Genesis

Restoration

Genesis 2 & 3

Introduction:

What impact did sin have upon God's original plan for marriage? Did it change God's plan for the relationship between husband and wife? If so, did Jesus' death on the cross bring us back to the original plan? We are going to review some things we have studied about marriage and then look at how sin affected the relationship between Adam and Eve.

I. The Plan

A. Read Genesis 2:22-23. How would you describe Adam's reaction to God making a woman to be with him?

1. Do you remember how it felt to date someone who you liked and who seemed to really like you? (These are some of the best emotions in life.)

a. Would you say this is something like what Adam felt right after God made Eve?

B. Read Genesis 2:24. Are Adam and Eve now married?

1. What are the elements of marriage as described in this verse? (Leaving parents, becoming united with your spouse, becoming "one flesh.")

2. Dr. Izak F. Wessels points out a fascinating comparison between the two institutions established during Creation: Marriage and the Sabbath. Read Isaiah 58:13-14. Isaiah is writing about the Sabbath. How many of the instructions for honoring the Sabbath are also important elements of a successful marriage? (Fidelity, honor, unselfishness, care in language, care in actions, create joy in a marriage just as they create joy in Sabbath-keeping.)

3. Back to Genesis. Who do you think is speaking in Genesis 2:24? Is this Adam or God? (This is God's declaration of marriage.)

C. Read Genesis 2:25. Is a point being made here? If so, what is it?

II. Perverting the Plan

A. Read Genesis 3:1. The text says that the serpent "was more crafty than any of the animals the Lord God made." What is the Bible telling us? That we are dealing with a really smart animal?

1. Is this an animal?

2. Read 2 Corinthians 11:3. What does this suggest about the nature of the serpent?

3. Read Revelation 12:9. What does this suggest about the nature of the serpent?

4. Read Genesis 49:17. What does this suggest about the way the Bible uses the term "serpent?" (Revelation clearly tells us that the "ancient serpent" is Satan. Genesis 49 shows us how a person (here, Dan, one of Isaac's sons)can be described as a "serpent.")

5. Was Satan created? (Read Ezekiel 28:13-14. This text is often accepted as a description of Satan (although it also refers in some sense to the King of Tyre). You can see that Satan was "created" and "anointed" as an angel ("guardian cherub"). Thus, when Genesis 3:1 tells us that the "serpent" was made by God and was more crafty than the "other animals," we are given a correct picture of Satan.)

6. We have spent some time here trying to sort out the nature of the serpent. What does this suggest about the methods of Satan? (That he tries to approach us in a way that is not so obviously evil.)

7. Let's finish with Genesis 3:1: Are the words of Satan true? What is the correct answer to Satan's leading question?(Read Genesis 2:16-17.)

a. Is Satan trying to make God appear to be too strict?

B. Read Genesis 3:2-3. Did Eve correctly state the requirements of God? (Genesis 2:17 only mentions eating, not touching. However, not touching it would be consistent with the idea to steer clear of this fruit.)

C. Read Genesis 3:4-5. How much of what Satan said was true?

1. Contemplate these verses. What was the temptation for Eve? What was Satan's "pitch?"(An appeal to become "like God." God could not be trusted. Eve, by eating, would become like God so that she could make her own decisions about life.)

D. Read Genesis 3:6. According to this verse, why did Eve eat the fruit? (It was good for the body, pleasing to the eye and great for the mind.)

1. Is there any implication that Eve held the fruit before she ate it? If so, did the fact that she was able to touch the fruit without suffering harm (see Genesis 3:3) embolden Eve to disobey God by eating? (She must have held it. Verse 6 tells us that she "took some" fruit. Thus, it appears that when she touched the fruit and felt no harm she believed that God was also wrong about the harm in eating.)

a. What is the impact of being too strict with our children? If we command them to refrain from doing harmless things which God allows, can we embolden them to do real evil?

E. Genesis 3:6 makes the startling point that Adam "was with her." Has he been with her the entire time? Is he just being left out of the conversation? ( Matthew Henry's Commentary suggests that Adam was not with Eve at the time of the temptation. Instead, he arrived after she had eaten. Paul's commentary in 1 Timothy 2:14 makes it nearly impossible to believe that Adam was standing by the entire time.)

III. Beginning of Marriage Problems

A. Read Genesis 3:7. Remember when we read Genesis 2:25, where it says they were naked and felt no shame, I asked you what point was being made? What point is being made now? (The perfect, innocent relationship between Adam and Eve has ended. They are now embarrassed to be seen together.)

B. Read Genesis 3:8-12. What further deterioration is there in the marriage relationship? (Adam is blaming Eve(and God!))

