June 9, 2014 Creation
Monday June 9, 2014
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27 NIV)
God created mankind in His image and, in His wisdom, included the supreme privilege of free will – the ability to choose. God intended for mankind’s relationship with Him to be based on purity, holiness and righteousness. In the creation process humans were created last. They were not made in the likeness of anything that had already been made but in the likeness of the creator Himself. God breathed into the nostrils of Adam the breath of life, and the man became a living being. When God saw what He had made He said it was “very good”. God then placed the man and woman in a beautiful garden with everything they needed for survival. He also gave them authority over all the creatures of the earth.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1:28-31a NKJV) Adam and Eve would be considered among the elite of today who have everything they need and yet desire things that are harmful to them. God knew it was harmful for humans to have the knowledge of good and evil and therefore forbade Adam to eat of the tree which would provide this knowledge. When Adam and Eve made the choice to disobey God’s instructions they forever affected people’s relationship with Him. God no longer walked with them in the cool of the evening.
They gave up the freedom to eat from the tree of life and instead chose to eat from the harmful tree of good and evil. This gave them the knowledge that they had done wrong and they hid from God because they had disobeyed His instructions. The glory of their appearance was instantly taken from them. Access to the beautiful garden with the tree of life was taken away from them and their disobedience brought them the penalty of death as God had said it would. However, God’s judgment at this time also contained mercy as He already had a plan for the redemption of mankind.
They gave up the freedom to eat from the tree of life and instead chose to eat from the harmful tree of good and evil. This gave them the knowledge that they had done wrong and they hid from God because they had disobeyed His instructions. The glory of their appearance was instantly taken from them. Access to the beautiful garden with the tree of life was taken away from them and their disobedience brought them the penalty of death as God had said it would. However, God’s judgment at this time also contained mercy as He already had a plan for the redemption of mankind.
God made men and women true and upright; we’re the ones who’ve made a mess of things. (Ecclesiastes 7:29 MSG)
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