Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3:22-24

“Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—’ therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:22–24, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Philippians 3:7–11

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:7–11, ESV)

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Introduction

We have come now to the seventh and final scene in this large section in the book of Genesis which runs from chapter 2 verse 5 through to the end of chapter 3. In this final scene the LORD God is the sole actor; the man named Adam is present but he is completely passive. This seventh scene corresponds to the first scene which ran from Genesis 2:5-17. There the same was true — the LORD God was the sole actor; the man was present but completely passive. In this final scene God’s judgement of the man is brought to conclusion.   

It would be good to remember what transpired in the previous scene as we move into this last one. The LORD God first pronounced a curse upon the serpent. After this, he pronounced judgements upon the women . And then God addressed the man — “And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return’” (Genesis 3:17–19, ESV).

Remember, although that previous scene was primarily about the judgement of God pronounced upon the snake, the man and the woman, the grace of God was also on display there. By God’s grace the man and the woman would go on living — room was left for repentance.  By God’s grace, the promise of a victorious Savior was announced. And by God’s grace, the man and the woman were clothed — “the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21, ESV), we are told. God was gracious to Adam and Eve, and he is gracious to us. But the consequence of sin — both Adam’s sin and ours — is that life is now marked by difficulty. Lie is marked by perpetual conflict, pain in the process of bringing forth children, strife in our relationships, toil and frustration in our work, and ultimate vanity given the certainty of death. 

In this final scene that is before us today God’s judgements upon the man are brought to a conclusion. And you would do well to note that the most tragic of all the consequences of sin are reserved for this final scene. More tragic than the conflicts which mar the course of human history; more tragic than the increased pain that women experience in the process of childbearing; more tragic than strife between husband and wife, and the toil and frustration that men encounter in their work; indeed, even more tragic than the inevitability of physical death and the vanity of life that accompanies it, is this — man, because of his sin, was driven from the presence of God to live out the years of his life alienated from his Maker. This consequence — our alienation  from God; our loss of a right relationship with him — was the most tragic of all the consequences of man’s fall into sin. 

Does that strike you as an odd perspective? Is your impulse to reply back saying, “No! The conflicts and strive, the pain and suffering, and the certainty of physical death must be considered worse punishments that our communion with God having been broken!” If that is your perspective it is because you have not experienced the joy of knowing God. You have not learned nor come to believe the truth so wonderfully stated by St. Augustin when he said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” Friends, we were created to know God, and to be know by him.  We were designed  live in communion with God, to obey him, and to glorify his name. When Adam fell into sin, all of this broken and lost. All of the conflict, pain and strife that we experience  in this world — even the event of physical death itself — cannot be compared to the tragedy of having lost that sweet communion with our Maker. 

Adam in innocency knew God. He enjoyed sweet and intimate communion with God in that garden temple which the LORD had made for him. While Adam was upright he walked with God, and God walked with him. But when Adam fell into sin he that sweet and intimate communion with God was lost. Adam was not just sent out of the garden. The texts says that he was driven from that place and from God’s presence.  

This loss of a right relationship with God was by far the most tragic of all the consequences of man’s sin. Man was made to know God and to glorify and enjoy him forever. Indeed, Christ himself said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3, ESV). What does it mean to have life eternal? According to Christ, to have eternal life is to know God. To be severed from God — to be alienated from him and under his wrath because of our sin — is death. This is why scriptures call men and women who are alive “dead” if they have not been reconciled to God through faith in Christ. Though they are living they are really “dead”. The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians saying, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—” (Ephesians 2:1–2, ESV). This was their state of being prior to their having been reconciled to God through faith in Christ – though alive, they were dead in their trespasses and sins. To know God is to to have eternal life. To be alienated from him is eternal death. Christ came to make dead men and women and alive by reconciling them to the Father, thanks be to God.

 In the day that Adam ate of the forbidden tree he died, for in that day he was driven from the presence of God and lost the sweet communion that he once enjoyed with his Maker. Therefore, I suppose that we might say that what is described to us here in this passage that is before us today is Adam being “put to death” by God. Yes, later we will learn that Adam lived for 930 years in total, and then he died (Genesis 5:5). But what I am saying is that in another sense, Adam truly died in the day that he ate the forbidden fruit, for its was then that he was driven from the presence of his Maker. 

Let us consider this passage now in detail.

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“Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.’” 

In verse 22 of Genesis 3 we read,  “Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.’”

This is a very interesting and important verse. We should pay careful attention to it. 

First of all, notice that Adam is in focus here. Eve is not mentioned at all. It will become clear that everything that is pronounced upon Adam in this passage will also apply to Eve. But notice that Adam in particular is the one who is judged by God in this text. This is because the covenant of life, or of works, or of creation — whichever term you prefer — was made with Adam (see Genesis 2:15-17). The covenant was made with him, and he was the one who broke the covenant. And though it is true that Adam’s sin would effects others — indeed all others — the judgements were pronounced upon Adam, for he was appointed by God to function as the representative of others in the keeping of this covenant.

Secondly, we must answer the question, who was the LORD God speaking to when he said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil”?

Commentators differ on the answer to this question. Some say that he was speaking to the angels. But in my opinion, it is best to think that God was addressing himself when he said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.” 

How can it be that God would speak to himself? Well, the rest of scripture will make it clear that though there is only one God, there is also a plurality of  persons, or subsistences, within the Godhead. We are right to ask our children the question, “Are there more gods than one?” and to teach them to answer, “There is but one only, the living and true God.” And we are also right to ask them, “How many persons are there in the Godhead?”, and to expect the reply, “There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory.”

The doctrine of the Trinity is not explicitly taught here in Genesis 3:22, but it is implied. And you would do well to remember that this is not the first time in Genesis where plurality within the Godhead is suggested. From the very beginning of Holy Scripture we are introduced to one God, the creator of heaven and earth, and we find that there is plurality within him. The rest of scripture will make it clear that there are three persons within the Godhead — Father, Word and Spirit. 

Thirdly, what does God mean when he says, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.” Stated more precisely, how did man become like God when he rebelled? And what does it mean that man and God now share knowing good and evil in common? 

Let me state the answer to this question briefly and directly before demonstrating my interpretation from the text. Man became like God when he rebelled in that he took to himself a right that was only appropriate for God to have – namely, the right to know or to determine that which is good and that which is evil. To “know good and evil” is to decide good and evil. God, the supreme lawgiver, commanded Adam, saying, “do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”. And Adam rejected God as the supreme lawgiver and took to himself the role of lawgiver when he ate of it that tree. It was an act of rebellion. In essence Adam said, I will not submit to God, but instead I will be God myself. 

The meaning of the Hebrew word translated as “knowing” certainly allows for this interpretation. To know is to understand or to perceive. It is right for God to know, to understand, or to perceive that which is good and evil. It is right for him to give laws to man which correspond to his perception of good and evil, which is always perfect and true. And is good and right for man to agree with God’s perspective concerning good and evil and to live in obedience to his laws. On the other hand it is terribly wrong for the creature to disagree with his Maker, to seek to establish his own law so that he might live independent from his God. This is what Adam did when he ate of that tree. He pursued wisdom apart from God who is the source of all true wisdom. He sought to define good and evil on his own and in rebellion against his Maker. When he ate he sought to establish his autonomy so that he might go on living independent from God. 

This interpretation of the statement, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil”, also fits perfectly with the story of Genesis. 

When we encounter this communication within God himself in  Genesis 3:22 with the words, “Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil’”, it is meant to remind us of a previous conversatin within the Godhead that was revealed to us. Remember the words of Genesis 1:26-17. There we heard God speaking within himself saying, “‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26–27, ESV). There in Genesis 1:26-27 we encounter a conversation within the Godhead. The one true God said, let us make man in our image. And then what did the one true God do? He created man (singular) in his image and in such a way that his plurality would be reflected — “in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

I believe that it is very important for us to recognize the connection between Genesis 3:22 and Genesis 1:26-27. 

In both passages we encounter something peculiar – a conversation that God had within himself is revealed to us. This is meant to grab our attention! This is meant to provoke the reader to pause and to ask, who is God speaking to? 

And when we compare these two passages (they are meant to be compared) we find that they both have something important to say regarding the nature of man and man’s relationship to God. Stated differently, these two texts when set side by side reveal that man is like God in some respects, but he also not like God in other respects. 

What did Genesis 1:26-27 reveal to us? It revealed that man was made in the image of God. God created man, male and female, to be like him, to image him, to correspond to him. I will not go into all that that entails, for that has already been done. Here we must simply remember that man was created to be like God in some respects.

But to say that man was made in the image of God, or that man was made to be like God, does not mean that man is God. Though it is true that some similarities exist between God and man, and this by God’s design, it must also be confessed that the differences between the Creator and creature are vast. God is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and eternal. Man is none of those things. In  short, God is the Creator, man the creation. God is supreme, man subordinate. God is God, man is man. Though it be true that man was made in the image of God and is in some respects like him, man must never forget that he is not God. 

That man is not God, and that man was to go on living in perpetual submission to God was made clear by the fact that God created man, placed him in the garden, provided for him, commanded the man to keep the garden, and to eat of the one tree and not the other. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil functioned as a symbol of the created order of things. God, being supreme, knows and determines that which is good and that which is evil, and he gave man his law. The question was, would man live as if God were supreme over him? Would man live in submission to his Makler? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil symbolized this order and also put man to the test.

And what did the tempter say when he approached Eve? “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And then afterwards “the serpent said… ‘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’”(Genesis 3:1, 4–5, ESV). In other words, God has lied to you. This tree that God has forbidden actually has the power to give you life and wisdom. Yes, you have been made in God’s image, but if you would only eat of this tree, then truly you would be like God, no longer having to live in subordination to him. There is freedom in this tree. When you eat of it you will cast off the bonds of God. When you eat of it you will become truly autonomous and independent, as God himself now is. Adam and Eve believed this lie, and they ate.  

When the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil”, he spoke truth concerning the man. In a sense the man had become like God knowing good and evil. But it is also obvious that God spoke these words in a sarcastic and condescending sort of way — there is irony in his words. 

Did Adam become like God when he ate of the forbidden tree? The answer is “yes” as I have already said, but it is also “no”.

It is “no” in that Adam was still a man and not God. Adam the creature was still the creature. He was not elevated at all when ate of the forbidden fruit. In fact, he fell. The image of God that he did possess by virtue of his creation was now marred and twisted. So it might actually be said that Adam was less like God after his fall into sin and certainly not more.

And so God mocked Adam with these words — “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.” Certainly this was to impress all the more strongly upon Adam the foolishness of his sin.

When I hear God speak condescendingly to Adam in this text it reminds of a that passage in Psalm 2, where the Psalmist asks, “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us [they are like their father Adam, aren’t they?].’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying…” (Psalm 2:1–5, ESV)

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“Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

In the second half of verse 22 God beings to speak a word of judgement concerning Adam, saying, “Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” (Genesis 3:22, ESV)

Notice how the voice of God drops off at the end of this verse and the voice of the narrator (Moses) picks up, saying, “therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden”, etc., etc. This is very unusual. But it is deliberate no doubt. 

Perhaps the words of judgement would be too much for us to bear if they came from God’s lips, and so Moses interviews to describe the result. Or perhaps the falling off of God’s voice is meant to communicate that final judgement has been delayed? This seems to me to be the effect. God begins to pronounce judgement, but then his words are suspended creating a sense of delay, and Moses resumes with a description of what transpired.  

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“Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”

And what does Moses say? In verse 23 we read, “therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken” (Genesis 3:23, ESV)

Notice that though Adam was judged, and though the loss of communion with God was terribly tragic, this was not the final judgement. Adam was sent out of the garden to toil in his labor. There Adam would work the ground. And as he worked the ground he would be reminded of things: from this ground he was taken — he would have been remanded that he is a creature and not God, and to the ground he would one day return — the wages of sin is death, spiritual and physical.

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“He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

In verse 24 we read, “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:24, ESV)

When God sent Adam out of the garden it was to prohibit him from having access to the tree of life. Remember, God said, “Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever” — for this reason he was sent out of the garden. 

The tree of life was not a magical tree as if eating from it would automatically confer eternal life. The tree of life, like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was a sacramental tree. It symbolized obedience to God and the life that would be found in God by going the way of obedience. 

When Adam was driven out of the garden, cherubim (plural) being set to guard the entrance with a flaming sword, it communicated in no uncertain terms that the way to eternal life that was once open to the man through obedience to the law of Go  was no longer open to him. If Adam were to have eternal life it would need to be obtained through something other than the covenant of works, for that covenant had been broken. If Adam were to enter into eternal life it would need to be by some other way than through the keeping of God’s law, for he had sinned against it, and the wages of sin is death. To use the words of Paul, “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20, ESV). This was the message that was sent to Adam, and powerfully so, when God drove him from the garden and placed his cherubim and a flaming sword at its entrence. This way to glory is now shut. This way to life eternal is no more. Look elsewhere, namely to the savior that God has promised to provide. 

As it was the previous passage, so it is with this one. Though these texts are primarily about the judgements of God, the gospel of the Christ is also present. How is it present here?, you ask. Let me tell you! 

We must remember who this is book was written by, and for whom it was written. It was written by Moses and for the people of Israel redeemed from Egypt originally. And we should also remember that Moses did not only right Genesis but also the rest of the pentateuch — Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. And in some of those books the design and eventual construction of the tabernacle will be described to us. And what will we find except that when the tabernacle is build it is meant to remind the worshipper who is approaching God through the shedding of blood of Eden. The entrance to the tabernacle and temple was to face east. Cherubim were embroidered upon the curtain which separated the holy place from the most holy place, where the presence of God was found. And on each side of the  ark of the covenant which contained God’s law stood cherubim, guarding as were mans approach to God.

The Israelites who read Gensus, and all who would read it afterwards, would make these connections. And they would also understand the meaning — though Adam was driven from the temple of Eden, and though the way life through the keeping of God’s law was now shut up and guarded, God by his grace has provided another way to come into his presence. Not law keeping, but through the sacrifice. And not by works, but by grace. 

After the Christ died for our sins the veil on the temple which had the cherubim embroidered upon it was torn in two. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:19–24, ESV).

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Conclusion 

I would like to conclude by making three points of application. 

First of all, do you consider the loss of communion with God to be the most tragic of all the consequences of our sin? Or do you have such a low view of God and such a high view of this world and of the pleasures found within that you weep more at the though of the loss of worldly comforts and pleasures than at the though of the loss of communion with God himself. 

The Christian will agree with Augustine and says, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” And the Christian will agree with Paul and say, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Truly, there is no greater pleasure in all the world than to God through the Christ whom he has sent.

