Eve

Eve must have been a real beauty! The crown and pinnacle of God’s amazing creative work. The first female of Adam’s race was the last living thing called into existence, actually fashioned by the Creator’s own hand in a way that showed particular care and attention to detail. Eve was not made out of the dust like Adam...but carefully designed from living flesh and bone.

ADAM WAS REFINED DIRT, EVE WAS A GLORIOUS REFINEMENT OF HUMANITY ITSELF!

She was a gift to Adam, a necessary partner who made his existence complete. Additionally, her existence signaled the completion of all creation.

Eve was a marvel...created by God from the living tissue of another creature. God composed a vast universe from nothing, then he made Adam out of nothing but a handful of dirt. But nothing in the whole expanse of the universe was as spectacular as this woman, made from a handful of Adam! If the man represented the supreme species (a race of creatures made in the image of God), Eve was the living embodiment of humanity glory………..God had saved the best for last!

Just imagine in her original state, undefiled by any evil, unblemished by any disease or defect, and unspoiled by ANY imperfection, Eve was indeed feminine excellence, magnificent in every aspect. She was the only woman to come unfallen into a curse-free world, she had no equal in grace, charm, virtue, ingenuity, intelligence, with absolute innocence.

Physically she must have been full of strength and beauty, the living picture of sheer radiance. Scripture gives us no physical description of Eve. Her beauty is never mentioned or alluded to. The focus of the Biblical account is on Eve’s duty to her Creator and her role alongside her husband.

This is significant, reminding us that the distinguishing traits of true feminine excellence are not superficial. Women who focus, on the point of obsession, on image, cosmetics, body shapes, and other external matters have a wrong view of femininity...

Western culture, including the church, seem hopelessly confused about this. We need to go back to Scripture to see what God’s ideal for a woman is...the Biblical account of Eve is an excellent reminder of what a woman’s true priorities should be.

Eve is obviously a major character in history’s record of the fall and redemption.  But we only read her name 4x’s_______________________. We have very few details about her, no physical description or how many children she had. We don’t know how long she lived, where or how she died,_________ . Scripture tells her story in such a fashion, that we can on the aspects of her life that are the most significant. Even though there are many things about Eve we’d like to know, we will look at what details we have, the account of her creation, her temptation and fall, her curse, and the hope she clung to.

A. Her Creation…

God performed a surgical procedure on Adam. He was anesthetized, not artificially of course, God simply caused him to fall asleep. Considering this was before the fall, in the state of slumber he would feel no pain. Think about the pure, passive restfulness of Adam’s sleep. A beautiful illustration of HOW the grace of God is ALWAYS received. Grace is never set in motion by any effort or activity on our part, but always flows freely from the sovereign will of God.

NOTE...there is nothing to indicate that Adam ASKED God for a wife. God Himself initiated this whole event and single-handedly brought it to pass.  It was an expression of sheer grace and benevolence to Adam. All Adam did was contribute a rib...but he was asleep while it was done. The work was wholly and completely God’s. Sound familiar??? God took a redundant bone that Adam would never miss and made for him the one thing he lacked...a soul-mate!! He lost a rib, but gained a loving companion, created for him by the Giver of every perfect gift.

The Hebrew expression for how God “made (the rib) into a woman” denotes careful construction and design. Literally, it means God built a woman. He carefully assembled a whole new creature with just the right set of attributes to make her the ideal mate for Adam, suited to him in every way. She answered his need for companionship, she was a source of joy and gladness to him and she made possible the procreation of the race.

Eve made Eden paradise for Adam. It seems the moment Adam saw her, he loved her...and felt a deep personal attachment to her and embraced her as his own. There are a few crucial truths about womanhood in general in the unique method of her creation. 

1. Eve was fundamentally equal with Adam, they shared the same essential nature...she was not different in kind but exactly the same essence as Adam. She was in no way inferior and was his spiritual counterpart, his intellectual equal, his perfect mate and companion.

2. The way Eve was created reminds us of the essential unity that is the ideal in every marriage relationship. God’s plan for marriage was established at the very beginning, __________. Jesus tells us marriage from the beginning of human history was based on the principles of monogamy, solidarity, inviolability. The one-flesh principle is perfectly illustrated in the method of Eve’s creation and where the principle finds its true origin. 

3. The circumstances of her creation illustrate how deep and meaningful marriage is meant to be...not just a physical union but a union of heart and soul as well. She was designed to be Adam’s complement, his ideal soul-companion and the intimacy of relationship with her husband derives from her being literally taken from HIS SIDE! Puritan writer, Matthew Henry wrote these familiar words…”the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam, not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved.” The symbolism reminds us again how Scripture exalts women.

4. Eve was spiritually and intellectually Adam’s peer, they were both of the same essence, therefore equals in their standing before God. They ranked above al other creatures. There was none the less a clear distinction in their earthly roles...BY GOD’S OWN DELIBERATE DESIGN! Eve was made to fill a void in Adam’s life, he was created first. Then Eve, to fill the void. He was the head, she was the helper. Adam was designed to be a father, provider, protector and leader. Eve was designed to be a mother, comforter, nurturer, and helper. God had ordained these different functions for man and woman. We do not possess equal physical  strength, there are bodily hormonal differences and there is a mountain of empirical and clinical evidence to strongly suggest that men and women are also dissimilar in several other ways: socially, emotionally, and psychologically. 

To acknowledge these differences may not please modern feminists but it is what God’s own Word says. God created us differently with a purpose: His plan for us reflects these differences. Being under the authority of our husbands and under the authority and instruction of men in the church. 

