Written by Steven Barto, B.S., Psych.
I had a tough time picking a title for this post. Although I am presenting an account of the first deception in the Bible, there is also an amazing correlation between the punishment God administered for that deception—which is also the first sin—and the torture and torment suffered by Christ on the cross. A lot of deception occurs in Genesis. The Latin root for the word “deception” is decipere, which means to “ensnare.” Accordingly, this indicates man’s tendency to be caught up or carried away.
Deception can be found from Genesis to Revelation. Abraham deceived when he stated that Sarah was his sister. Isaac also stated that his wife was a sibling. Joseph’s brothers informed their father that Joseph had been killed by wild beasts when, in fact, they had thrown him into a pit and left him. Delilah deceived Samson. Herod deceived his men when he asked them to locate the baby Jesus so he might go worship him when he intended to kill him. Paul noted in Romans 3:13 that a man’s tongue practices deceit. The prophet Jeremiah said the heart is “deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9, NIV). Second Timothy 3:13 tells us that evildoers and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
How It All Started
Satan beset our first parents, Adam and Eve, drawing them into sin. The temptation proved fatal for them and for the unregenerate man. The tempter was Satan, in the form of a serpent, who slithered in and accosted Eve while she walking near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil alone. This was intentional, as temptation is difficult to resist when we’re faced with it unaccompanied. Satan’s plan was to drive a wedge between our first parents and God. Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might draw Adam into disobedience. Simply, it is the devil’s practice to send temptation through people we do not suspect and that have the most influence over us.
We know Satan is a liar and a murderer and a scoffer from the beginning (John 8:43-45). He likes to teach men first to doubt, and then to deny. This leaves us rather vulnerable to practice sin. He promises advantages from our disobedience while downplaying the punishment. In fact, he tempts us to seek elevation to a new office or authority—to be like gods. He tempted Adam and Eve with the same desire so he might ruin them as he’d been ruined. Satan ruined himself by seeking to be like God; therefore, he sought to infect our first parents with the desire to know as God knows. He continues today to bring as many of us he can along with him in his eventual doom into the pit of Hell. Simply put, misery loves company.
The Steps of Transgression
Let’s look at the steps of transgression when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. You should note this was a trending down toward the pit, not up toward heaven and eternal fellowship with God.
- Eve first saw. Much of our sin comes in through the eyes. We need to avoid focusing on or gazing at that which we are in danger of lusting after (see Matthew 5:28).
- Eve then took. It is one thing to look, but once we reach out and take that which we’ve lusted after we have reached a decision that is quite difficult to undo. Satan can tempt us, but he has no power to force us to sin, whether believer or unbeliever.
- Eve did eat. When she looked, perhaps she did not intend to take; or when she took, not to eat, but it ended with that. It is wise to stop the first motions of sin and to turn away before it’s too late and we end up in full-blown disobedience.
- Eve gave it also to her husband. Those that have done wrong are often willing to draw others in with them to do the same. This is quite prevalent in active addiction where relapse often breeds company.
- Adam did eat. In neglecting the Tree of Life, of which he was allowed to eat, he ate from the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam chose contempt for God, disobeying God and attempting to have that which God did not see fit to provide for him. Adam chose being like God rather than enjoying fellowship with God. He would have what he wanted when he wanted it rather than wait on God.
Adam’s sin was disobedience. Romans 5:19 says, “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (NIV). Interestingly, Adam had no sin nature within him in the Garden, but he had a free will. Falling to temptation, he withdrew from posterity and paradise into sin and ruin. It was too late when Adam and Eve realized the error of disobeying God. They saw the happiness and joy from which they fell, and the misery they would now experience. They realized that a loving God had provided them with everything they needed through grace and favor. That was all gone now. The contrast must have been overwhelming!
God’s Reaction to the Disobedience of Adam and Eve
In Genesis 3:8-10, we learn that Adam and Eve attempted to hide from God. This is the first incident of loss of fellowship with the Father due to unholiness. God cried out, “Where are you?” (verse 8). I truly believe this was not a question of location. God knew where they were. He is, after all, omniscient. Instead, I believe He meant for Adam and Eve to examine that they were now in a bad place, hiding and afraid to approach God as He was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day. Is this not the first examination of one’s “position” in God as a result of practicing sin?
