Lesson 7: Developing a Biblical View of Life

From bad to worse

Genesis 1-11 is often called the “primeval history” because it provides the earliest account of creation and the human race. These eleven chapters give us the proper framework for understanding Scripture as a whole. They are indispensable for the development of a Christian worldview. They can be outlined very easily. Genesis 1-2 presents the story of creation and God’s design for human life. Genesis 3 explains how sin entered the world and spoiled God’s plan. Genesis 4-11 shows how sin proliferates and increasingly damages everything. Genesis 1-11, therefore, is about creation and its massive corruption as a result of the fall.

Now there is no way to really appreciate the significance of our salvation except by understanding how deeply sin has wounded creation and all things in it. The catastrophic nature of our predicament must become transparent to us if we are to grasp the real triumph of the Kingdom of God. So, in this lesson on Genesis 4-11, we will learn how things go from bad to worse as sin spreads and escalates in the stories about Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and the tower of Babel.

The effects of sin touch all of creation: no created thing is in principle untouched by the corrosive effects of the fall. Whether we look at societal structures such as the state or family, or cultural pursuits such as art or technology, or bodily functions such as sexuality or eating, or anything at all within the wide scope of creation, we discover that the good handiwork of God has been drawn into the sphere of human mutiny against God. “The whole creation,” Paul writes in a profound passage of Romans, “has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Rom. 8:22).

Albert M. Wolters, Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview

Cain and Abel

Genesis 4 is about murder and apostasy. A domestic dispute rooted in anger and jealousy soon turns violent and terminates in fratricide as Cain murders his brother Abel (vv. 1-15). Shortly thereafter, the fugitive Cain builds a city and stamps the characteristics of his own apostate personality on humankind’s first attempt at establishing a civilization (vv. 16-24). Overall, this chapter presents a prototype of the “world” in its brutal disregard for human life and in its religious apathy toward God. Let’s survey the contents of this chapter briefly.

Verse 1-2 present the births of both Cain and Abel and their occupations. Cain, whose name literally means “acquire,” “get,” or “possess,” was the first born and a farmer. Abel, whose name literally means “vapor,” “breath,” or “vanity,” was the second born and a shepherd. Their names signify lives of selfishness and brevity respectively. In due course, Cain and Abel presented offerings to the Lord based on their livelihoods. The Lord accepted Abel’s animal sacrifice, but He had no regard for Cain’s agricultural offering (vv. 3-5). The reason why was because Abel offered the very best of his flocks in faith, whereas Cain apparently did not (see Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:11-12; Jude 6). Cain responded vehemently to God’s displeasure and his facial expression fell (v. 5). God confronted Cain in his anger (v. 6) and encouraged him not to give in to the controlling power of sin (v. 7). Unfortunately, Cain paid no attention to God’s warning and shortly thereafter murdered his brother in the field (v. 8). Cain failed both in his faith and with his family. He disregarded God and showed no respect for His image either. For these reasons, John contrasts Cain’s action toward Abel as a tragic example of a failure to love one another (1 John 3:11-12).

Verses 9-15 present God’s judgment on Cain. Immediately, the Lord interrogates Cain regarding his brother’s whereabouts, and he responds defensively with his classic question of indifference: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (v. 9) Yet God knows exactly what has happened. He says that Abel’s spilled blood cries out from the ground for justice (v. 10). The sixth commandment prohibiting murder is obviously in place here as a natural moral law even at this early stage in human history.

Consequently, God pronounces a curse upon Cain just as He did on the serpent, Eve, and Adam. The ground that Cain will attempt to cultivate as a farmer will be fruitless, and he will be a fugitive on the earth (vv. 11-12). Cain responds to God’s sentence with self-pity, but not repentance: “My punishment is too great to bear!” (v. 13). He laments that he has been alienated from the ground and from God, and that in his vagrancy he will be the next murder victim. No one will be his keeper! (v. 14) God responds to Cain’s howling with grace. He issues an edict of sevenfold vengeance on Cain’s would-be murderer, and provides a seal of protection (a tattoo?) that will enable him to live out all his days (v. 15).

How different the world has become! It is now filled with jealously, rage, violence, murder, homelessness, selfishness, faithlessness, and self-pity! How sin has spread and escalated!

Cain-Lamech civlization

The rest of Genesis 4 sets forth a picture of the first godless human culture derived from Cain and his descendents. In it we see aspects of God’s original plan, and yet its woeful misdirection. Cain’s line multiplies and exercises dominion over the earth. They build a city and make advances in science and civilization. Nevertheless, it is accompanied by a radical increase in pride, immorality, and violence. Though ancient, it seems suspiciously modern. Human nature has not changed that much!

Genesis 4:16-18 is a short summary of Cain’s life after the death of Abel. In fleeing from God, he eventually settled in the land of Nod (Hebrew for “Wandering”), east of Eden (v. 16). He and his wife have a son Enoch, and they named the city they built after him (v. 17). The name of this eponymous city means to “initiate” or “inaugurate,” and it was a substitute Eden.[1] It was Cain’s attempt to create his own world without God. Cain intended for it to be a place of security in the midst of a hostile environment. There he hoped that he and his people could flourish in their undertakings. However, it was thoroughly secularized, grounded in self-love, and constructed for human glory. Its spirit culminated a bit later on in the tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9). Its ethos will be manifested again much later on in its end time descendent “BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH!” (Rev. 17-18). Both of these humanistic empires, ancient and prophetic, challenge the supreme authority of God and His purposes for human life.

Cain has built a city. For God’s Eden he substitutes his own, for the goal given to his life, he substitutes a goal chosen by himself — just as he substituted his own security for God’s. Such is the act by which Cain takes his destiny on his own shoulders, refusing the hand of God in his life.

Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City

We must point out briefly, however, that city-building is not wrong per se. The spiritual direction of a city is what really counts. In fact, Christians are already citizens of the city of God (Heb. 12:22). We are looking forward to its complete manifestation on the earth in the future (Heb. 11:9-10, 16; Rev. 21-22)! Even now, the citizens of God’s city are to seek the welfare of the cities on earth in which they currently reside (Jer. 29:4-7). Saints are to be good citizens! (Rom. 13:1-7).

The citizens of the city of Enoch weren’t so good, however. The city grew not only in population (v. 18) but also in corruption (v. 19). Cain’s descendent Lamech married two wives, one named Adah and the other named Zillah. Despite this flagrant violation of monogamy (a natural law against adultery was already in place at this time), civilization began to flourish by God’s common grace. Adah’s side of the family contributed significantly to animal husbandry (v. 20) and the musical arts (v. 21). Zillah’s offspring flourished in the area of technology (v. 22). Unfortunately, these remarkable cultural achievements were unable to change the spiritual texture of Lamech’s heart. He boasts to his two wives in his noted “Song of the Sword” about his violent tendencies and inflated sense of self-importance (vv. 23-24). Cain and Lamech have the dubious distinction of producing the first apostate human civilization. Sin continues to spread and escalate.