Secondly, have you submitted to God and to his law as revealed to us in his holy word? Adam’s sin was that he rebelled against God’s word. He sought pursue wisdom apart from God. He sought to know good and evil, right and wrong, truth from error on his own. This sin of rebellion abounds within our world today. How common it is for the sons and daughters of Adam to seek to establish their own standards, their own truth and to go their own way. Our days are very much like the days of the Judges of Israel, when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6, ESV). It is not surprising to find that this is the way of the world, but sadly it is also the way of the church, so called. Most, it would seem to me, give little attention to God’s law. Few care to ask, how has God commanded that he be worshipped? When it comes to establishing doctrine, God’s word is pushed to the side and is replaced with rationalism, emotionalism, and pragmatism. And if you do not know what those words mean I’ll state it differently. Many Christians today refuse come under the authority of God’s word so as to submit to it. Instead they stand over God’s word and they judge it according to their standards. They will believe and teach that which makes sense to them, that which feels right to them, or that which works in their opinion, but they refuse to surrender themselves to God’s word, to believe what its says in humility. Instead  of “[receiving] with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save [our] souls” (James 1:21, ESV), they pridefully stand over the word of God to judge it according to their standards. And when they do they prove that they are in Adam, and not in Christ. And so I ask, have you submitted to God and to his law as revealed to us in his holy word?

Thirdly, are you trusting in your own  righteousness or in Christ. Friends, don’t you see that the way to life through the covenant or works is closed off. The way to eternal through obedience to God’s law is no longer open to any of the natural sons and daughters off Adam. Adam was able to earn eternal life through obedience to God’s law while in the garden. But when he sinned, he was driven out and the way to the tree of life was shut up and guarded. “By works of the law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight…” (Romans 3:20, ESV). But God has graciously promised and provided another way. He sent a Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord. He was a true son of Adam. He had to be if he was to represent the sons and daughters of Adam and pay for their sins. But more than that he was a the Son of God. He had to be if he was to keep God’s law, bear the sins of all God’s elect, and conquer sin and death by raising on the third day. Indeed, salvation is found only in him. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, ESV). “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, ESV).

Tags: Genesis 3:22-24

Posted in Sermons Study Guides Genesis 3:22-24
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Sermon Text: Genesis 3:14-21

• What new beginning is described to us in Genesis 3:14-21?
• In what way is the world we live in today the same as the world that God created in the beginning? How is it different?
• Discuss the effects of our fall into sin upon the world in general. Discuss the effects of our fall into sin upon humanity in particular.
• In what ways does the text of Genesis 3:14-21 announce good news?
• How does this passage point forward to Christ?

Posted in Study Guides Gospel Community Groups
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3:9-13

“The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.’ To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’ And to Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.’ The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:14–21, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Romans 8:18–25

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:18–25, ESV)

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Introduction

The book of Genesis is a book about the beginning of things. In fact that is what the word genesis means – origin, root, beginning, start. Remember that the first phrase found this book is, “In the beginning…” 

And when I say that the book of Genesis is a book  about the beginning of things, I do not only mean that it is a book about the beginning of creation. Indeed, that is the first thing that is described to us in the book of Genesis – the beginning of God’s creation. But many other “beginnings” are mentioned – the beginning of God’s covenant with man, the beginning of marriage, the beginning of sin, etc. And as we progress through the remainder of the book we will find that it is divided into sections which describe the beginning and progression of certain family histories. Those sections are introduced by the phrase, “these are the generations of…”,  or something similar. The book of Genesis is a book about the beginning of things. And this is true, not only of the beginning of the book, but of the whole. 

I think it is important for us to recognize that the beginning of something is being described to us in the verses that we are considering today. Here in Genesis 3:14-24 we encounter a transition. It  is the transition from the world as it came from the hand of God – a world that was good, upright and pure – to a world that is now tainted by sin and its effects. Here in Genesis 3:14-15 we find a description of the beginning of the world as it now is.  

This world – that is to say, the world of Genesis 3:14 and following, is the world that you and I live in. It is not a world substantially different from the one that came from the hand of God in the beginning, but it is qualitatively different. What I mean is that we do live in the same physical world made by God in the beginning. The stars that we see in the sky are the stars that God called into existence in the beginning. The mountains are God’s mountains. The trees are God’s tree.  And the people that we see are his people by virtue of creation. The world that we live in today is not substantially different from the one that came from the hand of God in the beginning, but in another respect it is a very different world. For this world that we live in today is fallen. This world is sinful. This world is under God’s curse because of our rebellion. 

And how important it is for us to recognize this distinction. In Genesis 1 we are told of the beginning of God’s creation. In Genesis 2 we are told of the beginning of God’s covenant. But in Genesis 3 we are told of the beginning of man’s sin and its effects. Adam’s breaking of the covenant of life is described to us here along with its consequences. And so we must distinguish between the world as it came from the hand of God – a world that was upright, pure and good, and the world that now is – a world that is ravaged by sin and the effects of sin. 

I am afraid that many ignore this distinction. I’m afraid that many – even many who claim to be Christian – ignore the beginning of our sin and misery that is so clearly described to us here in Genesis chapter 3. It is no wonder then that they are terribly disoriented and confused when they look out upon the world and see so much sin and misery and death. The wickedness that we see in the world and the wickedness that we see in our own hearts should always grieve the Christian, but it should not leave us disoriented and confused, for the scriptures are clear – we now live in a fallen world, a world that is characterized, not by life, but by death.  

The transition from the world in its good and upright state, to the world in its sinful, fallen and cursed state is what is described to us here in Genesis 3. But as we will see, humanity was not left without hope. 

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The Serpent Cursed

Notice that in this passage God address each of the rebels one at a time to pronounce curses or sentences upon them. They each had sinned and God announced to them what the ramifications of their sin would be. 

The order is reversed when compared to God’s questioning of the rebels in the previous passage. Adam was questioned by Gods first, but curses are pronounced upon him last (this is because he was most responsible for the keeping of the covenant). Eve was questioned second, and she is cursed second. The serpent was never questioned. The reason for this is that room for repentance (and the offer of salvation) was not given to the serpent. The serpent is only cursed, and he is cursed first. 

In verse 14 we read : “The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel’” (Genesis 3:14–15, ESV).

If we are going to interpret this text correctly it is important to recognize from the outset that it contains layers of meaning. I am not just referring to verses 14 -15, but to the whole passage which runs from verses 14-19. In this entire section we will encounter layers of meaning. And by that I mean the text is written in such a way that it can (and should) be interpreted in multiple ways, and deliberately so. The reader, when considering the curse pronounced upon the snake, the woman, and Adam should be able to recognize that there is a kind of basic and surface level meaning, and also a deeper and more profound meaning to  the text. I am not saying that we are free to interpret all scripture in this way, but this particular passage requires that we see layers of meaning. 

Take for example the curse that is pronounced upon the serpent. The question that we must ask is, who exactly is God cursing here? Did God curse the snake that was used as an instrument in the temptation of Eve? Or did God curse all snakes more generally? Or does this curse ultimately apply to Satan who used the snake as an instrument to tempt Eve? I think the answer is “yes, all of the above”. This passage when considered in context (and by context I do not only mean the immediate context of Genesis, but the context of the whole of scripture) must be interpreted as having layers of meaning. 

Notice that LORD God spoke to that particular serpent when he said, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:14, ESV). This word was spoken by God to that particular snake. That snake was cursed above all livestock and beasts of the field. That snake would go on its belly. That snake would eat dust. It will be come clear that no only would this apply to that snake, but to all snakes. 

Some have wondered, did snakes have legs prior to this curse being pronounced? I doubt it. But perhaps they did move about with a posture that was more upright. Perhaps snakes moved about with their heads lifted high and proud. But having been used as an instrument for temptation the serpent was bound to the earth to crawl upon it with its head down low where it would swallow dust. The curse is fitting. The serpent was used by the evil one to rise up against God in pride, and so God made it low. Is there any beast of the field more closely bound to the earth and further removed from heaven than the snake? The symbolism is powerful, I think, and I could go on. 

We might also ask, if the snake was only used as an instrument, then why must it bear a curse? Two things: One, you would do  well to notice that all of creation bears a curse as a result of the fall. In a moment we will read that the ground is cursed. When the snake was cursed he was said to be cursed “above all livestock and above all beasts of the field” – evidently they too were affected by the fall. And Paul, in that passage that was read at the beginning of this sermon says that all “creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope” (Romans 8:20, ESV). And so snakes are not the only thing that are cursed or subject to futility because of the rebellion of Satan and Adam – all of creation has been touched, but snakes in particular. Two,  although the snake was only used as an instrument, it is fitting that it bear the curse given the hideousness off the act that was carried out through it, namely the temptation of man. I believe it was Calvin who illustrated this principle by mentioning that any father would destroy the sword that was used to slay his son if it came into his possession. “The sword was only the instrument”, we might say. Yes, but it was used to do a terrible thing, and so it is fitting that it bear a form of judgement.   

The most simple and basic interpretation of this text is to understand that the snake that was used as an instrument to bring about the temptation of Eve was cursed by God. But it is also clear that it was not just that snake, but all snakes that were cursed. 

In verses 15 we read, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV). Indeed, from this moment snakes and humans have been and always will be hostile towards one another. Snakes will always strike at the heal of man, and man will always strike at the head of snakes. 

On the most basic level the curse of verses 14-15 is to be understood as having been directed towards the snake the was used as an instrument to tempt Eve, and to all snakes. Why? I can’t help but think that we are to remember the first temptation, the fall, and the ongoing work of the tempter when we look at snakes. You are certainly free to like or dislike snakes. Some fear them, others do not. All of that is irrelevant. But all should be reminded of the cunning and crafty schemes of the evil when they see a snake. All should be reminded of how deadly Satan is. All should remember the fall and its effects when they watch a snake slither along, locked to the earth, and eating dust. 

On the surface, the curse is pronounced upon the snake who was used to tempt Eve and upon snakes in general, but clearly the curse is aimed, not just at serpents, but at the one who used the snake as an instrument to tempt Eve and through her Adam. Though Eve saw the body of serpent, it was the voice of Satan – the rest of scripture makes this clear. This is the deeper meaning of the text. 

How then does this curse apply to Satan? Well, Satan is cursed more than any other thing in all of God’s creation. Satan, having rebelled against his Maker, would in due time be barred from heaven and bound to the earth. And this war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent that is mentioned in verse 15 will ultimately play out, not between snakes and humans, but within the human race itself. Some will be children of the evil one, and others will be children of God.

As we will see, this is where the story of Genesis and, indeed, the story of scripture will go from this point forward. The words, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” do not ultimately pertain to the strife that exists between snakes and humans, but to the strife that will exist between those who are children of the Devil and those who are children go God by faith. 

To prove that there are in fact children of the Devil and children of God in the world I only need to quote Jesus’ words to the non-believing Jews when he said, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44, ESV). This he said to them as they were claiming to children of God by virtue of their heritage. According to Christ there are children of the Devil in this world and their are children of God. And the thing that distinguishes one from the other is faith in God and in the promises of God. 

The words, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15, ESV), are not ultimately about the conflict between snakes and humans, but between the Evil One and those who belong to him in the  world, and  God and those who belong to him in the world. 

It would not take long at all for this conflict to manifest itself in the world. In Genesis chapter 4  we find the story of Cain and Able. And as we will see, though both were sons of Eve, only one had the faith of Eve. Put into the terms of Genesis 3:15 and John 8:44, Cain was of the seed of the serpent whereas Able was of the seed  of the woman. Able belonged to the righteous line and to God, whereas Cain belonged to the unrighteous line and Evil One. You know the story. Cain rose up a killed Able. God replaced Able his righteous brother, Seth so that the righteous line would be preserved. Genesis 3:15 means that there will be an ongoing battle between the Evil One and his descendants and God’s people in the world,  but God’s people will prevail in the end – “he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This is why they genealogies of Genesis are so important. They trace the preservation of the righteous line, that is to say, the seed of the woman.   

And where does Genesis 3:15 find its ultimate fulfillment? The story of scripture is clear. The seed of the woman will finally crush the head of the serpent is Christ. 

Notice therefore that the the gospel is here in seed form. The good new of Christ is embedded in miniture in the curse the God pronounced upon the serpent. World history will be marked by conflict between God and the Evil One, between the children of God and the children of the Devil, between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, but a Savior would eventually come. He would come in the line of Adam, Abraham and David. And upon his arrival he would deal a decisive blow to the Evil One himself. The Evil One will perpetually strike at the heel of man, but the Christ has stomped upon his head. 

What does the curse pronounced upon the serpent reveal about the world in its fallen state? It will be marked by conflict, physical and spiritual. Man, including those who belong to God, will suffer in this age – the serpent will bruise the heal of man. But God has not left the world without hope. A Savior has been provided – Christ Jesus our Lord. 

*****

The Woman Judged

In verse 16 we encounter the judgement pronounced upon the woman. “To the woman [God] said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be [for or] contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.’” (Genesis 3:16, ESV)

Though this judgement was pronounced upon the woman Eve, clearly it applies to all women.

When God said,  “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children”, it meant that women would experience pain in the process of giving brith. Certainly, the labor pains that women experience are severe. It is worth noting that other species give birth to their young with ease when compared to our species. The labor process for women is arduous. Eve was created with the ability to give birth birth to children. What a marvelous and  joyous gift! But now it would involve pain.  

And not only would the process of childbirth involve pain, so too the once blissful relationship between wife and husband would be marked by sorrow. To Eve God said, “Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” 

This phrase is difficult to translate. Some translations say, “your desire shall be for your husband.” Others say, “your desire shall be unto your husband.” The ESV uses the word  “contrary”. The NET is most bold in its  translation when it says, “You will want to control your husband, but he will dominate you.” (Genesis 3:16, NET). I actually think that this might get to the heart of  it. The woman was created to function  as man’s helper. She was to live in loving submission to him.  He was to loving lead her. But Eve upended God’s design  for things when she ate of  the fruit and acted as an agent of temptation to her husband.  The affect of the fall was that wives now desire to controle their husbands instead of living in loving submission to them, and that husbands dominate their wives instead of lovingly leading them.  

*****

The Man Judged

The judgments pronounced upon the man are stated last and they are the most extensive, for the covenant was made with him, and he was the covenant breaker. 

Verse 17: “But to Adam [God] said, ‘Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:17–19, ESV).

The root of Adam’s sin was that he listened to the voice of his wife instead of the voice of God. 

Notice that Adam sinned when he ate of the forbidden tree, therefore he is judged in his eating. 

“Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.” 

Gordon Wenham comments on this verse saying, “the toil that now lies behind the preparation of every meals is a reminder of the fall and is made the more painful by the memory of the ready supply of food within the garden.” 

The ground is cursed. Land that is blessed by God is well watered and fertile. Cursed ground will lack such qualities.

Man will eat of the fruit of the ground in pain. This is reminiscent of the judgement pronounced upon the woman. The woman was designed by God to be a mother, and now that would involve pain. The man was to be a farmer and provider, and now that would involve pain. 

His work would be difficult. “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread”, the text says. Work is not a punishment in itself. But the difficulty of work and the frustation associated with it is the result of the fall. Man would engage in this kind of work until he returned to the ground, “for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return”, the  text says. 

In the fallen world life will be marked by a kind of futility. Survival will be a struggle. Work will be difficult and accentuated by frustration. The guarantee of death means that all of the toil and pain experienced in this life is meaningless and vain. Even if man were to get ahead in his work, all would be lost when he returns to the ground from which he was taken.

The Christian should not be afraid to talk about the emptiness and vanity of life in this fallen world. Though we experience many pleasures in this world all is truly vain given that death is inevitable. The book of Ecclesiastes is all about that. It is a wonderfully helpful book that must be read, not in parts, but to the end.  

Listen to beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes: “The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, ‘See, this is new’? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after’” (Ecclesiastes 1:1–11, ESV).

This is the true and unfailing word of God. Life in this world is ultimately vain because of sin and death. When Adam ate of that forbidden tree he died, though he went on living for many years afterwards. He entered into a state of death. Death was inevitable. His life would be characterized by travail. He would be separated from his God by whom and for whom he was made.  From dust Adam was made and to dust he would return. All would be vain for him, apart from the gracious intervention of God. 

*****

Good News Announced

How important it is to recognize, however, that embedded within these curses and judgments, we find good news – words of hope and promise.

It should be recognized that the judgements pronounced upon the man and woman are not the final judgment. 

I have already encountered good news embedded within the curse pronounced upon the serpent. The seed of the woman would one day have total victory over the serpent and his seed. 

And notice verses 20 and 21. There we are told, “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:20–21, ESV)

Though we have been calling the woman by the name Eve throughout this narrative, this is in fact the first time the name is mentioned in Genesis. The name Eve means “living or making alive”. “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” The placement of this comment in this narrative is significant, I think. It comes after all that has been said concerning effects of her sin and of Adam’s upon the human race. 

Of course, Eve is the mother of all living in the sense that all of humanity would descend from her. But it seems that on a deeper level the name Eve has reference to the hope that was communicated back in verse 15 – that from the seed of the woman would come a life giving Savior.  

This section concludes with the words, “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” 

We must remember that Adam and Eve has sown together fig leaves to cover the shame of their nakedness. Those coverings would not do. If the shame of their nakedness was to be truly covered, God himself would need to provide the covering. And if the shame off their nakedness was to be truly covered, it would have to involve the shedding of blood. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, ESV). “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, ESV). Here in this scene we have a picture of the Christ who would one day come to atone for sin through the shedding of his own blood. Those animal skins would have functioned as both law and gospel to Adam and Eve. Those skins would have been a perpetual reminder to them of the vileness of their sin and also of God’s gracious provision. 

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Conclusion 

In this narrative we have found mixture of good new with bad. 

The curses and judgements in this text help us to understand why the world we live in today is often marked by difficulty and travail. We live in God’s world, but the world is not the same as the one that came from his hand. This world is now characterized by trial and tribulation, pain and suffering, and ultimately death. This is the consequence of sin.

But God by his mercy and grace has not left us without hope. He promised to send a redeemer. He promised to provide life. He promised to provide atonement and covering for our sins. Indeed, this he has accomplished through Christ Jesus our Lord. 

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, ESV)

Tags: Genesis 3:14-21

Posted in Sermons Study Guides Genesis 3:14-21
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3:9-13

“But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’ He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’ Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” (Genesis 3:9–13, ESV)

New Testament Reading: 2 Peter 3:1–9

“This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:1–9, ESV)

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Introduction

I will begin today by asking the question, is there any passage in all of scripture more troubling than the one that we have previously considered – that is, the one that describes to us the original sin of Adam with the three simple words, “and he ate”? 

Some who know the scriptures well might reply back saying, there are plenty of other passages that are as troubling as that one, if not more so. Think, for example, of those passages which describe to us the crucifixion of the Christ. Are those passages not more troubling?

And I would admit that on the surface it is more disturbing to think of the way that the Christ was mistreated by sinful man than to think of Adam taking a bite out a piece of fruit from a tree. Put those two scenes side by side in your mind – the brutal and bloody crucifixion of the Christ on the right, and Adam and Eve eating a piece of fruit in paradise on the left. As I said,  on the surface it is more disturbing to think of the way that the Christ was mistreated by sinful man than to think of Adam taking a bite out a piece of fruit from a tree. 

But I would reply that all of the sins committed throughout the history of the world, including that terrible sin of nailing Christ to the cross, have proceeded from the original sin of Adam. And while I do not wish to minimize the sins committed by men and women after Adam’s fall, I am pointing out that these sins have been committed by men and women who are fallen. In a sense, they are expected. But when Adam sinned he did so as an upright creature. When Adam ate of that forbidden fruit he was not fallen. Instead, he fell. This does not minimize our guilt or our culpability, for when we sin, we sin willingly and from the heart. But the point that I am making is that there is something particularly troublesome about Adam’s rebellion. He was upright, and yet he sinned. I might also point out that Adam knew what  it was to commune with God and to enjoy his presence. Fallen man does not experience this by birth. Only through new birth is communion with God regained. Adam knew what it was to walk with God. God was Adam’s God, and Adam was God’s son. And this Adam threw away when he ate of the forbidden tree. This is a most troubling thought. 

Brothers and sisters, my objective here is to awaken you to the hideousness of Adam’s original sin and also of ours. I am afraid that we trivialize sin – both Adam’s original sin and ours. Living in a world that is fallen and filled with sin, it is easy to grow accustom to it. Sin is everywhere, and we might begin to think that sin is normal. But the scripture reveal that sin is not normal. It is a terrible distortion. It is an act of rebellion. We also tend to compare ourselves to others and to think that we are relatively good. We categorize our sins – a few we consider to be heinous, but many others we are content to live with. Now, I do agree that some sins are more heinous than others. But the question I am asking is, shouldn’t all sin trouble us deeply? Shouldn’t all of our rebellion against God and our Redeemer strike us as a most terrible and unacceptable thing? All sin, being   “any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God” is heinous. 

And so I wonder, were you stuck by the hideousness of Adam’s transgression when you read those words, “and he ate” in Genesis 3:6?  Did those words make your heart sick? Were you deeply troubled by the thought that the creature would dare to rebel against God the Creator ion this way?

I am afraid that many fail to think deeply enough about Adam’s eating of the forbidden fruit so as to see it as a heinous act. On the surface Adam’s sin seems to be – dare I say it – relatively innocent. In fact we might even say that Adam’s sin was G rated when compared to other sins committed throughout the history of the world. Notice that we are able to depict Adam and Eve’s first transgression with accuracy in children’s story Bibles without concern of their being overwhelmed by the scene! For what did Adam and Eve do? They simply took fruit from a tree and they ate it – such a simple and common act.

But if we were to reflect more carefully on this story we would come to see that the simplicity of the act makes Adam’s transgression more heinous and not less.   

We must remember that when Adam ate the fruit, he ate forbidden fruit.

And we should remember who it was who  forbid him from eating it. God the Creator of all things seen and unseen forbid him from eating it. It was God Almighty – the God who is described to us in the first chapter of Genesis as the one who in the beginning made the heavens and the earth – who said, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17, ESV). 

More than this it was the LORD God – the covenant making and covenant keeping God – who forbid him from eating it. It was the LORD God who formed Adam from the dust, who breathed into him the breath of life, who planted a garden upon the earth which he had made suitable for his habitation, and who provided a companion for him who said, do not eat of this tree. 

When Adam ate of that forbidden tree, he rebelled against his Maker. When  Adam ate he committed an act of treason against the King of all creation. Whan Adam ate he turned against his benefactor who had provided him with every good and pleasant thing and went after another who had promised him more. 

What a heinous sin this was. And the simplicity and innocence of the action does not take away from the heinousness, but only adds to it. What was Adam told not to do? “Adam, don’t eat of that tree over there.”

And I don’t think there was anything particularly unique about the forbidden tree. I do not doubt that it was a beautiful tree. But I suspect that all of the trees in the garden of God were beautiful. And I do not doubt that the fruit looked tasty. But again, I am sure that all of the fruit in the garden paradise of God looked tasty. It is not as if God placed Adam in a barren dessert with only one fruit tree in it and said, “do not eat of this tree.” No, the garden was filled with trees and vegetation, and all of it was available to the man, with only one tree being forbidden. The point is that forbidden thing was not a better thing. It was in fact a common thing. So that when Adam rebelled he did so for no good reason. It was purely an act of rebellion against his Maker.  

I cannot remember who said it, but someone has theorized that the forbidden fruit was not an apple or pomegranate or some other naturally pleasant thing, but one of those thorny and stinky fruits, the idea being that Adam and Eve would have had to convince themselves that it was good and work to eat of it. I’m not sure if this theory is true. We simply do not know what kind of fruit it was. But the point is valid. Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, not because God left him hungry, and not because the forbidden tree was in fact better than all of the other trees that God had provided for him, but as an act of pure rebellion against his Maker.

It is no wonder that when Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… [They] hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8, ESV). This is what traitors and rebels do when the King  draws near – they hide, lest they be discovered and quickly judged. 

The question that is before us today as we continue on in this narrative is what will God do with these two traitors? What will he do in response to their heinous sin? Will he ignore it?  This he cannot do if he is just.  Will he judge them swiftly and harshly? He would do no wrong to take this course of action. Or will he show mercy and grace to the man and the woman  who have rebelled?

*****

“But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

In verse 9 we begin to find the answer to this question. There we read, “But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’”

Notice that the response of God towards his rebel creatures is surprisingly tender. 

First, notice that God is here called the “LORD God”. You would do well to remember that the name “LORD God” communicates that God is near to his creatures. He is the covenant making and covenant keeping God. He is the God who creates, but also the God who relates. It is significant that God is still called by that name though man has now fallen into sin.  

And what did the LORD God do as he approached the traitors? He “called to the man”. Now, it may be that he was calling out to them so that he might immediately judge them. But it is worth noting that God did not come roaring into the garden in wrath. Instead, he gently “called to the man.” 

And what did God say? Adam, “where are you?” God certainly knew where Adam and Eve were. And he certainly knew all that they had done. But by asking the question, Adam, “where are you?” God was providing an opportunity for the man to come out of his hiding and to acknowledge his sin. 

It is really quite a remarkable response that we see from God. He would have done no wrong to enter the garden in pure wrath and to immediately go about the task of judgement. He would have done no wrong to have said, “Adam, you traitor, come forth out of your pathetic hiding place so that I mighty slay thee.” But instead he called to the man and said, “where are you?” 

God, in the very first words that he spoke to man after the fall, summoned him to repentance by confronting his sin. When Adam and Eve “heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day… the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8, ESV). But then God uttered a clear and distinguishable word. God put forth the direct and probing question, Adam “where are you?” In  other words, Adam, in days past you and Eve would run to me as I approached, but now you are nowhere to be found. Adam, “where are you?” Come forth and explain to me the reason for your absence. Adam, “where are you?” 

Friends, the word that God spoke to Adam after his fall into sin is the same word that he speaks to sinner to this present day. You, like Adam your father, have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. You, like Adam, have felt the shame of your sin. And you, like Adam, have hid yourself from the presence of God. You have heard his voice and sensed his presence in this world, but you have run from him , and not to him. And having run from God you have frantically tried to cover the shame of your guilt. Some play with religion to ease their guilty conscience. Some do good works thinking that this will cover their sin. Some pretend that they are moral and upright.  And some distract themselves with worldly pleasures and entertainment so that they do not have to thing about God, their guilt before him, and the day of judgement which is certainly coming. They are like Adam and Eve hiding from the presence of the Lord in the garden, their nakedness being covered with leaves. Those leaves will not survive the fire of God’s wrath,  friends, and neither will the  flimsy covering that you have crafted for yourselves. 

But God in his mercy and grace calls some to repentance. And when God calls a sinner to repentance he first confronts him with his sin. Adam, “where are you?” When God calls a sinner to himself he does not speak with an unclear or indistinguishable voice. Men and women may run from God’s unclear and indistinguishable voice just as Adam and Eve ran from the sound of the LORD God approaching in the garden. This sinners do continuously. They hear God’s voice in the creation and they run from it. They suppress the truth in unrighteousness. But, when call calls a sinner to repentance he speaks with clarity. Adam, “where are you?” When God calls a sinner to repentance he communicates clear the law and the gospel. 

God first applies his law – “you shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself”, and then he asks, man, where are you? Woman, where are you? And even if we were to consider only this brief summerly of the law, what must are reply be? God, I am wretched sinner, a rebel, a traitor, a transgressor of your holy commandment. Have mercy on me. And after applying the law, the gospel will  be declared. Jesus the Christ has paid it all. He kept the law on your behalf,  and has atoned for all your sins. Repent and believe upon him. This is the clear word that God speaks to those he is calling to repentance – law and gospel.

God approached Adam and said, “where are you?” not because he did not know, but because his will was to draw him to repentance.

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“And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’”

Adam’s response was not good at first. He did what many do initially when being called to repentance. He answered God, but continued to conceal his sin. “He said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.’”

This is all true, isn’t it? Indeed, Adam heard true sound of LORD God in the garden, he was afraid, and he hid, having realized that the was naked. All true. But notice carefully that Adam did not get to the heart of the issue. He spoke truth, but he continued to conceal his sin. 

A true confession would have sounded like this: LORD God, have mercy on me, for I have done a most terrible thing. I willingly ate of the fruit that you forbid me to eat. I have rebelled against you. And having felt the shame of it I added to my sin by running from you as ion I could hide from your presence. I even tried to cover the shame of my nakedness on my own. Have mercy on me Lord, and renew a steadfast  spirit within me.  This would have been true repentance. But instead Adam continued to hide his actual transgression. “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” – no mention at all concerning his having eaten the forbidden fruit.

