two chapters of Genesis, we have
the count of creation. If you look at the last verse
in chapter one, And God saw everything that he
had made, and behold, it was very good. I tried to imagine this earth
creation, Adam and Eve, without sin. Can you imagine what this
earth was like? What it would look like? What
Adam and Eve would have looked like? I mean, we can't imagine
it because we've never seen it. We've never seen something without
sin. It's not marred, scarred by sin. We've never seen it. I can imagine
that just the radiance that was on their countenance when God
made them perfect, innocent, innocent, no sin. That would have had to have been
something to behold. But we come to chapter 3. We
come to chapter 3. And all that comes to an end.
All the beauty. And look how beautiful this earth
is. With sin. With sin in it. Look how beautiful
it still is. How breathtaking. There are some
sceneries that are just absolutely breathtaking on this earth. And
that's with sin in it. But all that perfection and all
that, very good. Now, for God to say it's very
good, it means it's absolutely perfect. Not a flaw, not a flaw
in it in any way, shape or form. Not a flaw in Adam or Eve. That's just been amazing. But
that all came to an end in chapter three. That serpent, that serpent
was used of Satan. And he came to Eve, and it says
he was more subtle than any beast of the field. Now, I looked that
word subtle up, it means cunning, and it said most of the time
in a bad way. This serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he
said to the woman, Yea, have God said you shall not eat of
every tree of the garden? Before Satan fell, Let's get
this. Satan is a real person. He's
a real being. There is such a real person named
Satan, Lucifer, the devil. That person is very real. At
one time, he was a mighty angel. God created him. Look over in
Isaiah 14. Let's look at this one briefly
who came to Eve. In Isaiah 14, in verse 12, it says, How art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer? That means over in the margin,
if you have a margin, it says, O Daystar, O Daystar. Lucifer, son of the morning,
he was a mighty angel. How art thou cut down to the
ground which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High." I will be like the Most High.
Pride filled his heart. He said, I'm going to be like
God. Not satisfied with what God made him to be. He said,
I'm going to be like God. I'm going to be sovereign. I'm
going to be sovereign. I'm going to rule. I'm going
to reign. I'm going to get the glory that he's getting. I want it. Isn't that what human
nature is all about? Are we not always trying to take
the glory to ourselves? Our Lord said to those Pharisees,
you're of your father the death. You're of your father the devil.
But before he fell, he was a mighty angel. And he comes now to Eve. And he appears to her when she's
alone. He doesn't not come straight
at Adam. He's too subtle for that. He's
not going to take Adam on. No, he's going to go to Eve.
And to get to Adam. This is what he does. I remember so many times growing
up, I went to Mom to get to Dad. How many times I went, Mom, you
have to ask Dad if we can do this. Mom, you... He goes to
Eve to get to Adam. That's what he does. He's very
subtle. He's very subtle. But he comes to her when she's
alone. She's out there in the garden. And she's out there evidently
by that tree. And he gets her attention. And
this is amazing. This to me is, there is so much
we don't know between that perfect creation and after the fall. This serpent speaks audibly to
Eve. And she's not afraid. She's not
startled. She's not saying, wow. They just
have a conversation. Back and forth. To me, now, to
me, that's a, I think what was really lost in the fall is we
can't even comprehend what was really, and all that was lost
in the fall. Here she is speaking to this
serpent and not startled at all. We have no evidence of her being
startled whatsoever or afraid. And she's not afraid of this
serpent. Are you afraid of the serpent? I don't like snakes. If that's what this was, and
I believe that's what it was, it was a serpent. You know, they
could walk up to a lion and pet it? A bear? I mean, they feared
nothing. And none of the animals feared
them. This thing of fear, being afraid, happened after the fall. Before that, they could walk
right up to a lion, a snake, whatever and not leave one bit
of praise. And so he speaks to her. He speaks
to her through this serpent. Remember one time when the Lord
looked at Peter and he said, Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou
savest not the things that be of God, but the things that be
of men. He was speaking through Peter at that one time. Peter
didn't even know it. And here he uses a serpent. And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. You see,
the serpent, first of all, Satan uses the Word of God. He used
what God said. He puts a twist on it, but he
uses, he tries to use the Word of God. And the woman said to
the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.
