Lesson 1
Power of Choice
IV. Adam and
Eve—Innocence
The second chapter of
Genesis restates the creation of man and woman, and gives more specific
details. Also, this chapter reveals that God planted a garden eastward in Eden;
this is where He placed the man, Adam. The garden was a beautiful place,
growing every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food. A river
went out of Eden to water the garden. Into this paradise God put Adam, with
instructions for him to dress and keep the garden.
A. The Forbidden
Tree
However, the Lord had
other commandments for Adam, as well. He was not left to his own will; one
thing was forbidden him. God said, "Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die" (Genesis 2:16, 17). Another unusual tree found in the garden was the
Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9). It was permissible for man to eat of that tree, but
he was not to eat of the tree which would give him the knowledge of the
difference between good and evil. He was in a state of innocence; eating of the
tree would awaken his conscience.
B. Eve Given to
Adam
The Lord had created
Adam before Eve, and He noted that it was not good for man to be alone. God
said, "I will make him an help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). The
words "help meet" are translated from
one Hebrew word which
means aid. The Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and He took one of
Adam's ribs, from which He made a woman. God brought the woman to Adam, and he
said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be
called Woman, because she was taken out of Man" (Genesis 2:23). In their
innocence, both Adam and Eve were unashamed, though naked.
C. Man Given Free
Will
Some have wondered why
God placed the forbidden tree in the garden. Would not it have been better if
God had never given Adam and Eve the opportunity to do wrong?
This question
overlooks God's purpose in creating man. God did not create a puppet, or a
robot. He created a being with the power of choice, or with a free will. God's
promises are to be whosoever will (Revelation 22:17). Would it be possible for
God to have joyful fellowship with a being who had no choice in the matter,
who—in essence—was forced into that relationship?
One of the major
differences between mankind and the animal kingdom is this power of choice; the
opportunity consciously to choose to do good or evil. From the first. God has
set before man the ability to choose to do right, and live or choose to do
wrong, and die.
Two brothers were born
into a family long ago. John Calvin was studious, thoughtful and respectful. At
the early age of twenty-seven, he wrote one of the world's greatest books. The Institutes
of the Christian Religion. When he
died in Geneva in 1564, he left the world great principles of democracy and
religious freedom. The other brother, Charles, led a life in the gutters of
immorality. How do you explain the difference between the two? Not in heredity
or in environment. Not in education for they grew up in the same home with the
same influences and opportunities. The difference is to be explained in choice.
D. The Fall of Man
Chapter three of
Genesis outlines the terrible mistake that Adam and Eve made, and its tragic
consequences.
1. Eve Visits the
Forbidden Tree
Evidently, one of the
first mistakes that Eve made was to visit the site of the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil. Since she knew that it was a forbidden tree, she should have
avoided it altogether, she should have stayed away from it. Romans 13:14
commands, "Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts
thereof." A similar admonition is found in Ephesians 4:27: "Neither
give place to the devil." Many hurtful temptations could be avoided if
people stayed away from sinful environments and compromising situations.
Nevertheless, Eve—as have multitudes since then—made the fatal
error of knowingly and willingly making provision for temptation.
2. Satan Paid a
Visit Also
Satan, who is very
subtle, was waiting for the right opportunity to inject his deceitful influence
into the tranquil setting of the Garden of Eden. He knew that he had only one
possible course of action, and that involved the forbidden tree. So he made use
of the most subtle of any beast God had made, the serpent. It is very essential
that you notice the first words that Satan said to Eve: "Yea, hath God
said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1).
Satan's first method of attack is always to question God's Word. In a very sly
and crafty way, without actually denying God's Word, he tempts mankind to
question the Word of God.
3. Satan's Wrong
Interpretation
Next, observe the
difference in God's perspective and the devil's viewpoint. This can be seen by
comparing word for word what each said.
God said: "Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. . ." (Genesis 2:16,
17).
Satan said God said:
"Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden" (Genesis 3:1).
This may seem to be
just a matter of semantics, or a play on words. But when talking about the Word
of God, every single word is crucial, the phrasing is critical, and the
perspective is important. This cannot be overemphasized!