The Flood

On the basis of Genesis 3:15, we can safely say that Cain and Lamech are the offspring of the serpent. Their wicked civilization is a manifestation of his work. This satanic line will culminate in two great world apostasies by the time we reach Genesis 11. The first is the pre-flood civilization (Gen. 6-9). The second is the Tower of Babel (Gen 11). A third great world apostasy is yet to come (Rev. 17-18). The offspring of the godly woman develops as well. We will trace the history of her line when we get to the topic of redemption. Right now we want to understand something about the first great world apostasy that resulted in the judgment of the flood.

Cain and Lamech’s wicked descendents are on display in Genesis 6:1-8 where the causes of the flood are given. Verses 1-4 are very difficult. There are three basic interpretations. First, the “angelic-demonic” view proposes that fallen angels assume human form, seduce mortal women, and produce offspring of giants. Their goal is to corrupt the human race and destroy the godly, messianic line of the woman.

Second, the “apostate Sethites” view suggests that the sons of God are the godly descendents of Seth who wrongly intermarry with the ungodly descendents of Cain. Out of these mixed spiritual unions a race of wicked tyrants is produced.

Third, the “divine kingship” view teaches that the sons of God are the demonically inspired kings or nobles of the ancient world who are the royal successors of Lamech. Their sin was not intermarriage between two worlds (angels and men), or between two religious communities (Sethites and Cainites). Rather, in the tradition of Lamech himself, their sin was polygamy (see vv. 2, 4; Gen. 4:19). These kings violated the natural moral ordinance of God for human marriage. The result was the production of great dynastic rulers, men of great pride and power who did violence and promoted wickedness in the earth (just as arrogant, powerful leaders do today). As a result they corrupted humankind and brought divine judgment. One thing is clear: God’s Spirit would not put up with this behavior forever. The time left for humanity before the judgment would be 120 years (v. 3).

Now verses 5-8 are much more straightforward in their explanation of the flood. What God sees is an evil heart out of which wicked actions spring (v. 5). This verse is a vivid portrayal of the depth of depravity existing at this time. The human race has fallen away from God completely. This degenerate condition has a decisive impact on God’s emotions and actions. He grieves over their sin and regrets that He made humankind in the first place (v. 6). He resolves in His deep sorrow to bring judgment on His original creation by blotting out people, animals, creeping things, and birds (v. 7).

Notice how God’s judgment on humanity affects the earth and its inhabitants. Solidarity exists between human beings and creation. Whatever happens to the former also happens to the latter in both judgment and redemption (see Rom. 8: 8-25). In this case, human moral chaos will reduce the earth to disorder and bring death to its inhabitants through the waters of the flood (in the third apostasy, the judgment will be by fire — 2 Pet. 3:7, 10). In contrast to the original creation, God now looks upon the earth, and behold, it was very bad (vv. 11-12; cf. Gen. 1:31). But God also looks upon Noah and his family with favor. Through them, humanity and the animal kingdom will be delivered through the ark. In due course, a new creation will be born out of the judgment waters of the flood. How sin has spread and escalated once again.

The Tower of Babel

A new creation is, indeed, born out of the waters of the flood (Gen. 9:1-19). Yet sin enters into this freshly cleansed world through Noah’s drunkenness in his vineyard (Gen. 9:20-27). Corruption grows among the descendents of Noah’s three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and culminates in a second great world apostasy at the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1-9). The narrative pattern of Genesis 1-11 is becoming clear. It runs from creation (1-2) to the fall and flood (4-8) to a new creation (9a) and then back again to another fall (9b-11). We move from Eden to Babel where primeval history comes to an end. What is the significance of this story?

The Babel episode expresses a naive, yet strong confidence in what human beings through their technology could accomplish in the world. The builders of this city aspired to a unified and prosperous life. They wanted to be famous for their achievements. They wanted to be god-like in freedom and do their own thing. Along with the Cain/Lamech civilization in Genesis 4, Babel is the beginning of the humanistic utopian dream to which humankind has aspired ever since the fall. Paradise must be restored, yet on humanity’s own terms. The Bible holds out the prospect of a perfect world as well, but one that will be achieved only in Jesus Christ in the context of new creation!

The setting of the Babel story is presented in Genesis 11:1-2. Here we learn that the entire human race was linguistically unified (v. 1). In journeying east, they settled on a plain in the land of Shinar (v. 2). Soon they would be unsettled and scattered. The next two verses present their rebellious plan (vv. 3-4). By means of their technology (v. 3), they resolved to build a city and a tower. They wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted to keep themselves from being scattered over the face of the earth (v. 4). In titanic self-assertion, the Babel builders sought a unified physical and spiritual victory. They wanted their tower and city to serve as symbols of their power and pride. They wanted glory for their creation. They did not want to be subordinate to anyone.

But God was not happy at His human race snatching at deity. His judgment is meted out in verses 5-9. Ironically, He must descend to the earth to see the puny tower (from the divine perspective) that the Babel builders had made (v. 5). He makes careful note of their social and linguistic unity, and their remarkable technological prowess: “Now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them” (v. 6). God’s purposes are now in danger of being replaced by humanity’s desires. To thwart their forward progress and to insure the continuation of His own agenda, God administers a twofold judgment. He confuses them linguistically and scatters them globally (vv. 7-8). As a result, they stop building the city. What better way to impede their progress than to prevent them from understanding each other! The city was appropriately named Babel because of the confusion that began in this city (v. 9). It prevented early humanity from going too far in its power and pride. How far will God let us go in ours?

Now this event marks the origin of diverse cultures, languages, nations, and races (the table of nations in Gen. 10 explains how the peoples were divided). Division and difference mark the human condition from this point onward. It remains until the reversal of Babel at Pentecost in which the Spirit of God unites people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation together as one in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-12; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:11). God’s ultimate goal is a renewed and reunified humanity in Him.

Have you noticed that this account, unlike Noah at the time of the flood, lacks any mention of a righteous remnant? How will God’s story continue from here? There is no offspring of the godly woman to His kingdom. Have we reached a dead end only eleven chapters deep into the Bible? Here is how one theologian describes this situation: “the story about the tower of Babel concludes with God’s judgment on mankind: there is no word of grace. The whole primeval history seems to break off in shrill dissonance, and the question . . . now arises even more urgently: is God’s relationship to the nations now finally broken; is God’s forbearance now exhausted; has God rejected the nations in wrath forever?”[2]

What will God do next? We will find out when we begin our study of the history of redemption! For now, we see the world living in universal spiritual rebellion against God. No one is righteous, not even one. It seems that sin has spread and escalated to the point of no return.

[The first eleven chapters of Genesis] have a unique role in the canon: to describe, on the one hand, the potential of the created world for order and to describe, on the other hand, the human and natural disorder into which the world has progressively lapsed as a result of the human fall. Genesis 1-2 shows us a world over which humankind, at the center and in the divine presence, was to rule. . . . Genesis 3-11 shows us the consequences of the human fall and the spread of sin. By the time we reach Genesis 11, we see a human society that has lost its God-centeredness. The remainder of the Bible reveals the way in which the expectations for the future is progressively and gradually expanded by the creation of a worshipping people of God and the institutions that will bind the people together to redress the disorder characteristic of Genesis 3-11. Both people and institutions will find their final expression in a God-given new creation. --William J. Dumbrell, The Search for Order: Biblical Eschatology in Focus

Conclusion

Fratricide, Cain and Lamech’s humanistic civilization, and two world apostasies at the flood and Babel: Sin is out of control! God’s rule appears to be in jeopardy. His creation and creatures are thoroughly corrupt. Things have gone from bad to worse. A great tragedy has befallen the world. That is precisely the purpose of Genesis 4-11 as it depicts the spread and escalation of sin. Only against this black velvet curtain will we truly appreciate the dazzling diamond of our salvation!

