Instead of saying, “Ye shall not surely die,” what he said in effect was, “Ye certainly shall not die. Why, that is just absolutely impossible!”

He questions the love of God and the goodness of God: “If God is good, why did He put this restriction down?”

The serpent implies that God is not righteous when he says, “You will not die.” And he questions the Holiness of God by saying, “You’re going to be gods yourselves, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

The thing that Eve did was to add to the Word of God. The liberal and the atheist take from the Word of God, and God has warned against that.

The cults (and some fundamentalists, by the way) add to the Word of God, and God warns against that.

There are those who say that today we are saved by law. They argue, “Yes, it is by faith, but it is faith plus something else”—and they are apt to come up with anything.

The Word of God says: “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29).

 

How important this is!

The serpent very subtly contradicts God, and he substitutes his word for God’s word. The Book of Romans teaches the fact of the obedience of faith.

Faith leads to obedience, and unbelief leads to disobedience. Doubt leads to disobedience—always.

Genesis 3:4-5 KJV

[4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

[5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 3:4

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:


Ye shall not surely die — He proceeded, not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but to promise great benefits from partaking of it.

This proclaims an outright denial of the Word of God; as God had preached to Adam, Satan now preaches to Eve; Jesus called Satan a liar, which probably refers to this very moment [Jn. 8:44].

The first part of the book of Genesis is general history (also called primeval history). As Moses introduced new people or nations throughout this section, the emphasis very quickly moved to the person or entity that he intended to feature at that point.

For example, the accounts of the first sin and the first murder are set forth in Genesis 3 and 4.

After drawing the woman, later named Eve, into a conversation about God’s restrictions for their food, the serpent now flatly contradicts God. This creature—Satan in a serpent’s form—rejects God’s warning that the humans would die if they ate fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

This conversation serves as a prototype for temptation to sin. The serpent’s strategy begins with starting a conversation about it, then subtly questioning the fairness of the command, then candidly calling God a liar.

To this day, every temptation to sin is, at some level, a question of God’s character using that same path: Did God really make that statement…is God really telling the truth…should I trust what He says…don’t I actually know better…shouldn’t I choose my own way?

These are the questions, and the path of pride and sin, through which the serpent will lead Eve.

One key aspect of the serpent’s strategy, of course, is that he never fully lies. Compelling deception is always built on half-truths about God’s intentions and restrictions. As we’ll soon see, Adam and Eve did not instantly die physically after eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

However, they did die as a result of their decision, both spiritually and physically. They began the “slow dying” of the aging process and they immediately lost their deep connection to God. They became spiritually separated from the source of all life.

In the New Testament, Paul will describe this as being dead in our sins, the state of spiritual death each of us continues to be born into (Ephesians 2:1–2).

Genesis 3:5

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.


your eyes shall be opened — His words meant more than met the ear. This caused Eve to be inquisitive. In one sense her eyes were opened; for she acquired a direful experience of “good and evil” – of the happiness of a holy, and the misery of a sinful, condition.

But he studiously concealed this result from Eve, who, fired with a generous desire for knowledge, thought only of rising to the rank and privileges of her angelic visitants. This suggests the attainment of higher wisdom.

This, in effect says, “You shall be Elohim.” It was a promise of Divinity. God is Omniscient, meaning that His knowledge of evil is thorough, but not by personal experience. By His very Nature, He is totally separate from all that is evil.

The knowledge of evil that Adam and Eve would learn would be by moral degradation, which would bring wreckage. While it was proper to desire to be like God, it is proper only if done in the right way, and that is through Faith in Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross.

Here the serpent continues his deception of the first woman. His goal is to convince her to disobey God by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the previous verse, he flatly called God a liar for His warning that Adam and Eve would die if they ate the fruit from that tree.

Now Satan reveals what he wants Eve to believe: that God’s true motive for His rule is selfishness. According to the Devil, God just wants to scare them away so they don’t become like Him. God is competitive and jealous. He can’t be trusted to give commands for their good.

In fact, the serpent says, eating that fruit will open their eyes. They’ll finally see the world as it really is, knowing all things: “good and evil,” just like God. As in the previous verse, this deception contains a partial truth.

Looking ahead a few verses, we see that mankind’s eyes are opened. They do come to know good and evil. But that knowledge brings them neither God’s power, nor His wisdom, nor His ability to love.

