The Creation of Man (2)

Well, we are studying what the Bible teaches about man, really doctrinal truth, about man and sin. We began this study last week after finishing a quite extensive study on angels. And last week we introduced the study by dealing with the creation of man. If you're going to talk about man, it's a good place to start with creation. Recall that we are not dealing with the whole scope of creation. We're not trying to talk about creation versus evolution. We're not going to go into all of that. Although next week or very soon at least we will talk about some of the theories that people propose to try to combine the biblical account with evolution. And we'll see how damaging those really are and destructive to faith. But we're basically just giving an introduction to how man was created and what that means. And so last week we looked at the credibility of the creation account. And we saw that it is credible in the sense that it is free from fantasy, it is free from contradiction to scientific fact and it accords with common sense. And then we looked at the historical reality of Adam and Eve last week. That's important to establish and we looked at the standard biblical view or what's called the Orthodox view which takes the Bible literally. And it's normal sense and takes Adam and Eve to be actual historical people. The first literal people walking on planet earth created by God Himself. And then we looked at other couple of views in the Orthodox and classical liberal views which deny the historicity of the biblical account. And do not see Adam and Eve as literal historical figures. But just to remind you we believe the Bible teaches that they were truly legitimate historical figures. The first man and woman to ever walk this earth. Then we began looking at the biblical creation record, the biblical account of creation. And we started with the Genesis account. And last week we saw that Genesis portrays the creation of man. And again, that's what we're focusing on. The creation of man, not everything else, but the creation of man as first of all the pinnacle of creation. And we saw that in three ways. First of all, in the description of creation, God keeps saying at the end of each day, this is good. It was good what he made was good and the end of creation after he created man, it was like that was the culmination of everything. That was the apex, the crowning achievement of creation. And so God looks at everything he's created and said it is very good. And so man is kind of seen as the apex, the ultimate of creation, the pinnacle of creation in that way. He is also the only part of God's creation that is described as being created in his image and likeness. And that is a very rich concept which we will explore in some depth a little bit later, but not not right now. We also saw that man is seen as the pinnacle of creation in the sense that he has given dominion over the animal kingdom and plant life. He is to rule over, he is to subject the earth which means to use it as a good, wise steward under God for mankind's benefit and blessing. And so in that way man is the pinnacle of creation he's seen in that way in chapter one. Now as we move into chapter two, the focus shifts a little bit and this is where we begin our study tonight. Man as a material masterpiece. The description of man's creation in chapter two of Genesis really focuses more on how God formed him as a masterpiece. Chapter two, verse seven says, then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. Now Genesis chapter two gives more detail about the creation of man. The creation of man, male and female and the image and likeness of God is just basically stated in chapter one. And then in chapter two there's more detail given about how he was created and where he was placed in the Garden of Eden. And so a little more detail given. Some people have thought these are two different competing creation accounts. And they really aren't. Chapter one is just the overall statement. Chapter two is a little more detail of the description. But notice it says in verse seven that the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground. In chapter one it describes in verses 26 to 28 that God created man. Those are two different words with different concepts to create means to make something out of nothing to speak something into existence to create to literally speak it into existence with no pre-existing material. But the word formed in chapter two is a different word. It has to do with taking existing material, the dust of the ground in this case and literally fashioning it. The picture is the picture of a potter with clay forming shaping contouring. It is a different idea than creating or speaking something into existence out of nothing. The stress here is on the creative artistry of God in shaping and forming us. And so this magnificent organism of the human body is formed and shaped by God's own hand. And that's the idea here. Now it is clear from the creation account if we were to look at it very closely both in chapters one and two that both the words create and formed are used both of the animal kingdom and of mankind. And so obviously there's some overlap in those terms. Sometimes the terms are just used interchangeably to describe the fact that God created. But they do have a different emphasis. The word create literally means to speak into existence. And the word form has to do with the careful shaping as a piece of art if you will, the masterpiece, the handiwork of God. And then verse seven says once he is finished forming man out of the dust of the ground, he breathes into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being or living creature or living soul. Now breathing into man the breath of life is the same thing that he did with animals back in chapter one verse 30 to all the beasts of the earth, birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground, everything