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“What Should I Be Doing?” Ephesians 2:1-10

Identity Sermon Series

Discovering Who and Why You Are

“What Should I Be Doing?”

Ephesians 2:1-10

Opening

In Luke 15 we see the story of the prodigal son. The boy went to his father and demanded his inheritance, even though his father was still alive (which was a great insult, and potentially hard on the family financially). But the father gives the boy his inheritance and the boy leaves home, travels far away and absolutely wastes the money. Eventually he runs out of money, finds a job taking care of pigs, and is so hungry he wants to eat the slop the pigs are eating. He comes to his senses and decides to ask his father back home if he can work on the family farm as a servant.

Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’3 22 But the father said to his servants,4 ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

We know that the prodigal son was not physically dead while in the far country, or physically made live when he returned home. The prodigal son was dead because he was away from home, out of touch and out of communion with the father. He is dead in his trespasses and sin against his father.

Prayer

Your Past (vv. 1-3)

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Paul begins our chapter by reminding us of our past. “Scripture uses many metaphors to describe man’s sinful state, such as blindness, deafness, fever, paralysis, leprosy, etc. but not one more forceful in meaning than this one of being dead in sins.”[1]

Man does not become spiritually dead because he sins; he is spiritually dead by his nature, therefore he is sinful. His condition has nothing to do with the way he lives; it has to do with the fact that he is dead even while he is alive. He is spiritually dead while being physically alive.

We are “dead in the trespasses and sins,” – to trespass is a violation of a definitive law, and to sin is to miss the mark (like an archer aiming at a target). We are guilty on both accounts. It is as if there is a giant “no trespassing sign” and we willfully went past it.

“We are sinners because we have taken our own way, and we are trespassers because we have transgressed what we knew to be the revealed word of God; and so we are dead to God in our natural condition.”[2]

And no one will deny that there are degrees of sin. If we compare Hitler who oversaw the killing of millions of Jewish people, and someone who stole a package of gummies at a gas station – are they the same? Both are sin.

If we look at Mark 5:21ff. we see Jairus’ daughter, and by the time Jesus got to her she had only been dead for a very short period of time, yet dead still. And later when we see Jesus coming to Lazarus’s tomb (John 11) – he intentionally stayed away for days, and when it was time to roll away the stone at the entrance when “Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”[3]

Both Jarius’ daughter and Lazarus are in different stages of corruption, yet they both are dead. You may not be Hitler, but we are all sinners by our nature, Romans 3:23 “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Man’s common state of sin is like people trying to jump across the Grand Cannon (4 to 18mi.). 10 year old (8 feet), 20 year old Olympic long jump (30 feet), 50 year running from the IRS (50 feet) – all will fall short. We are all, “Sons of disobedience and children of wrath” are parallel verses, meaning the same thing.

(v. 2) “in which you once walked,” – The word walk is often used in the New Testament to describe a way of life. The words transgressions and sin describe the path in which people walk and the boundaries that shape their lives.[4]

Because we were spiritually dead, by nature (v. 3) “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” – it is our nature as human beings to live this way, and which always results in God’s Wrath. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In the gospel of Matthew 11:16-19 we see “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” John the Baptist and Jesus were both preachers, John’s message was focused on repentance and judgement (like a funeral dirge), and Jesus’ sermons he compares to a flute at a party (good news, joyful) – but the people did not respond to either.

But in the heart of some, there is a quickening.

The Holy Spirit draws some toward Jesus.

Your Present (vv. 4-6)

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

(v. 4) “But God,” – dead people can’t do anything. They can’t breathe, they can’t heal, they can’t take action to please God – all they can do it decay. And since they can do nothing to improve their situation, God chose to do something to make our relationship with Him right again. He made the first move.

1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”

“being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” – “There is an infinite resources of mercy for the vilest sinner. There is no one for whom there is no mercy” or where the mercy will run out.[5] Not just a little bit of mercy, God is rich in His mercy toward sinners.

In Genesis 1 we see that at the beginning of time, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God spoke, God took action, and there was light where there once was darkness.

