hopefully Onesimus

Pt6 KNOWING AND USING WHAT GOD HAS SAID/YOUR BIBLE

"Ave Christus, morituri te salutamus! "

The text being discussed is below;
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden"?' The woman said to the serpent, '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." ' " (Genesis 3:1-3/NASB)
In order to understand the passage and how it relates to the topic of knowing and using God's Word the following questions were asked;

Was Eve deliberately adding to God's word?
Was she simply "interpreting" what God had said?
Was she simply repeating what was given to her second hand?
Or did she not accurately remember what God or Adam said?

In previous posts it was determined she was repeating what was said to her by Adam as it is highly unlikely Eve was "deliberately adding to", "interpreting", and/or "taking liberties with" God's word (see 1 Timothy 2:13,14 and a brief explanation here). Also, it was determined that Eve would have not forgotten what was said to her by Adam as God created her perfect (like Adam) with a perfect mind/brain (like Adam) and consequently a perfect memory (like Adam).
Yet Eve repeating what Adam said does not necessitate the "consequence of Eve not following God", i.e. sin. It does reflect her relationship with Adam and God. So;

How does this reflect her relationship with Adam, and
how does this reflect on her relationship with God?

To answer question one is simple; it first appears Eve's relationship with Adam was one of trust (eventually her actions show otherwise). The answer for question two is also just as simple; originally Eve appears to demonstrate a trust/faith in God and what He said, but again her actions show something different. One might argue that Eve did not hear the command directly from God (as was pointed out in an earlier post), but obviously Eve believed Adam was speaking for God and repeating what He/God said. Notice the opening part of the question posed to Eve by the serpent/ Satan;
"Has God indeed said...?" (Genesis 3:1/NKJV)
This shows us two things;

Eve believed Adam was speaking for God when she received the command second hand. Otherwise she would have responded to the question differently. Instead she takes it at face value. Furthermore, the serpent/Satan would have simply asked something like; "Did Adam say?" not "Has God indeed said?"
The serpent's/Satans intent was to challenge God's words, not Adams.

In addition, Eve's response (Genesis 3:2, 3) to the question shows this and also shows;

Adams relationship to God and role as spiritual leader; if 1 and 2 above are true and Eve did receive the command second hand then her response points to her belief that Adam was speaking on behalf of God when she received the command. This lends credence to the man being the spiritual leader and head before the fall.

    Some argue that Adam and Eve were created equals and that God did not intend for Adam to be the leader. They state that mans headship is a part of the curse after the fall and that man is "saddled" with the responsibility of leadership. They also wrongly conclude that Christ's redemptive work changed the relationship of the man and woman. Christ' redemptive work did not change the realtionship, but restored it back to what it was suppose to be. Up until the cross and resurrection the relationship of man and woman was/is marred by sin. They wrongly draw this conclusion* from Genesis 3:16b;
"Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” (NKJV)
    It is true that Adam and Eve were/are created equals, and consequently men and women are created equal. God's plan/order was and still is for man to have headship and authority in the home and society. This has nothing to do with equality or our standing before God rather it has to do with how God designed men and women, their abilities and their roles. The idea of one being lesser then the other is not Biblical or Christian. So, one of the things shown in the fall of man is that God's order/plan for relationships between man and woman was not followed. Matthew Henry and John Calvin add additional light in their commentaries of Genesis 3:16;
"If man had not sinned, he would always have ruled with wisdom and love; if the woman had not sinned, she would always have obeyed with humility and meekness." (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary of the Bible)
"Thus the woman, who had perversely exceeded her proper bounds, is forced back to her own position. She had, indeed, previously been subject to her husband, but that was a liberal and gentle subjection; now, however, she is cast into servitude." (John Calvin's Commentary on Genesis 3:16)
    Again, it appears all roads lead back to Adam.

*NOTE; by applying the same logic we would also have to conclude that man was never meant to work as part of the curse states;
"...In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17b/NKJV)
"In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..." (Genesis 3:19a/NKJV)
However, we know that work was part of God's original plan for man as Genesis 2:15 states;
"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." (NKJV)

"Simul iustus et peccator"*
*Martin Luther