DISCLAIMER - I borrowed MUCH of this lesson verbatim from Internet resources and didn't keep track of all the sites I used to be able to give them proper credit, so if you've seen portions of this elsewhere, it is the product of that person, not me! Thanks!
Have you ever had one of your children or a coworker rush up to you and start sputtering out the pieces of a problem in a way that you can’t really follow because you just don’t know what they are talking about? You might say to them, “Wait. Let’s go back to the beginning.” You need a foundation to even begin the discussion.
We are in the same situation. The best way to understand submission is to go back to the place where submission was instituted – the Garden of Eden.
We know that God spent 6 days creating the earth and all of the things in it. He knew the value of his creation – Genesis 1:31 - God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 2:4-9 - 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The pinnacle of this creation was man and woman who lived within God’s care. He provided them with everything they needed – food, shelter, companionship. It was a perfect paradise.
Question to class: What things are present in your life today that are the result of removal from paradise?
Answer: cancer, diabetes, alzheimers, floods
There was only one requirement placed on Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:15-17 - The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Have you ever had one of your children or a coworker rush up to you and start sputtering out the pieces of a problem in a way that you can’t really follow because you just don’t know what they are talking about? You might say to them, “Wait. Let’s go back to the beginning.” You need a foundation to even begin the discussion.
We are in the same situation. The best way to understand submission is to go back to the place where submission was instituted – the Garden of Eden.
We know that God spent 6 days creating the earth and all of the things in it. He knew the value of his creation – Genesis 1:31 - God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Genesis 2:4-9 - 4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens- 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground- 7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The pinnacle of this creation was man and woman who lived within God’s care. He provided them with everything they needed – food, shelter, companionship. It was a perfect paradise.
Question to class: What things are present in your life today that are the result of removal from paradise?
Answer: cancer, diabetes, alzheimers, floods
There was only one requirement placed on Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:15-17 - The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
So this is the beginning. The beginning of mankind. The beginning of rules, of order. In verse 15, it says God placed the man in the Garden to work it and take care of it. That is the first time anyone was given a job, an order, a responsibility. Verse 17 is the designation of the tree of knowledge. Adam is told that he is not to eat from that tree.
Question to class: Why would God even put a tree in the Garden from which Adam could not eat?
Answer: in order for Adam’s obedience to God to be from Adam’s heart, there had to be a choice for Adam to make. If there were no choice, Adam wouldn’t be a true follower of God. He’d be more like a robot. God didn’t create a robot, he created a human.
Why did God give us free will then? Wouldn't it have been easier and nicer to create mankind as inherently good.
It seems to me that God's purpose with mankind is to have eternal fellowship with those who truly love Him. Therefore, to create us as inherently good robots, without the potential for the opposite character, evil, would not allow for true love. For only love that comes from a free choice of the will is TRUE LOVE. Voluntary choice is the key - love isn't genuine if there's no other option.
Part of this discussion is also, not just why did God make us with free will, but why did God even make us? The short answer to the question is “for His pleasure.” Revelation 4:11 says, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Colossians 1:16 reiterates the point: “All things were created by him and for him.” Being created for God’s pleasure does not mean humanity was made to entertain God or provide Him with amusement. God is a creative Being, and it gives Him pleasure to create. God is a personal Being, and it gives Him pleasure to have other beings He can have a genuine relationship with.
Being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27), human beings have the ability to know God and therefore love Him, worship Him, serve Him, and fellowship with Him. God did not create human beings because He needed them. As God, He needs nothing. In all eternity past, He felt no loneliness, so He was not looking for a “friend.” He loves us, but this is not the same as needing us. If we had never existed, God would still be God—the unchanging One (Malachi 3:6). The I AM (Exodus 3:14) was never dissatisfied with His own eternal existence. When He made the universe, He did what pleased Himself, and since God is perfect, His action was perfect. “It was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
Also, God did not create “peers” or beings equal to Himself. Logically, He could not do so. If God were to create another being of equal power, intelligence, and perfection, then He would cease to be the one true God for the simple reason that there would be two gods—and that would be an impossibility. “The LORD is God; besides him there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:35). Anything that God creates must of necessity be lesser than He. The thing made can never be greater than, or as great as, the One who made it.
Recognizing the complete sovereignty and holiness of God, we are amazed that He would take man and crown him “with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:5) and that He would condescend to call us “friends” (John 15:14-15). Why did God create us? God created us for His pleasure and so that we, as His creation, would have the pleasure of knowing Him.
So all we know is that God made us simply because he wanted to. He wants fellowship with those who love him. Loving God is determined by making an informed decision to follow his Word.
BUT… We all know that Satan tempted Eve. Genesis 3:1-7 - “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”
Unfortunately, the serpent tempted the woman into believing that submission to God’s will wasn’t good for her, that God was only trying to keep her from something wonderful. Sound familiar? I’ve said in here before, this is the same lie that Satan tells me every day. “You will be like God,” he told her.
It makes me think of the Rolling Stones song, Sympathy for the Devil. The lyrics of this song outline how Satan has been there at every evil thing throughout history, the Holocaust, the massacre of the Russian czar and his family, the Crusades, etc.
Pleased to meet you / Hope you guess my name / what's puzzling you / Is the nature of my game
Satan is there in every evil thing. He just uses different characters, different names, different theologies, different movements. He might have a different name and try a new strategy, but do not be fooled. It is still Satan at work.
Who knew you could pull Biblical insight from a Rolling Stones song?
There was the obvious consequence of being removed from the Garden, but this would turn out to be the least of Adam and Eve’s problems. The ground would become hard, making survival difficult, there would be pain in child birth, etc.
Genesis 3:16-19 - To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you." 17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
The good news is we can escape Adam and Eve’s curse by submitting to God.
A primary example of this is King Solomon. Old Testament heroes are known for their trust in God, but Solomon’s story is unique in that at a very young age he is to lead Israel at its peak of power. He had every right to riches and military might, but instead of asking for these things, before he ascends to the throne he simply asks God for “a discerning heart to govern and to distinguish between right and wrong” (1 Kings 3:9). As a result of Solomon’s passion to seek and submit to God’s wisdom, he is blessed.
“I will give you what you have not asked for,” God tells him, “both riches and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings” (1 Kings 3:13). Just like in the Garden of Eden, human submission is accompanied by financial provision.
Solomon’s Proverbs are full of wisdom concerning God’s provision.
“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3
More good news is that by Christ’s submission on the cross, the curse on man has been reversed.
2 Peter 1:3-4 - 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
The first verse of this is going to be our memory work for next week. Hope to see you there!
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