The Serpent, the Lie, and the Sin... Notes on Genesis, Chapter Three

The Serpent...
In the days of creation, there was no fear between man and animals. And since the man and the woman had full use of their mental capacities, they must have been able to communicate with one another, as well as with the animals, through means other than simple, verbal articulation.
The serpent was more cunning and beautiful than other animals, and this particular serpent was invaded by the satanic spirit. Only Adam and Eve was created with, and assigned usage of, authority and dominion over all of God's creation. When the serpent approached Eve with his lying scheme, Adam, who apparently was there with her (Ch. 3 Vs. 6) could have exercised that authority and expelled Satan from their presence. After all, he was trespassing. God gave the earth and everything therein to Adam. But because of Eve's initial response to the serpent (no excuses, here), Adam did not interfere, and eventually came to participate.
Being cunning and under satanic influence, the serpent approached Eve with a question... "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Ch. 3 Vs. 1). Every spiritual deception begins with the questioning of God's Word.
Eve responded with a second-hand version of that which God had originally said to Adam--but she added to it... She said, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die' " (Ch. 3 Vs. 3).
"Nor shall you touch it..." was added by Eve. It was not part of God's command to Adam. And simple and harmless as it may seem, it is nevertheless unwise to add to God's Word. I am of the opinion that this gave the serpent (Satan) a clue that Eve was vulnerable to deception, due to her incomplete understanding of the Lord's instruction. So the temptation was presented...

The Lie...
The serpent said (this time not in the form of a question), "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The first part of the lie, "You will not surely die", has been, and is today, repeatedly communicated to the minds of people all over the world. Every major non-Christian cult has based its diabolical philosophy on this lie. Only the Bible, and those who preach it, proclaim the pending judgment of God against the sinfulness of any who fail to believe the gospel and recognize Jesus Christ, and Him alone, as Lord and Savior. Only true Christian doctrine teaches the finality and eternal aspects of that judgment--the consequence of spiritual death, referred to Scripturally, as "The second death" (Rev. 20:14,15).
Oh sinner... Thou shalt indeed, surely die.
The second part of the serpent's lie, is that which took advantage of Eve's lack of understanding of God's Word...
"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Ch. 3 Vs. 5).
The 'lie' was so cleverly disguised as truth, that even many Christians today are confused about it. I've heard it taught a thousand times... "Satan tempted Eve with the false idea, that she could become 'like God' ".
I don't think so.
In the first place, the serpent did not end with the claim that Eve could 'become like God'--he said she could 'become like God, knowing good and evil'. That part of the serpent's statement, verbally, was accurate. When Adam and Eve ultimately ate of the fruit, it is God Himself who would say... "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil" (Ch. 3 Vs. 22).
Hidden within the serpent's accurate claim that Eve would become 'like God' was the deceptive notion that, in some significantly desireable way, Adam and Eve were not already 'like God'. Did Eve not know that God had made them in His "likeness"--to be 'like Him'? Had God not said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our 'likeness'..." (Gen. 1:26)? Not His 'equal' by any means, but in every way important to the well-being, authority, and perfection of man--Adam and Eve were already 'like' God.
It was not some inherent, sinful, pride which rose to the surface in Eve and caused her to sin. Her 'desire' to which she succumbed was actually based on two ideas--truth, and a lie. The truth was in the fact that the fruit of this tree was "pleasant to the eyes" (Ch. 3 Vs. 6), which was true. And there was nothing wrong with that--everything God made was good and undoubtedly 'pleasing' to look upon. But her wrongful desire was also based on the lie, that the fruit would make her 'wise'... That it would give her something good--something she needed, that she did not already have. Eve believed the serpent's lie--she was deceived.
Eve ate of the fruit and gave to Adam, who was 'with her'. "Adam was not deceived" (1 Tim. 2:14). He knew what he was doing. His overwhelming desire was not for the fruit, nor was he persuaded that any good would come of it. His desire was for the woman--to please her--again, not a wrong desire, by any means. But the fact that Eve's desire was based on deception, Adam's decision to please her resulted in his sin.