Dale Partridge - Genesis 3_1-7： The Serpent, the Woman, & the Collapse of Order

00:00:00.000 Well, as Joseph said, it is a very key passage of Scripture.

00:00:08.580 In fact, I think outside of the crucifixion of Christ, this may be the saddest chapter

00:00:14.840 in the Bible.

00:00:16.980 Now, for those of you who are joining us for the first time, we're studying the book of

00:00:20.780 Genesis, and we're not going to go all the way through all 50 chapters, but we have been

00:00:26.720 going through the first few chapters together as a body.

00:00:30.000 And today we begin chapter three. If chapter one gave us this wide open view of creation,

00:00:38.760 then chapter two was this zooming in on the specific events and more focused on the life

00:00:47.160 of Adam and Eve. Last week we examined Genesis chapter 2, 14 through 24 in a sermon titled

00:00:55.780 the six implications of masculine rule. The six implications of masculine rule.

00:01:04.500 In that passage, we saw how the isolation of man was not good, and that Eve was a great and

00:01:13.640 glorious creation to solve one of man's problems. We also saw that God entrusted Adam with the

00:01:20.760 responsibility to lead and rule over creation, the animals, and Eve. Now that truth from that sermon

00:01:30.540 sets the stage today because we're going to see the devastating effects

00:01:36.000 that follow when God-given order is neglected or even reversed. Today's sermon is titled,

00:01:46.140 the serpent, the woman, and the collapse of God's order. Verse one, it says, now the serpent was

00:01:54.580 more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. Now this verse marks

00:02:01.440 kind of a dramatic shift in the tone of Genesis. The purity and the innocence of the creation

00:02:10.200 narrative are suddenly interrupted by this phrase, more crafty. The serpent was more crafty.

00:02:21.380 Some translations render it subtle or shrewd or cunning. Regardless of the wording, each one of

00:02:31.320 them carries this hint of kind of discernment or concern planted in the reader's mind, a sense of

00:02:38.140 Like an unsettling element has entered into the story.

00:02:45.140 Now, for the first time in human history, innocence is no longer enough.

00:02:51.560 Vigilance becomes essential.

00:02:54.680 We have a crafty being before us.

00:03:00.760 Now, how do we know that the serpent of Genesis 3 is actually representative of the devil?

00:03:05.780 I think it's a very common question.

00:03:08.140 There's a lot of liberals out there that like to deconstruct this passage with a variety of false narratives.

00:03:14.420 Well, Revelation 12, verse 9, assigns, there's actually other verses as well,

00:03:18.720 but this one assigns the connection saying, quote,

00:03:21.980 The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan,

00:03:29.240 the deceiver of the whole world.

00:03:32.680 Now, the serpent was not Satan incarnate, okay?

00:03:36.120 You've got to understand here, the serpent's not Satan incarnate.

00:03:39.920 The serpent is possessed.

00:03:42.780 It becomes the mouthpiece of Satan in the fall of man.

00:03:50.240 Now, the Lord's choice to allow the devil to manifest in the serpent,

00:03:55.280 I think it perfectly mirrors the character of Satan himself.

00:03:59.360 It also certainly mirrors the character of sin itself.

00:04:03.160 It's deceptive. It's concealed.

00:04:06.120 It's deadly.

00:04:08.920 As we know, living here in Arizona, I know this on our property,

00:04:15.380 serpents are remarkably crafty.

00:04:18.920 Serpents are remarkably cunning.

00:04:21.720 They blend in with their surroundings.

00:04:28.440 They coil silently.

00:04:30.820 They strike from hidden places.

00:04:33.880 we also know that venom can kill and oftentimes does the narrative goes on to say if you look to

00:04:46.580 verse 1b second half of verse 1 all the way through verse 3 let's read it together

00:04:53.000 it says he said to the woman speaking of the serpent did god really say you shall not eat of

00:05:01.300 any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of

00:05:07.200 the trees in the garden, but God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that

00:05:12.920 is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. Now the first

00:05:20.580 thing I want you to notice is who the serpent approaches. Who the serpent approaches. Though

00:05:32.660 Adam was the ruler of creation and the head of Eve, the serpent went after the subordinate.

