The Fall (Genesis 3:4-6)

Genesis 3:4 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.”

Lying About the Consequences

At this point, Satan had Eve teed up. He had planted the seeds of doubt in God and in God's word. She was ready for destruction, primed for manipulation. Her heart had told her God was not as good as He first appeared. She'd begun thinking of Him as a divine bully, demanding too much, and unable to discipline as He'd said.

So the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die" (4). Satan wasted no time. He mixed no words. And he lied straight to her face. You won't die. That's not guaranteed. The results God said would come from disobedience will not come. He doesn't have that power.

Satan is a liar, and this is his big lie (John 8:44). He says, You can sin and get away with it. There are no real consequences for sin. And, the crazy thing is, after thousands of years of seeing the chaos and pain life outside God's commands presents, we still fall for this stupid lie. But disobedience brings death -- and death, as we shall see, has many forms.

The Crux of the Temptation

After lying about the consequences, Satan also questioned God's motives. He reasoned, "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (5).

This is the crux of Satan's argument. God is keeping the knowledge of good and evil from you, and that knowledge is amazing. You should want it. He doesn't love you; if He did, He'd let you have that knowledge.

His basic reasoning is this: God has kept good back from His people.

This is still the temptation today. Has God given us everything we need? Has He given us all that is good? Is His definition of "good" accurate?

You see, before this moment, Adam and Eve didn't try to decide what was good and wasn't good. Instead, they asked God. Is this good? Is that good? And God defined it all for them.

He showed them what good looks like.

But the tempter of our souls wants to make us question God's goodness, but also His ability to decide what is good. He wants to make us think we know better than God.

Genesis 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.

Threefold Temptation

The conversation concluded and the woman saw the tree in a whole new light (6). She'd made a decision: the tree was good for food (6). She was in charge now. God's declarations were no good to her any longer. She knew what was good for her.

The serpent had helped awaken something within her. John said:

"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.” (1 John 2:16, ESV).

Eve seems to have fallen prey to all three. She fell to the desires of the flesh when she saw that the tree was good for food. She fell to the desires of the eyes when she considered the tree a delight to the eyes. And she fell to the pride of life when she thought the tree was to be desired to make one wise (6).

Adam's Acquiescence

Having given herself to the temptation, everything happened in rapid succession. The time for debate passed, and one action spilled over to the next. She took the fruit. She ate. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate (6). The first domino had been pushed, and, quickly, all the others fell. In a flash, sin.

And one detail comes as a shock to the reader. Her husband was with her (6). All the while, Adam was there. All the verbs in the previous conversation are plural. He listened in. But he was far from an innocent bystander.

Paul's commentary on this event:

"Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived...” (1 Timothy 2:14, ESV).

Adam wasn't deceived. He knew exactly what he was doing, and he went right along with the temptation. He gave in.

Adam acted with his eyes wide open. Rather than stand up and defend his bride, He acquiesced to rebellion against God. Adam did not lead his wife but instead followed her into error, and God's order was overturned.

Jesus, of course, is the better husband, greater than Adam. Adam's sin led to unrighteousness for all of humanity, his bride, and beyond. But Jesus' act of righteousness on the cross leads to perfection for all who believe in Him. He is better than Adam.

"Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” (Romans 5:18, ESV).

When Jesus was brought into the wilderness for forty days of fasting and testing, He passed the test when Adam could not. Starving, rather than satiated. In the wild, rather than the garden. Bombarded with the full force of Satan's temptations, rather than a silly snake. Jesus succeeded where man could not.

He leads his bride into victory.