05 May 2024 // Genesis 3
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION: Read Genesis 3
SERMON REVIEW:
Adam and Eve
Genesis 3
The Failure of Man vs. 1-7
Deception by Satan
Disobedience of Man
The Response of the Lord vs. 8-13
Questions: (4)
Excuses: (2)
The Future of All vs. 14-19
The Lord deals with the serpent.
The lord deals with the woman.
The lord deals with the man,
The Hope in Jesus vs. 20 -22
Where? vs: 15, 21, 22 (1:26).
QUESTIONS:
LIFE APPLICATION:
The Fall of Adam and Eve
The word sin means literally “missing the mark.” It indicates the failure to be what one should be and to do what one should do.
Originally man was made to be the created image of God, to live in union with God’s divine life, and to rule over all creation. Adam and Eve's failure in this task is their sin which has also known as "the fall of man".
The “fall” of man means that man failed in his God-given vocation. This is the meaning of Genesis 3. Adam and Eve were seduced by evil, the serpent, into believing that they could be “like God” by their own will and effort.
What Is the Fall of Man?
When Christians refer to the fall, they're referring to the incident in Genesis 3, where the serpent comes to the first man and the first woman that God has created, Adam and Eve. And he tempts them to rebel against the creator. Adam and Eve fall into temptation. And they sin. They eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God told them not to eat from. And they sin.
Now, the reason why this is so significant in Christian thinking is the fall or the sin of Adam and Eve did not just have consequences for Adam and Eve. It did have consequences for them. They eventually died for their rebellion against God, but it also brought about repercussions for all of the human race. So when Adam and Eve sin, they became enslaved to sin in a sense, the Bible says, but also when they brought forth children into the world, their children were also brought into this slavery or bondage to sin. So Paul will say in Romans 5, that, "Through one man sin entered into the world. And by this one man, death was brought into the world."
So this is the big idea when they sin, when they fail from God's goodness, they brought sin into the world. As a result, death came into the world and God's curses came into the world. We know, for example, that God cursed the ground. God also said there'll be greater pain in bringing forth children into the world. But this big idea is that death came into the world, separation and alienation for the human race and their relationship to God. And it's transmitted through all the posterity of Adam and Eve. So every human being that's related to Adam and Eve, and that's everyone, is affected by the sin.
Now, the counterpart to the fall in Christian thinking is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the Bible also teaches, Paul teaches in First Corinthians that all in Adam die, but all in Jesus Christ are made alive. So by blood, we're related to Adam and Eve. We're in bondage to sin. But when we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ, we're united to a new head, Jesus Christ. And because we're united to Jesus Christ, we move from a life of death, into a new life of eternal life with God forevermore.
I think the one question on everyone's mind, regardless of their worldview, is what went wrong on this planet. Why don't all babies come home with their moms, and why don't marriages last? And why is there death? And why is there suffering? Every world view is wrestling, and they all have various versions of that. We know something's wrong but outside of Christ we really don't even have a solution. And outside of the Bible, we don't even really have an answer as to why things went wrong.
But if you look at the Bible and you begin with what's wrong in your mind the answer in the Bible makes immediate sense. The book of Genesis tells us that mankind rebelled against God, his goodness, his love, and perfection, and sought autonomy and the worship of self, and destroyed all subsequent generations of men by separating themselves from God.
And the federal headship that was in Adam, representing all mankind, touched every descendant. The Bible says we're all born having committed as if it were the sin of Adam.
DIGGING DEEPER:
1. The Subtlety of the Serpent (3:1–6)
The word rendered “subtle” means “wise.” The being with whom Eve dealt was more than a match for her except for one thing. She had the Word of God. With that Word to guide her, brief as it was in her day, she was more than a match for her foe. All the craft and cunning of the evil one would have availed him nothing had Eve simply responded to every suggestion with the simple statement: “Thus saith the Lord.” Before his fall, Satan was known as Lucifer. He was “full of wisdom” (Ezekiel 28:12). Next to God he was the most brilliant being in the universe, possessed of the highest of all created intelligences. Now a fallen creature, he retains his wisdom but it is a wisdom warped, bent, and twisted by sin.[1]
2. Adam Sentenced (3:14–19)
The sentence was in three parts. First came the sentence upon the serpent, then the sentence upon Eve, and finally the sentence upon Adam. The first part of the sentence involved war. “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 thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” For the serpent, the creature that had lent its body to the evil one to be the instrument through which temptation could come, there was degradation to the dust. The silent, writhing motion of the serpent to this day forms a hieroglyphic of undulations and coils, written in the dust of the earth, written in lines full of repulsion and menace, written to remind us of the curse. Men look at the serpent with loathing, horror, and fear.
