Chapter 4

The Strike

Chapter 4 Text

At the dawn of the human race, the foundation of God’s plan was set in place. Together Adam and Eve bore the image of God. Together they were to be an expression of dominion and heaven’s authority in the earth. Together, yet in uniquely different ways, each gender would express God’s heart. This was the structure God chose. Without their comprehending this glorious plan, without their walking in the strength of this design, God’s plan would fail. He has no plan B; there is only plan A, and it is God’s master plan. That plan has not changed. God still desires that the Church truly comprehend the strength and power of His original design, that of the genders truly walking as one.

An Attempt to Undermine God’s Plan

I do not think it was happenstance that the enemy approached the woman first in the garden. He who led the rebellion in heaven now seeks to continue it on earth. He was after the plan of God. He wanted to exalt himself above the Most High God.

Satan was present when the words of God were spoken forth in the garden. He heard God say that man’s aloneness was not good. He knew that God had fashioned a “help” suitable for man—a help who would walk with him and, most importantly, be the expression of dominion in the earth with him that God had intended. He knew that she had a highly significant place in man’s life and in God’s plan, and he knew that God’s intention for them was to be blessed, to be fruitful, to multiply and to conquer, tread down, keep under, prevail against, bring into subjection, and rule over any opposing force that would arise in the earth to counter the plan of God. This is what it means to take dominion.

In approaching the woman first in the garden, perhaps Satan knew that in order to disrupt the plan of God, his best strategy would be to attack the help God sent. Satan ultimately purposed to silence the woman, to render her useless and powerless in the man’s life, but further, to so weaken her in God’s ultimate plan that the whole plan of God would be ineffectual.

One only has to look at the breakdown of the family structure and society, the growing rejection of long-accepted morals and standards, and the war against the definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman to realize that we are in a spiritual war beyond anything the Church could have imagined in past times. Why are biblical truths and Christian values being attacked as they currently are? This is not just a political war, but a spiritual war of great proportions. The liberal press, the gay agenda, and the rise of Islam in the world are not just threats to Christianity, but also strikes against God Himself. They represent an anti-Christ spirit that is coming against the very plan of God, the very structure He set in place from the beginning—that of the union, the strength, the dominion God intended for the man and woman. The Church must see what is taking place and begin to move into a greater place of authority, but that cannot happen without the Church’s first seeing the strength of the place of the woman and the help she was designed to be not only in a marriage union, but also as a voice within the Church, the family, and society. Neither can her influence nor her voice be minimized. It is the hour for the Church to awaken and arise to its fullest capacity and take dominion.

Satan’s Suggestion

Satan makes his appearance in the Garden of Eden in the form of a serpent and introduces to Eve the mere suggestion that perhaps God is withholding something from her (see Genesis 3:1–6). He does not appear in the guise of a scary-looking monster or an intimidating giant. He does not scream or shout. He shows up as a snake—not an unusual sight in a garden—and wins Eve’s trust not with a blaring accusation, but with a simple suggestion.

I can imagine it might have happened something like this. Eve is walking along through the garden. It is lush; it is beautiful; it is peaceful; it is paradise. She is innocent and pure, untouched and uncorrupted by sin. But she had been warned. She knew God had said not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, also known as the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” She and Adam were free to eat the fruit of any tree in the entire garden—except that one.

She knew it; and Satan knew she knew it.

In his charming, clever way, he slithered up to her and asked: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).

Eve immediately responded: “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden [the tree of knowledge of good and evil], God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’” (Genesis 3:2, 3).

With crafty dialogue and one strategic question, Satan planted in Eve’s mind the idea that God might be withholding something good from her and Adam. Eve began to ponder his suggestion, taking closer notice of the tree, probably thinking along these lines: Perhaps God is withholding something. Maybe He just doesn’t want to share what’s on that tree. Perhaps there is something more that I need to help me fulfill my purpose. Maybe I could get it with just a bite or two of fruit from that forbidden tree.

