Lesson Aim: To reinforce in the student’s mind the great truths of creation through the fall of man from innocence into condemnation.

Monday: Genesis 1, II Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 1:3-5 Tuesday: Genesis 2, Psalm 119:160, Psalm 11:3, Psalm 119:130
Wednesday: Hebrews 1:10-12, Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1-6
Thursday: Genesis 3, Exodus 20:8-11, Proverbs 8:24-27
Friday: Matthew 28:19-20, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Saturday: Ephesians 5:22-33, Matthew 19:5-9
Sunday: Revelation 20:2, Ezekiel 28:13-15, I Peter 2:24

LESSON OUTLINE

I. ETERNITY PAST.

A. Before any material thing existed, God established His plan of salvation. (II Timothy 1:9)

B. God’s plan of salvation is centered exclusively in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:3-5)

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BOOK OF GENESIS.

A. The integrity of the whole Bible relies upon the truth of Genesis. (Psalm 119:160)

B. The first 11 chapters of Genesis constitute the core of factual information from which the remainder of Genesis grows.

C. The foundation of the first 11 chapters of Genesis is Genesis 1:1.

D. The validity of the accounts of Genesis is vitally important to the Christian faith. (Psalm 11:3, Psalm 119:130)

E. The accounts of Genesis are to be taken literally.

1.The creative events were literal events.

2. The days of creation were literal, 24-hour days.

a. Each was one dark period plus one light period.

b. The Hebrew word yowm is used to refer to a sabbath day which is known to be a 24-hour day. Exodus 20:8-11 equates the other creation days to be the same in length as the sabbath or seventh day.

F. Genesis accounts for the origin of the material universe.

1. Either the universe was created or it made itself what it is. Of the two possible concepts of origins, only creation accounts for the origin of fundamental material reality. The evolutionary concept contends that matter is eternal, having always existed without origin.

2. The existence of a material universe is proof of God. Observation proves that all existing things have a maker. The creation demands a creator. (Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1-6)

3. The world of true science, divested of distorting suppositions and theories, testifies of a young age for the universe.

III. GOD’S CREATION OF THE MATERIAL UNIVERSE. (Genesis 1:1)

A. The basic components of material reality.

1. Time. "In the beginning."

2. Space. "The heaven."

3. Matter. "The earth."

B. How material reality originated.

1. "God." The external force who made it happen.

2. "Created." God brought into existence that which had no prior existence.

IV. GOD’S ORDERING OF THE MATERIAL UNIVERSE (Genesis 1:2-30)

A. God gave the formless raw materials order by His Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:2. Proverbs 8:24-27)

B. God gave light. (Genesis 1:3-5)

C. God made the firmament. (Genesis 1:6-8)

1. The firmament was a water canopy around the earth.

2. The firmament caused a greenhouse effect with remarkable conditions on earth.

D. God made land and plant life. (Genesis 1:9-13)

1. From the watery mixture which then existed, God separated one large dry land mass from the waters.

2. With plant life came the incredible leap from inorganic to organic matter.

3. With plant life came the origin of the DNA molecule guaranteeing replication of a species and the permitting of horizontal variation with no vertical variation.

E. God made the heavenly bodies. (Genesis 1:14-19)

1. The heavenly bodies were light generators which God attached to pre-existing light trails.

2. The heavenly bodies were to establish a certain order in the universe. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

3. God made marine animals and fowls. (Genesis 1:20-23)

4. With these animals came the origin of conscious material life.

5. These animals were also given the DNA molecule.

F. God made land animals. (Genesis 1:24-25)

1. They did not evolve; they were created simultaneously.

2. God created a vast variety of land animals.

V. THE CREATION OF MAN AND WOMAN. (Genesis 1:26-27)

A. God created man. (Genesis 1:26-27)

1. God did not speak man into being; He made him from the dust of the earth. (Genesis 2:7)

2. God made man in His own image. (Genesis 1:27) Unlike animals, man has a spirit.

B. God gave man the dominant role over His creation. (Genesis 1:28-30)

C. God’s first command to man was that he "be fruitful and multiply." (Genesis 1:28) This command has strong spiritual implications for all believers. (Matthew 28:19-20)

D. God made excellent physical provisions for man.

1. God gave him abundant food. (Genesis 1:29) With the greenhouse effect upon the earth as a result of the firmament, vegetation was exceedingly lush.

