To be Seen

“So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.”

— Genesis 2:21-22

“He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit… But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” — John 19:30,34, 20:19-20

Observation:

Like the first Adam, it was not good for Jesus (the last Adam) to be alone. So, after Jesus fell into a “deep sleep” on the cross, the Father caused a Bride to be created “out of the baptismal blood and water from His pierced side”. And like Adam, when Jesus “awoke” from “death sleep”, His life was more glorious than ever before as He beheld His new Bride - the church.

“The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

— Genesis 3:2-5

“I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

— 2 Corinthians 11:3-4

Observation:

It is clear from the Scriptures that just as Eve could be deceived and fall from grace, so too can the church! Our Lord’s most trusted bondslave, the apostle Paul, clearly tells us this in his second letter to the Corinthian church. Let’s look at Eve’s deception in more detail. How did the serpent deceive exactly? Where did the deception take place? It took place in the Garden sanctuary where God would meet Adam. Notice that the deception did not take place “down the river” in the land of “Havilah” - which we could call “the world” - but in the special place designated for God and man to “commune”. God would come down and speak to mankind and eat with mankind in this designated spot. And It is in God’s speaking that the enemy “struck”.

“Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

— Genesis 3:1

Did you catch that? He turned the one prohibition of God - to NOT eat of the ONE tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil - into God prohibiting Adam and Eve of eating ANY tree in the Garden! In this way, the serpent was “grooming” Eve to receive his “molesting touch”! He planted a negative view of God right out of the gate, in order to get Eve to “take the bait”. We can see this in Eve’s corresponding response:

“The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you (pen)“might” die.’” — Genesis 3:2-3

The Hebrew word used here can be understood as Eve saying that “perhaps” we will die if we eat of it. Already, there is doubt in her mind about God’s word! This is the serpent’s main goal, to get us to doubt (or add to) what God has already spoken with authority. And we all know the final outcome of this seduction.

“The woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a desirable to the eyes, and that the tree was “covetously” desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

— Genesis 3:6

Eve “SAW”. That is, she held God’s Word to her autonomous analysis and found God’s Word “wanting”. Her sin was like killing God and hoisting His “cadaver” up on a table to be dissected like a frog! It was the dominion mandate run amok! It was not enough to “subdue” the earth, but through the serpent’s lie, Eve “coveted” to “subdue” even God Almighty! Commenting on this tragic sin, the apostle Paul writes:

“Professing to be wise, they became fools!”

— Romans 1:22

Instead of the Tree making Eve wise, she (and Adam) became fools and felt shameful and guilty afterwards. This was the goal of the serpent’s “molestation” - Guilt and fear of being “exposed”. Instead of rightfully fearing the Lord and His Word, Adam and Eve and their posterity now live to fear only what other people might think of them! This is our slavery!

“You are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.”

— Matthew 6:5

To be “seen by men” and esteemed in the “eyes” (judgements) of people is our slavery. Eve “saw” and she acted contrary to what she “heard” from God. And so, Hollywood was born…….

Reflection:

When that church cares MORE about what people think than what God has spoken, we can be sure that we have been “led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ”, falling for “preaching another Jesus whom the apostles did not preach”, “receiving a different spirit” than the Holy Spirit, and believing a “different gospel” than what God preached. And “bearing it beautifully”, the church “professes to be wise”and “becomes a fool”, tickling the ears of their “judges” (people), rather than fearing the Sovereign Word of the Lord her God.