Man: God's Hightest Creation

1 Peter 2:9 KJV 1900

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Introduction

Discuss using tools and objects in unusual or unconventional ways.

ASK: When have you used a tool or an object in an unusual or unconventional way?

ASK: What happened?

Transition to Bible lesson.

God created us on purpose. We must understand and fulfill that purpose. God isn’t amused or impressed by those who use their lives for reasons He never intended.

Gather

• Incense oils, air fresheners, or perfumes.

Creation of Humans

By God

Humans are either a product of God’s purposeful creation or an evolutionary accident. The latter view dominates culture today, bringing devastating effects on society.

ASK: What are some implications of viewing human life as an evolutionary accident? Life is seen as having no intrinsic value; people are viewed as disposable; government assumes the role of supreme power; the Bible is seen as irrelevant and Christians as a threat to society.

The Bible teaches that God created humanity and the rest of the universe.

An honest look at nature should lead any sane person to conclude the universe, including humanity, couldn’t have happened by accident. No amount of time and chance would ever yield a well-ordered universe filled with intricate and wondrous designs.

Genesis 1:26 KJV 1900

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 2:7 KJV 1900

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2:21–23 KJV 1900

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Adam and Eve were God’s final creation on day 6 of the creation week.

God made Adam and Eve perfect and fit for His use.

He concluded they and the rest of His creation were “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Sin ruined God’s creation not long after the creation week. We will talk more about that in the next lesson.

ASK: After learning God created us, what question should we ask next? We should ask why God created us.

ASK: Why is that question important? It gives us direction and purpose in life.

For God

God created people to fulfill His purposes.

Revelation 4:10–11 KJV 1900

The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The KJV uses the word “pleasure” in Revelation 4:11. The original Greek word means “will.” There is a sense in which God created all things for His pleasure. That becomes clear in other passages.

Revelation 4 is John’s vision of a still future event slated to take place in Heaven after the Rapture. The words in verse 11 will be uttered by members of Christ’s church, represented in the passage by the twenty-four elders. Christ’s church includes all believers from the present Church Age, which extends from the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) until the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:16, 17). So we will be part of the group that says these words to God.

In Heaven, we will worship God and acknowledge that He created us and the rest of the universe by His will.

We can find meaning in life only through knowing God’s will for humanity.

Colossians 1:16 KJV 1900

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Paul added in Colossians that Christ, the Son of God, created all things for Himself. So communication and fellowship between God and man is highly important to God. He made that clear in the creation account.

So we were created to have fellowship and relationship with God and to worship Him.

Communication by Humans

With God

We are so accustomed to modern conveniences that going without them can make us frustrated and upset.

ASK: How do you respond when the electricity goes out or your phone die with no charger?

God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They lived there without electricity, social media, and iPhone's. There were no movies to watch, video games to play, or fast-food meals to order through Uber Eats. They didn’t even have a house and a cozy bed. Yet they didn’t complain, feel bored, or have any sense of missing out.

ASK: What made life in the Garden of Eden so enjoyable for Adam and Eve? They were perfect, their environment was perfect, and they enjoyed unhindered communication and fellowship with God.

God created Adam and Eve to enjoy communicating with Him. He made them persons, gave them self-awareness, language, and the ability to respond to Him intelligently. In other words, He made them in His image.

Genesis 1:27 KJV 1900

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

We shouldn’t think that God felt lonely prior to creating Adam and Eve. He didn’t create them because He had a void in His existence. After all, He is the I AM, meaning He is self-existent and dependent on no one (Exod. 3:14).

God enjoyed communing with Adam and Eve. He loved them and looked forward to talking with them.

about Himself, the rest of creation, and humanity’s purpose and part in His plan.

We understand the importance of Adam and Eve’s communication and fellowship with God when we read about the immediate aftermath of their first sin.

Genesis 3:8–10 KJV 1900

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Sin ruined Adam and Eve’s fellowship with God. They became afraid of Him and aware of their own guilt. Yet God searched for Adam and Eve as if He didn’t know what they had done. His searching and calling out for them showed them that His interest in communing with the couple hadn’t waned. And His actions reveal to us that His walking and talking with Adam and Eve happened regularly.