2. God gave him a perfect watering system. (Genesis 2:6)

3. God prepared a special garden for man. (Genesis 2:8-10)

E. God provided a mate for man. (Genesis 2:18, 21-23)

1. Man needs companionship. (Genesis 2:18)

2. In all of God’s creation, there was no suitable mate for man. (Genesis 2:19-20)

3. A qualified companion for man required a special creative act by God. (Genesis 2:21-22)

a. God’s taking of a rib from Adam from which to make Eve has strong spiritual ramifications. (Ephesians 5:22-33)

b. Until the woman was made, the creation was "not good" or incomplete. (Genesis 2:18)

4. With the first man and woman, God instituted marriage. (Genesis 2:23-24)

a. Marriage is society’s most fundamental building block.

b. In marriage, man and wife are to permanently merge into one relationship. (Matthew 19:5-9)

VI. THE WRONG CHOICE. (Genesis 3:1-24)

A. Man was created a free moral agent with moral options and the capacity to choose between them. (Genesis 2:16-17)

1. God could have made man without the ability to make moral choices.

2. God wants man’s love and love demands choice.

3. With true choice comes the potential to make wrong choices as well as correct ones.

B. The serpent became the agent which tempted Eve to make the wrong choice. (Genesis 3:1-5)

1. Satan incarnated the serpent as a vehicle through which to tempt Eve. (Revelation 12:9)

2. Before encountering Eve, Satan had risen in pride in an attempt to overthrow God. (Ezekiel 28:13-15)

C. Satan’s method of success against Eve was the discrediting of the Word of God. (Genesis 3:1-5)

1. He first questioned God’s Word. (Genesis 3:1)

2. He then denied the truth of God’s Word. (Genesis 3:4)

3. He then promised Eve advantage for disobeying God’s Word. (Genesis 3:5)

D. With the succumbing of Adam and Eve to Satan’s temptation came the first human sin. (Genesis 3:6)

1. The appeal of sin can be very strong.

2. There is a strong connection between what one sees and what one does.

E. Adam and Eve attempted to address their sin problem by their own efforts. (Genesis 3:7-13)

1. Experimental knowledge of evil consumed Adam and Eve with the shame and fear of guilt. (Genesis 3:10)

2. In response to their nakedness which they then perceived, they made themselves fig leaf clothes in an effort to cover their nakedness. (Genesis 3:7) These fig leaf garments are typical of human efforts to address sin.

3. In their inescapable guilt, Adam and Eve attempted to excuse their sin by blaming someone else. (Genesis 3:12-13)

F. In response to sin came the curse of God. (Genesis 3:14-19)

1. God’s curse was against the serpent and Satan, against women, against men, against the mineral kingdom, against the plant kingdom, against the animal kingdom and against mankind in a collective sense.

2. Against mankind, the curse was four-fold.

a. "Sorrow." (Genesis 3:16)

b. Pain and suffering. (Genesis 3:18)

c. Sweat and tears. (Genesis 3:19)

d. Physical death. (Genesis 3:19)

G. God addressed the sin problem of Adam and Eve.

1. God substituted an innocent animal, took the life of the animal and clothed Adam and Eve with the skin. (Genesis 3:21)

2. God’s provision with the animal for Adam and Eve foreshadows God’s provision in Jesus Christ on the cross for all sinners. (I Peter 2:24)

SUMMARY

The Bible does not speak at great length about eternity before the beginning of time, which occurred at creation. It does record the fact that back then, when no material thing existed, God predetermined the plan of salvation in Jesus Christ. In His foreknowledge, God knew He would make man, and He knew man would sin and need a Savior. He determined ahead of time to come in the person of Jesus Christ, and by death on the cross, offer salvation from sin’s penalty of death to all who would believe in Jesus Christ. He predetermined to save all who would choose Christ in faith and damn all who would choose not to trust Christ.

Time began with creation. At creation, God brought into existence the three basic components of material existence. Those components are time, space and matter. Each is mentioned in Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning" is time. "The heaven" is space. "The earth" is matter or energy. Genesis 1:1 records the source of this activity to have been God. Observation universally confirms that nothing comes into existence from nothing, nor does it progress from less complex to more complex apart from an outside source of intelligence and power. Genesis 1:1 explains the origin of the universe in a way that is both logical and in harmony with known and observable laws of nature. No other concept of origins does so. Evolution has no answer for the origin of the universe. It simply contends that the basic elements of the universe have always existed.

By creation, God brought the universe into being. He then began to organize the created materials into the phenomena observable today. Genesis is a literal account of the events of creation and the early history of the earth and man. The days of creation were literal 24-hour days, Adam and Eve were real people and the events really occurred as reported in Genesis. It is extremely important to understand the validity and trustworthiness of the accounts in Genesis. If God’s Word is not to be trusted from the start, no part of it can be trusted. Genesis is the foundation book of the Bible and the first 11 chapters of Genesis constitute the core of factual information from which the rest of the Bible grows. Genesis 1:1 is the foundation verse of the first 11 chapters. It is imperative that students understand the factual validity of Genesis and the importance of creation.

After creating the basic components of the universe, God began to order and arrange them. By his Spirit He gave form to the void or shapeless raw materials. A watery sphere came into existence. God then gave light. Next He made the firmament, which was a water canopy above the earth. This canopy resulted in a greenhouse effect on the earth, producing a lush environment in which dinosaurs and other large animals flourished. Since the canopy prevented deserts, storms and polar caps, flora and fauna abounded world wide, providing the huge deposits of organic matter necessary for the later production of fossil fuels during the flood. The water canopy fell during the Flood.

