Pride is Original Sin. The devil’s attempt to play on Eve’s pride is very strong here. He wanted to lift himself up to be as God, and failed. (Is. 14:14). Now, he gets Eve to consider the same possibility. But, that is an incredible error.
There is only one God, and He was never formed. He has always been. He exists in that dimension beyond our physical dimensions, just as time is beyond our physical sight; though we are in it, we can’t actually ‘see” time. There will never be another God. (Is. 43:10) The devil sought to be as God because of his incredible pride and arrogance.
So, why did people consider sex to be Original Sin years ago? In their false human pride, they tried to make their own rules. Some of them meant well, and just didn’t read their Bible well. However, many of them only sought to suppress. They may have driven people away from God as a result, because they showed an unloving nature. God is just, but we can’t forget that He is also merciful. He wants a person’s heart to be humble, and willing to learn from His Word. And, His Word clearly states that the original sin was to puff oneself up and attempt to be as God.
People have done this since the dawn of time, as we see here. The devil wanted to destroy God’s plan, and be their master. He knew Adam and Eve were untested creatures. They couldn’t be told, straight out, to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They had to be persuaded. Those reasons were lies. The devil told them that once they ate, their eyes would be open, and they would be gods. But, there is only one God> He simply manifests – shows - Himself in three persons; the Father, Son, and Spirit.
Of course, the fact their eyes would be open implies something else, too. It implies that God was hiding something good from them. But, He wasn’t. Knowing good and evil is an awful thing – but they didn’t know that.
Just think, if we didn’t know what evil was, it would mean there was no crime. We’d never have to suffer. There would be no mean people, no hurtful words, and no people taking advantage of others. The introduction of sin into the world was an awful thing. God had told them flat out, too, that this was the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God doesn’t mince words. He didn’t just say, “Don’t eat of that tree.” Now, just as then, His Word says exactly what will happen, with a name here that drove home the message. If they ate of it, they would die – they would lose that relationship with God.
The devil usually doesn’t start by telling someone, flat out, to sin. He may be able to once we have a sinful habit. But, at first, the devil tricks us, as he does here. He takes one thing that is true – that they would know good and evil – and twists it. Sin can feel good for a time, unless we keep ourselves under control. We lose that control when we choose to follow our own lusts, instead of trust in God. That is true whether we are talking about Eve – and, later, Adam – in this chapter, or whether we are talking about making rules that are way too strict, and twisting God’s Word to make something else out to be Original Sin, instead of the selfish kind of pride that is. It’s no wonder that Paul says, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 6:14)