00:05:42.020 The serpent goes after the subordinate. He bypasses the head and speaks to the helper.

00:05:50.580 Now, why? Well, because effective attacks always enter by undermining order.

00:05:59.460 You will see this as I continue through here. Satan targets the points of vulnerability.

00:06:09.060 Satan targets the points of vulnerability.

00:06:13.540 Not because, in this circumstance, that Eve was lesser.

00:06:17.880 not because she had less intrinsic value but because she was lesser in vigilance due to her

00:06:26.900 nature due to her nature man's nature we know the masculine nature is to rule by logic and what

00:06:35.820 makes men strong and it's what makes men strong leaders and protectors we are logical far more

00:06:42.940 than we are emotional. It's what makes us good

00:06:46.860 leaders and shepherds and protectors. We are

00:06:50.920 not as easily deceived. 1.00

00:06:56.160 Now, woman's nature is to rule 1.00

00:06:58.940 by emotion and is what makes women strong 1.00

00:07:03.140 nurturers and helpers and compassionate.

00:07:08.560 Now, Satan went after the one designed

00:07:11.240 for what? Agreeableness.

00:07:14.780 Women have an agreeable nature. 0.98

00:07:19.240 They are emotionally sensitive. 0.65

00:07:23.120 And this is good and glorious. It is what God designed

00:07:27.300 them for. They complement the man's

00:07:31.240 logic and harshness and

00:07:34.980 intensity.

00:07:35.540 and as we'll see the fall was not merely an act of pride but it's also an act of disorder

00:07:47.600 pride supplied the motive pride was the motive

00:07:53.940 but role reversal and abdication was the means we we need to believe that god's order is good

00:08:03.400 I think that this is what I want us to walk away with today.

00:08:06.540 We need to believe that God's order is good.

00:08:09.700 Even when it doesn't feel good, or even look good, or seem good, it is good.

00:08:20.440 Subordinates are subordinate for a reason, according to God's design.

00:08:25.460 Men ought not to feel guilty to be the head of their household, because God designed it that way. 0.96

00:08:32.020 And women ought not to feel oppressed because they are to submit to their own husbands

00:08:36.600 because God designed it that way.

00:08:38.900 Order is good.

00:08:41.020 Order is good.

00:08:43.540 Now, again, subordinates are subordinate for a reason.

00:08:47.100 Typically, I know there's a variety of examples here,

00:08:49.380 but typically because they lack authority or ability or clarity.

00:08:54.560 Now, let me ask you a question. 1.00

00:08:56.160 Why do drag queens read books to children and not fathers? 1.00

00:09:03.520 And why is it often the mothers that bring them to these events? 1.00

00:09:10.160 Because it is a subversion of order. 0.92

00:09:13.220 Why are women told to lead in the home and men told to be more sensitive? 1.00

00:09:18.440 Because it is a subversion of order. 1.00

00:09:21.800 Why are children deciding their gender while parents are told to stay silent? 0.67

00:09:26.160 because it is a subversion of order. 0.93

00:09:31.880 Disorder isn't random, it's strategic.

00:09:36.700 You need to understand this.

00:09:38.940 In our world, disorder isn't random, it's a strategy of the enemy.

00:09:45.460 Wolves attack the weak, not the strong.

00:09:50.560 If your goal is deception, you go after the child, not the parent.

00:09:56.160 You go after the young, not the old.

00:09:59.380 You go after the congregate, not the pastor. 0.66

00:10:03.760 You go after the woman, not the man.