God saw our condition of sin and spiritual death, and out of compassion and love for His creation He took action, “made us alive together with Christ Jesus.”

Jesus’ death on a cross and his resurrection from the dead is a picture and a promise of us being made alive with Jesus. “There was a time when because of my sins Jesus Christ lay dead in the grave, but having completed the work that saves, God quickened Him from the dead and brought Him back in triumph from the tomb.”[6] We believe in Him and are brought forth from the place of the dead and are brought back to life.

“by grace you have been saved” – grace is God’s action toward us when we do not deserve His favor.

“raised us up with him and seated[7] us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” – Jesus has done all the work (dying on the cross, bearing the weight of our sin, He has done all the things required for our salvation), then we get to go with him to heaven. Jesus bought the ticket, and he turns and hands us one for free, and we get to go with him.

Your Future (vv. 7-10)

7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

(v.8) “Grace is God’s part, faith is our part.”[8]

God loves his creation so much that He sent His Son into the world to be a propitiation for our sins, but He loves His Son so much that he will not permit anyone into heaven who ignores the work of the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished.”[9]

When a person chokes or drowns and stops breathing, there is nothing he can do. If he ever breathes again it will be because someone else starts him breathing. A person who is spiritually dead cannot even make a decision of faith unless God breathes into him the breath of spiritual life. Faith is simply breathing the breath that God’s grace supplies.[10]

Every person lives by faith. When we open a can of food or drink a glass of water we trust that it is not contaminated. When we go across a bridge we trust it to support us. When we put our money in the bank we trust that it will be there when we go to withdraw it. Life is a constant series of acts of faith.

Human effort has nothing to do with it. And thus, no one should boast, as if he had any part of it. All boasting is eliminated in salvation. When we see each other in eternity, we will know that none of us deserve to be there and will bow before Jesus in his glory and grace.

(v. 10) “For we are his workmanship” –

Psalm 100:3 “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”

Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

(v. 10) “created in Christ Jesus for good works” Not in order to be saved but because we are already saved are we to do good works. As the sun was created to shine, the rose to give forth its delightful fragrance, the bird to fly, so we are created anew to do good works and thus to glorify him who created us as what we are in Christ Jesus.”[11]

(v. 10) “which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”[12] – “What Paul says is not that God prepared us that we should walk in good works (so Luther), but that he prepared the good works.”[13] The believer is saved, but then we don’t look around for just something good to do, God lays out the journey before us. Our job is to stay close to God and His Word, so that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

“We are saved not by but for good works, and we are saved not just for a beautiful heavenly destiny that God has prepared but for good works here, likewise prepared by God.”[14]

Conclusion – let’s go back to Luke 15, remember when the father sees the son returning home, he says, “Bring quickly the best” – for the farmer it was a robe, a ring, sandals, and a celebration meal. When our heavenly father see us he says, “Bring quickly the best” What is the best that the heavenly father gives us?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God gave His best so that we may have eternal life – have you received Jesus’ free gift of salvation and new life?

_________________________

[1] August Van Ryn, Ephesians The Glories of His Grace (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers Publishing, 1963) 40.

[2] H. A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies (Neptune, New Jersey; Louizeaux Brothers, 1979) 101

[3] Ironside, 100.

[4] Klyne Snodgrass, The NIV Application Commentary, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1996) 96.

[5] Ironside, 105.

[6] Ibid, 106.

[7] Seated is given in the past tense (aorist tense) indicating it being so definite that it is as if it has already fully taken place. MacArthur, 60.

[8] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 4 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 525.

[9] Ironside, 111.

[10] John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Ephesians (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1986) 61.

[11] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians to the Ephesians and to the Philippians (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1961) 427.

[12] “C. L. Mitton concludes his discussion on this verse with an appropriate comment: “This final phrase about our ‘walking in them’ reminds us that fine phrases or eloquent sermons about love are not what is required, but the actions, costly actions, which express in practical conduct the love which God’s saving power has created in our hearts.” David J. Williams, New International Biblical Commentary, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1990) 186.

