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REVIEW
QUESTIONS FROM LESSON THREE:
1.
Who existed before the beginning? God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
2.
Who took part in creation? God the Father, God the
Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3.
What materials did God use to make everything? God
made everything from nothing
4.
How could God make everything out of nothing? He is
all-powerful; nothing is too hard for Him to do.
5.
Is there anything in your life, any need, any problem,
that God doesn’t know about? No, He knows and cares
about everything.
6.
Who originated the laws of energy and matter, and all
scientific laws? God did.
7.
What is the best source of truth about creation? The
Bible, God’s Word.
8.
In the beginning, everything was created perfect. What
does this reflect about the Creator? He is perfect
and holy. Everything He does is right and good.
Optional
discussion questions:
9.
Even though we live in a world that suffers from the
effects of sin, what are some of the things that can
remind us of the beauty of God’s creation and His love
for us? God's creation is beautiful ... He made it
for us to enjoy. The creation reflects God's character
and great love for us ... everything He made can remind
us of His love.
10.
If we would daily look for reminders of the Lord and His
love for us, and daily read His Word, how do you think
that might affect our lives? When we concentrate of
"counting our blessings" we have little time
to be unhappy!
A.
Introduction
How
often have you heard the question, “Why did that have
to happen?”
We
live in a world of problems: sin, sickness, sorrow,
fear, and death. Apart from God, man has no hope.
But
in Christ, we have hope for today and the sure promises
of God for all eternity.
Today
we are going to look back at the two key facts in all of
man’s history:
-
Because Adam sinned, all mankind was separated from God.
-
But God sent Jesus Christ to die for the sins of all
mankind, and all who put their faith in Christ are fully
accepted by God.
Around
these facts revolves the history of mankind and the
personal history of each one of us.
What
a difference Jesus Christ makes!
B.
God created man and woman in His image.
Read
Genesis 2:7,21-25.
God
created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed
life into him.
Then
God created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs.
-
God made Eve to be a suitable helper for Adam.
-
It was God’s design for them to be together, as one
flesh.
Read
Genesis 1:26-27.
Notice
that God says, “Let us . . .
-
God is a Trinity.
-
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
were active in creation. God created man, His final and
greatest creation, in God’s own image.
-
God, the Almighty Creator, is not confined to a human
body like ours—yet, in some special ways, God wanted
us to be like Him.
-
God gave man a mind to know Him, emotions to love Him,
and a will so man could freely choose to obey Him.
None
of the animals have the ability to communicate with God
and to love and serve Him like man.
C.
God made man manager over God’s creation, but man did
not submit to God’s authority.
Jesus
Christ fully submitted to God, and qualifies to rule
over God’s creation.
Read
Genesis 1:28-30.
God
chose man to be the ruler over all the wonderful things
that God had created on earth.
-
Everything belonged to God.
-
He is the Creator and sovereign ruler over all.
-
And over all that God created, He placed man as the
manager.
Consider:
God
had created a beautiful, perfect world. In love, He
gave it to man. Just as a Father delights to give good
things to his son, so also God delighted to give the
earth to Adam.
Also
Consider:
Like
the owner of a large corporation would choose a
manager to take care of all his business, God selected
man to manage the earth. Just as a business manager
must follow the leading of the owner of the business,
God wanted man to look to Him and to seek His will and
wisdom in everything.
God
did not design man to operate independently.
Just
as a business manager must work in submission to the
owner of the business, so also man was to work in
submission to His Creator God, who owns everything.
Man
was given a very high position. But, like a business
executive, he could keep that position only as he
worked in fellowship with the owner.
As
we know, man chose instead to go his own way.
-
He wanted to see if there was something better than God
had given him.
-
He followed Satan’s advice.
That
sin plunged all mankind into sin, and man lost his
position as ruler of God’s creation.
But
when Jesus Christ came to earth, He did everything in
complete submission to His Father.
-
Because of Jesus’ submission, God chose Him to rule
and reign forever over all creation—the heavens and
the earth and everything in them.
-
In Matthew 28:18, Jesus says, “All authority has
been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
But
we still live in a fallen world.
-
We are still subject to sickness, trouble, and physical
death.
