Lesson 16
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Bible Study 1 - Genesis 2
SERIES 2: GOD AND THE GARDEN
LESSON 16: GENESIS 2:7 WE ARE TO FUNCTION WITH A PURPOSE
Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
INTRODUCTION
The creation of man is such a marvelous thing in the mind and intention of God it is difficult for me to just breeze over it without giving the subject the attention I feel it deserves. Yet, after all is said and done, I am sure I will still look back at all my studies with wonder and think - “but what about?”.
There are many things that separates man from the animal kingdom? Although human genetics and human appearance are different from any animal, there are less apparent, but more important, reasons that determine the nature of man than just his genetic information.
Genesis chapter one reveals that man was created in the image of God, a quality that separates him from the animals created on day six. This special creation explains why man’s behavior is far more complex than any other living thing on the planet. Man reveals God’s image in many ways. For example: • He is able to imagine and create objects never seen before (art, buildings, etc.). • He is able to show compassion for strangers. • He is able to ponder his role and fate in creation.
Man also differs from the other creatures in his relationship to God. Man was created to serve other men and God, a fact that forms the basis for society. Men are God's most treasured creation.
Man has dominion over the earth, but that dominion cannot exceed the boundaries of God's laws, meaning that we are stewards of God's creation. Some examples of how we are to be responsible in our steward includes the following: Responsible environmental management that includes consideration for the preservation of the ecosystem and provides for basic human needs. Not engaging in reproductive technologies that intentionally destroy human life or trying to create human life for experimentation. The application of biotechnology to provide relief from human suffering, while not encouraging human genetic or cybernetic enhancement that provide "superhuman" qualities.
Today in the Science and Research fields it appears that men are more interested in making a name for themselves than discovering a lasting curing mans maladies. Often when people go to the doctor or specialist for a physical problem, instead of being cured, their symptoms are treated and they eventually become a pharmaceutical machine, taking all kinds of medications that end up being their demise rather than their cure. In that same train of thought there are some who just live to be sick. I know that sounds strange but it is true. There are hypochondriacs all around that just want some attention and pretending to be ill is one of the best ways they can think of to satisfy their longing. Therefore, it seems there is a mixed bag of issues these days. Christ left an example by relieving human suffering around Him, but not providing enhancement to those who were not in need of healing. He did these things to bring glory to God and to reveal Himself as God's Son. He never performed miracles to glorify the disciples or others that surrounded Him. The disciples also followed this example and made it clear when they healed someone that God should be acknowledged for their deliverance.
INTERPRETATION
A little boy was with his father in the recreated village in Williamsburg Va. He was very interested in what was going on and he told his father, "Now I know where horses come from." His father said, "Really, where do horses come from?” The little boy said, "The Blacksmith makes them." His father said, "How do you know the Blacksmith makes them?" The little boy said, "I just saw him finishing one up and he was nailing his shoes on."
You know, we laugh at that and we think that little fellow is naive if he thinks that a Blacksmith can make a horse. Nevertheless, I think there are some people who are more naive than that who think that this world and everything in it just happened.
We reject that because we believe the Bible is the Word of God and the Word of God tells us how man came into being. However, not only does the Word of God tell us how man came into being, but it also tells us why man came into being and what man is like. We need to understand who we are so that we can understand how we are supposed to function. God didn't make us meaninglessly but God made us to function with a purpose.
We are to function with the power of God upon our life. The clue to that is found in Genesis 2: where the Bible tells us how God made man. I want you to notice that man was made in the image of God and understand that God is a triune God. We worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Of course, you know we do not worship 3 Gods. Sometimes people have difficulty believing in the Christian faith because they think that Christians worship too many Gods, but we don't worship but one God. We worship that one God who has eternally revealed Himself in 3 persons-Father, - Son and - Holy Spirit.