[13] Lenski, 427.

[14] Walter L. Liefeld, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, Ephesians (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1997) 67.

“I Identify With Christ” Galatians 2:15-21

Drew Boswell Ministries

"I Identify With Christ" Galatians 2:15-21

00:00 / 00:39:45

“I Identify With Christ” Galatians 2:15-21

Identity Sermon Series

Discovering Who and Why You Are

“I Identify With Christ”

Galatians 2:15-21

Introduction

In Galatians 2 Paul is referencing and earlier gathering of Christians at Antioch where Cephas (Peter), Barnabas, Paul, and different groups are present. But the Gentile Christians are being made to feel like second class Christians because they were not keeping ceremonial Jewish food laws. Cephas/Peter’s withdrawal and his sitting apart from the Gentiles “was sending a clear message about what counts: reliance upon the law and its works to secure favor with God, rather than trust in God’s provision in Christ alone.”[1]

Cephas “seems to have started to ‘live like a Gentile’ (Gal. 2:14), probably in the sense that he had ceased to observe Jewish dietary restrictions.” In response to a heavenly vision (Acts 10:9-16; 11:4-10), he had tossed out an important Jewish identity marker, which many Jews went to great trouble to keep, and for which they sometimes endured deprivation, and even death.”[2]

This was a common teaching for the Jews to, “separate yourselves from the Gentiles and do not eat with them, and do not perform deeds like theirs. And do not become associates of theirs. Because their deeds are defiled, and all their ways are contaminated, and despicable, and abominable.”[3]

But when certain people were around, Cephas would change back. “The pressure was strong enough that all the Christian Jews in Antioch except Paul succumbed to it. There is a level of disappointment and personal pain behind Paul’s phrase “even Barnabas.” Paul’s talk of hypocrisy assumes that all of them – even Barnabas – knew it was wrong to buckle to this pressure.”[4]

But what is at stake is the genuineness and purity of the gospel.

Can the gospel mean whatever you want it mean,

or can different groups have their own version of it?

The gospel tears down boundaries, our falsely identifying with the wrong things puts those barriers back in place all over again. These are barriers between believers, and it pollutes the gospel.

Didn’t Paul say, 1 Corinthians 9:20-23 “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” Is Paul being hypocritical to tell Cephas to not change while he is around the “circumcision party,” but Paul is changing around other people in order to share the gospel?

“Paul could have opted out of any participation with the Jewish religious system. He was free from all of it. Instead, he chose to remain involved, without ever compromising the message of Jesus, in hopes of winning some Jewish law followers to faith in Christ. In order to put as few barriers as possible between others and Christ, Paul was willing to sacrifice his own “rights” and freedoms.”[5]

Prayer

How Do You Identify? (vv. 15-16)

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

(v. 15) It was a normal for Jews to presume upon God’s grace because they possess God’s Law (Romans 2:17-24). The Jews would say, which Paul may be quoting directly, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.” But this is common for all of humanity. We deceive ourselves into thinking everything’s ok with who they are. “I think what I am doing is okay, therefore God must also be ok with it.”

Matthew 3:7 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’” They were not turning from their sin and bearing fruit of a godly and holy life, they didn’t even think they were sinners.

For the Jewish follower, there is no need for transformation or change from their sin, because they are from a lineage of Abraham. There are also people who identify with the Christian religion who also presume upon God’s grace. Maybe they have gone to a certain church for a number of years, or have been baptized – but we can’t speak of how they have impacted the world for Christ, or people they have led to the Lord, or how they have been a disciple maker – but when they were seven they were baptized. The Jews were doing this with circumcision. There was no heart felt seeking after God, desiring to live for him – just empty self-righteous rule following.

The temptation of Peter and all the other believers there (except for Paul), is to answer the question, “what is their identity?” this same way. Are they Jewish and followers of the law (and that’s how they want to be known), or are they Christians which require breaking from the law and to live by faith. But you can’t hold an identity of the two things at the same time.

