This article continues the series on the Genesis 2 and 3 events of the garden in Eden. As I mentioned in a previous article, the conflict between God’s statement about death and the serpent’s statement about death can be resolved by looking to the mystery of God in Christ.
You Will Not Surely Die
God and the serpent are both making truth claims. Any contradiction comes from not fully understanding the context of each claim. When we realize they’re each referring to different definitions of death, it gives the narrative a larger context and greater impact. God was referring to the second death, while the serpent was referring to the first death common to all humanity.
- The first death is the natural death; the death Adam experienced 930 years later. This is consistent with the claim by the author of the Book of Hebrews (9:27); it is appointed for man to die once as a byproduct of their God-given mortality. There is no choice involved in the first death – it happens to all humanity, even our Lord.
- The second death is the death of condemnation, as it follows the resurrection to judgment (not condemnation) and Christ’s righteous judgment to be brought upon all humanity (Revelation 20:11-12). This second death is for those unwilling to surrender to the obedience of faith offered in the Lamb of God. They will perish in the lake of fire, the second death (Revelation 20:14-15). This is the death of separation from God, from which there is no hope of resurrection. This is the death resulting as the wages of sin, and is the result of one’s choice (Romans 6:21-23).
What we see by recognizing the distinction in the two deaths is the distinction in the roles of the two Adams. The role of the Last Adam resolves the issues brought to humanity by the choice of the first Adam (Romans 5:15-17).
- The role of the first Adam was expressed in the context of the physical/natural realm in which he was created to dwell.
- The role of the Last Adam is expressed in the context of the spiritual realm in which he dwells.
Each fulfilled their respective roles; one the natural, the other the spiritual; one unknowingly in disobedience, the other knowingly in obedience to the will and purpose of the Father (1 Corinthians 15:45-50).
Your Eyes Will be Opened
Having resolved the apparent conflict over the first of the serpent’s supposed lies, let’s continue to review the other claims he made.
The implication of Genesis 3:5a – your eyes will be opened is a claim of increased awareness and consciousness. It’s not accidental that this awareness went straight to the core of both their identify as divine imagers and their vulnerability. It also has implications for the fulfillment of the first command (1:28).
That the serpent was speaking the truth in this claim is clarified by the author in verse 7 – Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. The truth of this claim is also verified by observing the behavior of Adam and Eve before and after taking the fruit from the tree of exception.
Before:
- They were naked and unashamed (2:25)
After:
- They experienced embarrassment and shame in their nakedness (3:7b,10)
- They gained awareness of their sexuality (a form of maturity). Though given in marriage, there’s no mention of its consummation until after exiting the garden (4:1)
- Adam doesn’t name Eve personally until after they’ve left the garden (3:20). Prior to this she was referred to as woman – made from the man (2:18-23)
There also appears to be a relationship between their nakedness (arom 2:25) and the serpent’s shrewdness (arum 3:1). It’s only later, after they’ve taken from the tree of exception, when the author uses a separate word for naked (erom 3:7) that we get a clue:
- Though the serpent appears to be more shrewd (subtle and discerning), it is, like the humans, naked and has its vulnerability (3:15)
- The humans, previously naked and vulnerable like the serpent, have now entered the realm of the shrewd. This is a desirable thing (Proverbs 22:3; 27:12; 14:8,15,18)
It is this newly acquired discernment which will replace their nakedness and innocence; a necessary tool for their life outside the garden.(1)
Another area where their eyes are opened is in relation to God’s level of provision for them. Within the garden, they enjoyed God’s direct provision with minimal, though honorable labor (2:8-10,15). Once outside the garden they would continue to rely on God’s provision, but now indirectly, through much labor and effort on their part (3:17-19; 1:28-29).
As mentioned previously, Adam and Eve’s role is clearly defined (including Genesis 3) within the physical realm and extends well beyond the borders of Eden; a role for which they were created, given authority for, and were blessed in its execution.
You will be like God, knowing Good and Evil
This claim by the serpent (3:5b) is also shown to be true, not just by the author but by God himself – Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. (3:22) I find it interesting that this divine claim to the knowledge of good and evil, which God is claiming for himself, is ignored or rejected by some historic and modern biblical commentators. Yet God willingly claims more than awareness of both (Deuteronomy 30:15-19; Isaiah 45:7).
