4th November,2007 ¡¡ Genesis 3:1-15 [The beginning of sin]

1. God made humans to help each other

Today we celebrate the 38th anniversary of the Church’s foundation. There were many troubles and conflicts within the church during those thirty eight years, some of which caused my three predecessors to leave, and the church members to disperse. But, despite all of this, we continue to preach the good news of the Gospel, with many new members, and a new vision for the future. For we know, even during bad times, there always remains the hope that God will help our work, and bless us abundantly (Gen. 1).
We will commence our service by focusing on the book of Genesis. This book gives insight into human creation, human sin, punishment, and God’s forgiveness through repentence. After Creation of the world, Genesis reveals how human history began and developed:
“The LORD God formed the man, (the Hebrew for man, Adam, sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for ground, Adamah ), from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being ” (Genesis 2:7).
The human was only a mass of dust without God’s breath of life, and God entrusted this living being to take charge of the Garden of Eden, in other words, Paradise.
God created plant life, animals, and a river watering the garden flowed from Eden. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found, so:
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). ” So the Lord God caused the man (Adam) to fall into a deep sleep, and while He was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21-22)
Woman was given life to be man’s helper, not as a servant, nor a slave, but as an equal. Consequentially , one needs each other, and the two become one, who are able to create new lives through childbirth. We cannot find here any allusion to the notion of female inferiority, a matter which was conceived much later. The focal point is that God made humans to look at each other, face to face, to help and respect each other.

2. The sin of not being able to live together

When man was given the woman he said:
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man” (Genesis 2:23).
Nevertheless this cherished relationship soon starts to degenerate with the eating of the prohibited fruits in the Garden:
“And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9). “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
In spite of God’s generosity, Adam was tempted and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree in the garden, the result of which is clearly written:
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). The man tried to blame the woman and God at the same time. The woman in turn took a similar approach to her defense : ” . . . . The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12-13).
As you can see, their sin was not simply the act of eating the forbidden fruits. Their sin was trying to avoid taking responsibility for their actions by blaming others. They first blamed each other, and then their creator! It is just the very core of sin, unable to admit their own guilt, and unable to repent. We do everything instead, to cover up our culpability. So much so, God decided to banish the first humans from their Paradise:
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing . . . ” To Adam he said, ” . . . . Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:16-17)
However, out of this chaos we come to recognize the most important issue which shows God’s profound love for humans:
“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
Though God punishes, He always seeks to preserve by giving the joy of living. He still makes provision for us, even in the midst of suffering and severe conditions. Thus humans, who emerge from this type of punishment, supported by God’s love, should learn to be humble. Because hard labor in order to obtain food, or suffering the pain of childbearing, helps us to understand that we humans are not the master of our own destiny. In fact, paradise lost is not a curse but a blessing, which helps us to grow in maturity, mentally and spiritually. That is the very lesson we learn about God’s love from the book of Genesis.

3. Return to Paradise though Jesus Christ

We must not listen to the Genesis story and perceive it to be mythology, like that of the Babylonians, or the Kojiki - Japanese foundation legend. Both of which are not directly related to contemporary humans. Instead, we should consider it as a record of the confessional words of the ancient Jewish people, who sought the truth. Why can’t humans love each other and live together as equal beings? By reading Genesis, we men and women, should gain an insight into our own nature, our own sin, and begin to seek redemption and ultimate liberation from that predicament.
Now let’s read Luke, 23:42-43, as today’s invocation verses:
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” This was the response from Jesus to one of the two criminals, who were on the cross beside him. The man asked Jesus if he too could go to heaven if he repented. In these verses Jesus’ concept of his Father’s house, is one of paradise, a place of eternal happiness: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
The first man and woman were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their willful disobedience. Peace and fellowship with God was broken and love was replaced by evil. But Jesus, through his crucifixion made possible the return to paradise (heaven). And He tells us to love each other in order that we can claim that grace:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13: 34).
We humans are basically a defective species, who cannot love others without faith. We must face that fact. Perhaps we need to recognize ourselves as repentant sinners, seeking redemption and salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ. When we arrive at that moment of truth, the Bible teaches that our sins might be forgiven.
The Old Testament is a history book of the Jewish people, filled with stories of conflict and war between men and women, brothers, ethnic groups, people and tribes. Humans have a tendency to hate those who are different from themselves. Human history is a cyclical record of conflict and war, causing much pain and suffering.
Perhaps the same could be said of our church, as we pause to look back over our thirty eight year history. However, God has allowed us to remain. Further, he has blessed us with more believers than ever before. Today, we give thanks for God’s great love, which enables us to continue preaching and teaching about our saviour, Jesus Christ.

—–