The Fall (Genesis 3)

Have you ever struggled with sin? Fallen to temptation? Attempted to cover up your shame? Have you ever been hopeless in your pursuit of holiness? The third chapter of Genesis explains the root answer to all these questions. The Fall is the Second Act of God’s story. I pray that in a close study of this text, you will better understand how we are tempted to sin and to see God’s glorious grace, even in the midst of judgment.

The Tempter in the Fall

            We are introduced to a new character at the beginning of Genesis 3. A character that will play a prominent role in the rest of the story of the Scriptures. Genesis 3:1a, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field the LORD God had made.” The serpent was a creature that was made by the Lord. Although he was a creature, he was different than the other beasts of the field, for he speaks. Genesis 3:1b, “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” His opening lines reveal his craftiness is directed against the Lord as he questions His command. Scripture reveals to us that this serpent is not a mere serpent, but the Devil.

            The Devil is given many names in Scripture. Jesus speaks of him in the New Testament as the father of lies for, “When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John8:44) Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.” He is the Accuser of God’s people (Rev. 12:10). The prince of the power of the air who leads the sons of disobedience, the god of this world who blinds the minds of unbelievers and the adversary who roars around like a lion seeking someone to devour. From his introduction we see a creature who is crafty and who stands against the Lord.

            It is important to note that the serpent knows the commands of the Lord. The evil one knows the Word, but he twists it for his own purposes and for the destruction of God’s people. Before we examine his tactics, we must first believe that Satan is real and active in God’s world. The narrative does not explain why the serpent is in the Garden, but simply states that he is there. The serpent is a creature of God, but the passage does not explain the nature and origin of evil. The passage explains the origin of human sin and guilt, but does not attempt to answer all the questions of evil. We know that the Bible never attributes God as the author of evil, but as One who uses evil to bring about good (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28).

The Temptation of the Fall

The tempter begins his temptation by questioning God’s Word. He wants to cause God’s people to doubt his word. Satan loves half-truths. He presents truth mixed with lies. Genesis 3:1-5,

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 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.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)

Satan twists God’s word, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” If you remember God said, “You may freely eat of any tree in the garden.” The beginning of the temptations starts when Eve start to question God’s word. The tactics are still alive today.

            The voice of the evil may not be from a serpent, but may be from a friend, or a news article, or a preacher. Did God actually say, “marriage can only be between a man or a woman?’ One mark of false teachers is those who twist the scriptures for their own benefit. We were promised that in last days there will be false teachers and false hearers. “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4) Temptation begins with doubt, but it leads to denial.

            The woman’s response to the half-truths of the serpent reveals how she has already been subtly deceived,

First, she omits those elements in the command, “any” and “freely,” which placed the prohibition in a context of liberality. At this point she still is thinking collectively with her husband, from whom, as the narrator implies, she received the command: “we may eat” (v. 2). Second, Eve identifies the tree according to its location rather than its significance; and third, she refers to “God” as the serpent had done, rather than “the Lord” (v. 3). Fourth, she also adds the phrase “you must not touch it” (v. 3), which may make the prohibition more stringent. Yet to her credit the fear of touching the fruit may have been out of deference for God’s command. For Israel “touch” was associated with prohibition and death or with consecration to God. Finally, she failed to capture the urgency of certain death, “You will [surely] die” (v. 3).^[i]

The woman appears to fight temptation, but she has already begun down the path of doubting God’s Word.

The serpent picks up his attack by outright denying God’s Word and questions his character. Genesis 3:4-5, “But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent denies that death will happen and then questions God’s motives. The serpent tells the woman what she will gain, but nothing of what she will lose. Satan told the truth. The man and woman’s eyes would be opened and they would be like God knowing good and evil, but he does not what that will mean. The serpent intentionally focuses on all the positives while obscuring all the negatives. Doesn’t temptation begin the same way today? It holds out the promises of happiness, pleasure and comfort without showing the heartache, the emotional guilt and the people hurt in walking in sin.

            We see the crafty serpent’s trickery deceiving the woman into the first sin. Genesis 3:6, “So 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.” The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food like all the other trees and a delight to the eyes like all the other trees, but this tree would make her wise. She would be like God, so she took of the fruit and ate. The root sin here is pride. The man and woman usurp their roles as creatures and put themselves in the place of Creator. They did what was wise in their own eyes. Beloved, the root of our sin will always begin with pride.

            The Bible speaks of the woman being deceived, but her husband was right there with her. The language of the passage always uses the plural “you” implying that the husband was there during this entire conversation. He could have at any point stopped his wife. He could have spoken up and defended the Lord, but instead he was silent. The Bible said that woman was deceived, but it never says that Adam was deceived. Adam’s silence leads to destruction of the garden. How many times does our silence lead to the destruction of people’s lives? Adam will be the one who is held primarily responsible for this breach of God’s Word.