Paul is showing that the Jewish people should know that no one is capable of keeping the law in its entirety and at some point has to rely upon God’s grace and mercy. Psalm 143:2, The psalmist is asking God, “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.” The law’s intended purpose was to show humanity that you cannot live a life that pleases God, no one is perfect. Jesus says in Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

(v. 16) This is a question of how is a person made right before God? Paul uses the word, “justified,” (dikaioo) – “to make or declare righteous.” “The group of Judaizers who contended that the Gentiles had to become Jews to be saved.”[6] This included circumcision and following dietary laws. The law plus Paul says, “because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

“. . . but through faith in Jesus Christ” – “Faith is trust. It begins with knowledge, so it is not blind. It builds on facts, so it is not speculation. It stakes its life on the outcome, so it is not impractical. Faith is trusting Christ and proving his promises.”[7]

Identifying With Christ (vv. 17-21)

17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

(v. 17) “we too were found to be sinners,” When Paul compares himself to the teachings and life of Jesus, he realizes that as high as he had climbed in the Jewish world, and as passionate as he had been to the law (even killing and imprisoning Christians), he was still the “chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15).”

(v. 18) “For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.” – “When he [Peter] lived like a Gentile, he tore down the ceremonial law. When he lived like a Jew, he tore down salvation by grace.”[8]

“From Paul’s own testimony, we know that Paul continued to be not only accused of being in violation of the Law but punished because of it. Thus, when he would visit synagogues, he’d be brought up on charges and then flogged with a whip or a stick.”[9] “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned (2 Corinthians 11:24-25).”[10]

(v. 19) “For through the law I died to the law,” – To try and keep the law is a form of slavery. One is always striving to be good enough to please God, to be perfect, yet to fail time and time again. Then through Christ’s death and taking the curse of sin upon himself, he has freed us from the law. When we reach back down and put the shackle back on our legs, we enslave ourselves all over again.

(v. 20) “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” – It is the union of the vine and the branch (John 15:1-6). Paul is connected (abiding) to Jesus, and no longer to the world. When a person places their faith in Christ there is a part of them that dies, that part that focuses on ourselves. That part is crucified with Christ – then emerging is a new birth, a new life – that is Christ living in me. Our identity is Christ (period). For the Christian, it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you.

Our walk with Jesus will draw us into more and more the things that are important to Jesus. In our lives, we will begin to look more and more like Jesus, and less and less like our old selves (before Christ.) Christ’s life eventually led to the cross, and so our lives will reflect this selflessness and giving of ourselves for the sake of others.

Many Christians are good with healing with Christ, singing with Christ, praying with Christ, studying the Bible with Christ, but crucified with Christ is a whole other level. Jesus gave up everything for the sake of others, so Paul says, “It is no longer I who live.” Jesus says to those who desire to be his followers, “take up your cross and follow me.”

The way we begin our walk with Christ is how we continue in our walk in Christ. The way we start the race, is the same way we finish the race – radical trust in Jesus.

“Those [identifying here in this passage as Jewish Christians] are going back to a life in which Christ and his loving, self-giving death in not central.”[11] In Romans 6:6 Paul uses this same imagery, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”

Faith in Jesus Christ Is not just head knowledge of His existence. It involves the whole person. There are people who say they are Christians, but their definition of faith does not involve a life change. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” A saving faith in Christ results in a transformational change to conform to the image of Christ. “The Christian life is one of conformity with Christ.”[12]

Therefore, the Christian is not lawless, but you have freedom in Christ. It is not an abandonment of the morality of the law (honor your parents, truth telling, putting God first, do not covet other people’s stuff, don’t committing adultery, etc). This is the fear of people who tend toward being self-righteous; if we don’t have rules and keep traditions, then the world will spin into chaos. So, they add to the gospel (Jesus plus the law). They believe that you have to appear different than the world (like the Jewish “circumcision group”) Then how will the world know that you are a Christian?

