Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really forbid you to eat from any tree in the garden?” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1,4–5

When God created the world, he saw that everything he had made was good. Every living thing dwelt together in unity. But then the serpent misled Adam and Eve. Immediately, evil came into the world. Eve was tempted by one question, “Did God really say that?” and with one simple promise, “Surely, you will not die!” We need to understand what this means. Satan tempted Eve with words of God, just as he tempted Jesus later.

Still today, Satan wants to separate us from God and from other people. He does this by asking seemingly innocent questions that sow seeds of mistrust in our hearts. He disguises himself as an angel of light, but he is the father of lies, and tries to throw us into confusion and doubt. Very often, he succeeds. The serpent put doubt into Eve’s heart, and she tested God to see whether or not he would keep his word. That in itself was a betrayal of God, and it gives us an insight into how Satan works today.

In the Gospel of Matthew we read that after Jesus’ baptism he withdrew into the wilderness, and Satan tried to tempt him. Knowing that Jesus was physically weak after fasting for forty days, Satan approached Jesus with false compassion and reverence, suggesting that all the kingdoms of the world should belong to him.

Already in that first temptation, Jesus recognized Satan for who he was. He trusted in God unconditionally and did not even consider listening to Satan.

It was not just forbidden fruit that enticed Adam and Eve. They wanted to be like God. This is the greatest curse of mankind. Adam and Eve cut themselves off from God because they no longer trusted him. And because they no longer honored and obeyed him, they made idols of each other.

God Must Be First

All this should be a warning to us, whether we are married or not. God must be first in our lives, not our partner, nor our children. My wife and I learned that when God was not first in our relationship, and when we did not turn to him for guidance even in small matters, we soon lost our closeness to each other. This affected our children too (even if they were not conscious of it), by making them disobedient and quarrelsome. I have seen the same occur in other families: when a couple drifts apart, their children act out their insecurities. In our case – as with many other couples – we found that our children changed as soon as we turned back to God.

When we idolize our partner or our children, our love is false. We cannot speak freely about our shortcomings or those of our family. Like Adam, we no longer love God or see his countenance; we see only our spouse’s or our children’s. Rather than address issues head-on, we gloss things over. In this way, we eventually lose touch with God and with each other.

Worse, we open the door to evil, especially in the sexual area, and to inner deadness and isolation. Adam and Eve lost their innocence because they lost unity with God. Man blamed woman and sought to dominate, and woman, resentful of man, blamed Satan. All unity was destroyed. Man and woman became rivals and were no longer one.

Rivalry and Competition?

When our marriages are separated from God, rivalry takes root and selfishness rules us. In competing with our partner, we strive to create our own little paradise, but soon sink into emptiness. Our inner bond is destroyed and we remain bound to one another only through infatuation. We blame each other but keep seeking our own advantage and independence. The joy of total giving is gone.

The enemy of life in God is an independent and covetous will. Anything that opposes life and love is evil. Sin leads to separation, and the wages of sin is death. Satan shatters the most fundamental relationships we have.

People have pictured Satan as a creature with hooves and horns. Such a notion has no biblical basis. Satan and his demons surround the earth as a force of evil, like an atmosphere. His aim is to blind humans with self-interest and egoism: “You will be like God.” Instead of going the way of obedience, we allow ourselves to be tempted.

Cut off from God, we place ourselves at the center of the universe and try to find peace in possessions and pleasure. But these idols only leave us troubled. Then arises the first mistrustful question, “Why?” and the second, “Is God really there?” We doubt the guidance of the Spirit, and ask, “Why do I have it so hard? Why me?”

Seek Complete Trust

Such questions eat away at our trust in God and in each other, and when we ask them we are never far from sinning. Complete trust takes the hand that God offers and goes the way he leads. Even if the way leads through hard places or suffering, nothing can happen to us if we trust in God and take his hand. But as soon as we let go and question him, we will begin to despair. That is always the challenge: to hold on to God.

Jesus had to endure every human suffering. He was spared nothing – not hunger, thirst, loneliness, torment, or even death. But he did not attempt to escape from his misery, and so he can give us the strength to overcome. Even the most satanic temptations, the most terrible hours of darkness, are overcome by his words: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone” (Matt. 4:10). This is the way by which Satan loses all power over us, and the first sin no longer binds.

 

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Your Turn. Tell us what you thought about this article:

Responses

Wonderfully explained especially for many who misunderstand the Adam and Eve genesis, God's purposes and Satan; how Satan is our archenemy in stealing light from us by a single doubt we human tend to nurture because it's is so much easier to mold to due to our fallen state...  I don't believe Eve's choice was a sin but rather a transgression, a choice based on wanting to keep God's 1st command, to multiply.  She obviously couldn't see herself doing this, nor did Adam, without choosing something BETTER than just good.  THANK YOU again for wonderful articles !

deborah
Los Angeles

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Thank you for this important warning. It is striking that today we picture Satan with the horns and hooves, but in reality he comes to us in the beautiful disguise of what our greatest weaknesses are because he can't stand to lose us to God. And I went after the empty promises of Satan in my own life and had to turn from that very sharply. It was very painful at first, but it held the promise that Jesus would be with me every day and every minute. When I finally realized just what an incredible gift that is to have one's best friend in the entire world always with them, it was an amazing moment. I think we all experience a time in our lives when we are banished from the garden of Eden, and by our own actions and choices. What is important to me is to fight our way back to God in our lives. He never left Adam and Eve although they could not be in Eden, and when they turned their hearts back to Him, He was there. I have had to realize in my own life how I have had idols that I worshiped in the guise of "things" or "wants" or "desires" and that they took me far from God. Repentance is the most incredible experience though. To be given the chance to turn one's life completely upside down and inside out to find Jesus again is something so special. Thank you for these words that really touch me and challenge me to keep my lamp trimmed and focus on God alone.

Nicole Solomon
Newnan, GA