Session 2: Creation & Fall

Welcome to Session 2 of Hickory Corners Bible Church Basics! As a reminder, this is meant to be a 9-week class to give you a solid overview of what we believe, and how it is that we operate based upon that belief.

These sessions will all build upon each other, so if you missed last week, I highly recommend that you go over to our YouTube channel and review session 1, the introduction and foundation of this series.

In that session, we laid out the most basic foundation for everything else, beginning with our doctrine regarding Scripture, that the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally inspired word of God, and are therefore the final authority for faith and practice – divine revelation is the sole rule for divine worship. And a close second doctrine is the doctrine regarding God Himself, one triune God who is eternal, infinite, and perfectly holy, in three co-equal persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And we found that all Scripture, from first to last, centers around the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so today, we will be looking at the work of Creation and the Fall. Along the way, we’ll also learn about how man was originally made, about our adversary the devil, and then both why that “very good” existence is no longer the case, as well as the extent to which it is no longer the case.

So let’s pray before we go further!

Oh Lord our God, maker of heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, the heavens declare Your glory, the earth your riches, the deep of the sea Your wondrous deeds. You Yourself have of Your pleasure created life, and spoken happiness; You have made us what we are, and have given unto us all which we possess. We pray this day that you impress upon our hearts Your greatness and Your sovereignty, for since the creation of the world You have made your invisible attributes, Your eternal power and Your divine nature, to be clearly seen and understood through that which You have made, that all are without excuse. We pray that you open our eyes as we look to Your holy Word and behold your precepts this morning together, to the glory and honor of Your blessed Son. Amen!

Creation

In the midst of Job’s trials, as he was suffering and not knowing the immensity of what was occurring, after his so-called ‘friends’ had put in their 2 cents’ worth, he finally has an audience with God Himself in Job 38 where we read in verses 1-3. “Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you make Me know!’” And God asks Job:

Job 38:4–7 LSB

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you know understanding, Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Job 38:8–11 LSB

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb, When I made a cloud its garment And dense gloom its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?

In recent times, there has been a great effort to attempt to re-cast the account of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 as mere myth, but the human authors of the Bible, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, considered their account of the creation as absolute and foundational truth. Job understood that. Moses understood that. David understood that. The apostles John and Paul and Peter, even the writer of Hebrews believed it as truth, saying

Hebrews 11:3 LSB

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

It was the foundation of the prayers in the early church in Acts 4:24

Acts 4:24 LSB

And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, “O Master, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM,

and

John 1:1–3 LSB

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

And then there is Paul, who describes the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, are given over by God to impurity for this reason:

Romans 1:25 LSB

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Now when we see the word creature, the Greek word κτίσις does not simply mean a living, breathing animal, but every single thing that has been brought into existence. It includes the earth, the sky, the sea – even the constellations of stars.

Nor can we accept the idea that God may have done this over thousands of years, as some try to claim, for He Himself declared to Moses in the giving of the Law,

Exodus 20:11 LSB

“For in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

So, we can come to no other conclusion than this absolutely, crystal-clear reality: the Scriptures through and through, in both the Old Testament and the New, affirm and hold to a bedrock belief in a literal, 6-day account of creation as recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. We, too, affirm this as a true reality:

We believe in the literal six, 24 hour, days of creation as described in the first two chapters of Genesis and that man came by direct creation of God and not by any type of evolution; we further reject the gap theory. Genesis 1&2 ; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17.

This is no fable or fancy, but it is attested time and again in Scripture, and we believe this emphatically by faith.

Proverbs 16:4 even proclaims, “Yahweh has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil.”

Questions:

Why is it important for us to accept by faith a literal six-day creation, as opposed to demanding that the account in Genesis 1 and 2 be taken as myth or allegory? (You may want to refer back to the first doctrine we discussed regarding Scripture!)

Some people will point to Psalm 90:4 as a means of stretching out the creation account in Genesis 1. Read both of these references, and then explain out of the text of Genesis 1 (and possibly Exodus 20:11) why we should believe creation took six literal 24-hour days.

