The Fall of Man - Genesis Part 7

You know, if I were to ask you what was the single most significant event in all of human history, I wonder what you might answer. You know, I think some people would say, well, I think it's Einstein proving that E equals MC squared. Or maybe some others would say, no, I think it was the discovery of penicillin in antibiotics. Or maybe other people would say, no, it was the invention of the wheel or the car or the microchip, you know, or the airplane. And certainly all of these things have influenced our world in a mighty way. But to find the single most significant event in all of human history, I would like to suggest to you that we need to go to the Bible.

And we need to turn back to the beginning of the Bible, Genesis chapter 3, and we need to look at the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. And that's what we're going to do today. And then we're going to bring all that forward and talk about, well, what difference does that make to you and to me? And I have got just a ton of biblical truth to share with you. So we don't have any time to waste. Let's get going.

You know, a little review. In the beginning of Genesis chapter 3 we saw that God had put Adam and Eve in a literal paradise called the Garden of Eden. And that He had given them everything in the world except one tree in the middle of the garden. And then Satan came along disguised as a snake and convinced them to eat from this tree thereby polluting Adam and Eve and you and me and every other member of the human race with both physical and spiritual death. Romans chapter 5 verse 12, Therefore the Bible says, As by one man sin entered the world.

What one man was that? Adam, yeah, and death through sin. Where do we find that out in the Bible? Well, Genesis chapter 3, of course. So death passed on to what's the next word? Say it out loud.

All men and women. Now if you missed any of that, I urge you to get the CD from the bookstore and catch up with us or go online and download or podcast the messages. But we're going to move on now to the end of Genesis chapter 3, the second half of the chapter. And you know, if this one penalty, spiritual and physical death had been the only penalty for what Adam and Eve had done, it would have been bad enough. But we find now in the second half of this chapter that there were lots more consequences to come.

And this is what we want to talk about today. First, we find that God pronounced additional consequences on the snake and on the real culprit behind the snake, that is Satan. Look, Genesis chapter 3 verse 14, So the Lord God said to the snake, Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all the cattle and beasts of the field, on your belly you shall crawl, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. God held the snake accountable for allowing itself to be used by Satan. And God curses the snake above all other animals on the face of the earth and condemns it to crawling on its belly all the days of its life. Now in light of this, many biblical commentators have suggested that perhaps in the Garden of Eden, the snake actually had legs before God cursed the snake. And what's interesting is that many evolutionary biologists agree with this, that is, that snakes once had legs. I'm quoting now from an article from USA Today, February 2004 entitled, Study, colon, snakes didn't slither in from the sea. And I quote, Scientists, the article says, who analyzed genes from all living families of lizards, have concluded that the earth's first snakes lived on land, not in the ocean, and evolved into limbless creatures, losing their legs as they adapted to a burrowing lifestyle. End of quote.

Very interesting, yeah. Hey, how great is it to see biologists finally catching up with the Bible, huh? And so, you know, these evolutionary biologists, they say the reason snakes lost their legs was because of natural selection. The Bible says, oh no, that's not why they lost them. Snakes lost their legs because of sin. And then after that, God moves on next to the real culprit, as we said, Satan, and God said, verse 15, And I will put enmity, hatred, hostility between you, Satan, and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring.

He, notice the switch to singular, he will crush your head, that is, he will deal you a fatal blow, and you will strike his heel, that is, you will deal him a glancing blow. Now this is a critically important verse of Scripture because it tells us so much important stuff about the world we live in. First, it tells us about the entire course of human history, why this world acts the crazy way that it does. The verse tells us that God is going to put enmity, hostility, hatred between the seed, the offspring of the woman, and between Satan's offspring. You say Satan's offspring? I mean, what in the world is that? Are we talking Rosemary's baby here?

I mean, what is going on here? No, the Bible tells us who Satan's offspring are in this context. Jesus said, John 844, when he was talking to the rabbis who were rejecting him and trying to kill him, he said, You are the offspring, look at this, of your father, the devil, and you want to do his deeds.

In other words, Satan's offspring that the Bible is talking about here in Genesis chapter 3 are people down through the ages who follow Satan in his rebellion against God and his disobedience to God. This conflict began with Cain and Abel. It went on with Hezekiah and Sennacherib and Jezebel versus Elijah and Moses versus Yulbrenner and the allies versus Adolf Hitler.

