Bible Study: Genesis 3:7-11—Truth About Evil and the Devil

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Some people may ask, Why was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden with Adam and Eve in the first place? The simple answer is that God is all-knowing, and He can never deny Himself or what He knows.

The existence of evil was a known possibility in God’s all-knowingness so He couldn’t not have it in the garden of Eden, just as He had the Tree of Life which would make one live for eternity if eaten from, hence God kicking them out of the garden after the fall because if they had eaten from the tree of life in their fallen nature we would all be trapped living in sin unable to die, and worse yet, Jesus not being able to come to die for our sins to redeem us from our fallen nature and bring us back to God for all eternity.

When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, humanity did die, as God said. We died in that death came into the picture when it would not have had they not brought evil forth, either because we would have eaten from the Tree of Life and lived forever, or because we were sinless and in perfect communion with God Almighty, perhaps there’s no difference between these two.

Death was a manifestation of the knowledge of evil because knowing evil defiles and makes one impure. It spiritually decays you and therefore physical decay manifests as well. Likewise, life is the manifestation of good because life is the only thing that was intended by the good Spirit Maker. Now we live by both, life and death, that is, good and evil.

About Evil and the Devil

Evil is the enemy of God, and the devil has become the embodiment of evil in that it is he that propels it forth. First by having brought (manifested) it into existence, and second by existing in it, and so the devil is the enemy of God because he is evil. The world thinks the devil is the creator of evil, but this is untrue. The fruit of the knowledge of good and evil existed outside of the devil. It existed independently of him. Evil exists as a separate entity that originated from God’s all-knowingness.

The devil does not possess evil, it is evil that possesses the devil. When satan was Lucifer, before he had sinned against God, evil existed in God’s all-knowingness. Because God is a purely good God and no darkness can be found in Him, evil remained dormant and existed only in the knowledge and understanding of God.

God is Truth, and He is not in the business of creating mindless slaves that blindly follow Him without free will. When you have chosen to blindly follow God and become His slave, rather than a slave to anything else, indeed it is you having practiced your free will that God gifts to every creation. And so when Lucifer sinned against God, he was removed from God’s presence and glory and light, and so he became darkness and got consumed by evil, which is the reality that is void of God’s goodness and light.

The second before Lucifer sinned, evil was possible that’s why he could do it, so it cannot be that the devil is the owner of evil, oh no. Evil is what owns the devil because it is evil that existed even before the devil existed. The devil is the first slave of evil, and as the creator of nothing at all, he can only be on the mission of driving people away from God and His presence and light and consequently have them be in the darkness that is evil.

To reiterate, Lucifer was the first sinner, not the creator of evil. You may think it perplexing to say God created evil, when in fact, it is you who chose it and continue to choose it. God is merely God over anything and everything!

Why is this Necessary to Know?

To paraphrase Megan Ashley, an advocate of Christ, “The devil is not omnipresent. He can’t be somewhere and another place at the same time. Meaning, he can’t be in your thoughts or your mind.” When she said this, it enlightened me in a way I didn’t know I needed.

I was shocked and perhaps annoyed at the illusion of having thought that the devil could be in my mind, saying whatever, and what not. I was annoyed that false teachers teach this to us and the world so much so that it becomes a normal illusion to be under. The devil is not omnipresent.

Adam and Eve did not need the serpent to tell them that they were naked. They just knew they were naked. They knew because they now possessed the knowledge of evil. You don’t need the devil to come tell you every vile evil thing in existence, you already can do that all on your own because you simply have the knowledge of evil.

It is not the devil that is in your thoughts, it is the knowledge of evil. God asked Adam and Eve if they had eaten from the tree which He told them not to eat from once He heard them be aware of their nakedness. He didn’t ask them if they had spoken to the devil.

Your Mind is Conformed to the World Ruled by the devil

The devil is not personally attacking your mind or your thoughts. He can’t do that because he can’t possibly be in your mind, perhaps unless you have given him possession of your body and are demon-possessed. Otherwise, all he can do is tempt you or accuse you, planting lies, and insecurities, curating traumatic moments with what he has established the world to be, as God says that the devil is the god of the world. This is because God also says that the world doesn’t know Him. And we know that the absence of God and His presence and light is the existence of evil and darkness.

The devil wanted the knowledge of evil because he knew it was the only way he could rule over man and rule the world and become a god with a kingdom (of darkness) as he wished for when he sinned. Because mankind now lives in constantly choosing between good and evil; choosing between obeying God’s Word or going against it and being in darkness (where the devil is and rules) as God is light and being without light is being in darkness.

When Eve was contemplating what the serpent was saying, contemplating and thinking how good the forbidden fruit looked, she had not yet sinned. Thinking was not the sin, but the action against God’s word was the sin. This process of thinking was not a transgression against God, but what specific thought patterns do is lead you to the possibility of sin.

Had she had that train of thought and decided to remember what God said and act on that alone, she would’ve not eaten the forbidden fruit, and sin, which reigns through the knowledge of evil, as the devil knew by introducing disobedience to Eve, would not have come forth.

Having the knowledge of evil does not make you evil (it makes you impure) because it is just mere knowledge. However, sin is impossible without evil, that is, going against God’s Word. Because acting on that knowledge of evil is what manifests the evil and thus makes an act evil or sin.

And, there is sin that exists mentally, like covetousness, pride, and looking at a woman lustfully. Just like there is sin that exists emotionally, like envy.

This is why it is important to not practice entertaining or welcoming evil thoughts, leaving them unbound or unrestrained.

Let them not roam free in your mind as unleashed and free. Let the knowledge of good bind the knowledge of evil. Let the knowledge of good reign supreme against the knowledge of evil. Let the knowledge of good be what possesses and fills your mind, so what you do, feel, and say may be good.

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