Genesis Chapter 2:18-3:8 Note: All scripture is from the New King James Version (NKJV) unless otherwise noted. This week we will look a little more at verses 18-25 in Chapter 2, and then we’ll get started on Chapter 3. Gen 2:18-20 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Notice it says “Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air” Just as God formed man of the dust, so He did with the animals but not in His image. We all know that when something dies whether man or animal it decomposes and turns to dust, just what they were formed out of. God also said in Chapter 1:26: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."   By allowing Adam to name the animals, God was giving Adam the dominion over the animals. Gen 2:21-25 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. The Hebrew word for man is: “`is” And for Woman its: “'issah” Notice just as we do now, woman took mans name “'issah. Some times when a woman marries she will keep her original maiden name or add her maiden name to here new name, hyphenating her last name like Jones-Smith. But this is just another way of Satan trying to destroy the marriage, which God sanctified at the beginning. You see, if a woman keeps her maiden name then she is not being submissive to her husband by recognizing him as the head of the marriage. She is also saying, “I will marry you but I will not be as one with you, I’ll still be my own person not a part of you.” Clinging on to here past and not being separated from her family to be one with her husband. They shall become one flesh. Becoming of one flesh is more then sharing yourself physically with one another. It’s sharing your feelings, you hopes and dreams, your hurts and pains, your joy and laughter. So what happens if you start to share these things with someone else? What if it’s with someone of the opposite sex? You are now becoming one with another person, and no longer sharing it with your spouse. You start to resent your spouse to the point that you don’t even want to hear his or her voice or feel their touch. You start wanting your spouse to be like that other person, who you’re pouring your heart out to. These are the things that lead to separation, adultery and even divorce. Why do you think the bible says? 1 Cor 14:34-35 Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.   Women, talk to your husbands. Husbands listen to your wife. The bible says we are to love our wives as Jesus loved the church. Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, Sure, we would give our lives for our wives; we would die for her. But will we live for her? If you die for her you know you are going straight to heaven anyway (If you’re a Christian), so what kind of sacrifice are you really making? Yes, Jesus died for us, but do you know what else He did? He left heaven for us. Imagine leaving paradise for the slums. After you died and went to heaven, would you be willing to leave Jesus, and God, and the Holy Spirit to go live like a poor man for thirty years, then be beaten till no one could hardly recognize you? Then be crucified for loving them and healing them? That’s what Jesus did. He not only died for us, but He gave UP ALL for us. That’s how we are to love our wives. No conditions. No clauses for not loving them. No if she burns my dinner I don’t have to love her, or even if she shows me no love in return or doesn’t have sex with you tonight, you can you stop loving her. Eph 5:22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. What does it mean to submit? Notice it says as to the Lord. How do you submit to the Lord now? Are you submitting to your husband the same way? Once again, no conditions on when to submit, or under what circumstances. Just submit as you do now to the Lord. Titus 2:3-4 the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, The bible says for a younger woman go to the older women to be taught. Why? To be taught you need to pour out your feelings and if a woman or man pours out their feelings to someone (one on one) of the opposite sex, than they grow close to that person for the simple fact that they listen and care. Wives may say, “My husband doesn’t listen to me when I talk; he doesn’t care like this guy does.” Or the other way around with the man having someone show affection towards him that he is not receiving from his wife. Even in Calvary Chapels, a pastor will not counsel a woman alone. Women are attracted to pastors because they seem to be godly men, and good husbands and dads. If you don’t have these things in your marriage then you become attracted to that. So pastors will not counsel someone of the opposite sex without another woman there, it holds them accountable and helps with overcoming possible temptations. Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?   Who can separate us from our spouses? Shall another person, or material things, or money, or family, or sickness? Ask yourself right now, “What or who is separating me from loving my wife or husband the way I should?” Right now, stop everything and ask the Lord to forgive you for allowing whatever it is from hindering your love for your spouse. Then get rid of that person from your life. They were not ashamed. Matt 10:32-33 Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.   Mark 8:38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." Are you ashamed of Jesus? He is the Bridegroom and we are His bride. He is the second Adam, and we are His Eve. NO SHAME! Are you ashamed of your spouse? Do you brag about them, or do you make fun of them around others? Genesis 3:1-8  Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day 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, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.  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 coverings.  And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Another word for serpent could be enchanter. Beast of the field would be from our first study in Chapter 1. Gen 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." We first see Satan challenging Eve and her memory of what God said, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" For Christians, this is how temptation starts sometimes. Satan says. “Does it really say in the bible that you can’t do that? Where did you read it?” And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " So we start to quote scripture, but notice that Eve quoted it incorrectly adding to the word of God. Here is what God actually told them. Gen 2:17  "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." God never mentioned anything about touching the fruit. But I want you to notice something else. We always say that Eve was the one who started the whole sin thing, but was it really Eve, or was it man? Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,  Notice God told man, woman was not even created yet. This may mean that man (Adam)  told woman(Eve), because it does not mention God telling the woman. Did Adam say it incorrectly to Eve? Did Adam add, “and make sure don’t touch it either.” The bible doesn’t say, so we really don’t know. We as men are to teach our wives, but we are to teach them the truth of God’s word, not adding to it. And how do we make sure we teach them the truth? Being in the word and studying ourselves. 1 Thess 2:3-5 For our exhortation did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit. But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness--God is witness. You may be thinking, “Well, my wife is so much more educated in the word, or just knows more then I do.” Whose fault is that? Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Eve added to God’s word and Satan continued to add to it. You will be like God. Satan hates us so much that he was willing to persuade man to walk away from God just as he did. Isaiah 14:12-15 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. He does the same thing today, saying that you can be like God if you only be good and do what’s right. But Paul tells us: Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Yes, we all have sinned, but we all have redemption through Jesus Christ! So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Satan took Eve’s emotions and used those against her. Her senses came into play here where she saw, tasted, and it was desirable to make her wise. So it is with our sins, we think we know what’s good for us, like we know better then God does. James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Who are you involving in your sin? Are you persuading them as Satan persuaded Eve? 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 coverings. They knew they were naked. Who said it was a sin to be naked? Did God say, “you need to be clothed because your naked.”? No man made his own determination on what was sinful and what wasn’t. Man has already taken this new knowledge and started playing god with it. Don’t we do the same thing sometimes? The world states what’s good and what’s bad, not based on the bible but based on their worldly pleasures. V  Romans 1:21-25, 28-32  (NLT) Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen. When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Reading these verses in Romans, you can see the world as it is today. Once again taking this knowledge and not using it for good, but to fulfill their own worldly desires. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Hiding from God. Who has never tried at least once in their lives to hide their sins from God? Psalms 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me. Don’t run from God because of your sin, but run to God with your sins and seek His forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 2 Cor 6:2 For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Today, right now, seek the Lord and His forgiveness. Seek His strength to see you through and He will, just ask and find out for yourself!