The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood has published a book called Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and on page 73, John Piper and Wayne Grudem write that Adam was ordained as the one responsible for the life of the garden.  The reference is in response to a quote from 1 Timothy 2:14 where Adam is said to have not been deceived. Some take this as a proof that women are more gullible than men and easier to deceive, but Grudem and Piper say that this is not so.  Instead, CBMW brings a new meaning to “not deceived”.  They say “not deceived” means that Adam was not approached by the deceiver.  They write:

If this is the proper understanding, then what Paul meant in 1 Timothy 2:14 was this:  “Adam was not deceived (that is, Adam was not approached by the deceiver and did not carry on direct dealings with the deceiver), but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor (that is, she was the one who took up dealings with the deceiver and was led through her direct interaction with him into deception and transgression).”

Since when does “not deceived” mean that you must have a direct interaction with the deceiver?  There are many false teachers on “Christian” television today, but can we honestly say that since these false teachers are not directly speaking to an individual listener that this means the one who falls hook. line and sinker into their deception is “not deceived” when they believe everything the false teacher says?  That wouldn’t make any sense at all.  Someone can be just as deceived by merely listening the same as the one who is directly targeted.  When scripture says that Adam was “not deceived” it means just that.  Adam was not deceived by the lies spoken by the serpent even though he was with Eve while she was being influenced to believe the lie.

One wonders what is the reason for redefining what “not deceived” actually means?  The reason becomes quite clear as one connects together John Piper’s and Wayne Grudem’s assertions about satan’s knowledge concerning an unrevealed “order” of importance that makes only the male God’s official spokesman and defender thus causing Piper and Grudem to see more in the account of the fall than is revealed in the pages of the bible.

…the point is that when God’s order of leadership is repudiated it brings damage and ruin.  Men and women are both more vulnerable to error and sin when they forsake the order that God has intended.

What is “God’s order of leadership” and how is it “repudiated”?  Apparently satan had a hidden knowledge that caused him to know that Adam was to be approached as he was ordained to be the representative of humanity and ordained as the defender of God.

Satan’s subtlety is that he knew the created order God had ordained for the good of the family, and he deliberately defied it by ignoring the man and taking up his dealings with the woman.  Satan put her in the position of spokesman, leader and defender.

Let’s stop here a minute and ask some questions:

1.  How do we know that satan knew there was a “created order” that God had ordained?  God didn’t make Adam the president-ruler and Eve the vice-president ruler of the earth.  God told them both to rule the earth and subdue it and there is no biblical evidence of an “order” of their rule.  How could satan have known more than God revealed to Adam and his wife?  How come satan knows more about God’s purpose for man than God revealed in the scriptures?

2.  How could satan know about a “created order” for the family when God never made Adam a ruler over Eve?  God did tell Adam that he was to be a watchman over the garden before Eve was created, but he didn’t tell Adam that he was to rule over his wife nor did God tell Adam he was to be her spokesman.  Did God give more information to satan about Adam’s rulership than he gave to man?  Also how could Adam’s command to guard the garden be taken to mean that only Adam was to speak for God?  If God meant that only Adam could be his spokesman, wouldn’t God have said that?

3.  If satan “deliberately defied” God’s ordained spokesman (the man) and instead he spoke directly to Eve in order to trick her into defying her husband’s ordained role of spokesman for the family, how come God never blamed the serpent for his failure to first address the man?  How come Adam did not accuse the serpent of sin for “bypassing” him?  Lastly why did Eve not admit to having been deceived into becoming a “spokesman” for Adam or for God?  Why did she only admit to being deceived into eating the fruit?

The answers to these questions are important especially since Piper and Grudem make such an issue of Adam being the designated leader that they make going past the designated leader to be the initial cause of ruin in the garden.  They also make the bypassing of Adam so important, it becomes an excuse for Adam’s sin.

Men and women are both more vulnerable to error and sin when they forsake the order that God has intended. (My emphasis)

Let’s see if we can re-phrase Piper and Grudem’s argument.

Adam was deceived by the lies of the serpent just as Eve was, but he was considered “not deceived” because his special role as spokesman for mankind, designated leader and defender of God was deliberately bypassed by satan.  Satan’s first temptation was not a lie about God or a temptation to eat the fruit, but it was a temptation for Eve to illegally speak for God when she had never been ordained as a defender of God.  Eve also had never been ordained to make a decision for herself.  When she decided to take the fruit and eat it, she sinned against Adam bringing great “damage and ruin” by forsaking her designated decision-making leader.

Any thoughts?