Satan's Lie and Being Like God

What was the essence of the lie that Satan, the deceiver, spoke to Eve?

For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:5

First, let’s consider what it’s not. The lie was not found in their being like God. The truth is that they were already like God, for they had been made in his image. This is in no way a setup for man to be in competition with God, but that man’s very being was to express the nature of God in the creation. Their being made in the image of God was the amazing reality that the liar set out to discredit. In other words, their very beings were defined by the creator himself. But when the serpent approached Eve with the proposition that they would be like God by eating the forbidden fruit, he was speaking a lie. It was a lie because it totally undermined the truth of their inherent likeness to God. The serpent basically made the demand that they were not like God, but that they could be, if they took it upon themselves —as beings who were separate from God— in eating the fruit God forbade.

The irony in Satan’s lie was that Adam and Eve became unlike God when they did the thing he said would make them like God. The same deception comes at us to this day. We have been made alive to God in Christ. We have been brought into union with God through Jesus Christ. We have been made partakers of the divine nature. Our union with the father through Christ is so amazing that Paul said that he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him. Jesus said that we would be made one, even as he and his father were one.

December 7, 2014 - 8:21am (Jim Minker aka theshovel)
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Comments

georgip - December 26, 2014 - 4:03pm

'..as beings who were separate from God..'

That's my view of this, too. Embracing that mindset is what triggered death and brought it into the world. I don't understand why would they believe, though.

Submitted by georgip on December 26, 2014 - 4:03pm

Char45 - December 16, 2014 - 10:04pm

Jim, in thinking about this, I am seeing that Adam and Eve were made in the image of GOD, but were not like God, in that they were totally dependent beings, dependent on GOD for absolutely everything.  I think Satan was offering them a way that they could live without being dependent on GOD, being deceived into thinking that a life dependent on themselves was truly living.  In fact, the independent life is in actuality death, in other words, death is life on our own independent from the GOD in whose image we were made.  We are all dead in that we try to live life in this way, we can do no other, until GOD intervenes and shows us that all that garbage we thought was life and truly living, was deception and illusion and that the only life is to be found in realizing our death and embracing the life of the One who created us in His own image.  I am so grateful that this life is not my own (frankly I don't know anything about how to live it) but now belongs to Christ who is truly Life in me.

Submitted by Char45 on December 16, 2014 - 10:04pm

theshovel - December 17, 2014 - 10:47am

Hello Charlotte! Good to hear from you again. smiley

Hey, I'm all with you on the reality that Adam and Eve were totally dependent on God, and also that Satan lured them into the false idea that they could live independent of the one who made them in His image. By saying that they were already like God has nothing to do with them somehow being independent, but rather that having been made in His likeness, they were dependent—just as Jesus was the very image of God, and still totally dependent on his father. All to say that being like God makes no demand that such a one is somehow independent.

I love comments like yours as they often initiate some investigation. In this case, your input stimulated me to look up references on likeness. cool (Yeah, that's me with the glasses!) And for me, it just keeps tying more and more things together!

"This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth."  Genesis 5:1-3 NASB

Here's the Hebrew for likeness:

H1823  דְּמוּת  demuth (198b); from H1819; likeness, similitude:–
NASB usage: figure(1), figures like(1), figures resembling(1), form(4), like(4), likeness(8), pattern(1), resembling(1), something resembling(1), which resembled(1), who resembled(1).

Using the same word regarding Adam having been made in God's image and in His own likeness, Adam is said to have begotten a son in his own likeness, according to his image. So, whatever likeness or being like God means, it applies to the relationship between Adam and his son Seth as it did with God and Adam. Seth was like Adam in the same kind of way that Adam was like God.

Being like God doesn't imply that Adam and Eve were independent of God, even when their perception became distorted into imaging that they were. The phrase "like God" is not the real problem, it is the source from which it is spoken. After all, the same words uttered by the mouth of the liar are perverted by the one speaking them. Consider the following:

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.  Genesis 2:25 NASB

They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”  Genesis 3:8-11 NASB

Some have wrongly suspected that being naked was part of the lie told by the serpent, but it should be clear that the man and the woman were both naked, but that they were not ashamed. The problem wasn't the nakedness, it was the shame associated with the nakedness that came from having believed the lie of self-life.