But the curse went beyond the serpent to Satan himself. God asked no questions of him. He refused to parley with him at all. He judged him then and there and declared war upon him. In that declaration of war Adam and Eve heard the gospel message for the very first time. They lifted up their heads to listen with fresh hope to the very first promise and to the very first prophecy in the Bible. It was a prophecy that embraced both comings of Christ. The second coming of Christ, to crush the serpent’s head, was mentioned first, for the triumph outshines the tragedy; the bruising of Christ’s heel was mentioned next, for only by means of the cross could the ultimate victory come.
In his sentence of doom Satan discovered he had been too clever, after all. He had fallen into an ambush prepared for him from the beginning. Seeking to avenge himself upon God for having cast him out of heaven, the evil one had opened the way for God to settle the mystery of iniquity once and for all. The very planet upon which Satan had sought his vengeance would become the place for the final battle. Man himself would be the instrument of his defeat and doom, for God would become a Man to accomplish that glorious end. The “seed of the woman” would put a final end both to sin and to Satan. Suddenly the earth assumed an awesome significance in the universe.
The second part of the sentence involved woe. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” There was to be sorrow—sorrow centering in the area of a woman’s greatest fulfillment, in the bringing forth and in the bringing up of children. There was to be subservience. Sin would bring anguish in its train. The headship of the man, ordained of God in creation, would often be replaced by tyranny. More than ever a woman would need the protective covering provided by the headship of husband and home.
The third part of the sentence involved work. “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: thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field.” There was to be unrewarding toil, hard labor on a sin-cursed earth, and, along with that, unrelenting terror. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” From that day to this the specter of death has haunted the planet. The very ground over which Adam henceforth labored reminded him daily that it was waiting to receive his remains.
Death is a horrifying thing. Men mock it. They seek to rob it of its gruesomeness by embalming the dead and surrounding their coffins with garlands of flowers. But death is still death—the king of terrors, the last enemy, the final catastrophe this side of eternity—the ultimate wages of sin.[2]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Have you ever thought about what life would be like if Adam and Eve had not sinned?
2. Why do you think the serpent approached Eve instead of Adam?
3. How do you see Jesus in the story of the fall of man?
PRAYER:
[1] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 3:1–6.
[2] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 3:14–19.
SERMON REVIEW:
Adam and Eve
Genesis 3
The Failure of Man vs. 1-7
Deception by Satan
Disobedience of Man
The Response of the Lord vs. 8-13
Questions: (4)
Excuses: (2)
The Future of All vs. 14-19
The Lord deals with the serpent.
The lord deals with the woman.
The lord deals with the man,
The Hope in Jesus vs. 20 -22
Where? vs: 15, 21, 22 (1:26).
QUESTIONS:
- What did the message teach me about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?
- What did the message teach me about the human condition?
- Is there anything I need to confess, repent, or be grateful for, because of this passage?
- How do I need help in believing and applying this scripture to my life?
- How can I encourage others with this passage?
LIFE APPLICATION:
The Fall of Adam and Eve
The word sin means literally “missing the mark.” It indicates the failure to be what one should be and to do what one should do.
Originally man was made to be the created image of God, to live in union with God’s divine life, and to rule over all creation. Adam and Eve's failure in this task is their sin which has also known as "the fall of man".
The “fall” of man means that man failed in his God-given vocation. This is the meaning of Genesis 3. Adam and Eve were seduced by evil, the serpent, into believing that they could be “like God” by their own will and effort.
What Is the Fall of Man?
When Christians refer to the fall, they're referring to the incident in Genesis 3, where the serpent comes to the first man and the first woman that God has created, Adam and Eve. And he tempts them to rebel against the creator. Adam and Eve fall into temptation. And they sin. They eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God told them not to eat from. And they sin.
Now, the reason why this is so significant in Christian thinking is the fall or the sin of Adam and Eve did not just have consequences for Adam and Eve. It did have consequences for them. They eventually died for their rebellion against God, but it also brought about repercussions for all of the human race. So when Adam and Eve sin, they became enslaved to sin in a sense, the Bible says, but also when they brought forth children into the world, their children were also brought into this slavery or bondage to sin. So Paul will say in Romans 5, that, "Through one man sin entered into the world. And by this one man, death was brought into the world."
So this is the big idea when they sin, when they fail from God's goodness, they brought sin into the world. As a result, death came into the world and God's curses came into the world. We know, for example, that God cursed the ground. God also said there'll be greater pain in bringing forth children into the world. But this big idea is that death came into the world, separation and alienation for the human race and their relationship to God. And it's transmitted through all the posterity of Adam and Eve. So every human being that's related to Adam and Eve, and that's everyone, is affected by the sin.
