In the last lesson, we said we would look into the important insights contained in Genesis 3:1-7. Here is what those verses say, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden and you must not touch it or you will die.’ ‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman, ‘for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized they were naked so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” (NIV) 


Now let’s take a deeper look at the three statements that Satan made to Eve. “You will not die.” “Your eyes will be opened.” “You will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan has deceived himself into TRUSTING HIMSELF more than he trusts GOD, and he is looking for disciples who will trust themselves more than they trust God.

He goes to Eve to cultivate a disciple who sees reality the way he wants to see it. What he is telling Eve here, he absolutely, firmly believes is the way it ought to be. Satan knows it is not, but he has deceived himself into believing that God makes mistakes and Satan is proposing a fix. That is his attitude.

So, Satan said to Eve, “You will not die.” A book could be written on each of these three things Satan says to Eve, but for now, we have just a short little synopsis to get us thinking.

“You will not die.” What is the implication of this? If Satan thinks this is true, and he does, what is it that he is trying to convince Eve of when he says “You will not die”? Well, the implication is that the physical part of her existence is more important, more valid, than the spiritual part of her existence.

Let’s just stop for a minute. Have you ever thought that the physical part of your existence is more important and more valid than the spiritual part of your existence? I probably think that a hundred times every day and I know better. But it is in my nature now,… and it is in your nature. Our fallen nature values what happens in the physical world around us more than we value what happens in our spiritual relationships in the spiritual world. That is just who we are. It’s because our first parents bought into this lie and we have inherited this self-deceived mindset and this nature ever since. Let’s illustrate this with an example. Somebody comes to you and says, “I’ve got two doors here. You can have what is behind whichever door you want. You get to pick. Behind door number one is winning the lottery. So, if you open that door you will now be given 300 million dollars.

Behind door number 2 is the clear understanding of Scripture. Take your pick.

Do you get it?

I mean, is there anybody you know who would really pick door number 2? There might be; that would be a very rare person, and I would like to meet that person.

The point is, when we are offered the choice of significant enrichment in our physical life or our spiritual life, our nature is to pick the physical side. By rejecting God’s authority in favor of their own, Adam and Eve were rejecting the source of their spiritual life and therefore were committing spiritual suicide.

In the same way, we can see that we have bought in to Satan’s first proposal.

It is this notion of, “Yeah, well what God says is good and that’s fine, but I am picking the physical. The physical side of life is going to be my priority.”



Before we go on to the next lesson, let me ask you another question. Please click on the “Next” bar below to see and answer the next question.