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REVIEW
QUESTIONS FROM LESSON 4:
1.
In the beginning, whom did God choose to rule over the
earth? God chose Adam and Eve.
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? Jesus Christ.
3.
We still have sickness, trouble, and death in the world.
When will these problems cease? When the Lord Jesus
returns and takes His rightful authority over
everything.
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? Adam
disobeyed God, but Jesus refused to disobey. He obeyed
His Father in everything.
5.
When Jesus was crucified, a crown of thorns was placed
on His head. What does this crown of thorns remind us
of? When the ground was cursed because of sin, thorns
began to grow. Jesus was taking the curse of sin on
Himself
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? Jesus was the son of a
virgin woman. He had no earthly father. His Father is
God.
7.
God said that the promised Deliverer would be bruised by
Satan. How was this promise fulfilled in the life of
Jesus Christ? Jesus was beaten, flogged, nailed to a
cross.
8.
God said that the promised Deliverer would crush the
power of Satan. How did Jesus Christ fulfill this
promise? When Jesus died, was buried, and rose again
on behalf of sinners, He overcame Satan, sin, and death
for all who put their faith in Jesus Christ.
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? God allowed Jesus Christ
to die in our place. He clothed us with the
righteousness of Christ. Just as God made clothes and
put them on Adam and Eve so they would be acceptable to
Him, God has made us acceptable to Himself through 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? Through the Lord Jesus, we have been
brought back to God and have been given everlasting
life.
A.
Introduction
We
live in a sin-cursed world.
Everywhere
we look, we can see the results of man’s sin.
Sickness, death, every kind of pain, sorrow and
destruction are the results of man’s rebellion against
God.
-
Because of sin, our bodies are born with weaknesses, and
we are prone to sickness.
-
Adam’s sin brought death; and all of us, as Adam’s
descendants, will face physical death.
Even
though the physical part of us deteriorates, the
spiritual part of us has been made new in Christ.
-
Though physical death comes to all, believers in Christ
will never have to face spiritual death.
-
We have been given eternal life in Jesus Christ.
B.
Cain and Abel and all of Adam’s descendants
were born outside the Garden, separated from God.
But
in Christ we have been born again into God’s
family.
Read
Genesis 3:24; 4:1-2.
Cain
and Abel and all of Adam’s descendants, including you
and me, were born outside of the Garden, away from the
tree of life, separated from God.
But
when we put our trust in Jesus Christ, we were reborn
into God’s family.
Read
John 1:12.
We
are no longer separated from God and from eternal life.
Nothing
can separate us from God and His great love for us which
He has given us through Jesus Christ.
Read
John 10:27-28
C.
Abel came to God by faith.
We
have come to God by faith in Jesus Christ.
Read
Genesis 4:3-4.
Abel
killed a lamb and brought it to God as a sacrifice.
Why
did God accept Abel and his offering?
-
Abel came to God according to the way that God had said
to approach Him.
-
Abel came by faith, trusting God’s promise to send a
Deliverer.
Did
the lamb’s blood pay for Abel’s sins?
-No.
-
Only Jesus Christ could fully pay for sins.
We,
too, have come to God the way He has told us: through
Jesus Christ and His blood shed for our sins.
God
fully accepted the death of Jesus Christ as full payment
for all of the sins of the whole world.
We
have put our trust in Him.
-
God fully accepts us.
-
Our sin debt has been fully paid forever.
D.
Cain did not believe God, but came his own way—this
is the way of the world today.
Read
Genesis 4:5.
Why
did God reject Cain and his offering?
-
Because Cain did not agree with God that he was a sinner
and that only God could save Him.
-
Cain did not believe God.
-
He did not trust in God’s promise to send a Deliverer.
-
And Cain refused to bring the blood sacrifice God had
told him to bring.
Instead,
Cain came his own way.
God
graciously gave Cain opportunity to repent, but instead,
Cain became angry and killed his brother Abel.
Read
Genesis 4:6-8
-
Compare:
Take
a look at today’s news.
Man
is still living just like Cain:
-
Refusing to listen to God.
- Filled with anger.
- Hurting and killing others.
Read
Genesis 4:15-16.
Cain
went away from God, and his descendants followed his
example.
-
They lived for themselves and for the things of this
world.
-
They were filled with selfishness and violence.
And
so it is today.
Those
of us who have put our faith in Christ Jesus still live
in a troubled world.
Read
John 16:33.
But
we no longer have to live like Cain and his descendants.
-
We have the life of Jesus Christ in us, and He has
overcome the world.
-
In Christ, we have the power to resist worldly ways and
to live godly lives, regardless of how others treat us.
E.
God gave Seth to replace Abel, and after the birth of
Seth’s son, men began to call upon the Lord.
God
gave Jesus Christ, and we call upon God though
Christ.
Read
Genesis 4:25-26.
God
gave Seth to replace Abel, so the Deliverer would be
born through this family line.
Seth
had a son, Enos.
-
At that time, people began to renew their interest in
the Lord.
-
They called on His name for mercy and help, just as Abel
had done. The Lord Jesus was the Deliverer who came
through Seth’s family line.
