Creation and Commission of Woman--Revisited (Gen. 2:18-25)

Creation and Commission of Woman--Revisited (Gen. 2:18-25)      

Summary: In the marriage covenant, a woman is to see herself as the glory of her husband and the man is to see his wife as a wonderful gift from God, a uniquely fit companion in the weighty and awesome work God has given them to do.  In the home, a man is given the primary responsibility to lead, protect, and provide for his wife and his wife is given an indispensable role of supporting her husband in their shared work of kingdom advancement. 

Main Point: God wants us to know that the work of filling the earth with his image is no small task
therefore he graciously provided a uniquely fit helper to assist the man.

Discussion Questions:

• Why is it not good for man to be alone?
• According to Gen. 2, what are the unique roles God has designed for men and women?
• Is the term "helper" a degrading term? Why or why not?
• What was the point of including the naming of animals in 2:19-20?
• How should God's special creation of the woman in 2:20-23 shape the way that a wife views her relationship to her husband? 
• What do we learn about God's original design for marriage in v.24?  How serious did Jesus take this truth in Matt. 19:3-9?  What can we learn from Jesus' view of marriage in our day?
• How does a godly Christian marriage display the gospel? READ Ephesians 5:22-33

Application Questions:

• What are the sweet gospel benefits of being the Bride of Christ?  How does Christ, our loving Husband, care for us as a church according to Ephesians 5:29-30? 

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for sending his Son to lay down his life for his Bride, the Church.
• Praise God for the godly woman at FBC who are such a gift to the church and so instrumental to the mission God has given to us to make more and maturing disciples
• Pray that God would help the husbands from FBC to love their wives as Christ loved the church and for the wives to respect their husbands out of honor for Christ.  

Creation and Commission of Man--Revisited (Gen. 2:4-17)

Creation and Commission of Man--Revisited (Gen. 2:4-17)      

1. The First Adam
2. The Last Adam

Summary: Gen. 2:4 ("These are the generations of the heavens and the earth...") serves as a "hinge" verse, setting apart Gen. 1:1-2:3 as the worldview-shaping preface to the entire Bible and providing an introduction for what the story of the Bible is all about.  It is the story about the heavens and the earth.  But mainly it is a story about the Lord God, the Covenant God who creates a place where a covenant people get to know and enjoy his presence.  In vv.5-17 we see God's good design for his kingdom in seed form: the kingdom that will fill the heavens and the earth begins in a small garden, initially with one man who is given a wonder and weighty work to do.  This man, the first Adam, the man of dust, failed in his work.  But we praise God for sending the last Adam, the man of heaven, Jesus Christ, to do the work that the first Adam and all of us failed to do.  The first Adam lead us into sin and therefore death.  The last Adam leads us to forgiveness and therefore eternal life. 

Main Point: God wants us to understand how he created the first Adam and the wonderful and weighty work he called him to do.  And God wants us to know that since Adam is our representative and since he failed in his work we have fallen with in into sin and death and are therefore in need of a new and better representative, One who can lead us out of sin and death into forgiveness, obedience, and eternal life.  No man of dust will do.  We need a man of heaven.  That man is Jesus Christ.

Discussion Questions:

• In what way is Gen. 2:4 a "hinge" verse? 
• What is the significance of the details about how God created Adam in v.7?
• What does the description about the trees and the rivers tell us about God?
• What does it mean to "work and to keep/guard"?
• What statement is one making by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
• How might the description of the tree of life in the Book of Revelation (see Rev. 2:7; 22: 2,14) inform how we understand the presence of the tree of life in the Book of Genesis (see Gen. 2:9, 16-17; 3:24)?
• Read Rom. 5:12-21 & 1 Cor. 15:45-49.  What are the consequences of being in the first Adam?  What are the glories of being in the Last Adam?

Application Questions:

• How should the reality that I am no longer represented by the first Adam but the Last Adam shape the way that I think, feel, and live?

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for sending the man of heaven, the Last Adam to lead us out of sin and the grips of death into forgiveness and eternal life 
• Ask God to use his word, Spirit and people to remind us of the glories that come with the fact that we are no longer in Adam but in Christ
• Ask God to let the reality that many are still lost in Adam motivate our willingness to share the good news about the man of heaven with others

Day 7: God "Rested" from His Finished Work (Gen. 2:1-3)

Day 7: God "Rested" from His Finished Work (Gen. 2:1-3)      

1. The Pattern of Rest
2. The Path of Rest
3. The Promise of Rest

Summary: Everything in creation that we have consider thus far has been building up to Day 7, the day when God said that he "rested" from his finished work.  God set a pattern in Gen. 2:1-3 that would be returned to again and again as the story of the Bible unfolds.  The pattern of God finishing his work, resting from his work, making the seventh day a special day all on a day that seems to have no end sets us on a path for rest that we find out leads to a Person, Jesus Christ, who can provide real and lasting rest.  So a rest still remains for the people of God.  This rest is promised to the people of God.  It is a rest that we are to look forward to and strive to enter by persevering in faith. 

Main Point:  We must persevere in faith by looking back on what Jesus has done (his finished work on the cross) and looking forward to what he promises to do (provide full and final rest).

Discussion Questions:

• Read Gen. 2:1-3 and identify these four features of the patter of rest: God finished his work, God "rested" from his work, God made the seventh day a special day, and God's rest is an unending rest.  
• What refrain is absent on Day 7 that signaled the completion of Days 1-6? What is the significance of this omission?
• Where does the path of rest lead us? (See Matt. 11:28-30)
• Is there a future rest promised for Christians? Explain. (See Hebrews 3:7-4:13, esp. 4:8-9)
• How should Christians who are no longer under the Law seek to honor the pre-fall pattern modeled by God in Gen. 2:1-3?  What is the significance of the New Testament pattern of Christians meeting on the Lord's Day (i.e. Sunday, or the first day of the week)? 

Application Questions:

• Am I making good use of the gift of rest that God has modeled for me and has given to me for my refreshment?
• From what I learned in this sermon, how can I best persevere in faith

Prayer Points:

• Praise God for the finished work of Christ and how it has secured ultimate rest for us
• Praise God for the promise of future rest from our labors that we get to look forward to
• Ask God to help us make good use of the weekly rhythm of rest that God has modeled for us and given to us for our refreshment 
• Ask God to help us persevere in faith by looking back on the finished work of Christ and looking forward to to future rest