that has the breath of life in it. So the breath of life is simply the act of breathing which connotes life and God initiated that with mankind and he is now a living living being and that we share with the animals. The difference between us and animals is that we are made in the image and likeness of God. Again we'll get to more what that means later. But that's the real difference. We both breathe, we both have life's breath within us and when that breathing stops that is when death occurs. And so the breath of life simply means that we are alive, we are breathing and alive and in that sense we share that with the animals. So man is described not only as the pinnacle of creation but also as a masterpiece, as a material masterpiece is God forms and shapes the human body. Questions or comments there? Yes John? Certainly can be taken that way. It is a vague but still a vague reference but still a reference to the Trinity. The plural pronoun is used so there is more than one person involved in the Godhead, God singular but us plural. So it is kind of a vague indication of the Trinity. Yes. Kishti? Not with much information I can't. Kishti is asking about news reports which are dealing with human cells being introduced to animals and the purpose of that. I really have not read about that. So I don't really know enough to comment on it except that God created us differently and never intended that the two intermingle and mix. So to do that obviously in the Old Testament to do that sexually is forbidden to do it artificially I would think would also cross a line that God never intended to be cross. So to try to combine the cellular structure of animals and mankind I would think would cross the same line but beyond that I really can't speak to that. That is a great question though. Okay. So growing human organs in animals to transplant. Okay. That is why he had a meeting. I had not read about that. I am reading the wrong newspapers. Okay. That is amazing. Okay. Well, because there is in the Hebrew language something called the plural of majesty and sometimes a plural pronoun is used to magnify to describe the majesty of a king, a ruler. And so there are Hebrew scholars who believe that's what's being talked about there. So that's why I hedge a little bit on it. I mean there are much more clear references to the Trinity in the Bible. I believe that is a reference to the Trinity. I do hold that but it is also possible lexically which means the meaning of the Hebrew words to take it as a plural of majesty. That's the reason why I hedge a little bit on it. So it's not as clear as some of the clearer statements in the Bible that just list all three persons. Okay. Good question. Steve. No. And we'll get to Psalm 8 a little bit later in the study tonight. So I want to hold that for a minute. But what we're talking about here is the pinnacle of created beings on the earth. The pinnacle of God's creation as described in Genesis 1. The creation of angels is not mentioned in Genesis 1. So we're talking about all of that which God did to fill and form the earth in Genesis 1. He's the pinnacle of creation in that sense. It's good distinction. We will get to that later. Man is lower a little lower than the angels in Psalm 8 describes that very clearly. Yeah. Yeah. Certainly that is a description in Psalm 139 of the formation of the human body in the womb and that description is not made of anything else in creation. Well, it has to do with the way in which the term is used in the sense of the fear of God, not not not in cringing fear afraid of. It's the fear of God which causes us to be amazed at his majesty and his power and thus to reverence him and fall before him in honor. And in that sense, the formation of the human body causes us to have that same response to God that we realize that we are made in a way that that highlights his majesty and his power. And so we are led to fear him to have reverence and awe and respect of him. So I think it would be in that in that sense. All right. Great questions. Okay. So man is the pinnacle of creation has described in Genesis one and man is a material masterpiece. But chapter two also describes man's creation as an intellectual being. Obviously the image and likeness of God indicates a rational intellectual creature who can make decisions way options way even the moral content of actions and so forth. So just being in the image of and likeness of God indicates that but there's a further evidence of it in Genesis 2 and verses 19 and 20 and that is in the naming of the animals. Verse 19, now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them and whatever the man called each living creature that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals that indicates an incredible knowledge and insight and wisdom and logic. Artisticения, wisdom and logical ability to name all the animals. Now to name them doesn't mean just some kind of capricious looks at something and says, OK. Come up to something out there here chickens out there. That sounds good. Let's just name this alligator. Oh probably the indication is. in qualities of each animal that informed his naming of them. And so the naming of them, because we're not talking about English names. All right, so you say alligator. What does that have to do with any characteristic? Well, that's the English name. Probably the name Adam gave for them had more to do with some quality or the nature of that animal, which then would have indicated an amazing ability to have the knowledge and insight and logical ability to think through every animal kind on planet Earth. So man is an intellectual being. And what we see in the biblical record, of course there's no sin yet in the human race to corrupt man's mind because everything is, we'll see later in our study, is affected by the fall, including our mind, our ability to think. And