Satan

“Everything,” you ask? Yes, everything. Even the deceiver, Satan. In fact, this is so important for us to understand that we say it this way:

We believe that Satan is an individual created being, a fallen angel, once holy who enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell. He became the author of sin, the ruler of all powers of darkness, and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; that he is limited in power, presence and knowledge; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. Genesis 3:1-5; Job 1:6-12; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:15-17; Matthew 4:1-11; 13:25, 37-39; 25:41; II Corinthians 4:4; 11:13-15; Ephesians 2:2; I Peter 5:8; I John 3:8; Revelation 12:9; 20:10.

Whether you refer to him as “Satan” as in Job 1:6, or as “the devil” as in Matthew 4:1, or as “the serpent” in Genesis 3:1 and Revelation 12:9, or “Beelzebul” in Matthew 10:25 and its more-derogatory variant “Baal-zebub” of 2 Kings 1, the “ruler of this world” of John 12:31, the “prince (or ruler) of he power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2, “the evil one” of 1 John 2:13, all refer to this same, particular, fallen angel, who was once holy, who once enjoyed great honor. But that state did not last, we read of him in Ezekiel 28,

Ezekiel 28:15–17 LSB

“You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you. “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. “Your heart was lofty because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.

The King James gives us the name Lucifer as a transliteration of the Latin vulgate in Isaiah 14:12, instead of the “star of the morning” or “Day Star” of other translations, where Isaiah writes nearly the same thing of him as Ezekiel.

For this one of whom Jesus said in Luke 10:18, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning”, is certainly, as the Hebrew word שָׂטָן [śā·ṭān] means, an adversary and an opponent of God. Clearly, his actions demand such a description.

But, his power is limited – in Job, when he desires to oppose God through Job, he must secure permission from God before doing any harm to him, whether to his fields or to his person.

So although he “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” as 1 Peter 5:8 says, and is the ruler of this present age as Ephesians 2 and John 12 describe, his defeat is certain, for 1 John 3:8 declares in part, “The Son of God was manifested for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.” Revelation 20:10 describes his final defeat as being “thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Questions:

Read Ephesians 2:1-3. What does it mean to say that we were slaves to Satan? What are the implications?

Read Matthew 6:10. What is the implication of this prayer in light of Ephesians 2:1-3 and 2 Corinthians 4:4?

What admonition and warning should we take from 1Peter 5:8?

Man

So now, we turn our attention to man.

Creation & Fall

Now, you may have already guessed this after looking at the doctrine of creation, but we truly believe that God created man, saying it this way:

We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but by Adam’s willful transgression, fell from his sinless and happy state in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not only by constraint, but of choice; therefore totally depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. Man, being a sinner by personal choice, is under just condemnation without defense or excuse. Genesis 1:26, 2:17, 3:22-23; Psalm 49:7-9; John 3:3-21; Romans 1:20, 5:12-14, 5:19.

In fact, here at Christian Life Hour just recently we looked at this in detail in our study entitled “Adam and Christ”, which is available in its entirety on our YouTube channel, which I recommend you look at to understand this better. For we read in Genesis 1:31, after creating man,

Genesis 1:31 LSB

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.

And yet, Adam despite being unlike us, in that he was truly able to choose whether or not to sin, did sin. And it is through that sin of Adam, that all people everywhere were set down and appointed sinners.

We read starting in Romans 5:12,

Romans 5:12–14 LSB

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

And then down in Romans 5:19,

Romans 5:19 LSB

For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were appointed sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be appointed righteous.

We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are a sinner, we have each been appointed – constituted as sinners, placed into the realm and rule and authority of Sin.

And so, we sin because it is our nature to sin.

Questions:

Read Genesis 1:26-31 and Romans 5:12. What was man’s original condition like (hint, the key is in Genesis 1:31 and Romans 5:12 where sin ‘entered into the world’)?

Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Romans 5:14 and Romans 6:16. What are the costs of sin?

Why can a person not return themselves back to that original condition on their own?

Sanctity of Life

And yet, there was something special, something exquisite, in man which ought not be too quickly passed over. God made us different than the beasts of the field or the birds of the air, Genesis 1 saying it this way:

Genesis 1:26–27 LSB

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.

