The Serpent was right! Yes, you heard me correctly—the serpent, Satan, the evil one, the father of lies—was right. He tells the truth. The Serpent was right. Not only that, you are now "like God!" Yes, again you heard me correctly—you are like God. Wow! There’s a thought that will grab you and shake you. How can this be?
Well, take a look at our text and the surrounding scriptures. In the 22nd verse of Genesis chapter 3, God himself says that "the man has become like one of us." Here God is talking in the plural about himself. God uses what English grammarians would call the majestic plural or the royal pronoun. God is also, perhaps, using the pronoun "us" in a veiled reference to His Triune nature—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, be that as it may, the point is that God says the man has become like one of us. He’s referring most specifically to Adam, and also to Eve, and by extension to all of humanity. So, you are like God! God himself says so.
Now, some of you are thinking to yourself, "I knew it all along!" Some of you have been thinking and maybe even telling others, "If only I were God, if only I ran the place, the world (not to mention my life personally) would be better. At our worst, all of us occasionally give in to the temptation to think that we are God. That is, we try to be in complete control—in charge—of everything. We are tempted to believe that we are divine.
This temptation brings us back to the Serpent. The Serpent knew that our first parents, Eve and Adam, would be tempted by the suggestion that they could be like God. So, in verse 5 of Genesis 3, he says to Eve, "…God knows that when you eat (the fruit of the forbidden tree) your eyes will be open and you will be like God …" Eve and Adam give into the temptation and they eat the fruit that God told them not to eat. One of the results of eating the forbidden fruit, as we have already seen, is that God himself acknowledges that the man is now like him. So you see, the serpent was right! Eve and Adam—you and all humanity—are like God.
What this means is that we humans have certain God—like qualities. When Eve and Adam ate that forbidden fruit they gained god—like qualities that they have passed on to us. These God—like qualities could even be called fruits—fruits of the forbidden tree. Before we can ever understand why God banished Adam and Eve from the garden—before we can ever understand our broken, messed up world of destruction and death—first we need to understand our God—like qualities. Ironically, these god—like qualities often lead to destruction and death. For example, since we are like God with a knowledge of good and evil, we can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong. And that is often just what we do. It starts already with Eve when she looks at the fruit of the tree and sees that it is good, takes it, and eats it. In short, Eve decides for herself what is good. We human beings have been doing that same thing ever since. We have decided for ourselves what is good. No other part of God’s creation has the capability to do that. It’s a god—like quality.
In many ways this deciding what is good defines and describes human culture and behavior. In fact, it describes the human struggle and descent into sin on the pages of scripture. As you read through the pages of the Bible, this human capacity to decide for oneself what is good unfolds. By the time of Cain, a man decides for himself that he is not his brother’s keeper and kills his brother Able. By the time of Noah and the flood, we see "that every inclination of the human heart is only evil all the time." By the time of Moses, God is calling his own people a stiff—necked people who regularly go their own way rather than his. By the time of the nation of Israel, we see that each person is doing what is right in their own eyes. Jesus says that the people are like sheep that have gone astray. And the Apostle Paul says that all have sinned. We all fall short of the glory of God, rejecting God’s revealed truth for our own sinful version of the truth.
And we still do all of this today, don’t we? The serpent, you see, was right. We have taken the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil—our god—like quality—and twisted it. Day by day, we, in a god—like fashion, decide for ourselves what truth is, what is right or wrong, what we want to do. In fact, I am sure that you do this. We all do. It is even reflected in the common language of today. For example, we regularly hear language like, "What is right for you, may not be right for me," or, "Your God and your rules may work for you, but I follow my own god and go my own way," or, "I just need to be true to myself. Following some god and having to obey just isn’t who I am or what I do." Isn’t that the way we talk? Have you ever talked that way?
Perhaps you don’t talk that way, neither do I. But still, I suspect that you do find yourself thinking and maybe even taking action based on what you believe is right rather than what you know God has said is right. Although you may be a fine, moral, upstanding person, perhaps even a strong Christian who knows better—you know that God is in charge and that only his way is true—often you go our own way and fall into sin. How do I know all of this about you?