-
Through Jesus Christ, we have direct access to God.
- God wants us
to call upon Him and depend upon Him for everything.
- Consider:
Today,
people depend upon many things other than God for the
help they need in life. Some people even think that
they are self sufficient—they actually believe that
by self will they can have and do anything they want.
They refuse to acknowledge God and His sovereignty.
Many
people depend upon their financial status or their
physical and mental abilities.
Some
depend upon their family relationships or social ties.
Many
people rely on their good works.
Others
look for spiritual guidance in horoscopes or man’s
predictions or mystical ideas.
None
of these things are dependable—as a matter of fact,
they are detestable to God, for His Word says
that we must worship and depend upon Him alone for
everything.
-
Also Consider:
Before
we put our faith in Christ, we no doubt relied on
something other than God.
But
now we know the truth. Only in the Lord Jesus Christ
can we find what we need for life. Because of His
blood shed for us and His death on the Cross, we are
fully accepted by God.
We
are no longer separated from God. Now we are part of
His family—His own children. He wants us to come to
Him for everything
In
every situation, God wants us to come to Him in
Jesus’ name. He promises to hear us and to give what
is best for us, because of our relationship to His
Son, Jesus Christ.
When
Jesus was about to return to Heaven, here is what He
told His disciples:
"Until
now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will
receive, that your joy may be full." (John
16:24)
Why
can we confidently bring our requests to God?
Read
John 16:26,27
We
can confidently bring our requests to God because He
loves us:
-
Because we love Christ
-
And we believe in Christ.
F.
God took Enoch to be with Him.
God
will take all believers to be with Him in Heaven.
In
Genesis God gives us an amazing account of a man named
Enoch.
Read
Genesis 5:22-24.
Enoch
went straight to God without experiencing death.
Likewise,
we who have put our trust in the Lord Jesus have eternal
life.
Our
eternal life began the moment we put our trust in
Him.
Read
John 5:24.
All
believers who die physically are immediately in God’s
presence.
As
we study further in God’s Word, we will learn more
about the wonderful provision He has made for His
children.
G.
God the Holy Spirit warned wicked people through Noah.
God
the Holy Spirit still warns people through His Word and
through His children.
Read
Genesis 6:5-7.
In
2 Peter 2:5, God calls Noah a "preacher of
righteousness".
-
God the Holy Spirit used Noah to be His spokesman to the
rebellious people of Noah’s day.
-
But they refused to listen, and only Noah and his family
were saved from destruction in the flood.
Just
as God the Holy Spirit spoke through Noah, God speaks
today through His Holy Spirit.
Jesus
spoke of the Holy Spirit whom God would send to
believers.
Read
John 1 6:8-11.
We
who have believed in Jesus Christ have the Holy Spirit
living inside of us.
-
He uses us to teach unbelievers about Himself.
-
God’s Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to work in
people’s hearts to convict them of their need to be
saved.
H.
God made a way for Noah to be saved by grace through
faith.
In
the same way, God made a way for us to be saved by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ.
Noah,
like every other human being, was born a sinner and
could not make himself acceptable to God by his own
efforts.
-
But Noah trusted in the Lord and in His promises to send
a Deliverer.
-
Although Noah deserved to be destroyed with the other
people of the world, Noah found grace and mercy because
he believed God.
Read
Genesis 6:8.
God
and God alone could make a way for Noah to be saved.
In
the same way, we, like Noah, have been saved by God’s
grace. We, like Noah, do not deserve to be saved.
-
But we have put our faith in God’s only way of
salvation, Jesus Christ.
God
told Noah to build an ark, a huge boat.
-
Every detail of that ark was designed by God.
-
Noah believed God and built the ark exactly as God told
him.
Read
Genesis 6:13-16,22.
God
planned every detail of the ark, and God planned every
detail of the life of the Lord Jesus.
-
Jesus’ birth, His life, His death, burial, and
resurrection were all fulfilled exactly as God’s
prophets had written they would be.
-
Everything Jesus said and did was according to God’s
perfect plan.
Like
the ark, Jesus Christ was God’s perfect way for man to
be saved.
Part
of the design of the ark was that it had only one door.
-
Through this one door, all of the animals came, and,
finally, Noah and his family.
-
There was only one way into the place of safety.
Read
Genesis 7:1,16.
Who
closed the door on the ark?
God
did!
Why?
So
that all inside would be safe, but all who were outside
would not be able to enter.
-
They had been given opportunity to repent, but had
refused.
-
The time for judgment had come, and only those who
believed God were allowed into the ark, the place of
safety.
And
like the ark with its one door, Jesus Christ is the one
way of salvation for all people everywhere in the world.
-
We enter into God’s family only through Jesus Christ,
the doorway to eternal life.
Read
John 14:6.
-
Those of us who have believed in Christ are safely shut
inside God’s place of safety.
I.
All who were outside the ark perished.
But
all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ will never
perish
Read
Genesis 7:17,23.
Every
living thing outside of the ark died.
But
all who were inside were saved by God.
Read
Genesis 8:1-4.
God
kept Noah and his family and all of the animals safe
inside the ark.
