The concept of clothing had not yet been invented — clothing didn’t exist until GOD created it from animal skins (Genesis 3:21) — but Adam and Eve attempted to create covering from leaves. By covering themselves, they uncovered their sin and also revealed that they no longer believed they were good enough. And that is exactly what Satan desired to accomplish; Satan wanted them to disobey GOD and believe they weren’t good enough for GOD’s love. But what caused Adam and Eve to believe they weren’t good enough? This is the second disconnect and loss. Sin has a domino effect. Did Adam and Eve suddenly become self-conscious and perceive each other’s glances as negative spotlights that highlighted insecurities? A newfound awareness of nakedness would create many questions. What was the cause of this insecurity they felt? Perhaps the sudden rushing wave of emotions created confusion and uncertainty. It was all so new to them and they most likely felt overwhelmed and simply didn’t know how to respond. But the one thing that is certain is that both Adam and Eve suddenly felt as if they needed to hide themselves from each other. Satan created a divide between Adam and Eve. In addition, they both felt as if they weren’t good enough for GOD’s love and that they needed to cover up their guilt, confusion, and insecurities. They hid themselves from each other and then they attempted to hide from GOD.
The dominoes keep falling. The third disconnect and loss was when they experienced fear and attempted to hide from the Lord when they heard Him walking. But how could they hear Him walking if GOD is Spirit and invisible? Again, the Son is the physical exact representation of the Father. For this reason, Jesus said in John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
But why would Adam and Eve have experienced fear? Again, guilt was a new concept to them and it probably created confusion. Due to the uncertainty and new insecurities, they panicked and also desired to hide from GOD. Prior to this moment, they only knew GOD to be perfect, Holy, and just. How would a Holy GOD respond to their disobedience and the consequences that came from their choices? It’s easy for us to look back in time and look down on them in their situation and wonder how they could have been so ridiculous as to believe they could hide from GOD, but everything was new to them. Think about it: both Adam and Eve had to learn how to be human by themselves. We have had others to teach us and show us by example, but they were without that benefit. The entire concept of evil was new to them. Plus, we have all attempted to hide our sins in one way or another, haven’t we? If you’re honest, you’ll confess that you have. How many sins have you hoped to get away with in your lifetime? How many sins have you committed in “secret”? But are your sins truly veiled in secrecy? Isn’t GOD omniscient?
If GOD is omniscient, why did He inquire of Adam’s location? Well, when GOD asks us questions, it is not because He does not know the answer, it is for our benefit so that we may seek the answer (Mark 10:18). And even though Adam and Eve desired to hide from GOD, these verses reveal GOD’s desire to have a relationship with us — He made the effort to seek them even when they were making an effort to hide. Hide and Seek is a popular game children play. Think about this: it’s not fun to go hide unless you are eventually found. If you remain in hiding for too long, you will soon feel forgotten and/or get tired of hiding and come out of your hiding place. If the seeker decides not to seek, then how could the one hiding ever be found? Some people are hiding in their shame; however, some people are lost and don’t even realize they’re in danger and need to be found. But GOD is the loving Father and Seeker of souls who actively looks out for the lost (Luke 15:20,24; 19:10).
Everyone who has a guilty conscience is without excuse (Romans 1:19-20; James 4:17). A guilty conscience is a warning signal GOD installed within us to let us know when we have violated the absolute moral standard. The “no regrets” lifestyle will be the biggest regret of your life. We are designed to learn from our mistakes. Some regrets are good to have because they keep us humble and help us grow. And this is why Adam confessed to GOD that he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be (hiding in fear among the trees). But we all need to answer the question GOD asked Adam: “Where are you?” So, are you in hiding? Are you lost? Where are you? Are you where you are supposed to be? If not, why are you there? GOD does not launch a monologue-missile toward you with intentions of destroying His target; rather, He asks questions and listens carefully, hoping for a dialogue that will lead to genuine relationship. He wants to hear you confess your wrongdoings and then learn from your mistakes so that you can become the person He designed and purposed you to be. For this reason, Paul wrote in 1Thessalonians 4:3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Therefore, it is GOD’s will that we go through a purification process so that we will end up being Holy vessels fit for the Kingdom (Proverbs 17:3; 25:4; 2Timothy 2:20-21; 1Peter 1:6-7). In Romans 6:19, Paul explains that we must die to our flesh and sin, continue practicing righteousness, and that practicing righteousness will result in our sanctification.