C. Read Genesis 3:13. Who did Eve blame?

IV. Punishment

A. Let's skip down and read Genesis 3:16. What punishment (besides death)does God impose on Eve? (Suffer pain when bearing children, desire will be for husband, husband will rule over her.)

1. Is desiring your husband a punishment? (This must mean that no longer were the two on an equal footing. She now had some sort of an emotional need for him that he did not have for her.)

2. Consider the punishment for a minute. What is odd (or unique) about Eve's punishment? (It is all centered on the marital relationship. Becoming "one flesh" now brings pain. Instead of being Adam's equal, she desires him and is ruled by him.)

B. Read Genesis 3:17-19. Why does God start the punishment for Adam by saying "Because you listened to your wife?" Why not start instead with "Because you disobeyed me...?"

1. Should men take from this a warning against listening to their wives? (It is a warning against listening to your spouse as opposed to listening to God when the two conflict. I remember one Godly leader who I was convinced was getting ungodly advice from his wife. He would say to me, "I've learned it is good to listen to my wife.")

2. What is Adam's punishment?

3. How are the punishments of Adam and Eve similar? (They will both have to struggle to maintain life. He will have to struggle to produce food. She will have to struggle to produce children.)

a. How many of the disputes in modern marriage center on these subjects?

V. Redemption

A. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. Has Jesus wiped away the punishment of Adam and Eve?

B. Read John 6:48-51. How did the coming of Jesus directly respond to the sin of Adam and Eve? (They lost life when they sinned. Their punishment reminded them of the precious nature of life. Maintaining life was not easy. Jesus tells us that He came to give us "living bread" so that we can have life again.)

C. Read Galatians 3:13. According to this text, has Jesus accepted the punishment given to Adam and Eve?

D. Read Revelation 22:1-3. When is the curse finally removed? When do we receive life in its fullness without having to struggle to maintain it?

E. Adam and Eve sinned. Eve led Adam into sin (although, it was his choice) and God said that thereafter, as punishment, man would play the dominant role in marriage. Has Jesus fully removed this punishment? (No - at least not right now. We still live daily with the effects of sin. We still struggle with life. Jesus has taken the curse, He has given us eternal life, and He is working to move us back to the ideal of the Eden relationship. That is why Jesus pointed to Eden as the model for marriage (Matthew 19:4). This is the ideal to which we should work.)

F. Friend, how is your marriage? Are you closer to Eden or closer to the punishment model? By God's grace, determine to move towards Eden.

VI. Next: Living With Lambs.

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The Restorer

Genesis 3, Romans 4-6

Holy Spirit

Introduction:

Humans fell into sin, but it was not like accidentally tripping on a root and falling. Adam and Eve made some important choices in their "adventure" into sin. Thankfully, our God did not, in disgust, abandon us. Instead, His desire then and His desire now is to bring us out of sin. This study is about how we got into sin and what the Holy Spirit is doing to help us out of sin and to help us prepare for eternal life.

I. Sin

A. Read Genesis 3:1. The text tells us that the snake was the smartest animal around. This obviously was a very smart snake to be talking. Is this just a snake? (No. Read Revelation 20:2. This is Satan taking the form of a snake.)

• It seems that Eve should have run away from a talking snake. Why do you guess she did not? (First we are told that snakes were very smart - thus, she might have thought this was unusual, but not impossible. Sort of like you finding a talking dolphin. Second, humans had dominion over all of the animals (Genesis 1:28), thus Eve was "in charge" of this snake and she might have felt confident for that reason.)

B. Read Genesis 3:2-5. What attitude does the snake suggest towards God? (God cannot be trusted. He is trying to take advantage of Eve. He wants to keep Eve in the dark. God does not want Eve to be equal to Him.)

1. What tools did Eve have to resist this temptation? (She had been around God enough for her to be able to trust God.)

2. What tools was Eve missing to resist this temptation? (Eve did not know what God knew. She could not be certain that Satan had his facts wrong. Perhaps this was a special tree with special powers introduced by a special snake with special powers.)

3. How does Eve's temptation compare to most of your temptations? (In most of our temptations we have a pretty good idea of whether Satan has his facts wrong. We have seen the results of sin. Likely, we have seen the results of the very sin into which Satan is currently tempting us.)

a. How are your temptations like Eve's temptation? (Satan was asking Eve to do two things. First, not trust God. Second, to exercise her own judgment over the specific command of God.)

b. How common a temptation is it to trust our own judgment instead of God's judgment? (Any time that we say we will disregard the Bible because we know better or because we are more sophisticated, we are trusting our wisdom and judgment over the command of God.)

• Keep in mind this one truth: The entire world system today is built around the very same satanic persuasion – all cloaked in a desire to be "Politically Correct" (PC).

II. Anti-sin

A. Read Romans 4:1-3. What is the "anti-sin?" (Abraham "believed God." Faith in God's word. Faith in God. This was counted as righteousness in Abraham.)

