Suited and booted part 1
I shared this some time ago now, when the Holy Spirit led me to study and delve into this topic. He led me to an in depth study of Ephesians 6, but He gave me this backdrop at the beginning of my study.
I hope you enjoy.
When God made the earth, and everything in it, He pronounced it good. Genesis 1v 31 "Then God saw everything that He had made and indeed it was very good". In Genesis 3v1, the fall hadn't happened yet, we are told that "The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that 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'?"
I felt Him say, "what is amiss?" Then I saw it. Man and woman were put in the Garden of Eden by God. However here in this passage, the serpent is in the Garden. I'm not sure why the serpent was a cunning creature. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. It can't be, as God made everything good. It may be that the quirk of this particular creature meant that Satan could use it in his plans more easily.
However, note that it says the serpent was a field animal. I looked up the word field in my concordance and lo and behold, it means....FIELD: An open expanse of land, a plain. Not really a Garden of Eden description is it? Why was the serpent in the garden where man and woman were if it was a field animal? Or perhaps Eve was in the field rather than the Garden? Either way, someone was not where they should have been. God gave Adam & Eve authority and dominion over all the animals and everything He created. If we are not taking authority over what God gave us to take authority over, then something will sneak in, like the serpent did here.
From here we know that the serpent, via Satan, craftily made Eve question God's words. He made her doubt God's goodness. He asks her - Is God holding out on you? Does He tell you not to eat the fruit because then you will be just like Him? (I'm paraphrasing a bit). It's this kind of subtle bending of the Word of God that is so very dangerous. Because Eve didn't know the truth of what God had actually said to her. She replied with this: "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, God has said 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die'. "
However, God didn't say that. He said in Genesis 2 v 16-17 "... of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat it you shall surely die." Eve misquoted and misrepresented God. She said that God said not to touch it even. He doesn't say that. She didn't know the truth of God's word, and this made her vulnerable. By believing that God said don't even touch it, she has left herself open to doubt. Doubt in God's goodness. Doubt in the very character of God. The serpent was able to say "You shall not surely die....you shall become like God". She's completely open to attack now and the attack is doubt. Doubt in God's whole character......If I touch it, will I die? Will I die if I eat it? Is God lying? Why can't I eat it? What is God keeping from me?
We all know what happened next.
This whole scenario has led to the world as we know it today. Creation fell and we now have a constant enemy. Just like the serpent in the Garden, he's cunning and will infiltrate your world in a myriad of subtle ways. One of the main ways he gains his foothold is to manipulate the truth of the word of God, and cause you to doubt who you are, what your authority is, and how good God is.
Our enemies today are manifold. The enemies we face today that we wrestle with are "not flesh and blood" according to Ephesians 6 v 12. They are however, defeated by Jesus our Saviour. We stand as more than conquerors in Christ through the Cross. We do however, need to ensure that we don't fall into the trap that Eve did by not really knowing who God created us to be, and Who He is.
Next time, I will share some wonderful insights into how to live victoriously and how we can overcome in life.