In order to pollute man’s perfect Godly spirit with the spirit of deception and lies and death, Satan presents God to Eve as the liar and deceiver of mankind. First, he twisted God’s word by asking Eve: “yea hath God said you shall not eat of every tree of the Garden?” (Genesis 3:1). God did not say they shall not eat of “every tree of the garden” but warned them of a specific tree – the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”.
Also, contrary to God’s word, Satan told Eve, that she” shall not surely die” if she ate of the fruit; but that “[her] eyes shall be opened, and [she] shall be as god, knowing good and evil”. (Genesis 3:4)
2.1. DEVIL’S LIES BRING DEATH
Despite the relationship of trust and truth which God intended of mankind, Adam and Eve did not believe God’s word of truth. Rather, they chose to believe Satan, ‘the Spirit of Lies’, over God and ate of the forbidden fruit. Consequently, they fell out of the Grace of God and came under the curse of death (Genesis 3:6 &11;16-19 &23). And although they remained alive physically, they died spiritually. Their human spirit acquired a lying nature and they became subject to the Spirit of Lies.
This explains why Jesus describes Satan as “a murderer from the beginning, [that] abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own [not of God]: for he is a liar, and the father of it”. And of those who yield to the Spirit of Lies or who do not believe in God’s word, he says: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do”. (John 8:44). Therefore, lying lips are an abomination to the Lord (Proverbs 12:22; 6:16-19).
2.2 DEVIL’S WAY: LUSTS & LIES
Now why did Eve believe the devil’s way of lies, considering that God made them in His “image” and after His “likeness” as “gods”and “sons of the most High God”, and gave them “dominion” over the earth. (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 82:6; John 10:34-35).
She did so because she lusted at the thought of her eyes opening, ‘to be as god’ and to know good and evil. With the desire conceived, she “saw that the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes” and she desired the tree to make her “wise”. (Genesis 3:4-6; Romans 6:12 & 21). In other words, her desire to satisfy her lust to acquire ‘knowledge of good and evil’ and be as God, presented greater appeal to her than to believe God’s word of truth. Thus, it is commonplace for people to resort to, or believe in lies to gain an edge or an advantage in fulfilling a lustful desire they may seek, rather than the truth.
3. THE OPPORTUNITY OF CHOICE: TRUTH OR LIES
