But 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. – Genesis 3:4-5

Ever since the garden of Eden, man has always been enticed with the idea of becoming like God. That desire always seems to surface whenever man seeks to violate one or more of God’s commandments.

We recall that in the garden right after the creation of man, (Genesis 2-3) God gave the command that they were to eat of every tree in the garden except one –  the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also gave them the consequence of breaking the command, on the day they eat of it, they will die. It wasn’t long after that man broke this command of God. The devil tempted Adam and Even to disobey God and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil assuring them that not only will they no die as God had told them, but they themselves will become like God. Well, the devil lied, after they ate from the tree, not only did not become like God, they also died. First, spiritually and then physically. their disobedience ushered in both spiritual and physical death.

The temptation to be able to determine for themselves what was good and what was evil just like God, was evidently stronger than their desire to obey. That suppression of God’s Truth and the embrace of the lie of the devil brought Adam and Eve and all humanity under the wrath of God.

How was the devil able to succeed in getting Adam and Eve – the first couple to ever walk and talk with God physically, face to face and audibly to disobey God?  He succeeded by getting Adam and Eve to suppress God’s Truth and to embrace a lie.  He promised them they would be like God, knowing good and evil ( which really means they will be able to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil). The temptation to be able to determine for themselves what was good and what was evil just like  God, was evidently stronger than their desire to obey.  That suppression of God’s Truth and the embrace of the lie of the devil brought Adam and Eve and all humanity under the wrath of God.

That desire is prevelant in our culture today. People are coming out with all manner of ways to suppress the Truth of God and embrace the lie of the devil in their desire to redefine and change the definitions of institutions and areas of life that belong only to God. Seeking to change the definitions of Institutions such as marriage and areas of life such as gender.

Society is being enticed by the devil with the same idea he first dangled in front of Adam and Eve – the desire to be god-like and to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil.

The idea that there are only two genders is not a man-made construct but came from the God the Father Himself and God the Son (Jesus) affirming it.

Genesis 5:2 “He created them male and female. When they were created, He blessed them and called them man.” 
Matthew 19:4 “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,”

 Marriage was instituted by God Himself in the garden as the union between a man and woman.
Genesis 2:22-24 “Then the LORD God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. And the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called “woman,” for she was taken from man. This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.
Matthew 19: 5 “ and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?”

In trying to redefine these areas of life, man is seeking to act in the place of God.  Society is being enticed by the devil with the same idea he first dangled in front of Adam and Eve – the desire to be god-like and to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil.  Just like it didn’t end well in the garden, it will not also end well with society. The Bible spells out the consequences of those who try to usurp the authority of God – incurring of the wrath of God and the development of a depraved mind. The development of a depraved mind is God’s judgement on those who are under His wrath. This is definitely obvious around us.

Romans 1:18-22 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,”

 In His goodness and mercy, the Lord made a way in the garden for all who have broken His command and as such are separated from Him to be reconciled back to Him – that way is true the promised seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), the man Christ Jesus. Jesus is the only one who is able to deliver us from the wrath of God and bring us back into sweet communion and fellowship with the Father.  John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Soli Deo Gloria!