We can eat of all these trees of the garden, but of the fruit
of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. God has said you
shall not eat of it. And she adds something here that's
not written. Neither shall you touch it lest
you die. God told Adam, don't eat of it. And she adds here, we can't even
touch it. And so Satan, after having this
conversation back and forth with Eve, and he's got her looking
at this tree. She's looking at it. She's talking
to him. I have no doubt he's probably
sitting there or taking a bite of it. Eating it. Right in front
of her. Right in front of her. I have
no doubt he's probably doing that. You're not going to die. Take a bite. You're not going
to die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, You shall not surely die. There in verse 4. You're not
going to die. God's not going to kill you.
God's not going to destroy his creation. And I have no doubt
he's probably taking a bite of that fruit as he's talking to
her. You're not going to die. God's not going to send people
to hell. God wouldn't do that. Oh, how subtle, how subtle he
is. He takes the Word of God and
then he twists it. And he denies the Word of God.
And listen here, verse 5. For God doth know that in the
day ye eat thereof, then your eyes will be opened. Here's what
God knows. Here's what He is suggesting. God is withholding
some things from you. You're God's chiefest of creation. And yet there are some things
God is withholding from you. And if you eat of this tree of
knowledge of good and evil, you'll know what he's withholding. You'll
know these things. For God doth know. He knows that
your eyes will be opened and you shall be, listen, as God's,
knowing good and evil. What was it that Satan wanted
there in Isaiah? He wanted to Put his throne above the heavens.
He wanted to take the superiority. He wanted to take the throne
of God. Here's what he's saying. God, here's what God knows, Eve. And I'm sure he's got this real
dynamic voice. I mean, he's got this real soothing. You know how some people, you
ever talk to somebody and they can just really draw you in?
You ever watch, let's see, it's William Shatner on that raw nerve.
His interviews, I was telling one of the boys one day, I said,
watch this man interview. I said, he can pull you in better
than anybody I've ever watched. I said, he just leans over there,
and the next thing you know, he's got them talking, and he
just engaged with them, and he's listening, and he just got this
conversation going on with Eve. Satan has this conversation going
on with Eve, and they're talking, and he's got her thinking, you
know, what is God withholding from me? What is he withholding? He says, you'll be like God,
or you'll be God yourself. And then when the woman, in verse
6, and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, she
looked at it and she said, you know, that does look good. That does look good. It doesn't
look... I don't see anything wrong with this tree. I don't
see anything about it that's the reason why we shouldn't eat
of it. The reason why, God said, don't. He said, don't do it. And she
sees and looks at this tree and she sees that it's good for food
and that it's pleasant to the eyes. How many things have you bought
that you ought not have bought because it caught your attention?
