Genesis 3: The Fall

My wife and I are going to be doing a question and answer session with a local church's High School group.  The High School group is going through a lesson plan to discuss sex.  I didn't realize until after I had preped the following study, that we would only be doing a simple question and answer about our relationship, and not leading the discussion.  I didn't want my notes to be in vain, or only for myself.  Here you go:

Genesis 2:16-17

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "From an tree of the garden you may eat freely; 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."

Notice that Eve wasn't around yet. Eve is created in verse 22 of Chapter 2.

Genesis Chapter 2 shows an interesting progression:
     Genesis 2:18 - God notes that "it is not good for the man to be alone."
     Genesis 2:20 - "there was not found a helper suitable for him."
     Genesis 2:22 - God creates woman to be the suitable helper.

In this progression, we could see that God is noting that Adam can use a helper, he has Adam go through all the animals and see that there is nothing that would be suitable for him, and then God creates what Adam needs foa suitable helper.

God is showing that He can be trusted.

There is a lot of stuff going on in the following verses (Chapter 3:1-7). What it seems to boil down to is that Adam and Eve decided not to trust God, and felt that they had a better way. They were selfish. The wanted something that they weren't allowed to have.

Where are the places in my life where I have decided that I know better than God? Where have I decided that He isn't doing the best thing for me? Why am I not trusting Him?

Genesis 1 shows the creation of the world. God creates good things. His designs are good, but what we do with His creation is not always good.

At the end of verse 10, we see "and God saw that it was good."
At the end of verse 12, we see "and God saw that it was good."
At the end of verse 18, we see "and God saw that it was good."
At the end of verse 21, we see "and God saw that it was good."
At the end of verse 25, we see "and God saw that it was good."
In verse 31, we see "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good."

God gives us good things, he shows us he can be trusted and we still turn away.

God's creation of woman in Chapter 2:22 states that "The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

Matthew Henry has a beautiful commentary on this portion:
     The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampeled by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.

Ephesians 5:25-33 NASB says:
     Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Emphasis in this case is on verse 25 and 33:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, ...Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Notice that Chapter 3:6 says that the tre was good for food, it was a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise.

1 John 2:15-17 NASB says:

Do not love the world nor 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 lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

Eve had not believed or trusted God to do what he said in Chapter 2:17. The serpent was crafty and had Eve doubting that what God said was true.

Our sin is just like Eve's. We don't belive that God is good enough to follow through with his promises. God had directly provided for Adam in the prior verses, but yet Eve didn't trust Him with what He said.

We fall in the same way Eve did, with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. We think we know better. In the moment, we feel like we have a better way.

We say:
How far is too far? / How much can I touch?
He says:
Wait till you're married, I have a better plan (Genesis 2:24-25)

We say:
Pornography is okay / Cosmo is okay / Romance novels are okay
He says:
"but i say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultry with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:28)

We say:
I will be ok / I know better / This just feels right / It feels so right, it can't be wrong
He says:
Don't go near it. (Genesis 39:7-12 / Proverbs 7:6-8, 21-22)

We shouldn't be asking the wrong questions. We should focus on asking the right questions.

What are the right questions?
     What does God say?
     Who can I call before I find myself in a bad place?
     When am I most vulnerable?

As believers in the Messiah, we should understand even more that God is faithful with his promises. He promised that he would send a redeemer, and we know that our redeemer is Yeshua. He has fulfilled the most important of His promises, how too will he be faithful with the small things.