How Did We Get In This Mess of Our Lives – Part 3
GENESIS 3 – THE FALL OF MANKIND AND SATAN’S PLAN TO RULE OVER ALL
SATAN’S FIRST TACTIC, IN HIS PLAN TO RULE OVER AND TO DESTROY OUR LIVES, IS BY CREATING DOUBT IN GOD’S WORD.
GENESIS 3: 1 – “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, HATH GOD SAID, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?
EVE MISQUOTES THE WORD OF GOD
GENESIS 3:2 – “And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden”:
GENESIS 3:3 – “But the FRUIT OF THE TREE which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH IT, lest ye die”.
* WHAT GOD HAD COMMANDED AND SAID – GENESIS 2:16, 17
(1). “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely”
(2). “But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”
(3). “You shall not eat”
(4). “For in that day that you eat from it you shall surely die”.
* WHAT EVE MISQUOTED CONCERNING THE WORD OF GOD – THE DANGER FROM ADDING AND SUBTRACTING FROM THE WORD OF GOD
(1). From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat (subtracted the word “Freely”)
(2). But from the Fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden (subtract the name of the tree-“The tree of the knowledge of good and evil”)
(3). God has said, ye shall not eat from it or touch it (added “Or touch it”)
(4). Least you die (subtracted “In the day that you eat from it” and “Surely”).
SATAN ACCOMPLISHES HIS PURPOSE, TO DESTROY OUR LIVES, THROUGH LIES
GENESIS 3:4 – “And the serpent said unto the woman, YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE”.
GENESIS 3:5 – “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes should be open, and YE SHALL BE LIKE GOD, knowing good and evil”.
GENESIS 3:6 – “And when the woman saw that the tree was GOOD FOR FOOD, and it was PLEASANT TO THE EYES, and A TREE TO BE DESIRED TO MAKE ONE WISE, she took the fruit thereof, and she did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat”.
GENESIS 3:7 – “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were NAKED; and they SEWED FIG LEAVES TOGETHER, and made themselves aprons”.
GENESIS 3:7 – 13 – The first result of SIN was a sense of SHAME AND FEAR. Hastily, Adam and Eve fashioned crude “Aprons of fig leaves” and covered themselves, but of course, such “Aprons” could hardly suffice to hide the guilt of their rebellion against God. Neither, will the “Filthy rags of our own self-made righteousness”, serve to cover our sinful hearts today (ISAIAH 64:6). We need rather the “Garments of salvation” – “The robe of righteousness” (ISAIAH 61:10), which can only come when God “Clothes us”, with his righteousness (GENESIS 3:21). We can never escape God’s eye of judgment, by anything that we ourselves fashion or accomplish in our lives.
No longer did Adam and Eve enjoy the sweet fellowship with God, for which they were created. Rather, they hid themselves and then even made excuses for avoiding God’s presence.
However, the fact that they felt SHAME at what they had done showed that there was HOPE FOR THEIR SALVATION. When sinners feel NO GUILT OR SHAME, there is no remedy for judgment and condemnation from God. The Scriptures say, they feared when they heard the voice of the Lord God. The “Word of God” is given to men and women, for guidance and comfort, but it also can be used to bring conviction of sin (ROMANS 3:20; 2 TIMOTHY 3:16).
The aprons of “Fig leaves” speak of man’s attempt to save himself by a bloodless religion of “Good works”. When called to account by God, sinners excuse themselves because they claim they were all just victims! Adam said, “The woman whom you gave to me”… As if blaming God. Eve said, the serpent “Beguiled her”.
*THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT UPON SATAN BY GOD:
GENESIS 3:14 – “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon the belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:”
GENESIS 3:15 – “And I will put ENEMITY between thee and the woman, and between THY SEED and HER SEED; It shall BRUISE THY HEAD, and thou shall BRUISE HIS HEEL”.
Though the curse was outwardly pronounced on the “Serpent”, its real thrust was against the “Spirit” that was controlling the serpent’s body and its ability to speak – “That old serpent called the devil” (REVELATION 12:9).