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“He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’”

And because God is merciful and kind, and because God’s will was to bring about true repentance in Adam he persisted with Adam spoke to him even more directly. “He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, aren’t you grateful that God was persistent with you to draw you to full repentance and faith? Aren’t you grateful for the Lord’s chastisement ? Do you not rejoice at the fact that God would not let you off the hook when you offered up to him false repentance and false faith, but instead he continued to apply his law to you with more and more precision until you were truly humbled and could not escape? God will not be mocked,  friends. You may fool men, but you cannot fool God. And God, by his grace, is persistent with those that he calls. He applies his law ever more firmly and precisely until sinners come to agree that they have violated God’s law, that their sin is indeed heinous, and that they sand in need of a Savior.  

This is what God did with Adam. When Adam continued to conceal his sin, God spoke more firmly and more precisely:  “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

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“The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’”

Adam found himself at a crossroads. Having been backed into a corner by God’s persistent questioning of him  he had a choice to make. He could either acknowledge his sin and own it, or he could persist in his rebellion. Adam did not choose the best path. “The man said, ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.’”

Notice that Adam does finally confess his sin. He admitted to God that he ate of the forbidden tree. But notice that he also shifted the blame. “The woman… she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Again, the stament was true. Eve did give Adam the fruit and then he ate. But instead of owning his sin purely, he tried to shift the attention to the guilt of another. 

You and I prove that we are born in Adam when we do this very thing today. When we are under conviction it is not uncommon for us to say, “well yes, I have sinned, but it is only because of his sin or her sin that I have done so badly.” 

“Child, are you speaking kindly to you sister?”,the  parent asks. And what is the common reply? “No, but… do you notice how rude she has been to me?” In other words, “I would not have sinned if it wasn’t for her sin.”

“Brother, why have been sexually immoral?” “She tempted me, and so I fell.” 

“Sister, why have you been unfaithful?” “It is because he was no longer meeting my needs and fulfilling my desires.” 

Friends, it would be far better if we would own our sin purely and cease from the practice of shifting blame.   

Notice that Adam did not only blame Eve, he did a much more terrible thing when he put the blame on God saying, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” The Creator, who had provided Adam with every  good thing necessary for life and godliness, is now blamed by his creature. It really is astonishing to think that Adam would do such a thing, and yet this is how far he had fallen. Adam rebelled, and having rebelled he pointed  his one finger at God and another at Eve and said,  this woman who you gave to me is that one who caused me to sin. 

God is certainly patient with us, isn’t he. For the world is filled with the sons and daughters of Adam who continually accuse God in this way. Instead of being grateful to God and astonished at his goodness,  they complain against him continuously and even blame him for all  of their sorrows, when in fact the sorrows are a result of our sin.     

*****

“Then the LORD God said to the woman, ‘What is this that you have done?’”

God was not impressed with Adam’s reasoning for he dismissed his words and  looked to the woman saying, “What is this that you have done?”

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“The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’” 

Eve’s reply was more honest than Adam’s. She was more direct and to the point, saying only, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Perhaps this is because she had just witnessed Adam fail so miserably in his attempted to hide and  his sin and to shift the blame.    

Notice that Eve could not help herself though. She too shifted the blame, saying, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Notice that this is where the questioning stops. Adam and Eve were questioned by God, but not the serpent. The serpent will be cursed, but never questioned. The reason for this is that room for repentance was not left for the angels who fell, only for man. In the realm of the angels some kept their proper place whereas others rebelled. But no mercy was shown to the fallen angels. No savior would be provided for them. Therefore, God did not question the serpent as he did Adam and Eve, for the purpose of the questioning was to bring about their repentance.    

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Conclusion 

Do not belittle the kindness and patience of God.

The title of  this sermon is “The Day of Judgment Delayed”,  for that is what  we see in this text. God did not immediately judge Adam and Eve fully and finally,  but began to call them to repentance. And this he does to this present day. He has delayed his judgement so as to leave room  for repentance. The judgement day is still in our future. And what is the purpose of this delay? To leave room for the accomplishment and application of the salvation of God’s elect. Christ has now accomplished salvation. And the Spirit is now applying it through the proclamation of God’s law and the gospel. 

This is why Peter says, that “the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:7–9, ESV).

Do not look belittle the kindness of God, friends. God has shown mercy and grace. Today is the day for you to acknowledge your sin, to see it as heinous, to turn from it, and to run to God through faith in the Savior that he has graciously provided, Christ Jesus the Lord. 

Tags: Genesis 3:9-13

Posted in Sermons Study Guides Genesis 3:9-13
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3:6-8

“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. And 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.” (Genesis 3:6–8, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Romans 5:12-21

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:12–21, ESV)

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Introduction

As we begin to consider Genesis 3:6-8 today it would be helpful to remember that this scene is the central scene in the section which runs from Genesis 2:4 through to the end of chapter 3. The narrative of Genesis is highly structured. At first glance you might only see a series of words, sentences and paragraphs. But upon closer examination it becomes evident that the entire book is carefully structured.

I have already mentioned that the book is divided into ten parts after the prologue of Genesis 1:1-2:3. Each of the ten parts begins with the heading, “these are the generations of…”, or something similar. But it is interesting and also helpful to recognize that structure can be found within each of these sections. The structure of the narrative does impact meaning, for it focuses our attention and gives emphasis to certain elements of the text.

1 – 2:5-17 – narrative – God the sole actor, man passive
2 – 2:18-25 – narrative – God main actor, man minor role, woman and animals passive
3 – 3:1-5 – dialogue – snake and woman
4 – 3:6-8 – narrative, man and woman
5 – 3:9-13 – dialogue – God, man and woman
6 – 3:14-21 – narrative – God main actor, man minor role, woman and snake passive
7 – 3:22-24 – narrative – God the sole actor, man passive

I’m not sure that you would remember this, but as we began to study Genesis 2:4 and following back in September of 2018 I pointed out that Genesis 2:4-3:24 is highly structured. This section is divided into seven scenes which form a chiasm, with scene 1 corresponding to scene 7, scene 2 to scene 6, and scene 3 to scene 5. The fourth scene – the scene positioned at the peak or climax of the chiasm – is the scene that we are considering today in 3:6-8. These structures that are found within Genesis help to focus the reader upon the main point of the text. And what I am saying to you is that this passage that we are considering today which describes to us the fall of man is at the heart of the narrative of Genesis 2:4-3:24. We’d better pay attention.

1 – “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…
2 – she took of its fruit and ate…
3 – and she also gave some to her husband who was with her…
4 – and he ate.
5 – Then the eyes of both were opened,
6 – and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
7 – And 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.” (Genesis 3:6–8, ESV)

Furthermore, it should be noticed that this little section which is at the heart of the narrative of Genesis 2:5 – 3:24 also has a chiastic structure to it. The first half of the chiasm is marked off by a series of verbs – “saw”, “took”, and “gave” which culminate with the statement, “and he ate”. 1 – “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…”, 2 – “she took of its fruit and ate…”, 3 – “and she also gave some to her husband who was with her…”, 4 – “and he ate.”

This little phrase, “and he ate”, is at the heart of the passage that we are considering today. In fact, this little phrase, “and he ate”, is at the heart of the entire narrative which runs from 2:5-3:24 given that this scene is positioned as the central scene of that narrative. And it should come as no surprise to us, for the question, will Adam eat or not eat? has been on our minds ever since we read the words, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16–17, ESV). This tree was a tree of testing. The question was, would Adam pass the test? Would Adam remain faithful and true to his God? Would he obey. The central scene of the narrative of Genesis 2:5-3:24, and the central phrase of that scene, answers that question with the words, “and he ate”.

The remainder of the chiasm corresponds to what was was said to us at the beginning of verse 6 concerning the woman’s hope for eating of the tree. Having listened to the voice of the serpent she began to look at the tree differently. 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 therefore “took and ate” and “gave” and “he ate”. Their hopes were high. They had grown convinced that there was no real danger in this tree, but that it would good for them, just as all the other trees of the garden were. In fact, this tree would open their eyes and make them wise, making them as powerful as God. The backside of the chiasm corresponds to this hope of theirs and shows that it was a false hope. Adam and Eve were terribly mistaken. 5 – “then the eyes of both were opened”, but it was not what the expected. They expected enlightenment, but instead they experienced the shame of their guilt. 6 – “And they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” The serpent had convinced them that there was no danger in this tree, saying, “you will not surely die”. He convinced them that this tree was a harmless as all the others. But after eating from it “they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:6–8, ESV). Instead of enjoying sweet communion with their Maker, they were terrified by his presence, for now they were in sin and were deserving of God’s just condemnation.

Having now provided an overview of this passage, let us now consider it piece by piece.

Furthermore, it should be noticed that this little section which is at the heart of the narrative of Genesis 2:5 – 3:24 also has a chiastic structure to it. The first half of the chiasm is marked off by a series of verbs – “saw”, “took”, and “gave” which culminate with the statement, “and he ate”. 1 – “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…”, 2 – “she took of its fruit and ate…”, 3 – “and she also gave some to her husband who was with her…”, 4 – “and he ate.”

This little phrase, “and he ate”, is at the heart of the passage that we are considering today. In fact, this little phrase, “and he ate”, is at the heart of the entire narrative which runs from 2:5-3:24 given that this scene is positioned as the central scene of that narrative. And it should come as no surprise to us, for the question, will Adam eat or not eat? has been on our minds ever since we read the words, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die’” (Genesis 2:16–17, ESV). This tree was a tree of testing. The question was, would Adam pass the test? Would Adam remain faithful and true to his God? Would he obey. The central scene of the narrative of Genesis 2:5-3:24, and the central phrase of that scene, answers that question with the words, “and he ate”.

The remainder of the chiasm corresponds to what was was said to us at the beginning of verse 6 concerning the woman’s hope for eating of the tree. Having listened to the voice of the serpent she began to look at the tree differently. 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 therefore “took and ate” and “gave” and “he ate”. Their hopes were high. They had grown convinced that there was no real danger in this tree, but that it would good for them, just as all the other trees of the garden were. In fact, this tree would open their eyes and make them wise, making them as powerful as God. The backside of the chiasm corresponds to this hope of theirs and shows that it was a false hope. Adam and Eve were terribly mistaken. 5 – “then the eyes of both were opened”, but it was not what the expected. They expected enlightenment, but instead they experienced the shame of their guilt. 6 – “And they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” The serpent had convinced them that there was no danger in this tree, saying, “you will not surely die”. He convinced them that this tree was a harmless as all the others. But after eating from it “they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:6–8, ESV). Instead of enjoying sweet communion with their Maker, they were terrified by his presence, for now they were in sin and were deserving of God’s just condemnation.

Having now provided an overview of this passage, let us now consider it piece by piece.

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“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…”

In verse 6 we read, “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…” It was after this that she then took of its fruit and ate.

Notice, then, where Eve’s fall into sin began. The serpent brought the temptation to her (this we considered last week), but her fall into sin began within her mind and heart as she perceived that the forbidden tree was in fact the good and beneficial tree. She “saw” or “perceived” that the tree was good for food, etc., etc., and after this she ate. 

And so it is with all our sin. When we sin, we sin from the heart. When we disobey God’s word, we do so from a mind that is bent out of shape. When we listen to another voice and go our own way it is because we have “perceived” that someone or something else is worthy of our obedience and devotion. 

Eve’s rebellion began within her heart as she saw or perceived or decided within herself that the serpents way was in fact better than God’s.   

She “saw that the tree was good for food…” In other words she had come to believe the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not a danger to her as God had said, but would in fact be for her good at the serpent said. In terms of its danger it was like all of the other trees of the garden – it too was “good for food”. Eve perceived that tree was good for food and so she was no longer cautious about approaching it. In fact the tree that was once a terror to her (remember she had resolved not even to touch it) was now a “delight to [her] eyes”.

And do you not reason in the same way when you sin? Do you not first of all convince yourself that there is really no danger in the thing that God has forbidden? Yes, I know that God has said “be not drunk with wine”, but is there really any harm in drinking to the point of drunkenness with my friends so long it is only occasional and responsibly done? Or yes, I know that God has said that the gift of sex is to be reserved for the marriage bond, but really what is the harm? Or yes, I know that God has said to honor the Lord’s Day Sabbath and to not forsake the assembly, but certainly my situation is different. Brothers and sisters, you sin against God only after you have convinced yourself that God’s word may be disregarded. It is possible that you do this without realizing it, but I am sure that you have done it. If God’s word is in you, then you must explain it away, minimize it or set it aside somehow if you are to disobey it. 

Eve convinced herself that the forbidden tree was in fact “good for food” and then it became a “delight to [her] eyes.” You and I are naturally drawn to that which we perceive to be good and right and are repulsed by that which we perceive to bad or evil. You can see the progression, I’m sure. First Eve decided within herself that the forbidden tree was in fact good. Then afterwards the tree that once seemed repulsive to her looked beautiful to her, and she was drawn to it.  

Lastly Eve perceived that “the tree was to be desired to make one wise.” Things progressed even further. Not only did the forbidden tree seem harmless and beautiful in appearance to Eve (just like all the other trees), but it now seemed to her that eating from it would in fact give her wisdom and insight. In other words, Eve had convinced herself that the serpent was right and that God was wrong. Instead of bringing death as God said, this tree would open her eyes, and she would “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5, ESV).

I will say it again: Our acts of obedience to God and our acts of disobedience against him begin in the mind and in the heart. Our behavior is largely determined by our perception of things. We live within God’s world and we are constantly perceiving things. We are constantly observing the world around us and making judgements concerning what we see. This thing we perceive to be good, and this evil; this right and this wrong; this beautiful and that ugly; this true and that false. And we decide to do this thing or that based upon those perceptions. 

This is why Jesus said what he said in Matthew 6:22: “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22–23, ESV)

What is Jesus encouraging when he urges us to have eyes that are healthy so that our whole body might be filled with light and not darkness? He is urging his followers to perceive the world around them aright. God’s people ought to interpret the world around them according to his word. God’s law should be so engraved upon our hearts that we love what God loves and hate what he hates. What he calles good and right and true, we should call good and right and true. What he calls evil, we should call evil. And we should believe it to the heart.     

Where did Eve’s rebellion begin? It began in the heart and in the mind. She would eventually eat of the forbidden tree, not because her hand and mouth rebelled, but because her eye rebelled. She began to slip in her perception of things. What God called evil, she began to perceive as good – this she did in the mind and heart. She found herself in agreement with a voice other than the voice of God.  

Brothers and sisters, this is why sound doctrine is so vital to the Christian life. This is why developing a biblical and godly worldview is essential if we are walk before the Lord in holiness. This is why the Apostle says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2, ESV). And again the same Apostle says, “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.” (2 Corinthians 11:3, ESV)

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“She took of its fruit and ate…”

The woman, after coming to see the tree as good, as delightful, and as desirable then took of it’s fruit and ate. This statement is simple enough. Here the sin of Eve is described. But I will take the opportunity to ask the question, where is Adam?

