We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve or to report transcription errors.

A very good morning to all of you and welcome to Gospel Light Christian church, our online service this Sunday morning. Grateful you can join us and grateful we can continue our journey in the book of Genesis together.

I like to begin with a story. A lady had just gone shopping and she bought a dress she knew she shouldn't buy. It's way too expensive! When she got home, her husband then asked her, “Why then did you buy that dress?” “Well, you know dear, the devil tempted me. He said, “I look good.”’ The husband then replied, “But dear, you know better and didn't you hear what pastor said, you should have told the devil, “Get thee behind me, Satan.”’ “I did.” “Well, then why did you buy?” “He whispered in my ears, “You look good from the back too.” Huh, huh …

Today, we're going to talk about temptation. We're going to talk about the temptation by the devil. This cover picture describes the story of Genesis thus far. God created all things and the crown jewel of His creation is man. He's made in the image of God to bring glory to God.

God gave him a very simple command, that he can eat of every tree in the garden of Eden, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but enters the devil to tempt man into sin. So we're going to look at this story in Genesis, chapter 3, and we're going to focus on verses 1 to 6.

I want to share with you three observations from this text.

[1] The Tempter
Number one, I'd like us to consider the tempter. We see that in the very first verse, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.” [Gen 3:1]. Now, we don't have to guess the identity of the serpent, he is none other than Satan. So Satan came in the form of a serpent to tempt Adam and Eve ultimately.

Now, we don't have to guess because the Bible tells us clearly the identity in Revelation, chapter 12. It's interesting that the very first book of the Bible mentions the serpent. And the very last book gives a clear explanation of who that serpent is.

So we are told that, “The great dragon was thrown down that ancient serpent …” a throwback, a reference to the original early days in the Garden of Eden, the ancient serpent, “… and he is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” [Rev 12:9]

So clearly this is about Satan! And how he was cast out of heaven, when he rebelled against God. Now, not only did he rebel, he led a rebellion, a treason against God together with the fallen angels. We are given a bit of detail about the devil himself.

We are told that he is called the devil. In the Greek it is the word, ‘diabolos’, which means accuser or slanderer. So Satan, the devil, he is called such and such because he is an accuser, he is a slanderer. That's the meaning of the word, ‘diabolos’.

And then the second word we see here of interest is the word, ‘Satan’. It is the word, ‘Satanas’, which means adversary or enemy. So we are told that this ancient serpent, who appeared in the Garden of Eden, he is the diabolos - the accuser, the slanderer. He is Satan, Satanas, which means adversary or enemy. We are also told that he's a deceiver of the whole world. He's a liar.

So we are given all these facts, these descriptions. And we are told, of course, that he rebelled against God. But now, he enters the created world on earth and, “He said to the woman …” [Gen 3:1]. He's now gunning for God's crown jewel of creation. He's gunning for man and woman made in the image of God. Because he wants to sow discord between God and man, because he wants to corrupt the image of God in man. And because he wants to wrest the worship of man for himself. So he comes to tempt our first parents.

[2] The Temptation
So secondly, in this text, I'd like us to consider the temptation. This is where we're going to camp a little bit, on the temptation by the devil itself. “He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” [Gen 3:1] The first thing I'd like you to notice is that this is a lie.

So we see his real nature manifest here, the deceiver. He spoke a lie because he says, “Did God actually say, “You shall not eat off any tree.”’ Now, God did not say you cannot eat any tree. In fact, it is clear from Genesis, chapter 2:16-17, God said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, except one.”

But the devil cleverly turns it around into a lie and says, “Did God actually say you should not eat of any tree?” The reason why he would do this is to exaggerate that prohibition of God. He wanted Adam and Eve to doubt God.

You see, this is not a question about begging a ‘yes or no’ response from Eve. This is a question designed to bring insinuation against God. This is a question designed to assassinate the character of God. This is a question designed to cast doubt and aspersions against God.

You see, the question should be understood this way. “Did God actually say, “You cannot eat up every tree or any tree in the garden? Oh how unreasonable is God! Oh, how unkind is God! Oh, how unnecessary is this prohibition! And how unfair He is!”’

“Oh, did God say that, He puts you in this beautiful garden and He does not allow you to eat of any tree? Oh, He's holding things back from you. He's not entirely for you, Eve. He's against you, really!” “And did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree?’”

