Gems In Genesis: Garden Theology 8 - What We Know About the Devil - "He Is Clear"

It might seem a bit odd to ascribe clarity to the one I called crafty. However, what I mean by the devil being clear is not that he is clear but, rather, that his ways and tactics are clearly discernible. The first temptation was, just that, the first. There was no precedent or history from which Eve could have intellectually appealed to make sense of what was taking place. She was, perhaps, as surprised at such an exchange as she was deceived by it. Paul, in speaking the usefulness of the Old Testament centuries later stated that "... whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4).

The matter of the exchange of the garden was written for our instruction. We are to learn from it, not only how sin entered the world or, simply, the matter and manner of the temptation. We are also to learn something about the way in which the devil seeks to undermine the Lord and deceive His chosen people. We, unlike Eve, have a history in which we can refer to that illuminates our minds to discern the ways and motions of the enemy. This is exactly why Paul said that because we are in Christ, "... we are not ignorant of his designs (2 Corinthians 2:11). That is, we are not lacking in knowledge about his schemes; we are not unaware or unable to perceive what he does or how he works in seeking to deceive us. We have the garden!

What we learn in the garden is his modus operandi. The gospel has exposed the devil's craftiness such that he is not as tricky as he *and sadly we) think. In the garden we see his design, the same design he uses throughout the Bible. What we see in the garden is that the devil tempted Eve in three ways directed to distort three God-given passions:

"So, 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" (Genesis 3:6).

We see that the enemy tempted Eve to satisfy her flesh from the tree -"it was good for food". He also enticed her to see differently so that she would behave differently - "it was a delight to the eyes", and he tempted her to operate on her own, independent from the Lord -'the tree was to be desired to make one wise." There is it: his scheme in a nutshell. We know this is his way because he tried the same strategy on Jesus in Matthew 4:

1. He tempted Jesus to satisfy his flesh in his first temptation (Matthew 4:4)

2. He tempted Jesus to act independently in pride in the second temptation (Matthew 4:5-7)

3. He tempted Jesus to see differently in his third temptation (Matthew 4:8-9)

Amazing! The last Adam, Jesus, endured the exact same strategy in which the first Adam failed. The same strategy. Different methods, for sure, but the exact same blueprint. Because the cross has exposed the devil's craftiness his ways are known to us and, in truth, he can only tempt us with the exact same strategy used in the garden (Genesis 3) and the wilderness (Matthew 4).

John teaches us this very truth very clearly when he writes the following:

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the

Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the

eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world" (1 John 2:15–16).

The devil is still crafty because he can tempt us with a variety of means. However, we are not ignorant of his ways because, regardless of the means, he will only target three areas: the lustful desires of our flesh and eyes as well as our pride (acting independently from the Lord). Knowing this empowers us to discern the temptations we face daily. It also helps us to discern even that which appears to be a good thing or person. If it or they entice us to obey the flesh, walk by what we see (our own wisdom) and or, cause us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (pride) even those "good" things or people must be avoided.

The devil does seek to destroy us but not in the ways we think. He is crafty and we should never forget this. His tactic, as I have come to discern, is destruction by distraction. This is his aim and plan. He does not want to destroy you all at once because that would take away from him enticing you to worship him. Instead, he seeks to distract you and I with shiny things, as it we - just as he did with Eve in the garden - so that in our being distracted we are slowly, but ultimately, destroyed.

The Word of God opens our eyes to see what we, by the flesh, could never see. The enemy is banking on the fact that we, like Eve, either suspend our thinking about the Word or simply disregard it, so that we remain ignorant of his very discernible schemes.