Title Page

Lesson Two

Genesis 3:1-4

Genesis 3:1-41 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Genesis 3:5-6

Genesis 3:5-65 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Genesis 3:7-9

Genesis 3:7-97 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Genesis 3:10

Genesis 3:1010 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Genesis 3:14-15

Genesis 3:14-1514 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:16-17

Genesis 3:16-1716 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Genesis 3:18-19

Genesis 3:18-1918 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Focus Verse

Genesis 3:15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise

his heel.

Focus Thought

God provided everything that mankind needed to be happy and fulfilled with only

one test, which he failed. Although mankind’s expulsion from the garden

caused him to lose many benefits of his first estate, God purchased his salvation

through the Savior.

IntroductionIntroduction

The fall of mankind was not the result of the first rebellion against God, for Lucifer and those he persuaded to defy God were the first to do so. (See Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-15; II Peter 2:4; Jude 6.)

IntroductionGod judged Lucifer’s action, cast him out, condemned him to eternal torment, and made him subject to mankind through the power of God (Luke 10:17-20). The prime corruption within him was pride, which exalts independence over humility and a rebel spirit over obedience. This made Lucifer the enemy of God.

IntroductionWhen the serpent deceived Eve and she gave Adam to eat of the fruit, he willfully chose to disregard the consequences of eating. By doing so, He spurned the appropriate provisions of the Creator—surrendering eternal life for death, tranquility for turmoil, leisure for work, peace for guilt, and the intimate presence of God for lonely isolation. Adam’s transgression introduced sin into the human line and placed him under the same judgment as the angels that sinned.

IntroductionSin affects every individual through fleshly inheritance. However, with God’s judgment also came mercy and the promise of a Redeemer who alone could alleviate the effects of mankind’s terrible fall into Satan’s grip.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)God’s Goodness

A. God Placed Mankindin a Beautiful Habitation

Of all creatures, God created only mankind with an aesthetic sense and the ability to appreciate beauty. Unlike mankind, no animal possesses highly refined color vision, nor does it appreciate curves, angles, and form in the harmony and congruence of nature. The trees of the garden were pleasing to the eye in color and shape, as well as the landscape provided by the river that flowed from Eden.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)B. God Provided Food

God made mankind with many of His own attributes—to be upright, rational, moral, and spiritual. However, unlike God—who is a self-sustaining Spirit and needs nothing—God made humanity with a need to assimilate nutrition through cell metabolism.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)He also gave him an appetite that drove him to seek food, a sense of taste that allowed him to appreciate flavors, a sense of smell that allowed him to enjoy fragrances, and a sense of sight that allowed him to appreciate visual beauty. God met mankind’s physical needs for food and water. Further, the same trees that were pleasant to view also bore fruit good for consumption and nutrition.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)C. God Gave Mankind

a Reasonable Mandate

Mankind exhibits his nature to exercise creative ability, which appears in the skills he demonstrates as well as the successful results of his efforts. In relation to Eden, mankind was “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15).

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)What was involved in this mandate is not clear, but it appears that God expected mankind to care for the garden. “To dress” might have included the removal of excess plant growth and vegetation caused by normal seasonal changes. Further, God knew that mankind is most content when he is busy and can appreciate the work of his hands.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)God also charged Adam with being fruitful—reproducing his kind and subduing the earth, taking dominion over all creation (Genesis 1:28). Clearly, God’s expectations of Adam and Eve were reasonable and not burdensome.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)God also extended Adam’s responsibility by providing a helpmate for him. His attentions were divided between his duty in the garden, his affiliation with his Creator, and his relationship with Eve.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)D. God Gave Mankind

a Reasonable Test

On the heels of the mandate for mankind to keep the garden came a command that tested his allegiance. Adam could eat fruit from all the trees except one—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). To eat of that tree would bring death, but eating of the tree of life would preserve him.

I. God’s Goodness (A-D)The prohibition that God placed upon mankind was not unreasonable; God had provided him with more than enough beauty, goodness, food, and companionship. He had every reason to be satisfied, content, and happy. Sadly, however, he was about to experience the subtlety of Lucifer, which would lead him to fail the test God had placed before him.