Unlike the birds which were simply spoken into existence, Genesis 2:7 declares “Then Yahweh God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and so the man became a living being.” Not content there, we read on in Genesis 2:18 “Then Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”” And God proved this to Adam by bringing each beast and bird before Adam, and a suitable helper was not found,

Genesis 2:21–23 LSB

So Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. And Yahweh God fashioned the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman, and He brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This one finally is bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called Woman, Because this one was taken out of Man.”

Each sex, male and female, have a role, each have a place and purpose for which we are created, and in that God made us and as James 2 declares we ought to not show partiality on account of what a person has or does, but ought to treat everyone in a loving manner, we find that denigrating a person even on account of what they believe is wrong.

So how do we summarize all of this?

We believe that God created man, male and female, in His own image, for His own purposes, and declared His un-fallen image-bearers to be “very good”. We affirm that life itself is a gift from God. We affirm that both genders, as individually formed by God, have distinct and meaningful purposes. We affirm that God calls us to treat all respectfully regardless of age, gender, ethnic, economic, or cultural characteristics. (Genesis 1:26-27, 31, 2:7,18, 20-24; Psalm 139:13; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:10-11; James 2:1-13)

There is a certain sanctity to an image-bearer of the Most High, and so on that basis we believe that abuse of that image, is inherently sinful in nature, whether that abuse comes in the form of abortion, or murder, or LGTBQ+ (gay, lesbian, transgender, and other associated activities), or by mutilation, or by denigration. Whether we are talking about genealogical traits, or manner of life traits, everyone has an inherent dignity, and so to treat someone - even yourself – abusively in this manner is something we consider sinful.

Questions:

Read Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:10-11, and James 2:1-13. Does God save one race or gender and reject another sort? How about saving those who are rich as opposed to the poor, or men as opposed to women? On account of this, how should you treat people that look different from you, come from a different culture than yours, or come from a different social class than yours?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. Copy down the first phrase from verse 11 here. On account of that, how should we treat people who are presently engaged in sinful mistreatment of others based on age, gender, ethnic, economic, or cultural characteristics?

Read Exodus 1:15-21 and Exodus 21:22-23. What is God’s view of the killing of babies, whether inside the womb or outside of it? What did the Hebrew midwives and leaders not do in regard to the civil authorities (you may find Titus 3:1-2 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2 may be helpful for your answer).

Total Depravity

But, we know that such abuse does indeed happen. Why? We need to return to something I said just a few minutes ago, “We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are a sinner.”

“We are not _________ because we ____, we ____ because we are _________.”

There is a terrible perversion in characterizing sin as merely some deficiency. The truth is, in ourselves man is set down and under the unescapable dominion of sin.

David rightly wrote in Psalm 51:5

Psalm 51:5 LSB

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

A person, then, does not need to attain to a particular understanding and consciously sin in order to become spiritually dead. David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was clear in his understanding – even before he was born, he was already in sin.

We believe that through Adam’s sin, spiritual death, being total corruption of the human nature, took place and has been transmitted to the entire race of man, save the Man Christ Jesus. No spark of divine life exists in man but we are by nature sinners, being at enmity against God and incapable by any human process whatever of earning His favor. Genesis 3:1-7, 6:5; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 1:28-32; 3:22-23; 8:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3

The pernicious call to “follow your heart” is based upon the faulty thinking of man that his heart is essentially good, a denial of the clear and unambiguous declaration of Jeremiah 17:9,

Jeremiah 17:9 LSB

“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it?

The simple fact is, that we on our own are unable to chose God above our own selves, we are God’s enemy and are hateful toward him by nature.

This doesn’t mean that everyone is as wicked as they could be, for we are still found sinful by God.

Questions:

Read Romans 14:23, Hebrews 11:6, and then Isaiah 64:6. What do these verses tell you about why it does not matter whether a person is not as wicked as they could be for them to be found sinful by God.

Read Romans 3:9-18. Does a parent need to teach their child to lie or to be selfish? What parts of a person are sinful in this passage? What does this tell you about your own nature from birth?