You see, in this one question, the devil has revealed his true colors, if you're watching. He is a deceiver, he brings a flat out lie. And then he is a diabolos, he's an accuser, he's a slanderer against God. He is bringing character assassination against God. And he is clearly the adversary. He does all these because he hates God and he doesn't want man to know God and to glorify God. So this is really the essence, the intent of this very first statement by the devil.

Now, it didn't help that Eve did not learn very much, [sic: he did not], she did not understand God very well. She did not bother to remember God's Word very well. We know that from the response she gave in verse 2.

“And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. But God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it lest you die.”’ [Gen 3:2-3] Now on the surface, she's got the main thing, the main thing. But if you look at it more carefully, she missed a lot of important things. For example, she missed out a word, a very important word, right at the beginning, as indicated by the blank here.

And then she was not very specific about the tree, because she said, “The tree in the midst of the garden.” And then she added something, “Lest you touch it.” And then she changed something, “Lest you die.” Again, we juxtapose it with the original statement by God in Genesis 2, where God says, “You may ‘surely’ eat. Now you can eat everything, you may surely eat of it.” But somehow that's missing in Eve's recollection.

And then she was not specific about the tree as mentioned. And then she added, “Lest you touch it, or shall, neither shall you touch it.” It was not mentioned in God's Word in Genesis 2. And then she changed, [sic: Lest you or she] changed, ‘surely die’ to ‘lest you die’.

Now individually, you may say we are nitpicking. But actually, if you add it all together, you can understand why commentators, preachers would say, “Eve just didn't take it to heart seriously. She was loose in her grasp of God's command.”

So now seizing the opportunity, the devil sticks the knife in and twists it around in her soul. “The devil, the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”’ [Gen 3:4] Now, if he had said this, right from the beginning, maybe Eve would not have listened to him. But you know, he has very … very powerfully, successfully created doubt or cast doubt in Eve's mind.

He has planted a seed of doubt. And now Eve is open and receptive to the further suggestions and statements by the devil. So now that she is open, “He said to her, “Oh, you shall not surely die! [Gen 3:4] “Of course, it's not going to take place. Oh yes, God said that, but it's not going to happen! You, you don't have to take Him too seriously. It's not going to happen to you, you will not surely die.”

You see, the devil now is again bringing character assassination against God because what … what he's saying, in effect is, “God is not entirely trustworthy. He's not going to fulfill His Word. You will not surely die. He … He, he doesn't know that you're going to eat of the fruit or He's not powerful enough to judge you. Or if or He's not holy enough, He's not serious enough with this word.”

In other words, the devil here is removing the attributes of God, removing the reliability, the faithfulness, the … the knowledge of God, the holiness of God, the judgment of God from Eve's mind. He … he is successfully ungodding God in Eve's mind. He's unglorifying God.

God is glorious. God is trustworthy. God is all knowing. God is faithful. God is just. But with this statement, he is stripping God of all that quality, all that characteristic, all the attributes in Eve's mind. And then he goes again, in verse 5, “For God knows that when you eat of it Eve, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So what is this again? Well, again, this is a slander, this is an accusation against God. He's saying, if in effect to Eve, “You know why God doesn't want you to eat of that? You know why He's holding things back for you? Because He's not entirely for you. Because He's nervous. He's narrow minded. He's envious. He's jealous. He's fearful that you will be like Him. So He's not for you! He's against you! He's holding things back from you. He's restrictive. He's stingy. This is God.”

So the devil in these few statements, has successfully, I believe ungodded God in Eve's mind. The devil has proven himself to be the diabolos - the accuser, the slanderer. The devil has successfully proven himself to be the deceiver, to be the adversary.

And now he sows discord, he … he prise[s] open the relationship between God and man. He drives a wedge between God and His creation. And he has soiled and corrupted the image of God in man. And now, he pretends actually to be more caring, to be more loving towards Eve. He ultimately wants to seize worship from men.

And so we see the ungodding of God, we see how the devil is at work trying to de-glorify or unglorify God in Eve's mind. You see, we looked at this two weeks ago, God made man and placed him in a garden of Eden because God is quite unknown to man, at that time.

