genesis 3:11-13, the armour of god, and gospel fluency!

Genesis 3:11-13 depicts the first interaction between God and humanity after Adam and Eve ate the fruit. “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

In this passage, Adam and Eve play the blame game. But if we look at the narrative order of Genesis 2, it’s pretty clear that God commanded Adam not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge PRIOR TO Eve’s creation. ‘Then the Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may eat freely of the fruit of every tree in the garden – except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”’ (Genesis 2:15-18).

Eve wasn’t around when God told Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge – so what? If we look at the first three verses of Genesis 3, this was pretty significant. ‘The serpent was the shrewdest of al the wild animals that the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

‘“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” (Genesis 3:1-3).

I’m not gonna go TOO crazy speculating on this part of scripture, but there is a clear discrepancy in God’s instructions between verses 2:17 and 3:3. This irregularity lies in the words “or even touch it,” which are included in Eve’s version of the instruction, but not the original. Why did Eve add her own words into the command of God? She wasn’t present when Adam first heard the instructions not to eat the fruit. Did God ever speak directly to her about this matter? Was it left up to Adam to pass this information on to his wife? Whose responsibility was it? How much did Eve ACTUALLY know?

In any case, the serpent picks up on the first weakness in Eve’s knowledge of the word of God. Her version of the instruction shows the serpent ONLY that her certainty of God’s command was perhaps not as solid as it should have been. He finds a chink in Eve’s armour. Through this weak spot, the serpent is able to manipulate Eve – “Did God REALLY say…?”

Every time I go out in a kayak, I check that all my gear is in working order. Is the bung in? Does the rudder function properly? Does my spray skirt fit? Are my foot pedals in the right place? I do this because it is my responsibility to ensure that I have the equipment I need and it’s not going to fail me when I need to use it to keep afloat. When I look at how easily the serpent was able to sink Eve, I wonder whose responsibility it was to check that SHE had the equipment she needed. It’s easy to leave it up to our pastors and preachers to teach us the word of God, but that should not be the extent of our faith. We need to take responsibility for our own beliefs. So how do we check that our SPIRITUAL equipment is in working order, and that our FAITH is sound enough to keep us afloat when times get tough? Ephesians 6:10-18 talks about the armour of God.

BELT OF TRUTH: What is the truth about God and about ourselves?

BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: Who is righteous? Christ became sin and death so that we could become the righteousness of God,

which is the SHOES OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE! What is the gospel?

SHIELD OF FAITH: By grace through faith we are saved, and so;

THE HELMET OF SALVATION! We will not perish, but have eternal life,

and finally, the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT: which is the word of God. What does the WORD say?

The point that I’m trying to get at is the importance of GOSPEL-FLUNECY. The Bible is a challenging, confronting, and uncomfortable text. It is at the same time a beautiful love story between God and humanity, the inspired word of God, and a detailed historical document. It’s also our sword and our greatest weapon as Christians. When we are fluent in the word of God, our spiritual armour is impenetrable.

When God talks to Adam and Eve for the first time after they have eaten the fruit the question that he asks them is, ‘WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED?’ Who told you that? Who told you that you weren’t enough? Who taught you comparison? Who taught you shame? Who told you that? A lie draws its strength from belief. There’s so much power in the words that we speak over ourselves and other people, and in the words that we decide to listen to about ourselves. Whose words are you listening to?