The document provides an overview of spiritual warfare based on the biblical account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It summarizes that God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge but the serpent tempted Eve, contradicting God's word. Eve then ate the fruit and gave some to Adam. As a result, their eyes were opened, they felt shame, and hid from God. When God questions them, they blame each other. God then curses the serpent and humanity. The document explains that Adam's sin caused spiritual death for all humanity and discusses how believers now face spiritual warfare and must choose to follow God and the Holy Spirit rather than live according to human desires.

1. Spiritual Warfare – Part 1
All NKJV unless otherwise specified
What happened in the garden?
Genesis 2 v15-17
15
Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16
And the LORD God commanded
the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17
“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Some points to note:
 The commandment was given by God to the man, Adam.
 God gave man the abundance of the garden from which to eat, except just one tree.
 The fruit of the tree was ‘the knowledge of good and evil’.
 If the man was to eat of this fruit, on that day he shall surely die.
 Keep the above in mind as we further explore the topic……..
Genesis 3 v1-3
1
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman,
“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the
fruit of the trees of the garden; 3
“but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not
eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
 By the serpents question “Has God indeed said……” was Satan’s attempt to get Eve to doubt God’s word. It is an
attack on the reliability of God’s word.
 Eve responds to the serpent, correctly, by relaying the exact command that God gave Adam. So we know from this
that Adam had instructed Eve not to eat of this tree. She was aware that eating of this tree was forbidden by God.
Genesis 3 v 4-6
4
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with
her, and he ate.
 Now Satan speaks the first lie to Eve, by saying “You will not surely die”. This is now a complete contradiction of the
word of God. It is a head-on attack on the word of God. Satan begins to sow more seeds of doubt with Eve.
 Satan then backs this up with a rationale………a selling point if you wish………He says that she can be like God.
His appeal is that if she would eat of this, there could be a more glorious existence for her. His appeal is that God is
with-holding something from them. Indirectly, he points to God as being a deceptive God, who has something to hide
from them.
 Satan also mixes a bit of truth in with the lie. He twists the story.
 He gets Eve to take her eyes off the abundance already provided for her and to focus on what she does not have. The
lure is for her to become inward focused.
 Eve was tempted by all 3 categories of sin, as mentioned in 1 John 2v16 16
For all that is in the world—the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
 Eve then takes the next step – she gratifies her desire. She yields to temptation.
 Eve then takes on the nature of the tempter (temptress) and she offers the fruit to Adam. She immediately begins to
propagate the sin further.
 Adam took the fruit and he ate………….
Genesis 3 v 7-8
7
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and
made themselves coverings. 8
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and
Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Points to note:
 The eyes of both of them were opened. They looked in the natural and no longer in the spiritual. Up until that point,
they lived a life completely led by the spirit. They were now being led by the flesh (this will be explained towards the
end of the notes).