As indicated previously, Eve’s motivation doesn’t have to be viewed in a negative way when understood solely from the context of the narrative. The desire to share in the wisdom and discernment of their creator is something to aspire to even today and the desire for the fruit of the trees was a normal one which even God uses – And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (2:9)
It’s worth repeating that the concepts of good and evil could not have been fully understood by Adam and Eve. Prior to taking from the tree of exception, they simply lacked the experiential knowledge and maturity that comes with this awareness. This, however, would change once they’re outside the garden. There they would come face-to-face with the impact and responsibility having such knowledge would present. That, of course, becomes the very reason for allowing the test – so that they could learn.
- There can be no choice in the absence of two or more constraints. The knowledge of good and evil provides, as our history has shown, an enormous range of constraints from which we’re to choose life or death (I set before you life and death, choose life).
- When seen from the context of the work of God in Christ, this knowledge of good and evil is a reflection of the moral discernment, or righteousness, expressed by the Son of Man. Just as Yeshua is the source of eternal life (our Tree of Life), he’s also the source of wisdom and righteousness through the obedience of faith.
What Lies Under the Truth
If we’re going to uncover the hidden lie buried beneath these truth claims made by the serpent, we’re going to require some of that discerning and divine Spirit. We can begin by looking again at the role of our Lord and Savior, which was established before the foundations of the world were set in place, and how that role fulfills God’s purpose in a way Adam and Eve never could.
- The knowledge of good and evil and the resulting moral discernment which comes by seeing and experiencing the result of our choices enables us to perceive what is good and what is evil and to see sin for what it is.
- By this understanding, we can perceive that Christ establishes the righteousness by which God’s children can dwell in the presence of the unseen God. This divine trait, initially missing in Adam and Eve, had its seed in the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
- In addition, Christ establishes the eternal life necessary for the children of God to dwell in God’s heavenly abode, and for God to dwell in them through his Spirit.
Consider further that both of these divine characteristics, though represented by the two trees in the garden, would not have been fully understood until the mystery of God in Christ was made manifest.
One important point that is never addressed by the serpent, or by Eve for that matter, is how this gained wisdom would lead to satisfying the second constraint upon them – mortality. In the temptation, only the tree of exception is mentioned by both parties (3:1-6). The author knows of the existence of the Tree of Life, and certainly the Creator who placed it there knows of its existence. Both trees were in the garden before the man was placed there (2:8-9,15-17). Yet there’s no clear expression indicating Adam and Eve or even the serpent had any initial knowledge of the Tree of Life. It’s not brought into full focus until after they’ve taken from the tree of exception, and only then is the Tree of Life mentioned when they are prohibited from having access to it (3:22b-24). It is to limit access to the Tree of Life that humanity is expelled from the garden, not as punishment or as separation from God; a God who continues to interact with his children throughout our history. It’s from that history that the Son of Man emerges, and it’s only by the Son of Man that humanity will ultimately emerge from dust to glory.
This, together with the enormous gap filled by the Last Adam to lead many sons and daughters to glory, leaves the real lie of the serpent unspoken: that humanity could learn and become like God, fulfilling our destiny on our own, independently.
Conclusions
Not surprisingly, the awareness of this lie, which God desires us to know, cannot be simply declared. It must be sufficiently known and experienced in order to lead one to humility and trust in God. Yet the independence opened to humanity through the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil has its risks. It’s the very same problem which crippled Israel and caused them to stumble at the Messiah (Romans 9,10,11) – self righteousness (Romans 10:1-4). And like Israel’s disobedience, which is used to benefit the world (Romans 11), the deception of the serpent is likewise allowed in order to plant the seed of the new creation in Christ for all God’s children.
Footnotes:
- Joshua John Van Ee, Death and the Garden: An Examination of Original Immortality, Vegetarianism, and Animal Peace in the Hebrew Bible and Mesopotamia, dissertation submitted at University of California, San Diego, 2013, Section III-Hebrew Bible, pg-147-147; from John F.A. Sawyer, The Image of God, Wisdom of Serpents and the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
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