Reading: Gen 1:26-31, 2:1-16
1. Churches and Professing Christians today are full of the worldview of the World
a. In survey after survey, we find in our land a strange and troubling ignorance of the Truth
b. Worldview Problems Among Professing Christians
(1) The Ignorant Worldview—Ignorance of Truth—not an incidental or accidental ignorance, but a planned ignorance, and a denunciation of those who seek out the Truth in the Bible so that we may teach it so that people may apply it to their lives
(2) The Anti-Bible Worldview—Acceptance of worldly ideas that contradict the Bible
(a) Pro-choice
(b) Gay Rights
(c) Whether or not “gayness” is even a sin
(3) The Accommodation Worldview—Accommodation with sin—we know how we are living is wrong, but…
(4) The Compromise Worldview—avoid conflict in any realm of life.
(5) The Carnal Security Worldview—
c. The Puzzling Positive
(1) On the one hand, there are more great Bible teachers in the US than perhaps at any time
(2) Thousands of pastors and devoted believers go to hear MacArthur, Piper, and other great men of God
(3) There are more Bible study aids available than at any time—
(4) But note, there is also rampant heresy. MacArthur and Piper are both over 60—where is the crop of fresh Sons of the Prophets?
d. The Nagging Negative—heresy is rampant, and “anything goes” in the minds of too many young men of God..
2. Man Was Created In God’s Image, Male and Female— Gen 1:26-27
a. First, this passage takes care of the canard that Jesus never spoke on these things. Mat 19
b. We are created in God’s spiritual image
(1) God, in His Essence, is Spirit, He does not have a body—John 4:24
(2) If God is Spirit, then what does it mean when we say that we are created in His image?
(a) It means that we are spirit in our essence as well.
(b) We have physical bodies and a physical existence, but each one of us is also possessed of an inner self which is spirit.
(c) Eccl 12:7, Luke 23:46, Rom 8:16, Phil 1:23-24, Phil 3:3, Heb 12:23
c. We are created in God’s image Mentally. We are thinking, rational, creatures.
d. We are created in God’s image Emotionally. We have feelings. We can be in joy or grief; we know anguish and delight.
e. We are created in God’s image Morally—we have the right to make choices, and within the limitations of our ability, we have the wherewithal to make choices.
f. We were created in God’s image authoritatively— “…and let them have dominion…” We were created to have authority, to rule and reign as God’s stewards.
g. We were created in God’s image creatively—human beings create! Creativity is part of every human heart. Some create with their hands, some with their minds, some with all their faculties, but we are creative creatures.
h. God’s image in us has been marred by the Fall, but the traces can still be seen
.
(1) Our minds have been corrupted by sin. Rom 8:7-8
(2) Our emotions have been corrupted by sin. Jer 17:9
(3) Our wills are bound by sin. John 5:40
(4) We have both neglected and abused the natural tendency to dominate.
(a) Failure to lead or be led. Eli—1 Sam
(1 Sam 1:12-14) "And it happened, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli watched her mouth. 13 Now Hannah spoke in her heart; only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk. 14 So Eli said to her, "How long will you be drunk? Put your wine away from you!""
(1 Sam 1:17) "Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition which you have asked of Him.""
(1 Sam 1:25) "Then they slaughtered a bull, and brought the child to Eli."
(1 Sam 2:11-12) "Then Elkanah went to his house at Ramah. But the child ministered to the LORD before Eli the priest. 12 Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD."
(1 Sam 2:20) "And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, "The LORD give you descendants from this woman for the loan that was given to the LORD." Then they would go to their own home."
(1 Sam 2:22) "Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting."
(1 Sam 2:27) "Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?"
(1 Sam 3:1-2) "Then the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. 2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,"
(1 Sam 3:5-6) "So he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." And he said, "I did not call; lie down again." And he went and lay down. 6 Then the LORD called yet again, "Samuel!" So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." He answered, "I did not call, my son; lie down again.""
(1 Sam 3:8-9) "And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. Then he arose and went to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you did call me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD had called the boy. 9 Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place."
(1 Sam 3:12) ""In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end."
(1 Sam 3:14-16) ""And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." 15 So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son!" And he answered, "Here I am.""
(1 Sam 4:4) "So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God."
(1 Sam 4:11) "Also the ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died."
(1 Sam 4:13-16) "Now when he came, there was Eli, sitting on a seat by the wayside watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told it, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, "What does the sound of this tumult mean?" And the man came quickly and told Eli. 15 Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were so dim that he could not see. 16 Then the man said to Eli, "I am he who came from the battle. And I fled today from the battle line." And he said, "What happened, my son?""
