231018 BITES: Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created?

Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? A12 When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen 2.17)

(10) Rehash - Ask if anyone can say any of the verses

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Open your Bibles to Genesis 2

While you are turning there I will ask tonight’s question related to our theme of providence that we have been working through since question 8.

Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? REPEAT - LISTEN FOR RESPONSES - MAKE THEM PROVE IT

LET ME RE-ASK THE QUESTION Q12 Restated, “What did God give mankind after He had made us?” WAIT FOR RESPONSES - WHERE DOES IT SAY THAT

GET HOLD OUTS TO RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION Q12 Restated, “In what ways did God bless people after He created us?” WAIT FOR RESPONSES - HOW DO YOU KNOW

Cool, here is the formal response to our question Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? A12 When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen 2.17)

What does that mean? Let’s break it down

“When God had created man” - God made people, in His own image He made us ASK FOR A READER.

Genesis 1:26–28 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 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 sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.””

ASK FOR SUMMARY

So when God had created people He provided for them, first He made them and we see where it says that in the Bible.

QUESTIONS

Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? A12 When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen 2.17)

Next, “He entered into a covenant of life with him,

RESTATE: God presented Adam with the opportunity for life with Him and to prove that He meant it God gave Adam access to the tree of life. THE PROOF IS FOUND IN GENESIS 2.9

Genesis 2:9 “And out of the ground Yahweh God caused to grow every tree that is desirable in appearance and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

Different trees are presented here but two are special, one is the tree of life and also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life is the pledge, the guarantee of life to people. God entered into a covenant of life with man.

QUESTIONS

Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? A12 When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen 2.17)

Next, “upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.”

RESTATE: As long as Adam and Eve perfectly obeyed, and didn’t do the one thing that God had commanded them not to do they could live with Him in paradise forever. But if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would surely die… let’s read

Genesis 2:15–17 “Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.””

QUESTIONS

Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? A12 When God had created man, He entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death. (Gen 2.17)

Are limitations good? Are they loving? Sure they are, limitations enable the fullest expression of freedom! Unbridled ability to do anything at any time turns people into monsters, takers, abusers. If there are no repercussions then we can do anything that we want… Is that right? No! Of course not, limitations are good. Warnings are good.

SO WHAT? ASK WHY ANY OF THIS MATTERS AT ALL

We live in the aftermath of Adam and Eve’s choice… They chose to disobey God - we should trust God because He tells us the truth - if He warns about danger we should believe Him

We should understand that even when mankind had a perfect environment he will sin because he has the freedom to choose to love and obey God or rebel

We should know that God loves us immeasurably - He has provided everything that we needed.

QUESTIONS

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SING TO GOD

#54 My Tribute | #56 To God Be the Glory | #143 This is My Father’s World | #184 Thy Word | #185 Jesus Loves Me

#270 Joy to the World | #340 Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus| #343 Amazing Grace | #492 At Calvary

#575 Leaning on the Everlasting Arms | #576 The Steadfast Love of the Lord

#586 He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands | #708 Behold, What Manner of Love

#745 Rejoice in the Lord Always

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230607: Q1 What is the purpose of people? A1 The purpose of people is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

Psalm 37.4 “Delight yourself in Yahweh; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”

230614: Q2 Where does God explain His purpose for people? A2 God Explains His Purpose For People In Scripture.

2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,”

230621: Q3 What do the Scriptures teach? A3 The Scriptures teach what people are to believe and do

John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Luke 10:27 “And he answered and said, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.””

230628 Q4 What is God? A4 God is the only eternal Spirit, holy, unchanging and entirely good and just

John 4:24 ““God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””

Exodus 34.6-7 “Then Yahweh passed by in front of him and called out, “Yahweh, Yahweh God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.””

230705 Q5 How Many Gods Are There? A5 There is only one God

Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel! Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one!”