Coming up next: The fall of humanity into sin in Jesus and Paul.

Questions for Study or Discussion

1. How can we see, even after the fall into sin, that human beings retain the “image of God”?

2. Summarize the ways the fall into sin affected culture and civilization after Cain and Abel. What evidence do you see that these effects continue in our own day?

3. How can we see the grace of God at work in the episode of the flood? What does His grace hear suggest about how He will ultimately accomplish His purpose of reconciling humankind and the world to Himself?

4. What was the sin of the tower-builders? Do we see evidence of this kind of hubris and self-serving in world governments today?

5. It’s interesting to consider that, in bringing judgment on the tower-builders, God did not use war or plague or some catastrophic intervention from heaven. Rather, He used a cultural innovation – diversity of languages – to accomplish the ends of His judgment. How can we see the grace of God at work, even in the midst of His judgment? What does this episode suggest about the judgment God is pouring out on nations even today (Rom. 1:18ff)?

For more information on this topic, get the book Genesis, by Derek Kidner, from our online store. Or read the article, “William Cowper and Uncreation,” by David Naugle.

[1] Jacques Ellul, The Meaning of the City, trans. Dennis Pardee (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), pp. 5-6.

[2] Gerhard von Rad, Genesis: A Commentary, trans. John H. Marks, The Old Testament Library (Philadelphia:

Westminster, 1972), p. 153.

Developing a Biblical Worldview

Lesson 6: What’s Gone Wrong?

How did we get in the mess we’re in? In Part 6 of his study on Biblical worldview, Dr. Naugle takes us to the root of all the problems of mankind and the cosmos.

Not just a nursery rhyme!

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Could not put Humpty Dumpty back together again.”

I bet most of us heard this nursery rhyme at our mother’s knee when we were growing up! I certainly did! We are probably passing it along to our own children as well. But what on earth does it mean? I don’t know if there is an “official” interpretation for these famous lines or not. Regardless, I would like to suggest that we view it as a parable depicting the creation and fall of humankind. We can view it as a snap shot of what happened in Genesis 1-3.

In the beginning at creation, “Humpty Dumpty” sat on a wall. But then “Humpty Dumpty” had a great “fall” — a fall into sin. Fragile egg that he was, the consequences were shattering. Nobody in human history — including all the king’s horses or the king’s men — has been able to put “Humpty Dumpty” back together again.

Notice how this little story ends in despair. There is no solution to Humpty Dumpty’s desperate situation. Fortunately, the Bible doesn’t end in the same way. It goes on to explain how God, the One who made “Humpty Dumpty” in the first place, has put him back together again through Jesus Christ. That is the story of redemption. We will get to it later on in our study. For now we want to use this little story to illustrate the bad news of the fall and its devastating results. This is the second “act” in the narrative of the Scriptures, the next major theme in a biblical view of life.

Good news, bad news

But first, let’s put things in context. The story of creation is, in a sense, “gospel.” It is good news, really good news! Have you ever thought about it that way? After all, our Trinitarian God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is the maker of heaven and earth. He created everything out of His extravagant love. He formed and filled the earth to be our home. He gave it to us as a gift of His grace. He made us as His image and likeness so that we might know Him and enjoy meaningful relationships with others. He gave us an original life assignment to have dominion over the earth, that we might actualize its mighty potential. God’s purpose was to bless us comprehensively. He intended us for shalom — soundness, wholeness, well-being. Everything God made was good, indeed, it was very good, a reflection of His very own goodness. I think it is right, therefore, to refer to the account of creation in Genesis 1-2 as “gospel” or good news!

The fall of humanity into sin in Genesis 3, however, is bad news, very bad news. I call it the “uncreation” because it reversed God’s original intentions for humanity and the earth. God formed all things by creation, but humanity deformed all things by sin. God’s blessing has been replaced by judgment. Life has been undermined by death. Fellowship with God was broken. Idolatry reigns. Relationships with others have been disrupted. Human society is divided. The world has undergone a great disturbance. It is no longer normal. Everything is upside down. The peace has been broken. Shalom has been vandalized. Things are not the way they are supposed to be. It’s paradise lost, as John Milton points out in the opening lines of his monumental epic poem about the fall.

Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste

Brought death into the world, and all our woe,

With loss of Eden, till one greater Man

Restore us, and regain the blissful seat.[1]

Therefore, if we are to think and live in this world biblically — like Jesus did — we must take the catastrophe of the fall seriously. This doctrine answers the big worldview question about what has gone wrong and why. It introduces the fundamental conflict into the Biblical narrative that must be resolved before the story ends. It explains the reason for the tragic character of the human condition that persists even until today. Other worldviews analyze our needy situation differently, rooting it, for example, in the defects of evolution (naturalism), or in a lost awareness of our divine nature (pantheism). Christian theism, however, anchors our difficulties in the moral rebellion of the human race against God. This story is told in Genesis 3.

The space-time fall

Sometimes it is challenging to take the story of the fall seriously. Why? Here is one explanation: “Centuries of religious art and, in recent years, hundreds of cartoons of naked women, apples, and snakes have served to distract us from the meaning of the Fall in Genesis 3.”[2] This is unfortunately true. There is some serious skepticism afloat about the historicity and trustworthiness of this account. How should we respond? I think in at least three ways.

First, we should note that nothing in the text itself suggests that the fall should be viewed merely as parable, myth, or saga. It is presented as straightforward history. External pressure from science and philosophy may pressure us to deny its veracity. But as it stands, the text expects to be taken as a face value description of what really happened.

Second, the New Testament clearly affirms the content of this chapter by comparing it to the historical character of the person and work of Jesus Christ Himself (Rom. 5:12-21; see also 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:8-15). This is the strongest reason for taking Genesis 3 on its own merits.

Finally, apologists have defended the historical character of this chapter by showing how it, and the whole of Genesis 1-11, is foundational to Scripture and to a Biblical view of life. Francis Schaeffer’s work Genesis in Space and Time is a good example.[3] Thus we proceed in confidence that Genesis 3 presents an historically accurate description of humanity’s fall.

The first five verses of Genesis 3 are an account of the temptation of the woman. Verse 1 informs us that a most crafty “serpent” — a cunning animal appropriated by Satan as the agent of temptation (Rev. 12:9; 20:2) — confronted the woman and asked her a probing question: “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’” Not only does the serpent/Satan test the woman’s knowledge of God’s word, but he also casts aspersions on His character, suggesting subtly that He is stingy with His provisions. In verses 2-3, the woman responds by reciting the commandment originally given by God (Gen. 2:16-17). She adds, however, that the forbidden fruit was not even to be touched, much less eaten, lest they die (was Eve the first legalist?). In an attempt to persuade the woman to follow his own rebellious course, the serpent/Satan categorically denies God’s assertion that disobedience would result in death (v. 4). He follows this up with the promise that eating from the forbidden tree would transform the man and woman into gods. They could live in freedom as they please (v. 5). Unfortunately, the woman believed these two satanic lies. She convinced her husband to join her in mutiny against their Maker.

