Tonight, we’re going to have a Bible study. As we look at the passage we’re going to study, I will ask questions, not for you to answer, but to show you how I use questions to study and meditate on scripture. It is something that I learned many, many years ago. This is one of the ways that enables me to engage the Holy Spirit as He teaches me.
The Bible is like an onion. It has layers. The more time you spend in His presence, He can pull back a layer and show you what’s underneath. He has done that many times over the years.
I have given this message the title “Know the Word, Believe the Word.” We’re going to see how important it is to not only know what the Word says but to believe what it says.
In our Bible study tonight, we are going to see why Jesus describes the Devil the way He does in the gospel of John, and it’s found in the third chapter of the book of Genesis, which is typically described as the “book of beginnings”.
For me, it is also the “book of firsts” or the “book of introductions.” In Genesis 3, we are introduced to the serpent, to the devil, and how he operates.
There are folks in the body of Christ who don’t believe that Genesis really happened. They say it’s allegorical or just a collection of stories. The devil has done a masterful job of deceiving them.
When you get into Genesis, (1) you find out who you are, (2) you find out what authority you have on this earth, and (3) you find out who the devil is and how he operates.
But first, let’s read Jesus’ description of the Devil.
Turn first to John 10:10. “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Now turn to John 8:44. This verse is significant to what we are going to read in Genesis. The verse says, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
I want to point out some things about the devil that never changes. First, he is the originator of lust. Second, he is a murderer – not physically, but spiritually. Third, the truth cannot be found in him. And, fourth, he is the father of lies. The two things that I want you to remember: he can’t tell the truth and he is a liar. That is who the devil is.
Now, let’s read two short passages from the first two chapters of the book of Genesis before we get to the heart of the lesson. But before we do, I want you to see something.
Turn to John chapter three. We are going to read the first six verses.
(1) There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
(2)The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
(3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
The word “cannot” means that it is absolutely impossible for a person to enter the kingdom of God if he is not born again.
(4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
(5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
(6) That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
With this in mind, turn to Genesis 1:26-27.
(26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
This is what Jesus talks about in John 3. Here in Genesis 1, we see God creating man with His life and nature inside of him. In John 3, Jesus says that when a person is born again, he “returns” to God’s original intent which we see in Genesis 1.
For the purposes of this message, we are Adam and Eve. Adam was a son of God and Eve was a daughter of God. Now why is this important? As we go through this Bible study, we will be reading about individuals who are just like us.
Now turn to Genesis 2. We are going to read the warning that God gave to Adam in verses 15, 16 and 17.
(15) And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Adam had a job. He was to take care of the garden and he was to protect it, guard it. He was supposed to keep out of the garden what didn’t belong in the garden. If God tells Adam that nothing is to come into the garden without your say-so, what is He saying to us today, ladies and gentlemen? Who are we? We are Adam. We are Eve. Are you guarding your garden, your home? Are you allowing devilish influences into your garden, your home?
(16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
What did God do? He “commanded” the man. He didn’t give him a suggestion. He didn’t give him an idea. He didn’t give him something to consider. He didn’t give him something to think about. He commanded the man!
(17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
With these verses as our foundation, let’s read the first six verses of Genesis chapter and then look at them individually.
Genesis 3:1-6.
Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
• We know that Satan is not a serpent. This is a symbolic reference to him. Why is this an apt description for him? The verse attaches it to the word “subtil,” which is an indication of his character to deceive, manipulate and misdirect. Think about what he did to 1/3 of the angels. These were beings who had known God face to face. He was so good with his deception that he convinced them to follow him.
• Remember, tonight is a Bible study. Why is this important for us to understand? Satan doesn’t come at us directly, but he uses everything at his disposal to influence us to follow his lead.
• What is the first thing he does? Without hesitation, he questions what God had said. He will always do that in one form or another. You can look at the denominations in this country and you see that each of them has questioned what God has said. If they hadn’t, there would be no denominations. Are you following me?
• What does the question say about how he operates? Three observations:
o (1) The question that he raised put the same question in Eve’s mind and it was this: what God says can be challenged, can be questioned. We are seeing this in the Church today. For example, you have Christians who don’t agree with God’s definition of marriage. The Bible says God made them male and female. The verse is really saying God made them husband and wife from the beginning.
o (2) When Satan raised the question in Eve’s mind, he wanted to find out what she was going to do with that question. Would she know the answer or not? The same thing is true today. Do we know what the Bible says or not?
