We have spent a great deal of time showing, from Scripture, that motive or heart attitude determines outward actions. Teaching deep, technical, systematic Biblical truths is very interesting, to say the least.

When we are in the phase of searching out facts, some of which may be new to our thinking, there will be some who say, "This is way over my head!" That is as it should be. If when discovering the deep truths of God's Word we do not look at things that are "over our heads", we haven't discovered anything! We have simply reviewed what we already know, which for some of us may be very little.

Then we come to the phase of teaching in which we review and tie these many facts together. At that stage, some of these discovered facts are still not fully understood, and cannot be until all the facts are put into a total package, so we can compare and understand the totality of both old and new facts together. However, to accomplish this understanding requires a great deal of time finding the deep things, and categorizing them into a harmonious whole.

Growing in the Word

Actually the comprehending aspect of these facts takes very little time, once all the facts are harmonized. It does take a lot of time to find and harmonize those facts. Therefore, there is often quite a time span between the discovery of some facts and the comprehending of those facts. During that time there will and should be, many things that aren't understood, or that are above us.

As is often done, I could work through the finding and harmonizing process in my office, and simply present the condensed findings in summary form in a lesson or two. If I did that, you would not have the opportunity to become skillful in the solid food of the Word of righteousness.

Hebrews 5:9-14 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek," 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 6:1-3 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.

When we take the time to gather, correlate and harmonize these many facts and present them as a whole, then there will be some who say, "We've already seen that. Why are you going over it again?"

There are several reasons for this phase of teaching:

Dangers of Human wisdom

The most comments, to this type of teaching, come when we are using the information in the phase of teaching and applying it to our daily living.

If you missed any of the phases of this series, then even this application may go right over your head. That is why we take the time to transcribe in detail the lessons, and put them on the web. That way, you can have ready access to the material you might have missed, or didn't understand.

In our search for Biblical facts, we have seen abundant evidence that motive or heart attitude determines outward actions. We have seen this to be true in both God and humans. That should not be a surprise. After all, mankind was created in the shadow image or likeness of God.

It is important that we see, understand, and are persuaded of this fact. If we do not hold to this fact, we will not comprehend God's actions toward mankind. Those actions of God toward mankind seem, to human logic, to have changed as time progresses.

Through human logic alone, theologians as well as those of the greatest worldly minds have been prompted to say that the progression of God's actions through Genesis to Revelation show a maturing God, or a God who has grown-up from the harsh, tantrum type, blood thirsty mentality of the Old Testament to the loving, passive and indulgent mindset of the New Testament. (So much for great minds.)

When we attempt to understand the mind of Christ through human reason, we will be tempted to listen to Satan's chiding, as did the first couple in the Garden. Please think back and realize how quickly and effortlessly Satan changed the minds of Adam and Eve. They went from abiding in God's Word, to questioning God's Word, all the way to totally rejecting God's Word and acting only on human logic.

Keep in mind, at that point in time Adam and Eve:

Listen my friend! That first couple had never done any of those things, and we have done some and maybe all of those things. Yet without having any of those bad influences in their lives, Adam and Eve plunged into total rebellion against God at a mere suggestion from Satan! Oh, how easily and quickly we can fall helplessly into the same or worse rebellion against God and His Word.

Please don't misunderstand. These many things of the world certainly can, and do influence our lives for evil. However, if there were none of these worldly things, we would still run pell-mell for evil. That is unless we hold to the Word of God in all its simplicity, accuracy and without superimposing our human logic or worldly wisdom upon its precious truths.

Folks, I fear that Christendom in general and MBF in particular does not hold the Word of God in the reverence and esteem that it deserves. And we need to, if we are to overcome the evil in us, and the worldly system around us.

If Satan can turn our thinking from the pure Word of God to human logic as the basis of our standard for life and godliness, then he can change our motive from that of complying to the will of God, to fulfilling the lust of the flesh! Our conduct and actions will follow our motives, whether that motive be the will of God or the lust of the flesh.

Satan's job is made even easier when he can get us to misunderstand the will or motive of God. Many believers are striving to live within the "will of God". However, it is impossible to comply with the will of God, if we have a misunderstanding of what that will is. Satan can bring about this misunderstanding of God's will and motive by causing us to simply alter the Word of God, just a little, to conform to our human desires and logic.

Turning Against God

We could go to many passages to find Biblical examples of just how quickly the human mind turns against God's will. This turning happens just as soon as the Word of God is not held supreme, or as the only and final authority! Let's go to an old stand-by passage. In that way, we can see the principle, and also save some time.

Genesis 3:1-13 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "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.' " 4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "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." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

Before we establish the pattern of rebellion against God's will, stated in this passage, let's see what God's will was for this situation.

Genesis 2:8-9 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:15-16 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Remember, motive and will determine the ultimate actions. Nowhere in this passage does God say, "This is My will." However, from the actions of God (which includes His words), we can establish His will.

