Untitled Sermon (4)

Reflections Group eMember

05/04/2021

Creation, Man & Woman in the Garden

Genesis Chapters 1 & 2

Opening Discussion: What time of day are you most creative or productive?

Genesis 1:1-5

Question #1: Which word stands out to you as the focal point of this verse: “beginning,” “God,” “created,” “heavens,” or “earth”? Explain.

Genesis 1:6-19

Genesis 1:20-25

Question #2: Based on this reading, why is it important for us to care for the earth and its natural resources?

Genesis 1:26, 27

Question #3: What does it mean to you to be created in God’s image?

Genesis 1:28-31

[Read Colossians 1:15-20]

Question #4: How has the natural world helped you encounter God? What steps can we take to more fully experience God through His creation?

  Charles Pfeiffer (The Biblical World, Baker) suggests this pattern:

Work of Division Works of Adorning

1st: light 4th: sun, moon, stars

2nd: air and sea 5th: birds, fish

3rd: land, plants 6th: animals and man1

1 Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 22). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Differentiation. Often our text says, “And God separated,” as in, “He separated the light from the darkness” (v. 4). The Hebrew word here means “to make a distinction between.” Light is distinguished from dark, earth from sea, day from night—as God sets up a stable pattern for His universe.

Dominion. Priority is also found in Creation. Genesis 1 speaks of rule and dominion. There is a difference in function, and some functions have a higher value or priority.1

1 Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 23). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Diversity. The vast complexity and multiple forms of inanimate matter and of life are also revealing. From the uniqueness of each snowflake to the individuality shown in the animal world, God’s delight in creative expression and His concern for individuals are shown.

Dependability. Through it all, in the alternation and pulse between night and day, season and season, God’s consistency is clearly revealed.1

1 Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 23). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Delight. And then we hear God’s judgment: “It was good.” In the pattern of the universe which God created we discover a God who we can trust because He clearly cares. He is not changeable or capricious, for He designed the world to be stable and orderly. We discover a God who values and, in valuing, chooses always to do that which is, in every way, good.1

1 Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 23). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

➔Image and Likeness. When found together, as in Genesis 1:26; 5:1, 3, selem and demut make a theological statement about human nature, affirming that we bear a “likeness-image” to God. Like God we are persons, with an emotional, moral, and intellectual resemblance to our Creator.

➔ Rule. The Hebrew word in 1:28 is found 25 times in the Old Testament and is used of the rule of human beings rather than of God. It does suggest authority, but also implies responsibility. We are to care for God’s earth, which He entrusted to humankind.1

1 Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher’s commentary (p. 26). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Genesis 2:1-3

Genesis 2:4-7

Question #5: What stands out to you about the creation of Adam?

Genesis 2:8-14

[map of Tigris & Euphrates rivers]

Genesis 2:15-23

Question #6: What stands out to you about the creation of Eve?

God was growing a healthy desire in the heart of man for the need for a companion.

Genesis 2:24-25

Speak volumes about the nature of the relationship between men and women the way it was originally designed.