John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” They will know we are Christians by how we show the love of Christ in the world around us. It is much harder to show your heart (an inward change), than it is to follow a rule – because it requires a close relationship with Christ (to abide in Him.) Doing what Christ teaches is much harder than putting a sticker on your car (an outward show).

There should be no descriptors in front of the word Christian in our identity. Whenever we put a word describing ourselves before Christ, we are putting ourselves first. You either identify with the sin, or the person who frees us from sin, but you can’t identify with both – the gospel won’t allow it.

(v. 21) “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” – Paul is saying that if all we had to do was keep the law, then people should keep the law. Jesus would not have had to die, if all humans had to do was be good. When the Jewish Christians kept the law, they “nullify” God’s grace – as if to say that they did not need it. Also, if the law is added to the gospel, then that also means that Christ’s death was not adequate to cover all the sin of mankind – there is something else needed.[13]

Conclusion

Two bank robbers in Sangus, Massachusetts, walked into a small delicatessen, pulled out their guns, and demanded all the money in the cash register. The owner stashed all the money in a brown bag and laid it on the counter, Nervously, they grabbed the bag a fled. Later, in a safe place they opened the bag to divide their haul only to be completely surprised. The bag contained two pastrami sandwiches and a slice of baklava. They couldn’t belive it. In their nervous haste they picked up the wrong bag. In today’s passage we looked at two very similar appearing approaches to life – but when you open them up what is inside to eternally different.[14]

____________________________

[1] Todd Wilson, Preaching the Word, Galatians (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2013) 76.

[2] Frank Thielman, Expository Commentary, Vol. X (Wheaton, Illinois; Crossway Publishing, 2020) 599.

[3] Thielman, 599.

[4] Thielman, 599.

[5] https://www.bibleref.com/1-Corinthians/9/1-Corinthians-9-20.html

[6] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume IV, The Epistles of Paul (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 289.

[7] Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 10 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1976) 449.

[8] Robertson, 289.

[9] Which goes back to the pressure to follow the law (Gal. 2:1-14); did they fear suffering the same treatment as Paul had suffered?

[10] Wilson, 85.

[11] Thielman, 599.

[12] Jervis, 74.

[13] L. Ann Jervis, New International Biblical Commentary, Galatians (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1999) 70.

[14] Max Anders, Holman New Testament Commentary, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians (Nashville, Tennessee; Holman Reference, 1999) 26.

“What Happened?” Genesis 3:1-24

Drew Boswell Ministries

“What Happened?” Genesis 3:1-24

00:00 / 00:52:34

Identity Sermon Series Discovering Who and Why You Are “What Happened?” Genesis 3:1-24

Identity Sermon Series

Discovering Who and Why You Are

“What Happened?”

Genesis 3:1-24

Introduction

Prayer

The Same Old Temptations (vv. 1-6)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

I Can Make God’s Word Mean What I Want It To Mean (Temptation #1)

The serpent wants to draw the woman into a conversation, so he begins with a complete distortion of what God had commanded Adam, who then passed on the command to Eve (2:16). He is subtlety suggesting that maybe Adam got it wrong when he passed on the command, or maybe he was telling her something that God really didn’t say at all.

While the serpent intentionally misquotes the Lord God’s command, Eve quotes what she has been given. She is still one with her husband, she says, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees .” Eve responds, and as it turns out, Adam has failed to give Eve the name of the tree, and has also added to the original command, she does not name the tree, but instead calls it “the tree that is in the midst of the garden”

“according to its location instead of its significance. And she says “neither shall you touch it, lest you die,” – God’s original command named the tree, again giving its importance, and they were not to eat it, and if they did they would surely” Both the serpent and Eve get God’s command wrong.

Genesis 2:16 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” We don’t know if Adam added to the original command, or if Eve changed it – but what we see from Eve’s response is a changing of God’s Word. Also, notice that up to this point, God was referred to as Lord God, and Satan drops the word Lord – and Eve follows his example.