God wants to reveal Himself to man. And so in this garden of Eden with all the glorious provisions, God is teaching and showing man that God is a generous Provider. He gives everything to Adam and Eve - the fruit, the stones, the river, a helper. God is the generous Provider!

We saw two weeks ago also that God is a glorious Master. It is a joy to obey Him, joy to serve Him. And we will discover the wonderful glories of God as we do so. And God is positioning Himself as the gracious Lawgiver. Just one prohibition, and it is entirely for man to understand what it means to know Him, trust Him, fear Him, love Him, obey Him.

But now with Satan's intervention, with Satan's temptation, it all is unraveled when Adam and Eve chose to listen to the devil. Now man doubts God. Now man does not trust God. Now man decides to go independent of God, because the devil has ungodded God from Eve's mind.

And so left to herself, she decides to pursue her own happiness, her own fulfillment apart from God. She wants to have the same power. She wants to have the same happiness, that the devil is speaking and luring her with deception into.

My friends, I want to tell you today, the application to your life is this. “You do not sin against God until the devil has successfully ungodded God from your minds.” Think about it! We will not sin against God, if we recognize God for who He is. If we absolutely believe deep in our hearts that He's entirely holy, and good, and wise, and powerful, and trustworthy and reliable, we wouldn't sin. But when we don't believe Him for who He is, when the devil ungods God's in His attributes, in our lives, we then fall into sin, like Adam and Eve did.

Suppose this, someone has offended you real deep, hurt you real deep. You know, what's your tendency? You want to take vengeance. You want to make that other person pay. But you know, the Bible tells you that God doesn't want you to do that, God wants you to forgive. God wants you to love the other person. But deep in your heart, you say, “I can't do that!” Many people say, “I just can't forgive because the hurt is too deep and I must make him pay.”

You know why? Because you don't trust that God will get it right. Deep in your heart you don't quite believe God, when He says, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” So because God is not who He is, as He should be in your mind, you decide to take things into your own hands. You continue to stew in unforgiveness, and you're looking for opportunities to make the other person pay.

So you fall into the sin of hatred and unforgiveness. Why? Because you don't really believe God is going to make him pay. You don't really believe that God is going to vindicate you. God is going to make things right in justice.

Now, why do people fall into adultery? Why do people sleep around with other men and other women? Because to them, that is real happiness. And they believe that God's ordinance or God's plan for marriage, one husband, one wife is just too restrictive, perhaps. They don't believe that God's Word is reliable. God's Word is the way to real happiness and joy. Perhaps they think that they may get away with it - they will not surely die, God will not know, people will not judge them. And so because they don't quite believe God for who He is, they slip into such sins.

Why do people pursue the things of the world? Why … why … why do people fall into covetousness? Oh, because they believe that if they do not have the same car as their neighbor does, if they do not have the same income, they do not have the same house as their neighbors do, then they will not be happy. They can't trust God, when He says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you, all that is necessary to life will be added to you.” I'm not saying, “Car and houses are necessary to life.” But what is necessary to life, God provides but the person does not believe that with God giving all these things it is leading him to real happiness.

And so men, even Christians, now take things into our own hands. We strike out to get our own happiness. We work hard, we give our lives to our jobs, because we don't quite trust that serving God is the best, He's not entirely reliable, you see.

Why is it that people fall into stress and anxieties and worries and depression? Now, I want to be careful here. I'm not saying that, “Every depression, anxiety, worry, or stress is a spiritual problem.” Sometimes it can be a hormonal problem, it can be a medical problem. It can happen to you if you did not sleep for 30 days. Sure! And I think it is wise for us to take care of ourselves, our own lives in eating well, sleeping well, exercising well, being healthy physically, medically.

But certainly there are people today who struggle with anxiety and stress and depressions and worry, because spiritually, they don't quite believe that God is reliable. They don't quite trust God, that He is for them. He knows what's happening, and that He's powerful to deliver. They don't quite believe that! And so they struggle in worries and anxieties. Even after they pray, they don't quite believe God is going to answer that prayer.

So we fall into sin, because somehow the devil has deceived us and ungodded God from our minds. And now we strike out on our own to find a path of independence, searching for our own happiness.