II. Satan’s SubtiletySatan’s Subtlety

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord

God had made” (Genesis 3:1)

II. Satan’s Subtilety (A-B)A. The Appeal of the Serpent

The word subtle means “clever, crafty, discerning, and making fine distinctions.” However, in reference to the serpent, it also means “to make appealing.” He was not just another beast of the field, but he was superior to them in subtlety. His approach and appeal to God’s created companions was through subtle temptation to disobey God.

II. Satan’s Subtilety (A-B)This clever, crafty serpent that invaded the Garden of Eden was none other than Lucifer—a renegade angel under judgment who had exalted himself against God. (See Revelation 20:2.) Satan appeared to Eve as the serpent.

II. Satan’s Subtilety (A-B)B. The Misrepresentation

of God’s Word

For our own good and to please God, we should interpret Scripture accurately and obey it precisely with the correct intentions and motives. God had given both the instructions and the consequences to Adam (Genesis 2:17). Evidently, God also expected him to teach Eve—not only the facts, but also the seriousness of failing to honor God’s desires for them.

II. Satan’s Subtilety (A-B)Clearly, Adam had communicated God’s instructions to Eve, for she quoted to the serpent both their opportunity to eat the fruit from the trees of the garden and also the one prohibition that God had made, which barred them from the fruit of only one tree. However, though she knew the expectations of God, she obviously was unprepared to resist the subtle overtures of the serpent. He twisted the words of God and planted doubt in her mind.

II. Satan’s Subtilety (A-B)God had said that Adam could freely eat of every tree except one—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. To eat of that tree, however, certainly would incur a death penalty. Eve answered the serpent correctly until she added, “Neither shall ye touch it” (Genesis 3:3). There is no record that God ever expressed a restriction against touching the forbidden fruit.

II. Satan’s Subtilety (A-B)Departure from truth can be gradual and slight, but it opens the door to deception. It is vital that every believer know God’s Word and that he endeavor to comply with it completely.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)Satan’s LiesThe serpent’s lies to Eve apparently were the first falsehoods that the woman had ever heard. As for experience, her mind was innocent if not infantile. An innocent person is inclined naturally to believe a statement as truth until he learns by experience to discern that some statements are false.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)Further, untruth has more power to deceive when it is combined with a measure of verifiable truth. Eve was to learn that the promises of Satan are lies, but the promises of God are “yea” and “amen.” (See II Corinthians 1:20.)

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)A. Ye Shall Be as Gods—

Pantheism

Now that Eve was listening and had entered into dialog with the devil—even misquoting God’s words—Satan did three things to further distort and refute Scripture:

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)1. He implied that he was the source of truth equal to or greater than God.2. He appealed to her self-esteem and led her to conclude that God did not trust her completely since her eyes were not open.3. He set himself up as one who knew what was in the mind of God for issuing such a mandate and that the eating of that tree would enable them to join the pantheon of all the gods of the universe who knew good and evil.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)B. Ye Shall Not Surely Die—

Reincarnation

Satan spoke the first lie: “Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Only the words of one—God or the serpent—could be true; the other must be false. Eve felt pressured to choose. Either she would die as God had declared, or she would become eternal like a god.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)Eastern religions falsely hold that reincarnation occurs repeatedly through the centuries as the spirits march to perfection. However, the Word of God proclaims, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). There is a death rate of one per person with no second chance of achieving perfection.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)C. Ye Shall Know Good from

Evil—Humanism

Adam and Eve already knew good from evil from the restrictions that God had placed on them. The promise in the devil’s lie implied that mankind would acquire the complete wisdom and understanding that belongs only to God.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)The knowledge of good and evil that mankind possesses is at best only an approximation of the ultimate good or evil. For example, it has not entered into the heart or mind of fallen mankind what God has prepared for him. (See I Corinthians 2:9.)