Where were they? In the midst of broken fellowship with God. Indeed, they were now in bondage to Satan and on the road to certain ruin. They would have wandered endlessly without end, cut of from the sunlight of the Spirit, lost forever, had the good Shepherd not sought them. God always leaves the flock to look for the lost sheep. Bethel Music has produced an amazing song titled Reckless Love. The chorus includes the following lines:
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights til I’m found, leaves the 99
The message of Genesis 3:8-10 is that as sinners we must consider where we are versus where God intends us to be, and to realize that no matter what we do we will not be content until we return to God. However, like Adam, we have reason to fear God when we’ve been disobedient. This is true for two basic reasons: (i) we are ashamed for our offense; and (ii) we are fearful of the punishment or correction. Fortunately, as believers we are saints, covered in the righteousness of Christ. Adam and Eve lacked such a covering when they fell from grace and were expelled from the Garden.
Although God did not leave Adam and Eve without a “covering,” when He made clothing He made it warm and strong—in other words, adequate—but he did not clothe them in long flowing robes of scarlet. Instead, he made coats of animal skin. This clothing was coarse and very plain. It is fascinating to recognize the foreshadowing of such a “covering” for our unrighteousness. When God killed an animal to fabricate clothing for Adam and Eve, blood was spilled. There is, therefore, no covering for sin without the shedding of blood. Let’s look at the clothing Adam and Eve attempted to make for themselves. They concocted a “garment” from fig leaves, but it was too narrow to hide their nakedness. This is like the “rags” of our own righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 tells us, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away” (NIV). God made an adequate covering for Adam and Eve that serves as a precursor to our putting on the righteousness of Christ!
So God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden. He said they could “no longer occupy” the space they were in. This is because they were now unclean, mired by the sin of disobedience. Unrighteous at best. Doomed to toil and suffer and die at worst. God knew they’d be unwilling to leave this garden paradise, so He had to chase them out and placed cherubim as guards to the entrance. Why? Because Adam and Eve were no longer eligible to eat from the Tree of Life. That’s pretty heavy. Oh, but it gets heavier. God essentially banned all of mankind from entering the Garden of Eden. Man had fallen from grace. But here’s what this amazing grace looks like. Adam and Eve were not killed for their disobedience. Instead, they were sentenced to live under harsh conditions, to a place of toil, not to a place of torment.
A Ripple Effect
Unfortunately, the place where the Tree of Life was situated was now closed to all mankind. Adam and Eve had been shut out from the privileges of their state of innocence, yet they were not left in a place of despair with no way out. God had planned (since before the foundation of the universe) for a method of achieving salvation. It would, of course, involve the shedding of blood at Calvary. In the meantime, our first parents fell under a covenant of works. The original covenant had been broken by sin. The curse for disobedience was in full force. Man is without hope if he is judged by the Adamic Covenant, for we simply cannot obey the Law to the letter. God showed this to Adam and Eve not to discourage them or drive them into despair, but to quicken them to look for life and happiness and peace through the Promised Seed, by whom a new and everlasting covenant—an unconditional covenant wherein salvation need not be earned through works—would open the door to a better way into the holy presence of God.
We can learn from this first incident of deception and disobedience what dishonor and trouble sin will bring into our lives. It brings mischief wherever it goes, destroying our joy and comfort. Eventually, especially with habitual sin, we will feel shame and regret. This can cause us to end up forgetting our role and begin to experience contempt for God, as if God tempts man. James 1:13 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone” (NIV). Verse 14 reminds us that we are tempted when we’re dragged away from God and enticed by our own evil desires.
Not surprisingly, when we commit deception we are more concerned with getting caught by our fellow man, and care to restore our “reputation” in this life rather than desiring to be forgiven and pardoned by God. We forget to fear the Lord. Much of our striving to cover our sins and offenses is in vain and typically frivolous. This is akin to Adam and Eve attempting to cover their nakedness (indeed, the fallout of their disobedience was shame) with fig leaves. Similarly, we all try to cover up our misdeeds and transgressions as Adam and Eve did in the Garden. Before they sinned, they would have welcomed God’s presence and would not have felt embarrassed to be naked before Him. No doubt, having fallen, they became terrified and ashamed. This is not what the serpent promised. He said they’d be like God, knowing what He knows.
Correlation Between the Wages of Sin in Genesis and the Crucifixion
We know that God passed sentence on Adam and Eve. What we tend to forget—and what today’s New Atheists don’t understand—is that when the First Adam sinned he passed on his fallen sin nature to all future generations. This may or may not sound fair to you, but God’s righteous judgment is just. For example, our willful disobedience and deceitfulness deserves the punishment that Christ accepted on our behalf at Calvary.
