Genesis
Lesson 10The Fall of Man Part 1
In this lesson, we begin a study of the fall of mankind from God’s perfect love and creation into sin and a cursed world. We observe that in the first two chapters of Genesis, God is speaking; however, in Chapter 3, Satan is speaking. God’s speaking leads to the good and perfect, while Satan’s speaking leads only to destruction, disaster, chaos, pain, sorrow, death, and a permanent separation from God and all that is good, righteous, and holy. Later in Chapter 3, after Adam & Eve’s sin (often referred to as "the fall,") God speaks again and reveals his plan to redeem mankind from its fallen state.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. Genesis 3:15
The word enmity seems strange to most of us, it’s not a word that we use every day. It means to have continuous opposition. This "enmity," embodied in the one who will crush Satan’s head is the "offspring" of the woman. This source of continuous opposition and victory over Satan is Jesus. Isaiah 53:5 refers to Jesus being pierced and crushed for our iniquities. Christ’s death on the cross defeated Satan eternally; just as his death and victory over death, i.e., his resurrection, brings salvation to all who will accept it. Isaiah 53:5 also tells us that he went through pain and suffering on the cross, and, as a result, his punishment brought us peace and healing.
The Fall
Some of you older students may remember a comedian, Flip Wilson, whose favorite line was, "The devil made me do it!" As we examine the account of the first sin and the fall of mankind, we need to be mindful of two things: (a) the environment that Adam and Eve were in, and (b) the perception that Satan has the power to make us do things that we do not want to do.
Let’s read the story of Adam and Eve in the garden, their encounter with Satan, and the sin that followed; then respond to the following:
- After God creates the animals and Eve in Genesis 2, we are introduced to what animal at the beginning of Chapter 3?
- Read Matthew 7:13. How does this verse relate to the story of Adam and Eve in the garden?
- Eve encounters the serpent in a perfect world, surrounded by birds and animals that God made for them. She is in a perfect garden that God also made, and something else is present during Eve’s temptation. What is it? See Genesis 3:6.
- It may seem odd to call God’s creation "perfect" when we realize that he also made Satan and the demons. Actually, God created the angels with free will as well, but no chance of salvation if they made the wrong choice. Satan, originally an angel, chose evil and opposition to God’s will. God’s creation and the garden were exactly what God intended to make, and he knew that Satan would come to try and destroy it. How is the serpent described in verse one, and what is the serpent’s first action? See Genesis 3:1 and John 8:44.
- Have you ever considered why the serpent’s first act was to try to tempt Eve to sin? Why didn’t he first try to get Adam to sin, considering that he was standing right there? What was Satan’s end objective? See Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:11-19, Matthew 4:8-9, and Revelation 13:4, 12. Why did he choose Eve? See Genesis 3:15, 20.
- What are some of the specific impacts of this sin that we can identify, knowing that Eve was the "mother of all living?" What are some of the things that Satan was trying to influence or defeat by getting Eve to sin? See Genesis 3:20.
- By persuading Eve to sin, Satan’s diabolical plan condemns all of mankind to death (which is the punishment of sin) and a life of pain, chaos, and destruction. His aim is to either destroy or rule over all of God’s creation, including God himself. He will, as we will observe throughout Genesis, attempt to stop or defeat God’s plan and His chosen people repeatedly. He continues to do so today through the followers of Christ. Satan will not stop, and he will not be defeated until Christ returns and personally defeats him. What do the following verses tell us about Satan and about God’s condemnation of him in the Garden of Eden? See Romans 16:20 and Hebrews 2:14.
In the next lesson in this study, we continue our study of the Garden of Eden and Eve’s encounter with the crafty serpent.
My prayer is that we will be watchful, being careful not to be deceived by the allure of sin, careful to enter through the narrow gate, and diligent in following the narrow road that Jesus leads us on.
There is much to learn regarding temptation and sin from Genesis Chapter 3, and we will both of these topics further in the next lesson.
Thanks for studying with us!
In Christ,
Wes
[2022]