Chapter 2 – The Fall

Lesson 2 – “I will be like the Most High.”Old Testament Lesson:

Isaiah 14: 12 – 14

¹² How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! ¹³ For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Genesis 3: 2 – 6

² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: ³ But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

New Testament Lesson

Colossians 2: 2- 4

² That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; ³ In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴ And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

Galatians 4: 1 – 9

 ¹ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; ² But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. ³ Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: ⁴ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵ To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ⁶ And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷ Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. ⁸ Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.⁹ But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

One can comprehend all one needs to know about the fall in seven words: “I will be like the most High.” There is no one like God. No one can be like God. For Lucifer to desire to be like God is the epitome of  pompous self-importance. Hannah, in I Samuel 2: 2&3, expressed the correct way to think about and approach God:  ^“There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. (KJV).

Satan tempted Eve with the three primary lusts listed in I John 2: 15 – 17, ” Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (KJV). Eve saw that the fruit was “good for food” (the lust of the flesh), “pleasant to the eyes” (the lust of the eyes), and  “a tree to be desired to make one wise.” (the pride of life).  At that moment, the love of the Father was not in Eve. These were the same three temptations that Satan put before Christ in Matthew 4. Eve succumbed; Christ, using the word of God, did not. 

Paul warned the church at Colossi to beware “lest any man should beguile you with enticing words”   He also encouraged the church at Galatia that by believing in Christ, we and they could become children of God, which means that we have all the benefits of being part of the family of God. If we know God and are known of God, how can we turn our backs on that inheritance and fall away from God?

 Choruses for Lesson 2:  Sing along with  Michael W. Smith on these two choruses,  Open the Eyes of My Heart, and Our God is an Awesome God.