In verses 6-7, we observe the primeval couple’s blatant act of rebellion and its immediate results. Having been overtaken by the lust of the flesh (“the tree was good for food”), the lust of the eyes (“it was a delight to the eyes”), and the boastful pride of life (“the tree was desirable to make one wise”), the woman took the forbidden fruit in her hand, put it into her mouth, and ate it. Her husband did likewise (v. 6). At that moment, everything changed. A new consciousness swept over them. They lost innocence and discovered shame. Sin struck at the deepest point of their humanity. They attempted to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. The tragic consequences of their prideful self-assertion followed immediately. The rest of Genesis 3 describes these consequences in the form of four separations and three curses.

It was in secret that the first human beings began to be evil; and the result was that they slipped into open disobedience. For they would not have arrived at the evil act if an evil will had not preceded it. Now could anything but pride have been the start of the evil will? For “pride is the start of every kind of sin” (Ecclesiasticus 10: 13). And what is pride except a longing for a perverse kind of exaltation? . . . [However], by aiming at more, a man is diminished, when he elects to be self-sufficient and defects from the one who is really sufficient for him. . . . This then is the original evil: man regards himself as his own light, and turns away from that light which would make himself a light if he would set his heart on it.

— St. Augustine, The City of God, 14.13.

Four separations + three curses

The first consequence of sin is that human beings are separated from God (Gen. 3: 8-9). When the Lord made His routine appearance in the evening for fellowship with the man and his wife, the response of the now fallen couple is telling: they “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the Garden” (v. 8). Instead of joyfully going forth to meet their loving Creator, they hide in embarrassment from Him. They are ashamed, not only in front of each other, but before God as well. He calls out the man, “Where are you?” but the man does not answer (v. 9). The very purpose for which God had created this primeval couple is now thwarted. Sin has cut off the human race from the Author of life. The result is spiritual death. A vacuum seizes the heart and it becomes restless. It is filled with intense longings and desires. In its irrepressible religious nature and need, it seeks satisfaction in something, in anything, but not in God. It embraces a variety of impotent idols. It will not be refused. Because of sin, therefore, the fundamental problem of the human race is spiritual in character: we are alienated from God.

The second consequence of sin is that human beings are separated from themselves (Gen. 3:10). Estrangement from God has direct psychological repercussions. When the Lord inquired about the man’s location, he responded in words that revealed a radically altered interior state: “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself” (v. 10). Previously, the man’s inner life was characterized by peace and wholeness. Sin has destroyed the previous integrity. Fear, shame, and guilt have shattered the sense of well-being. Fragmentation results. Insecurity reigns. Everything inside man and woman has changed. Thinking is distorted, affections are muddled, and the will is misdirected. Bona fide unhappiness results. Because of sin, therefore, human beings have sustained significant psychological damage: we are deeply alienated within ourselves.

If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

The third consequence of sin is that human beings are separated from each other (Gen. 3:11-13). When God asked the man about his nakedness and whether or not he had eaten the proscribed fruit, he immediately sought to defend himself and to place the blame elsewhere. He said: “The woman, whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (v. 12). The man refused to take responsibility for his own actions. His sin was everyone’s fault except his own. This episode marks the beginning, not only of the battle between the sexes, but also of deep divisions within the human community. God meant for us to love one another, to be one human family unified in peace and love under Him.

But this is no longer possible in a fallen world. Our theological and psychological brokenness has significant sociological implications. Sin not only severs us from God and ourselves, but also from others. We treat each other with indifference, hostility, or even violence. War, it seems, becomes inevitable. Because of sin, therefore, the human social order has been disrupted: we are deeply alienated from one another.

Now at this point in the narrative, God begins to pronounce a series of curses or judgments on the serpent, the woman, and the man. Once these are administered, a fourth and final separation is taken up at the very end of the chapter.

The curse upon the serpent (Gen. 3:14-15). The serpent is cursed regarding his role in the animal kingdom, and in his relationship to the woman and her offspring. As an animal judged by God, it assumes a position of abject humility below the cattle and every beast of the field. This is signified by its consignment to the ground and by its diet of dust (v. 14). The serpent’s final defeat is indicated in verse 15. A battle will develop between the woman and the serpent, and between the woman’s offspring and the serpent’s offspring. The offspring of the woman will inflict a fatal wound upon the head of the serpent, while the serpent will inflict a non-lethal blow to the heel of the woman’s offspring.

This is a mysterious verse. Most see it as a reference to the spiritual warfare at the heart of human history between the godly offspring of the woman and the wicked offspring of the serpent. The human race is divided into two basic communities — the godly and the ungodly — who live in conflict with one another. Examples include the opposition between Abel and Cain, Noah and apostate humanity, Israel and the nations, and now the Church and the world. The battle culminates when Christ as the ultimate Offspring of the woman (Mary) defeats Satan through his sacrificial death and His triumphant resurrection (see John 12:31; Col. 2:15; 1 John 3:8). He shares His victory with the people of God, and completes that victory when He returns again.

Accordingly, Genesis 3:15 is the first proclamation of the gospel, the protevangelium as some have called it. Even in the midst of the death and judgment of the fall, God in His mercy announces His plan to defeat the devil and evil and to bring salvation to the world through Jesus Christ!

I classify the human race into two branches: the one consists of those who live by human standards, the other of those who live according to God’s will. I also call these two classes the two cities, speaking allegorically. By two cities I mean two societies of human beings, one of which is predestined to reign with God for all eternity, the other doomed to undergo eternal punishment with the Devil.

St. Augustine, The City of God 15.1

The curse upon the woman (Gen. 3:16). The woman is cursed in her role as mother and in her relationship to her husband. For her part in the fall, God punishes the woman by increasing the pain in the conception, pregnancy, and child-birthing process. Bearing children had been God’s intention since the beginning. The male and female were to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28). This original purpose, which undoubtedly contained a measure of natural difficulty, is complicated significantly for the woman in her role as mother. Experience bears this out super-abundantly.

Despite the agony now associated with having babies, the woman would nonetheless possess a desire, perhaps an excessive one, for a husband. Her longing for a man in her life could also entail an aspiration to lead or dominate him. Yet as a second aspect of her punishment, God decreed that the husband would rule over her. While their natures and roles were certainly unique, man and woman enjoyed a satisfying relationship of mutuality and respect in their pre-fallen state. After sin entered the world, however, God requires the woman to be subordinate to the leadership of her husband in marriage and in the government of the home.
In the New Testament, Paul also applies this to the church as well (see 1 Tim. 2:11-15). A new kind of hierarchy is introduced into human affairs. This is no invitation to abuse or exploitation, however. In fact, the character of this marital relationship is illustrated for us in Song of Solomon in the Old Testament (Song of Solomon 8:6-7), and by Christ’s love for the Church in the New Testament (Eph. 5:21-33). Regardless, the creational ideal for the birth of children and for the male-female relationship has been significantly altered because of sin.

