Gen 1:26 (NIV) Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” The moment God made man in His own likeness, He created a being with a lot of power. In order for you to be able to use this power, it must be tested as to what you are willing to do with it. People all over this planet are demonstrating what THEY are willing to do with their power. Each person is using their power either for good or for evil. And, God is allowing them to have many opportunites to demonstrate what kind of a person they are willing to be. You, like many others, want to do right, good, righteous things. But, because of the decision Adam and Eve made, they passed down a sinful nature to all their children.

Rom 7:20-21 (NIV) Now if I do what I do NOT WANT to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I WANT to do good, evil is right there with me. This is the condition all new and untrained Christians find themselves in. From the point where you cried out: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death (Rom 7:23)?”, you started heading toward becoming a trained Christian. Now you have to learn how to BY the Spirit put to death the misdeeds of the body (Rom 8:13). Once you “do what it takes” to learn how to resist temptation, you will have learned how to put to death the misdeeds of the body.

Gen 3:1 (NIV) 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’?” Adam and Eve didn’t have something you have; so, their test was a lot simpler than yours. They hadn’t eaten from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil yet. So, they didn’t know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and righteousness and evil. However, they did have more than enough evidence as to WHO was good for them and WHO wasn’t. They COULD notice where all the good things they had came from. They knew that God gave them all the good things they had; and, they knew Satan hadn’t given them anything. That was all they needed so as to help them run to God for help from the temptation of the devil.

Gen 3:2-3 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent: It didn’t matter what Eve said to the serpent; what really mattered was, she answered him. The devil is a lot smarter than you are; he can out reason you, out talk you, and out power you. You are no match for Satan; and, you have no business discussing things with him. Here is your assignment: James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. First, you run to God immediately and discuss with God what Satan said to you; you DO NOT discuss it with Satan. Then, as you are discussing it with God, submit to what God tells you. If you have ANY trouble submitting to a decision, a desire, or a plan to God, STAY THERE! Submit yourself, then, to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you: Tell the devil to get out of there; resist him! Don’t discuss anything with him; just resist him. The devil will try to trick you into talking about the issue. As you are resisting him, he will try to say something that peaks your interest. He will try to get you to stop just resisting and get you to answer some question or deal with some statement he made. Thoughts will pop up in your mind that are designed to get you to “give it some thought.” He will try to get you to remember some instance of pleasure, fun, excitement, or “benefit” you got from sinning. He will try to say that the he will flee from you part of the Scripture didn’t work; don’t listen. He just needs for you to give him a split second of your time and he will damage you. After you QUICKLY command the devil to get out, if you will, at that moment, turn your thoughts to Jesus and start thinking about all the things HE has done for you, you will win.

Gen 3:2-3 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden: Jesus, quoted the Bible to the devil; but, He did it for a different reason than Eve did. Jesus, quoted it as the final authority on the matter. Eve quoted God’s word as just a matter of clarification. She was just saying, here is what God said. God’s word to her was just like any other words that anyone else might speak. Since she quoted God’s word as something open for discussion, she was open for Satan to give her his opinion on the matter. If she had quoted it as her final authority, then the discussion would have been over. She would have walked off and waited for her opportunity to discuss it with God. If you quote a Scripture to the devil or tell him to get out, don’t wait to see if it worked. Satan is allowed to stay for as long as you are willing to acknowledge him. Immediately put your thoughts on God and the things of God and go on with your life. END OF DISCUSSION!

Gen 3:2-3 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say: Eve had some VERY powerful words coming out of her mouth. She was getting ready to quote what God DID say. Here is the important issue in your heart, when you connect with the power of God: It isn’t just a matter of you reading, studying, memorizing, and quoting the Bible, it is also a matter of whether or not you mix faith with it. Heb 4:2 (NIV) For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Eve didn’t have any faith, trust, reliance, dependency, confidence, or respect for the words she was quoting.

Gen 3:2-3 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden”: Eve knew what God did say; she just didn’t know why He said it. Knowing what God and the Bible said is vital; but, it is also vital to know why God said it. What you think God’s reason is for saying things can be way off. In the case of Adam and Eve, He gave a command that had such important reasons that as we look at the world around us, it is amazing. That one command dealt with wars, famine, earthquakes, evil, poverty, and murder on earth. Once the sinful nature became a normal aspect of the human body, sin became the dominate result of every person’s life. Once sin became dominate in everyone, our world turned into a dangerous place to live. Sin is evil; it kills, it steals, and it destroys people and things.

John 16:13 (NIV) But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. What Jesus and the Bible say are only truth to you, if you get the TRUE meaning of those words. Adam and Eve had no idea what the words, you will surely die, meant. They probably though it meant they would cease living as a human. But, what it actually meant was, they would be separated from God; it was a spiritual death. When Satan told them, “You will not surely die,” it looked like God was wrong and Satan was right after they ate the forbidden fruit. They didn’t die a physical death; they died a spiritual death. The only reason it looks to you like God is wrong when you don’t see the consequences of Scripture happen to you is, you have the wrong interpretation to that Scripture.

Gen 3:2-3 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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’”: God didn’t tell Adam and Eve not touch the forbidden fruit; Eve added that to what God said. If you believe you can add additional safeguards to God’s words, then your faith is in your safeguards. You think that by putting barriers between you and temptation it will protect you. But, you can be sure that all your safeguards will be defeated through the tricks and schemes of the devil. Evil is smarter than you, more powerful than you, more crafty than you, and more resourceful than you. Only the knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and power of Jesus will overcome the evil that is trying to get into your life.

Gen 3:2-3 (NIV) The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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.’”: Adam and Eve knew what the consequences were for what they were about to do; God told them. Just because you know what a consequence of sin is doesn’t mean that your knowing it will protect you. Rom 8:3 (NIV) For what the law was POWERLESS to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so He condemned sin in sinful man. Problems with temptation have proven to you that making yourself feel guilt, you trying to make yourself afraid, you making a commitment, or you trying real hard hasn’t set you free. You must “do what it takes” to get the power and miracles of Jesus to set you free.

You are seeing Adam and Eve making all kinds of mistakes in just a few minutes. Why isn’t God entering into the conversation and helping them with this challenge? It looks like it is just Adam, Eve, and Satan during this moment of temptation. What would bring God into this vital moment in their lives? James 4:2 (NIV) You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. Out of all the things you will be learning from Jesus, one of the most important ones is that you MUST ask for EVERYTHING you need from God. Why? As you know, God gave you a free will; if you don’t ask, He won’t get involved. Mat 7:11 (NIV) If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, HOW MUCH MORE will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ASK Him! The reason Jesus has you move on into a time of praying over each aspect of these studies is because ASKING is vital to you GETTING those things you are learning.