230716 Q6 How Many Persons in the Godhead? A6 There are three persons in the Godhead, Father, Son and Spirit. These three are one God; same in essence, equal in power and glory

Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”

230726 Q7 What are the decrees of God? A7 The decrees of God are His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His own will, whereby - for His own glory - He has foreordained whatever comes to pass

Romans 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

230802 Q8 How does God execute His decrees? A8 God executes His decrees in the works of creation and providence

Revelation 4:11 ““Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.””

230809 Q9 What is the Work of Creation? A9 The work of Creation is God’s making all things from nothing, by the Word of His power in six days and all very good

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

230823 Q10 How did God create people? A10 God created people only male and female, in His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness with dominion over all Creation.

Genesis 1:27-28 “And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 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 sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.””

231011 Q11 What are God’ s works of providence? A11 "God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, to His own glory”

Psalm 103:19 “Yahweh has established His throne in the heavens, And His kingdom rules over all.”

231018 Q12 What was the providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created? A12 When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.

Genesis 2:17 “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.””

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SCRATCH PAD

Question: If everything was perfect would we have any problems? WAIT Some people say that all if we eliminated hunger, everything would be perfect. Or if everyone had a home, everything would be perfect. If no one had to worry about the heating bill, or eating, we wouldn’t have any problems and no one would ever argue. Have you every wondered about the way things were in the Garden of Eden? How perfect was that place?

God gave mankind: a job - take care of the garden, He gave him freedom - eat from any tree except one, He put every creature under Adam’s control, God gave him a helper - Eve, He gave him even His very own presence. God gave him a day of rest - one day in seven. God gave Adam a covenant of life - if he would only perfectly obey Him by not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would never die. God gave him access to the tree of life as a guarantee of that covenant. God warned him about the dangers of violating His commandment to refrain from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - if he did he would die.

How perfect was everything, no sickness, sadness or death. Perfection - God Himself said it was “good.”

SUMMARIZE

So tell me what did God give people?

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.””

God gave them dominion, He gave Him imageness,

Summarize In many ways we are like God - He has given control and made us like Him, able to relate to one another and to love, able to comprehend right and wrong. What a gift! A gift not given to any other creature only to people

READER 2

Genesis 1.27-28 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 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 sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” ASK FOR A RESTATEMENT/SUMMARY

So tell me what did God give people: He gave them gender, He gave them a command to have kids and populate the earth, subdue it and all that is in it

READER 3

Genesis 1.29-31 Then God said, “Behold, I have given to you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has the fruit of the tree yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that creeps on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. 31 And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ASK FOR A RESTATEMENT/SUMMARY

In verses 29-31 What did God give people? He gave them food - every green plant for food. God gave people perfection, He says it was very good.

God did everything that was necessary

He took care of His creation’s bodies and minds, He gave them a future and job, He gave them pleasure and responsibility and the energy to do what He commanded. God provided everything. He also gave limitations

Let’s read in chapter 2 verses 1-3

READER 4

Genesis 2.1-3 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2 And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created in making it. ASK FOR A RESTATEMENT/SUMMARY

God gave man a break, one day in seven to enjoy Him alone - one day dedicated to Him and if you skip down to verse 15-17 we read of another limitation God gave

READER 5

Genesis 2:15–17 “Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” ASK FOR A RESTATEMENT/SUMMARY

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What is freedom? Is freedom the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want? Is that freedom? Is that good?

What if I wanted something that belonged to someone else and I took it - is that freedom? No that is abuse, that is taking, that isn’t freedom. Freedom requires restrictions.

Here in America the land of the free and the home of the brave do we have laws? You bet, do we get to break the law? Is that freedom?

Is freedom license to act without restriction? No, that is anarchy. Constraints are good… Without laws people would drive 90 MPH through downtown, that’s not freedom. Limitations, restrictions enable us to experience our fullest freedom.

With obedience to restrictions, limitations you can actually enjoy freedom, freedom from fear, freedom to enjoy what God has provided - but can we all agree that freedom isn’t just being able to do whatever we want whenever we want