Ever the sly one, the serpent gently pressed on, blatantly lying to Eve and defying God: “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4, 5).

Because she turned from God and allowed Satan to influence her, Eve then “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6a). And the next thing we know, Eve, acting in her own wisdom, on her own accord, outside of the expressed word and will of God, “took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband [who was] with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6b).

The Aftermath

Satan had staged a coup; it was a masterstroke, a bull’s-eye! Satan had accomplished his purpose. He had conclusively separated them from the one source of life that was stronger than he. Adam and Eve had been commanded to “freely partake” of the Tree of Life, which was the life of God. For Adam to become a partaker of divine life he must freely partake as he had been commanded (see Genesis 2:16). “Freely” did not imply “free to do it or not.” Adam was to eat a lot, freely and plentifully of the trees God had provided for his sustenance and strength, most specifically, of the Tree of Life. Adam, having free will, could choose not to eat of the provision God had made, but it would be in direct disobedience to the command.

God the Father was urging Adam to partake of His life, the provision for Adam to be able to stand against his enemies. God knew what disastrous results he would suffer if he refused to partake. Brokenness. Pain. Loss of peace. Death, even while living. God wanted to establish him in his sonship—not just a created son with the breath of God in his being, a living soul, but a living spirit with the life of God flowing within him, empowering, enabling, and enriching every facet of his life. Satan turned them to their own wisdom, their own way, the way of the flesh, in which “nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). He successfully turned their focus away from God and onto themselves as the center of their lives. The fruit of their action was instantaneous: broken relationship. Satan turned the intended combined strength of the genders—which is what God intended—into confusion, fear, and mistrust.

In the wake of their sin, they realized they were naked and they experienced shame. They scurried to cover themselves, to hide from the presence of God. Can you imagine the disbelief and horror that must have registered in their hearts and minds as they gained the ability to recognize good and evil? Having partaken of the fruit that gave them such knowledge, having eaten it and chosen it as their life source, they now had an intimate knowledge of both good and evil deep within their beings. Their lives would never be the same.

It is important to note that God never intended Adam and Eve to remain ignorant of good and evil. He always wanted them to know the difference. Isaiah 7:15 tells us that when Jesus—our perfect example—came, He would know how to “refuse the evil and choose the good” from an early age. God always intended for Adam and Eve to choose His Spirit (represented by the Tree of Life) as their source of life and wisdom, rather than putting upon themselves the pressure of discerning between good and evil and looking to their inadequate humanity as their source of life.

After they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they lived from their “self-centers.” What they judged to be good or evil would be determined by the immediate effect it had on them. Whatever felt good, looked good, tasted good, or seemed good to them would be deemed “good.” Whatever felt bad, looked bad, smelled bad, or gave them a bad experience would be deemed “bad.” They—without the benefit of divine wisdom, eternal perspective, or God’s insight—would choose what was good and what was bad.

This incident in the garden, which we know as “the Fall,” proves the point: “You Gotta Serve Somebody.” Although Bob Dylan, who penned those words, is no prophet, this song title of his is true. By choosing to go their own way, Adam and Eve effectively placed themselves not under their own authority, but under the rule of Satan. They changed kings—from God to Satan; they changed kingdoms—from the Kingdom of light to the kingdom of darkness; and they ensured that all their descendants, including you and me, would be born into a fallen condition, under the rule of our enemy.

Summary

• When Satan wanted to undermine God’s plan, he first approached the woman, knowing that she was not only essential to His plan, but also necessary to the man.
• Satan’s goal in the garden was to separate Adam and Eve from their life source, God Himself. He accomplished this with the simple suggestion that God was withholding something from them.
• Separated from God, Adam and Eve had to rely on their own wisdom and knowledge, without the benefit and power of God’s insight and perspective. This placed Adam and Eve out from under the loving rule of God and under the rule of Satan instead.
• Adam and Eve’s separation from God ensured that all who would be born after them would be born into a fallen condition, separated from God.