-
These things will continue until Jesus returns to take
His rightful place as Ruler.
One
day, everything will be in submission to our Lord
Jesus.
In
Philippians 2:10-11, we are told that in the future, “.
. . every knee should bow, of
those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those
under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father."
As
believers, we can praise Him now!
-
We can praise Him that we are no longer in Adam.
-
We have been born again into the family of God—we are
now in Christ.
D.
God gave man bountiful provisions and clear
instructions.
Read
Genesis 2:8,9.
We
cannot imagine the great variety and bounty that God
provided for Adam and Eve.
Every
kind of food was there in the Garden, and it was all
perfect.
Read
Genesis 2:16,17.
God
put the tree of life in the Garden for Adam and Eve to
eat, so that they might live forever with Him.
Consider:
Before
Adam and Eve disobeyed God, there was no sickness, no
death.
Had
Adam and Eve chosen to eat from the tree of life,
their bodies would have lived forever.
Only
one tree was forbidden, and God made it very clear what
would happen if they ate from that tree.
-
They would die.
-
Death means separation: separation from God, the source
of life.
His
instructions were clear; His provision was perfect.
God
was their source of life.
-
They were dependent upon Him for everything.
-
He was the one who had given them life and provided all
that they needed.
In
the same way, Jesus Christ is our source of life.
-
By believing in Him, we have eternal life.
-
Through Him, we can come to God in prayer for all our
daily needs here in this life.
E.
Adam and Eve yielded to Satan’s temptations.
Jesus
resisted Satan’s temptations.
Read
Genesis 3:1-5.
Satan,
the one who had rebelled against God’s authority in
heaven, now tempted Eve to rebel.
Satan
called God a liar.
Eve
was deceived and thought that God was withholding
something good from her.
-
Note that Satan took God’s words and twisted them.
-
This is one of Satan’s favorite tactics.
When
Jesus Christ came to earth, Satan came to tempt Him,
too.
Do
you recall how Jesus replied to Satan’s lies?
-
He quoted God’s Word accurately, and He refused to
disobey His heavenly Father.
-
In Matthew 4:10, Jesus told Satan, “Away with you,
Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD
your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
F.
Adam disobeyed God.
Jesus
Christ fully obeyed God.
Read
Genesis 3:6.
Eve
was deceived by Satan’s lies, and Adam willfully
disobeyed God.
Jesus,
however, faced every temptation that we have faced.
But
He was never deceived by Satan’s lies, nor did Jesus
ever rebel against His Father.
Read
John 6:38.
When
God the Son came to earth, He fully obeyed God the
Father in everything.
G.
Adam and Eve’s sin separated them from God.
Jesus
Christ reconciled man to God.
Because
of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were separated from
God.
Read
Genesis 3:7-10.
Their
fellowship with God was broken.
They
would now grow old and die.
Adam
was the first man—all people on earth descended from
him.
Adam’s
sin affected all mankind.
-
All of his children were born sinners, and their
children were born sinners.
-
All people die because of sin.
At
one time, all of us were cut off from God because of our
sin. But the moment we put our trust in Jesus Christ as
our Savior, we were fully accepted by God.
Even
though our physical bodies still suffer the consequences
of sin, we will live forever with God in heaven.
Jesus
Christ took the full punishment for our sin.
-
We no longer need to fear punishment.
-
We no longer need to feel like we should hide from God
as Adam and Eve did.
-
We no longer need to feel that we should try to cover
over our sin.
When
God looks at us, He sees us through Jesus Christ.
Explanation:
One
African believer said it something like this:
“When God looks at me, it’s as if I were standing
behind Jesus. God always sees Him first. Then He sees
me, in Christ.”
Jesus
Christ lived the righteous life we could not live and
died the death we deserved.
When
we put our faith in Christ, God considers our sin debt
fully paid, and gives us the righteousness of His Son,
Jesus.
-
In His eyes, we are no longer enemies, but friends.
-
The Bible says that we have been “reconciled to
God.”
H.
God pronounced a curse because of sin.
Jesus
Christ bore the curse of sin for us.
Read
Genesis 3:14-20.
The
curse affected everything on earth—man, animal, and
even the plants.
The
ground that had produced good things now produced thorns
and thistles.