I’m not going to get political tonight, but I’m going to simply say this. If you want to know where God stands on illegal immigration, it’s in here (I hold up the Bible). Do you know how I know that? It’s because you must be a citizen of heaven to get into His kingdom. It’s kind of simple, isn’t it? There will be Christians who will disagree with that.
o (3) By raising the question, the serpent wanted to see if the woman would take the bait and if she took the bait, he wanted to see how she would interpret what God had said. He wanted to see if she agreed with what God had said.
Ladies and gentlemen, we see in the very first book of the Bible how Satan operates. He gets you to question the Word and when he finds out you don’t know the word – game over! Game over! He has you. He can move you around like a hockey puck.
On the other hand, if you know what God said then it’s game over for him because he won’t be able to influence you the way he could if you didn’t know what God has said.
Genesis 3:2-3 – And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
• What is wrong with her response? Turn back to Genesis 2:17. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
The woman’s response let Satan know that she was not in agreement with God and that opened the door for him to deceive her. She added her interpretation, her understanding to what God had said.
Where is “in the midst of the garden”? I’m using the King James Bible. Does anyone have a different version of the Bible that includes that? No. You won’t find it.
Then she said, “neither shall ye touch it.” That sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? But that is not what God said. I don’t care how good something sounds, if God didn’t say it, it’s wrong!
The first thing she does is put words in God’s mouth (“neither shall ye touch it”) and then she changes His words completely. This last one is critical. She changed God’s Word (“ye shall surely die”) to “lest ye die”. She changes what God said from an absolute to a possibility.
There are people standing where I am standing right now who are saying it is possible to do something that God has absolutely said is not possible.
Psalm 119:89 says “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” If God says there are only males and females and not males who feel like females or females who feel like males – end of story. It’s is settled in heaven.
We, as a Church, must get to the place where we are willing to draw a line in the sand and stand with the Bible or we’re going to be just like Eve. We are going to say what we think the Bible should say.
Genesis 3:4-5 – And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
• What did the serpent say to the woman in verse 4? He contradicted God by telling her she would not die. The Liar called God a liar. There are too many in the Church calling God a liar by what they say and by what they do “as Christians”. And yet, they believe on their Day of Judgment heaven is going to be the place where they spend eternity. I’m not so sure.
• Satan told Eve that she would be like a god if she ate of the tree and that she would decide what is good and what is evil. Are we not seeing this same mindset being played out today? The individual, not God, determines what is good and what is evil for himself.
• There are too many of us in the Church who have a short-term view of life, a short-term view of what needs to be done if we’re going to spend an eternity with our Father. There are not enough of us playing the end game.
Genesis 3:6 – And 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 to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
• Why did the woman eat the fruit? The woman SAW. What she saw was PLEASANT TO THE EYES. And what she saw was DESIRABLE. She made the decision to eat the fruit based on what she could see. Satan wants us in our emotions. What was the underlying reason why she ate? She did not truly believe what God had said in Genesis 2:16-17.
• Prophetic word: Emotions Are Your Greatest Battle. “People living at each of the eight levels of spiritual growth are fighting the same battle when it comes to going deeper into Me. The battle is not with sin and it is not specifically with the devil. The battle you are all fighting is with your emotions. It is emotions, not sin, which will always be your greatest battle. You see, Satan, your enemy, cannot cause or give you emotions. He can only attack in the hope of influencing your emotions.”
2 Corinthians 2:11 – Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Ladies and gentlemen, we see a glimpse of the foundational way in which Satan tries to operate in our lives. But we are not ignorant of his ways.
Now, let’s briefly look at Satan as he tries to use the same tactics on Jesus. And let’s learn from Jesus how to deal with them.
Matthew 4:1-4
(1) Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
(2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
(3) And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
When Satan asks Jesus, “If thou be the Son of God,” what is he doing? He was questioning Jesus and His sonship.
(4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
How Jesus responded, shut him down. Jesus has shown us how to deal with Satan’s attacks.
In Genesis 3 we see how Satan operates today and in Matthew 4 we see how Jesus shows us how to combat Satan’s attacks. I pray that this “Bible Study” has been a blessing. Please stand.
