This week we’ve been unpacking the first 13 verses of Genesis 3. My desire has been to help you “unsee” all the ways you have perceived Genesis 3 and begin to see the chaos of disorder that came through the serpent, the satan, sin. But to also see how God pursue us despite our choosing chaos over trust.

I do want to draw our attention to hope. I do want to draw our attention to the significance of the gospel, Good News, even in Genesis 3.

Tim Mackie shares it this way. “The plot conflict introduced in Genesis 3 can only be resolved by the divine and human becoming one. The human has to become one with God in such a way that they don’t seize the knowledge of good and evil for themselves, instead submit to the wisdom of the Father.” Which John shares in John 17:20-26. That was Jesus’ prayer, that we would be one.

Actually, Jesus is the one, who becomes one with God and for God, to redeem what was broken in the garden. Jot down Romans 5:15-21, we don’t have time to look at it. But it can be summarized this way. God becomes the human we were made to be, allowing all humans to live as intended in the garden. Christ satisfied what Adam and Eve couldn’t.
Understanding what the actual problem is will shape what you think Jesus came to do and what he’s there to resolve.

John Walton puts it this way. “Christ was able to achieve the desired result where Adam and Eve failed. We are all doomed to die because when we sinned we lost access to the tree of life. We are therefore subject to death because of sin. Christ succeeded and actually provided the remedy to sin and death.” Which means, not only do we need a savior, a redeemer, we need one to model our life after.

How did Jesus answer the questions God asked Adam and Eve in the garden?

Where are you?

Jesus’ proximity to God was always close, he routinely got away to spend time with the Father.

Who told you?

A great example of this is Matthew 4:1-11 and the satan’s temptation of Jesus. Satan, the chaos monster, did the same thing to Jesus as he did to Adam and Eve, did God say that? Do you want to take that for yourself? You can’t trust God. But Jesus listened to the voice of his Father, not the lies of the evil one.

What did you do?

Jesus responded with a perfect life and said, “I take all of what you did upon myself and will die on the cross for your sin.”

I want you to take an assessment of your life, based upon those three questions. Before you do that though, listen to this song as a part of that encouragement to meet with God.
Run to the Father

Where are you? Where is your proximity to God? If you are far off, how do you respond with humility, like the prodigal, and come back to God?

Who told you? What voices are you listening to? Truth or lies? The accuser wants to cast doubt on God’s character and truth. How are you testing the voices and what you hear? Would God say that of me? Would God have me do that? My wisdom or God’s wisdom.

Then finally, what did you do? This is coming to the cross with confession and repentance, not blaming. Take responsibility for your actions, for the chaos you caused, the sin you committed. Confess what you’ve done and pursue God’s directive.

Our response to sin and chaos is fear, hiding, and blaming. God’s desired response is humility, coming close to Him, confession, and repentance. Trusting the Creator as the
created means we seek His order over chaos, His wisdom over our own, His provision over our taking and His freedom despite our failure.