Read
John 19:1,2.
When
Pilate handed Jesus Christ to the soldiers, they put a
crown of thorns on Jesus’ head.
They
did this to mock Him, but God allowed them to do it to
represent the fact that Jesus was taking on Himself all
of the curse for sin.
I.
God promised to judge Satan by sending a Deliverer.
Jesus
Christ is the Promised Deliverer.
Read
again Genesis 3:15.
Let’s
take a close look at how Jesus Christ fulfilled these
words of God.
1.
The Deliverer would be the son of a virgin.
Jesus Christ was
the son of a virgin.
God
said that the coming Deliverer would be born of a
woman, but not from a man.
In
fulfillment of God’s promise, Jesus was born the son
of Mary, a virgin.
All
born of the line of Adam were sinners, but Jesus was
not of Adam’s line.
Jesus
was the Son of God, perfect and holy.
2.
The Deliverer would be bruised by Satan.
Jesus was bruised
and suffered.
In
Isaiah, God’s Word says that Jesus was marred worse
than any other man.
Jesus
was bruised for our sins.
-
The punishment we deserved was laid on him.
-
We cannot imagine the terrible suffering Jesus
endured. Jesus earlier had identified Satan’s true
character as a liar and murderer and the father of
lies.
-
Satan wanted to destroy Jesus through the wicked
people who took part in Jesus’ arrest, false
charges, beating, flogging, and crucifixion.
-
But Jesus withstood it all, taking in His own body the
punishment we should have taken for our sins.
Jesus
willingly gave up His life; Satan did not take it from
Him.
3.
God promised that the Deliverer would crush Satan’s
power.
Jesus
died and rose again from the dead, crushing Satan’s
power and delivering man from Satan, sin, and death.
Satan
had lured Adam and Eve and the whole human race under
his evil power.
But
he could not draw Jesus away from God.
Satan
could not conquer Jesus Christ, because Jesus had
never sinned.
On
the cross, Jesus carried in His own body all our
sins— everything that had enslaved us to Satan.
Jesus
took the full punishment for those sins upon Himself,
dying the death we deserved.
Jesus
rose again from the grave, triumphing over death,
having paid in full the penalty for sin.
For
those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, Satan’s
power is broken.
-
All of us were brought under the control of Satan
through the sin of Adam.
-
But all believers have been delivered from Satan’s
power through the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ!
-
We no longer need to fear Satan and his demons.
-
Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, has destroyed the
power of Satan, sin, and death.
Jesus
Christ has all power in heaven and earth, and He saves
all those who trust in Him.
Jesus
Christ has power not only to save us from eternal
punishment, but also to deliver us daily from
Satan’s power and temptations.
Consider:
Man
has tried many things to free himself from bondage
and slavery to sin—programs for self-help,
medicines, counselors, positive thinking, etc. At
times, people find temporary relief through these
and other things.
But
Jesus Christ has supreme power over sin, Satan, and
death. In Him, we can find true victory and freedom
from Satan’s bondage.
In
John 8:32 and 8:36, Jesus says, “And you shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be
free indeed.”
In
Christ, we have freedom from slavery to Satan and sin.
Consider:
We
believers are not promised perfect health nor an
easy life. Remember, we still live in a sin-stained
world.
But
we are promised freedom from Satan’s bondage. And
we are promised peace.
Read
John 16:33.
J.
God killed animals to make clothing for Adam and Eve.
Jesus
Christ died so we can be clothed with His righteousness.
Adam
and Eve tried to cover their naked bodies with leaves.
Did God accept their efforts?
-
No. God did not accept their self-efforts, nor will He
accept ours.
-
God says that our good works are just like filthy rags;
He will not accept them.
Yet,
mankind still acts just like Adam and Eve, trying to
achieve favor with God by doing good works, trying to
cover up for their own sins.
Consider:
We
should pray for people we know who are still depending
on their good works to save them.
Many
people are very earnest in their religious deeds, yet
they still have not realized that only Jesus Christ
can save them.
When
we put our faith in Christ, we agreed with God that
there was absolutely nothing we could do to save
ourselves.
-
We clearly saw this principle in story after story in
the Old Testament.