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)Human knowledge and understanding are limited, which breeds the erroneous lies of relativism and situational ethics. In other words, relativism teaches that there are no absolutes and that truth is relative and in the eyes of the beholder. That is the essence of humanism, which views all things through the filter of human perception and ignores the truth that God communicates through His Word.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)D. Your Eyes Shall Be Opened—

Esotericism

Esotericism is the quest of secret, mysterious, or profound ideas and actions that might provide mankind a superior status among his kind. The serpent’s promise was not altogether empty since their eyes were opened when they realized their nakedness.

III. Satan’s Lies (A-C)However, their newly acquired awareness was rooted in guilt and shame, not in the possession of spiritual or mystical enlightenment. They only ended up realizing their desperate condition as sinful humans.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

Temptation’s Methods

The prime method of temptation is to get the subject to look away from the consequences, substitute an alternative that is more attractive and pleasing, and justify his actions to appease the appetite kindled in the flesh by lust.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

A. Eve Was Tempted and Deceived

Through Adam and Eve’s experience in the garden, we learn much about temptation’s methods. James also provided insight into the subject: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:14).

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

Although Eve was innocent, the serpent placed an external enticement before her, which led her into temptation. She could see that the forbidden fruit was attractive and that it might be good for food, and she reasoned that it also could make her wise, as Satan promised. Temptation is empowered by latent lust—intense desire—in mankind.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

The foundation of temptation’s power is innate desire within mankind. Allurement seizes a person and holds him fast until it beguiles him and he falls into sin. The apostle James further wrote, “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). Sin leads a person to seek the forbidden, and he then violates the law of God.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

The apostle John wrote: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (I John 2:16).

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

1. Lust of the Flesh—denotes that which pampers the appetites. Carnal desires connect

with the indulgence of base animal tendencies.2. Lust of the Eyes—designed merely to gratify the sight. This includes costly apparel, jewels, gorgeous furniture, splendid palaces, frivolous vanities of this world on which the prideful eye dotes as the objects of life.3. Pride of Life—means ostentation or boasting. This is arrogance or haughtiness.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (A)

In the Genesis account, the promises of the tempter excited Eve, and she saw that the fruit was good for food and believed that it would make one wise. The great human motives of appetite, taste, and philosophy (the love of wisdom) led this innocent woman to assume this tree would gratify her. Other trees were pleasing to the taste and the sight, but this tree alone seemed to promise the preeminent advantage of gratifying her reason as well as her senses.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (B)

B. Adam Knowingly Partook

“What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two,

saith he, shall be one flesh. . . . Flee fornication. Every sin that a

man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body”

(I Corinthians 6:16, 18).

IV. Temptation’s Methods (B)

Desiring to share her discovery with her husband, Eve gave the forbidden fruit to him to eat. The divine purpose of her marriage to Adam was to be a helpmeet for him. In her state of deception, she probably thought that she was helping, when in reality she was his destroyer. Captivated with her allurements, fondly overcome with her charm, and persuaded by Satan’s suggestions that she probably related to him, he did eat.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (B)

The apostle Paul indicated that Adam was the chief transgressor because he knowingly exercised his will and right to choose. (See Romans 5:12; I Corinthians 15:21-22.) He chose to receive the fruit from Eve and eat just as she had done, choosing her desires over God’s divine will. Whereas she had suffered deception, Adam willfully chose to disobey what he knew violated God’s instructions.

IV. Temptation’s Methods (C)

C. Adam and Eve Experienced Guilt

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were

naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons”

(Genesis 3:7).

IV. Temptation’s Methods (C)

Following Adam and Eve’s transgression, their disobedience opened their understanding. The serpent promised blessings that they coveted and anticipated but did not receive. What they did receive, however, was guilt. They perceived that they were no longer innocent before God; now they knew that they were naked.

V. Man’s Futile EffortsMen’s Futile Efforts

Adam chose leaves of the common fig tree and twisted them together, making aprons, or girdles, to cover their nakedness. A sense of shame caused them to seek a covering.