Folks, this thing's been going on since the beginning of human history and it's still going on today. And this explains why people in our world just can't get along and why this world just can't relax and everybody be calm and everybody be happy because there's a curse on this world that says there will be always conflict between the people who love God and want to serve God and those that don't. Now, on top of that, this verse then goes on to tell us something very important about the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see it when in this verse, Genesis 3.15, God switches from plural to singular. I tried to point that out to you.

Let's go back. Genesis 3.15, He, singular, will crush your head, Satan, and you, Satan, will crush His, singular, heel. You will strike His heel. Now, who is this He in Genesis 3.15? Well, the He is the Messiah.

The He is the Lord Jesus Christ. The He is the seed of the woman and we know this from the New Testament. Galatians chapter 3 verse 16 says, The Scripture does not say seeds, plural, meaning many people, but seed, singular, meaning one person who is Christ. Galatians 4 verse 4 in a clear reference back to Genesis 3.15 says, But when the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, look, born of a woman, just like Genesis 3.15 says. Now, did you ever wonder why Genesis 3 didn't say that this person would be the seed of the man and the woman? Or maybe just even the seed of the man. Did you ever wonder why Galatians 4 didn't say that the Messiah was born of a man and a woman?

Well, the reason, my friends, is because here in Genesis 3.15, this is clearly a reference to the virgin birth where no man was involved, only a woman. Comprende? Comprende?

Yeah? Okay. And then this verse goes on to tell us that this person born of the woman, that He would have a battle. He, the Lord Jesus, will have a battle between Himself and Satan personally.

It will be a personal struggle. And in this personal struggle, Satan will inflict a glancing blow against the Messiah at the crucifixion. John chapter 13 verse 27 says at the Last Supper, Then Satan entered into Judas, and Jesus said to Judas, What you do, do quickly. So Judas went out immediately and of course went and got everybody to come arrest Jesus and lead to the crucifixion. But my point here is that the real mover and shaker behind the crucifixion of Jesus was not Judas. And it was not the Romans. And it was not the rabbis. It was Satan himself. Ah, but praise the Lord. Just the way Genesis 3.15 predicts, it was only a glancing blow, the crucifixion. Why? Why?

Well, because Jesus rose from the dead. Hello? It was only a glancing blow. Praise the Lord, right? Can we get an amen and a clap from that?

You bet. However, the Bible says the Lord Jesus Christ, now that He's risen, is going to come back. And when He does, He is going to deliver not a glancing blow, but a fatal blow to Satan. Just like God predicted in Genesis chapter 3 thousands of years ago. Listen, Revelation 20 verse 10, Then the devil who deceived the human race will be thrown.

When does this happen? At the return of Christ will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where He will be tormented day and night forever and ever. I'd call that a pretty fatal blow, wouldn't you? Yes, absolutely. So let's summarize.

Let's summarize. What do we have here in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15? We have the promise of a glorious Savior who will be born by the virgin birth, who will defeat the devil, who will destroy him beyond remedy, and who will deliver mankind from his evil grasp. And this is why Genesis 3 15 is often referred to by theologians as the proto-evangelium, which means in Latin, the first announcement in the Bible of the gospel, the first announcement in the Bible of the Messiah and of His victorious ministry of salvation to the human race. And would you notice it comes right in Genesis 3 in the context of, yes, there are going to be some bad consequences, but don't worry because I've already made a way out for all of you through the Messiah.

I love what one commentator said and I quote. He said, Genesis 3 15 is the message of hope for all mankind. It is God's promise that He will not let the forces of evil and sin prevail over His creation, but that He will deliver mankind from their grip. God punished our first parents for their disobedience, but in His mercy, God mitigated their sentence by promising a Savior who would crush the power of Satan and offer redemption to mankind.

And this Savior, of course, is Jesus Christ. End of quote. Now, you guys okay out there? I mean, we're throwing it all at you. Everybody alright? You ready to go on?

Okay, I feel like Clubber Lang. I got a lot more for you Balboa, a lot more. You all ready for a lot more?

Alright, here we go. Now, after announcing additional consequences on the snake and on Satan, God turns to Eve and announces additional consequences on her. Verse 16, to the woman God said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You shall give birth to children, in pain you shall do that, and your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. God lays two additional consequences on Eve for her disobedience. Number one, pain in childbirth. Number two, spiritual subordination to her husband, Adam. Now, this first consequence, pain in childbirth, I don't really think deserves much comment.

