A few facts about Satan from scripture: He was an angel, created by God. (Rev. 12:1-4, Job 1:6&7) He rebelled against God, wishing to be greater than God. (Isaiah 14:12-15) He inspired 1/3 of all of God s angels to rebel with him (Rev. 12:1-4) He tempted Eve & Adam to also rebel against God, trusting what he (Satan) said over what God had said. (Genesis 3) When Adam and Eve trusted (worshipped) Satan, they forfeited their inheritance (creation) to him. (II Cor. 4:4) He (Satan) is an extremely powerful being in God s creation. (II Cor 4:4, John 12:31) He continues today to: Tempt (Matt 4:3) Accuse (Rev. 12:10) Destroy people (I Peter 5:8) Lie (John 8:44) Murder (John 8:44) Bring darkness (Col. 1:13, Eph 6:12) Jesus came to destroy Satan and his work (I Jn. 3:8) Jesus death on the cross and resurrection from the dead destroyed Satan s work. (Romans 5: 18&19) Jesus return will totally destroy Satan forever. (Rev. 20) Genesis Chapter 3 - Answers Question to be thinking about: What difference does it make to my life today that Adam & Eve sinned? Read the whole chapter, then answer these first 5 Observation Questions: 1. Who? 2. What happened? 3. Where? 4. When? 5. Why? We re going to meet Satan in Genesis Chapter 3. He hasn t been mentioned before as we ve talked about God s creation.but he was there - a part of God s creation - and he played a despicable role in the events of Chapter 3. So we re going to start out this week s study with a look at who Satan is, where he came from, and how we should think about him. Satan, as I said, was a part of God s creation. When God finished His 6 days of creation and looked at it all, and said, in Genesis 1:31 it was very good, He meant that all He
had created was perfect, complete, and very, very good. That widesweeping statement about His creation included the very powerful angel who was initially named Lucifer, but whom we now know as Satan, or, the devil, or the evil one. How did a perfect angel created by our perfect God become the evil one? Did God create something evil? No! We read about it in Isaiah 14:12-14. Look what happened after God created this beautiful, powerful and perfect angel named Lucifer: How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High. Lucifer made a choice, a choice which changed his eternal nature and destiny. He chose to rebel against the One Who created him. He chose to try to exalt himself above the One, True God. He chose to love himself more than he loved His Lord. I personally think Lucifer saw this beautiful, perfect world Jesus had created, and he lusted after it. He wanted it for his own. So he decided to fight for it. His rebellious choice lost him his place amongst the heavenly angels he immediately lost his home in heaven, and his ability to serve his God. His name was changed to Satan. But what he didn t lose, at least not right away, was his power and his life. He was cast out of heaven, and had to roam throughout God s creation. He apparently was allowed to come back to heaven every once in awhile (which
we see happening in the story of Job (Job 1:6-12)). But he would never live in heaven again he was cast out from his home there forever. So he began to live on the earth, still having great power, and also having a large group of demons which serve him.and where did those demons come from? One third (yes, 1/3) of all God s created, perfect angels rebelled with Satan right after the creation of this world, and became his minions on earth when he was cast out. (Revelation 12:4) His first act to take back this beautiful world from God was to show up in the garden of Eden, in the form of a serpent, and to talk to Eve. Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. The serpent, also called Satan, and the devil, and the evil one, tempted Eve to do the very same thing he had done. Rebel against God.
6. (:1-7) What four stages of temptation did Eve experience? (:1&2) She began to minimize the generosity of God. The very fact that the serpent was himself questioning the goodness of God opened the door for her to either follow him in beginning to doubt God, or to slam the door in his face. She followed. (:4&5)She heard the serpent say that God was a liar and she did not disagree. She did not fight back. (:6)She looked at the tree and considered how great it would be to eat of the fruit. She began to plan to disobey. (:6)She ate. She disobeyed. She sinned. How would you define sin? Sin is doing or thinking anything God says not to do or think or not doing or not thinking anything God says to do or to think. Sin is putting me before God. Sin is worshipping me. Genesis 3:8-13 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? 10 So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? 12 Then the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
7. (:8-13) What was Adam & Eve s response to God when they disobeyed? They tried to cover themselves up, because they were ashamed of who they had become. And they tried to hide from God. What was Adam s response to God s question? It was the woman s fault. What was Eve s response to God s question? It was the serpent s fault. What do you not see in their responses? No repentance. No taking the blame for their own actions. No I m sorry I was wrong. No Oh, Lord God, what have I done to You? No thought for anyone but themselves. Genesis 3:14-19 So the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. 16 To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you. 17 Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it : Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
8. (:14-19) What was the result of sin? For the serpent? (Satan) The animal, the serpent, will be cursed above all animals. He will crawl around on his belly (he must not have been a crawler before this). The fallen angel, Satan, is told that the children who come from Adam and Eve will hate him and consider him their enemy. And that someday one of the Descendants of Adam and Eve would crush him forever. He (the serpent) will try to kill this Descendant, but will only bruise Him. For Eve? She would have pain and sorrow in what should have been a joyous part of her life child bearing and child rearing. And she will be ruled over by her husband something she and her future daughters would not like. For Adam? He will end up working hard to make a living. What should have been pure joy and very easy will become hard and heartbreaking. He will die. For all creation? Thorns and thistles weeds and all unpleasantness these were never planned to be a part of God s creation. Genesis 3:20-24 20 And Adam called his wife s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Why did Adam & Eve have to leave the garden? (:22) The Lord God showed great mercy as He made it impossible for them to re-enter the Garden of Eden and never be able to partake of the Tree of Life. For if they had, they would have lived forever in their sinful, dying condition. He had plans to offer them something much better than what they deserved but it would be awhile now before He would bring it to pass. A Savior would come someday and get rid of their sin problem forever. Their job was to believe the Lord God when He promised this. To believe God this time. And not to try to clean themselves up. Their future was dependant on God providing the solution not they themselves providing it. They would have to wait for His time and His place. They would have to live by faith. Application Questions: 9. Is temptation sin? (James 1:13-15) When does temptation become sin? 10. Can you find 2 promises in Chapter 3? Something which would give hope to a fallen man and woman? 11. Why is there still a guard at the entrance to the garden today? (since a redeemer has already come) 12. What happens when I sin as a believer? 13. What difference does it make to my life today that Adam & Eve sinned?