We will not attempt to delineate the many aspects of His will in this situation. To do so would require going to every Biblical reference in which this incident is mentioned, as well as every parallel passage. However, from the actions mentioned here, we can see the broad scope of God's will for this situation.

God planted a garden containing everything that was pleasant to mankind, and needed for good food. God placed Adam in the Garden to care for it, and He gave command that he could freely eat of every tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil.

Using God's Word

We can observe that God's will for Adam in this situation was to enjoy himself, make himself useful and be well fed. We might say that was God's will for the physical aspect of Adam's life.

We can also see God's will for the spiritual aspect of Adam's life. To see even the surface aspect of God's will in this spiritual realm, we must glean it from several other portions. Some of those passages we have already read, and some we will yet read in the lesson. However, some of the information we need, we will not read today. I'll just refer to it as recorded elsewhere. Part of the information concerning God's will is seen in one of the statements of Satan to Eve.

Genesis 3:4-5 And the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "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."

Satan was offering Eve a physical short-cut to achieve God's spiritual will for her life. The spiritual will of God for Adam and Eve was that they would become "like God, knowing good and evil." This knowing was not something they would receive all at once, it was a process. You see, even though Adam and Eve had no sin, and were created in the likeness of God, they were not "like" God in their knowledge or motive. They had to grow in this knowledge.

Being like God in knowledge was something that had to progressively take place by the experience and observation of God Himself as well as His word. Remember, "as a man thinks in his heart, so is he".

The response of Eve in this matter clearly demonstrates that she was not like God in mind, attitude or motive. Had Eve been like God in her attitude, there would have been a different response to the temptation.

Compare this with a different temptation. Eve was tempted in a garden where she had all she wanted and needed. Christ was tempted in a wilderness without any of those physical blessings. However, one of the major differences was how each used the word of God.

Luke 4:1-12 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." 4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.' " 5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." 8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.' " 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 "For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over You, to keep You,' 11 "and, 'In their hands they shall bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.' " 12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' "

Please note some similarities and some differences:

God came to the Garden in the "cool of the day" to walk and talk with Adam and Eve. It always has been and always will be that, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God".

Adam and Eve were created in the likeness of God, but the only way they could become like God was to spend time with Him, and have their knowledge developed in the realm of good and evil from Him. God's plan for the human race has never changed, and will never change.

As we see God's progressive plan unfold through the ages, we see many different phases of that plan, but it is still the same plan. Solomon reestablished that truth after he had searched and searched the world to find the real meaning of life.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

God's Will For Man

Some or you may still be trying to find the real meaning of life. Too many believers today are living by a misconception of the Biblical means of achieving the knowledge of good and evil.

May I repeat something that was brought out earlier in this lesson? If we have a misunderstanding of the will of God, there is no way we can live in and by that will, No matter how sincere we are, or how hard we try. Once again, it is pointed out that misunderstanding the will of God has its roots in the improper use of the Word of God. We can't refresh this next passage in our minds too often.

Hebrews 5:13-14 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

For humans to be like God has always been the will of God for mankind. God in His omniscience knew mankind would sin, and become like their father the devil. Therefore, even before the foundation of the world, the Godhead started the plan of redemption so mankind could once again, through the new birth, become like God.

The process of becoming like Christ today is similar in format to the plan for that first couple. We, like them, must start with a proper creation. For us, that creation is called the new birth. Then we, like Adam and Eve, must grow in grace and the knowledge of God. The first couple had the spoken word of God directly from His "lips". We have the written Word of God, and the indwelling Holy Spirit to teach us.

1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

We could follow this theme all through the Bible, and what a glorious journey it would be. Because we are still in this life and limited by time, we need to go back to Genesis and see God's will for Adam and Eve in the Garden, as well as how Satan could so quickly turn them against God's word, God's will, and God's Person. Hopefully, by seeing this device of Satan, we will not be "ignorant of his devices."

2 Corinthians 2:10-11 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

In the broad picture, God's will for Adam and Eve in the Garden was free and full enjoyment of all that God had made physically, and to become like God spiritually through growth in grace and knowledge.

Don't forget that Adam and Eve at this point:

Satan and His Devices

This temptation did not come because of lust generated from some corrupt lifestyle, or because they were drug addicts. Their temptation and the ultimate spiritual fall came because they were looking for an easier, quicker and more physical way to become godly!

Please, hear that statement at least a 100 more times! It hasn't changed much over time, has it?

2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Of all places, this temptation came during a Bible study of sorts (at least they were discussing God's words). It started as a very friendly conversation about what God had told Adam and Eve.

Satan did as he has always done, and began to create a shadow of doubt. That doubt was cleverly placed, by Satan, through the use of one little phrase. That phrase is summed up in our English word "indeed". Satan said in effect,

"Is that really what God said, or did He mean something slightly different?"