Well, we have looked at the tempter. He is diabolos. He's the accuser, the slanderer. He is Santanas - the adversary. He's a deceiver. He's out to soil the image of God in man. His out to sow discord between God and man. He is out to seize the worship of man. God however, great He is, will not be known by man, if man chooses, listen to the tempter.

And then we looked at the temptation. The temptation of the devil is really a progressive ungodding of God in the minds of people. He's trying to bring about lies so that we may not believe God for who He is. And then we would go on our own, and seek out our own paths in disobedience and rebellion against God, who we don't trust.

[3] The Tragedy
So now finally, we come to the tragedy. If there was a possibility for time travel, maybe we could go back and tell Eve, “Don't listen to the devil, because this is such a tragic day where everything changed.” Isn't it? Thus far, all creation is good. God said, “It is very good, it is perfect.” There's no sin. There's no evil. There's no disease. There's no death. There's no corruption. There's no futility.

But ever since this point of time, the world is plunged into darkness, into despair, into sin, and into wickedness. This is the point where I think the devil successfully ungodded God from Eve's mind. And so we read, “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.” [Gen 3:6]

So I believe Eve has been deceived. The wedge has been placed between God and men. Aspersions have been received into the hearts of … into the heart of Eve. She now does not trust God; does not want to obey God and she goes purely by her own senses.

So she notices that the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is tasty, delightful, delectable. She notices that the fruit is something that was beautiful, something that she wants to have. And that this fruit may, will make a wise and because of all these sensations, senses, desires, she took of the fruit. She was absolutely driven, not by what God says, but what she wants, her own desires.

Now immediately, two New Testament passages pop up in mind. The first is James 1:14, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” He doesn't follow God's Word, he goes by his own desire and that's where we fall into sin, when we do not do what God wants, we do only what we want.

A second passage in the New Testament that we should recall is 1st John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life.” Now, this parallels very nicely with what we have read regarding Eve's desire for the fruit. It was the desire of the flesh - it was good for food. The desires of the eyes - it was pleasant to the eyes. The pride of life to make her … to make her wise. She absolutely bought into it!

Now I want to say that, “Just to be clear, it is not that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is wicked, or evil, or sinful. It is not!” I know that because when God made everything, including the garden, including the tree, He said, “It was very good.”

So there's nothing wrong with the tree, nor its fruit. What is wrong is with the desire that leads Eve to go against God's clear command. It was the rebellion! So it was not about the fruit, but it was the lack of faith and obedience, that is the issue here. So we read the Eve, driven by pure desires, and the … and sensations, she took of the fruit. And look at how quickly she fell. The words here, ‘saw’, ‘took’, ‘ate’, ‘gave’, just rapid succession of how she collapsed spiritually, when God is ungodded in her mind. [Gen 3:6]

And then we read that she gave some to her husband who was with her. Now there are some who say that, “Adam was not around when Satan was talking to Eve, but he appeared only when she wanted to give him the fruit.” Maybe, I can't be dogmatic about it. But it could also be that Adam was absolutely aware of all that was taking place between … between the devil and Eve.

But like many men, just keep silent and just watch the show as it were. And when he observes that, when she ate of it, nothing happened to her. And when she gave it to him, he also take of it, took of it, and ate it. And now sin is completed in their lives. Tragic state!

So the devil, the adversary, the slanderer came in to sow discord, to soil the image of God in man, and to seize worship from man. Unfortunately, Eve believed the temptation and received the temptation of the devil. God is systematically de-godded in her mind. And now she decides to go her own way, seeking her own path for happiness and enlightenment. And therefore, man has then slipped into this tragedy.

Now, we're going to look at this consequence further the next week. But I just want to say, “It is sufficient for us to realize that paradise is now lost.” This paradise, Eden, where God gave everything to delight the heart of man, where God gave everything to show them and how He's a generous Provider, glorious Master, and a gracious Lawgiver is now taken away from man forever.

And man now, though just given this one command, chose to go against God, believe the lies of the devil, and we are now reaping the consequences of this fateful day. It will be very sad if we end the sermon here. Isn't it? That wow, it sounds like Doomsday! And it will be even sadder if the Bible ends here.

But the Good News is that even though man has chosen to sin against God, and we are now reaping the consequences of it, the Bible doesn't end here. In fact, the Bible gives us this context so that we may appreciate the Good News of the Bible.

