This is The Living Word Bible Study based on the following Bible passages set for Sunday, February 26:
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 — Adam and Eve are tempted to disobey God
Matthew 4:1-11 — Satan’s testing fails to tempt Jesus into sin
Romans 5:12-19 — Our choice is to receive the gift of God in Jesus
Theme title: Jesus’ Integrity and Victory overcomes Adam’s Sin
Psalm 32
1-2 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3-4 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin.
6-7 Therefore let all the faithful pray to You while You may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
10-11 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in Him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!
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Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 — Adam and Eve are tempted to disobey God
• Breaking trust with God in the Garden of Eden introduces sin into the world
15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
“To work it and take care of it” – humanity’s dignifying occupation.
• For further study, read Leviticus 8:35; Numbers 3:5-8, 8:26.
“The LORD God commanded the man” – the first covenant decree in the Bible. God undertook to provide from the park-like garden; man accepted this provision and trusted God by not eating from one particular tree.
“You are free… but…” – typical Bible covenant wording, where Adam is given a beneficial choice and a condition.
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
“The serpent” – part of God’s creation, the talking snake appears to present an alternative source of ‘wisdom’, Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10. It becomes clear that this is Satan manifesting as a snake, as Paul and the apostle John later taught.
• For further study, read 2 Cor. 11:3; Revelation 12:9, 20:2.
2-3 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
“Not… the tree… in the middle” – by not naming the tree, the woman skirts round the reason for the ban.
4-5 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
“You will not… die” – the snake denies God’s clear pronouncement with this lie, deceiving both Eve and Adam into separation from God and hence spiritual death. Jesus called Satan a liar and murderer from the beginning, John 8:44.
6-7 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realised they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
“The fruit was… desirable” – appealing to the woman’s human independence, she is deceived into disobedience. They now have experience of evil, and sin is born.
Reflection
SUMMARY The first of three sub-stories about how sin entered the world and how in Jesus we have a God-given release from its bondage. Here in Genesis, the ‘beginnings’, we first encounter the devil’s ‘crafty’ legalism.
APPLICATION Forewarned is forearmed; the devil works by deception, the overriding characteristic of which is not realising that we are being deceived. This is why the early church was urged to “test everything”, 1 Thess. 5:21; 1 John 4:1, Rev. 2:1.
QUESTION Where in life and public life do we see evidence of the devil’s deceiving strategies?
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Matthew 4:1-11 — Satan’s testing fails to tempt Jesus into sin
• Jesus, unlike Israel in the desert, overcomes by declaring God’s word
1-3 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. The tempter came to Him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
“Led by the Spirit… to be tempted by the devil” – “Tempted (tested and tried)” (Amp). God’s servants entering ministry routinely find their resolve and character tested, allowed by God but carried out by the devil.
“Into the wilderness to be tempted” – Jesus, in a version of the test of His forebears, is provoked to sin but instead shows Himself the true, or real, Israelite who holds to what God has said to do, below.
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
“It is written” – Jesus’ testing experience teaches us how to declare Scripture truth to deflect the enemy’s attentions; He cites Deut. 8:3 to assert the power of standing on what God has said.
5-6 Then the devil took Him to the holy city and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ”
“If You are…” – using the temptation of fame, the devil twists the meaning of Psalm 91:11-12 to suggest that Jesus could test God in a spectacular way.
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
“Jesus answered” – from Deut 6:16; a principle even higher than trusting God, is honouring Him.
8-9 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
“All this I will give you” – Satan, called the prince or ruler of this world, John 12:31, offers Jesus a shortcut to future kingdom reign without the Cross — but a ruinous one.
“I will give” – Satan can exercise limited authority over the present sin-damaged world, but not to give what is not his.
• For further study, read Psalm 2:8; Luke 4:6; John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4.
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”
“Away from Me” – Jesus shows that true worship, in love and total submission to God, is a knockout blow in spiritual warfare. To focus on the goodness of God short-circuits the devil’s craving for attention.
11 Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him.
“Angels… attended Him” – the verse Satan had twisted, Ps. 91:11-12 (note above) is now fulfilled in God’s way.
Reflection
SUMMARY This second sub-story concerns Jesus, following His baptism and publicly visible anointing for ministry, facing the devil in a test of His resolve and integrity.
APPLICATION The devil has a limited set of strategies, much repeated. As well as deception, as already noted, there is twisting of truth. Jesus shows the power of God’s word declared faithfully, using godly submission to disarm ungodly arrogance.
QUESTION In what ways can we imitate Jesus’ use of God’s word?
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Romans 5:12-19 — Our choice is to receive the gift of God in Jesus
• Paul teaches about original sin and the remedy, grace from accepting Jesus
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.
“Sin entered the world” – Paul teaches the need for the gospel, because of man’s fall through Adam.
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.
“Before the law” – the period from Adam to Moses, when human independence from God was widespread but not in the sense of individual violations. The rules for righteous and unrighteous behaviour would follow.
14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
“Death reigned” – Paul continues from his incomplete sentence of v.12, that the original man’s quest for independence was the root of sin, resulting in human mortality.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the One Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
“How much more” – a phrase Paul repeats. The reach and extent of God’s grace is immensely greater than even the disaster of Adam’s sin.
16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
“One man’s sin” – through the “one man”, Adam, sin entered the world and with it the condemnation, or punishment due, for that sin. That is the human state we all inherit, regardless of the kind of life we lead. The Good News is that God has offered a way out, “the gift” of God, which we “receive”, v.17, by choosing to belong to Jesus.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One Man, Jesus Christ!
“Trespass” – Adam’s offence was an act of trespass, a deliberate going astray. What Jesus Christ did for us was an act of undeserved grace, v.15, allowing us to be counted righteous if we have given our lives to Him.
18-19 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One Man the many will be made righteous.
“One righteous act… justification… for all people” – condemnation “for all people” represented by Adam – the whole human race. The second “all people” is all who are represented by Christ: not everyone, but all who would believe in Him. The Bible is clear and consistent that salvation comes to those who make their choice to exercise faith in Jesus Christ – not everyone.
• For further study, see Matthew 7:13-14, 23; 25:46; Romans 1:16-17, 3:22, 28, 4:5, 13.
Reflection
SUMMARY The third sub-story told by Paul looks back to Genesis and to Adam and how the mistake by one man led to sin entering the world. This is contrasted with the gracious act of obedience by the One Man who could secure justification and make righteous all who turn to Him.
APPLICATION We are equipped to recognise the tests and have confidence to make good choices if we have asked Jesus to be our Lord and invited His Holy Spirit to help us. This is about believing and trusting, not ‘good works’.
QUESTION How do we explain what it means to be free of condemnation?
PRAYER Father, we thank you for this reminder of Jesus’ testing and victory and how by grace we are allowed to participate in it.
Help us to grow more confident in Christ Jesus to speak out in faith and silence the devil’s accusations. We praise You for Jesus’ victory and join with Him in saying, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. Amen.