When Satan got Adam and Eve to follow his word, instead of God’s word, Satan probably believed that he had now won the alliance and allegiance, of the first man and of the first woman and therefore, all of their descendants, and with a host of evil angels, that in their combined efforts, they would be able to dethrone and vanquish God. Satan was now “The god of this world” (2 CORINTHIANS 4:4).
But if such thoughts were in Satan’s mind, he was not only the “Deceiver of the whole world” (REVELATION 12:9), but he himself was DECEIVED MOST OF ALL! The woman, in the first place, would not become his willing ally. God said that He would put “ENEMITY” BETWEEN THE “SEED” (DESCENDANTS) OF WOMAN AND THE “SEED” OF SATAN.
“SATAN’S SEED” – Consists of those persons who knowingly and willfully set themselves at “Enmity” with the “Seed of woman”. They partake in a very specific sense of the character of the “Adversary of God” (JOHN 8:44; EPHESIANS 2:2, 3) and seek to oppose God’s purposes in creation and redemption.
“THE SEED OF WOMAN” – Consists of those persons who are brought forth into right relationship with God through “Faith”. The prophecy forecast the age-long conflict between the “Children of the Kingdom of God” and the “Children of the wicked one”, beginning with Cain and Abel (GENESIS 4; MATTHEW 13:37-40; 1 JOHN 3:8-12), and continuing to the end of the “Age” (REVELATION 12:17).
The great promise, in Genesis 3:15, has long been known as the “Protevangelium” (The First Gospel). At first, in this great “Spiritual battle”, It seems like Satan is winning and is able to “Bruise the feet of the “Woman’s Seed”, but ultimately, the victory will be won, at the hands of the “Women’s Seed”, and in the victory of “Christ Jesus the Redeemer”. This prophecy currently looks forward to the time, when Satan will be COMPLETELY CRUSHED, beneath the feet of the woman’s triumphant “Seed”.
JOHN 14:12 – “Varely, Varely, I say unto you, he that BELIEVETH ON ME, the works that I do shall he do also: and GREATER WORKS than these shall he do; BECAUSE I GO UNTO MY (HEAVENLY) FATHER”.
1 JOHN 4:4 – “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: BECAUSE GREATER IS HE (THE HOLY SPIRIT) THAT IS IN YOU, THAN HE (SATAN) THAT IS IN THE WORLD”.
1 JOHN 4:5 – “They are of the WORLD: therefore speak they of the WORLD and the WORLD HEARETH THEM”.
1 JOHN 4:6 – “We are of God; he that knoweth God hears us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error”.
Although, the complete removal of the “Curse”, awaits the coming of Christ Jesus, to purge and renovate the earth (2 PETER 3: 10; REVELATION 20: 11; REVELATION 21: 1), He HAS already paid the price for OUR Redemption (1 PETER 1: 18 – 20) – Not with “Corruptible things” (That which could never redeem anything under the bondage of corruption) but with HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD AND BY HIS INCORRUPTABLE WORD (1 PETER 1: 23).
In token, therefore, by faith, we can already appropriate the RESULTS of this deliverance, BY FAITH! We can be in “SORROW” – “YET ALWAYS REJOICING” (2 CORINTHIANS 6:10), we can endure the “TORN IN THE FLESH” – WITH HIS ALL SUFFICIENT GRACE AND PERFECTING STRENGTH (2 CORINTHIANS 12:7–9). Though our “LABORS cease not night and day with tears”, yet there is a “REST” in Him (ACTS 20:31; MATTHEW 20:31; MATTHEW 11:28); and as we are made “Conformable unto His death”, we know the power of His resurrection (PHILIPPIANS 3:10).
* HE PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT UPON EVE (AND ALL WOMEN) BY GOD:
GENESIS 3:16 – “Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee”,
The special “Curse”, on Eve and all women, associated with childbearing, can, in fact, be turned into a blessing for a woman who yielded to the will of God. Jesus said: “A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of a child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world” (JOHN 16:21). Somehow, despite the initial suffering of childbirth, the joy of motherhood has for most normal women, has been one of great happiness.