When the serpent presents this hidden knowledge of something called “the knowledge of good and evil,” he presents it as something hidden or kept from her. She has not been privy to this tree being called, “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Why have a single tree, that produces fruit that gives a person knowledge of good and evil? In the Garden of Eden are three types of trees: the trees they were allowed to eat from daily, then there was the tree of life that gave them potentially “eternal life,” and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fruit trees fed the birds, animals etc., the tree of life kept them from aging, but what ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

Why was it there? What purpose did it serve? The tree means choice – what is love if you have no choice but are forced to love? Can you dictate loyalty? God really only asked Adam and Eve to do one thing, trust Him. Have faith in that He only wanted good for them, that He was God, and they were the created order, just be what God created them to be, and trust Him.

“They” Are Keeping Something Good From Me (Temptation #2)

(v. 4) “But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent claiming to know God better than Eve, makes the bold claim that God is lying, “You will not surely die.”

It is true that if she eats the fruit, she will know good and evil, and it is also true that she doesn’t drop dead instantly. The serpent’s comments go straight to God’s motive – the serpent is insinuating that God is maliciously keeping something from Eve, something He doesn’t want her to have. Something that if she were to have it would put her on the level with God. Hidden knowledge.

The serpent is encouraging her “to move from obedience and faith in God’s Word toward her judging God and his command as though from a neutral position.”[1] Whenever we stand in judgement of God’s Word, we place ourselves at least on the same level as God, or even above Him.[2]

God has placed a restriction, a boundary, that you are not to go past – The serpent wants Eve to ask, “Why can’t I go into that territory?” “Why can’t I experience that?” – The serpent whispers, “Because God is morally corrupt, and is evil, and wants you to be miserable, He wants to keep you at this lower level.”

“He doesn’t want you to have something that you want (you don’t even know what it is, but because you have been told you can’t have it, you feel you deserve it). “The serpent spoke only about what she would gain and avoided mentioning what she would lose in the process.”[3]

Why does the serpent go to Eve, instead of Adam? 1 Timothy 2:13-14 “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” There was an order of creation, Adam was the head, and Eve was the helper, made as a perfect companion and spouse.

Together they each played a role in bringing life into the world, and together had dominion over creation. The serpent strikes at their different roles – deceiving Eve into thinking she is inferior. She, on her own, decides to act. The man needs the woman, and the woman needs the man – they complete each other.

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

(v. 4) the serpent says, if you have this hidden knowledge, then “you will be like God,” – but they were already “like God,” because they had been created in His image (1:26). God did want them to be like Him, He wasn’t keeping this from them, He created them that way.[4] Our heavenly Father does not keep any good thing from His children – we must trust Him for the timing, and His purpose and plan – it is always good.

3:6 So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

There is a quick progression that Eve follows. She looked at the fruit and in her evaluation there was nothing about the fruit that would make it bad for food in fact it was delicious looking. She believed that this forbidden fruit would give her knowledge – but it is a knowledge apart from God. 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Then Eve turns to Adam, fruit in hand, and extends it to him. 1 Tim. 2, tells us “Adam was not deceived,” He saw straight through all the craftiness, all the half-truths, all the emotional attempts at division. Why did Adam eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil?

I Can Fix This (Temptation #3)

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And 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. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

The serpent’s promise was that “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And indeed “Then the eyes of both were opened.” But in this new knowledge, there is sudden compulsion to cover their nakedness.

Eve thought she could possess that which God was keeping from her, but now she is not like God. She now has a division between her husband (which comes in a moment), between her and her Creator, and even her own body. Her soul is now fighting against her body – which results in shame. Innocence is lost.

(v. 7) “And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Who are they ashamed of seeing them? Who do they not want to see their nakedness? To hide from God, they go to the trees. But they cover their nakedness with leaves – to hide their shame from each other. That which was made, “very good” now there is division.

(v. 9) God knows what has happened, He even already has a plan to fix their mistake, but guilt has to be assigned first, and He wants them to recognize how their sin has impacted them, so God asks, “Where are you?” – fear and shame has driven them to hide amongst the trees. God asks, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” But instead of simply saying, “yes, we believed the lie of the serpent” – they try to blame others.

