This is a sermon series called Origin Story: Genesis 3:1-7, “Temptation.” July 26, 2026 You can watch more here.
In our passage this morning, we’re going to see Adam and Eve, Genesis 3, had all the answers, but when uncertainty started to creep into the story, that uncertainty started to shape their relationship with God and their relationship with one another. Let’s look at Genesis 3, verse 1:
Genesis 3:1, “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
If you are new this morning, Genesis is in the Old Testament. Genesis is the first book in the Bible. These last 4 weeks we have been studying through Genesis and Genesis 1-2 teaches us that all of creation is designed by Him, through Him and for Him, so that in Genesis 1-2 everything is perfect. But, in verse 1 we see a new wrinkle in the story of creation with the “serpent.” Did you see that in verse 1? Some of y’all are like, “Yeah, we saw it! It’s a talking serpent!”
Look, I don’t want to scare anyone, but God’s Word is clear that there is a devil. He’s not just a character in a scary movie. He is real and he is the enemy of God, and verse 1 tells us the devil is a created being that is “more crafty than any beast of the field.” The word “crafty” in the original language means “clever” and we are going to see his clever ways in our passage this morning. It’s why 1 Peter in the New Testament describes the devil like a lion that prowls around looking for someone to devour. He’s crafty!
Jesus speaks of the devil and says, “He is the father of lies who comes to steal, kill and destroy.” You trying to scare me? Yeah! Because, we need to be aware that we live in a world with someone who has an intentional purpose to create confusion and uncertainty, because look at the conversation in verse 1. The serpent says to Eve, “Has God said?” Stop right there. Notice Satan doesn’t deny God’s Word. He doesn’t deny the existence of God. He doesn’t show up in devil horns and a pointy tail. He simply shows up with a question, “Has God said?”
Immediately when Eve hears a talking snake she should just say, “No!-and run!” But instead Eve enters into a conversation with the devil where all he has to do is create uncertainty about God’s Word, “Has God said?” What did he say? Let’s look at Genesis 2:17:
Genesis 2:16-17, “16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Do you see the difference? Oh, he’s crafty! (SLIDE: Verse). Satan says, “You shall not eat from ANYtree of the garden?” But that’s not what God said. God said just the opposite! It’s Satan’s way of planting seeds of uncertainty and confusion like, “Are you sure?” Because uncertainty starts shaping the story!
Satan isn’t asking Eve to rob a bank and murder a bunch of people. Nobody goes from A-Z in one question. Satan simply suggests, “Why would God place you in a garden and then tell you that you can’t eat any from ANY of the trees?” That’s silly! The suggestion is that the Lord God is trying to hold out on you! The suggestion is, “You can’t trust Him!”
Look at verse 1. He is crafty, but he’s also a created beast of the field. He doesn’t come with force and power and awe of creation like the God of Scripture in Genesis 1. No, he comes with words and lies. Right now, it would be so easy for us as a church family to get wrapped up in the uncertainty of our circumstances. What’s going to happen here? What if this? How come they? These are all outcomes we can’t control at the church level, global level, or the personal level, therefore, it’s so important for us to be on guard against the attacks of the evil one. Especially in these moments, so that uncertainty doesn’t shape who we are. Amen?
It’s possible some of us are thinking, “How do these attacks look like practically, because I’ve never seen a talking serpent.” I haven’t either. But I have noticed how thoughts and ideas pop in my head that are inconsistent with God’s Word. I’ve noticed moments where I’ve sat around thinking, “Does God really care about what’s going on in my life?” Does He care about what’s going on in our church? Why would He place us in this place and then make us go through these struggles? Is He just mean? Therefore, in moments of uncertainty we need to lock in! In the micro parts of our life and the macro parts of our life. Look at verses 2-3:
Genesis 3:2-3, “2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
Notice how the uncertainty from verse 1 turns into confusion in verses 2-3. In Genesis 1-2 Adam and Eve are made in the image of God. In Genesis 1-2 Adam and Eve are naked and unafraid! In Genesis 2 God begins with generosity, “From ANY tree you may eat.” But, in Genesis 3 Eve leaves out those details and Eve adds in “you shall not eat or touch.” Do you see it?
