Lesson 2 - Senior
Memory Verse
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Psalm 8:4).
Cross References
I. The Crowning Work of God's Creation
1. Man was created in God's own image and was made master over God's handiwork, [GEN:1:26-28]; [PS:8:4-6]; [ACT:17:28-29].
2. The Lord had provided food bountifully for both man and beast, [GEN:1:29-30]; [PS:37:25]; [PS:145:15]; [ISA:30:23]; [ISA:33:16].
3. God's creation was pronounced perfect, and He sanctified the day of rest, [GEN:1:31]; [GEN:2:1-3]; [EXO:20:11].
II In The Garden of Eden
1. Moisture was sent upon the earth causing the plants and herbs to grow, [GEN:2:4-6]; [PS:104:14].
2. God planted the Garden of Eden and placed man therein, [GEN:2:8-15]; [ISA:51:3].
3. Man had the privilege of eating of all trees of the Garden except one, [GEN:2:16-17].
III A Helpmate for Adam
1. Adam named all the creatures of the earth, [GEN:2:18] 20.
2. God provided a helpmate for Adam, [GEN:2:21-23].
3. The law of man and wife was ordained of God in the Garden of Eden, [GEN:2:24-25]; [MAT:19:4-6].
Notes
Last Creative Act
Man was God's last creative act. Not until the rest of the creation was completed and the earth was put in readiness to receive its master, was man created "The house," says one of the Bible students, "was builded, furnished, and amply stored, by the time the destined 'tenant' was ready to occupy it." The divine order of creation leads to the conviction that all God's handiwork was brought into being for man's particular benefit.
"God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." (The plural pronouns "us" and "our," occurring in this verse, imply that the creation of man was the joint work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.) No such sublime words were spoken concerning the rest of God's creatures. Of them it was said that God created them each "after his kind."
"After Our Likeness"
Man is the only creation who was after God's likeness. "God is a Spirit," and to bear His image means to be like Him spiritually, as the Apostle Paul explains, "which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" [EPH:4:24]). Thus the Word of God affirms that as man was created in the beginning, there was a dividing line between him and the beast, and what marked the difference was the image of God implanted in the soul of man. God breathed into man the breath of life, and man became a living soul, and that soul never dies. Man has a God - consciousness -- that no animal has. The spirit of man goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast goeth downward [ECC:3:21]). The doctrine, therefore, of the evolutionist who claims that man evolved from the beast, or even from a much lower order of life, is a false teaching, a profane denial Of God's Word, and a debasing theory without foundation, which would rob man of the stately position for which God designed him in the beginning.
The evolutionist cannot satisfactorily explain the origin of life. He speaks in vain of "spontaneous generation," "accidental chemical combination," and "seeds of like from other planets"; but in the light of God's Word, we must reject all these. There is not the slightest evidence that living matter could arise from nonliving matter, although diligent efforts and numerous experiments have been made to try to prove otherwise. If life could be produced by man, then the evolutionists would say they had proved their theory to be true that live came from dead matter and was not created by God.
Source of Life
Granted that live exists, the theorist has bunt great air castles of supposed happenings and reactions; but nevertheless the theorist must borrow from God's Word to secure this beginning of life. The Bible tells us where life came from: "And in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" [JHN:1:1-4]).
Going to God's Word for a satisfactory answer to the origin of live, why are men not willing to believe God's Word in its true demonstration? God created the grass, the herbs, the trees, the fowl, the fish and all inhabitants of the waters, the animals, and all other living creatures, giving each the power to bring forth seed "after its kind." God's pattern was perfect, all things holding to that pattern to this day. "After its kind" is the statement of a biological principle that no human observation has ever seen to fail. The most desperate efforts of man in modern times have failed to alter that decree. Burbank produced beautiful new daisy forms, but they were still daisies, the kind that was a daisy from the beginning. A prominent English evolutionist admits that they are "no new creation," they are still "after their kind."