Adam was the one commanded by God to guard and keep the guarden temple. Eve was given to Adam as his helper. And yet Adam is missing from this narrative. He is nowhere to be found. The snake approached Eve. The snake spoke to Eve. Eve considered the serpents words and came to be of his opinion. And then Eve took of the fruit of the tree and ate. And where is Adam? He is absent.

We should not minimize the sin of Eve, for she knew the law of God herself. She decided to commit sin. But we should also highlight Adam’s failure. When Eve ate she sinned a sin of commission, having violated the law of God by her action. But when Eve ate Adam sinned a sin of omission. He failed to do what God had called him to do by his negligence.

Brothers and sisters, we should be mindful not only of sins of commission, but also sins of omission. In other words, not only should we take care to not commit sin, but we should also take care to not fail to do that which God has called us to do in his word. James 4:17 addresses sins of omission, saying, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

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“And she also gave some to her husband who was with her…”

Notice that Eve’s rebellion continues. Not only did she come to see that the forbidden tree was the good and desirable tree, and not only did she herself take and eat of it, but she also gave the fruit to Adam so that he might eat of it as well.

Eve, instead of standing up to the tempter, became the agent of temptation for Adam. The snake did not speak to Adam. He spoke to Eve, and then Eve gave the fruit to Adam. It was Eve who convinced Adam to eat.

Brothers and sisters, we should be mindful of the way that our sin affects those around us.

Most do not like to be alone in their sin, and so they encourage others to sin with them. Most do not drink to drunkenness alone, but they bring others along with them. Sexual sin is always this way. A partner is required. Peter speaks to this in 1 Peter 4:3 and following when he says, “For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:3–5, ESV). Those who live in sin love to have company.

And the sins that you commit personally rarely affect only you. Others are impacted somehow and in someway by your decision to violate God’s law. Friends, do not rebel against God for your own sake, but also for the sake of others. We love God when we keep his commandments, and we also love one another when we keep God’s commandments.

Eve, though she was designed by God to function as Adam’s helper, became a hindrance to him by her rebellion. Eve was deceived, and through her the temptation came also to Adam.

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“And he ate…”

And now finally we come to the climax of the passage with the words: “and he ate.” Adam was commanded by God not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but he too decided to eat.

Let me make a few observations about Adam’s eating:

First of all, Adam ate being tempted by Eve, and not deceived by the serpent. Paul makes this most clear in 1 Timothy 2:13-14 when he says, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” The serpent deceived Eve, and Eve convinced Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit. 

Secondly, notice that humanities fall into sin was not complete until Adam ate of the fruit. Adam functioned as a federal head or representative for all humanity. The Romans 5 passage that we read at the beginning of this sermon makes that clear when it says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…”, etc. When Eve sinned, Eve sinned. But when Adam sinned, all sinned, for Adam appointed by God to function as a representive for all humanity. 

Thirdly, it obvious that God created man (and also the angels) with freewill. That man was created a volitional creature with the ability to act upon choice was strongly implied by the fact that God set apart two trees in the garden as unique – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life – and then commanded Adam and Eve to choose the one and not the other. Man’s freedom was implied by the choice that was set before them. But now it is most obvious that these creatures were created by God with the freedom to choose. By this time some of the angels had chosen to rebell against God (thus the serpent who was found opposing God’s rule), and now Adam and Eve have clearly chosen a path of rebellion. Adam and Eve were created with freewill. 

Our confession is correct when it says in chapter 9 paragraph 1 that “God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty and power of acting upon choice, that it is neither forced, nor by any necessity of nature determined to do good or evil.” Paragraph 2 also pertains to the passage today, for speaks of the ability that Adam and Eve had prior to their rebellion when it says, “Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God, but yet was unstable, so that he might fall from it.”

To be human is to have freewill. To be human is to have the “liberty and power of acting upon choice”. When Adam was innocent he had the ability, or the “freedom and power to will to do that which was good and well-pleasing to God, but yet was unstable, so that he might fall from it.” After Adam fell from innocency and into sin he, and all who would descend from him, still possessed the “liberty and power of acting upon choice.” Hear me now – what we lost at the fall was not the freedom to choose, but the ability to chose that which is right and pleasing to God. Chapter 9 paragraph 3 of our confession is helpful when it is say that “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able by his own strength to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.” This is the state that Adam and Eve fell into. And this is the state into which all are born in this world. All humans have by nature the ability to choose, but now that we are fallen, we are in bondage under sin. 

Paragraph 4 of that same chapter rightly says, “When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he freeth him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he doth not perfectly, nor only will, that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil.” This is the state that those who have faith in Christ are in. Having been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit these have been freed from their “natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone [enabled to]… freely… will and to do that which is spiritually good…” though corruptions remain. Our confession is also right in paragraph 5 when it says that” this will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to good alone in the state of glory only.” 

What is the common denominator present in each of these states of being – innocence, sin, grace and glory? The common denominator is that human beings have freewill. They possess the “liberty and power of acting upon choice”. To be human is to have freewill. What changes in each of these states of being? Man’s ability changes. Adam in innocence was able to obey or to rebel. Adam in sin is able only to rebel. Adam in grace is able to “will and to do that which is spiritually good”, yet corruptions reman. Adam in glory will be made “perfectly and immutably free to good alone.”

When Adam ate he and his wife died, and so too did all of his posterity. Though the went on living for a very long time, the entered into a state of sin and death when they rebelled against their Maker. They fell from innocency, and into sin. And the wages of sin is death. This is our condition apart from Christ. We are dead in our trespasses and sins. If we are to live, then God must make us alive through Christ. 

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“Then the eyes of both were opened…”

Verses 7 and 8 make all that I have just said concerning man’s fall into sin and death abundantly clear. Remember that the backside of the chiasm corresponds to the false hopes that Eve had for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Remember that she thought by eating of the tree she and Adam would be made wise. And what was the result of their eating? Indeed, their eyes were opened, but not as they thought.

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“And they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

Instead of bringing delight to the man and the woman, they now experienced the shame of their sin. They immediately “knew that they were naked.” Shame was something that neither of them had experienced before, and now a sense of shame rushed over them. 

And notice their response. Their impulse was to cover their shame. They “sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Were the situation not so serious, it would be comical. Immagine Adam and Eve frantically sewing together coverings for themselves out of leaves. 

And this is what we do with our sin. Instead of confessing it to God and to one another, we are tempted to conceal it. But God’s word says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, ESV) 

And not only does sinful man conceal his sin, he also seeks to provide his own remedy for his sin. And here is the difference between true and false religion. True religion has God and his word as its authority. True religion looks to God and God alone and places all of its hope in him. False religion has the wisdom of man as its source. False religion sets its hope upon the things of this world – things that are manmade. 

Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. And having sinned against God, they hid. And while they hid, they franticly worked to provide atonement for their sins, but as we will see, they could not. Those fig leaves would prove to be inadequate. 

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“And 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.”

Eve had hoped that the forbidden tree would be harmless – “good for food” like all of the other trees of the garden. But what did she find? Both Adam and Eve found that the tree brought death, just as God said that it would. Verse 8: “And 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.”

Notice a few things  about this verse:

First of all, notice that God is here called the LORD God. This name for God (Yahweh Elohim) emphasizes that God is the covenant making and covenant keeping God – the God who is near to and intimate with his people. God has been called by this name throughout Genesis 2 and 3. I failed to mention it last week, but it should be noted that when the serpent spoke to Eve of God he did not call him “the LORD God”, but only “God”. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5, ESV), he said. By calling God “Elohim” instead of “Yahweh Elohim” the serpent was minimizing God’s nearness. But now God is called Yahweh Elohim again. He is still the the covenant making and covenant keeping God, but now the covenant has been broken. He is still the God who is near to and intimate with his people, but now his people are in sin. 

Secondly, notice that the LORD God had a habit of walking with Adam and Eve in the garden. Adam and Eve had enjoyed the presence of God in that place prior to their sin. And this corresponds to all that has been said in  previous sermons about the garden being a temple with Adam as priest. The garden is where Adam and Eve enjoyed God’s presence – and that is what makes a temple a temple – God’s presence with his people. 

Thirdly, notice that God’s presence was no longer a comfort and joy to Adam and Eve after they had sinned. Now God’s presence was a terror to them. Again, “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.”

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Conclusion

This passage should cause sinful man to weep and to tremble. What a terrible and heinous thing it is for creatures to rebel against their Creator – a Creator who is nothing but good and generous and kind. And what a sad thought that the relationship that was once a joy to man has become a terror to him. To think of Adam and Eve running and hiding from the sound of the LORD God and from his presence should cause our hearts to ache. 

Oh, how far we have fallen. We were made to live for God’s glory and to enjoy him forever and ever, but we have fallen short of the glory of God and are now by nature children of wrath. This is true for all the children of Adam who are still in their sins.

Friends, this bad news. But  good news is coming. Soon we will see that LORD God is gracious. He will graciously clothe Adam and Eve and pronounce good news to them, that a Savior would be provide. He is Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us look to him. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, ESV). “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9, ESV).

Tags: Genesis 3:6-8

Posted in Sermons Genesis 3:6-8
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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 3:1-5

“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.’” (Genesis 3:1–5, ESV)

New Testament Reading: John 8:31-47

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.’ They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.’ They said to him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.’” (John 8:31–47, ESV)

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Introduction

It has been a while now since we have been in the text of Genesis given that we took nine sermons to explore the topic of marriage, divorce and remarriage. It would be good for us to remember where we are in this book which, I will remind you, is highly structured. 

The book of Genesis is divided into eleven parts. There is a prologue which spans from Genesis 1:1-2:3 which describes the creation of the heavens and the earth. And then there are ten sections, each of them beginning with the phrase, “these are the generations of…”, or something like it. We are currently in the first of these ten sections. 

Remember that in Genesis 2:4 we read, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens” (Genesis 2:4, ESV). It is not until Genesis 5:1 that we will again encounter this heading with the words, “This is the book of the generations of Adam… (Genesis 5:1, ESV). 

Each of these ten headings found in the book of Genesis names some person or persons and then tells us about their offspring – the generations of Adam; the generations of Noah; the generations of Shem, Ham and Japheth; etc. The one exception is the first of the  ten headings, for there it is not a person named, but a place – namely, “the heavens and the earth”. Again, Genesis 2:4 says, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.”

It should be remembered what the phrase “the heavens and earth” is referring to. “Earth”, both in Genesis 1:1 and in 2:4,  is a reference to the earthly, physical realm that is visible to us. This is the realm that you and I live in. “Heaven”, both in Genesis 1:1 and 2:4, is a reference to the heavenly, spiritual realm which is presently invisible to us. Therefore, this section that runs from Genesis 2:4 through to 5:1 tells us about that which descended from the earth and heavens which God created in the beginning. 

First, we learned that God formed Adam out of the earth. Remember Genesis 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Genesis 2:7, ESV). After this God formed Eve from Adam. Genesis 2:21-22: “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21–22, ESV). What was generated from the earth? Genesis 2:4-25 reveals that the God of heaven brought plants and animals, birds and fish, and supremely Adam and Eve from the earth. We should also remember that God entered into a covenant with the man that he had made. After placing Adam in the garden, and after giving him access to all the plants and trees to have as food, he strictly forbid him from eating from one tree – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:15-17). He also gave Adam a task. He was to work and keep the garden (Genesis 3:15). This he was to do for a time. Having successfully accomplished his work he would have been permitted to eat from the tree of life and to enter into glory. What I am saying is that Genesis 2:4 through to 3:1 describes to us the generations of the earth. From the earth God brought forth, among other things, Adam and Eve and entered into a covenant of life with them. 

But what about the generations of the heavens?  Remember, this section has the heading, “These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens.” What is it that happened in the heavenly realm as it pertains to the story of Holy Scripture?

Now, it must be admitted that our knowledge of the history of the heavenly realm is much more limited than our knowledge of the history of the earthy realm, but God does not leave us entirely in the dark. His word does reveal to us something of the history of heaven. 

We know that the heavenly realm was created by God on day one of creation. We know that heaven is God’s throne, the earth his footstool – heaven is where God’s glory is shown forth in splendor. We know that heaven is filled with heavenly hosts, that is to say, angels – seraphim and cherubim. And we know that there was a rebellion in heaven. Jude 6 refers to this rebellion, saying, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, [God] has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day…” (Jude 6, ESV). In 1 Timothy 5:21 Paul refers to the angels in heaven as “elect angels” indicating that there are also angels who are non-elect and fallen. The scriptures refer to these fallen angels as demons. The prince of these demons is called by many names: Satan, the Devil, Beelzebub, and Lucifer. 

In Isaiah 14 we find an oracle concerning the fall of the once powerful king of Babylon. But most would agree that the fall of this earthly king is stated in language reminiscent of the fall of Satan himself, establishing a similitude between the fall of these two powerful beings, one human and the other angelic. 

Listen to Isaiah 14:12-16 and keep in mind that this passage is about the fall of the king of Babylon but is stated in such away to remind us of the fall of Satan: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms…” (Isaiah 14:12–16, ESV).

The scriptures are clear that there was a rebellion in the realm of heaven. Some of the angels fell, whereas others kept their proper position as servants of the living God. It appears that Satan led this rebellion, being motivated by envy and pride. 

But when did this rebellion in the realm of heaven occur? The answer is that it happened at some point between the end of day six of creation, and the temptation of Adam and Eve as described to us in Genesis 3:1 and following. 

In the beginning God created the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. 

The earth was at first without form and void and dark. 

Job 38:7 tells us that the angels of heaven witnessed the formation of the earth as it is described to us in Genesis 1 and “shouted for joy” when they saw it – this means that the angels must have been created on the first day of creation. 

And at the end of day six we are told that “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31, ESV). Everything was as good in the heavenly realm and in the earthly realm at the end of day six of creation. 

But in Genesis 3:1 we read, “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’?’” (Genesis 3:1, ESV). 

It is impossible to know for sure how much time elapsed from day six of creation to this act of treason on the part of one of God’s creatures. I tend to think that it was not long at all. But the important thing to notice is that Genesis 3:1 describes an act of rebellion. One of God’s creatures is here found rebelling against its maker. 

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“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.” 

In Genesis 3:1 we read the words, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.” 

This is an interesting introduction to the narrative that will follow. Clearly, this statement is a reference to a literal snake. The serpent, when compared to all of the of other beasts of the field, is more crafty.

