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Gen 3:6 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her; and he did eat."
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and
that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise..."
There are four points here that establish a pattern that Satan followed in his
temptation of Jesus and he still follows with us today: 1. she saw; 2. good for
food; 3. pleasant to the eyes; and 4. makes one wise.
The first point is: when the woman SAW. In Mark 4:24 says,
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given." Rom 10:17
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Remember:
Jesus would say, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Decisions are to be
made based on the word of God, which comes through hearing, rather than what we
see. Eve is using the wrong gate.
The second point is what Eve saw, that the tree was good for
food. The tree was NOT good for food because the fruit had no seed in it, but
Eve may not have known that. She thought she was forbidden to even touch the
fruit. She probably had not cut a piece in half to see what was in the middle.
Even so, the command should have been enough. In this clause we see a reference
to food - what is food for? To nourish the BODY. Without food the human body
will die. So we see a reference to physical needs or desires. I Cor. 15:45-49
refers to Jesus as "the last Adam," because he passed the test that Adam failed,
only it wasn’t in a garden that contained nothing but blessing - it was in the
wilderness. Immediately after his baptism by John, Jesus went into the
wilderness where he fasted and prayed for forty days. After the forty days ended
Satan came to Jesus with three temptations, and the first was this: Matt 4:3-4
"And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command
that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God."
Life is not found only in what we put into our bodies through
our mouths, but what goes in through our ears. Jesus passed the first test. I
John 2:15-16 tells us, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Notice, the lust of
the flesh. Most people would probably think this clause specifically refers to
sexuality, but it really has to do with anything and everything that has to do
with the physical body: food, clothing, music, sex, career, money, fame, power.
None of these things are wrong if acquired and used as God directs; the problem
comes when they take precedence over God and his will in our lives. In short,
when they become our gods.
The LUST for these things is inspired by Satan. What does God
say? John 16:7-9 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you
that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but
if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they
believe not on me." According to this verse, sin, ALL sin, is directly related
to not believing in Jesus Christ.
The third point: the tree was pleasant to the eyes. Eve is
still considering the tree, but she stepped out of the order given by God in
Gen. 2:9. He would draw them to the tree that was (1) pleasant to the eyes and
(2) good for food, and Eve reverses the sequence. At this point she has already
decided that the tree is good for food and now, oh yes, it’s also pleasant to
the eyes. In this clause we see the expression: pleasant to the eyes, and this
would impact man in the realm of the soul, the part of man that makes decisions,
feels emotions, thinks and considers. If something is pleasing to the eyes it
will have a positive impact on the soul unless the soul itself is governed by a
higher authority.
Look what happened in the wilderness temptation: (Matt 4:5-7)
"Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle
of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:
for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
thy God." In this second part of Jesus’ temptation, Satan tried to reach him
through fear (an emotion), but Jesus was not afraid of death. What Satan saw as
a fearful situation, Jesus saw as tempting God: testing him to see if his word
was or was not true. In John 16:10 Jesus said the Holy Spirit would convict the
world "of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more." Rom.
10:10 says that with the heart man believes unto righteousness - specifically
belief in the resurrection of Jesus. Notice Jesus says essentially the same
thing - I go to my Father and ye SEE me no more. Again, lust of the eyes, what
we see, what Eve saw, all of these affect the soulish realm: the mind, the will
and the emotions
The fourth point is that Eve saw was that it was "a tree to be
desired to make one wise." Nowhere in scripture, ever, is wisdom gained through
any natural means. Wisdom is a gift from God - period. James 1:5 "If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Solomon knew this. I Kings 3:5-14;
4:29-34. 1 Cor 1:30-31 "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That,
according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
Need more wisdom? Get more Jesus! He brings it with him.
Because of its source and because of WHO it is, wisdom is of the spirit. Those
who are without God, without the Holy Spirit, may exhibit a certain wisdom, but
it is not from God and it is not reliable because it will be founded on the
principles of this world and it will be in error. Eve thought she could gain
wisdom from eating a certain piece of fruit. This is what happened in the
wilderness: Matt 4:8-10 "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down
and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
True wisdom is dependent upon who we worship. Jesus exercised true wisdom here:
he sent the devil packing. Eve could have done the same. I John 2:16 equates it
with the pride of life: man’s claim to be I am what I am through my own doing.