It's pretty obvious what that is. But the second consequence requires a little bit of comment. You know, the clear record of Genesis chapter 3 is that Eve took control of things in the garden and used that control to persuade Adam to eat from the tree. And as a result of this, God places Eve in a position of subordinate spiritual authority to Adam.

Now, feminists recoil at this teaching. But folks, this same teaching is repeated several times in the New Testament, making it a timeless and cultureless principle of the Word of God. For example, 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 14 in the New Testament says, I do not allow a woman to exercise spiritual authority over men for, now look at the reason, all the way back to the garden, watch, for it was not Adam who was deceived, but it was Eve who being quite deceived, first fell into disobedience. Now, I understand that down through the centuries, men have used this verse and others like it to disenfranchise women and to disrespect women and to mistreat women and to abuse women. That is a total distortion of the Word of God. Ephesians 5 makes it clear in the Bible that men are to exercise this authority by loving their wives like they love themselves, by respecting their wives, cherishing their wives.

1 Peter chapter 3 says, by granting honor to our wives and not just our wives, but to all women for a man to treat a woman any other way is sin on his part and disobedience to God. Now, finally, God pronounces additional consequences on Adam for his disobedience. Verse 17, Then to Adam God said, Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it, cursed is the ground because of you. In sorrow you shall eat from it all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat your food until you return to the ground, because from the ground you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. Here in Genesis 3, because of his sin, God curses not only Adam, He curses all of creation. He says, From now on, Adam, the ground is going to fight back. From now on, work is going to be laborious.

From now on, your lot in life is going to be hard, Adam. And when it's all said and done, to dust you shall return, because death is going to be universal now. And the New Testament, once again, reiterates this curse on creation. Romans chapter 8 verse 20 says, For the creation, look at that, for the creation was subjected to futility, to uselessness, to wantonness, watch, not of its own will. The creation didn't want this, but by the will of Him, God, who decided to do this. And when did God decide to do this? Well, right here in Genesis chapter 3.

Yes? Okay. And then after all of this, you know what God does? He throws Adam and Eve out of the garden.

Genesis 3 verse 23, Therefore the Lord God banished them from the garden of Eden, to work the ground from which Adam had been taken. Now, that's the end of our passage. And now it's time for us to ask our most important question. And I know that you walked in here today in withdrawal. I know you walked in here today and as you came through the door you said to yourself, Oh, please Lord, don't let him forget to ask that question.

Right? And all of you at our campuses, I know you walked in the door out there going, Lord Jesus, please don't let him forget to ask that question. Didn't you?

You say, Lon, are you dreaming? Okay, well maybe I am and maybe I'm not. But it doesn't matter because I didn't forget. Hey, praise the Lord, I didn't forget. So are you ready?

You're ready out there at our campuses? I heard that. Okay, come on now. Make it worth it. Here we go.

One, two, three. Wow, doesn't that feel great? It's like coming home after a long trip. You say, Lon, all right, all right, enough of that. So what? You know, as far as I'm concerned, Lon, the curse on the devil, I'm good with that. The curse on the snake, I'm really good with that because I hate those little things. But the curse on creation and the curse on mankind that we've been talking about, you know, that kind of leaves me feeling pretty depressed. Well, I understand, but you know it shouldn't leave you depressed. You say it shouldn't.

Why not? Well, because when we look at it carefully, my friends, is this curse in Genesis 3 is full. It's packed with hope. There's a great current of hope running even through this curse by the mercy of God.

Let me show you. Number one, there's hope as we already said in the proto-evangelium being announced here. That is God's promise that one day the Messiah would come and He would redeem mankind from sin.

Folks, that's already done. That was done at the cross. But then the proto-evangelium goes on to tell us that this same Messiah is going to come back one day and He is going to irreparably and irrecoverably crush Satan and remove his deceiving influence from mankind once and for all. So that's hope. Second of all, there's hope in the fact that immediately, beginning right with Adam and Eve in the garden, God made a way for the spiritual consequences of what they had done to be fixed, a way for their sin to be forgiven, a way for their guilt to be covered, a way for their spiritual death to be removed. And that's what we're going to talk about next week.

So don't miss that. And finally, hope number three comes from the fact that the Bible announces to us that this curse on creation is merely temporary. Let's go back to Romans chapter 8 verse 20. We read part of it.