-
We saw it first in the story of Adam and Eve.
What
did God do to clothe Adam and Eve?
Read
Genesis 3:21.
He
clothed them with the skins of animals.
Explanation:
That
meant that the animals had to die. It was Adam and Eve
who deserved death, but God killed animals in their
place. He was showing the way to come to Him: through
blood shed in acknowledgement of sins.
God
was establishing the only way that He would ever
accept man: Man must come to Him through the shed
blood of a perfect sacrifice.
This
account in Genesis 3 is the first record of the blood
sacrifice. The pattern remains the same throughout the
Bible.
All
through the Old Testament, this was the way that
believers came to God—not through their good works,
but by faith, bringing with them a blood sacrifice as
a covering for their sins.
But
the blood of animals was only a temporary covering God
promised something better.
God
sent the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to die for our
sins and to become our Savior.
-
It was God who took our sins and put them on Jesus.
-
It was God who punished Jesus in our place.
-
It was God who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead so
that we could be fully acceptable to God.
-
And it was God who taught us our sinfulness and led us
to put our faith in the Lord Jesus alone as our Savior.
We
are fully accepted by God through Jesus Christ.
-
We no longer have to strive in our own efforts.
-
We are fully accepted by God.
God
sees us clothed in the righteousness of His Son Jesus
Christ. We need never again think of ourselves as
separated from God. In Christ we are fully accepted,
reborn into God’s very own family.
-
It is not what we were or where we came from that counts
any more.
-
We have been made completely new in Jesus Christ.
-
Through Him, we are full members of God’s family.
K.
God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden, away from the
tree of life.
But
in Jesus Christ, we are fully accepted by God and given
eternal life.
Read
Genesis 3:22-24.
God
drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden.
-
They could never eat of the fruit of the tree of life.
-
The punishment for sin is death, and Adam and Eve would
grow old and die.
Because
of Adam’s sin, all people have been condemned to
die.
But
Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we might have
everlasting life.
Read
John 3:16.
The
life that we have in Jesus Christ is eternal, and that
eternal life has already begun.
Read
John 5:24.
By
believing in Jesus Christ, we are fully accepted by God,
now and forever.
L.
Conclusion
Knowing
that we are fully accepted by God changes the way we
live.
-
We no longer need to live a life of fear.
-
We no longer need to live a life of trying to earn
favor.
-
We no longer need to continue to be entangled by our old
background or any disturbing family ties.
Instead,
the focus of our lives is our heavenly Father.
We
are now full members of His family.
He
has totally accepted us in Jesus Christ.
Now
that we are God’s children, how can we get to know our
Heavenly Father?
-
By reading His Word
-
By spending time with Him in prayer
-
And by believing and thinking about the wonderful things
He has done for us.
He
gives us the power to live the new life He has given us
as members of His family.
Let’s
thank our Father for accepting us into His family.
REVIEW
QUESTIONS:
1.
In the beginning, whom did God choose to rule over the
earth?
2.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God and lost their privilege of
ruling over the earth. To whom has God given all
authority in Heaven and in earth?
3.
We still have sickness, trouble, and death in the world.
When will these problems cease?
4.
Satan tempted Adam, and Satan came to tempt the Lord
Jesus. What was the great difference between Adam and
Jesus and their responses to temptation?
5.
When Jesus was crucified, a crown of thorns was placed
on His head. What does this crown of thorns remind us
of?
6.
When God promised to send a Deliverer, He said that the
Deliverer would be the seed of the woman. How was this
promise fulfilled in Christ?
7.
God said that the promised Deliverer would be bruised by
Satan. How was this promise fulfilled in the life of
Jesus Christ?
8.
God said that the promised Deliverer would crush the
power of Satan. How did Jesus Christ fulfill this
promise?
9.
From the skins of animals, God made garments and clothed
Adam and Eve. How does this remind us of what God has
done for us in Jesus Christ?
10.
God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. He did
not want them nor their descendants to eat of the tree
of life and live forever. How has the Lord Jesus changed
this for us?.
Notes for
Disciples:
1)
Memorize John 5:24.
2)
Write in your own words what this verse means. Then take
time to think about what it means in your life.
3)
Continue reading in the Gospel of John.