“The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness” (Genesis 3:6-7 NLT).

Genesis 3 tells the story of what the poet, John Milton called, “Paradise Lost.” For Adam and Eve gave in to the three-fold temptation of eating the forbidden fruit. Notice the three observations that Eve makes of the forbidden fruit: 1) It was “beautiful” to the eyes, 2) it looked like it would taste “delicious,” and 3) the serpent had promised it would make her wise “like God.” At the very “moment” of eating the fruit, humanity’s innocence was lost and so was paradise.

The apostle John recognized this three-fold weakness of humanity. He wrote, “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world” (1 John 2:16).

Yet, Jesus Christ, as the “second Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45-49), has overcome this three-fold temptation (see Matt. 4:1-11). So, that when we are found in Christ, we are overcomers too (1 John 5:5).