We often imagine God as a harsh, distant, or easily disappointed dictator. But that picture doesn’t come from God himself. It’s not how his Word reveals him.

In fact, that picture comes from our sin.

In the Garden, Satan introduced the idea that God has bad intentions towards us. In the form of a serpent he asked Eve:

Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’? (Genesis 3:1)

But that question is obviously wrong. It is a blatant misquote. Eve was bound to spot the error—so why did Satan bother saying it?

Because, as Genesis tells us, Satan was crafty. The surface meaning of the question is not what was important, but rather the impression of God that it gave her. Satan’s question paints God as more harsh, more restrictive, more punishing than he really is. Satan wasn’t deceiving Eve by simply misquoting God. He was deceiving Eve by subtly introducing a picture of God as stricter than he really is.

And that deception worked.

That is what leads Eve to distrust God, which leads to eating the fruit. Because when she corrects Satan, her words reveal that the picture of God as stricter than he is has begun to take root.

“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” (Genesis 3:2-3)

Eve quotes God almost perfectly, except for this extra rule about not touching the tree.

That’s what leads her to waver in her confidence that God’s Word really is what’s best for her. And that’s why she looks at the tree, and decides to make her mind up for herself. And that is how the first sin came to be.

The problem we all have now is that we all naturally inherit this suspicion of God and his motives. We think God is a bad person. And that’s why we don’t enjoy life with our maker.

But the good news is this: God is good. And so he doesn’t leave us in our suspicion and sin. Because he loves us, he sent his Son to die for us, so that we can have eternal life, which is enjoying restored relationship with him. And he gives us what his Son has done for us through the Word of his Gospel.

If you live near Greater Manchester, you can come receive that Gospel at Manchester Lutheran Church every Sunday. Join us at 10:45am for coffee and 11:00am for the service: https://mcrlt.ch/sundays/

If you live outside Greater Manchester, you can receive that Gospel online with the Confessional Lutheran Church every Wednesday at 6:00pm: https://lutheran.ch/online-service/