            The temptation in the Garden is still the pattern of temptation today. The apostle John writes,

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

The desires of the flesh…our appetites…good for food. The desires of the eyes…our lust…pleasing to the eye. The pride of life…to be like God. Nothing is new under the sun. The best way to overcome an attack from an enemy is to know where he will attack. What are your appetites that can lead you from the Lord? What are your desires of the eyes that tempt you? How are you tempted to make a name for yourself rather than for the Father? Know your weaknesses and plan accordingly.

The Try after the Fall

            Immediately after the fall, we see how man and woman tried to cover their shame. They first make their own coverings. “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (Genesis 3:7) Their eyes were opened and they realized (became aware) that they were naked and they covered themselves. The first reaction to being exposed in their sin was to try and deal with it themselves. Don’t we do the same today? We are exposed in our sin and try to cover it up ourselves. And yet we know that our coverings are insufficient.

            Man and women covered themselves because they had become like God knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.” They lost their innocence and immediately hide from God. They fear God. Their perfect communion with God is broken and they are spiritually separated from him. All sin breaks fellowship with God and with each other.

            And although fellowship is broken, the Covenant continues to pursue his people. He knows what has happened, but he calls out to his people giving them the opportunity to admit their guilt. Genesis 3:8-13)

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Neither the man nor the woman take responsibility for their actions, but pass blame onto another. Adam blames God for giving him the woman and the woman for giving him the fruit. The woman blames the serpent. The Lord graciously calls out to his people, but instead of turning to him they justify their actions. They both admit their sin as they both said, “I ate,” but never confessed their guilt in the transgression.

            Beloved, the sin of the man and the woman in the garden is why sin. We are all spiritually dead and separated from God because of sin. Romans 5:12. “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” We are all sinners. This is the doctrine of original sin. The core of every human being is no longer good, but evil. We are born in sin and our hearts are inclined to evil because at our very core we are sinful. We all know this to be true. We all have our ways of trying to cover up and blame others, but we all know that we are at fault. We cannot deny our guilt. Sin brings judgment.

The Trouble because of the Fall

            The Lord responds to the rebellion in the garden with the pronouncement of judgment towards the rebels,

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:14-19)

In Genesis 1, we see God three times call out his blessing: God blessed the animals, God blessed human beings and God blessed the 7^th day. And here we see God issue the first of three curses at the beginning of the fall by cursing the serpent and cursing the ground (He will later curse Cain).

            The judgment that God gives is directly related to the purposes in which man and woman were created. The woman was created to bear children and to be a helper fit for her husband, so a woman will now experience pain in childbearing and will have a desire to rule or dominate her husband in marriage. The desire to criticize and control one’s husband has its beginning in the fall. The New Testament teaches that women are called to submit and respect their husbands’ leadership, for those desires are not natural to a fallen world. Adam was placed in the garden to work the land, but now the land will work against him and it will be difficult for him to exercise dominion over it. Work will become hard and the ground will eventually rule over man as man will eventually return to dust. The ultimate punishment of sin is death. Sin brings judgment.

            God completed his judgment against Adam and his wife by sending them out of the garden, banishing them from his presence and guarding the way to life.

The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Then the LORD God said,

Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:20-24)

Sin brings judgment. Genesis 3 is clear reminder of the consequences of sin, but it is also full of the glorious hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Triumph over the Fall

            Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves after the fall, but their covering was insufficient. Only God could provide a covering. Genesis 3:15 has been termed the protoevangelium, the first gospel. “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” There is going to come one from a woman who is going to crush the head of the serpent. Genesis 3:20, “The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.” Despite the pain of childbirth, woman would still fulfill her purpose. Eve would bring forth a son. Genesis traces the seed of the woman, Seth to Noah to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah. And the rest of the Bible traces seed of the woman the line ultimately to One who is going to fulfill the promise of Genesis 3:15, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the seed of woman. Jesus is the New Adam. Jesus would face the temptation of the serpent, not in a Garden, but in the wilderness. After forty days without food, Jesus would stand against the crafty deception of Satan by trusting in the LORD God. Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded. Jesus was tempted three times and each time overcame temptation with the Word of Truth.

The LORD God made a provision to cover Adam and Eve in the garden. He covered them with the skin of an animal. Blood was shed to cover their nakedness. This covering was only a sign of how the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent; he would first have to be bruised and bleed, taking the curse of God on a tree. Matthew 27:45-46 speaks of Jesus as he hung on the cross, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We know why Jesus was forsaken on the curse.

 We know why he was cursed. He was cursed because he loved us. And Jesus was the only way to get us back to the presence of God. Genesis 3:24, “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” A Cherubim was a symbol for God’s people reminding them that they could not enter God’s presence. The cherubim was placed on the curtain in the Temple that separated the Holy place from the Holy of Holies. Matthew 27:50-51, “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split…” “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54) Through the shed blood of the Son of God, the curtain was torn and the cherubim no longer blocked the way to the presence of God. Jesus triumphed over the fall through his death.