The curse upon the man (Gen. 3: 17-19). The man is cursed in his role as ruler and in his relationship with the earth. Because the man disobeyed God, his task to exercise dominion over creation has been frustrated exponentially. No longer does the creation cooperate with him in his cultural enterprises. Rather, it puts up a fight. It resists him at every turn. Only by agonizing toil and by sorrowful labor will he be able to draw his sustenance from the earth (v. 17). Only by blood, sweat, and tears will he be able to eat bread (v. 18). Work was God’s original blessing. Now it has been overtaken with difficulty. The fulfillment of the cultural mandate entails much misery. Experience bears this out super-abundantly as well.

This has come about because the earth has changed. Sin has not only affected our relationships with God, self and others, but it has also brought a curse upon the ground itself. The whole creation has been subjected to futility, corruption, and groaning (see Rom. 8:20-22). There is not a single aspect of reality, spiritual or physical, that has escaped this malady. The creation itself was once a garden, a park. By sin it became a wilderness, a desert. Its lush vegetation has been taken over by thorns and thistles (v. 18). Paradise has been lost. So has the gift of life itself. The man was taken from the dust of the ground originally. To the dust of the ground he will return eventually (v. 19). God’s previous warning proves true (Gen. 2: 16-17). The wages of sin are death (Rom. 6:23). The earth is not only man’s cradle and home, but also his grave. He is dust and to dust he returns.

To expire, however, is a merciful judgment. It delivers human beings from a perpetual life under the curse. It opens the way to an eternal salvation that vanquishes death.[4] Man was to have dominion over the earth. Because of sin, the earth now has dominion over man.

The fourth and final consequence of sin is that human beings are separated from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:20-24). In a surprise move, the man gives a name to his wife that at first does not seem to fit this present context of death. He calls her “Eve” which means “life” or “living” (v. 20). Here Adam demonstrates his faith in the promise of God that the offspring of the woman would destroy the serpent and conquer death. She would indeed be the mother of the living! Through her offspring redemption would come into the world!

In response to Adam’s faith, God made garments from the skins of sacrificed animals and clothed Adam and Eve (v. 21). This is a picture pointing to Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29)! Despite this expression of grace, God realized that this first human couple now lived in a fallen state. They would exist permanently in this corrupted condition if they had continuous access to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. So in ironic mercy, God drives them out of paradise, and stations an angelic battalion at the east entrance of the Garden to prevent them from ever reentering it again (vv. 22-24).

This is tragedy of unspeakable proportions. We traded the bounty and blessing of Eden for the chaos, confusion, and insecurity of a broken world. Ever since we have sought to get it back by our own utopian efforts (see the examples in Genesis 4 and 11). For God has placed an unsatisfied longing for paradise in the human heart. But only God and His kingdom can fill it! Because of sin, therefore, we have been expelled from paradise: we are alienated from paradise itself.

The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. ... Apparently, then, our lifelong nostalgia [Sehnsucht], our longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside, is no mere neurotic fancy, but the truest index of our real situation. And to be at last summoned inside would be both glory and honor beyond all our merits and also the healing of that old ache.

C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Conclusion

Genesis 3 tells the story of the space-time fall and its results. It consists of four horrible separations plus three terrible curses. It is an equation for death. We are separated and alienated from God, ourselves, each other, and paradise. The serpent, the woman, and the man have all been cursed. Life has died and death now lives. The creation has become uncreation. “Humpty Dumpty” has had a great fall. This is really bad news. That’s what’s gone wrong with the world.

Coming up next: The spread and escalation of sin in Genesis 4-11.

For Study or Discussion

1. Why do people have a problem with the story of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin? Why must we not regard this merely as a myth?

2. How can we see that Satan appeals to God’s people today very much like he did to Eve? Have you experienced this? How can people guard themselves against this?

3. Review Dr. Naugle’s discussion of the effects of the fall (the curses). What are some ways that these are evident in our own day?

4. How do other worldviews try to explain the problems facing humankind and the world? Why is the Biblical explanation so much more sound?

5. What does Dr. Naugle mean by “uncreation”? How does Jesus Christ reverse the effects of “uncreation”?

For more insight to this question, get the book, The Strategy of Satan, by Warren Wiersbe, from our online store. Or read the article, “How Did the World Get so Messed Up”? by Rick Warren.

[1] John Milton, Paradise Lost, illustrated Gustave Doré (Franklin Center, Pennsylvania: The Franklin Library,

1979), p. 7.

[2] Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction: Christian Faith and its Confrontation with American Society (Nashville:

Thomas Nelson, 1983), p. 39.

[3] Francis A. Schaeffer, Genesis in Space and Time: The Flow of Biblical History (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,

1972).

[4] Bruce Waltke, “Class Notes on the Book of Genesis,” Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia. No Date.

Kingdom Living: Developing a Biblical View of Life (5)

In the account of the creation of man and woman we find a lovely, highly personal statement about mankind’s nature and purpose, and the love God bears for His creatures.

Complementary or contradictory?

Many readers of the Bible have wrestled with the question about the relationship between Genesis 1 and 2. Are these two chapters complementary to one another? Or should we view them as different creation accounts that are somewhat at odds?

While I recognize that there are some real difficulties here (e.g., reconciling Gen. 2:9 with Gen. 1:11-13), I prefer the former, complementary approach. So does the highly esteemed German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He says that both accounts are representations of the same thing, noting that “the first without the second, like the second without the first, would not express what ought to be said here. . . . Gen. 2 is the other side of Gen. 1, not arbitrary but necessary — at least when the whole has been understood.”[1]

Indeed! Genesis 1 and 2 are two sides of the same coin! In Genesis 2, we gain new insights about both God and humanity that we did not have before. In the first chapter of the Bible, God as the transcendent, omnipotent Creator of the cosmos is on display. But in Genesis 2, He is the immanent, caring Lord who is near, acting as a Potter (v. 7), Farmer (vv. 8-9), Legislator (vv. 16-17), Surgeon (vv. 21-22), and Father of the bride (vv. 22-24). In Genesis 1, we learn about human beings in abstract terms such as “the image and likeness of God” or “male and female.” But the second chapter of the Bible is a concrete, personal account where we are privy to the details about origins of the first man and woman and the roles they play in the paradise of God.

Genesis 2, therefore, amplifies our understanding of the setting and cast of characters in the overall biblical story. It significantly deepens our answers to the worldview questions about where, who, and why we are. Consequently, we want to understand the outline of this chapter and its basic content.

In the first account [of Genesis 1] we find man-for-God, here [in Genesis 2] we have God-for-man; there the Creator and Lord, here the near, the fatherly God. There we find man as the final work of God, the whole world created before man, here we find the direct opposite: in the beginning there is man, and round about man, for the sake of man, God fashions animals and birds and for him trees grow. Here is the story of man, there God’s deed.

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall

The Sabbath

The conclusion to the grand cosmological account of creation in Genesis 1 is actually found in the first three verses in Genesis 2. Sometimes the chapter divisions in our Bible are not especially helpful, and this may be a case in point. Nonetheless, the first verse of this chapter is a helpful summary statement of the six-day creation, indicating that the entire universe and everything within it was now complete. According to verse 2, God rested, or ceased from His creative activity. This rest was not a rest of exhaustion, for an omnipotent God possesses limitless energy. Nor was it a rest of inactivity, for God now begins to rule His works providentially (John 5:17; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3).

