Did God really say? The Fall of humanity was one of the great turning points in history. Temptation came through questioning God’s character and his word. No longer was there perfect openness, honesty, and trust. The new world was marked by fear, guilt, shame, blame-shifting, and ultimately, death. Yikes. What do we learn? Sin is the real reason the world is a mess. And sin is the main reason we need Jesus. Recorded on Feb 13, 2022, on Genesis 3:1-13, by Pastor David Parks.
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Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re talking about The Greatness of God. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series called The Making of Heaven and Earth from Genesis 1-3. As we’ve said, there are few more important chapters ever written than the first three chapters of Genesis. The creation narratives of the Bible shape our understanding of who we are, where we’ve come from, and the reason why things are the way they are today. But more importantly, they introduce us to the God who created and sustains all things. So far, we’ve considered the creation of the heavens and the earth, the creation and vocation of human beings, and the creation of marriage: a good gift of God designed for human flourishing in the whole-life union of husband and wife. Well, today, we come to one of the great turning points of history, in the fall to sin of Genesis 3. We’ll consider both the nature of sin and the pervasive impact of sin on the world and in our own lives. But even in the disaster of the fall, we find the grace and mercy of a God whose greatness is only matched by his goodness. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Ge 3:1.
Genesis 3:1-13 (NIV), “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Now, as we’ve said, the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah, were written by Moses, the famous prophet/leader of the people of ancient Israel during the time of the Exodus. Moses was writing during a critical time when God was fulfilling his promise to Abraham and Sarah to make their family into a great nation. So, in that age, it was critical for God’s people to know their story, including these creation narratives which shaped their understanding of who they were and what they were created and saved for. Of course, these things are still important to us today because every generation needs to know who they were created to be and what they were created to do, right? Let’s go back and work through this text together. v. 1.
Genesis 3:1 (NIV), “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” This is so curious. Moses doesn’t give any more explanation of who the serpent is than this. The serpent is presented as just a fact of life. Later in Scripture, we come to understand that the serpent represents the Adversary, which is what the name Satan means. Later, Jesus would say of our adversary, the Devil, that, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn 8:44). And what is the strategy of temptation that the serpent uses? The same strategy that he used with Jesus in the wilderness, and the same strategy that he uses today. He simply asks a question. And what was the question? “Did God really say…?” The strategy of this demonic attack is to question the word of God. If I asked you to imagine what a demonic attack or being possessed by a demon might look like, how many times do we picture something out of a horror movie like the exorcist? But this is what an attack by the evil one looks like, to question, distort, or lie about the word of God. But remember how important God’s word is to the nature of reality. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But how? How did God create everything from nothing? By the creativity/wisdom/power/authority of his word. “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” (Ge 1:3). God’s word is the source and sustaining power of every created thing, including human beings. So when the serpent asks the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” he opened a door for the woman and then the man to walk through that would lead directly to hell. The answer was, no! That is not what God said. God didn’t say the man and woman couldn’t eat from any tree in the garden. God said they could eat from any tree except one. God had lavishly and abundantly provided for the creatures who were made in his image. But the serpent’s question was rooted in a question of God’s goodness to provide. But what did the woman say in response? v. 2.
Genesis 3:2-5 (NIV), “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Here, the woman goes beyond what God said. He didn’t say, “…you must not touch it, or you will die.” As we saw a few weeks ago, God’s single command against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had more to do with obeying the word of God than something magical about that tree. I believe the meaning is something like, do not pursue moral knowledge apart from God. In other words, do not define for yourself what is right and wrong. Only God can do that. But the serpent lied to the woman, saying, “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Here, the serpent lies in two different directions. First, about the consequences of sin. He says, “You will not certainly die.” But this is another lie. There are always consequences to sin. One of the words for sin is a word that means to fall short, like an arrow that falls short of the mark. When we fall short of what is right/helpful/true in any area of life, there are always consequences. Let’s think about the impact on relationships, as an example. Sin, whether it’s lying or stealing, being unfaithful or boasting or hatred — these things bring harm, break trust, distort the truth, and are confusing, discouraging, and destructive to both self and neighbor. Now, someone might understandably wonder, why would God give such a strong consequence to sin? Part of the answer, I think, is that ultimately, sin separates us from the holy God who is the only creator and sustainer of life. To be separated from him is to choose certain death. To choose to sin is like choosing to stop breathing. We were created to require oxygen and to require the release of carbon dioxide from our lungs. We cannot voluntarily change how we were made and continue to live. To suggest that we can is the worst kind of evil.
The second lie is when the serpent says that if you eat from the forbidden tree, “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” But who did God create human beings to be? What is the truth about human identity? We’ve talked about this for several weeks now. God made human beings, both male and female, in the image and likeness of God. We are not gods, we are creatures and not the creator. But from the beginning, we were made, in many ways, to be like God. The strategy of the serpent was first to question the goodness/truth of God’s word. Second, to question the consequences of breaking God’s command. And third, to question the truth of what it means to be human — specifically in the area of our identity. You don’t need God to define who you are. You can create your own identity. How? By something you do. By deciding for yourself what is right and wrong. By listening to your own word over the word of the Lord. How would the woman respond to this Satanic attack? v. 6.