Now compare these statements again, notice that God
was speaking from a positive viewpoint; He told Adam that he could freely eat
of every tree in the garden, except one. The serpent's viewpoint was negative;
he focused on the fact that they could not eat of every tree. By so doing,
Satan was attempting to cause Eve to feel deprived, rather than blessed! He
wanted her to think about that little bit she could not have, rather than all
that she could have! Time and time again Satan uses this technique.
Notice that this time God did not say what Satan claimed that He said.
You must always watch for this. Satan will quote something that sounds so much
like the Word of God, and is so close to what God actually said, that he will
fool those who do not know the Word themselves.
4. Eve's Lack of
Knowledge of God's Word
The next tragic step
in this scenario is that Eve did not really know what God had said! This may
come as a surprise because, again, Eve's statement sounds very close to what
God said. But remember: God forbids us to add one word, or take away one word,
from what He has said. Adding so much as one word, or taking away as much,
pollutes it and causes it to no longer be God's Word!
Notice how Eve added
to what God had said: "And the woman said unto the serpent. We may eat of
the fruit of the trees of the garden; 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" (Genesis 3:2, 3).
Once again, compare
this with what God actually said: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not
eat of it;for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"
(Genesis 2:16, 17).
What did Eve add? God
did not say, "Neither shall ye touch it." Again, with the quickest of
glances, this may not seem important. But we are not dealing with the word of
men, we are handling the Word of God! And, while it may seem that Eve
strengthened God's commandment by adding a condition that He did not mention,
you must keep in mind that you cannot strengthen God's Word. When man adds his
own conditions, it ceases to be the Word of God.
By thus misquoting
what the Lord had said. Eve revealed to the serpent a major flaw in her ability
to resist temptation.
A careful study of the
temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4 will further clarify this point. The only way
to resist the temptations of Satan effectively is to respond to his efforts
with the Word of God, the pure Word of God. As he did with Jesus, Satan will
attempt to enhance his temptation with his version of God's Word. He misquoted
a verse from Psalms 91. Being the Word made flesh, Jesus caught him in his
error, and was not trapped. Satan is still in the business today of tripping up
the unwary, those who do not know for themselves what God actually said.
If Jesus were not too
great to be tempted of Satan, neither are you and I. Do not vote the devil out
of existence. If he is not around, someone is certainly doing his work. A man
was asked by a younger man, "I suppose you no longer believe in a
devil?"
"I certainly do
believe in the devil," the older man responded, "If I didn't, I would
have to believe that I was my own devil."
5. Satan Attacks
God's Motives
The next step in the
temptation of Eve was an attack on God's motives. Having discovered that she
did not really know what God said, Satan now directly contradicted God's Word:
"Ye shall not surely die; 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" (Genesis 3:4, 5).
In short, Satan caused
Eve to think that God prohibited them from eating the tree because he wanted to
keep something good from them! This is another standard tool in the devil's
kit. He tries to convince people that it would be to their advantage to do
those things forbidden by God, and that God actually does not want the best for
them, but wants to keep them in ignorance and bondage.
6. Adam's
Disobedience
Eve took the next
unhappy step down the road to spiritual death; She began to operate by her
sense knowledge, rather than by faith in the Word of God. She saw that the tree
was good for food (sight and taste), and that it was a tree to be desired to
make one wise (an appeal to her pride). She ate the fruit, gave it also to
Adam, and he ate. What makes all this even more tragic is that, while Eve was
deceived, Adam was not. He knew exactly what he was doing (I Timothy 2:14).
In exploring God's
Word, we discover the following facts about the fall of man:
* Romans 5:12:
"By one man (Adam) sin entered into the world."
* Romans 5:12: ".
. .and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men. . ."
* Romans 5:14: ".
. .death reigned from Adam to Moses. . ."
* Romans 5:17:
"By one man's (Adam's) offence death reigned. . ."
* Romans 5:18:
"Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to
condemnation."
* Romans 5:19: "For as by one man's (Adams) disobedience many were made sinners. . ."