Genesis 3:20-24 - Homiletics

First fruits of the promise.

I. FAITH ( Genesis 3:20 ). The special significance of Adam's renaming his wife at this particular juncture in his history is best discerned when the action is regarded as the response of his faith to the antecedent promise of the woman's seed.

1. It is the place of faith to succeed, and not to precede, the promise. Faith being, in its simplest conception, belief in a testimony, the testimony must ever take precedence of the faith. "In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation" ( Ephesians 1:13 ).

2. As to the genesis of faith, it is always evoked by the promise, not the promise by the faith. Adam's faith was the creation of God's promise; so is that of every true believer. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" ( Romans 10:17 ).

3. With regard to the function of faith, it is not that of certifying or making sure the promise, but simply of attesting its certainty, which it does by reposing trust in its veracity. "He that receiveth his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true" ( John 3:33 ). And this was practically what was done by Adam when he called his wife's name Eve.

4. The power of faith is seen in this, that while it cannot implement, it is able to anticipate the promise, and, as it were, to enjoy it beforehand, in earnest at least, as Adam did when he realized that his spouse should be the mother of all living. Even so "faith is the substance of things hoped for" ( Hebrews 11:1 ).

II. ACCEPTANCE ( Genesis 3:21 ).

1. In the Divine scheme of salvation acceptance ever follows on the exercise of faith . See the language of the New Testament generally on the subject of a sinner's justification. The covering of our first parents with coats of skin, apart altogether from any symbolical significance in the act, could scarcely be regarded as other than a token of Jehovah's favor.

2. According to the same scheme the clothing , era sinner ever accompanies the act of his acceptance . In New Testament theology the Divine act of justification is always represented as proceeding on the ground that in the eye of God the sinner stands invested with a complete covering (the righteousness of Christ) which renders him both legally and morally acceptable. That all this was comprehended with perfect fullness and clearness by the pardoned pair it would be foolish to assert; but, in a fashion accommodated to their simple intelligences, the germ of this doctrine was exhibited by the coats of skin with which they were arrayed, and it is at least possible that they had a deeper insight into the significance of the Divine action than we are always prepared to allow.

3. In the teaching of the gospel scheme the providing of a sinner with such a covering as he requires must ever be the work of God , Though not improbable that the coats of skin were furnished by the hides of animals, now for the first time offered in sacrifice by Divine appointment, the simple circumstance that they were God-provided, apart from any other consideration, was sufficient to suggest the thought that only God could supply the covering which was needed for their sin.

III. DISCIPLINE ( Genesis 3:22-24 ). Rightly interpreted, neither the language of Jehovah nor that of Moses warrants the idea that the expulsion was designed as a penal infliction; but rather as a measure mercifully intended and wisely adapted for the spiritual edification of the pardoned pair. Three elements were present in it that are seldom absent from the discipline of saints.

1. Removal of comforts . The initial act in the discipline of Adam and his wife was to eject them from the precincts of Eden. And so oftentimes does God begin the work of sanctification in his people's hearts by the infliction of loss. In the case of Adam and his spouse there were special reasons demanding their removal from the garden, as, e. g.,

2. Increase of sorrow . Besides being ejected from the garden, the first pair were henceforth to be subjected to toil and trouble. Adam in tilling the ground, and Eve in bearing children. And this, too, was a part of God's educational process with our first parents; as, indeed, the sufferings of this present life inflicted on his people generally are all commissioned on a like errand, viz; to bring forth within them the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and to make them partakers of his holiness.

3. Sentence of death . The words "whence he was taken" have an echo in them of "dust thou art," &c; and must have extinguished within the breasts of Adam and his wife all hope of returning to Eden on this side the grave; perhaps, too, would assist them in seeking for a better country, even an heavenly. To prevent saints from seeking Edens on the earth seems to be one of the main designs of death.

IV. Here ( Genesis 3:24 ). Though excluded from the garden, man was not without cheering ingredients of hope in his condition.

1. The Divine presence was still with him . The cherubim and flaming sword were symbols of the ineffable majesty of Jehovah, and tokens of his presence. And never since has the world been abandoned by the God of mercy and salvation.

2. Paradise was still reserved for him . The cherubim and flaming sword were appointed "to keep the way of the tree of life;" not simply to guard the entrance, but to protect the place. So is heaven a reserved inheritance ( 1 Peter 1:4 ).

3. The prospect of readmission to the tree of life was yet before him . As much as this was implied in the jealous guarding of the gate so long as Adam was defiled by sin. It could not fail to suggest the idea that when purified by life's discipline he would no longer be excluded (cf. Revelation 22:14 ).

4. The gate of heaven was still near him . He was still permitted to reside in the vicinity of Eden, and to commune with him who dwelt between the cherubim, though denied the privilege as yet of dwelling with him in the interior of his abode. If debarred from the full inheritance, he had at least its earnest. And exactly this is the situation of saints on earth, who, unlike those within the veil, who see the Lord of the heavenly paradise face to face, can only commune with him, as it were, at the gate of his celestial palace.

Learn—

1. To believe God's promise of salvation.

2. To be grateful for God's gift of righteousness.

3. To submit with cheerfulness to God's paternal discipline.

4. To live in hope of entering God's heaven.