 “Crafty” is an appropriate word to use when describing the snake. To be “crafty” is to be subtle and shrewd. The Hebrew word translated by the English word “crafty” does not carry with it positive or negative connotations. In fact, the same Hebrew word is used throughout the Proverbs to describe one who is wise. The wise person is crafty, subtle and shrewd. Craftiness, therefore, can be used for good, and it might also be used for evil. Remember how Christ taught his disciples saying, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16, ESV).

Genesis 3:1 is a simple and straightforward statement concerning snakes. Snakes are crafty creatures. They move in quietly. The are well camouflaged. And they are opportunistic predators who lie in wait for their prey. They are even mesmerizing. It is no wonder, then, that Satan – a heavenly and spiritual being – would use the snake – an earthly creature – to bring temptation to Adam and Eve.  

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“He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’”

In the second half of verse one something surprising happens. The serpent speaks. “He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’”

This narrative that we are considering today is very brief, but it is packed full of meaning. Notice a few things about the second half of verse 1:

One, notice that the person at work within the serpent is not named. Clearly, some power is at work within the snake, for snakes do not ordinarily speak. But the person is not named, for he is not worthy of it. He is only called a snake. The rest of the narrative, and the rest of scripture, will make it clear that this is the voice Lucifer. 

Two, notice that this is the first voice heard in the narrative that opposes God and his sovereign rule. Up until this point everything was good, indeed very good. 

Three, notice that the serpent spoke, not to Adam, but to Eve. This is very significant given that it was Adam who was given the task to “ work… and keep” the garden (Genesis 2:15). Eve was to function as his helper. Here the craftiness of the Evil One is put on display. He subtly entered the garden, appearing out of nowhere. And he approached the woman, avoiding Adam the Federal Head. It is true that Eve could have stomped the head of the serpent. She, as Adams helper, could have resisted the temptation or alerted her husband concerning the intruder. But the tactic of the Evil One is easy to see. He tempted Adam, not directly, but through his wife. The serpent was crafty in his approach. 

Four, notice the words of the serpent. “He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’” The serpent called God’s word into question – “Did God actually say…?” And the serpent also misquoted God ever so slightly. ‘Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?’” Can you recognize the subtlety of the serpent? He began to call into question the goodness and the character of God, not directly, but by way of implication and suggestion. Buried within the serpents carefully crafted question was the subtle suggestion that perhaps God was too harsh, unreasonable and not particularly interested in the ultimate good of Adam and Eve.  “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

I hope that you are beginning to understand the purpose of this text. More than a straightforward retelling of the temptation of the first man and women, this text also gives us insight into the character and the tactics of the Evil One – tactics he uses to this present day. Satan it still eager to undermine our confidence in God’s word and to erode or trust in God as one who is good and generous, gracious and kind. This he often does in subtle and cunning ways, by speaking half truths and by way of suggestion. 

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“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.’”

In Genesis 3:2-3 we find the woman’s reply: “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.’”

Notice a few things about Eve’s reply:

One, she does correct the serpent. The serpent suggested that God forbid the man and the woman from eating from any of the trees of garden. Look at how stingy and oppressive God is, was the suggestion of the serpent. He has set you down in the mindst of this lush and fruitful garden and has placed restrictions on you. Eve was right to say, no,  “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…’”

Two, notice that Eve does begin to slip a bit as she minimizes God’s generosity. For what did God actually say to Adam? Genesis 2:16: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘You may surely eat of every tree of the garden…” Eve omitted the word “every”, and this is significant. 

Three, notice that Eve slips even more when she adds to God’s word saying, “neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Never did God command Adam and Eve not to touch the tree, only that they should not eat of it. 

It is apparent that Eve was on a dangerous path. She should have been much more firm with the serpent. In fact, she should have done what Christ did when tempted by the Evil One in the wilderness. And what did Christ do? Three times over he replied to the lies and the distortions of Satan with the words, “it is written…”, “it is written…”, and finally, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written… ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10, ESV). Eve was far too gentle with the serpent. She allowed him to speak. She gave him a hearing. And her devotion to God began to slip. She began, ever so slightly, to minimize his goodness and to exaggerate his severity. 

I wonder if some of you are not on this same path even now. You have listened to the lies of the evil one. You have failed to confront his voice with the word of God. And you have begun to doubt that God is indeed good, and gracious, generous and kind.  

*****

“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.’”

In verse 5 the serpent replies to the woman with these words: “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.”

Notice that the tactics of the Evil One have transitioned from being sly and subtile, to aggressive and direct. Just as a snake at first moves slowly as it waits for its pray and then quickly strikes when the moment is right, so too the Evil One will tempt us subtly, and only after he has brought us to a vulnerable place will he deliver his deadly blow. 

The interesting thing about the words of Satan in verse 5 is that they contain truth — they are half truths, mind you. They are twisted truths. But the words of Satan will prove to be true, in a way. 

“You will not surely die”, the serpent said. Notice how direct he is now. Before it was, “has God actually said…” Now it is, “you will not surely die…” — a direct challenge to God’s word. But do see that there was some truth in what the serpent said. God said, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die…” (Genesis 2:17, ESV). But as we progress in the narrative we will find that Adam, though he would eat of the forbidden fruit, did not die until he was 930 years old. So, in a way, the serpent was right. Adam and Eve did not immediately die. Of course he was wrong in two respects. One, Adam would eventually dies. And Two, Adam did die in the day that ate of the forbidden fruit — he died spiritually, having been cast out of the garden from the presence of God. This is why Paul could write to Christians who were alive physically and say, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience…” (Ephesians 2:1–2, ESV). What did Paul mean? These Christians were alive physically, but spiritually they were dead because of sin prior to being brought to faith in Christ. This was true of Adam also. Though he would live for 930 years, he truly died in the day that he ate of the forbidden fruit.

Some of you are living in this state even now. You are alive according to the flesh, but spiritually you are dead because of you sin. Christ can make you alive. 

The serpent then said, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” This statement also contains truth. 

Were the eyes of Adam and Eve opened when they ate of the forbidden fruit? The answer is, yes! But not in the way they expected. After eating of the fruit we read in 3:7 that “the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Genesis 3:7, ESV). Their eyes were opened when they ate, but not unto enlightenment as the serpent had suggested, but unto shame.  

And did Adam and Eve become like God, knowing good and evil when they ate? In a sense they did, but not as they expected.

The suggestion of the serpent was that by eating of the forbidden tree the first man and woman would come to experience something greater than what they had experienced up to that point. The implied accusation against God was that he was holding out on them. God forbid them from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because he knew that if they ate of it they would become as powerful as him. In essence the Evil One managed to make the tree of the knowledge of good and evil seem as if were in fact the tree of life. Satan convinced the couple that by eating of the forbidden tree and abstaining from the the tree of life they would advance to a higher order of life. God was holding out on them. The opposite of what he said was the truth. What Adam and Eve needed to do what to cast off the bonds of their oppressive God and to decide for themselves what is right and what is wrong. Only after obtaining this knowledge would they be truly enlightened, and become gods themselves. 

As the narrative unfolds it will become clear that the serpent was a lier. Adam and Eve did not become like God in the way they expected. Instead, the image of God that was theirs by creation was greatly marred. After eating they were still human, but they were fallen humans, given over to death. Clearly, Satan was wrong. 

But notice that his words were proven to be true in a sense. In 3:22 we read, “Then the LORD God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—’ therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken” (Genesis 3:22–23, ESV). There is a sense in which Adam and Eve became like God when they ate, but not as they expected. They took to themselves a right that only God should have, that is to determine that which is good and that which is evil. In this sense, they became like God. But the end was death, and not life. 

All who are not in Christ live this way continually, deciding for themselves what is true and false, and what is right and wrong. The one who is in Christ is submits to God in all things and confesses that his word is true. 

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Conclusion 

What difference should this little narrative make in our lives today?

This is more than a story of the temptation of Adam and Eve. In this brief story we see the tactics of the Evil One on display. 

Thd child of God would be wise to remember that the Evil One is still at work within the world and that he is crafty — his tactics are still the same.  

He will see to undermine God’s word. 

He will call into question his goodness towards you. 

He will suggest that the good life is found when we cast off God’s restraints and live according to our own standards.

But we should remember that his way is the way of death. Abundant life is found in Christ as we walk in obedience to his commandments. 

Our first parents fell. We too have fallen and will fall for the lies of Satan. But we should remember that Christ, who is  the second Adam stood strong on our behalf saying,  “Be gone, Satan! For it is written… ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Matthew 4:10, ESV). This he did faithful to the ned of his life. When he did, he died not for his own sins, but for the sins of those given to him by the Father so that through faith in him we might have life in his name. 

Tags: Genesis 3:1-5

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Scripture Reading: John 20:24-31

“Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:24–31, ESV)

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Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters, I realize that this might seem like an unusual text to highlight on the Sunday prior to Christmas. In fact, if this text were to be associated with one of our traditional holidays it would be associated with Easter – the day upon which the church traditionally gives special attention to the resurrection of Christ – for here in John 20 we encounter the risen Christ.

The reason that I have decided to highlight this particular passage on this Sunday prior to Christmas is so that I might urge you to do more than remember the birth of Christ during this holiday season. Of course, I do hope that you would remember his brith. I hope that you would stand in awe of the wonder of the incarnation. In fact, if you join us on Christmas Eve we will give special attention to the birth of Christ by reading through the narrative of Christ’s brith from one of the Gospels. But as we remember the birth of Christ, I pray that we would also be mindful of his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension and all that he has accomplished thereby. And, having considered Christ in this way – that is to say, not only Christ in the manger, but also Christ in the world, on the cross, in the tomb, and in the clouds – I pray that you would understand what it is that he has accomplished on behalf of sinners and come to place your faith in him.

Friends, understand that Christ was born into this world in order to accomplish something. His birth marked the beginning of the accomplishment of a mission given to him by God before the world was created.

Christ himself spoke of this mission when he prayed to God before his disciples as recorded for us in John 17, saying, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word (John 17:1–6, ESV).

When this prayer of Christ is considered in its entirety it is clear that Christ was born into this world to redeem those given to him him by the Father from before the foundation of the world. This was his mission – to accomplish the salvation of God’s elect, to reveal himself to them, and to bring them safely home to the Father.

This is the work that Christ accomplished through his active and passive obedience. He actively kept the law of God. This he did on behalf of sinners like you and me who are unable to keep God’s law for themselves. And Christ also passively obeyed God. He suffered on behalf of sinners like you and me who deserve to suffer because of their sin. Christ suffered in the whole of his life, but particularly on the cross.

We might also say that Christ accomplished the redemption of God’s elect through his humiliation and exultation. He became low for us. He was born into this world and placed in a lowly manger. Indeed, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8, ESV). But having died, and having been placed in the grave, this same Christ was also exulted for our redemption. “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9–11, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, the Christ was born into this world in order to accomplish the redemption of people from every tongue, tribe and nation. Christ accomplished this redemption when he was born into this world, by his life, his death and resurrection. There is nothing more to be done, for he himself said, “it is finished.”

But the question remains, how do we come to partake of the redemption that Christ has accomplished for us? How does that thing that Christ has earned for his elect come to be theirs? How do lay ahold of, or benefit from, what Christ has purchased?

This question should sound familiar to you, for it is a question raised by our catechism. The answer comes in two stages.

Question 32 of the Batist Catechism asks, “How are we made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ?” And the answer given is that “We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us, by His Holy Spirit.”

This is a good and biblical answer. God the Father sent to the Son to earn our redemption. God the Son came to accomplished our redemption. And God the Holy Spirit is the one who applies the redemption that Christ has earned to the elect of God by his effectual calling.

Question 33 brings more clarity to the issue by asking, “How [does] the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?” And the answer is that “The Spirit [applies] to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.”

Notice two things about these questions and answers:

First of all, in order for a person to partake of the redemption purchased by Christ, the Spirit of God must do a work within them and upon them. This is the true teaching of Holy Scripture. Man, now that he is fallen into sin, is said to be spiritually blind, deaf, lame, and dead. Left to ourselves we do not naturally run to God, but away from him. Indeed, now that we are fallen, we are inclined by nature “to hate God and [our] neighbor” (see Heidelberg q. 5). Do fallen humans have the ability to make free choices and to act upon those choices? Yes they do! But do to they have the ability to run after God, to please him, or to believe upon him? No, we do not have this ability within ourselves naturally, now that that we are fallen into sin.

This is why Christ himself said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44, ESV). And again “he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father” (John 6:65, ESV). If any one come to Christ it is only because the Father has granted this privilege to him. If anyone comes to Christ it is only because the Father has drawn that person to himself. And how does the Father draw sinners to himself? We know that it is through the preaching of the gospel and by the effective working and wooing of the Holy Spirit.

Do you remember the words of Christ spoken to that man Nicodemus as recorded in John 3? Nicodemus came to Jesus by night wondering about how he might enter God’s kingdom. And what did Jesus say to him? “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3, ESV). And again, “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5–6, ESV). For a person to “see” and for a person to “enter” God’s kingdom the Spirit of God must do a work upon them. That person must first be born again. Why? Because we are by nature dead in our trespasses and sins and unable to do that which is necessary to enter into God’s kionghdom.

This is why Paul said what he said to the Christians living in Ephesus. In Ephesians 2:1 we read, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world… “ And a little bit later he says that these Christians “were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1–7, ESV).

If a person is to partake of the redemption purchased by Christ the Spirit of God must do a work in them and upon them. The Spirit must make them alive to God. And the Spirit must draw them to Christ.

Secondly, notice that Baptist Catechism question 33 indicates that there is something we must do. It is true that God must do a work in us by the power of his Holy Spirit, but it is also true that there is something for us to do, namely believe.

Listen again to Baptist Catechism question 33 which asks, “How [does] the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ?” The answer: “The Spirit [applies] to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.”

What is it that unites us to Christ? What is it that brings about our actual partaking of the redemption purchased by Christ? Stated differently, what is that turns a guilty sinner into a saved sinner – a child of wrath into a child of God? The scriptures are clear (and our catechism is correct) that faith is the instrument that brings about our enjoyment of the redemption that Christ has accomplished for us.

Christ accomplished the redemption of the elect long ago – this is true, and this is finished.

And the Spirit of God must regenerate and effectually call sinners if they are to come to Christ – this also is true, but this work is not finished. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him”, Christ said. And the Spirit of God is still at work, renewing sinners and calling them to repentance.

And it also true that faith – that is, the ability to believe upon Christ – is a gift from God. Did you hear our Catechism? “The Spirit [applies] to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling.” The Spirit is the one who works faith in us. This agrees with the words of the Apostle Paul who said, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV). Faith – that is, the ability believe in Christ – is a gift from God. It is something that the Spirit of God works in us.

