“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam (second Adam) was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.”
I Corinthians 15:45-47
“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
Genesis 3:16
I don’t think there is any sadder story in the world than the third chapter of Genesis. While the facts of the fall of man are contained in just a few verses, what we read details the origin of all human sorrow, death, disease, and heartache. Every sad thing that has ever happened started right there. In this story, we read about the brokenness in the relationship between mankind and God and how that will influence the relationship between man and woman.
Yet, even in this tragic introduction of death and hardship to the world, there is light. Labor will be hard now, but the rewards of hard work are still a blessing. Childbearing will bring much pain, but the curse does not remove from us the joy of our children. There is pain, but beauty and hope will still exist. While tension has been introduced to the relationship between man and woman, love has not been removed. Even in the curse, God gave us great hope for His undoing of it. God made us enemies of the serpent forever but not enemies of each other. Furthermore, even in that awful moment, God began his great plan to restore us to Himself.
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
What we see in the Bible is how God has undertaken a plan for the undoing of this curse. Ultimately, the curse is broken in the person of Christ Jesus. In His death, we see what we deserved; in His resurrection we see what we have been freely given. We have a final answer to the curse. But God did not undo the curse in one moment. God chose to work it out slowly and deliberately until the desired result is reached.
It has been said that when we are changed in Christ, we still have to work out what He worked in. We are charged to go about the rest of our lives being conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 12:2). When we are made into His people, we are made into the workers whom He is using now to build His kingdom.
When Paul instructs the church how to effectively live this Christian life, he mentions the curse as a foundational reason for some of the rules God has implemented in the church. For example, take a look at this controversial statement; a statement that even many conservative Christians have a problem with.
“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
I Timothy 2:12–14
Wow! That is certainly a divisive and politically charged statement! Why in the world is Paul referencing the order in which we were created, or the mistake Eve made, as though these facts were relevant to anything in the modern world? What possible relevance does this have in the modern church? Trouble is, these facts must be relevant, because God has instructed Paul to mention them. Perhaps, as unpopular as they may be, they are important because our lives today are still all about undoing the curse in Christ.
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
Genesis 3:1
Ladies, you cannot go back to the garden as Eve and choose not to listen to the serpent in the first place. You can’t go back to that moment and be undeceived. You can’t go back to that first great leadership moment of womankind and undo the damage that was done.
And men, neither can we go back either. We can’t refuse to follow a deceived Eve. We can’t go back and cry out to God to forgive us for eating of the forbidden fruit. We can’t go back and refuse to usher death into the world. Instead, we are here, after the fact. You and I cannot undo the tragic moment recorded in Genesis. Therefore, while God is methodically undoing the damage, we are still living under some of the restrictions imposed.
The ultimate undoing of the original sin will be accomplished only in Christ, in due time. In the meantime, the literal and figurative thorns and thistles will still prick us from time to time. Yet, while it is true that we can’t go back and be undeceived by the serpent in the garden, we can be undeceived by the serpent now. Ladies, and men, that is why it is so important for us to refuse to listen to any “Hath God really said . . .” conversations that the serpent starts up now; and he does it quite often.
Just think about how many conversations we have today that take us right back to the garden. How well are you handling the “Hath God really said…” statements in your life? How often do you make the same mistake as Eve? Let’s ponder over a few:
“Hath God really said that with rare exception ladies need to follow the lead of their husband?”
“Hath God really said that ladies will constantly have to fight against the desire to rule over their husbands?”
“Hath God really said that husband’s ought to lead their families and love their wives as Christ loves the church?”
“Hath God really said we must be faithful to the church?”
“Hath God really said that I can’t set up a confession booth and forgive men of their sin?”
“Hath God really said that I can’t modify, change around, or rewrite the Scriptures as I see fit?”
And that’s just a small sample of the “Hath God really said” statements of the serpent that we often ignore today.
Ladies, just like your husbands, you must learn to recognize the serpent in these conversations. Although I can appreciate anyone with an honest desire to serve our Lord, yet no church enriching knowledge will ever be found in listening to anyone who has decided not to listen to God; men or women. In the church today, we have a disobedience pattern as old as Eden. Women are still being deceived into distrusting God’s intention in His word, and men are choosing to listen to those women over God. This is a death path, and it has been heavily trod. But there is another path, the path of life. The life I speak of is both eternal and abundant.
How can we find this path of life? It is in the presence of God. It is in obedience, offered to the God who equips us for it. It is in trusting in His purposes, whether we understand them or not, whether we agree with them or not. The more we do that, the more we will see the great work God is accomplishing by undoing of our first failure in the garden. In us, through the Holy Spirit, He is building a new garden, a new dwelling place for His glory (Ephesians 2:22).
Did Eve understand all of God’s intentions in the garden? No, she didn’t, and that is why she could be deceived. Do you understand perfectly why God calls you to glorify Him through acting like a Christian lady who is in submission to His word? The moment is similar, and we too are vulnerable. Let’s not play the role of the first Eve to the first Adam, but instead take up the part of the second Eve to the second Adam.
That second Adam laid down His life for His deceived bride. He took our penalty, and through His death and resurrection has brought us life. Choose to remember what God hath said, and to joyfully obey it. Trust His plan. Because through this mysterious gift of gladly embracing our roles, we will be used of God for the greater furtherance of His kingdom. There is nothing little about our obedience now, just as there was nothing little about Eve’s disobedience then.
What glory would there have been in the garden if Eve had not listened to the serpent? The way for us to find out is to not listen to Him now.
I speak to mothers, ladies, young girls, I speak to the Second Eve. Do not listen to the “Hath God really saids” of the serpent. Today, I do not focus so much on your role as a wife or mother, but to your role as the Second Eve—not to your husband—but to the Second Adam. Because what awaits you in obedience to God is always glory, a more delightful glory than you could ever imagine.
You will lose nothing in your obedience, even to the rules that you may not like, understand, or personally agree with. Don’t be deceived by the serpent.
Dr. Worthington has been in the ministry for over forty five years and serves as President of Pathway Ministries and Christian Bible College.