A STUDY OF GENESIS

Chapter Three, Vs. 1 - 3 -- THE “ROAD DOWN”

[It is recommended that you study the teachings on Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 before you continue or you may not understand this teaching.]

Remember, Adam had the option of walking by the five senses or walking by the spirit. He decided whether to be led by the five senses or by the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He chose the five senses by his own free will. The true God of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ never forces anyone to do anything against their will. The present god of this world possesses, controls, and manipulates peoples’ lives. This is his ministry -- it's all he can do. Both want worship. Your free will determines the outcome.

The "road down" occurs in five (5) steps. It is important that you understand how the god of this world works. He is secretive, sly, and subtil -- he does not come right out in the open and unless you know God's Word RIGHTLY DIVIDED, he will deceive even the very elect.

Mark 13: 22 -- For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

The very first thing he will do is:

1) Get you to doubt the accuracy and integrity of God's Word.

2) Consider this doubt.

3) Omit a word(s) from God's Word.

4) Add a word(s) to God's Word.

5) Change a word(s).

Throughout most of this teaching, you will recognize these five steps used by the adversary as he works on people's emotions and desires -- things of the flesh.

Matthew 26: 41 -- Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

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Genesis 3: 1 -- 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?

The first thing the enemy does is to get you to DOUBT the accuracy and integrity of God’s Word and the second thing he gets you to do is to CONSIDER this doubt.

[See steps 1 and 2 above]. Now watch what Eve did after the enemy got her to DOUBT the accuracy of what God said. She "CONSIDERED" what the devil said to her. She began to think about it and was tempted to believe what the enemy was telling her.

Many times, we are tempted to do things that we know are wrong. Whenever you are tempted, it is never right -- the temptation is never coming from the true God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is something you must always remember for it will bless you greatly throughout all of your life. It's really so simple -- when you are tempted, it is always wrong. The true God who is our Heavenly Father NEVER tempts. Now that you have been taught the rightly divided Word of God in this area, you are responsible to carry it out. You are to adhere to it, push your pride aside, and humble yourselves before the Lord and He shall lift you up.

James 4: 10 -- Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

James 1: 13 -- Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

James 1: 14 -- But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust [the old man], and enticed.

James 1: 15 -- Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

James 1: 16 -- Do not err, my beloved brethren.

The devil knew what God said and he used this knowledge to tempt Eve. "Did God really say this?" . . . is what Eve was now CONSIDERING.

Many Christians don't realize this, but the adversary knows the Word of God very well. He uses part-truths to confuse and lure people into a trap. The trap simply stated is the 'wrongly' divided Word of God. The enemy adds words or omits a word(s), or changes a word(s). That is why it is so important to have ACCURACY when handling God's perfect Word. There can be no room for 'private interpretation' -- "guesswork".

II Peter 1: 20 -- Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private [idios -- one's own] interpretation.

I Timothy 2: 4 -- Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the [accurate] knowledge of the truth.

The word 'knowledge' as defined in a Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament is "a knowledge that has a powerful influence on the knower."

To review, the first thing the devil will get a person to do is to question or DOUBT the integrity and accuracy of God's Word. Then he gets you to CONSIDER THIS DOUBT. These are the first two (2) steps as listed above. "Did God really say that?" -- he whispers in your ear. He may get you to question the integrity and accuracy of this teaching. God always gives you free will to accept or reject His Word. The devil follows a pattern in his ministry to steal, kill, and to destroy.

John 10: 10a -- The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: . .

The adversary adjusts his methods to the times and conditions of the present day. He could deceive someone into spending too much time on a computer where the computer or the internet comes before God. This is a modern form of idolatry. Remember, you are dealing with the master of trickery.

Matthew 6: 33 -- But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Seek anything else first and everything will be subtracted from you. Why won't people put God first?! If you think about it, it makes no sense at all. THINK ABOUT IT. God is the creator of life so shouldn't it be obvious that He knows more about life than anyone else. It shouldn't take a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Genesis 3: 2 -- And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

Now if you're studying God's Word, you should be able to recognize that THIS IS NOT WHAT THE TRUE GOD SAID in Genesis 2: 16. Read that verse now. This is step three (3) above where the devil gets you to OMIT A WORD FROM GOD’S WORD. If you work the Word of God and STUDY it as is stated in second Timothy 2: 15, you will be able to see that A WORD WAS OMITTED from the original God breathed Word. You will be able to see that Eve omitted the word "freely". This is the third of five ways that the adversary attempts to manipulate God's Word. If a word is omitted from the original Word of God, do you actually have the Word of God? No, you have a cleverly disguised counterfeit. Are you beginning to see the gist of this teaching? You simply cannot guess at what the Word of God means. You must have accuracy because you have a personal adversary who wants to trap you and confuse you and where there is confusion, there is every evil work.

James 3: 16 -- For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

It all depends on how serious you are at living the more than abundant life as promised in:

John 10: 10b -- . . . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

You need to think about this. Many so-called Christians do not even read, let alone, UNDERSTAND the Bible. Much of what you hear in churches today is private interpretation which in its least common denominator is guesswork -- plain and simple. Now, you must make up your mind either to walk with God or not to walk with God. It's a very simple decision, but it's the most important decision you will ever make in all of your life. I don't question God's Word -- I study it. I have learned not to argue with God. Believe me, it's a wise decision.

Eve continued her conversation with the devil -- a serious mistake. Now watch what Eve does:

Genesis 3: 3 -- But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Go back to verse 2: 17 and read it! Did God say anything about touching the fruit? I can’t find it, can you? So what obviously happened?

Eve ADDED a word to the original Word of God, so you no longer have the original Word of God -- but private interpretation -- "guesswork". Eve was sincere and confused by this point, but sincerity is no guarantee for truth! SHE WAS TOTALLY WRONG. Do you see how tricky the devil can be? That is why you MUST know the original to recognize the counterfeit. Here is what the original Word of God says:

Genesis 2: 17 -- But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

[We should know from previous teachings that what died was their SPIRITUAL CONNECTION with God. They went from body, soul, and SPIRIT, back to body and soul.]

In Genesis 2: 17, do you see anything said by the true God about touching the fruit of the tree?! This is the phrase that EVE ADDED to the original Word of God. Now you no longer have God’s Word. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL THAT EVE DID. In this same verse, she CHANGED A WORD.

God said in the verse: " . . . the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

Eve said in her version of the verse: " . . . lest [maybe, perhaps] ye die."

Who do you believe?

Eve, by her own free will, questioned the integrity and accuracy of the Word of God and then, as we know, calamity resulted. The devil still uses these same five (5) steps to defeat Christians. In this situation, Eve was tricked by the devil to do the ONE THING God commanded her not to do and Adam followed suit. As a result, all the power that God gave to Adam was transferred to Lucifer. That is why he is the present god of this world. [II Corinthians 4: 4]. But when Jesus Christ died and was raised from the dead, the devil and all his power was then defeated and in the future, the devil himself, will be destroyed permanently with the second coming of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The devil knows his time is short.

In conclusion, let’s summarize the five-step road downhill pertaining to our example in the third chapter of Genesis.

1) The first step the devil induced Eve to do was to QUESTION or DOUBT the integrity and accuracy of God’s Word.

2) The second mistake Eve made was to CONSIDER the question that the devil had propounded.

3) Here is where Eve OMITTED a word from God’s Word.

4) Here is where Eve ADDED words to God’s Word.

5) And finally, Eve CHANGED a word from an absolute to a perhaps.

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