But let me ask you, who is the one that must do the believing? Is it God or man? The answer should be obvious to all. It is man who must believe if he or she is to partake of the redemption purchased by Christ. Faith is gift from God – this is true. But faith is something that must be exercised by the human if he or she is to be saved.

This is the clear teaching of scripture. We find the scriptures everywhere urging men and women, boys and girls to turn from their sins and to believe upon Christ for the forgivness of sins. Do you remember the question that the Philippian jailer asked of Paul and Silas? “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And what was their answer? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31, ESV)

And perhaps you noticed that this was very reason that the Apostle John stated for the writing of his Gospel when he said, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31, ESV).

The Son has accomplished our redemption according to the will of the Father. The Spirit is applying the redemption earned by Christ to the elect. But men and women, boys and girls must be urged to believe. And that is what I am doing on this Sunday before Christmas – I am urging you to believe upon Jesus the Christ who was lain in a manger at the time of his birth; who lived and died and rose again for sinneres; who ascended to the Fathers right hand, from wince he will one day return to judge the world in righteousness.

But let me raise another question – and this will be the question that we focus on for the remainder of this sermon. What does it mean to have faith in Christ? What does having true and saving faith involve. I have four brief points to make.

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I. To have true and saving faith you must know the gospel.

First of all, to have true and saving faith you must know the gospel.

I wish for the emphasis to be upon the word “know”. To have true and saving faith a person must know certain things.

I have noticed that some in the world talk about faith as if the only thing that matters is that you have some faith, that is faith… in something. The important thing is that you believe… in something, they say. It is as if the act of believing in something… anything at all, is what matters.

But that is not what the scriptures mean when they say, “by grace you have been saved through faith.” True and saving faith is faith in something particular. Even more specifically, true and saving faith is faith someone particular, namely Jesus the Christ.

It should be recognized that the scriptures often use the word faith to refer, not to the act of believing, but to a collection of set doctrines. For example, when Jude wrote to Christians regarding their common salvation he appealed to them to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3, ESV). This has always been the case for Christians. To have faith in Christ means, among other things, to enter into the the faith, that is to know (and believe) the collection of doctrines that Christ entrusted to his apostles, and they to us.

The simple point that I am making is that knowledge matters. Doctrine matters.

To believe in something does not bring you salvation if the something you are believing in is the wrong thing, even if you believe in that thing strongly.

To have true and saving faith you must know the gospel, which is is the good news of Jesus the Christ. And if the good new of Jesus Christ is to be understand, the story that is told in the Bible from beginning to end must be understood.

Let me state the gospel succinctly. The gospel is that Jesus the Christ has atoned for his death and resurrection so that sinners, through faith in him, might have their sins forgiven and be reconciled to God the Father. That is the gospel stated succinctly – very succinctly – perhaps too succinctly. But do you see that a person must know something of the message of the Bible from beginning to end if they are to understand even this succinct gospel message.

Without any knowledge of the Bible the will have to ask, who is God the Father? What is sin? Why must my sins be atoned for by another? Why through the shedding of blood? Who is this Jesus and why is he called the Christ? Etc., etc.

The point that I am making is that in order for faith to be true and saving faith certain truths must be known and understood.

And what in particular must we know for our faith to be true and saving faith? This is neither the time nor the place to give a thorough answer to that question. My intention here is simply to make that point that knowledge does matter. But some of the creeds and confessions of the church are helpful here.

Our Orthodox Catechism, which is very much like the better known, Heidelberg Catechism, asks this in question 22: “What then must a Christian believe? The answer: “Everything God promises us in the gospel. That gospel is summarized for us in the articles of our Christian faith–a creed beyond doubt, and confessed throughout the world.” And then question 23 asks, “What are these articles?” The answer: “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic (not Rome, but universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.” This is the so-called Apostles Creed. It has provided the church with a brief summery of essential Christian doctrine for a long, long time now.

And so I ask you, do you know the gospel? Do know what the word of God teaches concerning God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Do you know what the scriptures have to say regarding our great sin and misery? Do you know what the Bible says about Jesus the Christ – his birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and the significance of these things? For some of you, now is the time for you to grow in you knowledge of these basic and essential truths.

You cannot say that you have faith if you do not know these things. It may be that you have true faith even if your knowledge of these doctrines is small and limited, but you cannot say that your faith is true if your knowledge of the teaching of holy scripture is non-existent. Furthermore, I wonder if there is not a correlation between strong faith and a deep knowledge of these truths, and weak faith and a meager knowledge of these truths.

Do you know the word of God? Do you know the gospel of God?

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II. To have true and saving faith you must believe that the gospel is true.

Secondly, to have true and saving faith you must believe that the gospel is true.

Here I simply wish to point out that there are many in the world who know the teaching of Holy Scripture and yet do not believe it. These have knowledge, but they do not have faith.

It appears that our friend Thomas was in this place for a while. He had heard the word that Jesus had risen from the grave – he had been exposed to true doctrine having sat under the teaching of Jesus for three years – but he did not believe it, at least not for a time. “Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.’” (John 20:24–25, ESV)

I suppose there are many in this world who have been exposed to the teaching of Holy Scripture, perhaps by their parents, by some other, or by their own reading of the text, who refuse to believe that what it says is true. These have knowledge, but they do not have faith. These might even know a great deal about the scriptures. Perhaps their knowledge of the Bible is even greater than yours and mine, and yet they refuse to agree with its teaching. Knowledge does not save, friends. Faith does. Not only must we know the Bible, we must agree with its teaching and submit to it.

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III. To have true and saving faith you must trust in Christ as offered in the gospel.

Thirdly, to have true and saving faith you must trust in Christ as offered to us in the gospel.

Let me quote R.C. Sproul here. He writes, “The crucial, most vital element of saving faith in the biblical sense, is that of personal trust… [that is] a fiduciary [trusting] commitment by which I put my life in the lap of Jesus. I trust him and him alone for my salvation. That is the crucial element, and it includes the intellectual and the mental. But it goes beyond it to the heart and to the will so that the whole person is caught up in this experience we call faith” (Excerpt from, “What Does It Mean to Believe?” by R.C. Sproul).

Friends, do you see that it is possible to know what the Bible teaches, and even to agree intellectually with what the Bible teaches, but to not have saving faith because there is no personal trust in Christ. If there is no putting your “life in the lap of Jesus”, to quote Sproul, then there is no true and saving faith. To have true faith in Christ is to say from the heart, I am in great need, and no one and nothing can meet that need except Christ alone. I set all of my hope and place all of my trust in him for my salvation.

I sometimes wonder how many people gather with Christ’s church even on a weekly basis who have this kind of false faith. They have head knowledge – maybe even a lot of it. And they truly think that the things they they know are true and factual, which is fine and good. But they do not trust in Christ and in Christ alone. Instead their hope is set upon some other thing – perhaps their own righteousness.

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IV. Obedience to God’s commands is evidence of true and saving faith.

Fourthly, and lastly, obedience to God’s commands is evidence of true and saving faith.

Here I wish to very briefly address the question that some of you might be thinking, which is, how can I know that I have true and saving faith? This is the question of assurance. How can I have a sense of assurance that I really do know Christ, and that my faith is true?

In a way this question is not difficult to answer.

Let me ask you, do you know the teaching of Holy Scripture? Do you know the gospel? Do you understand it intellectually?

Furthermore, do you confess that the teaching of Holy Scripture is indeed true?

And more than that, have you placed your trust in Christ? Are you believing upon him for the forgiveness of your sins, resting and hoping in him alone and the work that he has accomplished for you? Have you confessed that Jesus is Lord through the waters of baptism according to the command of Christ?

If so, then it seems to me that your faith is true.

But you and I know that some who answer all of these questions in the affirmative may still struggle with assurance. True Christians may struggle with confidence concerning the genuineness of their faith, even after answering “yes” to the questions stated above.

How is it that we grow in our assurance that our faith is true and that we know Christ truly?

The scriptures do speak to this issue. In essence they say that obedience to God’s commands is evidence of true and saving faith.

I could take you to that famous Matthew 7 passage where Jesus says, “You will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15–23, ESV). In that text Jesus is talking about how to identify false teachers, but the principle applies. Just as a good tree will produce good fruit, and a bad tree bad fruit, so too the one who is truly in Christ will produce Christlike fruit.

We could also go to that passage in James 2 where James says that faith without works is dead. Clearly, there is a kind of faith that is true and a kind that is untrue (dead). “Even the demons believe and tremble”, James says. In other words, even the demons have a kind of faith. They know all about God and Christ. But clearly they do not trust in and follow after Christ, bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. Obviously the faith of the demons is not true and saving faith, but this is the kind of faith that many in the world have – fruitless faith; faith without works – this kind of faith is dead.

My favorite passage on the subject of assurance is 1 John 2:3-6 which says, “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments…” And a little further on John says, “by this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked”. It is clear that the Apostle is addressing the issue of assurance here. “And by this we know that we have come to know him”, he says. If I were to rephrase that into a question it would sound like this – “how can a person know that they know Christ truly?” Or “how can a person be sure that their faith in Christ is true?” And what answer does the Apostle give? “…if we keep his commandments…” And again, if we “…walk in the same way in which he walked”.

The same Apostle is clear that true Christians do struggle will sin. No Christian is perfect in his or keeping of the commandments of God. None walk in the way that Christ walked perfectly. With that said, the point the Apostle is making is the same one that Jesus made – true Christians will be known by their fruits. Holy living is an evidence of a heart that has been made holy by the grace of God. Christlike living is a testimony to a true and lively faith.

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Conclusion

As we consider baby Jesus this Christmas season may we also consider the whole of his life, his death, burial resurrection and ascension. May we stand in awe, not only of the virgin birth and the incantation, but also of all that Christ has accomplished for those given to him by the Father from before the foundation of the world. And having considered all that Christ has accomplished – namely, our redemption – may be never forget how it is that we come to partake of the redemption purchased by Christ. It is through faith in him. Faith it is a grace, this is true. But it is something that we must exercise.

Friends, I am calling you to place your faith in Christ. I am calling you, just as the scriptures do, to turn from your sins and to believe upon Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.

If you are in Christ, I am calling you to persevere in the faith and to urge other to believe as well. May the Lord give us opportunity to do that very thing this Christmas season. As we set our attention upon the baby Jesus may we have opportunity to say to ourselves and to others, “behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sins of the world. Believe upon him for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Tags: John 20:24-31

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Old Testament Reading: Genesis 2:24–25

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:24–25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Mark 10:2-12

“And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.’ And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’” (Mark 10:2–12, ESV)

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Introduction

In the introduction to the previous sermon I mentioned that there was a time when I held to permanence view of marriage, which is the view that the one flesh union established by God in the marriage covenant lasts for life, death being the only thing that can dissolve it. Back in 2010 I preached a sermon stating that though divorce is permitted under some circumstances, remarriage is not (at least not until the death of the spouse). No longer do I hold to that view. I had doubts about it shortly after preaching that sermon in 2010, those doubts grew progressively stronger, I abandoned the permanence view a few years ago, and am now publicly disavowing it as I present a view that I believe to me true to teaching of scripture. 

If you were to compare what I stated last week and what I am about to say today with the statements that I made all those years ago you would probably be struck by the similarities between the two positions. Truly, the view that I held to then and the view that I hold to now do share many things in common, but the point of difference is very significant.  

Is divorce ever permitted? Both then and now I say, though God’s revealed will is that marriage is to last for life, divorce is permitted in the case of the sin of adultery or when a believing spouse is abandoned by a non-believing spouse.  

Does a Christian sin if he or she files for divorce? Both then and now I say, the Christian does not sin if they divorce with biblical grounds. When the scriptures say that “God hates divorce” it is in reference to divorce that is unjust and without biblical grounds. God hates divorce because divorce is always the result of some sin. But not everyone who divorces sins, for sometimes divorce is justified according to the scriptures. 

And does a Christian sin if he or she remarries after divorce?  Here is where my view has changed. Back in 2010 I said yes, for the one flesh union remains for life. A certificate of divorce may protect the innocent husband or wife, but it does not dissolve the one flesh union. Only death can do that. But now, when asked does a Christian sin if he or she remarries after divorce? I say, it depends. It depends on whether or not the divorce was valid according to the scriptures. To divorce without biblical grounds and to remarry is to commit adultery. But when a person divorces with biblical grounds, he or she is free to remarry, for the valid divorce does in fact bring the marriage to covenant to an end.  

When is a Christian permitted to divorce according to the scriptures? Last week we learned that the Christian is permitted, but not required, to divorce if their spouse has committed adultery. Also, the Christian is permitted to divorce if they have been abandoned by a non-believing spouse. These are the two grounds for divorce stated in the New Testament for the New Covenant people of God. And what I am saying now is that if the divorce was with biblical grounds, remarriage is permitted given that a valid divorce does indeed put an end to the marriage bond. 

Let us consider these things more carefully in two points: One, ordinarily, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery. And two, remariage is permitted if the divorce was valid and with biblical grounds. 

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I. Ordinarily, To Divorce And Remarry Is To Commit Adultery

First of all it must be understood that ordinarily, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery. This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. Ordinarily, and as a general rule, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery.  

There are few New Testament texts that we need to consider which clearly communicate this general rule. And ask we consider these texts perhaps you will understand why the permanence view of marriage seemed compelling to me all those years ago. 

First, let consider two passages which state, without exception, that to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery.

The first is Mark 10:10-12. Remember the context. Jesus was being pressed by some Pharisees concerning his view on divorce and remarriage. In Mark 10:2 we read, “And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’” Jesus’ answer was clear. Moses permitted divorce due to the hardness of their hearts,“but from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.” Jesus stated the ideal that the marriage covenant last for life. And then we read these words in verse 10, “And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’” 

Jesus taught that for a man or woman to divorce his or her husband or wife and to marry another is to commit adultery. No exception is found in this text. 

Something similar is communicated in Luke 16:18. There we hear the words of Christ, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” 

The same principle that was communicated in Mark 10 is also communicated here – the one who divorces and remarries commits adultery. But notice that something different is communicated in the second half of Luke 16:18 – “he who marries a woman divorced from her husband [also] commits adultery”. Notice that no exception is stated in this text. 

And so after reading Mark 10 and Luke 16 we are left with this understanding of the subject of divorce and remarriage – to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery, and to marry one who has been divorced is to commit adultery. In other words everyone agrees that when a husband or wife steps out on their spouse and joins themself to another sexually, it is adulterous. But Jesus’ view is that to divorce and to join yourself to another, even if it be in the bonds of a another marriage covenant, is also to commit adultery.      

