Advent 1 | Hope Fulfilled and Being Fulfilled
This week begins the season of Advent. During this month we celebrate the coming Christmas holiday and look in two directions. First, we look back to Christ’s First Coming which occurred 2000 years ago. Second, we look forward to when Christ will return. Just as sure as Jesus came the first time to seek and save the lost, so too will he return to make all things new. For this year, we are going to look at the first coming of Jesus in relation to how Jesus reversed the Curse of sin, and look forward to when Jesus returns and completes the work or restoring humanity and Creation to its sinless state.
Each week has a one word theme. This week’s theme is “hope,” and it reminds us of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. It is an assured hope. Again, just as sure as Jesus came before, He will return! Because we are looking at Jesus’ work in reversing the curse of sin and death, we will need to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden to see how this work began. For this week, we are going to take a look at the serpent itself and how Satan brought about this cursed state in Creation.
We look back to when Jesus first crushed the head of the serpent and look forward to His Second Coming when He will sweep away the remains of sin and death.
Lies and Curses | Genesis 3:1-7
Turn to Genesis 3:1, but before we read it, I want to draw your attention to how the serpent is described in verse 1. He is called “crafty”. ‘Craftiness’ is a neutral word. Sometimes it is used as a good crafty, sometimes an evil crafty. Calling the serpent “crafty” is a heads up to the reader: pay attention! The serpent isn’t all wrong, he’s just not giving the whole picture!
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
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.” 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. Then the eye of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Genesis 3:1-7
Now, Eve already has a problem before the serpent even shows up. When then serpent questions what God actually said, she adds the clause “neither shall you touch it.” God told Adam to simply not eat from the tree. Now, whether Adam added “don’t touch” or Eve just understood “don’t touch,” we don’t know, but it points to a reality of life. One misunderstanding can lead to disaster, if it is not cleared up.
She believes she shouldn’t touch the fruit. And what happens when she examines the fruit closer in the next verse? Nothing. Because the fruit does not immediately harm her, she believes it is ok to continue examining the fruit.
Many times we have good intentions of telling people, especially our children, to just stay away from certain things altogether. We know there is a line that, once crossed, leads to disaster, and so we just draw another line further away from disaster. The problem comes when they test those boundaries. And so, we must be diligent to teach and reteach the truths of God and why we draw lines in certain places.
Adam fails to do this. In verse 6, we also see Adam is standing right there (verse 6 says of Adam “who was with her”) and does not reinforce the commands of God to his wife. Eve fails because she doesn’t understand God’s command properly, and Adam fails because he does not teach God’s command properly.
A failure to disciple people properly will always lead to some disaster later.
Now, even more important for today’s message is what the serpent offers. There are three main things the serpent offers through the forbidden fruit.
First, they will not surely die. He offers a type of freedom from God’s rules. They can continue to live without God’s rules for their lives.
Second, he says their eyes will be opened. The fruit that God does not want them to have will bring them new knowledge and understanding.
Third, he says they will be like God knowing “good and evil.” This new knowledge will make them more than what they are and be like the God they are servants to.
We read in verse 6 the fruit looks like it will do just what the serpent says, so Eve takes a bite and gives some to Adam who also takes a bite.
We will take a look at the consequences for Adam and Eve in later weeks, but for today, notice the effects of their sin.
1) They don’t die right away, but they do have a loss of innocence.
2) They do have their eyes opened. They recognize their own nakedness. When the Lord shows up in verse 8, they hide because they are ashamed of their state.
3) Now they know evil, they have experienced it, but it is not the wonderful new knowledge they hoped it would be. It has brought ruin. Even further, they may be like God in knowing about good and evil, but they will certainly not be like God in power or immortality. They will physically die just as they are already spiritually dead.
One commentator notes the wordplay brings about a certain ambiguity in what the serpent is actually saying. Did he actually deceive them, or just leave out some details? He concludes,
“A cynical reader could conclude that the serpent was right. But it may be that this uncertainty about God is used by the author to put his readers in the same place of decision as Eve. What do we do when presented with the ‘fruit of temptation’?”
Every day we are offered the same choice. Will we listen to the wisdom of the Lord or try to find the shortcut offered by the serpent?
The deception of the serpent is what he doesn’t mention.
Next, let’s take a look at what Jesus offers us. The Lord God curses the serpent in verses 14-15. There will be enmity between his offspring and Eve’s, but one day,
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
The first promise of the Messiah comes before Adam and Eve have even left the Garden. The Lord will raise a son of Eve who will bruise the head of the serpent. We know this son to be Jesus Christ who is born of Mary 2000 years ago. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, He puts an end to the works of the devil and offers new life.
Hope and Life | Ephesians 1:15-23
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Satan offered a shortcut to the first family that only led to death and condemnation. Jesus offers real hope and a real future. The serpent promised false fruit (satisfaction, enlightenment) through lies, but Jesus offers the real fruit of true wisdom.
Paul prays the Ephesians will receive the “Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” When we trust in Jesus for salvation, he gives us the Holy Spirit who brings true wisdom and revelation. With this wisdom and revelation we can bear spiritual fruit that brings life—not death like the forbidden fruit.
Our eyes and hearts are enlightened to hope and our eternal inheritance. Holy Spirit knowledge draws us closer to God rather than driving us away from God like the forbidden fruit.
We know and experience “the immeasurable greatness of His power” through the Resurrection. We are part of the New Heaven and New Earth that is even greater than the Garden. We are driven out of the Garden like the forbidden fruit.
For each false promise of the serpent, the Lord provides real hope and a real future through Jesus Christ.
Jesus gives us everything the serpent could only tempt Adam and Eve with—and better.
Last, look again at verse 22. The Lord put all things under the feet of Jesus and made Jesus the head over all things to the church. The promise of a son of Eve one day crushing the head of the serpent came true. Jesus crushed the Serpent.
The question we have for us today is this: will we accept the offer of life from Jesus or continue to seek a false life from the serpent?
The serpent spoke only about what Eve would gain and avoided mentioning what she would lose in the process. Jesus openly tells us, if we are willing to set aside our sin-riddled life, He will give us new life and an incorruptible inheritance in eternity.
Advent reminds us of the better life we have in Christ Jesus.