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Theme for 2022 is “Begin Again”
This eight-part series is called “In the Beginning” and will carry us through May, June and into July with some breaks in between.
I thought it would be good for us to reset our thinking by going all the way back to the beginning.
Lets look at how God began everything and how God begins again.
Today is also Mother’s Day.
Last week we suggested that people might want to wear something in memory of their mother or from their children.
i would encourage you to ask people what they are wearing and why.
I know that mother’s day gets complicated by emotions like grief and regret.
But it is good to remember and honor where you came from.
As we look at the beginning of humanity, we remember where we came from and how we came to be.
Where we came from tells us something about who we are and what we are becoming.
Most of all, we need to understand God’s design and purpose in creating us human, so that we can become all that God meant for us to be.
I hope that this message will also be especially encouraging for women today, to know that you have such an important role In God’s plan for humanity.
Genetic scientists tell us that all of humanity has a pair of common ancestors.
The Y chromosome that designates men as male comes from a single male ancestor.
And the mitochondrial DNA that all of us carry comes from a single “Mitochondrial Eve” who they believe live between 100 thousand to 200 thousand years ago.
However, if you work at it from the other end, you can merge all of our family trees back to the point where, statistically speaking, we are all related.
For example, if you go back a hundred generations, not only is the population of earth much smaller, but each of those people is more likely than not to be somewhere in our family tree, making us all “cousins” so to speak.
Using this method, it is reasonable to conclude that the human family is somewhere between 4000-7000 years old.
That seems to agree with the biblical account.
We all share a common humanity.
The basic building blocks of this humanity is the family: men, women and children.
Today, masculinity, femininity and the family unit are under attack.
We have forgotten what it means to be human.
But lets go back to the beginning to learn what God intended for humanity so that we can “begin again.”
God created man.
We said last time that God when God created the world, He created light, beauty and order.
God filled the earth with creatures.
He gave all of the creatures the ability to reproduce, so that his beauty and goodness would multiply and eventually fill the earth.
And then He created man, and man was not just good, but very good!
As we look at Genesis chapter 2. I want to also revisit the end of Genesis chapter one to see what we can learn about the importance of God creating man.
Man represents God’s goodness.
God created the world from his own substance and it was good.
He made light out of darkness.
He made order out of chaos.
He made beauty from a watery wasteland.
And then he created man from the dust.
“Adam” sounds like the Hebrew word for mud or clay (adama).
He’s a “mud-man”
But unlike the mud from which he is made, he has life, beauty intelligence and purpose.
Where does that come from?
Man reflects God’s image.
The concept of image is confusing for us today, but in the world of the Bible, it made perfect sense.
The image of God distinguishes man from all of the other animals.
We may share 98% of our DNA with a Chimpanzee, but the ability to know and contemplate God is distinctly human.
I heard of people teaching their dog to pray before eating his food.
The dog in this case is reflecting the faith of his master.
I doubt that without conditioning he ever would have learned to do that on his own.
Our ability to fellowship with God is part of that image.
Image is part of what it meas to be a Son or Daughter of God.
Not only does a son or daughter often look like the parent, but under certain circumstances they will represent the parent.
In Bible times, to be the son of someone is to represent them.
You carry the family name and thereby represent the family.
Image is also a delegated authority.
In addition to being a son who resembles the father, the father would also delegate authority to the son to manage his affairs.
The signet ring or seal was a sign of that authority.
It was like having your dad’s credit card or being able to sign his checks.
God has delegated authority on earth to mankind to manage and steward the earth.
And we thought we had a “blank check” to do whatever we want!
Roman coins had the image of the Emperor pressed onto them to show that commerce was conducted under the authority of the Emperor.
Jesus looked at the coin and said that because it bears his image it belongs to the Emperor.
But then he turned to the people and said, “give to God what is God’s”
In other words, “Whose image do you bear?”
You belong to God!
You are entrusted with his image, which means you represent Him, and He has given you authority.
What else has God given you?
Man is entrusted with God’s life.
Notice that everything, plants, animals, even the mist comes out of the ground and has life.
But God breathes his life into mankind.
God puts His own Divine Energy - His own Life Force into the man that He created.
All of life derives its energy and existence from the environment.
Plants, animals and humans all come from the same basic matter and breathe the same air.
But God placed something inside of mankind that he did not put in any other being - His own personal presence.
The Bible goes on to talk about man being separated from God and from His presence.
All through the Old Testament, God’s Spirit - which is also His breath or wind - comes on people at various times and for various reasons.
But then we meet Jesus _God in human flesh - who had the Spirit without measure.
Jesus dies for our sin ans rises again and then gives the Spirit - the very life of God - to those who believe and receive Him.
Without that life of God in you, you aren’t really living!
Sure, like the plants and animals you live in and receive life from your environment.
But if you are in Christ and His Spirit is in you, then the source of life is in you like a fountain of life overflowing to the world around you.
So far we have only used the term “man” and “mankind” - ladies, here’s where you come in - in fact, you are already in the story.
God created woman from man.
We have been using the word “man” up to this point, but that word is inclusive.
This is a nice little poetic way of saying that “man” was split in two and became “man” and “woman.”
Why is that important?
You may have been taught that man was created in the image of God and that woman was created in the image of man.
That would make woman lower than man.
It would make her subject to man for her identity.
But that is not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches that man, who at this point is inclusive of both man and woman, is created in the image of God and that they become two - man and woman, both created in the image of God.
A woman is everything that “man” is.
Everything that we have said thus far about man is also true of women.
Women are created in God’s image and likeness.
Women reflect the beauty, order and design of God.
Women are “very good” and perpetuate God’s goodness.
Women are image-bearers who represent God in this world.
Women share in the authority, responsibility and rulership of this earth.
Ladies, you are not second-class citizens in this world or in God’s Kingdom!
It is true that both male and female derive their being from God and reflect God.
God, therefore, has both male and female attributes.
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