Throughout Genesis 1 we have the repeated statements, “God said… and it was so”. Here in Genesis 3:1-5, Satan (the serpent, cf. Revelation 20:2) calls the word of God into question. This is the first step of the great reversal back into chaos and it relates to a central theme in Scripture. The whole Bible is structured along a promise-fulfilment pattern. It is structured this way to show us that God is always true to his word. If God says something, it will be so. To live with God, therefore, is to live in constant anticipation of the fulfilment of his word. This is faith. The ‘original sin’ here in Genesis 3 is mistrust. And this too is the nature of the tragedy: God’s children are led to mistrust their loving father. They are convinced that God is withholding something good from them, so they cross the threshold and rebel against him. The result is that when God comes to walk with them (3:8 cf.5:22; 6:9), they hide themselves from him. The relationship is broken. They are afraid of God, and they feel shame before one another. In the following generations this will result in envy, malice and the fragmentation of humanity. Jesus came into our predicament to give us the opportunity to be reconciled with God. And when he returns there is, naturally, one thing he will look for in us. As Jesus says in Luke 18: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” When he looks at you now, does he see faith? Do you trust God at his word?
Reflect on the state of your faith. What is God asking you to trust him with? Entrust this to him.
Read Genesis 3:1-13 again
