Sunday Wisdom: The Gospel According to Genesis - Chapter 3 - The Chaos of Sin Enters Creation

Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ^'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

The Fall - Chaos enters creation 

The Root of Sin - Sin entered creation because Sin is our human desire to want to be our own gods. 

We question God's instructions, not his existence.  When Satan tempts, he doesn't deny God's existence.  He sows doubt in us.  

How did Satan get into creation and the garden? 

Revelation 12:9 - And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Satan is described as a great dragon and an ancient serpent (from Genesis) and the deceiver of the whole world.  Satan was thrown out of heaven and cast down to earth with his other angel followers. 

Why is evil permitted? 

God permits things according to His purpose.  

What is His purpose? 

So that we will recognize a total understanding and dependence on God and choose to have a relationship with Him.  We are given boundaries and limits to remind us that we are not God.  The tree in the garden was that one limitation God gave to us to remind us that He is in control and that we must depend on Him.  He provided for all of our needs, but humans chose to seek our own way. 

2 Corinthians 11:3 - But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

The serpent deceived Eve just as Satan will attempt to lead us astray with our own thoughts.  His entire purpose is to tear us away from our intended relationship with God and Jesus Christ.

We minimize sin's consequences.  Satan told Eve that she wouldn't actually die, but humans and the rest of creation did start dying after the fruit was eaten. 

We reject what God says for what we want.  We choose our own selfish desires instead of God's way.  Sin=selfishness 

1 John 2:16 - "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world."

The desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes, and pride of life are not from God but from the world. 

A Failure in Communication - Adam was passive instead of communicating the truth of God to his wife, Eve. 

Genesis 3:6-7 - Adam was “with her.”  He was in communion with Eve. Adam heard the serpent's lies.  He could have spoken up and communicated the message from God that he had received directly.  We need to be bold and speak God's truth loudly.  The world is loudly proclaiming the lies while we sit passively and quietly.  Adam was silent instead of speaking God's truth. 

Genesis 3:8-13
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”  He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”  And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”  The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”  Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”  The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

We end up trapped in sin and shame. We are now ashamed of our nakedness and brokenness.  We try to cover up our own sins and imperfections. 

We find freedom in Christ.  The first two chapters in the Bible depict a world without sin. The last two chapters of the Bible foretell our world when sin is no more, back to what God intended.

Romans 5:18-19 - Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Adam (man) made us all sinners. Jesus will makes us righteous again. 

Satan's Pattern of Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11 - Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:  “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, Jesus combats Satan's lies with God's truth.  “It is written…” Know God's Word so you can combat Satan and use it as your sword! 

That is what Adam should have done. Adam was a spectator instead of a leader.  Satan attacked Adam's family, and he should have stood up aggressively against him.  Adam chose exposure instead of protection through his silence.  He exposed his wife and the future of humanity to the curse of sin by remaining passive and silent. 

Adam brought sin through disobedience.  Jesus, the better Adam, brought salvation through obedience.  Adam brought death, and Jesus brought us back to life in Him. 

Sunday Wisdom: The Gospel According to Genesis - Chapter 2 - God's Plan for Marriage

Genesis 2:18 - Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'

Problem:  Man was alone and that was NOT good. 

In Hebrew, the word for alone means substantial deficiency. God found that man was substantially deficient without a partner.

Genesis 2:20 - So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

God gives a task to man to name his creations. God assigned the task to man to show his God-given authority and role as a caretaker for God's other creatures. God created male and female for every species except humans at this point, but he saw the problem.  Why did he wait?  Did he want man to notice the problem so he would appreciate the answer? 

The Provision:  God created the woman.  He wanted a more special connection between man and woman so he connected them by making her out of him.  All other creatures had been made just by God speaking, and man was made out of the dust of the ground with life breathed into him directly by God so that he had the breathe of God in Him. When God gave man a helper, he made her out of a part of the man's body so they would be forever linked together.  God describes himself as our helper so being a helper is a higher calling. God is our constant help in times of trouble. 

Genesis 2:24 - Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The Pattern:  God established marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman to be joined together as one. What God joins together, let no man put asunder are generally the words in most Christian vows of marriage.   

Matthew 19:4 - Jesus replies to the Pharisees, saying: “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female.’”

Jesus answers about marriage and divorce by referring to Genesis definition of marriage.  Marriage is meant to be permanent. Thus, the words "until death we do part" in marriage vows.

Paul also describes marriage by the Genesis definition.  

Ephesians 5:25-33 - Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body.   “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.  However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.