God asked Adam, WHO told you that you were naked? Although we might imagine God as suggesting that their being naked was a lie, it had nothing to do with that. It was the source they got it from. And unless some of the dialog was left out, there is no indication that Satan said anything to them about being naked. Rather, it was the source of false knowledge they had bought into that not only made them aware of themselves (so as to know they were naked) but also to cause shame in that knowledge.

Anyhow, I thought this aspect of the lie was also connected.

Love, Jim smiley

Submitted by theshovel on December 17, 2014 - 10:47am

DIGNZ - December 11, 2014 - 10:36am

really it is HUGE!  realizing the truth about the lie dispels all kinds of fears created, fed and nurtured by the lies about the lie!  i can't get enough of this!  thank you thank you thank you!  :)  i love all the GOOD NEWS here on theshovel!  :)

“First, let’s consider what it’s not. The lie was not found in their being like God. The truth is that they were already like God, for they had been made in his image. This is in no way a setup for man to be in competition with God, but that man’s very being was to express the nature of God in the creation. Their being made in the image of God was the amazing reality that the liar set out to discredit. In other words, their very beings were defined by the creator himself.” <theshovel

i want this truth and reality to sink deep down to my very core!  :)   it IS our reality whether or not we are seeing it at any given time, circumstance or situation.  but to know it and ponder it and embrace it … it is just so very freeing, encouraging, refreshing and supportive of all the confidence and security that is ours in Christ as New Creations!  :)

i love how mclady encouraged and supported that there is NO more separation in reality between us and GOD, nor is there any separation in reality between the siblings of Christ. 

the world will constantly come up with formulas to try to 'unify' humanity without GOD, but they will always come up short and FAIL, despite their facades, delusions, illusions and everything else.  the time and history of man will always reveal that reality.  things simply are not always as they 'appear', no matter how long or short they may last. 

the unity we have in and with Christ is based on LOVE and all things truly GOOD, because GOD is the very Definition, Essence, Origin, Source and Reality of GOOD.  HE HIMself is our GOOD and has made us GOOD. HE HIMself is our true peace, confidence, security, love and everything that man without GOD misses, longs for, desperately seeks and attempts to create himself.

we can have so many unrealistic expectations of what we think that is all supposed to look like, feel like and reveal itself as that we can miss it, even if and when it is right in front of us. 

heart

Submitted by DIGNZ on December 11, 2014 - 10:36am

justin_schiz - December 20, 2014 - 9:15pm
“the unity we have in and with Christ is based on LOVE and all things truly GOOD, because GOD is the very Definition, Essence, Origin, Source and Reality of GOOD. HE HIMself is our GOOD and has made us GOOD. HE HIMself is our true peace, confidence, security, love and everything that man without GOD misses, longs for, desperately seeks and attempts to create himself.” - Dignz It is this truth that has and continues to blow me away every single time I’m confronted with it. It is the only truth there really is. That we are Complete, that we have been FILLED, that ALL has been ACCOMPLISHED —ALREADY!!!—. Even when it comes to things like my art or even just daily life things, realizing that Christ has fulfilled the essence of all my & the world’s demands and goals allows me to walk in absolute CONFIDENCE. God has brought us to a place HIGHER than the most patrician celebrities and most prestigious people could ever imagine going. He has brought us into Rest, where we can finally BE — no more do we have to accomplish, for it has all been done by God ALREADY for us in Christ. When it comes to identity in Christ, and who we are in Him, things can get a little complicated as we attempt to dissect and piece together our biblical ‘facts’ and ‘beliefs’. Are we separate from God? Is God separate from us? Are we technically God, is he technically us? I think all of it is baloney. If anyone out there reading this has studied Judaism, you know of the concept of the Righteous One, that of the Tzaddik. In Hasidic Jewish culture and folklore, the Tzaddik himself is viewed as the very reflection and likeness of God, and they are considered one. In Christ there is only Unity. We have been made the Tzaddikim, the Righteous Ones, we find our identity in Him, and He finds his identity in Us. Christ is the very definition of existence. We cannot live - exist - without each other. God and us who are in Him. This isn’t some mystical belief. Christ is ALL there is, anything else is only half truth. And it blows me away continually how absolutely REAL and how far and deep the truth of Christ is… and is so abjectly weird how nobody else (I’m talking about those of the world) seems to ‘get it’ but us. An orthodox rabbi once told me that “a truth is a truth only if it can withstand the toughest, fiercest scrutiny.” If he only knew! In everyday life, in everything, I’m seeing that our unity in Christ is the only truth there is. The only absolute. And it’s pretty damn incredible and mindblowing and amazing. Love you all. Justin.
Submitted by justin_schiz on December 20, 2014 - 9:15pm

