Genesis 3 Bible Study
Genesis 3 is not just the story of humanity’s fall, it is a spiritual mirror and the first revelation of the Gospel. In this study, we’ll walk through selected verses that expose the human heart, reveal God’s heart of grace, and uncover the gospel patterns hidden right in the moment sin enters the world.
Before we get into it, we highly encourage you read through the chapter on your own first, and have the bible open as you read through the study.
- get those paper cuts!
Verse Breakdown
Genesis 3:1–3 - Twisting God’s Word
“And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said…? And the woman said… ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it…’”
Before Eve ever bites the fruit, something else happens:
God’s Word gets distorted.
Eve adds to God’s command.
God said, “Do not eat.”
Eve replies, “Do not eat… neither shall ye touch it.”
This tiny alteration reveals a massive truth:
The moment we stop knowing what God says about us, we open the door to deception.
The serpent didn’t need to attack Eve’s emotions first, he attacked her grasp of God’s Word.
This is still how spiritual warfare starts today:
God says, "I made you a new creature" (2 Cor 5:17)
But we say, "I am a sinner", "I have to do better" etc.
Clarity of God’s Word saves us.
Confusion destroys us.
Genesis 3:6 - Walking by Sight Instead of Faith
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and… pleasant to the eyes… she took of the fruit…”
Eve stopped walking by faith, and started walking by sight.
What she saw looked good.
What she felt seemed right.
What she desired appeared wise.
Paul writes:
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7)
The world still promises the same illusions:
“This will make you wise.”
“This will satisfy you.”
“This will make life easier.”
Drugs, shortcuts to money, lust, instant gratification. Everything looks good up front but ends in despair.
God’s world begins with darkness and ends with light.
Satan’s world begins with pleasure and ends with death.
Genesis 3:7 - Fig Leaves and Failed Self-Rescue
“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”
Humanity has not changed.
The moment shame enters, we try to fix ourselves.
Fig leaves represent:
- Self-effort
- Image management
- Religious performance
- Denial
We still do this today:
“I’ll get myself together.”
“I just need to try harder.”
“I can fix this on my own.”
But fig leaves never work.
Human effort never heals.
Shame cannot be covered by self-made solutions.
Genesis 3:8–13 - Hiding, Fear, and Blame
Adam and Eve hear God walking and they hide.
Not because God changed, but because they changed.
God asks, “Where art thou?”
Then comes the pattern we all know too well:
Adam blames Eve.
Eve blames the serpent.
Responsibility dissolves.
Shame deepens.
Genesis 3 is a mirror of the human heart:
When we sin, we hide.
When we’re ashamed, we blame.
When we’re afraid, we run.
Genesis 3:14–19 - Consequences and the Curse
God curses the serpent.
He announces consequences for Adam and Eve.
But notice something carefully:
God never curses Adam and Eve themselves.
He curses the serpent and the ground, but not the people.
Even in judgment, mercy flows.
The pain, sweat, and struggle are not punishments designed to destroy us, they are reminders that life without God will never work.
The curse is not just judgment, it’s direction.
It pushes us back toward God.
Genesis 3:21 - God Provides the First Sacrifice
“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
This is one of the most powerful gospel images in the entire Bible.
Adam and Eve make fig leaves.
God makes garments.
Their covering is temporary.
God’s covering is lasting.
Their effort costs nothing.
God’s provision costs a life.
This is the first death in Scripture.
An innocent animal dies so the guilty can be covered.
A substitute takes their place.
Blood is shed so shame can be removed.
This is the Gospel in seed form.
Jesus is the Lamb slain for our covering.
Our works cannot save us.
God must provide the sacrifice.
Gospel Connections
Genesis 3 reveals the Gospel with profound clarity:
Eve misquotes God → We need the true Word made flesh.
Satan deceives → Jesus comes to destroy the works of the devil.
Fig leaves → Human works can’t save.
Animal sacrifice → Jesus dies to covers us with righteousness.
Genesis 3 is not just the fall, it is the blueprint for redemption.
Application for Today
1. Are you living in fig leaves, or God’s covering?
Fig leaves look like:
- excuses
- hiding
- performance
- pretending
- self-improvement without surrender
But God's covering is found only in Christ.
Are you trusting your effort?
Or His sacrifice?
2. What voices are shaping your decisions?
Eve listened to a serpent.
Adam listened to Eve instead of God.
Whose voice carries weight in your life?
- feelings?
- culture?
- fear?
- desire?
- temptation?
Deception begins where Scripture becomes blurry.
Return to clarity.
Return to truth.
3. Are you walking by faith or by sight?
Sight says:
“This feels good.”
"Follow your heart."
“This looks right.”
“No one will know.”
Faith says:
“If God said so, so shall it be.”
4. Are you hiding from God?
Shame always pushes us to hide.
Grace always invites us to come near.
God is still asking,
“Where are you?”
He doesn't condemn you away, He invites you back.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8:1
Conclusion
Genesis 3 is not just the moment humanity fell, it’s the moment God began to reveal His heart of redemption.
We see ourselves in Adam and Eve: hiding, blaming, self-covering, deceived.
But we see God’s heart even more clearly: pursuing, questioning, covering, sacrificing.
The Gospel doesn’t start in Matthew.
It starts in the garden.