Jesus died to pay our curse, but was raised to give us new life. Salvation only comes through judgment. We were saved because our Savior was judged. We celebrate the victory of the Lamb who was slain by enjoying a foretaste of the meal to come. We feast on the bread of life and the fruit of the wine by faith in what Christ has done in his death and what awaits us in the promised coming resurrection.

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^[i] Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, pp. 235–236). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The Garden Couple (Genesis 2)

Every generation has their own celebrity couples that have dominated the newspaper and talk show headlines. Ricky and Lucy, John and Jackie, Burt and Lonnie, Brad and Jennifer, Brad and Angelina, Ross and Rachel, June and Ward, Jay-Z and Beyonce, and Matt and Laura Chandler, who are the Jay-Z and Beyonce of evangelical Christianity. Whether we like it or not, real-life celebrity and fictional TV couples help to form a society’s view on love and marriage. Ward and June Cleaver helped to shape to the view of marriage in post-war America, while Ross and Rachel and their friends helped to re-shape marriage and commitment at the end of the 20^th century on into the 21^st. We absorb many of the thoughts and philosophies of the dominant culture, often without even realizing it. Our culture can create blinders in our lives.

            America’s view of marriage and commitment and sexuality has dramatically shifted in the last 50 years. In a recent article in Christianity Today, Maureen Garcia writes on the benefits of boudoir photography for Christian women who struggle with beauty. In the articles she writes,

Given our current cultural context, in which many women feel pressure to attain an impossible beauty ideal, I love the idea of women pursuing boudoir shoots to embrace their bodies and overcome hang-ups with their own sexuality. But does the trend end up playing into our societal idolization of sex appeal and beauty? Is this a way for a woman to objectify… herself?^[i]

Garcia asks the right question, but sadly comes, I believe, to the wrong conclusion. In promoting such practices, Garcia may show how much she has been absorbed into normalizing our cultural ideals of sex and beauty. And as one of my friends commented after posting the article online, “I want my friends to know that some of its (CT) articles have lots of ‘Today’ and not so much ‘Christianity.’”

            Can you imagine Jesus or the Apostle Paul recommending a boudoir photo shoot to overcome shame or to recover one’s sexual identity? Our views of marriage and sexuality do not change with the times. We may not advocate baring all before the camera, but we cannot deny that our culture influences us. And because we will be influenced by our culture, it is imperative that we understand marriage and sexuality from a biblical perspective. We want to make sure that we have less “Today” and more “Christianity.” There is no better place to start than the beginning with the first couple in the Garden. We are going to look at three specific aspects of this couple that should give us solid footing to avoid slipping into the current of our ever-changing culture.

The Complementary Couple

            Adam and Eve were created perfectly to complement one another. The word “complement” is defined as something that completes or makes perfect. We read the shocking statement from the Lord God in Genesis 2:18, “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” It is not good that man should be alone. In God’s good creation it would have been a jarring statement to the reader that something was not good. It wasn’t that man was not good, but he was not good alone. God made man and placed him in the garden to rule and work the land. In order for man to finish his job to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth, he was going to need help. And God announces that He will make a helper fit for him.

Genesis 2:18-25 are extremely important verses for the Christian worldview. We need to pay special attention to these verses, for Jesus and Paul use them as anchors in their teaching.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. (Genesis 2:18-20)

First, God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens out of the ground. The clear reading of the text does not give the picture that man and animal evolved from a single creature over millions of years into various different species, but were created out of the ground by the LORD God on one day. Let us not be embarrassed by the Bible, but take God at his Word.

            There is a reason why God formed every beast and bird out of the ground and brought him to Adam. Remember the purpose of the narrative is to explain how God would make a helper suitable for Adam. God is bringing every animal before Adam so that he could name them. I believe there are two primary reasons that God gives Adam the responsibility to name the animals. First, he names the animals because he is responsible for them. In Hebrew culture, when someone gives a name they take responsibility to that person. We can see how God takes responsibility for people by naming or renaming them: Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, and giving the name to John and Jesus through direct revelation from angelic messages. God wanted to reinforce his commands by giving Adam naming rights, so his role of dominion over the animals of the Garden would be clear.

            The second reason that God wants Adam to name the animals is to show how all the animals are not suitable for him. Genesis 2:20, “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.” There were no animals that complemented or completed Adam. Animals are incredible. I love watching horses gallop in an open field. I am amazed at the beauty and power of the big cats like lions and tigers. I long for the day to see an elk and moose up close. I love how my dog follows me around and sits at my feet in my house. Animals are incredible, but they are not like man. Adam may have been amazed with the diversity, beauty and size of all the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, but they were not like him.