B. Let's read a little bit of the background for this. Read Genesis 15:2-6. Compare for a moment Eve's situation with that of Abraham? (They both had a desire for something they did not presently have. One believed God and the other did not.)

1. How believable was God in each situation?

2. On what could Eve base her faith?

3. On what could Abraham base his faith?

4. What contrary evidence did each have?

5. Is your situation more like Abraham's or more like Eve's?

C. Let's continue with Romans 4. Read Romans 4:4-5. Who does God justify? The jobless wicked who trust Him?

D. There is a common saying: "God saves you from your sins, not in your sins." How does that compare with what we just read in Romans 4:4-5?

1. Read Romans 4:6-8. How does this little saying compare with what David says?

2. Does David talk about our sins being "covered" (as opposed to eliminated) because he is an "obvious sinner?" (Obvious sinners should more clearly recognize what God has done for them.)

E. Read Romans 6:1. What does this question suggest about the logical answer to whether the wicked are saved by faith? (This question makes it that much clearer - the obvious conclusion is that sinners are saved by faith. They are saved "in" their sins. The logical extension of this is "Let's keep sinning so that God's grace can cover more of our sins.")

1. What is God's will about us and sin? (Read Romans 6:2-4. (Grace saves sinners in their sin. But, God tells us that just as Jesus was raised to new life, so we need to die to our sins and "live a new life.")

2. Read Romans 6:15-18. What do you think about the words, "you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted?" What does this mean? (These people worked with all their heart to obey God.)

a. How would those words apply to the reaction of Eve and Abraham that we studied above?

b. How would those words fit Romans 4:5 "the man who does not work but trusts God [is righteous]?" (Works are disconnected from salvation. But, when we choose God and choose grace we choose obedience.)

c. How would those words now apply to the phrase "you have been saved from your sins, not in your sins?" (God saves sinners. But, God's goal is for us to get out of sin and leave our sins behind.)

III. Holy Spirit and Faith

A. Read Romans 5:1-2. On what basis do we have access to peace and grace? (Faith in Jesus.)

• Earlier we saw that "Satan was asking Eve to do two things. First, not trust God. Second, to exercise her own judgment over the specific command of God." Is this still Satan's approach to us even today? (Yes. This is why faith, trusting in Jesus, is so very important.)

B. Let's skip down and read Romans 5:18-19. What did you do to be stuck with the sins of Eve and Adam?

• What did you do to merit the obedience of Jesus? (This is an excellent way for us to look at how our "works" save us. We had as much to do with Adam and Eve's sin as we had to do with Jesus' victory over sin. We cannot claim credit.)

C. Read Romans 5:1-5. I wanted us to read verses one and two again so that we could see how they all work together. What does verse 2 say is the basis for our rejoicing? (Hope in the glory of God.)

1. How do we get to hope? (Here is a tip-off that the life of the Christian will not always be easy. Hope is the result of a series of transformations which begin with suffering!)

2. How much of a role do you think our sinful nature plays in our sufferings? (In Romans 7 Paul talks about his personal struggle with sin. I believe that this "suffering" includes our battle against sin. We do not like the fact that we still have a sin problem, but we can have peace about it because we will be able to see the transformation from perseverance, to character development, to hope for a better future.)

3. What role does the Holy Spirit play in this series of transformations? (The Holy Spirit pours God's love into our heart - thus giving substance to our hope.)

4. Read Romans 5:6-8. We just said that in the battle against sin, the Holy Spirit pours God's love into our hearts. What does that mean, as a practical matter? How do these verses explain this? (God's greatest love for us was shown in Jesus' crucifixion for our sins. He died for you. The work of the Holy Spirit is to remind us that Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins. That we are saved by faith, not any works of our own. This knowledge of what Jesus has lovingly done on our behalf to defeat sin and death causes us to want to choose and trust Him over sin. In addition, the Holy Spirit pours love into our hearts to help us to fulfill our hope of walking more closely with God. To help us more fully reflect God's character.)

5. Read 2 Peter 1:2-4. What does the power of the Holy Spirit help us to do? ("Escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.")

6. Will you trust Jesus and choose Him today?

IV. Next: The Sin Against the Holy Spirit.

Series on The Holy Spirit

• I. The Personality and Divinity of the Holy Spirit
• II. The Holy Spirit is Symbolized in Scripture
• III. Jesus and the Holy Spirit
• IV. The Promise of the Holy Spirit
• V. The Promise Fulfilled
• VI. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
• VII. Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• VIII. The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
• IX. The Christian Guide
• X. Life Through the Holy Spirit
• XI. The Restorer
• XII. The Sin Against the Holy Spirit.
• XIII. The Holy Spirit in the Last Days.