The service this morning, being the first Sunday of Lent, was around temptation. What is temptation? What is a nudge towards doing good? How do we discern. Christ, who is the word (Logos) said… over and over… it is written. That was not mentioned in the talk, but it is important.

When we look at temptation, we need to look at how it came into this world. The issue here was wisdom, knowledge, the practice of ritual and secrets so we may know more.

Trying to be as God. It led to the fall of Lucifer, and it leads to us having too much self esteem. It was lethal to Eve. It is Lethal to us.



Jeremiah 9:23-24

²³ Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; ²⁴ but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

^2:15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;¹⁷but 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 die.”

^3:1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ²The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; ³but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; ⁵for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

My theory of nakedness is this: if you are an elite athlete or a supermodel you can walk around in next to nothing. The rest of us better cover, so that we all keep our lunches within our gullets. We cover ourselves for modesty, yes, but also because most of us have scars, weakness and are disproportioned. This time is fallen. Which is why we have clothes.

But the issue here is more knowledge. Eve gave the apple to Adam. He did know what he was doing: he did remain responsible. But she took it to gain knowledge, so she could be what she is not.

Already made in the image of God, she wanted to be God.

Eve eats the forbidden fruit—it came to pass. The erstwhile marriage between her and Adam is already dissolved by her hand. She is no longer the bone of his bone and the flesh of his flesh. She felt above Adam, able now to teach her husband. Now her husband will not be her head, but she will direct him. And they will live not by his experience of communion with God, but by her “wisdom,” received in communion with the serpent. Belittling, up to the total neglect of her husband’s masculinity, is another characteristic entering feminine nature at the moment of the Fall.

Eve is in awe of her experience, and gave also unto her husband with her (Gen. 3:6). This moment is the beginning of the process of the defilement of masculine nature. Adam knew from God that it was forbidden to eat, but did not oppose his wife’s proposal. He displayed an inappropriate feebleness in relation to her, being fascinated by her sensual delight, and losing his masculinity. If Eve had at least tried to fight with the serpent, then Adam could have confidently done that which was suggested to him by his wife. He who was originally created by God and named all living things becomes the mute and spineless executor of his wife’s will. From a leader, man is turned into a slave. The loss of his masculine leadership under his wife’s sensual onslaught becomes one of the main distortions of male nature.

Some observations from this week.

1. Robyn noted that if a young man does not have a certain confidence that he is seen as akin to a puppy dog and is rejected. Being a follower is not attractive
2. I know a number of Ph. D. women who think they can Lord over their husbands or partners because of their qualifications. Not the case: many of these women are single, but wish not to be.
3. Yesterday I was talking to Bruce. We were discussing the priest who married us, and how a bunchaton of female priests insisted they walked in the licensing service when he took the responsibility for his parish. Bruce (who is Anglican and has been a lay leader in that church) said it was ugly. It was.

To look for esoteric wisdom is the sin of the Gnostics and the sin of Eve. It is assuming knowledge will make us better. It does not. It makes us proud.

And we need to turn again to Christ, by the grace and power of his spirit, and recall we are broken without Christ. Then, in joy, do what we are made for. Both as men and women, husband and wife, and parents and children.