It is interesting that many of the “gods” of other religions are pictured as animals, but our God creates man in His image. Man and woman are unique and distinct from all the other creatures on the planet. Be wary of those who try to picture man more like animals. Adam, with a mind untainted by the fall, did not see a helper fit for him. After God made his point, He made woman,

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Gen. 2:21-23)

God shows great care in making the woman as much as He did when he made man. Man and woman were of the same kind for Adam exclaimed, “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” There was a uniqueness in the woman. Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

            Man and woman are created equal. They both were created in God’s image. They both were formed directly by the Lord. They were both created to rule and exercise dominion. They both had a perfect relationship with the Lord. The Bible repeatedly highlights woman as co-equals with men. This is not a shocking statement in our society, but in the ancient world (and even in some cultures today), women were degraded as being less than a man. There is no place in biblical Christianity to view women as less than a man. They both are equal in the eyes of God. And although men and women were created equal, they are not the same. There is a uniqueness to their roles.

            Christianity is broken down to two large streams to understand the dynamic relationship between men and women. Egalitarianism states that men and women were created equal in substance and in role. Egalitarian sees no difference in the function of men and women. Complementarianism states that men and women were created equal in substance, but for different roles. Both sides would agree that Genesis 2 teaches equality, but would differ in the interpretation of man and woman’s roles. Egalitarians have a good motivation in pushing for equality of roles, but in so doing they drift from how the New Testament interprets Genesis 2.

Paul uses Genesis 2 as the foundation of his argument that man and woman are created equal, but possess different roles. Paul writes to a young pastor on how the church ought to behave in the household of God. He writes to young Timothy, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.” (1 Timothy 2:12-13) The role of leadership in the church in teaching and authority is given to the man, not because man is superior, but rather because God created man to lead. God gave man authority in creation by creating him first. So how we set up our church leadership structure is a sign of our trust in God’s creation order. Paul grounds his argument in creation, therefore so should we. And Paul does the same thing in explaining the equality and difference of men and women in the home.

            Paul writes in Ephesians and in 1 Corinthians about how God created man to be the head of his wife. Ephesians 5:22-23, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of wife even as Christ is the of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.” And again in 1 Corinthians 11:3,

But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God…For man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. (1 Corinthians 11:3;7-9)

How men and women interact points to the reality and the wisdom of our Creator. There are many things that could be said, but I simply want to point out that Paul interpreted Genesis 2:20-23 with a complementarian perspective. Paul does not denigrate women, but trusts God’s Word that the best way to honor women is to encourage the creation roles in the Garden.

            Let us not trust the ideas of “today” more than those of historic “Christianity.” Men and women were created equal and for different roles. They were created to complement one another. We have to think wisely on the application of complementarian ideals, because how we interact in the home and the church displays something of God’s good creation. Let us not forsake God’s Word by reading the Bible through the lenses of our own culture. And at the same time, let us not go too far to lower women below men. We need each other to work out the principles of God’s Word together in how we do life in the church and the home. Do not be embarrassed by the Word.

The Cornerstone Couple

            Adam and Eve were created to complement one another, but they were also created as the cornerstone building block of society. Marriage and the family is the foundation of all societies. Strong marriages create strong families and strong families create strong societies. I believe Genesis 2:24 is the greatest verse on marriage in the entire Bible. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Man and woman are called to leave their families and hold fast to one another: leave and cleave. This is the first place I take all couples during pre-marital counseling and it is first verse I begin with when I counsel marriages that are struggling. The principles in the verse are foundational for all marriages.

First, a man shall leave his father and mother. This does not mean a man must leave the area or even the home of his family. Many Israelites stayed in close proximity and in many cases the same home as their family of origin. When one leaves their family, they trade their main allegiance. The main allegiance for a husband is now his wife and the main allegiance for a wife is now her husband. There have been many marriages that have struggled because one or both spouse care more about the opinions of their parents than their spouse.

There is a myriad of applications to this first. When you are considering a big promotion that will cause you to relocate, is your first call your mother or your wife? When your child is struggling with being bullied at school do you first go to your father or your husband? How do you decide on where to spend the holidays or who to vacation with or what neighborhood to live in or the size of your home? Do you expect your husband to be like your father? Or your wife like your mother? We are called to leave our father and mother as our main priority so we can start a new family. Marriages are full of questions and they should be worked out with a husband and a wife. This does not mean we do not work to honor our parents and listen to their advice, but we have to be very careful to keep relationships in their proper place.

Secondly, we are called to hold fast to one another. Hold fast means to cling to one another. The language of leaving and cleaving indicate a covenant. The husband and the wife are publicly committing themselves to one another. This means that marriage should be a lifelong commitment. Jesus references this verse in Matthew 19 when he was asked about divorce by the Pharisees,

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:3-6 ESV)

What God has joined together, let not man separate. The foundation of a healthy society, including the society of the church, is to have marriages that are committed to each other for a lifetime.