This is one of the great dangers of theology. When even a sincere person looks at a passage and asks, "What is God really saying here?" If the answer to that sincere question is based on human wisdom and logic, it will lead to a conclusion and a theology resulting in the doctrines of men and/or the doctrines of demons. Let's look a little closer at this first encounter of mankind with the father of all lies, Satan.

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "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.' " 4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "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."

We have already noted that Satan's ace tool for defeating a believer is the injection of doubt concerning what God meant by what He said. It is a legitimate pursuit to find out what God means by what He said. God has given the invitation to come and reason about sin and salvation. That reasoning is to be done on the basis of facts, not opinions or feelings. There is nothing wrong in searching the facts to find out what was meant by God's words.

However, the only legitimate method to find an answer to such a question is searching, comparing, harmonizing and rightly dividing the Scriptures... all the Scriptures. The young lady in our story (Eve) did not do so! Instead, she turned to the physical, and to her own desires and will.

This first encounter with Satan by Eve, started off quite well on her part. Satan brought up the possibility that God might have meant something other than He said. However, Eve answered the question properly. She answered that question with the Word of God.

Some would contend that she added something to what God said by the phrase that they should not touch the tree. I doubt that she added anything. If she had added something to what God had said, the doing so would have constituted the original sin. The Scriptures are clear that it was the act of disobedience in taking and eating the forbidden fruit that was the first human sin.

We obviously we do not have all the conversations of God with that first couple. After all, God had several conversations with Adam even before Eve came along. God also came in the cool of the evening to walk and talk with them. God had kept His appointment often enough so that this couple knew He would be there that evening after their sin. Therefore they tried to hide from Him, hoping He would go away, and everybody would live happily ever after.

Satan, seeing that his suggestion of doubt was not enough to cause spiritual disobedience, went on in his conversation with Eve to directly counter what God said. Then Satan declared God a liar.

Based on that so called "lie", Satan contended they would not die. Instead, they would become like God... without having to grow in grace and knowledge of God.

That did present a real temptation to Eve. For after all, whether in the Garden of Eden or in the city of Austin, whether sinless or totally dead in trespasses and sins, "no chastening seems joyful at present, but grievous". Even these who had not sinned (as of yet) had to learn through chastening. This was also true of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 5:6-11 As He also says in another place: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek"; 7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 called by God as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek," 11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Relying on the Word

At this point, Eve departed from the Word of God for her wisdom, and turned to her own desires and emotions for directions. She did not need to observe the tree to know God's will. She had the Word of God on the matter. She, like us, had only to obey God's Word to know God's will.

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

God's instructions about the "tree" were that by the eating came death, not the knowledge of good and evil. However at this point, Eve was not motivated by God's will or His clear instructions. She felt that she needed to evaluate God's instructions in light of the current situation.

In this, Eve was the forerunner of the theologians who say that the instructions of the Bible must be used only in light of the changing times. "After all, (they say) the Bible is very adaptable, and an all knowing and loving God would not expect us to live by the same rules given for our unlearned predecessors."

Eve used her physical sight to spiritually evaluate the tree, and she saw it was good for food. Something may look good to eat, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the eating of this fruit was not good for anything.

She had no data upon which to draw such a conclusion. No one had ever eaten of that tree, so there was no precedent to rely on. She had turned to her emotions to draw a conclusion that was both spiritual and physical in nature.

Once we turn from the Word of God to our own human senses as the source of spiritual correctness, we are no longer concerned with the truth, God's commands or the consequences. Instead, our concern is only pleasing ourselves.

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Eve learned the truth of this principle presented in this passage, even though it had not been written yet. God is the same, and His truth is the same. God may reveal Himself and His truth in a different form from time to time, but the Person of God and the Principles of His Word never change.

Eve had used her ears to hear information from Satan that she equated as spiritual. It wasn't! She relied on her eyes to discern spiritual truth concerning the tree and its fruit. She failed!

Next, Eve would use the most unreliable indicator of spiritual reality of all the perceptive senses of a human. Eve relied on her emotions, and that move sealed her spiritual fall. That same action has sealed the spiritual downfall of many since her time.

She saw that it was a desirable tree. The Hebrew word is one for, "to delight in." The human desire is not, nor has ever been a barometer of spiritual reality. More and more believers are looking for and relying on a good and pleasant feeling as the indication that they are living in a spiritual manner.

It may very well be that the so called good feeling is not of God, but of Satan, as it was in the beginning. Once Adam and Eve left the pure Word of God as their standard and turned to what as mere humans they heard, saw, and felt, it changed them internally. Their motive and will were changed, and immediately the external actions also changed.

I trust that this is not the only thing we see from this study. I hope the fact that any spiritual evaluation, motive, or action will be based on the solid Word of God alone in all of its harmony, without being contaminated by using human perception to interpret what God has said.