“A Behind The Scenes Look”
Genesis 3
Sermon Series: “Behind The Scenes of the Christmas Story”
Introduction: Have you ever watched a program that gave you a behind the scenes look into the making of a movie or television program? Those types of shows can be fascinating because they reveal what it really takes to make that movie. That is what I want to do with Christmas in this series. We tend to focus on a lot of superficial things when it comes to celebrating Christmas. However, I want us to see what is really going on behind the scenes. A major component of the Christmas story is the reality that the cosmic battle of all the ages is going on behind the scenes.
1. The Ultimate Conflict (v. 1): This is the background of this passage. The serpent is really Satan in disguise (Revelation 12:9). In Hebrew, the word, “snake,” literally means “shining one” so the snake was probably a beautiful creature unlike what we think of today. Satan was originally Lucifer, the highest of the angels, until he in his pride and desire to usurp God’s authority rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28). His desire now is to fight against God by destroying people (John 10:10). His method for doing this is deception (John 8:44).
2. The Tragic Choice (v. 1-6): Adam and Eve listened to the lies of Satan and gave in to temptation. Everything changed at that moment because sin came into the world, and this brought death into the world (Romans 5:12). This is known as the Fall. Human beings are made in the image of God. Adam and Eve were given the ability to make choices. They were created to love God. Part of the way love is expressed is by obedience. They were not robots. The ability to truly love and obey implies the ability to also choose to not love and disobey. They made that choice. They committed treason and rebelled against God. They believed the ultimate lie that they could be their own god (v.5). Romans 1:25 says, “Who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.” Each
of us is guilty of the same thing. We are sinners by nature and by choice (Ephesians 2:1, Romans 3:23). We want to be our own god. This is why sin is so serious.
3. The Terrible Consequences (v. 3-19): There were many terrible consequences that came as a result of the fall. Here are some of them:
A. The experiential knowledge of evil (v. 7a) B. Guilt and shame (v. 7b)
C. Futile self-effort (v. 7c)
D. Separation from God (v. 8)
E. Fear (v. 9-10)
F. Relational breakdown (v. 12) G. Curses (v. 14-19)
4. The Powerful Cure (v. 15, 20-21): This passage reveals in a nutshell the most important things we need to know about life. It shows us where we can find victory. It reveals the worst news in history and the best news in history. We have learned of the terrible disease called sin. That is the bad news. However, the good news is that there is a powerful cure. His Name is Jesus. These are the first prophecies of Him in the Bible. We see that:
A. He will become a man by being born of a virgin (Galatians 4:4).
B. He will ultimately destroy God’s enemy, Satan. Of course, we know this is through His death, burial, and resurrection. Satan will bruise His heel, but He crushes Satan’s head.
C. God is a gracious God of the second chance who offers us life through the sacrifice of Jesus in our place (v. 20- 21).