Examine closely the questions GOD asked Adam. Where are you at in life right now? How did you get there? Whose words were you listening to? Did you act on those words or My words? When confronted with sin, how do you respond? At first, Adam refused to take responsibility for his action and he blamed Eve. After blaming Eve, he even blamed GOD for giving Eve to him. However, after blaming Eve and GOD, he confessed that he did eat the forbidden fruit. How do you think that made Eve feel toward Adam? How did that affect their relationship? How would you feel if your spouse shifted the blame onto you in front of GOD – even if it was your fault? Would you feel betrayed and hurt? And even though Eve confessed to eating the forbidden fruit, she also refused to take responsibility for her action and she blamed the serpent. And though it’s not written in the passage, the serpent (Satan) refused to look inward; instead, he tried to blame humans while putting GOD on trial for creating the humans (see the book of Job). But was Adam guilty or was Eve the only one who was guilty? Yes – Adam was also guilty. Eve certainly did give the forbidden fruit to Adam, but it was his decision to receive it from her. Certainly, the serpent was guilty for convincing Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, but Eve possessed free will and did not have to choose to eat of the fruit. The victim mentality refuses to look inward and/or accept responsibility. What about you? Do you take responsibility for your actions or do you try to shift the blame onto others? Is it truly your parents’ fault? Does the blame truly fall on that person or people you have in mind? Are you completely blameless? Are you sinless? Certainly not (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23). Is it possible that you have avoided looking inward and have refused to accept responsibility for what you have chosen to do? Sometimes people truly are victims and are not guilty in certain situations such as rape or death due to a vehicle accident, but most people reap what they sow (Job 4:8; Proverbs 14:14; 22:8; Jeremiah 17:10; Hosea 10:12-13; Luke 6:37-38; 2Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 6:7-8). However, we must have the mentality that we are not victims; rather, we are conquerors in Christ (Romans 8:37-39)! And what do conquerors do? They take responsibility for their own actions and they overcome evil by doing good (Romans 12:21)!
Genesis 3:14-15 says, “14 The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Satan wanted GOD to blame and curse the humans, but GOD – as the Holy Judge – pronounced a guilty verdict on Satan and sentenced him with a curse. Not only does dust symbolize humiliation (Genesis 18:27; Job 30:19; 42:6; Psalm 72:9; Isaiah 49:23; 65:25; Micah 7:17), but man was created from the dust of the earth and so Satan will be forced to eat dust as a daily reminder that the humans he wanted to corrupt and destroy will forever be a bad taste in his mouth as he will forever be beneath them, never to be elevated above them. And then GOD promised that through the woman the Son of Man will “bruise” his head and he will only “bruise” His heel (Romans 16:20; Galatians 4:4; 1John 3:8). This, of course, is prophecy concerning Jesus finally cutting the head off the serpent and putting an end to his venomous bite that brings death. This prophecy concerning the Seed becomes the seed of all future prophecies. That word “bruise” is an English translation of the Hebrew word שׁוּף [H7779] šhûp̄h (shoof), which means to snap at, to lie in wait for something/someone, to fall upon, or to overwhelm. Therefore, the depth beyond the surface of this promise is all about GOD’s perfect and precise timing. When the time is right, the Lord will crush the serpent’s head while the serpent believes his timing in striking will be most effective. In other words, GOD essentially said, “I already know what you will plan to do and it won’t work. I’m going to allow you to strike and then I’m going to use your own plan against you and strike you down.” Interestingly, David used this same Hebrew word in Psalm 139:11 while describing GOD’s omniscience and omnipresence, stating that even if he were to be overwhelmed by the darkness of night, darkness is not dark to GOD because both darkness and light are alike to the Lord who can see everything.