Can you see why I have said that “ordinarily, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery”? And can you see why some hold to the permanence view of marriage which I myself held to for a time? These two passages clearly teach that marriage is to last for life, and to that ordinarily, to divorce and to remarry is to commit adultery. 

The question that we must ask is, are there any exceptions to this general rule? Are there any circumstances where a husband or wife would be permitted to divorce and also free to remarry?

There are two other New Testament texts that we must consider. And it must be recognized that these two texts do cite exceptions to the general rule established in Mark 10 and Luke 16, that ordinarily to be divorced and to remarry is to commit adultery. 

The first is Matthew 5:31-32. There we hear Christ saying, “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31–32, ESV)

First of all, notice that Matthew 5 perfectly agrees with what is found in Mark 10 and Luke 16. Mathew 5 clearly states that to marry a divorces woman is to commit adultery (by the way, it reasonable to understand each of the texts as applying both to men and women husbands and wives – the scriptures apply the same standards to each). So again, Mathew 5 clearly states that to marry a divorced person is to commit adultery. It also says that when a husband divorces his wife he “makes her commit adultery”. What does that mean? It means that when a husband divorces his wife he puts her in a very difficult position. She will likely remarry (at least this would be the norm in Jesus’ day), and when she remarries she would commit adultery. 

But there is an exception to this rule. “Except on the grounds of sexual immorality”, the texts says. Listen again to 5:32: “But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery…” Why the exception? Well, in this case it is obvious. If the wife was sexually immoral then she has already committed adultery. It cannot be said, therefore, that the husband makes her to commit adultery when he divorces her, for she has already done it. The husband does not do wrong when he divorces his wife because of her sexual immorality, and neither does a wife do wrong if she divorces her husband because he is an adulterer.  This is how we are to understand the exception clause of Matthew 5. 

There is one last text that we must consider: Matthew 19:8-9. This text also contains an exception clause. And this exception clause makes it clear that the one who divorces his or her spouse on the grounds of sexual immorality (adultery) is also free to remarry. Listen again to the words of Christ as he interacted with the Pharisees concerting the topic of divorce and remarriage. “He said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives [that is, under the Old Covenant and according to Deuteronomy 24], but from the beginning it was not so [according to Genesis 2:24-25]. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.’” 

This passage also agrees with all the others. Ordinarily, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery. Stated differently, to divorce without grounds – that is, to divorce for no good reason according to the scriptures – and to marry again is to commit adultery. But what is the exception? “Except for sexual immorality”. If a spouse commits sexual immorality her or she commits adultery. The Greek word translated “sexual immorality” is πορνεία. It is used interchangeably with the Greek word translated as “adultery”, which is μοιχεία, throughout the LXX (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament). What I am saying is that πορνεία and μοιχεία are nearly synonymous. For a married person to commit the sin of sexual immorality means that they have been adulterous. Adultery is grounds for divorce. And if one has divorced because of sexual immorality, he or she is also free to remarry. 

 What is the general rule communicated in each of these passages? 

Ordinarily, to divorce and remarry is to commit adultery. 

But are there exceptions to this general rule? 

Yes, the exception is when the divorce is the result of the sin of sexual immorality. In that case the innocent spouse does not sin when he or she divorces and remarries. 

Friends, it was as true in Jesus’ day as it is our own – many divorces are for no good reason. Men in Jesus’ day, and men and women in our day, often divorce for no good reason and then marry another. This is what Jesus called adulterous. This was the kind of divorce that Malachi the prophet said that God hates. To divorce for no good reason and to remarry is to commit adultery.  This is the clear and undeniable teaching of holy scripture.

But more needs to be said. 

*****

II. Remariage Is Permitted If The Divorce Was Valid And With Biblical Grounds 

Secondly, it must be admitted that remarriage is permitted if the divorce was valid and with biblical grounds. 

If the divorce was the result of marital infidelity then remarriage is permitted. 

This is clearly communicated by the exception clause of Matthew 19:9 which again says, “whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Why isn’t that exception included in Mark 10 and Luke 16? Because the focus of those passages is slightly different. There in those passages remarriage after illegitimate divorce is the thing being condemned. There a general rule is established. But sometimes there are exceptions to general rules. And the exceptions only need to be stated once for the exceptions to be valid. 

As a general rule it is wrong to take a human life. Generally, this is called murder. But there are exceptions to this rule. Think of self defense, righteous war, and capital punishment. These are exceptions to the rule, and those who take a life in these circumstances are not guilty of the sin of murder. Do the exceptions have to be stated every time the scriptures forbid murder? No! But the exceptions stand even if they stated only once.  

And here is where the permanence view of marriage begins to break down in my mind. It does not adequately account for the exception clause Matthew 19. Yes, I am aware of the argument that Matthew 19 has divorce during the betrothal period in view, and not divorce during marriage. But that interpretation seems very strained to me now. In the context the Pharisees are clearly asking about divorce in the context of marriage, and not betrothal. I am also aware that some claim there is a significant difference between the terms πορνεία and μοιχεία. This argument also begins to crumble under closer scrutiny.  And there are still others that try to do away with the exception clause by arguing against it from textual criticism. But none of these arguments seem compelling to me now.

It is better that we allow the exception clause of Matthew 19 to stand. 

The New Covenant exception of divorce and remarriage being permitted in the case of adultery makes perfect sense given the transition from the Old Covenant to the New. Under the Old Covenant divorce was permitted for more reasons than adultery given the hardness of Israel’s heart, whereas the sin of adultery was to punished bye death. Under the New Covenant the penalty for adultery is relaxed given the new distinction between church and state – the church does not wield the sword under the New Covenant, remember. But the grounds for divorce are greatly restricted. The New Covenant people of God should not have hard hearts, for under the New Covenant all of God’s people have his “law within them” for he writes “it on their hearts” and they “shall all know [him], from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 31:33-34, ESV). What I am saying that divorce and remarriage being permitted in the case of adultery makes perfect sense given the transition of the Old Covenant to the New. 

The scriptures are clear, remariage is permitted if the divorce was valid and with biblical grounds, and the sin of adultery is valid grounds for divorce. 

Paul is also clear that the Christian who has been abandoned by a non-Christian is free to let them go (permit the divorce) and to remarry. 

Listen to Paul’s word s in 1 Corinthians 7:12. “To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.” (1 Corinthians 7:12–16, ESV)

Here is the principle that seems to underly the biblical teaching on the subject of divorce and remarriage. The one flesh union is not what makes a marriage a marriage, but the marriage covenant is the thing that  makes a marriage a marriage, and the marriage covenant is breakable. 

Notice that not all one flesh unions are permanent. 

“Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ‘The two will become one flesh’” (1 Corinthians 6:16, ESV). But a man does not enter into marriage with a prostitute when he becomes one flesh with her, for there is no covenant. And this is what make sexual intimacy outside of marriage such a sinful and destructive thing. The one flesh union is to be enjoyed within the bounds of the marriage covenant. The covenant is what makes the union lasting. Without the covenant the union is only temporary. 

Notice that the marriage covenant is a breakable covenant. What do a husband and wife do when the take their vows. Do they not promise to be faithful to one another in good times and in bad, till death do them part? This promise should not be broken, but sometimes it is. And this corresponds to what Jesus said concerning marriage. “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:5–6, ESV). Notice Christ did not say that they could not be separated, but that they should not be. Husband and wife should enjoy their one flesh union for life. This is made possible through the marriage covenant, and that covenant should not be broken. 

One last point needs to made in support of the possibility of remarriage after a divorce that is valid. God himself is divorced and remarried. Here I have in mind those Old Testament passages that speak of God divorcing Israel for her unfaithfulness and the fact that God has entered into a New Covenant. 

Take for example Jeremiah 3:6-8. The the prophet writes, “The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: ‘Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore” (Jeremiah 3:6–8, ESV). 

Throughout the Old Testament the sin of idolatry is compared to the sin of adultery. When God’s people are idolatrous – when they run after other god’s instead of being faithful to their God, the one true God – it is like when a wife is unfaithful to her husband. Israel was spiritually adulterous. And what did God do? After being patient with her for a very long time he did finally divorce her and enter into a New Covenant.

If divorce and remarriage were always sinful for us then it would be a very inappropriate to speak of God as one who had divorced his people and married another. And yet this is what he has done. He has divorced Old Covenant Israel and has entered into a New Covenant with people from every tongue, tribe and nation. 

Clearly, there is such a thing as a valid divorce. And when divorce is valid, then remarriage is permitted. 

*****

Conclusion 

As I have said before it is one thing to understand the teaching of scripture on this subject, but it is another thing altogether to apply this teaching to the often difficult, complicated and messy situations that people get themselves into. The application of these truths is the more difficult thing, in my opinion.

Some situations are rather black and white.

For example, if a husband or wife has committed adultery and is unrepentant then it quite clear that there will be a divorce and that the innocent party is free to remarry. I believe that the innocent party should proceed with great caution, but I am saying that the innocent party does not sin when he or she divorces, and that they are free to remarry in a black and white situation such as this (Matthew 19). 

The same can be said of a  situation where a Christian is abandoned by a non-believing spouse. “If the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace” (1 Corinthians 7:15, ESV). This is black and white. 

But many situations are more complicated than these.

What if, for example, a husband or wife has committed adultery but appears to be truly repentant? I will say again what I said last Sunday – the innocency spouse is permitted to divorce, but they may also choose to remain in the marriage. True forgiveness will need to be extended. The couple will need to work diligently to restore the marriage and to rebuild trust. At some point the innocent party will need to lay aside his or her right to divorce. Certainly the church will need to be involved. Pastoral care will be needed.

And what if, for example, two Christians separate from one another but with without biblical grounds? Should the Christians be separated? Well, no they should not, for they do not have grounds. Listen to Paul’s words: “To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:10–11, ESV). If you are Christian and you have separated from or even divorced your spouse without biblical grounds, and if neither of you have remarried, you are not free to remarry, but should have reconciliation as your only goal.    

And what if a Christian husband or wife has been abandoned, not by an unbeliever, as in the situation addressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:15, but by a spouse who claims to be a Christian. Here is a situation that illustrates why it is so important to be a part of a church that exercises biblical church discipline. If a person claims to be a Christian and has separated from his or her spouse without biblical grounds, then church discipline must be done according to Matthew chapter 18. And if the one who claims to be a Christians and has abandoned his or her spouse without grounds will not repent when called by the church to repent then that one should eventually be put out of the church and be viewed as a non-believer, for with their mouth they claim to be one of God’s people, but by their fruit the prove not to be. Then, after the process of church discipline is carefully, patiently and lovingly carried out, the one who has been abandoned would be free to go through with the divorce and to remarry, for in fact he or she has been abandoned, not by a believer, but by an unbeliever. This is what Paul directly addresses in 1 Corinthians 7.  

And what about abuse within the marriage relationship. Is abuse grounds for divorce? I hesitate to even bring this up because I know that some will be tempted to misuse what I am about to say. Let me be clear – I am talking about real abuse here. I am not referring to an unhappy marriage. I am not referring to a marriage that is marked by conflict. I am here referring to a truly abusive relationship, either emotionally or physically. Determining what constitutes emotional abuse can be difficult. Here is why these situations should be dealt with with the help of others. If there is emotional abuse the church can help. If there is physical abuse the church should be involved, but also the civil authorities. A Christian is not obligated to remain in a truly abusive situation but is right to remove themselves from it, especially to protect the children if they are present. It is our opinion that abuse may fall under the category of abandonment as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 7. In other words, we believe that it is possible for a person to thoroughly abandon the marriage covenant while at the same time refusing to leave the home. I have seen it. Why would someone do such a thing? I’ll tell you. Some care about the opinions of those within the church and community. They abuse behind closed doors, but they don’t leave. If they left people would think poorly of them, and so they remain and hide their sin. Others enjoy the benefits that come along with the marriage relationship. They enjoy the intimacy, the meals, the nicely kept home, and so they abuse and yet refuse to leave the home. Other reason could be given. These situations are very complex, friends, and we should proceed with caution, but a Christian is not obligated to remain in a situation where he or she is truly being abused. 

And what about a Christian with and invalid divorce in his or her past. Perhaps the divorce happened while a young Christian, or perhaps it happened while an unbeliever. I would ask, have you been remarried? Has your former husband or wife been remarried? If the answer is no, then it may be that pursuing reconciliation would be appropriate. But even this is questionable. Were you both unbelievers when you divorced? Are you a Christian now and he or she an unbeliever? If so, then I probably would not recommend that you remarry, for then you would be a Christian marrying a non-Christian, which the scriptures forbid. Have they remarried, our have you? If so, then there is nothing to be done except to confess you sin and to seek for forgiveness for wrongs committed. Once new unions have been forged, they should not be undone. Also, the scriptures forbid taking a spouse back once they have married another, which is the point of Deuteronomy 24. 

And what about a Christian with an adulterous past? It should be remembered that though the sin of adultery has it’s consequences, adultery is not an unforgivable sin. Some will reason to themselves, if adultery is forgivable, then I’d might as well commit it. But such is the thinking of a wicked and godless person. If you have committed adultery, turn from your sin and believe upon Christ. Pursue him with all that you are from this day forward. There may be consequences to your sin that never go away, but adultery is not an unforgivable sin.  

Brothers and sisters, as our culture continue to deteriorate around us, the church must pursue holiness. My belief is that the gap between conservative churches and liberal “churches” is only going to grow wider in the decades to come. By conservative I mean those churches that believe that the scriptures are the words of God and are to govern our beliefs and our practices. And by liberal I mean those traditions (I do not believe that they are Christian, but are another religion all tother) who’s doctrine and practice are governed, not by the word of God, but by other things: rationalism, pragmatism, societal evolution and the like. The gap between these traditions is only going to grow wider as our culture deteriorates more and more. Those who are conservative will remain where they are, and those who are liberal will follow the world wherever it goes. And I believe that our view of marriage will be a central issue in the decades to come. And here is why I have devoted nine sermons to the topic of marriage, divorce and remarriage.

Brothers and sisters, may our marriages be distinctly Christian. May we define marriage as scripture defines it. May we understand the purpose of marriage – that is the glory of God and of Christ. May we live holy within our marriage relationship, fulfilling the roles that God has called us to take as husband and wife. And if the issue of divorce and remarriage should arise within our midst, may our divorces and our remarriages also be governed by God’s most holy word. 

May the Lord help us in these things and receive all the glory, honor and praise. Amen. 

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