We are back in the Garden of Eden this week to get a fuller
view of a key lesson for every Christian.
For centuries men and women have come to this garden and debated over
the fruit. Was it an apple or a
banana? Was the fruit just a figure of
speech or a sweet reality? What’s more,
why would God place this one tree at the center of the garden, with fruit
that’s “beautiful to the eye”, and promptly restrict its consumption?
For years I’ve heard about a test of love. “If man was created in the image of God with
free will,” the argument goes, “then the exercise of obedience to the divine
command would show man’s love and respect for God.” In other words, it was a test of the depth of
man’s love. Perhaps, but there’s much
more here than that!
By this time in our series we have traveled quite a distance
down the path of divine revelation.
While some may debate timelines or creation theories, what we have
endeavored to do is examine the broad strokes of divine revelation – seeing
how, in fact, the “war” between Satan and God commenced. Indeed, by the time we come to Genesis 3,
Lucifer has been cast from the presence of God to the territory of his dominion
that had become a wreck and a ruin through divine fiat. It was all darkness and formlessness until the
Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – remade what was lost. In those six days of creation God brings
light out of darkness and His image bearers out of the dust.
One of the results of His work is the incitement of Satan’s
jealousy and disdain. When Satan sees
what God has done he determines to attack.
His hatred is toward his enemy, the Most High God, and his target is
this new rival creature – man. Think of
it. When God places man, male and
female, in the garden He extends to them the same responsibility Lucifer once
enjoyed. He gives them dominion and, as
we see in our text, Satan cannot abide by it.
Now, rather than analyze the kind of fruit tree God
restricted in Eden, or the depth of Adam’s love for his Creator, we will
instead turn to some more important lessons found in the garden; lessons that
have a direct impact on you and your walk of faith. Remember, we are seeking to establish a
biblical context for the spiritual warfare in which each of us is now engaged.
Spurgeon once said, “Unbelief is a weed, the seeds of which
we can never entirely extract from the soil, but we must aim at its root with
zeal and perseverance. Among hateful
things it is the most to be abhorred.”
Indeed, it is so egregious that when it is in full fruit, Jesus speaks
of it as the unpardonable sin. You know
its origin? Genesis 3.
Here in the Garden of Eden Satan attacks his rival by sowing
seeds of doubt and unbelief in the mind of man.
He does it through a question and a declaration, both of which are
intended to elicit doubt. It’s a
two-headed doubt that remains alive and well today. The first head is to doubt the character of
God, i.e. “How could a good God restrict such fruit?” Satan still sows it! The second head is to doubt the “badness” of
man. Is there any question that doubt is
alive and well today? Think of it. God’s not good and man’s not bad. That’s Satan’s agenda and it’s the prevailing
view today, sometimes even in the church.
We look at the foundations of this satanic perspective this Sunday in a
message entitled, “Lessons of the Garden.”
Our primary text is Genesis 3:14-24, but we will also read Matthew
13:1-9; 18-23 and note its relevance. In
preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:
1. What
was the Synod of Dort?
2. How
did the declaration of the church of Holland relate to the truth of Genesis 3?
3. When
man fell into sin how far do you think he fell?
Is there any evidence from Scripture?
4. What
does it mean when someone says, “If you get the fall of man wrong, you get the
Gospel wrong?”
5. Why
does God place the restricted tree in the garden?
6. What
is man’s immediate response to their disobedience? Is it still true?
7. How
is Satan’s question in Genesis 1(b) a frontal attack on Christ?
8. How
does his question cast doubt on the goodness of God?
9. How
does his declaration cast doubt on the evil of disobedience?
10. How do
God’s judgment of man and His gift of garments shed light on our salvation?