Here's what we read. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of Him God who decided to do this. But the verse doesn't stop there. It goes on to say, but this was done in hope. You say hope?

What kind of hope? Well, the Bible tells us because the Bible says one day the creation will be liberated from its bondage to decay. In other words, one day the curse is going to be reversed. The curse is going to be removed. And when will this wonderful day be? Well, Romans 8 21 says it will be when we as followers of Jesus Christ come into our glorious freedom as the children of God. And when will that happen? Well, Romans 8 23 says that it will happen when we experience the redemption of our bodies.

And when will that happen? Well, 1 Corinthians 15 52 says that will happen at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when the Lord comes back, the Bible says the curse is going to be removed.

The curse is going to be reversed. And the Bible tells us that when the Lord comes back, creation is going to look very different than it looks right now because of this. For example, Revelation 21 4 says, When the Lord comes back, God shall wipe away every tear from our eyes, and there shall no longer be any death, or mourning, or crying, or pain.

Look, for the old order of things has passed away. Isaiah chapter 2 verse 4 tells us that when the Lord comes back, all of this conflict and all of this hostility among people, while they can't get along, it's all going to be over. There will be universal peace. The verse says they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Hey, when the Lord comes back, the Bible tells us that even carnivorous animals will be different. Isaiah 11 7, The cow will feed with the bear, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the wolf will lie down with the lamb.

You ever watch these nature programs where this lion takes off after this poor little impala and the little thing tries every way it can to get away and the old lion jumps on it, grabs it by the neck, shakes it all around, bangs it on the ground, breaks its neck, and rips it open? Man, it's discouraging. You say, well, I wasn't really discouraged until you talked about it.

Yeah, I know, it's discouraging. But the Bible says that when the Lord comes back, all that's over. None of that kind of stuff is going to happen anymore. The Bible says that when the Lord comes back, creation is going to be so different that even snakes won't be the same. Isaiah 11 8, The infant will play near the hole of the cobra and the young child will put his hand in the viper's nest.

I wouldn't recommend that today. But when the Lord comes back, no one will harm or destroy any longer on my holy mountain. Hey, friends, when the Lord Jesus comes back, there will no longer be any antivenom anywhere in the world. You know why?

Because there will no longer be any venom anywhere in the world. Praise God for that. And listen, Isaiah 11 9 tells us that the whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord just as the waters cover the sea. Hey, when Jesus returns in every school, people will pray to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. And when the Lord returns in every classroom, the Bible will be taught in every classroom in the world. And when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, there will be no religious tolerance in our world because there will be no other religions to tolerate. There will simply be the worldwide worship of the living risen Christ. What a great day that will be, huh? This is why Zechariah 14 9 says in that day.

In what day? Well, in the day when the Lord Jesus returns, the Lord will be king over all the earth. In that day, the Lord shall be one and His name one. The point is that when Jesus comes back, Revelation 22 3, there shall no longer be any.

Say the next word out loud. Curse. There you go. There will no longer be any curse. And so what the Bible is telling us is that everything God laid on creation and on mankind in Genesis 3, God is going to take off creation and off mankind when Jesus returns at His second coming, which is why Titus 2 13 calls the return of Christ the blessed hope of our world. Now you say, well, Lon, I hear everything you've said. But, you know, I really don't see a lot of so what for me personally yet in all of this. I mean, this is all great and, you know, but where is the so what for me personally?

Well, let me give it to you and then we're done. 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 1. Paul writes Timothy and says there will be terrible times in the last days. Verse 13, evil people and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and being themselves deceived. The Bible tells us that as the end of the age approaches, as the second coming of the Lord approaches, Satan's ministry of evil and deception is going to reach a fever pitch here on the earth.

And if we're not already there, in my opinion, we're certainly very close to there. So what do I do? What does Timothy, what does Paul want Timothy to do? What does he want us to do while we're watching the world fall apart around us as Satan's ministry ramps up? Well, look what he said. He goes on to say 2 Timothy 3, 14, but you, Timothy, continue.

Wow, what a great word. Continue, Timothy. So what if the world's falling down all around you?

It doesn't matter. Timothy, you continue. And what is it that Paul wants Timothy to continue in? What is it that the Lord wants you and me to continue in?