How foolish - Jesus told the story of the rich man who exalted himself in this
way: he had so much and continued to increase in wealth. Instead of giving to
others he decided to build bigger barns to store his goods. The Lord called him
a fool because his life was required of him that night. None of us controls the
length of our lives (even though some foolishly shorten theirs). John 16:11 says
the Holy Spirit would convict the world "Of judgment, because the prince of this
world is judged." Notice the word IS: Satan’s judgment is an accomplished fact.
There is no salvation for him - he has nothing to look forward to but hell
Notice the order of Eve’s VISUAL observations in Gen. 3:6: It
was a tree that was good for food - impacts the body; it was pleasant to the
eyes - impacts the soul; and it was desired to make one wise - impacts the
spirit. Compare this with how God deals with man which is through hearing the
word of God. God deals with the Spirit of man first - he recreates it, then he
moves on to the soul - the mind, the will and the emotions are renewed to the
word of God Rom. 12:2; then he deals with the body. While we are to crucify the
flesh (do not give it the satisfaction of doing those things which it wants to
do) and cease from sin, there is still to come a moment when God will resurrect
all the righteous dead (this is a bodily resurrection) and we will no longer be
subject to sin. The point is this: God starts with the spirit of man, moves on
to the soul then deals with the body. As we see demonstrated in Eve, Satan does
exactly the opposite.
After Eve makes her observations Gen. 3:6 says "And did eat,
and gave to her husband with her; and he did eat." What happened when Eve ate
the fruit? Absolutely nothing. Where was Adam? Out plowing the garden? Off
building a house? Fishing? No. Adam was WITH HER. We learn right here that,
although he never says a word, he was present the whole time. He overheard the
entire conversation between Eve and the serpent, but never says a word, never
makes a correction, never makes an objection of any kind. I have no idea why he
remained silent, but these are the facts
What would have happened if Adam did not eat the fruit?
Absolutely nothing: there would have been no fall of man. I Tim 2:14 says, "And
Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
This verse plainly says that Adam was fully aware of what was going on. Although
Eve was deceived by the subtlety of the serpent, Adam was not. This verse is not
telling us that Eve caused the fall, but that women are more easily deceived
than men.
Rom 5:13-21 says, "(For until the law sin was in the world:
but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the
offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be
dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man,
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned,
so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift
is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offence death
reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift
of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by
the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the
righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the
offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
Notice that scripture places responsibility for the fall
squarely on Adam: Eve is not mentioned at all. I hope we can see the humor in
this: in the garden, Satan went to Eve the weaker vessel. Even though his
seduction worked, he started out with the wrong person. The guy has no spiritual
discernment at all. Notice God’s perfect righteousness: Because the fall was
caused by the action of ONE man, so could salvation be effected by the action of
ONE man. A woman, Eve, was involved in, but did not cause, the fall; another
woman, Mary, would be involved in, but not cause, salvation.
So what were Adam’s options when Eve ate the fruit? He could
have forgiven her, interceded to God on her behalf exactly the same as Jesus
does for us, she could have been forgiven, the fall would not have occurred, or,
he could have disobeyed God, eaten the fruit and caused the fall of man - which
is exactly what he did. Since that point, God has been moving to get mankind
back to the garden of Eden.
In the future there will be a garden existence for mankind
that we call the millennium. During that one thousand years the entire earth
will be under the rule of one man, Jesus Christ. Satan will be jailed: there
will be no tempter. People will still sin, but it will not be because they are
deceived, and they will be forgiven by confession and repentance just as we are
now. During that time man will still have a sin nature: he will still be every
bit as human and fallen as we are now, but the good news is the blood of Jesus
will not lose its power - it will just effectively cleanse from sin then as it
does now. People will still need to be saved by faith exactly the same as we are
now.
There are two main differences between life now and life in
the millennium: 1. Satan will be jailed; and 2. Jesus will be physically present
- everyone will be able to see and know him. At the end of that one thousand
years, all of mankind will eat from the tree of life. All will have been
resurrected: the righteous to life eternal and the unsaved to eternal damnation.
All will live forever.
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