Genesis 3:16-19 says, “16 To the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.’ 17 Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
GOD didn’t threaten Eve with greater pain, He merely promised her what was going to happen as consequences of her choices. If she wanted to be like GOD, then she would have to bring children into the world via creation and experience the pain they will bring her. Eve had never given birth before, but GOD warned her in advance to expect it to be painful. Just as GOD’s children brought (and will bring) Him pain, she will also understand what it will feel like for a child of her own to bring her pain. May we understand GOD’s words not as prescriptive but descriptive. Ponder on this: Adam and Eve got exactly what they desired. Eve desired to be like GOD, to know good and evil, and to be the one to make all of her own decisions. Adam was with her and also desired the same. However, getting what we want doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be what is best. How many times have you gone out of your way to get what you want only to later find out that it was not what was best or what you needed? All of GOD’s commands are for our own good. Just as a child trusts the parent(s) to give him/her what is best and right, we need to trust GOD that He wants the best for us and will give to us what is good (Proverbs 3:5-7; Matthew 6:26; 7:11; Luke 11:13; 12:24,28). Satan’s ultimate goal is for you to freely choose disobedience and rebellion. Doubt, discouragement, diversion, division, delay, and defeat will all amount to disobedience. Satan desires for you to question GOD’s goodness, focus on your problems rather than possibilities, keep your attention on attractive lures that will derail you, procrastinate and keep projects incomplete, and make you feel like a failure so that you will give up. Be careful about pursuing pleasantries. We can’t always get what we want — and that’s a good thing! The pursuit of pleasure can often lead us to pain. In fact, GOD tells Eve that her disobedience will bring pain in childbirth. Given the fact that Eve’s first son will later murder her second son (Genesis 4:8), perhaps the promised pain is less about the physical pain of giving birth and more about the emotional pain she will experience in seeing the violence and brokenness in her family due to everyone being born into sin (Romans 3:9-18; 5:12).
Genesis 3:20 says, “Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.”
Up to this point, Adam’s wife had only been referred to as “the woman”, but now Adam gives her a name. Following GOD’s judgment, it is interesting that Adam gives his female partner in life the name “Eve” because the name Eve sounds like a Hebrew term that means, “to give life.” Both Adam and Eve were promised death because of their sins, yet Adam desired to restore his relationship with his wife and proclaims that even through death, life will come through her! There is hope in the midst of judgment! Life will conquer death! In fact, GOD even promised victory in Genesis 3:15 that her Seed will crush the serpent’s head (Romans 16:20; 1Corinthians 15:25; Revelation 12:9-10). And so Eve’s name proclaims the Gospel message: through death, life will come through her because the future Seed will be Jesus who will conquer death once and for all (1Corinthians 15:53-57).
Genesis 3:21 says, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.”
The theological importance of this needs to be understood. GOD covered them. This is a divine covering. Throughout the Old Testament, one of the meanings of “to atone” is “to cover.” It’s no wonder that GOD’s righteousness is compared to clothing (Ecclesiastes 9:8; Luke 9:29; Revelation 3:5), as is unrighteousness being represented by “filthy garments” (Isaiah 64:6; Zechariah 3:3-4). Consider the father in Luke 15:22 who clothed his wayward son with the “best robe” upon the son’s return. It is also important to note that GOD covers Adam and Eve before they were expelled from the Garden. Grace always covers the Law. However, at least one animal that GOD called “good” (Genesis 1:25) had to die in order for Adam and Eve to be covered. This is truly where the sacrificial system begins: at the fall of mankind. Why? Because the promised spiritual death began in Genesis 3:6 with Eve’s covetousness. And as Paul would later write in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death.”
