This Sunday we come to the heart of the middle scene of
divine revelation. When you study the
Scriptures you find that all of existence can be divided into three
scenes: the first creation (Genesis 1:1,
2) and its judgment; the second act of divine “creation” as God brings order
out of chaos (Genesis 1:2f through the second coming of Christ); and the final
act of “creation” when God creates the new heaven and new earth (Revelation
21). The reason I place quotation marks
around the word creation in Acts Two and Three is to distinguish God’s first
act of creation as ex nihilo – out of
nothing. When God created the heaven and
the earth in Genesis 1:1, He did it out of nothing. Prior to this act of creation there was no
matter out of which God could shape the heavens and the earth for no matter
existed prior to Genesis 1:1. However,
in His second and third acts He re-forms or remakes what He had previously
created. This is why the word “brood” is
used to describe God’s work in Genesis 1:2.
When the Spirit of God broods and the Father speaks His word order is
brought out of the chaos when God judged Lucifer in the wake of his rebellion.
If you were with us last week for Tim’s message, “Piercing
the Darkness,” you know that each member of the Trinity played a critical role
in the work of re-creation. What God had
wrecked and ruined He reshaped and refashioned by the word of His mouth and the
brooding of the Holy Spirit. What the
fallen angel Lucifer was entirely unable to do, God does by the word of His mouth. How ironic it is to know that the one named
“bearer of light” is completely impotent in bringing light out of the darkness
of God’s judgment.
This week we are at a crucial point in Act Two – Genesis
3. Here we find Satan’s response to the
creation of a rival. Think about that
“rival” for a minute. In Genesis 5:1-2
we read, “This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, He made him in the
likeness of God. Male and female He
created them, and He blessed them and named them man when they were
created.” (So much for exclusive
language in the Bible! From the very
beginning “man” equals male and female.)
This description incorporates several features of man’s creation that
are greater than the features in His creation of Satan. First, the verses tell us that God made man in
His image and likeness. Though Lucifer was
said to be “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” there’s no imago dei in him. Second, the man is said to have received a
divine blessing. This too is a distinguishing
trait of man.
So, when God brings light out of darkness, when He forms the
earth and the sky, the waters and all living creatures, He doesn’t rest until
He has made man the crown of His creation.
This infuriates Satan. Satan had
always looked on the earth as his personal property. When he was created, as we’ve noted from
Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, he was given three roles – prophet, priest, and
king. Even in his fallen state, this
last role is retained in that he goes from the king of creation to the prince
of this world (John 14:30) or the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians
2:2). In commenting on a divided kingdom
He references Satan (Luke 11:17, 18). If
God should “try” to endow an intruder (one He creates in His image) with
dominion in Satan’s domain, Satan would do everything he can to make him his
creature. (Indeed, everyone who seeks to
entrench himself/herself in his/her position and place of power is operating in
the spirit of Satan.) So the battle is
joined.
Satan has two primary objectives in the garden:
1.
To interrupt the relationship between God and his image
bearers;
2.
To gain the allegiance of these image bearers so that
they might will Satan’s will rather than God’s will.
It is said that the seed of every great biblical doctrine is
found in Genesis 3. Indeed, when you
examine the balance of Scripture you find each one of these embryonic doctrines
coming to full bloom. The sad fact is
that nearly every biblical heresy and contemporary error has its genesis in a
misunderstanding or misapprehension of the truths of Genesis 3.
In preparation for Sunday’s message “In the Garden”, Genesis
3:1-15 and John 20:19-23, and our three points:
The TARGET (Genesis 1:26, 27); The TESTIMONY (Genesis 3:9); and The
TRIUMPH (Genesis 3:15), you may wish to consider the following:
1. What
biblical doctrines can you identify in Genesis 3:1-24?
2. How
is the “T” of TULIP so commonly misapprehended? How far did Adam fall?
3. How
is the creation of man a threat to Satan?
4. How
is the creation of man a further judgment of God on Satan?
5. What
does the imago dei mean? How are we made in the image and likeness of
God?
6. What
is the meaning of God’s act and question in Genesis 3:8, 9?
7. What
is God’s purpose in setting the command in Genesis 2:16, 17?
8. In
what way did God honor His promise of death in Genesis 2:17? (See I Cor. 2:14.)
9. How
different are God’s judgment of fallen Lucifer and His judgment of fallen man?
10. What is the
blessing in 15(a)?
11. What is the
blessing in 15(b)?
See you Sunday as we welcome some wonderful new members into
the family of faith at Hebron!