Genesis 2:16-17, “16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Do you see it? Eve leaves out His generosity and adds in some rules. This is why in moments of uncertainty, we need to be men and women of His Word. I can’t stress this enough! We want to grow as men and women who read God’s Word, study God’s Word, enjoy God’s Word and obey God’s Word, because there is an enemy out there trying to take advantage of uncertainty. You with me? It’s like a friendship built in trust can send you a text like, “Do you have a minute to chat on the phone?” No problem! There’s established trust.
But, when trust is eroded. When character is uncertain, and then the friend sends a text that says, “Do you have a minute to chat on the phone?” Oh, it’s go time! You start getting defensive. You start planning for an argument. You start making up things in your head! Same words, different heart. That’s what’s going on in Genesis 3! At this point in the conversation, Eve hasn’t rejected God’s Word but she the uncertainty is shaping her decisions, so that now more than ever, we need to be on the alert! Look at verse 4:
Genesis 3:4, “4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!”
Again, notice the progression in our passage. Satan is no longer asking questions. He’s making declarations, “God is a liar!” Because look again at what God said in Genesis 2:17:
Genesis 2:16-17, “16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
The word “die” in the original language is an emphatic “die, die” so that the warning in Genesis 2 is a warning of spiritual death and a physical death / die, die. We see that today! We were created to be eternal, we want to live forever, but we die! We were created to be perfect, we get frustrated when we aren’t perfect, but we’re not perfect. Die / Die!
This isn’t God introducing rules. He’s building trust. He’s asking Adam and Eve to follow Him and trust Him by faith. He’s still doing that today, so that in Genesis 3 we see two voices at work. It’s like that cartoon with the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, but it’s not an angel. It’s the Creator of all things saying, “You should trust me.” And there’s a liar saying, “Nah, you’ll be fine!” Pushing uncertainty!
Some of you know my mom had Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia. Before my mom died she basically got conned out of $60K from a lady that she met at the grocery store. The lady didn’t walk up to my mom and ask for $60K. Instead, the lady just had to plant seeds into the conversation that my mom couldn’t trust her children, because her children were lying to her! Uncertainty!
Pretty soon she had my mom isolated. She invites my mom to come live with her, and pretty soon my mom willingly gives this woman money, so that especially right now, we need to be on the lookout, “How is uncertainty shaping my relationship with the Lord and my relationship with others?” (Even as a visitor: Marriage, career, good or hard.) Look at verse 5:
Genesis 3:5, “5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Keep in mind, Adam and Eve were already with God in perfect union. They don’t need to be like God. They are with God. They are made in His image. They are set apart from the rest of creation with responsibility to keep and care for creation. They’re okay! But the uncertainty is shaping their relationship with God and each other.
Instead of sitting under God’s authority over all of creation, Adam and Eve start wondering, “What is life like on their own?” Which is the same pattern we see throughout all of Scripture. Noah is invited to follow the Lord and Noah says, “Nah, I will do my way in Genesis 9.” The Lord tells Abraham to wait on your wife to birth children, and Abraham goes out on his own with Hagar.
It happens with Israel after they walk through the Red Sea. It happens with David and his sexual desires. It’s the entire focus of the book of Judges, so that over we see this pattern in humanity of wanting to go out on our own. Do you see it? Genesis 3 isn’t just a pattern in the Bible. It’s my story. Every one of us eventually comes to the same crossroads in life, “Will I trust what God has said, or will I decide for myself?” Will I trust the One who created me and knows what’s best for me, or am I going to do what I want to do?
As a church by the Domain in Austin, we love to do what is right in our own eyes. We hate conformity, we love individuality, but dependence on God isn’t conformity, it’s just reality. Sit in that for a second. We can act like we are independent. We’re not! If our Creator didn’t give us air to breathe, a heart to beat or a mind to think, we would be helpless.