Rather, God’s rest was a rest of achievement and enjoyment in which He finds satisfaction and takes delight in what He has made. As Simone Weil has said, “God is good because he delights in the existence of something other than himself.”[2] His enjoyment of His creation is so important to Him that in verse 3 He institutes the first holiday (or holyday), setting the seventh day apart and declaring it special because on it He stopped working, relaxed, and enjoyed the fruit of His labor!

Of course, God really did this for us! As His image and likeness, we are to work and rest just like He did. All work and no play, well . . . you know the result! The reverse is not good either. There is a divinely ordained time for labor and a godly license for leisure. What a wonderful rhythm of working and resting, of resting and working God has set up for us! This creation ordinance, of course, became the basis for the Jewish Sabbath, (Exod. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15). It also foreshadows the rest that the people of God are to enjoy presently and for eternity (Heb. 4:1-13). Ultimately, God’s goal for His people and the whole creation is rest. Of course, the Sabbath holiday changed from the seventh day of the old creation to the first day of the new creation in honor of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10). A biblical view of life, therefore, entails serious, new creation Sabbath-keeping! On Sundays, let us worship, give thanks, and rejoice in our salvation. Let us also rest from our labors and take delight in the world God has renewed for us in Christ.

The first man, Adam

The second, complementary account of creation in Genesis 2 technically begins with a prologue in verses 4-6. Here the condition of the cosmos is described at the time of the creation of the very first human being. Like Genesis 1: 1, verse 4 serves as a summary statement, teaching that God is creator of everything. This text is the first of ten superscriptions that provide a basic outline of the book of Genesis, indicating what is to follow in each section (Gen. 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1; 37:2). It also has a notable literary structure, using nouns and verbs in an orderly way: (A) Heavens, (B) Earth, (C¹) Created, (C²) Made, (B¹) Earth, (A²) Heaven. Verses 5-6 parallel Genesis 1: 2, indicating that the earth at its outset existed as an uncultivated watery state without shrub, plant, rain, or man. This changes radically in the next three verses where God creates the first man and plants a beautiful garden. Again, God forms and fills the world and makes it a habitable home in which people can dwell!

Genesis 2:7 is parallel to Genesis 1:26-28 where God makes human beings as His image and likeness. In this verse, God forms the man from the dust of the ground and breathes the breath of life into his nostrils. From this verse we learn that we are very physical creatures by divine design. We are derived from the earth itself! Even the name “Adam” comes from the Hebrew adamah, meaning ground. Our English word “human” is derived from “humus” meaning soil. What does this mean for us?

It means that we are earthy creatures. It means that the physical part of our being is the work of God and a gift. The body itself is very good and essential to our humanity. It should not be despised!

God is the also source of the life of the body. As Creator, He literally “inspired” the first man with His breath. As a result, the man became a living soul, complete with its motive forces, drives, and desires (which is what the Hebrew word for “soul” literally means). All this helps us to understand who we are. We are embodied souls or ensouled bodies. We possess an inherent value as whole persons — body and soul — which distinguishes us from every other creature God made. He even dignified our human nature through the incarnation of His own Son in our flesh (John 1:14). He also demonstrates the importance of the body by promising its future resurrection when Jesus returns (1 Cor. 15; Phil. 3:20-21).

Therefore, the embodied human personality must be acknowledged in all aspects of life, including what it means to be spiritual.[3]

. . . Good is the body for knowing the world,

Sensing the sunlight, the tug of the ground,

Feeling, perceiving, within and around,

Good is the body from cradle to grave,

Good is the flesh that the Word has become.

Good is the body, from cradle to grave

Growing and ageing, arousing, impaired,

Happy in clothing, or lovingly bared,

Good is the pleasure of God in our flesh,

Good is the flesh that the Word has become.

Good is the pleasure of God in our flesh,

Longing in all, as in Jesus to dwell,

Glad of embracing, and tasting, and smell,

Good is the body, for good and for God,

Good is the flesh that the Word has become.

— Brian Wren, “Good is the Flesh”

The Garden of Eden

God now fructifies the barren landscape by planting a beautiful garden in Eden as the home of the first man (v. 8). Interestingly, the word “Eden” in Hebrew means pleasure and delight. It was that kind of place! The trees in this lovely environment possessed remarkable aesthetic and nutritional qualities. They were pleasing to the sight and good for food. Among them were two special trees. A “tree of life” was in the middle of the garden. It was a primary source of vitality and health. A “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was present as well. It would become the source of Adam’s testing and fall (v. 9).

A great river ran through Eden to water it. From there, it divided into four rivers that flowed to the four “corners” of the earth: the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates (vv. 10-14). God placed the man in the garden to cultivate and keep it. He was to develop and preserve this paradise as his divinely-ordained horticultural service to God (v. 15). Adam was ruling and subduing and having dominion over the earth! His example suggests that common occupations, like gardening, are of tremendous value to God. After all, our Lord was a carpenter!

Then came God’s commandment. Eat freely, He said, from any tree in the garden! Eden was set before the man as a banquet table! However, God also issued a prohibition. Adam was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If he did, he would die, losing the breath of life by which God had made him a living being (vv. 16-17).

This prohibition confronts the man with the authority of God and places two fundamental choices before him. On the one hand is the option of humble submission to his Creator’s will, resulting in life. On the other hand is rebellious self-assertion against his Creator’s will, resulting in death. The man has the moral capacity to choose one or the other. Blessing will flow from obedience. Judgment will follow disobedience. These are the two covenantal pathways placed before the first man. They are the basic choices in our daily lives as well. The test results for Adam are forthcoming.

There is a tree in the center of the Garden which reminds us that moral boundaries are given to us for our good: they are part of the way the world is; part of the divine pattern for the Garden. And when we overstep divinely-given boundaries, and seek to trespass into areas that belong to God alone, the word comes to us: ‘in the day that you eat of it you shall die’ (2: 7).

— David Atkinson, The Message of Genesis 1-11

“Where have you been all my life?”

Our story is not yet complete. Someone is missing! So far we have the male but no female. We have Adam, yet without Eve. God rectifies this sad state of affairs by creating woman and instituting marriage in Genesis 2:18-25.

This episode begins in verse 18 with a statement about the purpose of the woman’s creation. God made us as social beings for fellowship, not only with Himself, but also with one another. We are people who need people. Here, however, the man is all by himself, and perhaps lonely. The man’s solitude is not good at all. In fact, it’s bad! To solve this horrible problem, God creates the woman to be man’s helper, a companion suitable for him.

This implies no superiority on the man’s part or inferiority on the woman’s part (or vice versa). As a matter of fact, while the narrative certainly suggests that the man and woman are different, it also imparts a sense of their shared equality and value before God. Both sexes are God’s image and likeness. God makes both of them in special ways. Each depends upon the other — male upon female and female upon male — so that parity might exist between them (see 1 Cor. 11:11-12). They are one in God.