I got four to give you. It's real quick and we're done. Number one, while we're waiting for the Lord to come back, you and I need to continue in personal purity. Titus chapter 2 verse 12 says we should say no to ungodliness and we should live sensibly and righteously and godly in this present age while we await the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Moral integrity, sexual purity, honesty in our business dealings, purity of motive, faithfulness to our spouses, faithfulness to our children. These are the things the Bible says we are to continue in while we're awaiting the Lord's coming. Number two, while we're awaiting the Lord's coming, we're to continue, second of all, in laying up treasure in heaven. Matthew 6 19 says do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. And the way we do that is every time we use our time, our energy, our talent, our resources, our training, anything we've got to advance the kingdom of God and to serve Jesus, we are laying up treasure not here on earth but in heaven. And you know I've often thought that the one regret every one of us, all of us are going to have when the Lord comes back is that we're going to have so much treasure laid up here on earth and so little treasure laid up in heaven. Hey, this is our time to lay up more treasure in heaven and to continue doing that. And Paul says to Timothy, do that. Number three, while we're waiting for the Lord, we're to continue in sharing our faith. You know people the Bible says who don't know Christ, when He returns, they're going to go into a very ugly eternity.

This is no joke. And so in the meantime, we need to be out sharing our faith with our friends, our relatives, our co-workers, our neighbors, our fellow students at school so at least they have a fighting chance. This is why Paul said to Timothy, 2 Timothy 4-2, Timothy, preach the word. I don't care if the world falls apart all around you, Timothy.

It doesn't matter. Continue preaching the word. And finally number four, while we're waiting for the Lord to come back, we need to continue doing what's right. Jesus said, Luke 12-2, when I return, He said, there's nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. In fact, He says in the very next verse, what you have whispered in the silent rooms will be shouted from the rooftops. Now that's a really bad verse for Washington, D.C. You understand what I'm saying to you?

Bad verse. All these people who think they've gotten away with stuff, you know, the little whispering in the back rooms and the little under the table stuff and all this stuff that happens that drives us crazy because we're like, where is full disclosure? I mean, where do we get the truth? Does anybody tell the truth anymore? Friends, relax.

Relax. God says, you just keep doing good. You just make sure the angels don't get up on the rooftop and shout anything about you. But all these people who think they've gotten away with it, friend, they're not getting away with it. The living Christ is coming back to establish perfect justice here on this earth and every secret thing is coming out in the open. We'll know who killed John F. Kennedy. We'll know what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, if you really care. And whatever else has gone on that you feel like somebody did something dirty to you in secret, don't worry about it.

Nobody's getting away with that. You just keep doing right. And Jesus will take care of the rest when He comes back. Amen?

Amen. Alright, so let's summarize. Conclude.

We're done. As we await the end of the age, as we await the Lord Jesus Christ's return, there are three things we must know. Number one, we must know why the world is acting in the crazy way that it's acting. And friends, Genesis 3 15 told us today why it's acting that way.

I will put enmity, hostility between the followers of Christ and Satan's followers. And number two, we need to know, second of all, if there's any hope as we watch the world melt down all around us. And here in Genesis chapter 3, we've learned today that the future is brimming over with hope. And that all of that hope is centered around the glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to me, friends. Biblical truth always brings hope.

Always. And finally, number three, we need to know what God wants us as followers of Christ to do while we're waiting for the Lord to come back. And let's review. Number one, we're to continue in personal purity. Number two, we're to continue laying up treasure in heaven. Number three, we're to continue sharing our faith. And number four, we're to continue doing what's right before Christ. Hey, that's a simple job description. And I'm glad the Lord's made it clear to me what I got to do. That's my job description.

And with His help, that's what we're out to do. Okay, now, that's about as much as you can get into a half hour, I think, right? Yes? Okay. So, you guys all right? Everybody okay? All right.

If not, we have oxygen tanks out in the foyer for you if you need them. But this is what it's all about. You come here, we're going to teach you the Bible.

Yeah? That's why you come and that's what we're going to do. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thanks so much for talking to us today. We need to know as we watch our world melt down all around us that there really is hope. And Father, thanks for telling us today why the world is acting the way it is and where the hope can be found. So for those of us who are followers of Christ, lift our spirits today, Lord. Get our focus off of this crazy self-destructive world and get our eyes onto the Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious return. And in the meantime, help us to know exactly what you want us to do and with the power of the Holy Spirit to do it with all of our heart. Lord, we thank You that biblical truth always produces hope. So thanks for producing hope in us today through Your Word. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. And what do God's people say? Amen. Amen.