00:10:07.860 We must learn to trust the safety of order. 1.00

00:10:13.440 Women must trust the safety of order. 0.67

00:10:19.920 Husbands must trust the safety of order. 0.94

00:10:23.200 children must trust the safety of order the first line of the serpent's mouth is did god

00:10:32.600 actually say or did god really say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden

00:10:39.020 the serpent introduces this really new category this new category of the garden

00:10:46.380 doubt doubt

00:10:51.060 for the first time the idea that God might not mean

00:10:56.340 what he said

00:10:57.780 enters into Eve's mind through the serpent

00:11:01.680 one theologian said

00:11:05.060 doubt slays many

00:11:08.940 as we see in verse 2 through 3

00:11:13.440 Eve was not ignorant of what God said, but she was not confident in what God said.

00:11:25.360 And I want to make it clear, ladies, the ability to be persuaded is not a flaw of femininity.

00:11:32.340 It's a feature of femininity, and it's actually a good and glorious thing when it's not exploited by the wrong voices.

00:11:38.960 when it's directed towards order when when you are persuaded by your father if you're not married

00:11:46.640 or by your husband in you know in an act of submission this is a good and godly thing 0.98

00:11:51.640 but when women act like men and are not willing to be persuaded 0.51

00:11:58.000 and will not fall into order in the feminist moment that we live in that's not good

00:12:03.740 or when women are persuaded by the emotions of a particular sinful act in society or culture 1.00

00:12:12.280 and go out from under the order of their home in order to adopt a new idea or practice that is also

00:12:20.000 not good so again the ability to be persuaded emotionally is actually a positive and good

00:12:28.560 feature of femininity, as long as it is not exposed and exploited or abused by a particular

00:12:35.980 person or idea. And this is, again, how Satan worked in the garden. He didn't deny God's

00:12:45.120 word. He questioned it. He questioned it. And in doing so, he exploits Eve's femininity.

00:12:54.280 Now, doubt has been the devil's favorite weapon against women for a long time.

00:13:01.020 And I'm going to show you some examples from Scripture.

00:13:03.560 We see Sarah doing what?

00:13:06.500 Doubting the word of God.

00:13:08.700 And what does she do? 0.66

00:13:10.300 Why don't you take Hagar, my servant? 0.67

00:13:13.860 What a mistake that was.

00:13:17.320 Because of doubt.

00:13:20.120 We see Lot's wife doubting the angel's voice.

00:13:23.000 and turning back to the world she loved, not following her husband.

00:13:29.940 We see Israel's women doubting the prophets and being led away by these men that are charming, 0.88

00:13:36.060 but lead to their demise. 0.69

00:13:40.520 Doubt always leads to disorder at some degree.

00:13:45.020 Now again, all of us must learn to trust and even run to God's order.

00:13:49.840 God's order is good.

00:13:53.000 The question the serpent puts forth is crafty.

00:13:56.120 It really is.

00:13:57.520 He says, did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

00:14:02.040 And this causes Eve to think.

00:14:04.580 She starts to examine for a second.

00:14:06.500 And she corrects the serpent in some degree, saying,

00:14:09.040 and the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.

00:14:13.160 But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden.

00:14:19.020 Neither shall you touch it lest you die.

00:14:23.920 Now, if you make a really careful look at the previous verses and these verses,

00:14:32.520 you're going to actually see what Eve says is not exactly what God says.

00:14:37.520 And what the serpent says is not exactly what God says.

00:14:41.160 And you almost have to put a chart together to see what words were left out and what words were added in.

00:14:48.580 And why is this important?

00:14:51.180 Because when you see a similar temptation happen later in the Bible,

00:14:57.740 where you're not being tempted in a garden, but you're being tempted in the desert,

00:15:02.880 this is Jesus, not the first Adam, but the second Adam,

00:15:07.440 Jesus quotes Scripture word for word,

00:15:10.520 where Eve and the serpent are not quoting Scripture word for word.

00:15:16.220 now some have suggested and i think there's some truth here that eve's response carries a hint of

00:15:25.160 resentment towards god now it takes a bit of a deep study to get to this position but

00:15:30.400 i i actually do believe that there's something here she omits the words freely eat of every tree

00:15:38.880 she doesn't include those words there and she adds neither shall you touch it

00:15:44.620 implying that God's command was somewhat more restrictive than it was generous.