Knowledge without corresponding maturity brings perversion. Humanity is not equipped for this knowledge, and so it brings them shame, fear, and pain. They come to know good by abandoning it. They gain the knowledge of evil by committing it for the first time in human history.

The power in the serpent’s temptation was his attack on God’s character and motivations: Don’t obey God because He is neither good nor loving nor trustworthy. The Devil says God wants to rob us of experiencing true power, from gaining full understanding.

This assumes that mankind is in a position to judge the character of God. That lie continues to drive humans toward sin and away from the good God who loves us.

I hope that you have really enjoyed this post,

Please Leave All Comments in the Comment Box Below

10 thoughts on “The Serpent Denies The Word Of GOD

  1. Thanks for the article. 

    I think you made a very good point about having faith and trust. 

    I think when we don’t rely on Him as much, it can be easier to fall for these word substitutes or even make the substitutions ourselves. 

    So when things seem impossible, you have to lean on your faith and trust.

    1. Hello,

      You are welcome for this article. 

      It definitely takes a lot of discipline, with all of life’s distractions, to remain focused, by keeping our eyes and minds focused on GOD.

      I agree with you wholeheartedly.

      Blessings,

      Jerry

  2. Satan is a liar. He is the father of lies. He is a deceiver, the deceiver. Yes, we know good from evil but we are living in a day where we call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

    You shall not surely die, you will be like God. It was his lie then and it is his lie now. I wonder if we are worse today than in the days of Noah. If not, we can’t be far from it.

    Adding to the Word of God. The translations are great as long as they are translations and not someone’s interpretation of the scripture. 

    In other words, I think of the Jehovah’s Witness translation, “New World Translation.” I’m wondering when the gay/lesbian community will come up with their own “translation.”

    1. Hello Mike,

      Thank you for commenting, as well as your opinion on The Serpent Denies The Word Of GOD.

      I see your point, that there are many translations of GOD’s Word out in the atmosphere. This is the exact reason we should have our very own personal relationship with GOD established.

      Jesus Christ made this possible for us.

      Thanks again for your support,

      Blessings My Friend!

  3. This is a very interesting treatise on the image of the serpent laying temptation in the garden.  

    I tend to think that what separated humans from creator was their desire to be independent. They believed that they could live without God.   

    The protection of the garden was abandoned for the freedom of the world with all its harshness.  

    Thanks for this challenging article.

    1. Hello again Anastazja,

      Thank you so much for your continued support, as well as utilizing a portion of your time to comment on another episode of HBS & DwJ Podcast.

      I must agree, there must have been some thought of curiosity of the grass being greener on the other side, in order for the temptation to work.

      Thank you again for your continued support and time,

      Blessings My Friend!

  4. What an interesting read. 

    These conversations between God and Satan (or good and evil) are always fascinating to me. 

    I wonder – isn’t everything relative? 

    Good is good because we have something “not good” or evil to relate it to. And from the logic, we have evil because we have something “not evil” or good to relate it to, too! 

    I’m curious to know what you think of this idea of relativity?

    1. Hello Sanaa,

      Thank you for taking the time to read, comment, and ask questions pertaining to this episode.

      What I think of the idea of relativity between God and Satan or (good and evil) is pretty much irrelevant. This is something that has existed outside of my existance.

      However, The focus of this episode is obedience to the Word of GOD.

      Thank you again for your time,

      Blessings My Friend!

  5. The Serpent in the Garden of Life was determined to have God’s creation for himself. 

    His jealousy and anger toward God were and are all-consuming. His desire to overthrow The Creator of the Universe and replace it with Himself undermines everything he does. The Serpent’s lies and deceptions come to light through the healing presence of God. 

    God had foreseen how it would be a struggle for mankind to achieve wisdom and beauty of heaven. The struggle we face daily is from original sin but when we take up our cross and follow the Son of God we can find holiness and salvation.

    Jerry

    1. Hello Jerry McCoy,

      Thank you for utilizing a portion of your time to comment on The Serpent Denies The Word Of GOD.

      Your comment about the Serpent’s jealousy and anger towards God is very accurate, indeed. I agree with what you have said, and it is also true in my opinion, that there are many challenges, including, the struggles we face daily from original sin in our spiritual journeys.

      Thank you for your comment,

      Blessings My Friend!

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