The day following His creation of the firmament, God created dry land and plant life. Before the dry land, the earth sphere was a watery mixture. At the direction of God, the core, mantel and crust of the earth formed. At the beginning, the land was not divided into continents, but was a singular land mass. With plant life came the reproductive DNA molecule. By the provision of God, plants, and later animals and man, were able to replicate themselves. God allowed for considerable horizontal variation, but no vertical variation, an observable fact which contradicts the concept of evolution.

On the fourth day of creation, God made the heavenly bodies. Light already existed. At this time, God simply attached generators to existing light trails. The heavenly bodies, particularly the sun and the moon, serve to govern seasons, days, years and other signs.

On the fifth day of creation, God made marine animals and fowls. This day marked the beginning of conscious life, a new creation by God. It is noteworthy that marine life and fowls did not evolve slowly. Rather, they burst forth in abundance in both numbers per specie and number of species.

Creation day six began with the creation of land animals. All species were created simultaneously. God then created man. Man was made from the dust; not spoken into being as were the animals. Man was also made in the image of God. Unlike any animal, man has a spirit in addition to a body and soul. Man, like God, is a three-fold being.

God made both man and woman, although He made man first, then made the woman from a rib of the man. By God’s own testimony, it is not good that man should be alone. Man needs a companion, and there is no animal suitable to be a companion to man. God made woman from man’s own body, to be like him; and God brought her to man and bonded them into a family unit. On this first day of man’s existence, God established monogamous, heterosexual marriage. He also emphasized the love, oneness and permanence which should prevail in marriage.

Though all of the creation was a lovely paradise, God prepared an especially lovely place for Adam and Eve. The place was a garden in a region called Eden. A beautiful river sprang up and flowed out of the garden. In the garden were beautiful trees and abundant food. At that time there was no disease, no predation, no dangers, nor any evil. Adam and Eve were given full liberty. In the garden was the tree of good and evil. They were not to eat of the fruit of that tree, although they were given the capacity of choice, and could eat the forbidden fruit, if they so chose.

At some point between his creation and his appearance in the form of a serpent in the garden of Eden, Satan had, in pride, led a rebellion against God. He came to Eve in the form of a serpent to subvert the man whom God had created. Histactic was to undermine and attack the word of God, a tactic he has continued to use with great success throughout the history of the world. He first questioned God’s Word, then fully denied it. He implied to Eve that God was withholding something greatly desirable from her. As she looked at the forbidden fruit, she succumbed to her temptation and partook of the fruit. Adam was with her and took of the fruit also. Though she was deceived, Adam was not. He willfully and deliberately transgressed the law of God, and in so doing, introduced sin into the human race.

Adam and Eve immediately found that an experimental knowledge of evil is not desirable at all, as Satan had indicated. To the contrary, they were filled with guilt, and were ashamed and fearful. They attempted to cover their sin with fig leaf clothes, but to no avail. When they heard God in the garden, they hid. Of course, God knew where they were, not only in location, but also in condition. When He called them into judgment, they tried to escape personal responsibility by blaming someone else for their sin. Their efforts were to no avail, as are all human attempts to successfully address sin. Only God can forgive sinners, and he does so upon the basis of His own sacrifice in their place. This sacrificial work of Jesus Christ is foreshadowed by God’s sacrifice of an animal in the place of Adam and Eve. His substitution of the animal in their place and the use of the skin to clothe Adam and Eve testifies of what God does for believing sinners upon the strength of the work of Christ.

As a result of their sin, God cursed His creation. He cursed the serpent, placing him on his belly. He cursed Satan, promising to ultimately destroy him. He cursed the woman, promising her sorrow, particularly in childbirth. He cursed man, promising existence only by toil and hardship. He cursed the mineral kingdom. In the Second Law of Thermodynamics, all things tend to degenerate in time. God cursed the plant kingdom with thorns and thistles. He cursed the animal kingdom and animals suffer the same fate as men. He cursed the creation as a whole with physical death.

QUESTIONS

1. What great provision for sinners did God make in eternity past?

2. When did time begin?

3. Name the three basic components of the universe.

4. Why are the accounts of Genesis so important to the integrity of the Bible?

5. Why is Genesis 1:1 so vital to the Christian faith?

6. Why is it so important to understand that the accounts of Genesis are literal, not figurative, accounts of actual events and real people?

7. Explain some of the implications of a water canopy around the earth in the days prior to the flood.

8. Explain the significance of the DNA molecule.

9. Name several ways in which the Genesis account of creation refutes the concept of evolution.

10. In what way is man in the image of God?

11. Explain man’s dominant role in nature.

12. State God’s first command to man and elaborate on its spiritual implications.

13. Name some of God’s special provisions for man.

14. Explain man’s deep need for companionship.

15. Explain the spiritual implications in the unique way by which God made woman.

16. Explain man’s freedom of moral choice.

17. Describe Satan’s nature.

18. How did Satan go about attacking God and deceiving the woman?

19. Describe God’s curse.