The Fall

1. The Fall • Some Thoughts and Encouragements on Genesis 3

2. Romans 5:12, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” • Luke 19:10, “seek and save those who were lost.”

3. Sin , a definition: • Sin is: Any act or attitude that is not “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.” ( Deut 6:5, Matt 22, Mark 12, Luke 10) • Sin by acts like the Ten Commandments (Ex 20) • Sin by attitudes “you have heard it said...” (Matt 5)

4. Sin, some consequences. • TO ADAM: Genesis 2:16, “If you eat of the fruit of the tree...you will surely die.” • TO US: Romans 5:12, “through one man sin came into the world and death by sin, so death passes to all men for all have sinned.” • Romans 3:23, “The wages of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal LIfe through, Jesus Christ our Lord. • 2 Cor 5:21 "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

5. "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 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.'" The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 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 from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 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 loin coverings. 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. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" He said, "I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from 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 from the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

6. The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you." Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return." Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life." - Gen 3:1-24 NASB

7. Now the Serpent...God made • Rev 12:9, “The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” • Isaiah 65:25, “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent's food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain, says the LORD.” • Some sins have temporal consequences.

8. Is it really true?, God said.. • Gen 2:16, “The Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat from any tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” • Do you take God at His own Word? Do you know His Word? • When you hear His word, Do you have a, “did God really say that” in attitude, in action?

9. And the woman said to--who? • Gossip. • Who do you listen to? • Are you loyal?

10. Eve’s response: • Gen 2:16, “The Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat from any tree of the orchard, [she skips the word freely] but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [that’s true], and you must not touch it [that’s not true. She added that part.] lest you die [God said, “You will surely die.”] .

11. Some speculation: • Is Adam a bad teacher? Are you, do you teach at all? • Does Eve forget God’s Word? On purpose or accident? Do you know God’s Word? Do you conveniently forget it?

12. “don’t even touch it” • When God gives permission --enjoy! • When God gives restriction--obey. • Do you secretly misbelieve God’s commands & mistrust Him, trying to fix His Word for Him

13. Surely, you will die • John 8:44, Satan is “the father of lies.” • When God speaks and Satan lies, it is up to you to decide which you believe and which you reject. • Is God holding out? • Do I believe Him in the restrictions He Gives?

14. Obedience: Who to believe • James 1:14,15, “each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires; then, when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when it is full grown, it gives birth to death.” • John 16:9, unbelief as a sin • Phil 2, “who humbled himself, even to death on a cross” • Luke 22:42, “not my will but Yours be done.”

15. Your eyes will be open to be like divine... • Do you crave “spirituality” over God’s own clear message? • I want to be extra-special, different, elevated • 2 Cor 11:14, “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

16. How Jesus beat temptation • I John 2:16, “Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life.” • Matthew 4:1-11 shows Jesus quoting God’s word and obeying it, when Satan tempts with: • bread for his flesh. • a mid air angelic spectacle for his eyes. • all the kingdoms on earth, for His pride.

17. Where was Adam?!? • I don’t do these things, so am I good? • We need to fear that our proclivities are towards being unhelpful, silent passive cowards who sit back, say anddo nothing, let the world go by, let sin happen, let our wives and children suffer, and then we ourselves participate in sin.

18. Shame, fear, naked, hid • Gen 2:25, “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” • Gen 3:7-10, “Then the eyes of them both were opened and they knew they were naked…and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid.” • Habakkuk 1:13, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and you cannot look on wickedness with favor”

19. Adam blames, Eve blames • ADAM: • The woman • who You gave me • EVE: • The snake

20. on excuses: • Is God concerned about the circumstances surrounding the sin? • James 1:14,15, “But each one is tempted when lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.”

21. The Serpent Judged • Gen 3:16, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” • Gal 3:16, “He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. • Is 53:5, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”

22. Satan will be crushed • Heb 2:14-15, “..That through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” • Rom 16:20, “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” • Rev 20:10, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

23. Eve judged. • Labor will hurt more than it would have. • God has a clear role for the woman, a helper to man. One of her sins was ignoring that role. A male dominated world is evidence of God’s judgment here. • In Christ, “Eph 5:18-45” tells how man and woman can live harmoniously in the roles God Gave.

24. Adam’s judgment • Adam is judged for obeying his wife and disobeying God. • The ground cursed. • live by sweat and toil to eat. • you’ll die in the dust that you came from.

25. Tree of life removed • God’s mercy: • Adam won’t live “in sin” forever • through toil and misery, maybe Man will seek deliverance • God promises a Saviour

26. Adam’s children in Adam’s “Image” • Gen 5:1-3, “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed themand called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived...and begot a son in his own likeness, after hisimage, and named him...” • The virgin birth: God’s mystery of sin passed down through fathers, starting in Adam.

27. Rom 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men” • Rom 5:19, “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous” • Phil 2:8, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

28. Adam vs. The New Adam • 1 Cor 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” • ADAM: | NEW ADAM, JESUS Tempted, Disobeyed, Sin Tempted, Obeyed, Righteous Must pay the wages of sin Already paid the penalty of sin Will suffer death eternally Suffered already, beat power of death, gives eternal lifeAnxiety, fear, shame before God Hope, peace, confidence before God

29. God’s Mysterious Plan • Eph 1:4-10, “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...chose us in [Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before [God] in love...[God] made known to us the mystery of His will...that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times [God] might gather together in one all things in Christ.”