Formed from Dust
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of live; and man became a soul." The biologists of today confirm this Scripture: the sixteen or more basic elements of which man's body is composed all came out of the dust.
But the "breath of life" came from God, "and man became a living soul." Thus he was created, not a mere animal, but a living soul. And as he came from the hand of his Creator, made in the image of God, he was perfect in body, soul, and spirit, without a blemish or taint of sin. He was the noblest specimen of God's handiwork. The Apostle Paul wrote, "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" [EPH:2:10]). The Greek word translated workmanship is poema, and the literal rendering of the verse is, "We are His poem."
"God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" -- perfect. What a happy place this world would be if it had remained in the state in which God created it -- no sin, no disease, no pain, no sorrow, no tears, no curse! Adam was in perfect communion with his Creator. In righteousness and true holiness he walked with God in the cool of the day.
God's All Seeing Eye
At the end of each day, and at the end of God's creative week, God took minute notice of all that had been accomplished, and pronounced His work good. He saw everything that He had made, and He still does; for all the works of His hands are under His eye. The heavens and the earth were created by the word of God's power, and, "by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men" [2PE:3:7]).
It seems that the children of men could learn a lesson from the manner in which God reviewed each phase of His creation. God has given man the power of thought, and a conscience to help guide him into the right pathway of life. At the end of each day, should not man look back over his works, actions, and thoughts of the day to be sure that all conforms to God's will? Then, as the week is accomplished and man prepares to enter the day that God has set aside for rest and worship, should not man review the events of his week to ascertain that all is well between his soul and the Saviour? Following this practice, following the right and rejecting the wrong, would surely bring a man to the desired Haven: "The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened" [PRO:10:27]).
The Garden of God
"The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; . . . And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food." In this beautiful Garden, God placed the man whom He had formed. God made Adam master over all that He had created, over the fish of the sea, the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the field. God brought the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air to Adam to see what he would call them; so Adam gave names to all the living creatures.
Thus in the beginning Adam was made master of the earth, and had every inducement to retain his righteousness and fellowship with God. But a provision was added to Adam's keeping his perfection, the blessings bestowed upon him, and the high position to which he was appointed: "The LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Adam's privilege of remaining in the Garden, and enjoying the good things bestowed upon him, depended upon his implicit obedience.
The condition upon which Adam could have retained his blessing is still the condition of receiving the promises and blessings that God will pour out upon the children of men today: implicit obedience. Many good and faithful promises to the believer stand out on the pages of God's Word. They are obtainable by meeting the condition of doing what "thus saith the Lord." "If ye love me, keep my commandments" [JHN:14:15]). "And his commandments are not grievous" ([1JN:5:3]).
Helpmate
God looked upon man in the Garden of Eden and saw that it was not good that man should be alone. Causing a deep sleep to come upon Adam, and taking a rib and closing the flesh in its place, God made a woman and presented her to Adam for a helpmate. Thus, in the very beginning, God ordained and stated the law of man and wife. God has never changed that law.
There are many people in the world today, even some who call themselves Christians, who feel that the law of marriage is a human institution, being validated only by the courts of the land. They say that a legal divorce is the end of a legal marriage, and both parties are free to marry again. But how different is the Word of God upon this subject! And God's law is just as forceful as ever, in spite of what men say or do. God made no provision for divorce for Adam, for God made only one woman. In speaking against divorce and remarriage, Jesus said: "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder" [MAT:19:4-6]).
Questions
1. Why were all the other steps in creation taken before the creation of man?
2. What is said about the creation of man, which distinguishes and separates him from the other creatures?
3. It is written that man was formed out of the dust of the earth. What part of man's make up did this dust form?
4. It is also said that God breathed into man the breath of live. What part of man did the breath of live form?
5. In what respect was Adam created in the image of God?
6. Where was Adam placed after everything was in readiness for him?
7. What position or authority did God give to man?
8. In what way would Adam have proved worthy of this position?