The Fall Of Mankind: Genesis 3 Bible Study And Commentary

The fall of mankind took place in a perfect environment, so why Adam and Eve fall into sin?

Genesis 3:1

Many people think that only if the world were a better place, they would not be enticed to sin and in a perfect world, there would be no need to sin, but what was more perfect than the Garden of Eden (Gen 2)? There was no poverty, pain, or panic in the Garden because every need Adam and Eve had was met, so having a perfect condition or world doesn’t guarantee that we won’t still sin. In fact, in the fall of mankind, this point is proven. In the Garden, it says of Satan, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made” (Gen 3:1a), and so in this perfect environment, there was an imperfect creature, Satan, and he desired to pull everyone else down to hell with him, and so he started with Eve.

Why did Satan approach Eve first?

Why does it say the serpent was craftier than all the beasts of the field?

Does this mean more intelligent?

Is Satan more intelligent than us?

Genesis 3:1b

When Satan came to temple Eve to take of the forbidden tree, “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden” (Gen 3:1b), and by asking this question, the idea of we know better than God begins…and so does planting doubt in God’s Word. This is still happening today when people question the Bible and say, “Did God really say…” so it’s still a tactic the enemy uses to question the goodness of God. Any doubt Satan or others can plant in our minds is a success, so we must stand firm in the truth of God and say, “God said” instead of “Did God really say?”

Why did Satan want Eve to question God’s Word?

How did Satan twist Scripture?

Do you know someone who has doubted God’s Word like “Did God really say?”

Genesis 3:2-3

When Eve answered Satan’s question, “Did God actually say,” she answered, “And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die” (Gen 3:2-3) but did God actually say that exact same thing? God’s Word has always been questioned, sometimes by professing Christians, but the father of lies (Satan) is trying to plant a seed of doubt in Eve’s mind about God’s Word and he is still doing that today.

Did Eve add to the error of what God had actually said?

Did Eve add to the word or God’s commands that He gave her and Adam (Gen 3:3)?

Genesis 3:4-5

Satan knows that if they obey God and don’t take of the forbidden fruit, then they would be lost to his evil schemes, so “the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5), but this is just the opposite of what God actually said.

Why didn’t Eve correct Satan who said they would not die if they took of the forbidden fruit?

Did Eve forget God’s exact wording or did she want to justify her actions?

Was it tempting to Eve to “be like God?”

Do some cults still believe we can become gods?

Genesis 3:6

Even couldn’t resist the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh, and what I call the unholy trinity that every one of us have to face. Pride makes God resist us (James 4:6) and so does lusting, but Satan knew this and so he tempted Eve with, “You can be like God” and “surely you will not die,” both of which were lies, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6), so Eve sinned, but Adam was also responsible because it says “her husband (Adam) was with her, and he ate,” so he failed to speak up for what God had told him and followed Eve’s disobedience and may have been carried away by the same things; the pride of life, the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh.

Which of these three do you find most difficult to resist; the pride, the lust of the eyes or the lust of the flesh?

What delights your eyes that you know is wrong?

How are we like Adam and Eve?

Genesis 3:7

After Adam and Eve sinned, they hid, knowing that what they had done was sin, otherwise why would they be hiding (Gen 3:7)? After they sinned, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths” (Gen 3:7). When their eyes were opened, they finally realized they were naked or laid bare, perhaps meaning they had lost their innocence and now they had become self-conscious and being aware that they had sinned. They tried to solve their own problem by making their own covering, but like many today who try to cover their sins by their good works, it doesn’t really cover them.

Why did God have to make animal skins for them?

What did this represent?

Who blamed who for all this (Gen 3:11-13)?

As has been said, Eve blame the serpent, Adam blamed Eve, but the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also host of Spiritual Fitness and Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.