The Gardens (Part 1) – Genesis 1:31; 2:8; 3:1-9
Sermon Series Structure
2 weeks in the Garden of Eden
2 weeks in the Garden of Gethsemane
1 week in the Garden of Resurrection
To understand why the resurrection was needed and the necessity of Jesus’ suffering, we first have to go back to where it all began – the Garden of Eden.
In the Garden of Eden, there is both GOOD and BAD.
The
31Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. —Genesis 1:31
When God declared His creation was “very good”, it was complete. It was whole. It was perfect.
Genesis 2 takes us back in the creation timeline and we are introduced to the Garden of Eden.
8The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. —Genesis 2:8
The good in the Garden of Eden includes:
Enjoyment of a perfect creation
Tree of Life to provide eternal life
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil to serve as a reminder that God has provided a way
Purpose for Adam in working/tending/keeping the Garden of Eden
Relationships in marriage, family, and friendship
Freely dwelling with God
The
In the timeline of Scripture, the serpent came on the scene and visited Adam and Eve but focused on Eve.
1Now 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’?” 2And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3but 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.’” 4Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5For 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.” —Genesis 3:1-5
By the time the serpent was finished tempting Eve, she had quit looking toward God and turned to herself.
6So 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. —Genesis 3:6
Sin didn’t make
Did she not have plenty of food?
Was a perfect creation not good enough for her eyes?
Was God’s wisdom not sufficient?
There was good but the bad was chosen and it came with immediate repercussions.
7Then 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. 8And 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. —Genesis 3:7-8
This passage explains how the good became bad. The perfect became imperfect. The holy became unholy.
There would be a lot that would occur before the Garden of Gethsemane, but this passage immediately lays out the foundation of
9Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” —Genesis 3:9
What is God’s call today? He wants to make you good, complete, and holy.