1 Peter 3:12 KJV 1900

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

Peter wrote that God’s ears are attentive to the righteous, a reference to believers. Sin affects our communication with God, but it doesn’t affect God’s desire to hear from us. Remember that He sent His Son to die on the cross so He might invite us to come directly to His throne of grace through prayer (Heb. 4:14–16).

Revelation 5:8 KJV 1900

And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Revelation 5 is a continuation of John’s heavenly vision recorded in chapter 4.

God pictured the prayers of believers as golden bowls full of incense.

ACTIVITY: Have several air fresheners, containers of incense oils, or perfumes for your students to pass around and smell. Have them share their responses to the different scents.

ASK: Why do you think God compared believers’ prayers to pleasant-smelling incense kept in golden bowls? To reveal that our prayers are precious and pleasing to Him.

ASK: Do you see communicating with God as an essential part of your life? Do you believe God wants to hear your prayers? Explain.

God created every person to commune with Him. He longs to hear us talk to Him through prayer. And He delights to answer our prayers in His time and according to His will.

About God

We should focus on God’s greatness when communicating with Him. He deserves our praise and delights to hear it.

Even when we make requests of God, we should be expressing to Him both our faith in His ability to answer our requests and our thankfulness for all He has done and will do through us (Phil. 4:6).

Colossians 3:16 KJV 1900

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Our communication about God should include songs we sing as a church and as individuals. Those songs should come from our hearts and from what we learn about God in His Word.

If we don’t feel the urge to sing or talk about God, then perhaps the “word of Christ” is not dwelling in us “richly.” For that to happen, we need to spend time in God’s Word thinking and praying about its meaning and personally and purposefully applying its truths. It also means we need to keep our hearts away from sinful input.

1 Peter 2:9 KJV 1900

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

ASK: What did Peter say about talking about God’s greatness? We should proclaim what God did to save us from the darkness of sin.

Witnessing to the lost should come naturally because of our gratitude for our salvation and our awe of God’s great grace.

God saved us so we would talk about His saving grace and interest others in knowing Him too.

To the very end, God’s glory is the Bible’s main theme (Rev. 21:22–26). If we aren’t talking about God’s glory, then we are missing the main reason for our creation. Purpose to talk about God’s greatness every day. God loves to hear it, and the world needs to hear it.

Coronation of Humans

God created humans to communicate with and about Him and thereby glorify Him. He also created them to rule on earth as another way to glorify Him.

By God

Genesis 1:28 KJV 1900

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

God instructed Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply to fill the earth with their descendants. He also commanded them to subdue the earth and have dominion over the earth’s creatures. To “subdue” means to bring under control. God built potential into the earth. He wanted Adam and Eve to use their intelligence and creativity to show the earth’s potential. We are still learning how to use the earth’s resources today.

“Dominion” refers to man’s rule over creation. God gave Adam and Eve authority over the earth by creating them in His image. None of the other creatures in God’s creation qualified to rule over the other creatures.

Psalm 8:5 KJV 1900

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour.

David wrote Psalm 8. His words apply most directly to Adam and Eve in their unfallen state. He wrote that God crowned them with glory and honor.

The creation of Adam and Eve, then, was a coronation of the couple over the rest of creation.

Adam and Eve embraced their appointment, knowing God had perfectly equipped them to serve Him on earth.

Under God

Though God had appointed Adam and Eve to have dominion over the earth, He still required them to recognize His authority over them. He gave them a command to test their loyalty.

Genesis 2:16–17 KJV 1900

And 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 and Eve’s coronation over creation didn’t mean they were free from God’s authority. They always remained under His rule.

David recognized that in Psalm 8.

Psalm 8:4–6 KJV 1900

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, And hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet:

ASK: Why was being under God’s authority good news for Adam and Eve? God is gracious, loving, and kind. He gave them all they needed to succeed in exercising dominion over the earth.

Adam and Eve both eventually failed to submit to God (Gen. 3:1–7). They wanted to be an equal with Him and to do as they pleased. Their rebellion ruined their crowning moment. Man is no longer qualified to exercise dominion over the earth. And creation is cursed, making subduing it impossible.

Next week will cover more about the aftermath of man’s failure and God’s plan to restore human rule over His creation through Christ. Until then, we must use our opportunity to know God well and glorify Him in all the earth.