00:15:54.440 It's subtle, but it does align with her forthcoming actions.

00:15:59.360 Now, she does acknowledge the consequence, lest you die.

00:16:03.500 She does acknowledge that's important,

00:16:06.240 which is significant because in the next verse,

00:16:09.220 the serpent exploits her innocent around the magnitude of what death is.

00:16:12.420 is. Imagine Eve's understanding of death. It's probably not that robust at this point.

00:16:21.940 We don't know if God has communicated more to her that's not included in the scriptures,

00:16:26.080 but of what we know, we know that she doesn't know much.

00:16:30.300 But the serpent said to the woman in verse 4, you will not surely die. You will not surely die.

00:16:37.320 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened

00:16:43.160 and you will be like God

00:16:45.440 knowing good and evil

00:16:48.240 now at first glance it's easy to read this as kind of a straight up lie

00:16:53.060 and it is

00:16:54.340 right you just go well God says

00:16:57.260 and the day of you eat it you will surely die

00:16:59.460 and then the serpent says you will not surely die

00:17:02.080 boom straight lie right

00:17:03.600 Well, I think if you look at it a little bit closer, you realize that the serpent's words are a little bit more calculated than we might realize.

00:17:13.940 Ancient Christians, speaking of this verse, often said, the devil's best lie is a half-truth.

00:17:19.460 The devil's best lie is a half-truth.

00:17:22.440 So how are the serpent's words a half-truth?

00:17:27.960 God said, in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.

00:17:33.600 Now, this carried a double meaning.

00:17:35.500 There was a double meaning here.

00:17:36.700 We talked about this in previous sermons. 0.90

00:17:38.560 You will die spiritually immediately. 0.93

00:17:41.340 And you will die physically eventually. 0.99

00:17:44.860 Okay, that's what happened.

00:17:46.600 And that's what God intended with the words that he meant.

00:17:53.060 Now, the serpent exploits this double meaning, saying, you will not surely die.

00:17:58.520 Well, Adam and Eve did die spiritually that day.

00:18:01.840 We see that in verse 7 and in verse 24.

00:18:05.220 They did die, or they did not die physically that day.

00:18:10.740 So there's a half-truth there at some degree.

00:18:14.540 You will not surely die physically today.

00:18:21.740 A philosopher once wrote,

00:18:24.780 Beware of the half-truth.

00:18:26.940 You may have gotten hold of the wrong half.

00:18:31.840 And I think as we see into verse 6 in a minute, Eve took hold of the wrong half.

00:18:37.840 Now, before we go to verse 6, I want to look at verse 5 just a little bit further.

00:18:41.320 It says, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

00:18:49.320 Now, Satan tempts Eve by making God's loving protection seem like a selfish restriction and that he's withholding some good from her.

00:19:00.620 That's what's really going on in that statement.

00:19:02.980 God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened.

00:19:05.580 He's restricting you from something.

00:19:09.300 You'll be like God, knowing good and evil.

00:19:12.280 So God's, he's withholding something good from me.

00:19:20.320 Now it's this statement that leads humanity to its fatality.

00:19:24.500 in fact this temptation is the basis of john 8 44 which says jesus is speaking you are of your

00:19:35.760 father the devil speaking of the pharisees and jews he was a murderer from the beginning

00:19:43.480 and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him whenever he speaks a lie he 1.00

00:19:50.540 speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 0.99

00:19:55.140 But I want you to catch this point. He was a murderer from the beginning. 0.99

00:20:00.120 This temptation was a murder scene. 0.94

00:20:04.080 He's murdering humanity.

00:20:07.800 Now, life is actually filled with all types of these

00:20:10.800 exact temptations. Every act of sexual

00:20:14.680 immorality that you've ever committed comes with the belief

00:20:18.760 that in God's restriction,

00:20:20.680 he's withholding something good from me.

