A.The early church at Corinth had many problems, including a vulnerability to the deception of false teachers.
1.Notice Paul’s concern in 2Corinthians 11:2-4:
For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
2.The Corinthian Christians bore "beautifully” the false teachings of those who corrupted the gospel when they should have rejected these teachings outright (consider Gal. 1:6-9).They were easily taken in by these false teachers, whom Paul described in 2Corinthians 11:13-15:
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
B.For our present lesson, let us learn to guard against our own vulnerability to deception by considering the reference Paul made to "the serpent [who] deceived Eve by his craftiness.”
II.THE SERPENT’S CRAFTINESS WITH EVE
A.In Genesis 3:1, the Scripture states that "the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.”
1.The serpent is clearly identified in Revelation 12:9 – "And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
2.To say that the serpent was crafty means that he was cunning and tricky.He used a subtle approach that concealed his true intentions from his victim.
B.Notice how the serpent was crafty with Eve.
1.At the time the serpent approached Eve, there was no fear between man and beast, for there were no predators (Gen. 1:29-30; 9:2-3).Eve had no reason to suspect the serpent of posing danger.
2.The serpent asked a question that was seemingly harmless, but it introduced an opportunity for Eve to doubt God.
a.In Genesis 3:1, he asked, "Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”This question was not asked in order to receive the answer, for Satan already knew the answer.It was asked to mislead Eve into doubt.
b.Eve’s answer was a correct and conservative interpretation of God’s commandment from Genesis 2:16-17.She said, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die’” (Gen. 3:2-3).
3.The serpent Satan replied to Eve’s answer with a lie that was morally wrong but crafted in a way to appear accurate.
a.Notice his answer in Genesis 3:4-5 – "You surely will not die!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.”
b.Concerning this answer and the general work of Satan from the beginning of time, Jesus said:
"He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
c.The serpent’s claims may have been legally accurate in a sense, for Eve continued to live on the earth and she knew good and evil after she ate the forbidden fruit.However, Satan had deceived her by his craftiness, led her to disobey God, and produced in her spiritual death (Gen. 3:13-15; Rom. 6:23a; 1Tim. 2:14).
4.The serpent’s craftiness led Eve to look on the forbidden fruit in a different way.
a.Before Satan approached Eve, she was convinced to stay away from the fruit for fear of God’s wrath.After Satan spoke to her, she "saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise” (Gen. 3:6).
b.Notice that the serpent appealed to Eve on two points: she would not die by eating the fruit, and eating the fruit would make her wise.She would not have thought this about the fruit without Satan’s deceit.
III.THE SERPENT’S CRAFTINESS WITH CHRISTIANS
A.Our experience with Satan is much the same as Eve’s experience with the serpent.
1.Satan works to deceive us into thinking that he is not a threat or even that he does not exist.
a.Eve did not defend herself against Satan, and Satan also seeks to catch us with our guard down.He may appear as an "angel of light,” but it is truly a ruthless predator.
b.We need to heed the warning of 1Peter 5:8 – "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
2.As the serpent did with Eve, Satan seeks opportunities to create doubt in the minds of Christians.
a.With Eve, Satan used a question to create doubt, but he may use anything that causes us to have second thoughts about God’s word.When we begin challenging God’s word by asking, "Indeed, has God said…?” then Satan is gaining influence on us.
b.When Satan creates doubt in us, he destroys our faith (Matt. 14:31; 21:21).Doubt renders our prayers ineffective and causes us to become unstable in our ways (Jas. 1:6-8).
3.Satan still crafts his lies in ways to make them appear accurate.
a.Satan’s greatest weapon is deceit, and he wields it with great power in this world (John 8:44; 1John 5:19; Rev. 12:9).
b.Deceit comes in many forms – outright lies, half-truths, misleading appearances, evil influence, appeals to weakness, temptations, logical fallacies, peer pressure, etc.
c.In our time, the world is filled with these crafty lies from Satan in the form of so-called science, politics, popular media, academia, and false religion.
4.Satan’s craftiness leads us to look on sin in ways contrary to what God would have us to do.
a.The serpent aroused Eve’s interest in the forbidden fruit on the promise of wisdom, but Eve went even further when she lusted for the fruit’s appearance and the pleasure of eating it.
b.Satan needs only to turn our heads long enough to get a glimpse of a forbidden thing, and then he allows our lust to do the rest (Jas. 1:14-15).
B.Paul’s specific concern for the Corinthian Christians is still a concern for us today.
1.Satan’s craftiness puts our minds in danger of being "led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2Cor. 11:3).
a.Just as it was in Corinth, today there are many false apostles and deceitful workers who seek to corrupt the plain teaching of the gospel of Christ.
b.We must be on guard against such false teachers and all of their devices that complicate, confuse, and corrupt the gospel by their unscriptural additions and unauthorized subtractions from the word of God.
2.There is an especially strong appeal from Satan when he promises to make us wise like God.
a.We may want to become wise, but sin and deceit and not valid paths to wisdom.
b.Many Christians are tempted to look on the wisdom of the world and those who teach it as "desirable to make one wise.”Because they want to appear wise, they are taken captive by "philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Col. 2:8).
c.Of course, God offers us the true path to wisdom, which is through the fear of the Lord (Prov. 9:10), His revealed word (1Cor. 2:6-13), and faithful prayer (Jas. 1:5-8) in Christ (1Cor. 1:30).
IV.CONCLUSION
A.The crafty devil has not changed since he worked to ruin Eve in the garden of Eden.He still has the same purposes and uses the same methods as he did then.Therefore, let us be on guard at all times.
B.Have you accepted Satan as your personal adversary?When you become a Christian, you enter into a spiritual war of resistance against the devil, so you had better get your armor on (Eph. 6:10-17).
