Key Theme: The Nature of Sin, Unbelief
[Core Gospel Concepts: Sin, Created in God's Image, Intimacy with the Father]
Context: God had created mankind in His own image, male and female, and had placed them in the garden of Eden to help him care for his creation. They lived there in perfect fellowship with God.
The serpent was the cleverest of all the animals God had made. One day, the woman was in the garden, and the serpent came up to her. The serpent said, “Did God really tell you that you may not eat from any tree in the garden?”
The woman said, “No, God said we may eat from every tree in the garden, except one of those in the middle– the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. We may not even touch it or we will die.”
The serpent said, “No! That is not true! God knows that when you eat of that tree, you will become wise like He is, knowing good and evil.”
Then the woman looked at the tree. She saw it was beautiful, and it would be good to eat, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they saw that they were naked. So they sewed leaves together to cover their bodies.
Just at that time, they heard God walking in the garden. So they ran into the forest to hide. God called to the man, “Where are you?”
Adam said, “I heard you and was afraid, so I hid because I am naked.”
God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I told you not to eat from?”
Adam said, “This woman you gave to me – she gave me the fruit and I ate it!”
Then God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate the fruit.”
God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed! You will crawl on your belly all your days eating the dust of the ground. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he (the seed of the woman) will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Then God also cursed the woman, saying, “You will have terrible pain in child-bearing. Your desire will be against your husband but he will rule over you.”
Then God said to the man, “Because you listened to your wife, and have eaten of the tree I told you not to eat from, the land is cursed because of you! Through painful work by the sweat of your brow you will get your food, but the land will produce thorns and thistles. Then you will die and return to the dust from which you were taken.”
At that time, the man gave a new name to the woman. He called her Eve because she was the mother of all living people. And God made clothes for them from animal skins and clothed them. Then God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord drove them out of the garden, and at the entrance of the garden he set angels and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Optional Memory Verse: Romans 3:10: “As it is written. ‘There is no one righteous, not even one.’”