00:20:27.680 Every act of greed holds the same lie.

00:20:32.360 God's provision isn't enough

00:20:34.000 and God is withholding something good for me.

00:20:36.240 I need to take more for myself.

00:20:40.460 Every act of rebellion

00:20:41.920 whispers that God's order and authority is oppressive

00:20:45.500 and he's withholding something good from me.

00:20:51.020 This is not just some random thing that happens in Genesis 3.

00:20:55.420 This is something that will probably happen to you today.

00:21:03.240 At the core, what is the sin?

00:21:06.260 It's unbelief.

00:21:08.600 It's unbelief.

00:21:09.860 you don't believe what God really said about a particular thing.

00:21:20.160 It makes you realize how much sin we actually commit.

00:21:24.800 That we are like our four parents, Adam and Eve,

00:21:29.620 sinning because we do not trust the word of the Lord.

00:21:33.980 Verse 6 says,

00:21:35.120 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food

00:21:37.980 and that it was a delight to the eyes

00:21:40.240 and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,

00:21:46.060 she took of its fruit and ate

00:21:47.620 and she also gave some to her husband who was with her

00:21:50.520 and he ate.

00:21:53.860 Now one theologian said,

00:21:56.100 it's very neat that the snake never directly demands

00:21:59.100 that they should eat.

00:22:00.600 He understands the art of seduction.

00:22:03.380 i often remind people that sin does not happen to us we choose it sin does not happen to us

00:22:12.360 we choose it we may have been tempted into it we may have been coerced but at the end of the day

00:22:18.120 sin does not happen to you you choose it you are not a victim to sin if you're a christian

00:22:23.400 you are a victor over sin in christ but you don't get to say it happened to me

00:22:29.280 It just, you know, the alcoholism just happened to me.

00:22:34.160 No, no.

00:22:38.040 You're not a victim to sin.

00:22:40.560 You chose sin.

00:22:44.300 Here we see Eve persuaded by the serpent's deception.

00:22:48.520 And pay attention because she's justifying her choice, not by God's word, but by her own senses.

00:22:57.260 By her own senses.

00:22:59.900 Now again, this is kind of, when you see the parallel, right?

00:23:03.040 You have the temptation of the devil in the garden with the first Adam and Eve.

00:23:07.260 And you have the second temptation in the desert with the second Adam.

00:23:13.980 And one is full and the other guy is starving.

00:23:19.560 Which one is more likely to be trying to be persuaded by his senses?

00:23:23.320 Well, it should be Christ.

00:23:24.300 Yet he's not.

00:23:25.420 Jesus is not

00:23:27.780 manipulated by his senses

00:23:29.280 he is

00:23:31.680 controlled by the word

00:23:33.760 of God

00:23:34.300 with Eve

00:23:40.560 she justifies her decision

00:23:43.120 based off of what looked good

00:23:45.520 what felt right what seemed

00:23:47.360 wise

00:23:48.020 and in that moment she took the fruit 0.96

00:23:51.080 and she brought death

00:23:52.860 upon to herself does anybody have

00:23:54.980 somebody in their life that died well i'm assuming all of us have you know why they died because of

00:24:01.340 this chapter of scripture i often tell people you hate death that hates sin because sin is the cause

00:24:08.160 of death do you want to connect this with your life have you ever woke up in the morning and

00:24:13.420 thought one day i'm gonna die one day i'm not gonna be here and the the the fleshly terror of

00:24:21.760 that decision. We know that Christ has taken away that sting of death, but the fleshly terror of

00:24:28.300 that, that's because of this chapter. We often look at this moment and go, what a stupid mistake 1.00

00:24:37.960 she made. What a dumb mistake she made. But again, we don't realize that we make that same mistake 1.00

00:24:44.020 every day. Every day. You go, if I was in the garden, man, I would not do that. Yes, you would.

00:24:51.280 Yes, you would.