DIGNZ - December 21, 2014 - 2:01pm

blown away WITH you justin!  :) 

Submitted by DIGNZ on December 21, 2014 - 2:01pm

DIGNZ - December 8, 2014 - 9:47am

WORD FROM THE BEGINNING ~ POWER SENT FROM GOD ~ SON BORN OF THE FATHER ~ JESUS HE WAS CALLED  ~ CREATOR AND CREATION JOINED IN ONE

GLORY OF THE HIGHEST ~ HUMBLED BY THE BIRTH ~ LIVED AMONG THE DYING  ~ FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH ~ CAME TO SAVE HIS DYING WORLD

BEHOLD THE GLORY OF THE HOLY ONE  ~ BEHOLD THE GLORY IN THE SON  ~ WORD MADE FLESH HE WALKED AMONG US ~ GOD AND MAN HAS BECOME ONE

COME SEE THE WONDER OF THE AGES  ~ SEE THAT WHICH HAS NOT BEEN KNOWN ~ CHRIST THE WORD STILL WALKS UPON THE EARTH  ~ HE LIVES IN US WHO ARE HIS OWN

WORD FROM THE BEGINNING  ~ POWER SENT FROM GOD  ~ SON BORN OF THE FATHER ~ JESUS HE WAS CALLED  ~ CREATOR AND CREATION JOINED IN ONE

jim minker  dec. 1996

my favorite i think!  i can hear the tune in my head!  wish you could too.  :)  but the words are fantastic all by their lonesome even without the music.  :)

Submitted by DIGNZ on December 8, 2014 - 9:47am

marymc55019 - December 7, 2014 - 9:35pm

“We have been made alive to God in Christ.  We have been brought into union with God through Jesus Christ.” So, the seperation that was there from eating the forbidden fruit, is no longer there through the work of Christ - sounds like a 'whole' NEW person to me! 

I also REALLY enjoyed Sherri's questions!

Submitted by marymc55019 on December 7, 2014 - 9:35pm

Mary

"Christ in You, the Hope"

DIGNZ - December 7, 2014 - 4:28pm

what you shared mr. shovel was wonderful!  :)  enjoyed that very much!  :)

here are some questions usually asked about this particular verse/issue, etc. devil :  were they like God BUT without the knowledge of good and evil?  or was that a part of the lie, too?   it is generally 'accepted' or 'understood' that there was always evil and good, but they were just innocent or naive or ignorant about it.  or perhaps they were just protected from it in that very special garden that GOD created and provided for them.  without the serpent's intervening, would their curiosities eventually lead them out of the Garden?  etc. etc.  another question would be:  does the term 'knowledge' there in this particular verse mean something different than 'intellect' concerning good and evil?

“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5

thank you so very much for bringing this up.  smiley

heart

Submitted by DIGNZ on December 7, 2014 - 4:28pm

luvin - December 7, 2014 - 11:58am

Jim it brings up a solid point of reality. The God of this world would like nothing more than to get your/our mind off the reality that came through Jesus Christ. As you said, we have been joined to Him and are like Him in this world. So this world is spinning to the tune of unbelief in that very reality.[guess who is putting effort into this?]

Why else do thousands of believers struggle so much with the simple Truth of identity by grace? You and I need POWER to comprehend it.

 

Love,

Adam

Submitted by luvin on December 7, 2014 - 11:58am

john benson - December 7, 2014 - 8:38am

VERY TRUE

Submitted by john benson on December 7, 2014 - 8:38am

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Random Shovelquote: Seeking to be justified (view all shovelquotes)

"Seeking to be justified in Christ" is a statement regarding the religious perversion of the satisfaction Christ brought about, for he put an end to that endless search. source