Need of the New Birth

This understanding of the total depravity of man, then, leads directly to a recognition of our need of a new birth. Here’s how we say it:

We believe that, owing to universal depravity and death in sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again; that no degree of reformation however great, or culture however attractive, no baptism or other ordinance however administrated, no religion however sincere, can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word is absolutely essential to salvation. Psalm 14:1-3; Matthew 7:21-23; John 3:3; Galatians 3:22; Philippians 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:23; I John 3:8-10

In fact, perhaps the greatest argument for this need can be found in Romans 7, where we read,

Romans 7:7 LSB

What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.”

But then, what happens when the holy, righteous, and good Law comes to a person, and teaches us that we in fact do violate it?

Romans 7:9–10 LSB

Now I was once alive apart from the Law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; and this commandment, which was to lead to life, was found to lead to death for me.

And so, on my own, by my own strength and power, I can only come to one possible conclusion

Romans 7:21–23 LSB

I find then the principle that in me evil is present—in me who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members.

And the inevitable conclusion: I cannot save myself, I am unable to become righteous before God. This man to whom the Law comes, once it has done its work, can only cry out in anguish

Romans 7:24 LSB

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?

And we see the need for a new birth, Jesus’ explaining this simply to Nicodemus, the teacher of the Law, in John 3:3

John 3:3 LSB

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

It’s the same thing as what Paul explains in Romans 7 – in yourself, as you are, you are to put it bluntly all wrong, that nothing except a divine, supernatural intervention by God – a miracle – can possibly save them. Nothing a person themselves could ever do is sufficient to overcome their slavery to sin.

Questions:

Read John 3:1-21. List out several reasons why a person without a new birth cannot enter into the kingdom of God? What is the nature of a person that does enter into that kingdom? How is it that a person may be reborn according to this passage?

Read Romans 6:1-12. There are no commands here, but rather it describes what is done by the Holy Spirit when he immerses (baptizes) a person into Christ Jesus. What is the position of a person who has not been baptized into Christ Jesus? Why does it take this event for a person to be enabled to not let sin reign in their mortal body?

Read Philippians 3:4-9. Why can we not look to our parents or our activities we ourselves do to go to heaven?

Marriage & Sexuality

Now, I want to be clear, this is not currently in our statement of faith. It is, however, something that we believe wholeheartedly from the beginning of this local body, and so as our society has become increasingly hostile to what was once clearly understood, we’re finding that we need to be clear.

We believe that the only legitimate meaning of marriage is one man joined to one woman, as they were formed by God in the womb, in a covenantal union as prescribed by Scripture. We believe that God requires the church and its members to only recognize marriages or perform marriage ceremonies within this context alone. We believe that God commands that no sexual activity, identity, or expression is acceptable outside of this covenantal union, regardless of any acceptance by the culture or court. (Genesis 2:24; Leviticus 18:1-30; Psalm 139:13; Mark 10:5-12; Acts 5:28-29; Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 7:1-9, 15; Ephesians 5:22-31; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)

I am certain that the similarities to our doctrine regarding the Sanctity of Life were not lost on you, and that is by design because these things are very related. What we read in Genesis 2:24,

Genesis 2:24 LSB

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

Is itself not only quoted but expounded upon by Jesus in Mark 10, and also Paul in Ephesians 5,

Ephesians 5:22–24 LSB

Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:25–27 LSB

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:28–29 LSB

So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,

Ephesians 5:30–31 LSB

because we are members of His body. FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.

So, regardless of any laws or civil requirements, it is neither right nor safe to go against the clear and unambiguous teaching of the Word of God; in the words of Peter before the rulers of the Jews in Acts 5, “we must obey God rather than men.”

Questions:

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. There are some people who claim that the church should not call sexual sin out on account of Matthew 7:1-6. Knowing that these two portions of Scripture are not in conflict with one another, how ought we to respond to people we know are involved in sexual sin who are within the church? (Hint, read Matthew 18:15-17). Should we expect people outside of the church to agree with us on these matters? Should we force our beliefs on them? Why, or why not?

Let’s pray!

Bonus Challenge 1: Look up all of the Scripture references, and map out what part of each doctrine comes primarily from which reference!

Bonus Challenge 2: Can you find other Scriptural references that support each doctrinal statement?