Class Lesson June 2, 2013

Hey Gang,

You know, the Bible is made up of many stories that fit together to tell one story – God’s Story. This 13-week study will help us understand the Bible’s story, our place in the story, and its implications for our lives today. 

Most people are familiar with at least a few Bible stories. They may not, however, see how what may seem to be disparate parts fit together. A person’s inability to understand the larger story affects their ability to see how the stories, accounts, prophecies, history, and other writings are to be understood. Are they independent or do they connect in some way? what is the theme and what message is being communicated? Therefore, this study is important because it can lead us not only to understand the Bible’s overarching message but also to encounter the Lord God who is its ultimate Author. After all, it is His story.

The lessons in this series are:

1. June 2      - God Begins the Story
2. June 9      - God Chooses a People
3. June 16    - God Delivers His People
4. June 23    - God Instructs His People
5. June 30    - God Dwells Among His People
6. July 7        - God Establishes a Kingdom for His People
7. July 14      - God Disciplines His People
8. July 21      - God Restores His People
9. July 28      - God Promises the Messiah
10. August 4    - God Sends His Son
11. August 11 -  Jesus Is Crucified and Raised
12. August 18 -  Jesus Commissions His Church
13. August 25 -  God Completes the Story

Life Goal

How could someone watch this amazing display of creation and not believe there is a God? Now here is something even more amazing...YOU were made for relationship with God. Don’t miss it! 

A biblical worldview begins with the foundational truth that “In the beginning God created.” In other words, as opposed to believing in a random event that sparked the evolution of the species, bible students believe there has always existed the divine One who is responsible for the origin of all life.

Understanding and accepting a worldview with God’s purposeful creation of human life is the starting point for understanding the entirety of God’s story throughout Scripture to reach and reclaim His fallen creation.

I. GOD CREATES – GENESIS 1:1, 26-27

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.



What does it mean to be created in God’s image and likeness?

• It may reference the vastness and complexity of God or a reference to the triune nature of God.
• Another view is that the plural pronouns refer to God and His angels or a “heavenly counsel,” such as in Job 1:6.
• Most interpreters agree that image and likeness are not physical since God is spirit and not subject to the limitations of time and space that physical existence requires.
• Image and likeness may refer to the moral sensibilities, intellectual capabilities, emotional composition, volitional freedom, relational ability, or spiritual capabilities unique to human compared to other living beings.
• Certainly nothing about the essence of or character of God could be captured in images of wood and stone. However, something of God can be identified or known in the humanity He created. The fullest incarnation of God came in the God-Man Jesus. (John 14:7-11; Phil. 2:5-11)
• In a new person, new people, and new community God wants us to be.

How do you fit into God’s plan and purpose for His creation?

• God’s creation was with purpose, according to His plan, and focused on His promise.
• Humankind, both male and female, is God’s special creation having been created in His image and likeness.

Grammatically, what is the subject of Genesis 1:1?

• The biblical narrative is God’s Story. It is not about us – it’s about God’s love for us.
• Viewing life with God as its starting point is central to all that is good, right, and happy. It affects how we see, and do, everything in life.

 

II. HUMANITY REBELS – GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:6-7
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.


What freedoms did God give? How was the limitation a gift?

• When God tells us not to do something it’s for true freedom, not constraint. He lets us in on the inside scoop. His motives are always selfless, true and loving. God does not tempt us to sin (Jas. 1:13-14).
• Think about it – since God is all-knowing He would have known Adam and Eve would eat the fruit. Why did He give the choice?

What do Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden have to do with today?

• Recognize that people are special in God’s creation, made in His image.
• We should take responsibility that it is our choice to obey God or not.

What place did personal choice play in the decision of the man and the woman?

• Freedom must be exercised within parameters for it to be appreciated and maximized. Absolute freedom can be chaotic and has the potential for harm. The man was permitted to eat of every tree but with one exception – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus, the stage was set for the story of the man and woman’s confrontation with evil, their decision to disregard the prohibition of the Lord, and the consequences that came with that choice.
• Lest we blame the woman, at least it took the shrewd action of the serpent to deceive Eve. It only took the simple act of the woman giving the fruit to her husband for him to give in to the temptation. With no indication of any resistance or questions, he did eat.
• God warns us of the consequence of disobedience, but the decision to obey or disobey is ours.

III. SIN BRINGS CONSEQUENCES – GENESIS 3:14-19, 23-24
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”



How do the curses given to the man and woman affect 21st century humanity?

• he verses provide greater detail as to the effects of sin and serve to remind us that our sin too has its consequences.
• Recognize both the short term and long term consequences to do rightly.

In the garden Adam and Eve lost focus on the origin of life and their purpose for existing and were intrigued with the possibility of becoming like gods. Soon their misguided aspirations were seen for what they truly were – disregard for God, His Word, and His purpose. Ultimately God is in control of the created order and the destiny of humankind.

Prayer of Commitment

Oh, Lord, thank You that in Christ my sins can be forgiven and I can be in a right relationship with You, serve You, and live in the assurance of eternal life. Amen.

I want to thank Mark Krohl for teaching for me this week and encourage everyone to commit to this 13-week series of an in depth look into God's Story from beginning to end.

See you next week!

In His Love,

David & Susan