            The reason this is so important is the last part of Genesis 2:24 which Jesus mentions in Matthew 19:6 that the man and woman have become one flesh. They are no longer two, but one. They have been united together. The one flesh union is specifically speaking the complementary sexual union between a man and woman. They were created to fit together. This verse is very clear that true marriage almost be between a man and a woman. The physical one flesh union is created by God to bind couples together. Physical intimacy in marriage is the act of uniting and reuniting couples together.

The physical union of a man and woman in marriage is like the church coming together as one in the Lord’s Table. God has given the church the Supper so that we could have communion with one another and with God. And before we come to the table, we should deal with the various things that are causing disunity and division in the body. The same is true for intimacy. Couples that are not engaging in physical intimacy usually are experiencing emotional or relational disunity. The desire for the “one-flesh” union is given to marriage so that couples will address the specific issues that are causing conflict. It is difficult for a husband and a wife to be one flesh physically if they are not one flesh emotionally and spiritually.

            One of the greatest principles in marriage is the “one-flesh” principle. God wants couples to be one flesh. The world wants couples to be divided and separated. Therefore, we have to analyze the things in our life on the “one-flesh” principle. Does this activity create oneness or division? Are these friends or this job or our schedule driving us towards each other or away from each other? God wants us to be one so he has given us in our physical bodies a reminder of our one-flesh union.

And our one flesh union speaks of an even greater reality than just a healthy and happy marriage. Paul writes, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31-32) Marriage is a gospel track. The love of a husband to his wife models the love that God has for us in Christ. The love of a wife to her husband models the love and respect the church has for Christ. Marriage is a gospel track that declares the reality of gospel to the world.

            Marriage has been under attack since the Fall. Human sexuality has seemed to have gone off the rails. Russell Moore writes on how human sexuality speaks to a far greater reality than we realize,

The Apostle Paul tells us precisely why: because human sexuality points to a grander cosmic mystery that has now been revealed in these last days of human history. Paul reveals the church at Ephesus that the “mystery” of God is now being revealed in the “summing up of all things” under the lordship of the Man from Nazareth (Eph. 1:9-10). He reveals that the “mystery” of the ages is further revealed to the cosmic powers through the calling together of a Body for this Messiah–a Jew/Gentile church (Eph. 3:10). And then Paul makes a stunning claim. He points to the male/female one-flesh union of Genesis and argues that human sexuality is patterned after the archetype of this mystery-the one-flesh union of Christ and his church (Eph.h 5:32) …. This is why sexual revolutions always turn out so boring…This is why pornography is so numbing to the soul. It is because in the search for sexual excitement men and women are not really looking for biochemical sensations or the responses of nerve endings. And, in fact, they are not ultimately even looking for each other.

They are searching desperately, not for mere sex, but for that to which sex points–something they know exists but they just can’t identify. They are looking to be part of an all-encompassing cosmic mystery. They are looking for a love that is stronger than death. They can’t articulate it, and they would be horrified to know it, but, behind all their sexual frenzy, they are looking for a glorious Messiah, Jesus, and his glorious bride, the church. And that’s why you will never find an image naked enough to satisfy what you’re looking for.^[ii]

Our sexual desires communicate something far greater than we realize.

God wants us to be satisfied in our marriages because it points the world to Christ. Friends, we all have baggage. We all have made mistakes in our marriages. We hear a message on marriage and sexuality and many of us feel loaded down with guilt and regret. We are reminded of all our failures with our sexuality. So let me close this sermon by looking at this garden couple lack of shame and remind us of the One who has come to take our shame.

The Clothes-less Couple

            Genesis 2:25, “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Adam and Eve were naked and without shame. They were not aware shame because they did have the knowledge of good and evil yet by eating the fruit of the tree. They were without clothes and without shame. Nakedness was a sign of shame among Israel. It would have difficult to comprehend a time when man and woman were naked and without shame. They knew shame and we know shame. And Lord knows what we have done. He knows our shame. Listen to Jesus speaking the church of Laodicea,

‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. (Revelation 3:15-18)

Jesus invites us to come to him. He invites us to turn from our sin, to repent, so that we may be rich with white garments. Jesus desires to clothe us with his righteous robes to cover our nakedness. How could Jesus cover us? Revelation 7:9,

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Salvation belongs to the Lamb. The Lamb who was slain to take away the sin of the world.

            Jesus was slain to take our nakedness. Jesus was slain, but he was raised to sit on the throne. Salvation belongs to the Lamb that was slain.

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Revelation 7:13-14)

Are you filled with shame? Have you been burdened with guilt because of past sin? Friend, we all need a covering. We all need to be washed. God sent forth the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ so that all who are naked and ashamed could be washed in the blood of the Lamb. Do not continue to live in the shame of your nakedness. Come to the Lamb. God knew that Adam and Eve would need a covering. He knew that we would need a covering. He offers to cover you with righteous white robes of Christ purchased with his blood, will you let him? Come and be naked no more.