00:24:56.720 Now, God says to love our neighbors as ourselves,

00:24:59.340 yet a moment presents itself to not love our neighbors,

00:25:02.840 and we, like Eve, find a way to justify it through our senses,

00:25:07.240 through our eyes, through what feels wise, what seems good,

00:25:11.520 and we choose sin.

00:25:14.960 And it'll probably happen today.

00:25:20.460 I want to make a few additional points.

00:25:24.040 First, the eyes are the gateway to many sins.

00:25:27.180 If you're a man, you can really understand this.

00:25:29.280 The eyes are the gateway to many sins.

00:25:37.180 1 John 2.16 says,

00:25:39.240 For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes,

00:25:44.660 and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world.

00:25:50.460 The eyes lie. Potiphar's wife looked with desire at Joseph and pursued him with lust.

00:26:02.000 Achan saw the treasures of Shinar and coveted them because he saw them.

00:26:08.840 Samson saw a Philistine woman and demanded her for himself.

00:26:14.400 David fell when he saw Bathsheba bathing and desired her.

00:26:20.460 You see, Job understood this danger and decided, he said, quote,

00:26:23.600 I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I gaze at a virgin? 0.95

00:26:28.720 Jesus talks about this.

00:26:32.160 He says that whoever looks with lust has already committed adultery with a woman in his heart.

00:26:37.080 And that it is better to even lose an eye, and that your whole body might not burn in hell.

00:26:45.120 Guard your eyes. Guard your eyes.

00:26:48.740 In a social media world where you can open up your phone and see the most vile things without even trying to, guard your eyes.

00:26:59.320 Second, sin always includes some sort of fleshly rationalization.

00:27:06.560 You're going to intellectually justify what you're doing. 0.93

00:27:12.460 Eve justified her disobedience because it looked good for food.

00:27:18.040 It looked good for food.

00:27:20.040 That's a great reason to disobey God, right?

00:27:22.220 It looked good for food.

00:27:24.880 The mind can twist rebellion into reason

00:27:27.740 if it's not ruled by truth.

00:27:32.000 Proverbs 3.5

00:27:33.180 I know our brother Corbin's favorite passage of Scripture

00:27:37.220 is trust in the Lord with all your heart

00:27:40.680 and do not lean on your own understanding.

00:27:47.220 Don't lean on your own understanding.

00:27:49.760 You've got to know the Word.

00:27:51.500 And even if it doesn't feel right, look right, seem wise, it is.

00:27:58.020 The Word is right.

00:28:01.760 Third, Adam ate.

00:28:05.740 Adam ate. 1.00

00:28:08.660 It's easy to kind of blame the fall of humanity on woman. 1.00

00:28:13.660 It's just all Eve's fault.

00:28:17.220 But that's not how God sees it, and that's not how the Scriptures see it either.

00:28:21.780 The fall of humanity does not rest on Eve, according to Scripture.

00:28:25.720 It rests completely on Adam.

00:28:31.460 We see this in three ways, and I could give a whole sermon on this, but I'm going to give you just the bullet points.

00:28:36.160 First, after they have eaten, if you look down to verse 9, God calls Adam to account.

00:28:43.360 He does not call Eve.

00:28:44.800 they eat they sin they freak out god's walking and says adam where are you

00:28:53.720 he's not looking for eve though he knows the circumstances second in verses 20 through 2

00:29:01.140 through 24 um we see in chapter 3 22 22 through 24 the lord god said quote behold the man has

00:29:11.740 become like one of us. So again, not Adam and Eve, not Eve. The man has become like one of us

00:29:20.600 in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and

00:29:26.780 eat and live forever. Therefore, the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to work the ground

00:29:33.020 from which he was taken.

00:29:34.820 He drove out the man.

00:29:38.300 Eve's not even mentioned.

00:29:41.220 Well, why is that?

00:29:43.260 Because Eve's inclusion is within Adam.

00:29:49.880 Where does Eve come from?

00:29:52.520 Adam.

00:29:52.900 Adam.

00:29:56.520 Her expulsion is in his.