-
God made the flood waters recede.
-
God made a safe place for the ark to rest again on dry
land. He promised that never again would He destroy the
earth by a flood, and He gave the rainbow as a sign of
this promise.
Read
Genesis 9:11-13.
By
faith, Noah and his family entered the ark and were kept
safe.
Like
them, we who have put our faith in Jesus Christ will be
kept safe through every trial of life.
-
We never need to fear whatever troubles may come on this
earth.
-
We are safe inside God’s ark of safety, Jesus Christ.
-
No storm of life, no judgment on unbelievers can ever
separate us from God nor take us away from His presence.
-
We never again need to fear death, for Jesus has
conquered death for all of us who believe.
For
those who refuse God’s plan of salvation through Jesus
Christ, the future holds the promise of death and
eternity in Hell.
But
for those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ,
God has promised to bring us safely all the way home to
Heaven.
Read
John 14:1-3.
Jesus
Himself has prepared a place for us to spend eternity.
-
When we as believers look at a rainbow, we can remember
that all of God’s promises are true.
-
Not only will He never again destroy the earth by a
flood; but He also will keep us eternally safe in Jesus
Christ.
Read
John 3.16.
J.
All of the peoples of the world descended from Noah’s
three sons.
Those
of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ have a new
heritage in Him.
Read
Genesis 9:18-19.
Every
person on earth is descended from one of these three
men. But those of us who have put our faith in Jesus
Christ have a whole new family heritage.
-
We have been born again of God.
-
We are now His beloved children.
Read
John 1:12-13.
K.
The people of Babel tried to build a tower to reach
Heaven.
God
sent Jesus Christ from Heaven to reach us.
After
the flood, just as before, most people went their own
way, refusing to listen to God.
There
were always a few who believed and obeyed God, but for
the most part, people did as they pleased.
God
had told the descendants of Noah to fill the earth.
Instead,
they wanted to build a great tower and city for
themselves.
Read
Genesis 11:1-9.
Note
that these people were trying to make themselves great,
even reaching up to Heaven.
But
God, in His sovereignty and power, stopped them.
-
He confused their languages so that they couldn’t
understand each other.
-
They had refused to obey the Lord, but now, because of
the language problem, they scattered all over the world.
-
Today, there are literally thousands of languages all
over the world—because of what happened at the tower
of Babel.
But
God in His grace still wants all men, everywhere, to
know Him. In contrast to the tower of Babel, built by
proud men who thought they could reach up to God, Jesus
Christ came down from Heaven to us and humbled Himself
to die on a cross for our sins.
And
He died not just for my sins and yours, but for the sins
of the whole world.
-
The Lord knows about every person, everywhere.
-
And He has sent Jesus Christ to be the Savior of
everyone who believes.
-
He has given us the privilege of going and telling
others, all over the world.
In
Revelation, Jesus Christ tells of the future time when
people from every tongue and tribe and nation will
worship Him.
L.
Conclusion
God
has promised that those of us who believe in Jesus will
be among that great throng of worshipers!
We
are no longer shut out, but shut in—into the family of
God forever. He is our Father, and He loves to hear His
children say, “Thank You!” Let’s thank the Lord
for the wonderful salvation He has given us in Christ.
REVIEW
QUESTIONS:
1.
Cain and Abel, and all of the descendants of Adam and
Eve, including us, were born outside of the Garden of
Eden. What is the significance of being born outside of
the Garden?
2.
When we put our trust in Jesus Christ, how does our
relationship to God change?
3.
Abel brought a lamb to sacrifice to God. Why don’t we
need to bring a lamb as an offering to God?
4.
Cain’s descendants went their own way and not God’s
way. But what happened when Seth’s son, Enos, was
born?
5.
How do we call on the Lord?
6.
Why do we come to God in Jesus’ name?
7.
How did God warn the people about the flood that He was
going to send?
8.
Did Noah deserve to be saved from the flood?
9.
Do any of us deserve God’s love or forgiveness?
10.
God gave Noah exact instructions for building the ark.
How does that remind us of our salvation in Jesus
Christ?
11.
The ark had only one door. How does this remind us of
the Lord Jesus Christ?
12.
When Noah and his family, and all of the animals were
safely inside the ark, God shut the door. How does this
remind us of our salvation in Christ?
13.
The people of Babel tried to reach up to Heaven by
building a tower. God would not accept their
self-centered efforts. What has God done to make a way
for us to go to Heaven?
Notes for
Disciples:
1)
Memorize John 14:6.
2)
Write in your own words what it means to you to be
safely “shut inside” of God’s Ark of safety, Jesus
Christ. As you write, contrast this place of safety with
your former situation of being “shut out” of God’s
family, before you put your faith in Jesus Christ.
3)
Look for a hymn that expresses your thanksgiving for
being safely inside God’s family. Perhaps you may want
to write your own song of thanksgiving and praise to
God.
4)
Continue your reading in the Gospel of John. Make notes
about the character of Jesus Christ. Look at what He
says about Himself, what He is doing, how He treats
people, how they respond to Him, and how He responds to
them. Be alert for verses that show His relationship to
His Heavenly Father.