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[i] http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2016/february/healing-in-front-of-camera.html?start=3 accessed 2.13.16

[ii] https://www.russellmoore.com/2015/10/14/playboy-is-too-boring-to-succeed/ accessed 2.14.2016

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^[i] Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 196). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[ii] Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 202). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[iii] Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 202). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[iv] Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 211). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

^[v] Mathews, K. A. (1996). Genesis 1-11:26 (Vol. 1A, p. 206). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

Standing in the Truth (3 John)

            On April 18^th, 1521 Martin Luther was brought before the Diet of Worms to be challenged on his view of Scripture. When asked if he wanted to retract any ideas in his writings, he replied,

Here it is, plain and unvarnished. Unless I am convicted of error by the testimony of Scripture or (since I put no trust in the unsupported authority of Pope or councils, since it is plain that they have often erred and often contradicted themselves) by manifest reasoning, I stand convicted by the Scriptures to which I have appealed, and my conscience is taken captive by God's word, I cannot and will not recant anything, for to act against our conscience is neither safe for us, nor open to us. On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.[1]

Luther Biographer, Roland H. Bainton, noted that in that moment, “the past and the future were met.” Luther defended his written attacks against the papacy and challenged their authority to determine right from wrong. Luther stood steadfast in his trust and interpretation in the Holy Scripture. Luther was bound by the Word of God. God’s Word constrained his conscience.

            Luther’s stand that salvation was revealed in Scripture alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone was the catalyst that burned the gospel into the hearts of Europe spreading the Reformation and recovery of the gospel across Europe. It took courage for Luther to stand against false doctrine. It could have ended his life. Luther stood for truth. His courage has inspired countless thousands over the last 500 years.

The courage it takes to stand for truth inspires hearts. The stand of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., William Tyndale, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln, and William Wilberforce inspired courage of their contemporaries and the following generations. Each not knowing in the moment what would become of their lives. And yet, the stood for truth. When the moment comes, will you stand for truth? When your coworker asks about your faith, will you stand? When your family questions your decision to go overseas, will you stand? When you see a brother drifting towards sin, will you stand? When you are tempted by the evil one, will you stand? Your moment may not inspire millions, but it will be seen by your Father in heaven. And he who sees that is done in secret will reward you.

            We all face moments of truth every day and we must decide beforehand, “Will we stand in the truth?” The Apostle John, the elder of the ancient church, wrote to his dear friend Gaius and the beloved church to encourage them to stand in the truth. I pray that when your moment comes, you will stand in the truth.

Standing in the Truth in Prayer

John loves the truth. The Apostle John is responsible for 5 books of the New Testament: His gospel, 3 letters, and the book of Revelation. Truth is one of the major themes in all his writings. And as he begins his brief letter, we see his love for truth in the opening words, “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth.” Gaius was a common name in the 1^st century. The name appears three other times in the New Testament. There is Gaius of Corinth (Rom 16:23), Gaius of Macedonia (Acts 19:29), and Gaius of Derbe (Acts 20:4).^[2] It probably unlikely that John addresses any of these men, but he addresses a man that he loves dearly. John addresses Gaius as his beloved or dear friend 4 times throughout this letter.

            One of the first keys of standing in the truth is the importance of prayer. We do not have the ability to stand without the power of God. John writes, “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.” Body and soul together. The thrust of John’s prayer is not only in a healthy body, but a healthy soul. How quick are we to pray for our ailing bodies while we neglect our ailing souls? We are quick to offer a prayer for the sick in body but slow to offer a prayer for the sick in soul? Friends, we must call upon heaven to pray for those cannot faithfully sing, “It is well with my soul.”

            And yet, John prays for his friend’s body. Beloved, we should always focus on the primacy of one’s soul over the body, but we must never ignore how the body affects our soul. God made us to be embodied souls. It is unwise and unloving not to care for the needs of our physical bodies as it is unwise not to tend to the care of our souls. If a son fell into a pit and was in physical harm, which parent would not do all they could to help the body of their son? Sickness and pain affects us all. We must pray to God for his kindness in bringing good health. John cared, both in body and in soul, for his friend Gaius. We should do the same.

            Gaius’ ability to stand in the truth was sustained through the prayers of the saints. Paul writes of his confidence to stand in his moment in a Roman prison because of the saints. Philippians 1:19-21,

[F]or I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul’s courage came through the prayers of the saints. God commands us to prayer for one another. Beloved, how sweet have our prayers been on Wednesday night!! We come together and stand in and for the truth in prayer. Let us continue to pray for the saints so that like John for Gaius, the Philippians for Paul, that we would pray for each other so that we would be of full courage so that Christ would be honored in our bodies, by life or by death.