2.  They became aware all of a sudden of their sin, and that they were naked – naturally as well as spiritually (their sin
was exposed).
 They tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves (from an earlier sermon, only shed blood of a sacrifice can atone
(cover) sin.
 They felt guilt, which manifested in them hiding from God. Humankind is hiding from God every second of every
day. Whether people are aware of it or not, they are hiding from God. By coming to God, you have to confess your sin
and repent (turn away) from sin. People don’t want to make this choice. It is easier to choose to believe that there is
no God (hence easing their consciences from the thought of a judgment).
Genesis 3 v9-12
9
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10
So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I
was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from
the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13
And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman
said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
 God called “Where are you?” It is not that God did not know where Adam was, for God knows all. Rather God was
asking Adam “Where are you?” God asks this same question to all of humankind who are hiding from Him “Where
are you?” Stop hiding…….come to God.
 God then asks Adam the question “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
God’s question to Adam was for Adam to own up and admit this to be the case – to confess his sin.
 How did Adam respond? He did not answer God’s question as required, but tried to shift the blame. He first blamed
Eve for giving him the fruit, and then blamed God because he said that God gave him the woman. So in others words,
he is saying “The fault is anybody’s except mine!!!!!”
 Eve was not willing to acknowledge blame either, and she blamed the serpent.
God hands out judgment on the serpent, Eve and Adam in Genesis 3 v14-19.
Salient points to note:
In handing out judgment on the serpent, God says in Genesis 3 v15 “15
And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
 Enmity – Oxford Dictionary definition – Noun – “The state of being an enemy; hostility”
 God says that Satan and his seed will always be enemies of Jesus Christ (the Seed of the woman). This is also
indicative of the fact that since we are the body of Christ (the church) here on earth, Satan and the body of Christ will
be enemies of one another.
 God also promises prophetically that Jesus would crush the head of the serpent, and that the serpent would bruise the
heel of Jesus. This happened upon the cross of calvary.
 There is also a deeper meaning to this -----when the Israelites (the seed of God) went through the desert, the
Amalekites (seed of the serpent) attacked the stragglers, the ones who were slow at keeping up with the main camp.
This is also symbolic of Christians who do not live an obedient lifestyle (or who do not live close to God). Satan has
greater access to bruise these ‘stragglers’. Some of them were killed because they fell too far behind.
In handing out judgment on Adam, God said in Genesis 3v19 19
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, Till you return
to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
 We see that Adam did not immediately drop dead. But then this would at face value seem to contradict Genesis 2v17
which states 17
“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
you shall surely die.” But Adam did not physically die that day. What does this mean?
 In above judgement in Genesis 3v19, God refers to the physical death of the body.
 Genesis 2v17 refers to spiritual death.

3. The three parts of a human being
We are made up of a body (flesh), a soul, and a spirit.
Body – the physical body in which we live. It is the tangible (visible) part of a person. This is also referred to as the flesh.
Soul – the intellect, thinking, emotions, feelings, the part where decisions are made. This is invisible, but you are aware of it.
Spirit – This is the incorruptible part of our nature. This is our direct link with God (the God nature in us). This is not
referring to the Holy Spirit, but rather our own personal spirit.
1 Corinthians 15 v21
21
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all
shall be made alive.
 When Adam sinned, he brought judgment to all of his seed. His spirit was dead. He was now led completely by the
flesh. Whilst is may seem unfair, it is important to note that a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. The very sinful nature
of Adam was passed down through the blood to every human being that ever lived on earth.
 We are born into sin. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
 It required a new Seed, a Godly Seed not corrupted by the fallen human nature of Adam.
 Since the blood of a child is passed on from the father, it was necessary for the pure Godly Seed to come upon the
virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit (bypassing Adam’s seed). This fulfilled part of the prophecy in Genesis 3v15.
 So just as it may seem unfair that death came to all mankind by Adam, it is by the grace of God (a gift – not earned)
that life came to all mankind who believe in Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15 v44-49
44
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45
And so it is
written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam (Jesus) became a life-giving spirit. 46
However, the
spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47
The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man
is the Lord from heaven. 48
As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so
also are those who are heavenly. 49
And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly Man.
When we believe in Jesus Christ, our spirit which was dead now becomes alive. We are born again (born of the Spirit). This
was covered in a separate sermon. But now the warfare starts. It takes less of the devils resources to keep prisoners (the lost)
than it takes to advance on the front line of battle (against the Christians). Therefore once we become born again, we come
under severe spiritual attack. Just as Satan had an objective to cause Adam and Eve to fall, he has an objective to make all
reborn Christians fall. The warfare is between living after the flesh and living after the spirit.
Galatians 5 v16-25
16
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18
But if you are
led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, 20
idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,
heresies, 21
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time
past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24
And those who are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
 The above verses point to the comparison between the flesh and the Spirit. We are all presented with choices to make
on a daily basis. These choices happen in the soul.
 We are to crucify the flesh with its passion and desires. We are to be led by the Spirit of God, so that our spirit
dominates our soul which dominates our flesh. God is there to help you live this lifestyle on a daily basis as we draw
close to Him (don’t be a straggler and don’t be lukewarm).
 We need to take hold of the promised land and fight the giants therein. Remember, God goes ahead of us if we choose
to take on these giants. We are led by the Spirit. We must choose to follow.