The devil’s instruments of deception and temptation are cunning at the very least, and are deserving of the punishment God has planned for him. Under the cover of the serpent (in the Garden), Satan is sentenced to be degraded and accursed of God; detested and abhorred of all mankind. He is to be destroyed and ruined at last by our Great Redeemer, signified by the breaking of his head. War is declared between the Seed of the woman (Jesus Christ) and the seed of the serpent. God gives a foreshadow of the promise of a Savior who will suffer in our stead. What is most amazing is that no sooner had man fallen than the timely remedy was provided and revealed. Ephesians 1:4 says, “He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ” (MSG).
Jesus, by His death and suffering, answered the sentence passed on our First Parents. Did travailing pains come with sin? We read of the travail of Christ’s soul (Isaiah 53:11) and the excruciating pain He endured on the cross. Did subjection come in with sin? Christ was made subject to the Law (Galatians 4:4). Did the curse come in with sin? Christ was made a curse for us. Galatians 3:13 tells us, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree)” (NKJV). Did thorns come in with sin? Christ was crowned with thorns for us. Did sweat come in with sin? He sweat blood for us to the point that He exuded great drops of blood. Did sorrow come in with sin? He was a man of sorrows; His soul was, in His agony, exceeding sorrowful. Did death come in with sin? He became obedient unto death.
Reconciliation
We are told in 1 Peter 1:19-21, “…but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot… He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God” (NKJV) [emphasis mine]. In the beginning was the Word, through whom God created the world and everything in it. We’re told that without Him nothing was made that has been made: (see John 1:1-3). Colossians 1:16 tells us, “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (NIV). Jesus is the path by which fallen Creation could be reconciled with God.
The apostle Paul teaches about reconciliation, and describes examples that include siblings, litigants, lost sheep, the prodigal to his father, and man to God. Indeed, reconciliation is exemplified in Jesus’ attitude toward sinners—the truth in Athanasius’s belief that incarnation is reconciliation. He butted heads with Arius, the father of Arianism. This heretical view held that Jesus was begotten by God at a specific point in time, distinct from and not an equal of God. Arius said, “There was a time when the Son was not.” Accordingly, this blasphemy teaches that the Holy Spirit and Jesus did not always exist.
Reconciliation is certainly the central theme in Christianity. It means that God made Christ to be sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (NIV). We are in desperate need for this reconciliation as we have been alienated from God through sin. It is when our estrangement leads us to hit our knees in prayer that we begin to build a bridge back to God. This not only includes reconciliation to God, it also involves reconciliation of man to one another and to life itself. I believe this is the very foundation of restoration.
The New Testament teaches that we are reconciled through “the death of the son,” “through the cross,” “by the shed blood of Jesus Christ,” and “through Christ made to be sin” as our substitute. He was the very propitiation for our sins. It is fascinating to note that in Romans 3:25 the Greek word for propitiation is hilasterion, which refers specifically to the lid on the Ark of the Covenant. The phrase means that Christ took upon Himself the punishment we should have. This is the great work that took place on Calvary so that we might regain fellowship with God. It is important to note that there was truly no other way back to God. This was and is our only hope.
Christianity declares that God reconciled mankind to Himself through Christ. Paul wants us to realize that this action is an established fact. Romans 5:11 says, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation” (RSV). Eugene Peterson’s translation The Message//Remix: The Bible in Contemporary Language states the following: “Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life” (vv. 9-10).
Indeed, this amounts to coming full-circle. Adam and Eve sinned and were in need of a “covering” for their sin because of shame and guilt. They tried to hide from God, perhaps hoping He wouldn’t “find” them. Their greatest fear was his wrath. I don’t believe they anticipated that such an “innocent” act of curiosity would lead to being cut off by God and expelled from the Garden of Eden. However, I am not sure whether being armed with such knowledge would have made a difference. They were enticed by the beguiling of the serpent, through his deception and trickery, to disobey God, saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:3-4, NKJV). This sounded good to Eve. After all, would it not be prudent to have an eye for the difference between what is good and what is evil? Where’s the harm in that?
The consequences of that self-delusion and abject disobedience set the stage for the entire Creation to go off track. Nothing is as God intended it to be. Thanks to God we have been given the means to patch things up with the Father and be reunited with Him in fellowship. Indeed, we now have the means to participate with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit in the redemption and restoration of all of God’s glorious Creation.
References
Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver, Ran Jackson. (2017). Reckless Love [recorded by Bethel Music]. On Reckless Love [CD recording]. Los Angeles, CA: Bethel Music.
Peterson, E. (2009). The Message//Remix: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CA: NavPress.
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