Standing in the Truth in Praise

John writes his letter as an old man. As he begins this letter, we see his his greatest joy and passion in his life. John rejoices not in the health of his own soul, but in the health of soul of others.

For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Gaius is walking with God and standing in the truth. He John’s words, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

            Janice has been challenged our young ladies to memorize Scripture every week for our Wednesday night class. This past week, my daughter memorized Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present or things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I have personally memorized a lot of Scripture, but hearing my daughter recite and write God’s precious Word on her heart brings far more joy rather any scripture I have memorized. My child is walking in the truth.

            Gaius is most likely not John’s biological child, but his child in the faith. John either led Gaius to the Lord or disciple him in the faith. There is wonderful joy when you see people grow in Christ whom you disciple. I have experienced so much joy looking at the men and women in this congregation that I have had the privilege to walk with over the last 5 years. Can I encourage you to pour life into others? I would love for you to experience a glimpse of what John is speaking about here. It is marvelous.

            John could stand in truth because he lived a life of praise to God. His glory was not his main concern, but the glory of Christ. He wanted Christ to be magnified in people’s lives. His outpouring of the glory of Christ fueled his own growth as well as Gaius. Our ability to stand transcends our own individuals walk with God. God places us in a body so we have other joints and ligaments working together so we may grow into maturity (Eph. 4:11-16). Is your greatest joy to hear that others in our church are walking in the truth?

Standing in the Truth in Support

After the greeting John continues to rejoice in how Gaius and the church are responding to traveling missionaries who have gone out for the name of Christ. 3 John 5-8,

Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

There are two main ways Gaius is supporting these missionaries. The first Gaius has welcomed strangers into his home. These traveling Christians came to Gaius needing a place to stay and Gaius opened his home. In the first century, inns were not very safe or godly places to stay. When Christians traveled, they depended upon the hospitality of the saints. People opened their homes.

            Two years ago, I made an announcement that we needed families to open their homes for college students over the summer. As I made the announcement, my son whispered to my wife, “I’ll give up my bed.” Praise God for a youthful zeal to obey the Lord Jesus. My son has given up his bed countless times for brothers and sisters who needed a place to stay. There are many others in the church who have done the same. I pray that Christian hospitality continues to be a mark of our congregation. We expressed a home of that hospitality in opening our doors to the homeless over the winter. If you have not heard the testimonies of the men who served the shelter, can I encourage you to go online and watch what God did in and through them.

            Besides opening his home, Gaius sent the missionaries out with financial and material resources to continue the mission. John commends that it is right and good to send missionaries out in a manner worthy of God. Think about those words!! We should send out people from our church on mission to the nations as if we were sending out Jesus Christ himself. How we treat others reflects how we love God. The reason we should send them out is because they are bringing the most important message in the world. They have gone out for the sake of the name.

            Friend, if you are here with us today and are not a follow of Jesus, let me explain what it means that they had gone out for the sake of the name. The Bible says in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” We read that verse we should ask, “Why do we need salvation?” The Bible teaches, and your own heart bears witness, that we are sinners. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Our sin brings us under condemnation with God. Our sin blocks us from heaven’s perfection. We cannot earn our own salvation. We will never be justified or made right with God by what we do. This is why Luther stood up against the pope. Roman Catholicism believes that we can earn salvation through our works and receiving the sacraments. Luther saw that the Bible says, Romans 3:20,“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” When we realize God’s standard of perfection, it is very clear that we fall short of his glory. We need salvation by God from God.

            The reason the missionaries went out in John’s day was because they and we believe that there is salvation in no other name under heaven than Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth as a man. He lived a perfect life. He committed no sin. He was innocent. He perfectly lived for God’s glory, but was punished as sinner. He died as a substitute for all who would turn and trust in him. After his death for sinners, God raised Jesus from the dead. In the resurrection of Jesus, God the Father publicly declared that salvation is available through Christ. If anyone would turn from their sin and call upon Jesus Christ as Lord, they will be saved.

            This message was so great that people have been leaving their homes for 2,000 years with nothing to tell others about the name. 3 John 7, “For they have gone out for the sake of the name accepting nothing from the Gentiles.” Friend, if Jesus Christ isn’t God, why would thousands upon thousands upon thousands leave their families and friends with nothing but a message that says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Consider the history of Christian mission, but more importantly, I pray you consider the name and the person Jesus Christ. He came to seek and to save that which is lost. He came not for the healthy, but for the sick. He came not to be served, but to serve to give his life as a ransom for many.

            Beloved, if God has given us the only way of salvation, we ought to support people who go out for the sake of the name. What a joy and a privilege that God would send out our brothers and sisters with the gospel of Christ. When our brothers and sisters go to the nations through our prayers and our resources, we are fellow workers in the truth. We stand in the truth when we support the work of gospel proclamation here in our church and across the world.