Just Blame Someone Else For Your Behavior (Temptation #4)

12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The man blames God for giving him an inferior woman, “whom you gave to be with me” – She gave him fruit of the tree, and he ate it. Genesis 2:18 “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” And then later on, it says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” They were very good in their creation. The woman blames the serpent, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” –

The Consequences of Adam & Eve’s Rebellion

The Serpent’s Curse (vv. 14-15)

14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

We are introduced to two races of people – the offspring of Adam and Even, and the offspring of the serpent. These two groups of people will have enmity between them.

(v. 15) “contains a puzzling yet important ambiguity: Who is the “seed” of the woman? It seems obvious that the purpose of the verse has not been to answer that question but rather to raise it. The remainder of the book is the author’s answer.”[5]

Eve’s Curse (v. 16)

16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

The original blessing for Eve was to “be fruitful and multiply,” and in the marriage relationship she would have with her husband as they had dominion over the earth. Now it was in these greatest times of blessing, there would also pain and now that sin has entered into the world, she would still play the same role, but now her husband and herself would have a sin nature,

“Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, (you will no longer be united) but he shall rule over you.” Eve believed that God (her Creator who only gave her good things) was keeping something good from her, and that she deserved more, how much more of this would she show this attitude toward her husband?

But also, in the pain of delivering a child was the promise that eventually, Eve’s offspring would eventually defeat the one that led her into this fallen state.

Adam’s Curse (vv. 17-19)

17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Work is given to man in 2:15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” So it is not working that is the curse, working was his assignment from God originally, so it was good. But now, “cursed is the ground.” Adam and Eve will be forced to leave the garden with its’ many fruit bearing trees, to outside the garden where Adam will have to plow fields and work hard to produce food.

His work will produce “thorns and thistles;” his efforts will result is wasted time and resources. Before the fall everything his hands touched bloomed and produced fruit – now it is painful, and some of his efforts result in nothing but wasted time.

“for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 2:7) – Man’s work and toil is tied to his death. Every loaf of bread he produces, it will cost him the sweat of his brow.

Consequences Remain, But Grace is Given (vv. 20-24)

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Grace Between Man and Woman

Adam and Eve both are well aware that they will now die, and have been cursed because of their decision to rebel against God – “the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” (literally) Life has to go on, in spite of their mistake. They still have a command from God to follow. So Adam, as an act of faith, calls his wife, Eve.

Grace between Humanity and God.

(v. 21) “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Originally, no animals were to be killed for food, the animals didn’t even kill eathother. Everything, was a herbivore. But, God kills animals, to cover Adam and Eve with skins. To cover their shame, something had to die. The Lord God himself made them clothes. Genesis 3 shows us that the pain we encounter, why there are all the horrors of this world, and why we act, and others behave the way they do – it’s not God’s fault.

“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.” – humanity no longer is in obedience with their Creator, he has rebelled and in that fallen state, has become independent and autonomous. He places himself on the same level with God, thinking he can determine right and wrong, good and evil.

Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This is the fallen state of humanity, they will no longer look to God to provide “the good,” but will always be bent toward what they think is good and evil. (making ourselves god).

Humanity can no longer eat of the tree of life and now will eventually die. To live a life that runs counter to how you were created is a miserable life, so God in His grace allows them to die. Man’s nature is bent toward rebellion against His Creator.

They have obtained being “like God” but they are no longer with God. The fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is for God alone to eat from. The tree in midst of the garden guides us to ask the question, “Do you want to be God, or do you want God to be God?” For you to be God is for you to be separated from the One true God. For you to trust Him, as God, is to have eternal life.

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[1] Gerhard Von Rad, The Old Testament Library, Genesis (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Westminster Press, 1961) 86.

[2] “Whenever man attacks the concrete Word of God with the weapon of a principle or an idea of God, there he has become the lord of God.” (Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall, 68).

[3] Kenneth Matthews, The New American Commentary, Genesis 1-11:26 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishing, 1995) 237.

[4] John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1990) 51.

[5] Sailhamer, 56.