You looked at it, it was pleasant to the eyes, you thought, I'd
like to have that. And you got it. And after you got it, after
three or four years of payment, you wish you hadn't got it. She
looks at this tree, she says, there's some good food on this
tree. And it's pleasant. It's like eye candy. Like eye
candy. Pleasant to the eye. And to make
one wise? Our thirst for knowledge cannot
be quenched. We want to know more and more
and more. And what's wrong with that? Really, what's wrong with being
wiser? Do you like to be wiser? Only
if God makes me wiser. So she took of the fruit thereof
and she did eat. She took a bite of it. And nothing happened. I don't
believe anything happened when she did that. When she took a bite of that
fruit, she didn't feel shame. She did not feel guilt. She did
not say, why did I do this? She did not look at herself and
say, I'm naked. She felt nothing. And she took of the fruit thereof
and did eat. And then she took it and she gave to Adam. She gave it to her husband. The
federal head of the human race. The representative of the human
race. That's when it happens. When
the federal head of the human race, the representative of the
human race, when he knowing what he was doing. He
knew what he was doing. Eve, it says, was deceived. Let me show you this. Let me
find the scripture I have written down. Where do I have that? It's over in 1 Timothy. Let's
go in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and see if I find it. 1 Timothy chapter 2. I believe
that's where it is. Okay, in verse 11, it says, Let
the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer
not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man,
but to be in silence. Now listen, 13 and 14. For Adam
was first formed, then Eve. Adam was not deceived. Adam was
not, he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew he was rebelling
against God. Eve, it says, the woman being
deceived, she didn't really, she didn't get it, what was going
on. She didn't really get what was
going on. This is the truth. Adam got it. He knew exactly
what he was doing. He knew exactly he was rebelling
against God. He knew what he was doing when
he did that. The woman being deceived was
in the transgression. So Adam was not deceived when
she ate of that fruit. I have no doubt standing there
at that tree of knowledge of good and evil. She ate of it.
Nothing happened. It happened when Adam ate of
it. That's when it all happened.
That's when the whole human race fell. Look over in Romans 5. Romans chapter 5, look in verse
12. Wherefore, as by one man, it
doesn't say, now listen, it does not say, wherefore, as by one
man and woman, it doesn't say that, does it? It doesn't include
Eve here at all. as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all
men, for they all have sinned." Look in verse 17, "'For if by
one man's offense death reign by one, much more they which
receive abundance of grace and of the gifts of righteousness
shall reign in life by one.'" Jesus Christ, he's the federal
head and representative of the whole heavenly Look over in 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Look in verse 21. For since by
man, not by man and a woman, by man, by Adam. You can read
it like that. For since by Adam, came death, by man, by Christ
the man, came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, it doesn't say for as in Adam and Eve, but as in Adam
all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." When the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and
a tree to be desired make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave to her husband with her, and he did
eat. And the eyes of them both were
opened, and they knew for the first time they felt shame. They felt shame. Just like you
and I would feel shame if we were standing here naked. It would be shame, wouldn't it?
Before that, it was not a shame. There was no sinful thoughts.
There was no sin. That happened after the fall. Then they looked at each other
and they were ashamed. Before this happened, Adam saw
a beautiful woman and Eve saw a beautiful man. After the fall,
Adam saw a naked woman and Eve saw a naked man and they were
ashamed. They felt guilt, is what I'm saying. They felt guilt.
They felt shame. For the first time, that's what
happened. That's what they felt. And they sewed fig leaves together. How quickly they became ignorant.
Adam, you know, we test people's IQs, you know, to see how smart
we are. If you get up there around 140,
150, 160 or on up, you're a genius. You're a genius. You take the smartest person
that's ever lived. I mean, other than Christ. I'm
not talking about him. He's the wisdom of God. They would be an idiot in comparison
to the wisdom, the understanding, the knowledge that Adam and Eve
had before the fall. Now, they were true geniuses.
But after they fell, they lost it. They lost it. What did they do? They tried
to sow. You and I can look at this now. Of course, with the
understanding we have of the gospel. They literally took fig
leaves. They took leaves and tried to
sow them together to hide their nakedness. But that's not the
nakedness. It was the nakedness of their
soul that they couldn't hide. You can hide the nakedness of
your body. And they thought by doing that, by hiding the nakedness
of their body, they could get rid of this guilt and shame.
But that's not possible. It's the nakedness of the soul
that he's covered. And that was covered by the righteousness
of Christ. So fig leaves to cover that.
It's his righteousness that covers the nakedness of my soul and
puts away that shame and that guilt. And it's his blood that
washes away all my sins. Now I've got to move on here.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden
in the cool of the day. In the wind, it says. That cool word means wind. They
heard his voice. You don't see God all upset here,
do you? You don't see lightning and thunder. You know, it still didn't rain
for almost, what, 1,600 years or something? Several years. Methuselah was what? About over
900 or something years old? I'm talking about the flood.