In any case, we see how God prepared the man for the gift of the woman in verses 19-20. He creates, and then the man names the animals! Again Adam is exercising dominion, not as a gardener this time, but rather as a zookeeper! He rules over the cattle, birds, and beasts of the field. He did not name the animals superficially, but gave them designations based on characteristics that each possessed. Each label was an expression of Adam’s considerable intellectual ability. In the process, however, the man discovered that no animal corresponded to him. They were not able to meet his human needs. He discovered that he was painfully alone. A deep desire for a companion in life was kindled in his heart. At last he was ready to receive God’s provision of a wife. As one of my teachers once said, God will never provide a spouse to an unappreciative man or woman.[4]

The surgical procedure by which God makes the woman is described in verses 21-23. While the man is anesthetized, God removes one of his ribs, stitches up the wound, and out of it fashions the woman. The Hebrew verb used in verse 22 (banah) to describe the creative process by which the woman is made indicates that she is God’s masterpiece, a divinely-designed creature of beauty and loveliness!

But why was she taken from Adam’s rib? Why not from some other part of the man’s body? The answer given at most weddings is as good as any! She was not made out of his head to top him, not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Once created, God wasted no time before He presented her to the man, just as if He was the father of the bride. Indeed, He was!

We can’t help wonder what Adam said upon seeing her the very first time. Perhaps it was a palindromic greeting: “Madam, I’m Adam!” Maybe he asked somewhat impatiently: “Where have you been all of my life?” Actually, verse 23 indicates that he spoke to her poetically in his only recorded words prior to the fall:

This is now bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called woman

Because she was taken from man.

Man and woman are very much alike as bone of bone and flesh of flesh. Yet they are also very different, Mars and Venus, you know! Each sex has distinguishing physical and psychological characteristics. We share a common humanity, but we experience it differently. We enjoy a divinely-ordained equality. Yet God has designed us to fulfill unique roles as males and females, as husbands and wives. This is, indeed, a great mystery, full of wonder and glory!

Put me like a seal over your heart, Like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, Jealousy is as severe as Sheol; Its flashes are flashes of fire, The very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, Nor will rivers overflow it; If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, It would be utterly despised.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

The institution of marriage

The account concludes with a formal statement about the institution of marriage as God intended it. Verse 24 states that for the cause of marital companionship, a man shall leave his parents, cleave to his wife, and become one flesh with her in a whole person union both spiritually and physically. The words “cleave” and “one flesh” indicate that marriage is a covenant between husband and wife. Verse 25 shows that this primeval couple enjoyed perfect freedom in each other’s presence, for they were both naked and yet not ashamed. Here is a secret, then, to a happy marriage: total exposure and open communication apart from the fear of ridicule or rejection. Thanks be to God for this wonderful gift!

What, then, is marriage? Perhaps this description will help. Marriage is a permanent and monogamous relationship between one man and one woman. They have divested themselves of physical and emotional dependence upon their parents and committed themselves exclusively to one another by covenant. They become united spiritually and physically in a one-flesh union, and fulfill for each other the basic needs of companionship and spiritual encouragement. Marriage enables them to establish a home and family, and equips them to rule over the earth more effectively as servants of God to His glory.

The Kingdom of God

Now perhaps the best way to look upon Genesis 1-2 is to understand that these two chapters describe the establishment of the kingdom of God! What else could it be? The universe, and our world, is God’s creation, His territory, His realm. He rules over it authoritatively. He is its King. He governs it by His laws. If they are violated, He administers appropriate punishments. If it is attacked and taken, He will fight to get it back. In fact, that is exactly what happens as the Scriptures unfold. In Genesis 3, God’s kingdom is attacked. The rest of the Bible tells us how He works to get it back! The Old Testament spells out His prophetic game plan. The New Testament tells us how He carries it out. The denouement comes when God’s own Son arrives on the scene to do battle with the enemy. He defeats Him in two installments at His first and second comings as suffering Lamb and roaring Lion. Then comes the end when all things will be restored to God in the new heavens and the new earth. At that time, God’s enemies will be punished forever! As our study progresses, we want to keep this theme of the kingdom of God front and center! After all, we want to know what kingdom living is all about as we work at developing a comprehensive biblical view of life!

Conclusion

Genesis 2 is a beautiful chapter that speaks of shrubs and plants and trees and rivers and gardens and food and animals and man and woman and marriage. It refreshes us in its description of an unspoiled world and an innocent human race. In fact, it even suggests that the Garden of Eden was the original sanctuary, the sacred space and holy place where God put man and woman and met with them there. Eden was the sight of divine revelation. It was the centerpiece of the world. It was the primary point of contact between heaven and earth! Israel and the Church assume this role later on in biblical history.

Also, this chapter suggests that God made us to be the prophets, priests, and kings of creation! As prophets, we are to live on the basis of God’s Word and share it with others. As priests, we are to worship and represent God in all we do. As kings, we are to rule and subdue the earth. These are the three offices or duties of all men and women everywhere. Later on they were separated into distinct roles in Israel’s history. They are reunited in Jesus who is the Prophet, the Priest and the King, all in one! Each role has been restored to believers through salvation. Christianity, in essence, is Eden regained!

So, as a complement to Genesis 1, this chapter sheds much light on what God intended human life on this earth to be. We know more about where, who, and why we are. God’s obvious purpose was to bless us. He wanted us to experience shalom! He created us for godly happiness in Him. This is the way He intended life to be. This is the unmistakable beginning of the biblical view of life and the Christian story!

How could we throw it all away?

Coming up next week: The fall of humanity into sin.

For Study or Discussion

1. Summarize some of the different aspects of content, focus, and story line from Genesis 1 and 2. In what ways are these two chapters very different?

2. But how can we see that they work together to complete the story of creation? Why do you suppose God told this part of our worldview story in this way?

3. Discuss the relationship between work and rest in God’s original plan for humankind. What kinds of things get in the way today of our doing our best work for the Lord? What kinds of things get in the way of our resting in Him as He intends?

4. What was God’s original purpose for marriage? What does it mean to say that human beings are made for community? How does this reflect their having been made in the image of God? In what ways should marriage help to satisfy this need?

5. What threats against the divine plan for marriage do we encounter today? How should believers and their churches prepare to rise above these threats? What must they be very careful of as they equip themselves to stand firm for a Biblical view of marriage (Eph. 4:15; Col. 4:6)?

For more information on this topic, get the book, Strengthening Your Marriage, by Wayne A. Mack from our online store. Or read the article, “Redefining Marriage?” by Dinesh D’Souza.

[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall Temptation: Two Biblical Studies (New York: Simon and Schuster, A

Touchstone Book, 1997), pp. 46-47.

[2] Quoted in Scott Hoezee, Remember Creation: God’s World of Wonder and Delight (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998),

26.

[3] Dallas Willard, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives (New York: HarperCollins,

1991), p. 18.

[4] Dr. Bruce Waltke.

Lesson 4: “Why Are We Here?

“What are people for?”

Wendell Berry, the contemporary poet/farmer from Kentucky, published a collection of his essays about a dozen years ago, using a title that has always intrigued me: What Are People For? While Berry had his own purposes in mind for his title, for us it raises the question about the specific roles we are to play in God’s plan for creation and human life.[1] Why did God make us? What does He expect us to do? Why are we here?