00:30:00.500 third and probably the most clear is romans 5 12 it says therefore just as sin came into the world

00:30:09.440 through one man speaking of adam and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all had

00:30:16.240 sinned and so there you go the scriptures assign the fall of humanity not to eve but to adam this

00:30:25.860 is what we call patriarchy father rule it is the idea that adam is responsible while he is not

00:30:38.060 guilty and eve has her own consequences for her sin he is responsible for the sins that she commits

00:30:44.920 and in the same way that christ is not guilty for the sins that the church commits he takes

00:30:54.480 responsibility for them paying for them on the cross that is godly patriarchy men who take

00:31:03.340 responsibility the state of your wife and your children and your home you are responsible men

00:31:10.280 and the lord will look to you for the state of your home it doesn't mean that your sins of your 0.52

00:31:16.700 daughter or your sons or your wife will not be dealt with they will but the responsibility

00:31:23.200 falls on you. 0.88

00:31:27.580 Now, verse 7,

00:31:29.700 and we'll close here in a second.

00:31:34.260 Then the eyes of both of them were opened.

00:31:38.200 So the enemy was speaking some sort of truth.

00:31:43.160 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

00:31:45.300 and they knew they were naked,

00:31:46.560 and they sewed fig leaves together

00:31:48.920 and made themselves loincloths.

00:31:50.400 these were immediate effects of spiritual death

00:31:55.900 immediate effects they died spiritually the serpent's promise of their eyes being open was

00:32:03.980 was true but it was anticlimactic their eyes were now open but open to what

00:32:10.980 to sin, to shame, to guilt, to fear, to pain.

00:32:19.220 Now, notice that sin does not only compel us to hide from God,

00:32:25.680 but it actually makes us ashamed to be around one another.

00:32:29.320 We start hiding from each other.

00:32:32.080 This is a very important distinction to make

00:32:34.100 because today's epidemic of individualism and isolation

00:32:38.260 and depression and loneliness

00:32:41.020 is not just psychological, it's theological.

00:32:44.960 It's theological.

00:32:47.420 It's the natural consequence of a society

00:32:50.080 that's saturated with sin.

00:32:51.580 Do you want to know why a church

00:32:53.180 might often become fragmented and disconnected

00:32:56.820 and disunited?

00:32:58.220 It's because of sin.

00:33:00.380 Sin always divides.

00:33:03.160 Holiness always unites.

00:33:04.800 if you want to figure out why your relationships don't feel close

00:33:09.280 it's almost always because of sin

00:33:11.400 sin divides people

00:33:13.660 it causes shame between your relationships

00:33:16.160 if you want to be close to people

00:33:17.980 be holy

00:33:19.020 be forgiving to others

00:33:21.660 do not have a root of bitterness in you

00:33:24.100 true community cannot exist apart from repentance and holiness

00:33:32.720 now ultimately as i close with this

00:33:36.280 ultimately this passage i believe calls us to trust god and his design it's good it's good for

00:33:46.080 the marriage it's good for the church it's good for the family it's good for the state

00:33:50.680 it is a good and holy and godly thing to trust the design of god his order is not a burden it is a

00:33:58.640 shelter and even when we cannot reason even when our eyes deceive us even when wisdom of the flesh

00:34:08.180 says we ought not to obey we must yield to god's design amen amen let's pray father we thank you

00:34:18.060 lord for your design for your order that you have not left us having to determine or design something

00:34:27.860 ourselves. Lord, keep us and protect us from chaos. Lord, we ask that you would bless these

00:34:35.360 families in our church here, Lord, that they would follow your order, that they would trust your

00:34:40.660 order, that the men would follow and submit to Christ, and that the women would follow and submit

00:34:51.080 their husbands, and that their children would follow and submit to their parents. Lord, we ask

00:34:55.660 that your order would reign in this nation. In Jesus' name, amen.

Dale Partridge - October 21, 2025

Genesis 3_1-7： The Serpent, the Woman, & the Collapse of Order

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript