Spiritual warfare is as real as any war that has ever been fought. In Genesis 3:1-15 we read of the disastrous fall and ruin of humanity.
God created Adam and Eve as perfect, sinless human beings. He placed them in a perfect environment. It wasn’t long before our adversary, the devil, made his appearance. In Genesis 3:1 we read, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’”
In verses 2-3 we have her response – “And the woman said to the serpent ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Please note that Eve added to what God had said when she said “Neither shall you touch it.” In verse 4, Satan calls God a liar and then states a false promise.
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You shall not surely die. For God knows that the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve took the bait he dangled before her and ate the forbidden fruit. Then Adam did the same. In Genesis 3:6 NKJV we read, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Their innocence was gone and they were stripped naked by their sin. In Genesis 3:7 we read, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Now in addition to being ashamed of their nakedness, they became fearful and tried to hide themselves. Genesis 3:8 reads like this – “And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden.”
Until this disobedience and sin, they had always enjoyed fellowship with God when He visited. Now they try to hide. Are we that way when we have done something God won’t approve? Do we try to hide or avoid intimacy with God?
In Genesis 3:9 we read, “Then the Lord called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?” God is all-knowing and He knew where they were, but He had to get them to admit where they were and what had happened. Adam replied to God, (vs. 10) “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Folks, God knows who we are, where we are, and what we have done. We need to come clean with Him to be restored to fellowship with God who loves us. In 1 John 1:8-10 we read, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts.”
When God heard Adam confess they were naked, afraid, and trying to hide, He asked “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.”
In one sense Adam blamed God when he said “The woman whom you gave me.” But then he blamed Eve and she blamed Satan. When it comes right down to it, they both made the fatal choice.
In Genesis 3:13 we read “And the Lord God said to the woman ‘What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent (Satan) deceived me and I ate.” At that point, God pronounced judgment on Satan and issued the great promise of a Seed that would come to be bruised yet (He) would ultimately crush Satan’s head.
In Genesis 3:14-15 we read, “So the Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly, you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed (Jesus), He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
When Satan was cast down from heaven, we read that 1/3 of the angels fell with him. I believe that they have joined forces with Satan to deceive, destroy, divide, and even afflict illness. They are very active in the world because they know their time is short so they will do everything they can to keep people in the dark spiritually and convince people they are good enough to go to heaven when they die.
So, we need to be on guard that we are not deceived. We need to resist him when he tempts us. We need to use the armor that God has provided. (Ephesians 6:10-20).
We were made in the likeness and image of God. When He created us, He gave us a spirit with our Creator’s three qualities.
Man was given a mind to think, a heart to love, and a will to choose. God placed man in an environment to test or use all three qualities. He could use his mind to name the animals and govern the earth. He could use his heart to love God and Eve. He could use his will to choose right or wrong. Are you and I using these capacities for the glory of God? I pray that we are.
For His glory,
Pastor Leonard
