Zoom Bible Study 11/8/20

Knowing Good and Evil

Last week we closed with, the man has become like God in knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:22).

In sinning man has elevated himself to an equality with God in knowing/deciding for himself what is good and evil. But this knowledge is fallen and doomed, and man has become intimate with this fallen knowledge.

Intimate: marked by very close association, contact, or familiarity.

Genesis 3:23: The man is sent out of the garden to prevent him from eating from the tree of life which would cause him to remain in that state forever.

Genesis 3:21: Since God has covered their nakedness with sacrifice, giving them fellowship with Him, why does He prevent them from eating of the Tree of Life?

Intimacy with Fallen Knowledge

Genesis 4:1: Adam knew (became intimate) with Eve and she CONCEIVED. Adam/sinner + Eve/sinner = Cain/murderer. The point is, kind = kind; humanly impossible to escape this cycle of reproduction; not only in thought, but also in deed.

Genesis 4:1-7: Cain kills his brother Abel.

Genesis 4:6-7: God gives Cain the remedy to overcome sin, but Cain rejects it, because he was of the evil one, and his deeds were evil (1 John 3:12). Cain had a hatred not jealousy toward Abel, but rather at what God had appointed (3:15) and Abel was in that appointed way.

Initially God’s Appointed way (Man’s Helper) would be in the sacrifice of Animals, but this was only a temporary help.

Hebrews 10:1-10: Christ is man’s only Helper/Way back to God.

The Way Back

Genesis 10:25-26

Eber

Reu

Hazarmaveth

Sheleph

The Kingdom of God Strikes Back

Genesis 12:1-3: REVELATION and Abram’s faith

Revelation vs Fallen Human Knowledge/Wisdom

Man, through fallen knowledge can never live in agreement with God, neither can he comprehend what God requires. He will eternally miss the “Mark.”

Psalm 98:2: Revealed: be made known

1 Corinthians 2: :  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him”—

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Co 1:28–2:13.

Sinful man is in a state of ruin/loss which he cannot remedy himself. He is in need of a saviour/helper

Hebrews 2:14-16

The New Covenant

John 3:16

Salvation

Salvation

1. theology

deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ.

synonyms:

redemption · deliverance · saving · help · reclamation

2. The most important thing to understand about the plan of salvation is that it is God’s plan, not humanity’s plan. Humanity’s plan of salvation would be observing religious rituals or obeying certain commands or achieving certain levels of spiritual enlightenment. But none of these things are part of God’s plan of salvation. God’s plan of salvation – The Why In God’s plan of salvation, first we must understand why we need to be saved. Simply put, we need to be saved because we have sinned. The Bible declares that everyone has sinned (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). Sin is rebellion against God. We all choose to actively do things that are wrong. Sin harms others, damages us, and, most importantly, dishonors God. The Bible also teaches that, because God is holy and just, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23) and eternal separation from God (Revelation 20:11–15). Without God’s plan of salvation, eternal death is the destiny of every human being. God’s plan of salvation – The What In God’s plan of salvation, God Himself is the only one who can provide for our salvation. We are utterly unable to save ourselves because of our sin and its consequences. God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14). Jesus lived a sinless life (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5) and offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice on our behalf (1 Corinthians 15:3; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 10:10). Since Jesus is God, His death was of infinite and eternal value. The death of Jesus Christ on the cross fully paid for the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2). His resurrection from the dead demonstrated that His sacrifice was indeed sufficient and that salvation is now available. God’s plan of salvation – The How In Acts 16:31, a man asked the apostle Paul how to be saved. Paul’s response was, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” The way to follow God’s plan of salvation is to believe. That is the only requirement (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8–9). God has provided for our salvation through Jesus Christ. All we must do is receive it, by faith, fully trusting in Jesus alone as Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). That is God’s plan of salvation. God’s plan of salvation – Will you receive it? If you are ready to follow God’s plan of salvation, place your faith in Jesus as your Savior. Change your mind from embracing sin and rejecting God to rejecting sin and embracing God through Jesus Christ. Fully trust in the sacrifice of Jesus as the perfect and complete payment for your sins. If you do this, God’s Word promises that you will be saved, your sins will be forgiven, and you will spend eternity in heaven. There is no more important decision. Place your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior today!