The Schemes of Satan, Part Four
A Devotional Series from Genesis
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
3/17 Reading Portions: Exodus 28; John 7:1-52; Proverbs 4; Galatians 3
Genesis 3:6
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.
LOVE OF THE WORLD
The New Testament tells us:
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:15-16
Satan, being the god of this world since the fall (2 Cor 4:4), works all those previous schemes together, to deceive us into at least one of the three things. In the garden, he pulled off the trifecta of temptation, causing the first woman to exhibit the love of the world and not the love of the Father (1 Jn 4:8). First, the love of the world produces the desires of the flesh (the tree was good for food). The KJV translates 1 John 2:16 like this:
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The translators of 1611 did well to translate the Greek root ἐπιθυμία (ep-ee-thoo-MEE-a) to “lust.” It does mean a kind of longing. The ESV translators did just as well, perhaps better, by translate it as “desire.” It doesn’t take much of desire to slip into sin. Often when we think of lust, we think of some overwhelm, overarching, even overdriving craving. Yet our text in Genesis 3:6 presents its simple context, as if to ask, “If I can eat from every tree in the garden, then why not this one?” Next, the love of the world produces the desires of the eyes (a delight to the eyes). It not only looked good, but after all the other schemes working in us, the doubt, the denial, the dishonor of God, it just make sense in our minds. Third, the love of the world produces the pride of life (the tree was to be desired to make one wise). The tree and its fruit became the object of a desirable, but deviant result; for wisdom sought apart from the grace of God in Christ, apart from faith in God’s Word (Jas 1:6-8), is foolishness.
Again, the remedy is to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6:10-11), which is practically applying the truth of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Hallelujah! What a Savior! And we will have a special article on that topic later today.