Because, I know myself, and my congregation, and my church, my culture, and my country. So, I may not know you—you may very possibly not be from the country or culture I am from—still I know the way humanity thinks and acts. We act like Eve and Adam, our first parents.
The trouble isn’t only that we decide for ourselves what is good and evil, but also that many of us like being in control and taking care of things our own way. For example, I love to be in control—in my own out—of—control, off—the—wall sort of way. I like to do it myself. Do it—yourself projects around the home and yard are really my hobby. Completing these home improvement, gardening, and landscaping projects without the help of a professional can be very satisfying. Now, I suppose many of you, like me, want to be in control, to do it yourselves, to fix it on your own. In this we are like Adam and Eve.
Take a look again at the scriptural context of the Adam and Eve story. In Genesis 3 I want you to notice what Adam and Eve do right after they fall into sin by eating the forbidden fruit, deciding for themselves what is good. They realize for the first time that they are naked, and then what do they do? Do they run to God and say, "God, we just realized that we are naked so make us some clothes?" No. Instead, they engage in a do—it—yourself project. That’s exactly what Adam and Eve do. Rather than go to God, the majestic and royal creator, they decide that they can make clothes for themselves—out of sewing fig leaves together, no less—who has ever heard of such a thing? They needed a professional. They needed help. They needed God to fix their problem. But they do it themselves. I am sure that their do—it—yourself project was neither effective nor well done. Isn’t this do—it—myself attitude exactly how most of us think—what most of us do?
You know how to manage your life, don’t you? If not, you probably go to someone who can give you advice, help or support so that you can get a better handle on things. You problem solve. You fix it. You work longer, try harder, reassess, get up, dust yourself off, and go try again. This is the path to success in our world. In this, you and I are like God. You and I know good and evil and can manage our lives. In fact, we really believe that the only way we can enjoy life is to forget about God, deny that he even exists, ignore him.
Perhaps you remember or heard about what the world media called the "Atheist Bus Campaign" which started in London, England. It started last January. Hundreds of large signs were posted on the side of London’s great big red buses. The signs proclaimed, "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy life." This bus campaign makes the assertion that there is probably no God. But it is the second sentence that really gets me. "Now stop worrying and enjoy life." What’s the implication? The implication is, of course, that you can’t enjoy life God’s way. God’s a kill—joy. The only way to enjoy life according to this atheist campaign is to reject God and live the enjoyable life on your own terms.
And this sinful, prideful, fallen human tendency to seek life without God is preciously God’s concern. Take a look with me again at our scriptural text. Here we are reminded that there is more than one tree in center of the garden. The Tree of Life is still at the center of the garden. God knows that it won’t be long before Adam and Eve begin to think that they can solve all their own problems if only they reach out and take from the Tree of Life. As God himself puts it, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat, and live forever." Presumably, Eve and Adam can still live forever, even after they have fallen into sin, if only they reach out and take from the tree.
In fact, isn’t it true that humanity has been reaching for some kind of fountain of youth throughout history? The French explorer, Ponce De Leon spent an entire life time searching for the fountain of youth in Florida. This pursuit continues today; everyone wants some medical breakthrough, some wonder drug, some glorious political system or figure, some ingenuity or new initiative … something … anything to give us longer life, a better life, eternal life here and now …anything and everything, except God, of course.
This is God’s concern. So he banishes Adam and Eve from the garden, driving them out to work the ground from which they came and will one day return. As an extra precaution he guards the way to the Tree of Life with cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth. You see, God knows full well that with our god—like qualities of the knowledge of good and evil and ability to determine for ourselves what is best, we will be quick to go our own way. God knows that with our desire to manufacture and to make our own cover—up for our sin, our own full life and our own good life, that we will be quick to go a way that is different than the way that God himself provides. So God slams the gate shut. He throws the serpent to the ground where it can only strike at our heels. And we are banished from the garden. Mankind’s fall is complete. The Tree of Life is lost.