In First Timothy Paul defends male headship as from Creation, not the fall. The principle of male leadership was designed into creation, it was not the result of the fall, and the result of Adam’s sin. Another way to look at it is that it is a blueprint of God as Creator. Eve was in no way inferior to Adam, but was given a role that was subordinate to his leadership.

Subordinate but equal. The Trinity reflects how perfectly headship and submission can function within a relationship of absolute equals...Christ is in no way inferior to the Father, but He willingly subordinated Himself to the Father. Paul used this as an illustration of willing, perfect submission. If we wonder how two persons  who are truly equal can have a relationship where one is head, the other submissive, we need look no farther than the Trinity.

God Himself is the pattern for such a relationship. Men and women though equal in essence, were designed for different roles, each distinct from the other. The Scripture also tells us that women are exalted above men because they are the living, breathing manifestation of the glory of a race made in God’s image.

This was after Eve’s position AFTER creation and before the fall. God dealt with Adam’s sin because Adam was accountable to Him. Eve was accountable to her husband. In Genesis 3 we are introduced to the tempter...the chronology of the account seems to suggest a short time elapsed between the end of creation and the fall of Satan.  A similarly short time appears to have elapsed between Satan’s fall and Eve’s temptation, perhaps only hours. Adam and Eve had not yet conceived children...and this may be the reason the tempter lost no time in deceiving Eve and provoking her husband to sin. He wanted to strike at the head of the human race before they multiplied. IF he could beguile Eve and cause Adam to sin at this moment, he could sabotage all of humanity in one deadly act of treason against God. Satan came to Eve, singling her out while she was alone. As the weaker vessel and away from her protector, she was vulnerable. Satan was sly, telling her half-truths and lies, twisted concepts and questioning God’s motives. I find this very interesting, it is likely Eve heard God’s instruction from Adam…

The Scripture records God gave the prohibition PRIOR to her creation, when Adam was the lone recipient. This affirms the truth of Adam’s position as representative and head of  the human race. GOD HELD HIM DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE! Eve’s instruction and her protection were HIS responsibility as head of his family. The farther she went from his side, the more exposed she was...in Eden there was innocence and Eve was unaware any danger existed and it appears she was more flustered and confounded than anything else. Satan seized the opportunity and forfeited her innocence. Buried in these lies is the lie of all lies, “you will be like God”...this one lie underlies all the universe of evil…PRIDE...This evil lie has given birth to every false religion in human history, and is the same erroneous thinking of Satan himself. Eating the fruit would NOT make her like God, it would and did make her like the devil...fallen, corrupt, and condemned! We can see I John 2:16 worked out in Eve’s deception...her natural desires contributed to her confusion, her bodily appetite (good for food), her aesthetic sensibilities (pleasant to the eyes), her intellectual curiosity (desirable for wisdom).

All good, legitimate healthy urges, unless the object is sinful and their natural passion becomes evil lust. Eve ate, and gave it to her husband. Adam ate, and according to Rom 5:12, “sin entered the world”. This is what is know as the doctrine of original sin, one of our foundational doctrines.

People ask why Adam’s failure was so decisive for humanity when Eve ate first. The Bible says, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression”. His sin was deliberate and willful, in a way Eve’s was not. Adam’s headship meant that he sinned as our representative  before God, and we fell with him. Scripture teaches this clearly. 

When we read the Scripture, we see the result, evil experienced produces shame, and the attempt to “work out” the solution and cover the shame. And thus it has ever been. IN our humanness we use religion, philanthropy, education, self-betterment and self-esteem, human goodness. All as attempts to camouflage our disgrace.  All attempts fail, as “masking over” shame does not really deal with the problem of guilt before God.

Worst of all, full atonement cannot be achieved by fallen men and women in their own strength, and Adam and Eve clearly saw this when their eyes were opened to the knowledge of good and evil. They felt a deep sense of fear and dread because they knew they had to face God! They hid. Adam’s reply reflects his fear...he tried to blame Eve. Sin had already corrupted his mind! He even tried to push some of the guilt onto God…”the woman YOU gave me”...this has become typical thinking in our fallen world.

But God confronted Eve...and she tried to blame the serpent. The Word reminds us that when we sin it is because of our own lust...RESPONSIBILITY FOR SIN LIES WITH THE SINNER. Eve was accountable.

The Scripture gives us God’s pronouncement on first the serpent, then on Eve and finally on Adam. Sin promised significant changes in the earthly environment and had automatic implications for Eve. The loss of Eden and sudden change in nature would affect Eve’s daily life, think of the physical results and the work involved now in everyday life.

It is also significant that God’s dealing with Eve was the shortest. the curse addresses the two most important  relationships for a woman, her husband and her children, now marred by the consequences of sin. The relationship between husband and wife were probably the most devastatingly affected…Now a struggle starts, before the fall Adam exhibited perfect headship, Eve perfect submission...not any more!

He will have trouble with her submission, because he will no longer heal with her in perfection, and she will chafe under his leadership and try to usurp his authority. Thus we see the tension over gender roles goes all the way back to the garden. Now God could have left Eve under the headship of the serpent...but He didn’t, He allowed her to stay with Adam and fulfill her role as the mother of all living. Adam loved her and she remained gladly.

There is a hint in the curse itself that one of her offspring would ultimately overthrow evil, and the evil one. Through her offspring she would produce a Savior. God’s curse on the serpent was the most sever of all...the reptile was apparently lovely in the garden, now would be ugly, despised and avoided...it slivered on the ground and even the ground was now cursed. There is a clear message and sentence against Satan himself.

Were Adam and Eve saved??? Probably so, God’s grace shows itself in the first blood sacrifice by God’s own hand. Heaven will be filled with Adam and Eve’s offspring, and they will be eternally occupied with celebrating the work of her Seed, Christ Himself!