The Story of Adam and Eve—The Fall

The Beginning: HisStory in Genesis 1-11

Lesson Four: The Story of Adam and Eve - Genesis 3

God has written HisStory and His plan into all that He has created. There are two genders that reflect the grandeur of our Creator. There is a higher calling - to accurately reflect the One in whose image we have been created. Our job is to display the image of God in its fullness, and we can’t do that if male and female are not working together according to God’s design. It is a design to be embraced. We are not living for our own reflection – our whole point in living is to display the glory of God, which creates within me the desire to submit to His design as a woman.

I. Satan’s Temptation - Genesis 3:1-5

A. Did God say?
B. “You surely will not die!” (Genesis3:4)
C. God is holding out on you–God is not good!

“The personal presence of Yahweh-Elohim among His people Israel was not an anomaly but the pattern God inaugurated from the beginning. Conversely, the absence of the name Yahweh in the conversation between the serpent and the woman (3:1–5), where treachery is contemplated, shows that the relationship with God as Covenant Lord is under assault” (The New American Commentary, Kenneth Matthews, Logos).

Christian psychologist, Larry Crabb said, “When desires become final goals, we chase after them with a fanatic zeal that not only blurs moral boundaries but also drains us of energy for pursuing anything else. We forget our higher calling” (Finding God, p. 133). This book is the story of Larry’s journey after the death of his brother in a plane crash in 1991. Larry’s pain and questions led him to the realization that we seek comfort more than Christ. It was after seeking the Lord through Hebrews 11:6 that he came to the realization that at the core of our being we are rebels and have a clenched fist that does not trust God.

Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

II. Eve’s Reasoning – Genesis 3:6

We, too, get in trouble when we elevate our reasoning above the Word of God. When Satan hits us with doubt and denial, we must respond with the Word of God. Jesus is our example. When He was tempted by the enemy, He responded with, “It is written.”

III. The Fall – Genesis 3:7

They disobeyed God’s one command. Eve ate and gave it to Adam who was with her. The moment they ate, their eyes were opened.

The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2:14 that Eve was deceived. Adam was not deceived, but chose to willfully disobey.

IV. God’s Mercy – Genesis 3:8-15 & 21

God came after them, clothed them, and removed them that He might redeem them. God called out to Adam and questioned him due to his position of leadership and responsibility for the command of God.

“Furthermore, Adam shows a cruel indifference to the consequence Eve may suffer. He is willing to let her experience shame, blame, and punishment if it means he can escape it. This – the second recorded speech by the first man – is entirely different from his first recorded speech. In Genesis 2:23, he erupted in joyful song over the excellent gift of the woman. Now he uses crafty words to throw her under the bus. He is quite the opposite of Jesus, who stands between His bride and the wrath of God on the cross, bearing her sin, her shame and her punishment” (Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher, p. 51-52).

This description of Jesus matches the explanation that Paul gave in Ephesians 5 for how the husband is to love his wife and give his life for her – Ephesians 5:25.

God revealed from the beginning that it would take the shedding of the blood of the innocent to cover sin.

A. An innocent animal, that God declared good, died that Adam and Eve might be covered – Genesis 3:21

B. Abel’s blood offering – Genesis 4:4

C. Noah offered a sacrifice after the flood – Genesis 8:20

D. Abraham and the other Patriarchs built altars and offered sacrifices – Genesis 12:8

E. God gave Moses the instructions for the Tabernacle and the sacrificial system – Exodus 29

F. Jesus was and is the ultimate sacrifice – “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

1 Peter 1:19-20; Revelation 13:8

V. Life Under the Curse

God pronounced a curse on the serpent and on the ground. Mankind is living with the consequences of the curse and of our own spiritual and ultimately physical death.

Woman’s increased pain in childbirth and relational dysfunction – Genesis 3:16

A. “Desire”– Genesis 3:16b

“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7).

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me” (Song of Solomon 7:10).

Women:

• We tend to derive our identity from our roles.
• We fall into the traps of comparison, competition, and collection – as seen in the lives of Rachel and Leah.
• Women dress for other women because we are constantly comparing. Social media has only increased the pressure.
• What is true and real?

Man’s toil:

• Man derives his identity from his job. He compares himself to others. Our workaholic culture has stolen relational and recreational time.
• Man will respond to relational dysfunction by either being passive (withdraws and shuts down) or aggressive (anger, rage).

VI. Life on a broken planet in 2021 - Romans 1:18-32

A. Marriage is under assault

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(Divorce, Unwed Mothers, Fatherlessness)
Pew Research Center - “The share of US Adults who are married is 53%...78% of those 18-29 say it’s acceptable for an unmarried couple to live together.” (https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/11/06/marriage-and-cohabitation- in-the-u-s/)

B. Confusion over what it means to be male and female
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Gender dysphoria, LGBTQ+ Activists, “Sex assigned at birth” Sex is biological and gender is who you think or feel you are

C. Political unrest and polarization

D. Racial division

E. Cancel Culture

F. Skyrocketing anxiety, depression, and suicide

Resources:

• Love Thy Body by Nancy Pearcy
• Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been by Jackie Hill Perry
• Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters by Abigail Shrier
• The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield
• Holy Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex Desire, and the Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand Story by Christopher Yuan

Podcasts:

• Revive our Hearts – https://www.reviveourhearts.com/podcast/revive-our-hearts/healed- and-delivered-by-gods-word/. Interview with author Laura Perry, Transgender to Transformed (3 podcasts)
• Alisa Childers – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/123-heres-why-our-culture-is- confused-about-gender/id1260262855?i=1000536666157

YouTube:

• Jen Wilkin, The Gospel Coalition: Female Bravery and God’s Mission - https://youtu.be/- zVZGrrbSn8
• Ann Voskamp, If Gathering 2021, I don’t believe in Jesus, I live in Jesus. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UBsWhHQUuM).