Of course, these questions are closely linked to the inquiry we just completed. In what divinely specified activities does our identity as the image and likeness of God come to genuine expression? What are we as God’s image-bearers to do in this world? What does this God-given nature of ours enable us to do, thereby bringing us fulfillment and God glory?

Accurate answers to questions like these are indispensable to the formation of a biblical view of the world and to a Christian life well-lived! So, in this lesson, we return to the theme of the Bible — the creation decree or cultural mandate in Genesis 1:26-28. Here we will discover what people are for from God’s point of view!

Overall, this foundational passage suggests that God designs people for three basic purposes, two of which are quite familiar to us, one of which has been unfortunately neglected or forgotten by the Church. What are they?

Our “vertical” purpose

First of all, God created us as His image and likeness for a Person-to-person relationship with Himself! Fellowship with God as His worshippers is the number one reason for our existence. God desires to be our God and He wants us to be His people. He intends for us to live our lives in union and communion with Him — coram Deo, before the face of God!

Admittedly, this is not explicitly stated in Genesis 1:26-28, but it is certainly implied. Undoubtedly God created us to pursue an intimate relationship with Himself. This is clearly taught throughout the Scriptures. To be in communion with God includes many things such as a knowledge of Him and His mighty deeds (Jer. 9:23-24; John 17:3; Phil. 3:10), a healthy fear and respect of His holy nature (Deut. 4:10; Prov. 1:7; Eccl. 12:13; 1 Pet. 2:17), a desire to obey Him in all things (Exod. 19:5; Jer. 7:23; 1 Pet. 1:2), a commitment to serve Him faithfully (Deut. 10:12; 1 Thess. 1:9), a friendship with Him as the Lord of life with whom we are to walk faithfully all of our days (Deut. 13:4; John 15:13-14; Eph. 4:1).

Above all else, a relationship with God as the supreme Being means that we ought to love Him supremely. The supreme commandment which makes this demand of us is not given in Scripture until we come to Deuteronomy 6. I am convinced, however, that its origin is in Genesis 1 when God created us as His image with this vertical purpose in mind. Life’s ultimate end is fulfilled if and only if our deepest affections are wholeheartedly given to Him. So, when asked by a scribe what was the foremost commandment of all, Jesus said:

“The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

(Mark 12:29-30)

Genuine human happiness, therefore, is dependent upon whether or not this greatest of all commandments is actualized in our lives. Our fundamental well-being as human beings is dependent upon being rightly related to Him through pre-eminent love. As the church father St. Augustine wrote in the opening paragraph of his spiritual autobiography Confessions, “For Thou has made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.”[2]

There is, indeed, a “God-shaped vacuum” in the human heart, as Blaise Pascal said. Only He Who created the human heart can fill it fully, calm its restlessness, satisfy its longings, and meet its needs. What are people for? People are made for fellowship with God, to know Him like they know nothing else, and to love Him with everything they are and everything they have.

We are completely responsible to God in all that we do. We have been created as a self, as a person, capable of self-consciousness and self-determination, capable therefore of responding to God, of answering God, of fellowshipping with God, and of loving God. This has implications not only for our worship, but for our entire life. God’s intention with human beings is that we might do whatever we do in obedience to God and for the glory of God, so that we use all our powers, gifts, and capacities in God’s service.

— Anthony Hoekema, Created in God’s Image (edited)

By Dr. David Naugle|Published Date: February 14, 2010

Lesson 3: “Who on Earth Are We?”

Dr. Naugle continues his series and examines the most important questions human beings can consider: Who are we, and why are we here?

A cast of characters

If we are to understand any story, we must know something about its cast of characters and the roles they play as the drama unfolds. How, for example, could we ever make sense of a Tom Clancy novel without a working knowledge of Jack Ryan as the main character? Similarly, if we are to comprehend God’s story in Scripture, we must know who its main characters are and what roles He intends for them to play. In addition to God Himself (and perhaps the angels), the main characters are, of course, well, you and me! People are, indeed, center stage! Grasping our part in the divine drama is a giant step forward in understanding the grand narrative of the Bible. It also helps us to get to know ourselves better from God’s point of view!

Now if we put this in worldview terms, we want to know not only where are we? (the question we investigated in our last lesson), but also who are we? and why are we here? These are some of the deepest questions we can ever hope to ask and answer. We are seeking biblical insight regarding our very nature as persons and the purposes we are to fulfill on this earth. To understand these important issues, divine revelation comes to our aid. The truth about our essential nature and goals as human beings is found in a passage describing the pinnacle of God’s creative handiwork on the sixth day of creation in Genesis 1:26-28.

The theme of the Bible

Now every great piece of literature is organized around a key idea that runs through it and ties it all together. The Bible is no exception. The question is: what big idea permeates the Scriptures and unifies its overall story? I would like to suggest for your serious consideration that the central theme of the Bible is found in Genesis 1:26-28. What a topic sentence is to a paragraph, this passage is to the whole canon of Scripture! It sets forth God’s “mission statement” for creation; it is His “original commission” for humanity and the earth! The whole human project is contained in it from God’s point of view. It is a project from which He will never turn back!

Genesis 1:26-28 can, however, become what I call a “Sunday School” passage. We learn about it early on in our Christian experience, but never really grasp its true significance. Perhaps because we are so familiar with its content, somehow it just loses its punch. Whatever the case, we just seem to file it away in the back of our Sunday School minds. There it remains until somebody comes along and points out just how important it really is!

Lesson 2: Where on Earth are We?

In part 2 of his study on worldview, Dr. Naugle explains why it is so important that Christians be clear about the origins, nature, and purpose of the cosmos in which we live.

“Once upon a time”

Everybody loves stories! Whether it’s a passionate romance, an exciting adventure, a complex mystery, a disturbing tragedy, or a tale in which the underdog wins or an evil villain loses, stories get our attention like nothing else. Whether in a book, on stage, through film, or around the table or the camp fire, stories have great power to entertain, challenge, explain, mystify, inspire, and even change us. From their opening “Once upon a time,” the irresistible force of stories resides in a quest pursued by the central character to get a desired object despite many obstacles in route to a hoped for “happily ever after.” Could it be that all such well-crafted stories that touch us so deeply are the gifts of God, graciously pointing us to the characters, plot, and action of His own story that He wants us to embrace as our very own? Probably so![1]

“I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?” said Sam to Frodo in J. R. R Tolkien’s The Two Towers.[2] That’s a good question for each of us to ask and answer as well. The tale that we Christians have fallen into by the mercy of God is His very own story, a drama of cosmic proportions. It is the narrative key that unlocks the secrets of the universe. It is the master plot that explains the meaning and purpose of life. It is the source of Jesus’ incomparable wisdom. In fact, He is its true hero who overcomes a tremendous foe and leads us to a happy ending!

There is a very close connection, of course, between God’s story and a biblical worldview. We can rightly say that they are, for all practical purposes, one and the same. To study the one is to study the other, for both are about creation, fall, and redemption. Regardless, it must shape our perspective on reality and provide the framework for our lives. Only when we make our own stories a subplot within God’s larger description of things do our lives make sense. Only when God’s view of the cosmos becomes our own do we walk in the light of truth. Consequently, we ought to inhabit the biblical story as if it were our home. The truth of the Christian worldview ought to dwell in us as we live out our lives from day to day.