so that's not been affected yet. The smartest person, the most brilliant person, who ever lived was not Einstein or anyone else you might name, it was Adam. It was Adam. And everything's gone down since then. Obviously there are little spurts of insight and brilliance on the part of certain people like some of you here tonight. But in general terms, everything has declined since Adam. Adam was the most brilliant man to ever live. You see, it's the evolutionary concept that has man rising up from these lower primal animal instincts crawling out of a cave and grunting fire, a creative fire. That's all an evolutionary idea. That has nothing to do with biblical truth. There is an accumulated knowledge, obviously, that each generation builds on the knowledge of the previous generation. So there is an accumulated knowledge, but as far as brilliance and insight, Adam had all of us beat. So he was an intellectual being, the height of intelligence. Comments or questions there? By the way, there are cavemen in the Bible. You know that? There are cavemen in the Bible. People who were driven to live in caves out of self-preservation. David was a caveman for a while when he was running from Saul. But there are no cavemen in the Bible in the sense of these people who have just a step above the primates are living in caves and eking out an existence. There's nothing like that in the Bible. That's all a fabrication of man's mind as corrupted by the fall. Okay, enough said about that. You want to move on? Man is also portrayed in creation as male and female. Notice in Genesis 2, and there's a lot in these verses, verses 20 to 25, about God's intended creation of man as male and female. We saw in verses 19 and 20 that God had brought the animals to Adam and he gives them names, but look at the end of verse 20. But for Adam, no suitable helper was found. That concept of a suitable helper arises because Adam has just been naming the animals. And obviously the animals come in pairs. Obviously they do. That's the only way the animal kingdom is going to continue to exist. Well, Adam does not have a corresponding human being. He's the only one. And so it is clear that as he names the animals, there is no suitable helper or helper one that corresponds to him of his kind. There is not another human being. So God creates a female counterpart, verse 21, so the Lord God calls the man to fall into a deep sleep. While he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and then closed up the place with flesh, then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man and he brought her to the man. So this female counterpart, one who is suitable or like him, is taken from him, which indicates that man is now incomplete without his counterpart. And so there is a sense, and that's not an issue of whether or not you should remain single or not. That's not the issue here. The issue is that man was made, both male and female, and they are made to complement each other, to complete each other. And the very fact that God didn't just start with another polyvert and make Eve that he took her out of man indicates the idea that man is incomplete without his suitable helper, without his old King James word, help, meet or helper that is suitable or counterpart to him. And then notice that the story goes on, the man said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman for she was taken out of man. And that actually reads a little better in the Hebrew, the Hebrew word for man here is ish, ish, with an ending on it, which means out of isha means out of man. And so woman literally in the Hebrew means out of man. And so that's why Adam says what he says here in verse 23, it doesn't, we don't catch it in English, you know, in English it sounds like he took one look at her, said, whoa, man, and that's how she got made, woman, but that's not it. That's not what happened. It's really ish, man, isha out of man is really the idea here. So it's a little bit of the Hebrew to make it work really. Verse 24, that is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife. Notice that united, which has the idea of a blending and an absolute commitment of everything about their lives. This is the coming together as husband and wife in a commitment and blending of two lives together, united to his wife, and they've become one flesh. That primarily has to do with the sexual union of husband and wife. And then it says in verse 25, Adam and his wife were both naked and they felt no shame. There was a complete moral innocence before San entered the world with Adam and Eve and their union with one another and they're becoming one flesh with one another. So that's the beautiful story. A lot of information packed into it about the creation of man as both male and female and what that is intended to teach us. Okay, questions, comments? Any time frame given here, like was it six weeks before she was created or six years? We don't really know. All we know is what the record gives us and that is that he named the animals. We know that activity had to take place. How long that took? We don't know. So the implication seems to be that there was not an extended long period of time, but we really don't know how long. I'm sorry. I'm not hearing. Say that again. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I'll let that one go. Okay. There's a lot here to inform us biblically and correct the social engineering of our day. And the attempt and Steve was speaking in tongue cheek, obviously, but the attempt to the whole transgender thing got only created two genders and it's clear what they are. There is no in between. There is no crossing over from one to the other in God's way of looking at things. So a lot to inform us here. Okay. Then one other thing I want to say about creation of man as far as the Genesis account is concerned. And it's over in Genesis chapter 9 verse 6. We find it in Genesis 1, but it's man as the image of God. But there's an interesting mention of it in chapter 6 that I think is very informative for us in our day in Genesis chapter 9 verses 5 and 6. This is after the flood, after Noah and his family have come off of the ark. And verse 5, part of the instructions that God is giving to Noah post flood is this. And for your lifeblood, I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal and from each human being too. I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. Now, what does that mean? What does it mean that there's an accounting for the lifeblood of a human being? Verse 6 explains it. Here's the accounting. Whoever sheds human blood by humans shall their blood be shed. For here's the reason why. For in the image of God has God made mankind. Obviously human life is of such value because it is created in the image of God. That is a key foundational distinctive in all of creation. What sets human life above any other form of life as unique and highly valued is that our life, humanity, is created in the image of God. Now, we will see more about that later as far as what is the image in likeness? Are they the same thing? Are they different? What does it mean to be in the image of God? We'll get into that in more detail later. But what I want to point out here is that concept of the image of God is placed in the context of why it is wrong to, in a premeditated malicious way, take the life of a human being. The reason why that is so highly condemned by God is because it is a violation of the image of God. Mankind is created in his image. This is a unique way to measure the value of human life. It is God's way of measuring the value of a human life. And it is why this informs what we believe about abortion. It informs what we believe about infanticide, what we believe about euthanasia, and what we believe about capital punishment. All of those issues biblically trace their roots back to this concept, and that is why it is so important. Human life has dignity and value because it is in the image of God. And that is what makes human life different than any other life. So if that developing embryo in the womb is human, and it is from conception, it has the genetic makeup of a human being, not fully formed yet, not fully developed, obviously. But it has the genetic makeup of a human being, it is not a snake or a rat, it is a human being. So from the moment of conception, it has dignity and value as being in the image of God. The same thing is true of us at the end of life. And it also, in this case, informs what we believe about the premeditated, malicious taking of a human life. Now modern sociology, and this is becoming more and more common, even in evangelical circles, modern sociology says that capital punishment is a disregard for human life. Modern sociology equates capital punishment with murder and says they are both taking of human life. And the person who, or the government who sanctions capital punishment is guilty of murder, just like the one who in a malicious premeditated way, takes the human life, and that is not what Genesis 9.6 is. Genesis 9.6 says exactly the opposite, exactly the opposite. The punishing of a murderer by taking his or her life declares the value of human life because it is created in God's image. That's what Genesis 9.6 says. Now here's the complicating factor. We live in a fallen world where everything, including justice, managed judicial system, is corrupted by sin. And so it is admittedly sometimes very difficult to assure that justice has been completely carried out. There are no mistakes, and thus that highest responsibility of human government, according to Romans 13, can be corrupted by injustice. And so along with what I believe is a biblical view of capital punishment is also a biblical mandate for pure justice to make sure that no one is ever condemned unjustly. And that's what complicates it. That's what complicates the whole issue of capital punishment. And those who argue against capital punishment usually do so based on the experience of those who have been unjustly accused and unjustly condemned and put to death. And certainly that is a travesty. No one wants to see that, but that does not violate the biblical mandate for capital punishment. It just means that given the fact that we are sinners and our judicial system is corrupted by that, we still have to do the very best we can to establish justice before someone is condemned with that ultimate punishment. It does not however negate the reason for capital punishment, which is mankind is in the image of God. There's a high high value on human life in the Bible. So I wanted to stress that because, you know, I may not read the right newspapers, but I do read a lot of theological journals and so forth. And there's a lot going on today of evangelicals, people who say they believe the Bible pulling away from capital punishment because of the onslaught of the culture against it. So I think we just have to, you know, at some point you just have to say, what does the Bible say? What does the Bible teach? Are we going to believe the Bible or not? Are we going to be caled into denying what the Bible says because of the avalanche of press and feeling from our culture? No, maybe we just need to take a closer look at the Bible, but also be respectful and considerate to the need for justice and that people not be wrongly condemned. All right, I've said enough about that. Any question or comment there? Okay, the biblical account of creation affects a lot, doesn't it? I mean, as we've seen, it's not just God created man. Well, good. That's wonderful. Let's move on. No, it affects how we view almost everything in sociology, which is the study of human culture and societies. It affects almost everything that we believe about those basic issues of humanity. The creation story is so foundational, so basic, so basic. All right, let's look at some other biblical accounts. We'll at least look at one of them tonight. Maybe, maybe a couple, but let's look a few other passages that help to supplement, clarify, add some more detail to the Genesis account. The Genesis account stand on some, but there are other passages that refer to the creation of man. One of those is one that Steve hinted at earlier, and that's in Psalm 8. This has to do with man's dignity. So let's look at Psalm 8. Psalm 8 actually kind of places mankind in the order of creation as far as his place. And the first thing is that man seems insignificant compared to the vastness of creation as a whole. When you think of all that God has created, man seems just so insignificant. Look at Psalm 8 and verse 3. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have said in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? So if you're going to try to place us in our rank, if you will, our place in creation, when you first of all look at the magnet to the whole scope of creation, man appears very insignificant. And we wonder how could God even take note of us when you see the expanse of the universe, or what is known of the universe. And then you know those pictures you see like in the Hubble telescope and all, and how they pull back from them, or they show planet Earth. And then they show where Earth fits in our solar system, and then in our galaxy, and they keep pulling back and back and back. And it's not long before you can't even see planet Earth, and you still got a gazillion stars all around you and other planets and suns and you're thinking, wait a second, I can't even see planet Earth. And I'm just a little speck on planet Earth. That's what David is saying here. When you think of the vastness of creation, where does that put us? That's, we seem awful insignificant. And then he gives another level of God's creation in verse five, you had made, you have made them a little lower than the angels and crown them with glory and honor. Interesting word for angels there. It's actually the Hebrew word Elohim, which is a word for God, or sometimes can be translated as gods for false gods in the Old Testament. So some translations will have a little lower than heavenly beings. So what is meant by Elohim? What is meant by these heavenly beings? I think the NIV is translated correctly because when this passage is used in Hebrews 2.7, it is clear that he's talking about angels. It's translated angels in Hebrews 2.7. It can mean God, but probably in this context, it means angels. I think the NIVs translated it correctly. You have made them, spoken, talking about human beings in verse four. You have made human beings a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. So we're not quite on the level of angels. And as we studied angels, we saw why angels are more powerful than we are. Remember the one angel that rolled the stone away and so forth. Angels are more powerful than we are. They are a level above us as far as the created order of things. But then notice first five. Excuse me, verse six. You made them, that's again human beings, rulers over the works of your hands and put everything under their feet, all fox and herds, the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, all that swim, the paths of the seas, Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. So although man is a little lower in rank, if you want to use that word, than the angels, he still is over all the rest of God's creation on this earth. Plants, animals, flocks, herds, birds, fish, we still have a position of dominion over the rest of God's creation. So that kind of helps us see the dignity and honor that God has given us, just a little lower than the angels, but above all the rest of God's created beings on planet earth. So when you think of the vastness of creation, we seem like insignificant specs, but none of, bring in the telescope a little more and you see that we're a little lower than the angels, but we're above all the rest of God's creation. So that gives us our place, our rank in the order of created things and does highlight man's dignity, just a little lower than the angels, above all the rest of God's created creatures. So that indicates where we fit in the scheme of things, man's dignity. Are there any questions about that? Yes, Walt? I'm not sure. I'm not sure. We have a different realm of responsibility. Angels are directly involved in carrying out God's messages of activity in the world and overseeing nations and guarding some of you when you drive and things like that. It's pretty important. So it would be hard to say because the really the two, it's kind of like comparing apples and oranges. We have a great deal of responsibility over the material creation of this earth, but in the greater scheme of things, angels have a lot of responsibility too. So it would be kind of hard to say, it's a fascinating question to ponder. Okay, we'll pick it up next week with a couple of other passages. In fact, a very interesting one in Ecclesiastes 7 that you women will greatly appreciate. I'm sure we'll save that for next week. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your marvelous word. It's riches, it's depth or way beyond us. And so we are thrilled every time we get to come into the presence of your word and asking the help of your spirit to see what you have to tell us, to teach us, to help us understand. Lord, I pray that we'll never be satisfied with just mere knowledge and understanding of your word that it will always change us. But we know it does. That's what your word does. And so we pray that we will be changed even by what we learn about your greatness, the vastness of creation, and the place that you put us in in your creation. And so we hope to learn how better to glorify you and to honor you in the life you've given us in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.