What was the serpent’s lie?

Satan is often far more subtle than people realize

Ask most Christians the question, “what was the serpent’s lie to Eve in the garden of Eden?” and the response you will receive is, “you will be like God.” This is clearly a very tempting proposition, the same prideful lust for which most understand Satan to have been cast down. Perhaps you’re even thinking, “well, yeah…that is the lie!” Is it? Let’s go to the text.

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.’” The serpent said to the woman, “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.

Genesis 3:1-5

Well, the serpent certainly did say, “you will be like God,” and this is where most people stop. There is more, however, in these subtle, seductive words. First, what was God’s warning  to Adam?

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Genesis 2:15-17

If you wonder why, in mentioning this warning that I singled out Adam, based on the order of events in Genesis 2, Eve was not yet created when Adam received this warning. Despite this, Eve, from her recitation of it in answer to the serpent, is still clearly aware of the warning in detail.

Notice in the Genesis 2 passage that God says, “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die,” and in tempting Eve, the serpent says, “you surely will not die!” Is God a liar? If not, and we know He is not, then “you surely will not die” is surely a lie.

Well, ok, but what about the temptation to be like God? How surprised would you be to learn that this part of the seduction was not a lie? What? Heresy! Well, no, it’s not only not heresy, it’s Scripture. This is an important lesson in context. Let’s look again at the serpent’s enticement:

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.

Notice the piece I highlighted: “knowing good and evil.” Perhaps this seems like a silly distinction, but it is rather important. In God’s original warning, He did call the tree the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. “So what?” you say? “That still doesn’t mean saying they would be like God true.” Here’s the bit most people miss:

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”

Genesis 3:22

Notice that God here asserts that the man “has become like one of US, knowing good and evil.” Clearly, “like one of us” means “like God.” So, God Himself confirms that, having eaten of the tree, the man and woman had become like God, knowing good and evil, just as the serpent averred would occur.

Context and consistency are critical to understanding Scripture. We must look at the whole of a text, not take bits and pieces on their own, and corroborate texts with the rest of Scripture in order to develop a proper understanding. That old serpent has not changed his ways; his lies are always insidious, inviting, and infused with just enough truth to create the illusion of validity. We must always be on our guard, and always allow Scripture to interpret Scripture if we are to avoid falling into a trap.