"For Your Good"

Invocation and Lord’s Prayer

Merciful and Gracious God, You have gathered us in this place to worship You. In Your Word, You tell us for where two or three are gathered in Your name, there You are among them. Father, we pray that You would make Your presence more fully known to us this day. So that we may worship You in spirit and in truth, not just today but for the rest of our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Silent and Pastoral Prayer

a. Adoration

i. Ps. 27:1 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”

b. Confession

i. 1 Jn 1:8-10 – “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us”…but “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

c. Thanksgiving

i. Rev. 7:12 – “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever!”

d. Supplications

i. First ARP Church – prayer list, others, ministries/events, truth – to know Christ and make Him known.

ii. Universal Church – chosen in Christ, saved by grace, that we may attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…

iii. Missionaries – great commission, boldness, safety.

iv. Gov’t leaders – national, state, local.

v. Elect – growing more and more like Christ and less and less like our sin.

vi. Lost – hear the gospel and come to believe in JC as Lord and Savior and repent of their sins.

Introduction

4/6/25: Our greatest need - A Savior who would clean up mess we made, succeed where we failed, & redeem us frm our sins. Mess – Sinful Humanity; Succeed – Sinless Savior; Redeem – Mighty Redeemer

Adam clings to this hope of Genesis 3:15 that promises the coming of that Savior, naming his wife Eve, mother of all living.

God’s final response prepares us for one of the greatest blessings…

Main Point: God works all things together for your good.

Rom. 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”

1.) Goodness in Garments (v. 21)

a. The LORD (YHWH) Provides

Yahweh (proper name) - same and only God.

The God who is almighty, powerful, sovereign, wise, holy and faithful to His promises.

b. Garments of Skins for Adam & Eve

It’s a demonstration of the gospel as it shows what was needed for sin (a sacrifice).

A sacrifice - it required an animal’s death to cover A&E’s nakedness (parallel to the animal sacrifices to atone for sin and to the culminating sacrifical death of JC).

To love and protect them in this way, something had to die.

Fig leaves as clothing - narrow and weak. Such is our own righteousness.

Garments of skin as clothing - large, strong, durable, fit-well. Such is Christ’s righteousness.

God provided these clothes and clothed them Himself. Provided for them and placed the clothes upon them.

We wear garments/clothes to this day.

Matthew Henry – “Little reason have we to be proud of our clothes, which are but the badges of our shame.”

c. Illustration/Application:

So, our clothes can constantly be a reminder to us of the cost of sin.

It costs something for you to have the clothes you are wearing today. 

Have you ever worn a piece of clothing that just didn’t fit right?

A shirt I had that fit okay but I forgot to not put it in the dryer and it shrunk.

Every time you adjusted it, it was a reminder of how uncomfortable it was.

In the same way, sin doesn’t fit properly! It can weigh you down and bring you discomfort.

Thankfully, you can trade in your ill-fitting sins because of the work of JC.

Truly, God works all things together for your good: goodness in garments.

God provides – it may not be what you want, but it will be what you need.

Adam and Eve might’ve shuddered at the thought of wearing garments of skins, yet God knew they needed clothing.

Required a sacrifice – a reminder of the wages of sin and the eternal promise of JC, our Lord.

2.) Goodness in Gatekeeping (vv. 22-24)

a. Gatekeeping the Tree of Life

Divine dialogue (v. 22) – cuts off His sentence to prevent a present danger while A&E still roams sinful in the Garden.

All mankind living forever in their sinful condition is an unbearable thought & God wastes no time to prevent it.

In some way became like God – making themselves the source of moral autonomy and the power to decide what was right and wrong apart from God and His Word.

John Calvin – “Adam and Eve’s bodies were alive, but they were dead. As residents of the garden, they could have eaten from the tree of life and perpetuated their bodily existence indefinitely. Thus the garden would have become Hell on earth, populated with the undying dead — forever living and forever dead.”

An act of punishment and an aspect of grace – exclusion protects them from eternity in corruption (denied access to the tree of life).

The Tree was only lifegiving insofar as God had sealed His grace to man if he were to use it.

Communion with God is lost (cut off and separated).

Not walking and talking w/ Him or abundance of fruits.

In the realm of death – physically and spiritually. Sent out they experience life not as God had intended.

The covenant of works – The Tree of Life would’ve secured immortal life for Adam if he had been obedient. Now, it was vain to expect righteousness, life, & happiness from it, for its command had been broken, & the curse of it was in full force.

The covenant of grace – quickened to look for life and happiness in the promised Seed (JC).

Therefore, there was the gatekeeping of the Tree of Life, as well as...

b. Gatekeeping the Garden

After Eden, Adam and Eve were never truly at home again.

Goodness of God even in judgment - He still provided for them a remaining home on earth and a livelihood (work the ground).

Cherubim – angelic beings involved in the worship and praise of God, magnifying His holiness and power.

Keeping and guarding given to them since man fell.

Flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life – justice and holiness of God.

We cannot save ourselves – getting past the cherubim and flaming sword on our own is impossible.

Similarities btwn the garden, tabernacle, and temple (Holy of Holies).

Filled with God’s special presence.

Featured cherubim (tabernacle - curtains in the holy of holies and sculpted above the mercy seat; temple – huge sculpted pair guarding the inner sanctuary).

Entrances of tabernacle and temple from the east (man driven out from the east of the garden).

When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two. Access to God’s presence no longer required continual sacrifices, a priest, or a temple. Jesus fulfilled all these things.

Hebrews 9:11-12– “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

c. Illustration/Application:

God works all things together for your good: Goodness in Gatekeeping...

God’s mercy and grace:

Mercy (not getting what we do deserve) in closing the gate - not allowing us to partake of the Tree of Life.

Grace (getting what we do not deserve) in opening the gate - b/c of the work of JC, in our glorified state, we will be able to partake of the Tree of Life forever!

Revelation 22 - John the Apostle - what does he see in the NH&NE?

The Tree of Life!

Through Adam, sin came into the world and death through sin.

Through JC came the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness which leads to eternal life.

Conclusion

D.L. Moody - “Man by sin closed one way. Jesus opened a new and living way.”

MP: God works all things together for your good.

Goodness in Garments (v. 21):

God’s Provision

Required a Sacrifice

Goodness in Gatekeeping (vv. 22-24):

Mercy in Closing the Gate

Grace in Opening the Gate

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the circumstances in your life — maybe a job loss, difficult classes, or a fracturing relationship — it's easy to feel lost and hopeless.

This week, I encourage you to take deliberate moments each day to pray and meditate on Romans 8:28, the promise that God works all things for good.

Maybe create a 'gratitude journal' where you record instances of God's faithfulness in your past, reminding yourself of His goodness. That way, whenever despair creeps in, flip through those pages to renew your faith and trust His plans.

For God works all things together for your good. Amen? Amen.

Prayer of Application

Almighty and Everlasting Lord, the gate to the Tree of Life once guarded by the cherubim and flaming sword will be opened wide for all those in Christ Jesus in the new heavens and new earth. Lord, as we trek along this present journey, make us ever more aware of Your goodness to us. For those who do not know or love You, awaken their hearts, call them according to Your purpose. So that for all of us, indeed, things may work together for good.  Through JC, our Lord. Amen.

Benediction

The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.