Each experience of birth, therefore, can be a beautiful picture and reminder of God’s promise of deliverance from the awful curse on mankind and upon all of his dominion. The entire world, in fact, is “Groaning and travailing in pain”, awaiting the great delivery and birth of a “New world”, heir to all of God’s glorious purposes and promises, to the first world, ruled over by Christ Jesus and His saints. (ROMANS 8:19 – 23).
* THE PRONOUNCEMENT OF JUDGMENT UPON ADAM (AND ALL MEN) BY GOD:
GENESIS 3:17 – “And unto Adam He said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in SORROW shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life”:
GENESIS 3:18 – “THORNS AND THISTLES shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field”;
GENESIS 3:19 – “In the SWEAT of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou shalt return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”.
The “Curse”, on Adam and all men, by God, is fourfold: (1) “SORROW”, resulting from continual disappointment and futility; (2) PAIN AND SUFFERING, signified by the “Thorns and thistles”, which intermittently hinder man’s efforts to provide a living for his family; (3) “SWEAT” OR TEARS THE STRONG CRYING, of the intense struggle between man and a hostile environment; and finally (4) PHYSICAL DEATH, for physical death, which would eventually triumph over all of men’s efforts, with the structure of his body returning to the simple elements of the earth.
But through Christ Jesus, as “The Son of Man”, and the “Second Adam”, He was made the “CURSE FOR ALL OF US” (GALATIANS 3:13). He was the “MAN OF SORROWS” (ISAIAH 53:3); acquainted with more “Sorrow”, than any other man, He was WOUNDED, BRUISED, AND CHASTISED FOR US (ISAIAH 53:5), and indeed, WORE THE VERY “THORNS” OF THE CURSE AS HIS OWN CROWN (MARK 15:17); in the agony of His “LABOR”, He sweat as it were, drops of blood (LUKE 22:44), and offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying in tears (HEBREWS 5:7). And finally, God the Father, brought him into “The dust of death” (PSALMS 22:15).
Therefore, because He bore all the “Curse”, HIMSELF FOR US, once again, the DWELLING OF GOD SHALL SOMEDAY BE WITH ALL OF MANKIND and “There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (REVELATION 21:4).
REVELATION 22:3 – “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve Him (REVELATION 22:3).
* “WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE CAN BE NO REMISSION OF SIN”
HEBREWS 9:12 – “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, BUT BY HIS OWN BLOOD He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION FOR US”.
HEBREWS 9:13 – For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh.”
HEBREWS 9:14 – “How much MORE shall the blood of Christ, who through eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God”?
He is the mediator of “The New Testament”, that by means of His death, for the Redemption of the transgressions that we were under “The First Testament” (The Old Testament), that they who are “CALLED”, might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
HEBREWS 9:22 – “And almost all things are by the Law purged with BLOOD; and WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD IS NO REMISSION (OF SIN)”.
GENESIS 3:21 – “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God MAKE COATS OF SKINS, AND CLOTHED THEM”.
*Because of the “Nakedness and shame of the sin”, of Adam and Eve, the “Aprons of fig leaves”, of their own making, did not properly cover them in God’s sight, but there had to be shedding of blood and the loss of life, by some animals, for Adam and Eve, to be properly clothed by God!
* WHY WAS ADAM AND EVE EVICTED FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN? HERE IS THE ANSWER:
GENESIS 3:22 – “And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, LEST HE PUT FORTH HIS HAND, AND TAKE ALSO OF THE TREE OF LIFE, AND LIVE FOR EVER.”
GENESIS 3:23 – “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken”.
GENESIS 3:24 – “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life”.
* Adam and Eve had to decide whether God or Satan was lying. They decide that God was. “WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD”. Thus, their names are missing from “The Honor Roll of Faith” in Hebrews chapter 11.