Therefore, the invitation isn’t to blaze our own trail! The invitation is to come under His strength and His power, as we walk with Him, trust Him and follow Him. Amen? Look at verse 6:
Genesis 3:6, “6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Notice the progression in verse 6; good for food, delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise. Look at the progression! It’s small doses. First, Eve begins to think about the temptation, “Good for food.” She starts ruminating on the temptation. She starts imagining her life with that temptation of being her own authority. Then she starts focusing on delight to her eyes. She isn’t just imagining the experience. She starts playing out a future with that temptation. She starts picking out a home on Zillow. She starts getting the decorations.
Then she starts thinking about the wisdom she’s going to gain, and how important she is going to look to her friends. Do you see it? I don’t know where your confidence is in God’s Word but this pattern is true in all cultures, all languages, all resources and all of history. All captured in 7 verses! That’s amazing! In addition, notice where Adam is with Eve in this moment. Sometimes people will use this verse to make fun of women, because Eve is the one interacting with Satan but Adam is there watching it all happen and doesn’t say anything. Do you see it? This is called passive leadership!
Listen to me, we love women, but there is such a need for men to speak up in marriage and in our church family. It is so easy for a man to sit back and never speak up! It might be around the financial budget. It might be a lack of boundaries with work. He can see something, but won’t bring it up, because he doesn’t want to say the wrong thing. That’s passive leadership. That’s schemes of the enemy!
I am not trying to pick on men, but we need to be on the same page, because spiritual leadership isn’t having all the answers or being an expert. Spiritual leadership is sometimes just saying, “Let’s pray together. Let’s read a passage together. Let’s talk about that uncomfortable conversation.” Because being a good guy who is physically present isn’t enough. Adam was physically present, and then he watched his wife talking to Satan and never said anything, and it can still happen today! Do you see it?
Because in the passage, Satan was speaking, Eve was speaking, but the one the Lord left in charge (keep the garden, name the animals-spiritual authority) to guard the garden, and yet he was being silent. I don’t know every one’s story this morning, so as a man, ask yourself, “Are there places where you staying silent?” It might be at work, marriage, with children, confessing sin, or in our church family. Are there places where your voice isn’t being heard? Let’s look at verse 7:
Genesis 3:7, “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 loin coverings.”
Well, Adam and Eve were naked and unafraid but now they are naked and hiding with fear, insecurity, doubt, anxiety, and confusion. In addition, look at how Adam and Eve responded in the moment. This is important for us to see. We don’t see confession from Adam and Eve. We don’t see repentance. Instead, we see sewed fig leaves to cover their shame on their own.
At the end of Genesis 3 we see the Lord God take garments from the skin of an animal. We will get there eventually, but you should read it on your own. At the end of Genesis 3, Adam and Eve see death played out because of their decisions, so their shame is covered by God through the shedding of blood. Theologically this is called substitutionary atonement!
It’s a foreshadowing that ultimately points to Jesus so that Jesus is nailed to the wood of a tree to take our sin upon Himself. Adam and Eve hid, but Jesus said, “Here I am, send Me!” Adam and Eve covered themselves with leaves. Jesus covers us with His righteousness. I don’t know where everyone is on their spiritual journey, but if you’ve never met Jesus you need to meet Him. It isn’t enough to just know about Jesus. The demons know about Jesus. It is to receive Jesus into your life. It is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord! It is to believe in your heart that Jesus resurrected from the dead.
When we do that, we are being invited into a new garden with Jesus to live under His reign and His rule, because certainty doesn’t come with circumstances and answers. Certainty comes with Him! When that happens men and women start growing in confidence. Men and women start looking at the people around them, not through the lens of this world, but through the lens of being made in the image of God.
Marriages start to look different. Families start to reconcile. Finances take on a whole new purpose. Sexual desires have a whole new perspective. Work has a whole new purpose. It’s because every decision in life flows from one settled conviction, “Our Heavenly Father isn’t withholding what is best.”
Father in heaven, you are good and generous. Everything in these verses we have looked at and found in our hearts you know. You know about us more deeply than we can imagine. And yet you have caused these words to be here to open our eyes to see what we are like so that we can turn back to you and your rescue. Jesus has come to die for us, to be sin for us despite knowing what we are like fully. Help us to believe the truth, not the lie. Help us to turn to you in confession and faith. We thank you.
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching. Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
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