I touched on this in our last Study but I want to expand on some areas just a little more using the “Law of Recurrence” that I have already explained to you. Now we are only one person, but there are also 3 parts to our nature made in the image of God. We are body, soul, and spirit, and we are going to see that as we look at Genesis 2:7. As we see that, we are going to learn some lessons that are going to have some tremendous applications.
EXPLANATION
I. NOTICE THAT MAN IS A BODY. Look again at this verse, Gen 2:7 "And the LORD God [formed] man of the dust of the ground..." This word "formed" is literally a word that means "to mold" like someone would take clay in his hand and mold a vessel. The Lord just reached down and took this dust of the ground, and molded Him a man. God made man of the very elements of the ground.
That sounds impossible until we look at the complexity of the human body.
Just think of the circulatory system that God has put into this human body. Every minute of our lives, our heart pumps from 10 to 30 pints of blood through about 60 thousand miles of veins and arteries and capillaries. In 10 pints of this blood there are 25 trillion red cells and there are 25 billion white cells. The white cells only last about 12 hours so we have to be making more of these white cells all of the time and they help us fight disease. The red cells live about 120 days and they carry the oxygen to these white cells so they can consume the food and so forth. However, all of this is going on all of the time in these fantastic bodies we live in.
There's also our digestive system, and I won't get into all of that. However, as I was studying, I also found it interesting that in our lifetime we will consume about 50 tons of food.
It is interesting to think of all the separate organs of our bodies God created.
A. JUST THINK OF THE EYES. Every now and then man gets all excited because he has invented a color camera, or a camera with an automatic lens. The curvature of your eye will automatically bend so that you can focus on things that are near and far off. The pupil of your eye will open or close, dilate or expand to let the light in or let it out. There is instant film that develops automatically in full color. Your eye is so sensitive to light that it can see in pure darkness, a glow that is one thousandths as bright as a candle's glow. Yet this same eye has such power that it can look out into the heavens and see a star that is 24 trillion miles away. Nevertheless, God did that a long time ago. Listen, if you didn't believe in God, all you would have to do is just look at a human eye and say, "Oh, there must be some great and grand intelligence that created that." OH, YOU THINK!
If I were to show you a camera and tell you that this camera just happened, or that I just put together some junk parts of an old washing machine and out came this camera, you would tell me I was crazy! Yet there are some people who want us to believe that something like the human eye just happened!
B. JUST THINK OF THE EAR. Your ear is one of the architectural marvels of the world. There's the outer ear, the inner ear and the middle ear. The outer ear is very obvious for us to see and it has its function to gather sounds all around. Now I must say, God used a little humor with some people in giving them their outer ear. I’ve seen some people who looked like a car sitting with both doors standing wide open. JUST KIDING! The middle ear contains air and space for sound to pass through. The inner ear contains fluid and as I speak to you my voice makes vibrations and they are coming into your ears and that sound beats upon your ear drums. Behind that ear drum are little bones sort of like pistons that drive upon that fluid, and that fluid sets up about 73 thousand vibrations per second. These vibrations beat upon a little membrane which is full of little nerves which interpret that sound and feeds it to your brain and you understand what is being said. Men can make a microphone, or a transistor radio, and they don't expect us to believe all of that just happened! How could anyone think that all of this just happened? What a marvelous body we have!
C. THINK OF THAT GREAT GREY MATTER OF THE BRAIN. The brain weighs about 3 pounds - some may be smaller. However, in that brain there are literally billions of components. We brag about our computers, but man never has and man never will be able to make a computer that will match the capability of the human brain. That computer cannot reason, but you can, and in a split second, your brain performs literally billions of inner connections. Think of our vast telephone system, but your brain uses 100 times more connections than all the worlds telephones put together when you think a thought. Do you think all of that just happened? Absolutely not! God did it! "...The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground..."
When the Psalmist began thinking about man's body he said in Psalms 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." Your body is very important, and it is to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, but the body is not primarily what makes him such a great work. Plants have a body, animals have a body, but there is something else that man has.
EXPLANATION
Not only do I want us to: NOTICE THAT MAN IS A BODY.