Standing in the Truth in Submission

Not every person believed in supporting and welcoming those who have gone out for the name of Jesus. There were some that did not want to submit to the apostles teaching. 3 John 9-10,

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority.  So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 

Diotrephes was not acknowledging the authority of the apostles, refusing to welcome fellow believers into the fellowship, hindering the ministry of others, and putting people out of the church. He was stifling the gospel ministry in the church. There are many reasons one could be doing these things, but notice John’s reason, Diotrephes, “likes to put himself first.”

            When we put ourselves first, the body of Christ suffers. How do you put yourself first? Love does not insist on its own way and its own preferences, but lays down its preferences for the sake of the body. The one who puts himself first is not putting Christ first.

One of the most disturbing trends in evangelicalism is a disregard for authority. Of course, there are and have been many abuses of pastoral authority which people have a right to speak against. That being said, the faithful church member should not be like Diotrephes who rejected the authority of the apostles, but one who humbly submits and followers their leaders. A rejection of authority has become a culture norm. Personal autonomy and one’s sovereign right over every decision they make dominates the western lanscape. Have you fallen to the spirit of the age and been infected by personal autonomy?

Authority has been given and instituted by God. Children submit to their parents’ authority, citizens submit to their governments authority, and church members submit to their elders’ authority. It may seem self-serving for an elder, like myself, to encourage submission, but God’s word is clear. Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”

How are you responding to your leaders? Do you pray for them? Is your heart open to them (2 Cor 6:11-13)? Diotrephes hurt the church because he put himself first and did not submit to authority. I pray you will not follow his example, but stand in the truth.

Standing in the Truth in Imitation

John encourages his beloved friend to walk not in the way of Diotrephes, but to imitate good. He writes,

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

Humans learn from imitation. Our children learn to talk and walk by following our examples. It is natural to become like who you follow. It is one of the reasons the Bible puts so much stock in the character of its leaders. Paul provides a pretty comprehensive list in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 on the character of elders and deacons. The reason is clear. The congregation is called to follow and imitate their leaders. It is daunting, yet natural. Imitation is a common theme in the word of God,

1 Corinthians 4:16 – “I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 – “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Ephesians 5:1 – “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Philippians 3:17 – “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us”. 1 Thessalonians 1:6 – “And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” 2 Thessalonians 3:7 – “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,” 2 Thessalonians 3:9 – “It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.” Hebrews 6:12 – “so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Hebrews 13:7 – “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”

The biblical pattern is the church has godly (not perfect) leaders who love and follow Christ and reflect how to live and follow Him.

            Future elders and deacons, I pray you see the importance of living a godly life. Mothers and fathers, I pray you see the importance of living a godly life. Beloved, people will imitate our behavior so let our lives be full of Christ.

Ultimately, leader is simple one who follow the ultimate leader. Jesus Christ is our example. The goal of our lives is that we would be transformed into the image of the Son, mature in Him, lacking in nothing. We all know how to walk and live because Christ came and lived perfectly. And now, Christ lives in us by the power of his Spirit. Let us hold fast to what is good and right and reflect our great and glorious Savior. Let us stand as a reflection of him to our world.

Standing in the Truth in Intimacy

John closes his brief letter with showing his intimacy with Gaius and the rest of the church. He writes,

I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name.

I love how John ends this letter. John desires to great friends each by name. Friendship is a powerful thing. John loved his dear friend Gaius. Gaius loved his dear friend John. I pray that we would have many dear friends in the life of the church. True friendship takes sacrifice. True friendship take time. True friendship is a gift from God.

One of the best ways to build and sustain friendship is around the table. Table fellowship is a wonderful picture of intimacy and closeness. Jesus said,

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:13-15)

Jesus laid down his life for his friends. He bled and died and rose again so we would have friendship with him. He died so we would be intimately connected with him. And now he continues to invite us into that friendship through table fellowship. He invites to his table.

Every time we come to the Lord’s table, we stand in the intimacy of Christ. We remember that Jesus laid down his life for us. He died that we may live. This meal is a meal for the friends of Christ. It is an open invitation for all who believe that there is salvation in no one else, for there is other name under heaven which men can be saved. All baptized believers who are members in good standing of a church of like faith and order are welcome to the table. If you have not accepted the friendship of Jesus Christ and salvation in his name, allow the bread and the cup to pass and as they pass I pray you would consider how much God offers you in the name of Jesus Christ. We all must stand for something, I pray you would stand behind Christ, for Christ and not against Christ. As we prepare the table, allow us to prepare our own hearts for this intimate table of friendship.

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[1] http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~lyman/english233/Luther-Diet_of_Worms.htm accessed 4.29.17

^[2] Akin, D. L. (2001). 1, 2, 3 John (Vol. 38, p. 239). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.