The
Beginning of Death
2-22-15
Genesis 3:6-7
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. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
The serpent initiated, but now he is letting Eve’s natural desires (flesh)
rationalize the facts to justify eating the forbidden fruit. Gen
3:6, 1 John 2:15-17, Mt 4:1-11
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,
1 John 2:16-17
For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires
of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the
world.
Matthew 4:3, 6, 8-9
3 "If you are the Son of
God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
6 Then the devil took Him to the
holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to Him, "If
You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down,
8-9 Again, the devil took Him to
a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their
glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these I will give You, if You will fall
down and worship me.
Human Need Genesis 3:6 1 Jn 2:15-17 Matthew
4:1-11
Physical Good for food lust of the flesh stones into bread
Emotional Delight to
eyes lust of the eyes all worldly kingdoms
Intellectual Make one
wise Pride of life jump off pinnacle
· Physical
desire: good for food...It
meets a legitimate need: food, sex, comfort.
· Emotional
desire: delight to eyes, “It
looks good from your perspective.”
o Not
necessarily hungry, but seeing something heightens imagination & appetite
for something
· Intellectual
desire: Thinking it will make one
wise, “It will make me better.”
o Satan was
trying to convince Jesus to jump. There would be no physical damage and it
would confirm that He was divine & would gain popular appeal.
§ Wisdom is
not gained by disobeying God, but by fearing & obeying Him.
o True
freedom is not doing whatever we want to do, but rather pursuing holiness.
- Christians now have the freedom to do will of God not their own will.
· Freedom
for responsibility not from responsibility.
A chain reaction has begun: went from thinking (mind) to feeling (emotions),
which then overpowered the will & produced behavior.
· One sin
leads to another… taking us lower & lower.
o The “helper”
became an instrument of her partner’s disaster & death
· Adam
joined willfully in sin for reasons not known.
o Maybe it
was peer pressure & MAYBE he assumed there would be no consequences because Eve did not die!
§ He wrongly
interpreted God’s merciful delay as NO judgment.
· But spiritual,
physical & eternal death occurred at that moment. 2 Thes. 1:8b-9, Rom 5:12
2 Thessalonians
1:8b-9
those who do not know God
and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His
might,
Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin came
into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to
all men because all sinned
“She
took & ate: so simple the act, so hard its undoing.” Derek Kidner
Sin has consequences as well as punishment.
· Their eyes
were opened in horrifying way: not to satisfaction, happiness, and god-like qualities;
but to guilt, shame, fear, isolation & alienation from God & other
humans
·
Sin did not provide more
to enjoy, but spoiled the open relationship they had enjoyed.
o
A part of body and source
of joy/life became source of guilt & shame.
o
They were naked but concerned
with each other. Now they are self-consciousness. Genesis 3:7 Then
the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they
sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
When they sinned their conscience was activated….an alarm went off!
· They attempted
to alleviate the problem themselves rather than going to God.
o Guilt
leads them into an attempt to self-atone and self-protect: cover
themselves.
§ This is
the attempt @ works righteousness.
· We
“cover” our guilt by attempting to hide who we are from one another.
Afraid people
will see us and think of us as who we really are. So we physically & psychologically project a “new
image” so people think of us more favorably and more holy.
§ This is
the reason we struggle with being honest and open & avoid community & close
relationships.
· The church
must become a safe place to be real.
This act of rebellion against God’s authority plunged humanity into
darkness.
·
There
is Good news: Immediately after Adam sinned God graciously & mercifully sought
the guilty sinners & promised to provide a way to be reconciled (made
friends again) to Him, despite their and our rejection of Him.
- Promise
fulfilled in the second Adam, Jesus Christ. Rom 5:17-19, 1 Cor. 15:47-49
Romans 5:17-19
If, because of one man's trespass, death
reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of
grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus
Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act
of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many
were made sinners, so by the one Man's obedience the many will be made
righteous.
1 Corinthians 15:47-49
The first man was from the earth, a man of
dust; the second Man is from heaven. As
was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the Man
of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear
the image of the Man of heaven.
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