Now, the counterpart to the fall in Christian thinking is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So the Bible also teaches, Paul teaches in First Corinthians that all in Adam die, but all in Jesus Christ are made alive. So by blood, we're related to Adam and Eve. We're in bondage to sin. But when we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus Christ, we're united to a new head, Jesus Christ. And because we're united to Jesus Christ, we move from a life of death, into a new life of eternal life with God forevermore.
I think the one question on everyone's mind, regardless of their worldview, is what went wrong on this planet. Why don't all babies come home with their moms, and why don't marriages last? And why is there death? And why is there suffering? Every world view is wrestling, and they all have various versions of that. We know something's wrong but outside of Christ we really don't even have a solution. And outside of the Bible, we don't even really have an answer as to why things went wrong.
But if you look at the Bible and you begin with what's wrong in your mind the answer in the Bible makes immediate sense. The book of Genesis tells us that mankind rebelled against God, his goodness, his love, and perfection, and sought autonomy and the worship of self, and destroyed all subsequent generations of men by separating themselves from God.
And the federal headship that was in Adam, representing all mankind, touched every descendant. The Bible says we're all born having committed as if it were the sin of Adam.
DIGGING DEEPER:
1. The Subtlety of the Serpent (3:1–6)
The word rendered “subtle” means “wise.” The being with whom Eve dealt was more than a match for her except for one thing. She had the Word of God. With that Word to guide her, brief as it was in her day, she was more than a match for her foe. All the craft and cunning of the evil one would have availed him nothing had Eve simply responded to every suggestion with the simple statement: “Thus saith the Lord.” Before his fall, Satan was known as Lucifer. He was “full of wisdom” (Ezekiel 28:12). Next to God he was the most brilliant being in the universe, possessed of the highest of all created intelligences. Now a fallen creature, he retains his wisdom but it is a wisdom warped, bent, and twisted by sin.[1]
2. Adam Sentenced (3:14–19)
The sentence was in three parts. First came the sentence upon the serpent, then the sentence upon Eve, and finally the sentence upon Adam. The first part of the sentence involved war. “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 thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” For the serpent, the creature that had lent its body to the evil one to be the instrument through which temptation could come, there was degradation to the dust. The silent, writhing motion of the serpent to this day forms a hieroglyphic of undulations and coils, written in the dust of the earth, written in lines full of repulsion and menace, written to remind us of the curse. Men look at the serpent with loathing, horror, and fear.
But the curse went beyond the serpent to Satan himself. God asked no questions of him. He refused to parley with him at all. He judged him then and there and declared war upon him. In that declaration of war Adam and Eve heard the gospel message for the very first time. They lifted up their heads to listen with fresh hope to the very first promise and to the very first prophecy in the Bible. It was a prophecy that embraced both comings of Christ. The second coming of Christ, to crush the serpent’s head, was mentioned first, for the triumph outshines the tragedy; the bruising of Christ’s heel was mentioned next, for only by means of the cross could the ultimate victory come.
In his sentence of doom Satan discovered he had been too clever, after all. He had fallen into an ambush prepared for him from the beginning. Seeking to avenge himself upon God for having cast him out of heaven, the evil one had opened the way for God to settle the mystery of iniquity once and for all. The very planet upon which Satan had sought his vengeance would become the place for the final battle. Man himself would be the instrument of his defeat and doom, for God would become a Man to accomplish that glorious end. The “seed of the woman” would put a final end both to sin and to Satan. Suddenly the earth assumed an awesome significance in the universe.
The second part of the sentence involved woe. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” There was to be sorrow—sorrow centering in the area of a woman’s greatest fulfillment, in the bringing forth and in the bringing up of children. There was to be subservience. Sin would bring anguish in its train. The headship of the man, ordained of God in creation, would often be replaced by tyranny. More than ever a woman would need the protective covering provided by the headship of husband and home.
The third part of the sentence involved work. “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: thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee: and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field.” There was to be unrewarding toil, hard labor on a sin-cursed earth, and, along with that, unrelenting terror. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground: for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” From that day to this the specter of death has haunted the planet. The very ground over which Adam henceforth labored reminded him daily that it was waiting to receive his remains.
Death is a horrifying thing. Men mock it. They seek to rob it of its gruesomeness by embalming the dead and surrounding their coffins with garlands of flowers. But death is still death—the king of terrors, the last enemy, the final catastrophe this side of eternity—the ultimate wages of sin.[2]
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Have you ever thought about what life would be like if Adam and Eve had not sinned?
2. Why do you think the serpent approached Eve instead of Adam?
3. How do you see Jesus in the story of the fall of man?
PRAYER:
[1] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 3:1–6.
[2] John Phillips, Exploring Genesis: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Ge 3:14–19.