The Good News of the Bible is that even though Satan triumphed against Adam and Eve, back in the days of Eden, God will send another man who will triumph over the devil. Because we're going to read later on, that God promises someone who will absolutely crush the serpent's head. And that is none other than a reference to His own Son - Jesus Christ.

Thousands of years later, when … when time has passed, when many men have been born into this world, and no one could defeat the Satan. Thousands of years later, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, born in the little town of Bethlehem, He grew up in an insignificant carpenter's house. And one day, after He was publicly announced to be God's Son, in the river of Jordan, during the baptism of John, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness into the desert to be tempted, 40 days and 40 nights by the devil.

The devil did all he could to tempt Jesus, to lure him away, to try to ungod God from Jesus' mind. But Jesus held on to God's Word, He was unflinching in His loyalty, in His trust, in his faith, in His love towards His Father, towards God. And Satan did all he could, tempting Jesus with the lust of the flesh, turning stones to bread. Lust of the eyes, by giving, offering Him the kingdoms of the world. And the … the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life by tempting Jesus to jump from the temple Pinnacle.

But in all these things, Jesus was not led by lust, or desires. He had none! But He was unflinching in His loyalty to God's Word. He replies, “It is written. It is written. It is written.” And there the devil had no way to pierce through the defense of the Lord Jesus Christ, He could only depart. And we see the ascendancy, the victory of the Son of God, the second Adam over the devil.

But the real victory would come later on when Jesus will go to the cross. And there on the cross, He looked like a victim, but really, He was a victor. Because there on the cross, He laid down His life, He paid for the sins of those would believe upon Him. In that, He absolutely reversed the wicked cruel effects of sin that the devil has brought into the world.

And that's why John would tell us, “For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works [sic :of the evil], of the devil.” [1 John 3:8] And that we have Jesus Christ, our triumphant Savior on the cross, He said, “It is finished.”

And the Bible tells us that our triumphant Savior, He returned to the heavens, He sent forth His Spirit, so that the church today, His people may continue to bring this Good News to people all around the world. That they may be saved. That they may be rescued from the clutches of the devil. That they may be delivered from lies. That they shall know the truth, and the truth will set them free.

And one day when all that is done, when all that is completed, our triumphant Savior would come back to receive us to Himself. Those who do not believe in Him will be judged because they are proven to be the children of the devil. But those who would believe, will be ushered into everlasting life, into a better Eden, into a new heaven, new earth wherein is the presence of God, where the river of life, where the Tree of Life is.

My friends, that's the entire story of the Bible. Yes, Adam and Eve blew it in the garden. But Jesus won it back for us on the cross of Calvary. And all those who would repent and believe in Him will have eternal life. Would you today, realize sin has divided God and you? But there is the Savior for your sin, He is none other than Jesus. May you as you hear God's Word, repent and belief in Christ for salvation and forgiveness.

To my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, what an example Jesus set for us. And you know something, not only did He set an example for us, He's now our compassionate High Priest. In our struggles, in our trials, we can come to Him because He understands us. He's a compassionate High Priest, He was tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

And today, let's learn to walk with Jesus. Let's learn to cling on to God's Word. Let's learn to love Him and trust Him. May we today live life centered on the Gospel, dependent on His Spirit's help to honor Him and glorify Him. May God bless you. I pray today as we understand the ungodding of God, that you will guard against that. And let the truth of God in God's Word, restore your theology of God, that you may walk in faith and obedience. Let's pray.

Father, we thank You this morning for Your Word, very short story, but how profound and how real it is in our lives. O, help us to be wise to recognize the strategy, the schemes and the wiles of the devil. How he's always trying to de-god, or ungod God from our minds. How he's always trying to get us to live based on our own selfish, sinful desires.

May we be a people of the Word. May we today walk by faith not by sight. May we be courageous and strong to do according to all that is written in Your Word, because that is the way of truth and life. Father, I pray also for seekers today, that they may realize that Jesus is our Savior from our sins. O, cause them to repent and to believe in Him as well. Grant salvation, grant life, grant power to Your people. Thank You, and we pray all this in Jesus’ Name. Amen. God bless.

We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve or to report transcription errors.