Genesis 3:6-7 (NIV), “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” Notice the language here. She saw the fruit was good, pleasing to the eye, desirable. The problem with sin is that it is deceptive. If it was obviously destructive to us, I don’t think it would so easily ensnare us. The woman wanted what the serpent was offering. She wanted to eat well, she wanted to enjoy things that were beautiful (pleasing to the eye), she wanted to gain wisdom. And listen, these are not inherently bad desires. God made a world that was good and beautiful. And he made us to enjoy all kinds of things, and certainly to gain wisdom. But we were not made to enjoy or use any of these things on our own authority. But the woman ate and so did her husband. I wonder if there was a gasp among the angels at the horror of what had just happened. With this one act of disobedience to the word of God, this one act of cosmic treason by the creatures against their creator, their eyes were indeed opened, they realized they were naked and tried to cover themselves. No longer were they without shame. No longer a marriage, or a society with perfect openness, honesty, and trust, but relationships marked by guilt, shame, and hiding from one another. How would God respond to all this? V. 8.
Genesis 3:8-9 (NIV), “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” As tragic as this picture is, I love the image of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. This is the type of relationship we were meant to have with God. This is the type of experience we were meant to enjoy. It’s almost more painful in the context of their hiding and fear that their sin produced. Now, why do you think the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Did God not know where the man and woman were? No. The questions of God are never about gaining information as much as they are about giving us an opportunity to reveal what is going on in our hearts. And this question is an opportunity/invitation for repentance. For the man and woman to run to God in their brokenness and throw themselves upon the mercy of God. Who knows? God might forgive them. God might help them in their sin. Maybe he knows of a solution to the consequence of certain death. But what does the man say? V. 10.
Genesis 3:10-13 (NIV), “He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” No longer perfect openness, honesty, and trust between each other or between the people and God. They were afraid. Fear entered the garden for the first time. And they hid from the God who had become their enemy. But notice what they say when they respond to the Lord. The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Immediate blame-shifting. It wasn’t my fault, it was that woman you put here with me! She’s to blame. In fact, God, you’re kind of to blame, too, because you put her here. No personal responsibility. No ownership of what he had done. No repentance. No recognition that he was desperately in need of God’s mercy in reconciliation. His heart was hardened in sin. But what about the woman? She said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” She follows her husband’s lead by shifting the blame to the serpent. If wasn’t my fault, it was the serpent’s fault! I was deceived. Of course, she was right in that statement, the serpent did indeed deceive her. But she was equally wrong with her husband in denying her personal responsibility for her sin and her need for salvation. So what does this ancient story mean for us today? Why was it critical for Israel to know this? Why is it critical for us to understand this today? This morning we’ll look at just two aspects of this teaching that if we miss, we will never understand problems of the world, our lives, or what can be done about them.
- Sin is the real reason why the world is a mess. If we don’t understand both God’s good intent for his creation, or the ways that the world has been distorted and broken by sin, we will never understand why the world is how it is today. For people who are not shaped by the creation narratives of Ge 1-3, it’s tempting to think that there is a different problem at the bottom of the injustice, hardship, and problems of the world. And if you misdiagnose the illness, you’ll never prescribe the right medicine. The reason the world is a mess is not because of a lack of money or education or because we just don’t have the right political ideology or presidential candidate. According to the Bible, sin is the real reason why the world is a mess. Think of the education system in our country. Has there ever been a society in the history of the world that spent as much time and money as we do on education? And what is the result? Certainly many good things. But are the educated among us perfect? Are they free of struggles and hardship? No. Or what about money? It is certainly a good thing to have good work to do. And to have a job that serves a helpful purpose in the world. But if we gave everyone a high-paying job, if we doubled everyone’s income, would all wars cease? Would every marriage last? Would illness cease? Would we live forever? This is why so much of the rest of the Bible seems to be preoccupied with the problem of sin. Because at the deepest level, this is what is broken with the world and this is what desperately needs a solution.
- Sin is the main reason why we need Jesus. This is both a world problem and a me problem. Sin is both an environmental issue (out there) and a personal issue (in here). Every sin that we see out there in the world can be found, sometimes only in seed form, to be planted in the human heart. But if this is the true diagnosis, if this is really what is wrong with the world and in our own lives, what then is the remedy? The Christian gospel is the answer to this desperate situation. The gospel is not the list of things you and I need to do or a list of thou-shalt-nots that we need to avoid. The gospel is the good news of everything that God has accomplished through the sending of his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus clearly understood that this was his mission. He didn’t say, I have come so that you might have a really smart and insightful teacher (as if our problem was an education problem). Nor did he say that I have come so that you might gain wisdom and certain marketable skills that you might excel in the marketplace (as if our problem was a lack of income), nor did he say I have come so that you might have the majority of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government. What did he say? On the night before his crucifixion, he told his disciples that the new covenant or relationship that God was forming with sinful men and women was based on his own sacrifice on the cross. He said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for [what?] the forgiveness of sins.” (Mt 26:28). Sin is the real reason why the world is a mess. And sin is the main reason why we need Jesus. “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.“ (1Co 15:57). Because of the life/death/resurrection of Jesus, God demonstrated his great mercy in making a way for us to be forgiven and freed from the power of sin and death. This is the gospel. This is the good news that we must believe to be saved. And this is the news that we must hear/believe/remember as individual people; but also this is the news that the whole world must hear. May we be changed forever by this good news.