(1 Sam 4:18) "Then it happened, when he made mention of the ark of God, that Eli fell off the seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. And he had judged Israel forty years."
(b) Failure to lead well
(c) Dominion perverted into oppression.
(5) We have abused our creativity
(a) Evil intentions
(b) Evil ideas
(c) Evil inventions with evil purposes
(d) Evil, man-made religion.
i. So, we are fallen creatures, made in the image of God, but containing a marred and distorted version of that image.
3. Man Was Created to Fill the Earth—1:28
a. We were blessed, male and female together— Gen 1:27-28 "… male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, …”
(1) God blessed marriage
(2) “Who gives this woman?” God said, “I do.”
(3) God blessed man and woman, He blessed heterosexual marriage, He blessed ONLY heterosexual marriage, and He blessed them for a purpose, to be fruitful and multiply.
(4) Do you want to know Jesus’ views on marriage?—Check this out! (Mat 19:4-5) "… 4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' 5 "and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'…”
b. We were blessed to procreate and replenish the earth— Gen 1:27-28
(1) Fill the earth—a spatial term—it means what it says
(2) God loves people, and He wanted the Earth filled with people.
(3) God loves babies, He loves children, He loves life—it is evil and Satanic to hate children, to hate life, to abort and kill, and maim, and torture. It is the height of ungodliness!
c. We were blessed to subdue the earth itself—clear it, till it, tame it, use it, restore it, manage it—we are to be the masters of the soil— Gen 1:28 “… fill the earth, and subdue it…have dominion …”
(1) We were to master the Earth—tame the wilds, explore the reaches, domesticate the animals, control the natural order.
(a) Note that when man fell, a special curse was put on this aspect of humanity.
(b) The Ground Cursed, the natural order upset.—Gen 3:17. Rom 8:19-23
(2) We were to be the stewards over the Earth, using it wisely and properly.
d. We were blessed to have a special kind of dominion: over all the other creatures of this earth— Gen 1:28
(1) Man is the dominant Creature.
(2) We are not animals, we are the masters of the animals.
(3) We are not part of the animal kingdom, we are the stewards over the animal kingdom.
(4) Animals should not be treated cruelly, since they are God’s property; they are not to be wasted or needlessly slaughtered, but we are to use them as God told us to use them, and we are to have the dominion over them.
4. God Provided For Man—1:28-29
a. God Provided A Job: chief manager of Earth—
b. God Provided Food—Gen 1:29-30
(1) Man was originally a vegetarian.
(2) There was no sin as yet, there was no blood shed or which needed to be shed.
(3) The first hunter was God, who first slew animals to clothe fallen man—Gen 3:21
(4) God Provided A Place to Live—Gen 2:8
5. Creation Was Pleasing to God— 1:31
a. Creation, in its original form, was good!
(1) Everything was good.
(2) The Angelic beings were good.
(3) The created order, the plant and animal kingdoms, were good.
(4) Mankind was good.
(5) There was no sin, no disharmony
b. Creation was pleasing to God
c. There was no Hell!
(1) Mat 25:41 ""Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:"
(2) We don’t know when the place of eternal punishment was created, but it was created for fallen angels.
6. The First Law—
a. The Law was in Two Parts
(1) Part 1—the positive Laws—Gen 1:28-29
(a) Are these Laws?
(b) These are commands
(c) It is possible to disobey these commands
(d) In fact, it was violation of these commands which led to the confusion of languages at Babel.
(2) Part 2: the Negative law, the only “shall not…” Gen 2:16-17
b. God gave the one negative law, perhaps as a test. Why did God do that? There are many speculations, but no biblical answers.
c. Man violated that one Law
7. Applications—Adam’s Instructions Today
a. The image of God continues, though marred by sin.
b. The Dominion of man over the Earth continues, though perverted into oppression and misuse.
c. The basic institution (the family) set up by God is under attack as never before:
(1) Free and easy divorce
(2) Free and promiscuous fornication and adultery.
(3) Perversion masquerading as a “right.”
(4) And now, even paedophiles are taken to be “normal.”
8. The Command to be fruitful and multiply continues, though many societies are murdering babies at a faster rate than they are having babies.
9. The Law of the Tree today—
a. The law of the Tree is abrogated because we are no longer in the Garden. We don’t even know what kind of tree it was.
(1) The temptations that arose from that Law are still with us, and are the heart of all temptations— 1 John 2:16
b. The effects of the violation of that Law continue with us—Rom 5:12, 1 Cor 15:22, 1 Tim 2:11-14
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