Genesis 3:22-24 says, “22 Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Why would a loving GOD banish Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden? Did the punishment match the crime? GOD is Holy and sin simply cannot coexist with holiness (1Corinthians 10:21). GOD still loved them, but sin must be dealt with and evil must be purged. The difficult part to grasp in all of this is that GOD driving them out of the Garden and protecting the tree of life was a good thing and was for humanity’s best interest. Why? GOD had a plan to bring restoration. GOD is both justice and mercy. Even though Adam and Eve had to be punished for their sins, GOD had already made up His mind to love them, redeem humanity, and restore relationship through Christ Jesus. The big picture provides proper prospective and helps us understand GOD’s sacrificial love. GOD loves us so much that He allowed us to use our free will to make mistakes so that we can learn to love like Him. GOD only desired to prevent Adam and Eve (all of us) from living forever at that time because they (and all of us) were simply not yet ready to live eternally with a Holy GOD. Being able to rightly use free will to live in holiness requires not only a lifetime of training and practice, but because we are simply incapable of doing so without the help from the Holy Spirit, GOD needed to enact His plan for the relentless rescue operation of Jesus to atone for all of our sins. In the big eternal picture, the banishment is only temporary. Revelation 21-22 reveals that humanity will not be banished forever; in fact, we will live in His presence once again, but this time with glorified bodies (1Corinthians 15:35-58). GOD knew Adam and Eve were going to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He didn’t prevent them from doing so (as He did with the tree of life) because the Fall was absolutely necessary in order for us to go through the process of purification, learning how to be righteous and understanding why being righteous is good. The Fall serves the purposes of teaching us humility and gratitude. This life on this earth is mere training for the real life on the New Earth. All of us — in one way or another — had to partake of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil before we could ever partake of the fruit of the tree of life. For this reason, Jesus said in Revelation 2:7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” And then Revelation 22 reveals that the children of GOD will finally partake of the tree of life on the New Earth under the new heavens. And it is there we will realize that the process of purification, though painful, was worth it in the end. And our humility and gratitude will prevent us from ever having another Fall again.
In summary, Genesis means “beginning.” This is the beginning of space, time, matter, and all life. This is the telling of the Creator and His creation. GOD showcased His mastery as He created order in the cosmos and as He brought order to His relationship with people. GOD created everything perfect; one aspect of GOD’s perfection is revealed in His loving gift of free will, which was represented by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:17). Adam and Eve had to make a choice: will they trust GOD’s definition of good and evil and live by His absolute standard or will they choose autonomy and define good and evil for themselves? This is where the adversary, Satan — depicted here as the serpent (3:1) — comes into the picture as an image of rebellion against GOD’s absolute standard. The serpent tells Adam and Eve that they will be like GOD if they possess all knowledge (3:5). This is the introduction to the origin of sin — pride. Through free will, the humans chose to sin and then sin separated us from GOD’s presence and Holy standard. Human relationships are a constant downward spiral due to the original sin and consequences continue to fall like dominoes. As a result of the separation (the Fall), people no longer had an accurate idea of who GOD is and what GOD is like; consequently, humans started to lose their identity. GOD’s love brought about a covenant with His chosen people so that sin would not win; GOD’s love will prevail. Even after the original sin, GOD makes a promise of victory through prophecy regarding the Son of Man (3:15) and a picture of redemption through sacrifice (3:21) from the animals GOD had called good (1:25) – all of which foreshadows what will follow throughout the entire Bible — GOD has a plan for restoration. However, the promise does not erase the consequences of sin; humanity will still need to persistently plow through the painful process of purification until the promise arrives. In the fallen world, evil accumulates and sin piles up. Obstacles are overcome one by one as GOD demonstrates His love and supremacy; however, the decision to be like GOD (3:6) causes widespread evil on Earth (6:5), which begins with Adam and Eve’s son, Cain (4:8)…
Has Satan led you to believe that you aren’t good enough for GOD’s love because of the mistakes you’ve made in your life? But what has GOD said about this?
The Lord is constantly pursuing you. Will you attempt to hide from the Lord? Or will you accept correction so He can make things right again?
Where are you at in life right now? How did you get there? Are you where you’re supposed to be? If not, why not? Whose words were you listening to? Whose words did you receive and act upon?
When confronted with sin, how do you respond? Do you take responsibility for your actions or do you try to shift the blame onto others? Is it truly someone else’s fault? Does the blame truly fall on that person or people you have in mind? Are you completely blameless? Are you sinless?
The Fall came about due to a disconnect of head knowledge of GOD’s Word and a deep trust in the Lord within the heart. Are there any areas in your life right now where you lack trust in the Lord even though you know what GOD’s Word says about that topic? If so, what are those areas and why do you think it is so?
As a serious consideration, when you arrive on the New Earth under the new heavens, what do you think you will want to say to Adam and Eve when you see them there? I think I will say, “If I’m honest, I think I would have done the same thing you did. But praise the Lord that He allowed us the opportunity to temporarily taste the bitterness of evil so that we will be eternally grateful for the sweetness of the tree of life. Amen.”
Quest For Truth 