What Happened in Genesis 3 part 1.
Genesis 1 & 2 gives us a beautiful picture of God’s perfect creation. Everything God made was crafted with specific purpose and everything worked just as it was designed. Just 1 chapter later we meet God’s enemy and witness his deceptive work.
Practically, what does an enemy want to do with the plans and goals of its adversary? Mess them up and create confusion and distortion. If God wants unity what does satan want? Separation!! If God wants unconditional love what does satan want? Conditional love!! If God wants truth what does satan want? Lies and deception!!
The interaction we see with satan and our first parents in Genesis 3 is a clue to how our very real enemy is at work all around us today. We need to wake up to the fact that we are in a spiritual battle and it’s going on all around us!
Ephesians 6:11-13
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ
All our enemy wants to do is ‘John 10:10’ us all – steal, kill and destroy. You personally, your marriage, your family, your church. All targets! If we try to fight in this spiritual battle with fleshly weapons we will get worked!
Gen 3:1-7
3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! 5 For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.
OK, there is so much going on here. It will take us a couple blog posts to cover it all. But we MUST recognize the strategy and attack of the enemy. it gives us such a clear picture of the types of attacks we are facing today.
So what is satan's main weapon? Lies. John 8:44 44 He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
The single greatest weapon satan has is lies and deception. He’s so good at it he camouflages his lies just so they seem like…that might be true. It’s a twist with a little truth mixed in. he is deceptively deceptive!
What did Satan lie about in Genesis 3:4-5? Their identity. He lied about God and he lied about Adam and Eve. He attacked their identity. God says – you will die (spiritual death and eventual physical death). Satan says – that’s a lie. Basically inferring that God lied to Adam and Eve. He tries to make them question God’s integrity and His intentions.
Next, he lies about Adam and Eve’s own provision from God. He says their eyes will be opened if they eat. Meaning what? Their eyes are closed somehow. There are things that they don’t know. That they are somehow NOT GOOD ENOUGH in their current state. They lack something.
Have you ever had that thought before – that you’re not good enough? That you don’t measure up? that there is something lacking in you and if you only had….this one thing whatever that is…you would be complete?
Taller, richer, smarter, stronger, prettier, better looking…just better in someway than you are currently.
Look to Genesis 3 and see the enemy of God at work lying to you just like he did in the beginning. he is going to lie to you over and over and over about God’s love and about your worth and value. Everything else you struggle with comes out of these two basic attacks.
I can all but guarantee that each person reading this has at least 1 thought about yourself connected to these 2 core lies. If we could sit down together and you were honest you would tell me ‘Yeah, I just think I am a failure. I am not good enough. Things will never work out for me. I don’t measure up. I’m not as good as so and so.”
Seriously – there are likely running phrases in the back of your mind like that and whenever you mess up or something doesn’t work out or you get rejected – here comes those statements. Can I simply point out that is the enemy of God using the same old tactics against you.
Or – it’s something about God. “God doesn’t really love me, God has abandoned me. God is just frustrated with me because I keep messing up in this one sin area. God is punishing me.”
And anytime something goes wrong or you run into a road block – BOOM – here comes those same thoughts.
Look at Genesis 3 and don’t be surprised. The enemy is going to attack – lie about you and lie about God.
Check out part 2 to see what happens next.