Before the flood, it did not rain. Here God is walking in the garden
in the cool of day. Why? Because God already took
care of this. This matter has already been
taken care of. Christ is a land slain before the foundation of
the world. God had already taken care of the fall. Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord God. Can you imagine that? the
chiefest of God's creation running and hiding from God, behind the
trees and the bushes and trying to figure out how we're going
to get away from Him. You can't. You cannot get away from God.
The scripture says over in Isaiah that the night is as light is
as the daytime before Him. You can't hide from God. And the Lord called Adam and
said, where are you? He knew exactly where Adam was. He's
going to make Adam reveal and admit where he is. And he said, I heard thy voice
in the garden and I was afraid. How many times had God visited
them? We don't know how long. We do not know how long they
went in their innocence before the fall. We don't know. But
I'm sure of this. I'm sure they communed with God
several times. I'm sure that God spoke to them
They spoke to God and all of a sudden they're afraid of Him.
All of a sudden they're afraid of Him. And He said, I heard your voice
in the garden. I was afraid. I was naked and
I hid myself. And He said, who told you? Who
told you? My accusing conscience told me. Who told you that I was naked?
Have you eaten of the tree? See, they thought that tree was
going to make them wise. It's a tree of knowledge of good
and evil, and they thought, well, we'll know more about it. Well,
what it did, it made them worse. It made them know things they
wish they hadn't known. They'd done things they wish
they hadn't done. That was the end result of that. And he said, Who told you thou
wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded
thee? Thou shouldest not eat. And the man said, Like I said,
here he throws her under the bus. The woman whom thou gavest
to be with me. Can you hear this? Have you ever
heard this one? I never really got this one until
I heard Henry preaching from this. What he's actually doing
is blaming God. The woman whom thou gavest to
be my wife. She did it and it's your fault.
He's blaming God. The woman you gave me. Hadn't
given her to me, I wouldn't have done this. That's what he's doing. He's
blaming God. The woman thou gavest to be with
me. The one you walked down the aisle.
I was thinking about this the other day. When I was thinking
about doing this. You ladies, your father walked
you down the aisle, you know, when you get married and here
you are coming down the aisle. This woman had God, he brought,
does it not say he brought her to Adam? Can you imagine God
bringing her? And then Adam saying, that one
you brought to me is the cause of this. It's your fault. The Lord said to the woman, see
God doesn't argue. God does not argue with us. And
the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, deceived me, and
I did eat. And the Lord, he dealt with the
serpent. For thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle,
above every beast of the field, upon thy belly shalt thou go,
and thus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. and tell him Satan, what's going
to happen to him, we find good news. We find good news. You deceive this woman, but this
woman's seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, is going to crush your
head when it's over. He's going to crush your power.
And I'll put enmity between thee and the woman. And between thy
seed and her seed, the seed of Satan is everyone
outside of Christ. That's everyone outside of Christ. And her seed, the Lord Jesus
Christ, it shall bruise thy head, destroy you. That's what happened.
There at Calvary, he destroyed the power of Satan. Satan bruised
his heel, his manhood. He was a man, beaten, bruised.
But he crushed his head. He crushed his head. All is not
lost. We have the promise of a Redeemer.
We have the promise of the Deliverer. A Deliverer is coming. You know,
after that, look in chapter 4. I ought to close here. And Adam
knew Eve, chapter four, and Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived
of bear Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. I
have gotten the man. She thought at this time, this
is the one that the Lord promised there in the garden. This is
the one. Well, he didn't. He wasn't the one. It's Cain. That's why they rejoiced in Jerusalem. That's why they rejoiced every
time a man child was born. Is this the Messiah? Is this
the seed? We know who he is. He has come,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's the fall. That's
the fall. And the remedy is the Lord Jesus
Christ. All right.