V. Man’s Futile EffortsWhen they heard the voice of God, Adam and his wife hid themselves. God came looking and called to Adam, “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9). The absence of the man that God had made was clear proof that something was wrong. Hitherto, Adam had always welcomed the approach of the divine. Now God was calling to him, not as if He were ignorant of Adam’s hiding place, but to bring him to confession.

VI. God’s Solution (A)God’s Solution

A. Mankind’s Acknowledgement of Guilt

Adam admitted, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10). His guilt caused him to be afraid when he heard the voice of God. Like mankind today, Adam’s sense of the sin itself was less than his awareness of the effect of sin.

VI. God’s Solution (A)God’s first question to Adam did not pertain to the sin itself but to his consciousness of being naked: “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” Then God asked, “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11). God’s next question carried conviction to Adam’s conscience. It pointed to the cause of his nakedness and revealed that he had transgressed.

Genesis 3:12

“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she

gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12).

VI. God’s Solution (A)Adam’s response tried to place the blame on God, accusing both the Giver and the gift in one breath. It was as if he were suggesting that Eve’s providing the fruit to him was reason enough for him to eat.

VI. God’s Solution (B)B. Judgment for Sin

1. The Serpent’s Punishment. God did not interrogate the serpent as he did the man and the woman. There was no sense of sin in the animal itself, and the devil already was cursed with no hope of pardon. However, God did place a curse on the serpent and reiterated the curse on Satan, predicting the day that the woman’s descendant would crush his head.

VI. God’s Solution (B)The serpent received a curse above all other animals—a deterioration of its nature. It was consigned to the lowest position among animals: “Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:14). 

Genesis 3:12

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head,

and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

VI. God’s Solution (B)2. The Woman’s Punishment. Eve, following the example of her husband, explained her action of tempting Adam by attempting to transfer the blame to the serpent. The serpent had caused her to forget the warning and caused her to go astray. She repeated her confession, “I did eat,” without any indication of remorse.

VI. God’s Solution (B)Her judgment and punishment were aimed to protect her from further mischief: to always be at odds with the serpent and Satan, to have multiplied sorrow and conception and pangs of childbirth, and to be subservient to her husband. (See Genesis 3:15-16.) The statement, “And he shall rule over thee,” did not merely indicate subjection of the female, but it confirmed and perpetuated the authority that God had given to Adam at Creation.

VI. God’s Solution (B)The Scriptures place the woman on the same level with the man when it comes to receiving the blessings of the gospel (Galatians 3:28). Still, they also explicitly mention her place of subordination to the man in the relationship of marriage (Ephesians 5:22; Colossians 3:18; I Peter 3:1).

VI. God’s Solution (B)3. The Man’s Punishment. God judged Adam because he had hearkened to the voice of his wife and had eaten the forbidden fruit. He then spelled out Adam’s punishments.

VI. God’s Solution (B)• He cursed the ground.• Adam would experience sorrow in eating what he would cultivate from a cursed soil.• Adam would have to labor and toil in order to have food and to survive.• Eternal life in the garden had ended; Adam, who before did not have to die, now had no choice but death.• Adam’s body would be left to decay in the ground from whence he was taken.  

VI. God’s Solution (C)C. The Promised Redeemer

We see God’s provision for the sinning couple and all mankind in the first prophecy of a future Savior who would destroy the tempter: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15).

VI. God’s Solution (C)In the hour that mankind sinned, God promised a Redeemer! The promised seed of woman is Jesus Christ, Savior of all mankind. God made coats of skin for Adam and Eve, clothed them, and provided a way for them to regain eternal life. (See Genesis 3:21.) 

ReflectionsMankind, created in the image of God, listened to the devil and was enticed to defy the law of his Creator. This defiance of God’s law introduced sin and death into the experience of mankind.

ReflectionsIn mercy, God provided a covering for mankind’s nakedness and shame and promised a Redeemer who would come and bear the wrath for sin, remove its effects, and restore mankind’s access to eternal life. While the curse remains on the ground and on the serpent, and while man exists under the judgment and its prescribed punishment, still there is hope for fallen mankind through the atoning work of Jesus Christ.