Surely this is banishment as judgment—judgment on us and our sins and our brokenness. Yes, this is something for us to grieve—we mourn paradise lost, we shudder at the toil and pain and death of life away from the garden and barred from the Tree of Life. But, I want you to notice something. In our Bible passage, notice what happens immediately after the curses of sin and immediately before banishment from the garden. What does God do, what does he provide for the man and the woman who are clothed only in the fig leaves that they have stitched together? We read that God made garments of skin for them and he clothed them. In other words, even as God’s sinful people are desperately trying to find and make their own covering for their sin and their shame, God steps in and graciously provides covering. Here we see foreshadowed what God always does. God provides grace in the midst of brokenness. God provides for real life even while we are chasing the fake life.
Do you see what this means? When God banishes us from the garden, when we are barred from access to our own tree of life, this is not just God punishing and God defending his turf. This is also banishment and restriction as a form of grace. This is a gracious move by God. Do you see it?
Let me give you this example. It turns out that the Russian Orthodox Church had their own unique bus ads that ran in response to those atheist bus signs that ran in London. They ran sign boards that looked very similar, and yet had a radically different message. The Russian Orthodox Church put signs on buses that proclaimed, "There definitely is a God. BELIEVE. Stop worrying and enjoy your life." Do you get the point? While the hissing serpent would have you believe that the only way you can enjoy life is to do an end run around God, the true message of salvation is that God provides the way to abundant life. God has a way of full life prepared for us. He bars us from a false way of life, so that he can open a new way of real, eternal life.
But, "do we see this new way of life, God’s way, in our text?" you might ask. After all, we have been cast from the garden, barred from access to the tree of life. The serpent is now crawling on the ground biting at our heels as we live in sin and death. So where’s the life? Look. Look at the scriptures. The serpent may be crawling on the ground and biting at our heals, but in verse 15 of the third chapter of Genesis, God foreshadows his way of Eternal Life when he promises that the offspring of Eve, namely Jesus Christ himself, will crush the serpent’s head. There is a way of Eternal Life and it comes through the one who crushes Satan’s head. It comes through Christ. You don’t need to be your own god. You don’t need to fix it yourself. You don’t need to make your own determinations of good and evil. Life comes in Christ.
So what we see in our text is that although the Tree of Life is lost, although there is no fountain of youth, there is a way that God has prepared. God has now cleared a new path to life—one that doesn’t lead back to the old garden and the old tree, but to the Savior and the new way of Life through him. While physically walking on this earth, Jesus said, "I have come to give you life and give it abundantly." He said, "I am the way, the truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
So what I encourage you to do today, is to put aside whatever god—like ambitions you may have. Put away your attempts to find your own way, and embrace and cling to the way of salvation in Jesus Christ. How do you do that? Well, let me give you three quick suggestions. First, continue to listen to radio broadcasts like this one. That is, continue to fill your ears and your mind with the message of Jesus, the message of the Bible. Second, read your Bibles. Let the story of salvation through Jesus Christ flow from the pages into your heart. Third, ask God to show you what serpent there is in your life. What does Satan hiss in your ear in an attempt to pull you away from the Way of Life in Christ? What twisted truth does Satan try to tempt you with? You probably don’t need to think all that hard. You know what tempts you. Well now, take that serpent—that false belief, that false tree, that erroneous way of sin, that twisted perverted truth—and turn it over to Christ so that he can stomp on the serpent’s head.
Yes, my friends. The serpent tells the truth. We know what is good and what is evil. We can serve the false way of artificial life through our own path, or we can serve the true Life that comes through Christ. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Paul DeVries
Rev. Paul DeVries, most commonly referred to as “Pastor Paul”, is the Sr. Pastor of Brookside Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is married to Diane (nee Vanden Akker) and the father of four children. He graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in 1989 and served for 12 years as the pastor of Unity Christian Reformed Church in Prospect Park, New Jersey. As a pastor his first love and greatest joy comes in the honor of bringing God’‘s Word to his congregation on a weekly basis through his preaching. He enjoys reading, camping with his family, watching his children’‘s sporting events, and working on home improvement projects - inside and outside his home.
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