In comparison to the daily news as I described last time, the Bible is a great book for many reasons, not the least of which is that it is not new. There are two great qualities of this book and that is that it's timeless and it's true. To show how we need this book for growing in our faith let's take a look at Genesis 1-3.
The creation account is often overlooked in our contemporary world because the theory of evolution reigns so much in our culture. But after watching a great documentary recently called, "Is Genesis History?", I'm convinced there's so much more we can learn from Genesis. Our thinking has been so clouded by modern philosophies that often we can't imagine the creation story in the Bible is actually a true historical account. But it is, and the Bible is trustworthy in its content and worth our complete attention and devotion.
The Book - to highlight just a few important ideas we get from Genesis we see there is the creation by God, the purpose and provision of God, the protection from God, the brokenness by the enemy, and the promise of redemption. This ancient story is just as relevant today as it has always been. It's imperative that we learn how to think biblically for that is exactly why God gave us the Bible, for our instruction, salvation, edification, and sanctification. We need this book to understand reality.
Creation - we see this from Genesis 1-2 how God created the heavens and the earth in six days. Each day had a specific design for what was created, for there was order and structure as life was brought forth. The length of the days is a huge debate as modern philosophies teach us a very old earth and universe that came out of nothing. But don't miss that God created all things in a particular order and with great design. This is not a random collision of chance and matter. In 1:26 we see that God created humans with specific dignity, "Then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Mankind is not the same as the animal kingdom as we are image bearers of God.
Purpose - God not only created the heavens and the earth but as we also see from 1:26, "And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." This command to have dominion is repeated in 1:28. We see at the outset God gives man a calling and a purpose to have dominion over the earth. This includes many things but essentially it is to work for God in filling and subduing the earth. We have a calling to work, as we also see in 2:15, God put man in the garden to work it and keep it.
Provision - the story moves quickly as we see in 1:29, "And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." God gives great provision with every kind of food as he also describes in v.30, and also in 2:9. There was an abundance of food, vegetation, and animals in the garden of Eden. But, even more, God gave Adam provision with a wife as he created humanity male and female, both in the image of God, as we first see in 1:27.
Protection - not only did God give Adam and Eve a purpose and provision, he also gave them instruction not to eat of a particular tree in the garden. This may seem like a restriction on mankind and that God gave them something that is not good, but in reality it was good. In 2:16 God says they are to eat of all the trees of the garden which were given for food, but in 2:17, he says, "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." God gave this commandment to them so that they would not die. It was so they would live abundantly in the garden that he had provided for them. It was for their protection.
Brokenness - often we look at the world and see its brokenness everywhere and we think how could there be a God if there is so much suffering and death? How can we understand the evil in the world? The Genesis account explains it completely. God said we "would surely die" if we broke his commandments, and we surely did. We have an enemy that is seeking to destroy us and everything that God created to be good. In 3:4 we read, "But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die." From this first deception, we have all fallen into sin and death. The brokenness of the world confirms as much as anything the truthfulness of the Genesis account.
Promise - here's the good news. Despite the fall into sin with its many devastating consequences of brokenness, we have the greatest news in the world with the promise of redemption from God. In 3:15 God curses the serpent and says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." God gives us the first description of the gospel of Christ, as he would be born of a woman, and he would bruise or crush the serpent's head. Christ has defeated Satan by bringing the death of death in his own life and resurrection from the dead. The gospel of Christ brings redemption back to the initial purpose and provision of God to fill the earth and subdue it.
This ancient news is really good news. It is not a deception, it is not a myth, it is not a legend without evidence or fact, nor is it a virtual reality in our imaginations. It is the very word from God that explains the truth of life. There is no technology, philosophy, or artificial intelligence that can explain life like this. This ancient news is timeless and has more relevance than the morning paper as each of us are children of Adam and Eve. Each of us needs redemption in Christ, and without the Genesis account, there's no need for salvation. Let's not be deceived again to believe, "You will not surely die."
FAITH TODAY: Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.""
The creation account is often overlooked in our contemporary world because the theory of evolution reigns so much in our culture. But after watching a great documentary recently called, "Is Genesis History?", I'm convinced there's so much more we can learn from Genesis. Our thinking has been so clouded by modern philosophies that often we can't imagine the creation story in the Bible is actually a true historical account. But it is, and the Bible is trustworthy in its content and worth our complete attention and devotion.
The Book - to highlight just a few important ideas we get from Genesis we see there is the creation by God, the purpose and provision of God, the protection from God, the brokenness by the enemy, and the promise of redemption. This ancient story is just as relevant today as it has always been. It's imperative that we learn how to think biblically for that is exactly why God gave us the Bible, for our instruction, salvation, edification, and sanctification. We need this book to understand reality.
Creation - we see this from Genesis 1-2 how God created the heavens and the earth in six days. Each day had a specific design for what was created, for there was order and structure as life was brought forth. The length of the days is a huge debate as modern philosophies teach us a very old earth and universe that came out of nothing. But don't miss that God created all things in a particular order and with great design. This is not a random collision of chance and matter. In 1:26 we see that God created humans with specific dignity, "Then God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Mankind is not the same as the animal kingdom as we are image bearers of God.
Purpose - God not only created the heavens and the earth but as we also see from 1:26, "And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." This command to have dominion is repeated in 1:28. We see at the outset God gives man a calling and a purpose to have dominion over the earth. This includes many things but essentially it is to work for God in filling and subduing the earth. We have a calling to work, as we also see in 2:15, God put man in the garden to work it and keep it.
Provision - the story moves quickly as we see in 1:29, "And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." God gives great provision with every kind of food as he also describes in v.30, and also in 2:9. There was an abundance of food, vegetation, and animals in the garden of Eden. But, even more, God gave Adam provision with a wife as he created humanity male and female, both in the image of God, as we first see in 1:27.
Protection - not only did God give Adam and Eve a purpose and provision, he also gave them instruction not to eat of a particular tree in the garden. This may seem like a restriction on mankind and that God gave them something that is not good, but in reality it was good. In 2:16 God says they are to eat of all the trees of the garden which were given for food, but in 2:17, he says, "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." God gave this commandment to them so that they would not die. It was so they would live abundantly in the garden that he had provided for them. It was for their protection.
Brokenness - often we look at the world and see its brokenness everywhere and we think how could there be a God if there is so much suffering and death? How can we understand the evil in the world? The Genesis account explains it completely. God said we "would surely die" if we broke his commandments, and we surely did. We have an enemy that is seeking to destroy us and everything that God created to be good. In 3:4 we read, "But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die." From this first deception, we have all fallen into sin and death. The brokenness of the world confirms as much as anything the truthfulness of the Genesis account.
Promise - here's the good news. Despite the fall into sin with its many devastating consequences of brokenness, we have the greatest news in the world with the promise of redemption from God. In 3:15 God curses the serpent and says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." God gives us the first description of the gospel of Christ, as he would be born of a woman, and he would bruise or crush the serpent's head. Christ has defeated Satan by bringing the death of death in his own life and resurrection from the dead. The gospel of Christ brings redemption back to the initial purpose and provision of God to fill the earth and subdue it.
This ancient news is really good news. It is not a deception, it is not a myth, it is not a legend without evidence or fact, nor is it a virtual reality in our imaginations. It is the very word from God that explains the truth of life. There is no technology, philosophy, or artificial intelligence that can explain life like this. This ancient news is timeless and has more relevance than the morning paper as each of us are children of Adam and Eve. Each of us needs redemption in Christ, and without the Genesis account, there's no need for salvation. Let's not be deceived again to believe, "You will not surely die."
FAITH TODAY: Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.""
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