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, 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. I Tim 2:14 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. Here, a new emotion appears, shame comes on the scene, 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. Scripture reminds us that when we sin it is because of our own lust...RESPONSIBILITY FOR SIN LIES WITH THE SINNER. Eve was accountable.
Genesis 3: 14-24 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…And, 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 deal 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 killing of an animal for clothing. First blood sacrifice was 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!