Pastor Dave Martin ~ Cross Creek Community Church ~ April 27, 2008
“Paradise”
Gen 2 and Selected
“In the Beginning…” series Part 3 of 10
*** Go see “Expelled – No Intelligence Allowed” – Ben Stein’s new movie (at montage not W.B.) ***
Paradise is a Persian word that is generally identified with the Garden of Eden or with Heaven.
What would “Paradise” look like? Rev 21 & 22 describes our final home in eternity with the Lord – Paradise!
Genuine paradise in the very presence of Almighty God… Let’s look part 3 of “In the Beginning…”
Nehemiah 9:6 You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
Review…
God created and energized the entire universe
Days of creation were literal 24 hr days NOT long periods of time
God created enormous and mysterious objects in the universe
God’s creation was blessed and declared very good
1. God Created Man and Woman
| “Breathe of life” “Image of God” – God consciousness |
Genesis 1:26-27 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
 | Let “us”, “our”… the doctrine of the Trinity… special conference, divine counsel to create man |
| All three persons of the Godhead vitally, uniquely involved in Creation… Man, royal crown |
| God’s “Image” was ONLY imparted to humans, Created “bara” – unrelated to prior created |
| Only man can share in God’s nature… life, personality, truth, wisdom, love, holiness, justice |
| Only man has the capacity to have a relationship with God and to worship Him… Spiritual |
| Adam, man from the “dust of the ground” – “earthy” |
Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
| Man made up of 14 chemical elements… hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, calcium… |
| Man’s body completely formed yet lifeless… lungs, bones, organs… but still lifeless |
| The Great I Am… God alone is the Self-Existent One… breathe into man the “breathe of life” |
| Living souls – the realm of mind & emotions – consciousness… |
| Man’s soul is a higher order than animals… Requiring God’s direct energizing for its activation… |
Life can only come from life! Man did not evolve to this stage…
1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
| All Y chromosomes found in males can be traced back to one “scientific Adam” – Nat’l Geographic |
| Little Girl: “Mother, we learned in Sunday school today that we came from dust and that we are going back to dust. Is that true?” “Yes, darling, that’s true.” “Well, I just looked under the bed and someone is either coming or going.” |
| The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills. |
| Adam was alone, and that was not good… as God’s creation began to function – |
| Adam became aware of his aloneness and solitude… “a corresponding helper for the man” |
| “Helper” is NOT a demeaning term (often used to describe God Himself – Ps 33:20, 70:5, 115:9) |
| What Adam lacked, Eve supplied… what Eve lacked, Adam supplied… |
| Culminating in the complete unity of one flesh in marriage… living in integrity without sin! |
Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
| Eve, woman from the “side of Adam” – flesh, bone, blood |
Genesis 2:21-23 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 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.”
| Like a surgeon, God put Adam into a “deep-deep” sleep then tenderly operated on him |
| “rib” literally in the Hebrew – his side with flesh, bone, blood… that’s why man has one less rib!* |
| Eve didn’t evolve into a woman… she was handcrafted by God on the 6th day of creation! |
| A woman brings more refinement to the world than any other creature… glory & crown |
| Not taken from the dust but out of man, from His side near his heart |
| Closeness, companionship, intimacy, bond… same flesh and nature… male & female |
| Called “woman” – to be soft… |
| Eve was a knock out, the first thing Adam said when he saw Eve was… WOOO-MAN! |
| Men and women are different… men don’t like to ask for directions… That’s the reason why it takes 500,000,000 sperm to fertilize one egg. None would bother to stop and ask directions. |
| Astronaut Michael Collins, speaking at a banquet, quoted the estimate that the average man speaks 25,000 words a day and the average woman 30,000. Then he added: “Unfortunately, when I come home each day I’ve spoken my 25,000—and my wife hasn’t started her 30,000.” |
2. God Completed His Creation and Rested
Genesis 2:1-3 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
|
“Rested” – to cease from
Creative work
(without
weariness)
| ||
| Sabbath day of “rest” was given to Israel – work six days then rest and worship the Lord /obedience |
3. Man was Placed in a Perfect Environment
| God planted a garden called Eden “pleasantness, delight” |
| Living in “Utopia” – Paradise… delightful, beautiful, perfect temperature, environment |
| Animals playing, birds singing, no ferocious animals, lion & lamb & t-rex and getting along… |
| No thorns or poison ivy, no bothersome mosquitoes, no poisonous snakes, no weeds in garden |
| Beautiful trees good for food (w/ two specific trees named) |
Genesis 2:8-10 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
| Beautiful, awesome trees… huge redwoods, sequoia, palms, maple, apple, peach… |
| Two other significant… tree of life & knowledge of good & evil… see more on this next week |
| River originated in Eden and flowed branching out into four |
Genesis 2:10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.
Genesis 2:6 but streams (“ade”- mist, dew, vapor) came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground— (from daytime & nighttime temperature differences)
| Mist (KJV) came up from the earth and watered the surface… dew… (not streams as translated in NIV) |
| From huge underground aquifers/ artesian springs flowed from Eden (River of Life – Rev 22:1) |
| Branched out into four others: Pishon, Gihon, Tigres, Euphrates (Mesopotamian area) |
| All destroyed in the great flood… radical change in topography, climate, everything… |
| Man given dominion and responsibility over God’s creation |
Genesis 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
o Man was assigned ruler and protector over the earth and all living things
o This “right of authority” was soon usurped by the Devil… TODAY he controls the earth.
| Named all the living creatures… livestock, birds, beasts |
Genesis 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. 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.
o Aware of His surroundings, the beauty and the activity of all the various creatures
o Intellectual (pre-sin/fall) Adam names the robin, sparrow, tiger, elephant and the weasel…
4. God Instituted the Marriage Covenant
| Marriage – monogamous, heterosexual, permanent |
o Practice of being married to only one person (unlike the Mormons we read about men w/ 70 wives!)
o Male with female… not male w/male - homosexual OR female w/female – Lesbian…(media/culture)
o Adam and Eve NOT Adam and Steve… Sin, God calls unnatural and an abomination…
o Perverts the order of nature, cannot procreate, a learned behavior, usually young age… NAMBLA is North American Man/Boy Love Association… God will judge
o Marriage is also permanent… till death due us part… no fault divorce kit $24.95 on the internet.
“If man believes he has an animal origin, then why should he not live and behave like other animals… infidelity, immorality… when I’m dead, I’m dead… it’s over – no eternity, no God, no accountability, no judgment, no creator… so I’ll live MY life for the present… eat drink and party on the weekends… no rules”
One of “Dear Abby’s” most unusual letters came from one wife who evidently didn’t understand her husband. The letter said, “My husband burns the hair out of his nose with a lighted match. And he thinks I’m crazy because I voted for Goldwater.”
“An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have; the older she gets, the more interested he is in her”
| Complimented and completed each other ~ soul mates |
Genesis 2:24-25 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Mark 10:7-9 7 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
o Three legged stool… leave – away from parents, cleave (united) – getting to know each other, one flesh – consummation of the marriage for life… no shame – at ease w/each other / sinless/ pure…
o Adam & Eve complimented AND Completed each other they were soul mates in commune w/ God
o Paradise… no arguing, fighting, infidelity, broken trust, lies or anger, NO SIN… Paradise!
You are handcrafted in God’s image!
You are an eternal being!
You are loved and valued by God!
Are you experiencing “paradise” with Him today?