II. NOTICE THAT MAN IS A SOUL. Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and [man became a living soul.]"
Man not only has physical life, but man also has soul life. This is the mind and the emotion and the will. This is the real you that lives inside this house we call the body. Whomever you are looking at right now is not really them, that is only the house in which that person lives. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:1 "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." You may say, "I saw the preacher today" but you didn't really see the preacher, you only saw my house and I am sure it needs some repairs.
Woodrow Wilson's favorite saying was this: (And my great big not so pretty 8th grade teacher, whose name was Ms. Helen Mozingo, which most called her “Mo” used to say:) " I know my face aint no star, I know how ugly I are. But I don't mind it, cause I am behind it. It's the fellow in front that gets the jar!” When you see me, what you see is what I am behind, and I am on the inside - behind all of this. The me that is on the inside is called the soul, the self. Man became a living soul which is made up of mind, emotion, and will.
Now your soul is worth more than all that is in this world that you may achieve or gain. Your soul is of infinite value, it is mind emotion and will. It is the seat of the intellect, of the emotions and of the personality.
A. LET'S SEE HOW THE SOUL IS THE INTELLECTUAL PART. Psalm 139:14 “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” You see, we know with our souls. Lamentation 3:20 “My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.” That means that our soul is able to remember things. Proverbs 2:10 “When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;” You see, the soul is able to comprehend knowledge and say, "That is pleasant.”
B. LET'S SEE HOW THE SOUL IS THE PERSONALITY PART. The soul is the seat and center of your will. Psalm 27:12 “Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies:” In this verse the word “soul” is translated "will" and it may be read, "Deliver me not over unto the soul of mine enemies..." The Bible translators rightly interchanged these words because your soul is the seat of your will. Psalm 41:2 “The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.” That literally means "unto the soul of his enemies."
C. LET'S SEE HOW THE SOUL IS THE EMOTIONAL PART. 1 Samuel 18:1 "And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." You can see here how love is a part of the soul. Song of Solomon 1:7 "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth" That is, we love with our soul. 2 Samuel 5:8 "And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul" That shows us that the soul hates. Sometimes when we say that the soul is mind, emotion and will and people will say "You are just pulling that out of the air." No we're not, we're not being trifling. With your body you have physical life and you know the physical world and you have world consciousness. With your soul you have self-conscious life and you know the psychological and social world and you have self-consciousness.
EXPLANATION
Finally I want us to:
III. NOTICE THAT MAN IS A SPIRIT. Our spirit is our Godly and Spiritual part. Genesis 2:7 "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, [and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life...]" Literally God "breathed into [man's] nostrils the breath of [lives]" because that is a plural word. It speaks of the extern-ality of man's existence. When God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, He created man in His image and man could no more cease to exist than God Himself could cease to exist. Man has a spirit! The thing that keeps you from being more than a clever animal that can talk and has a thumb and can stand erect is that you have within you a spirit. It is that spirit that gives you God-consciousness. With your body you have world-consciousness. With your soul you have self-consciousness.
With your spirit you have God-consciousness. Luke 1:47 "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior." Our spirit rejoices in God our Savior. John 4:23 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:” We worship the Father in spirit. When we become Christians, the Bible says in Rom 8:16 “The Spirit [the Holy Spirit] itself beareth witness with our spirit [the Human Spirit], that we are the children of God.” The soul and the Spirit are not the same, but they are always connected. The soul and the Spirit may never be separated, but they should always be distinguished. What happens to your soul ultimately, will also happen to your spirit. What happens to your spirit ultimately, will also happen to your soul. However, you are all three, body, soul and spirit. To show the uniqueness of man let me tell you what the Bible says. Paul speaking to the church of Thessalonica said, 1 Th. 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God [your whole spirit and soul and body] be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We are made to know 3 worlds, the world beneath us, the world around us and the world above us. With our bodies we know the world beneath us and we have world-consciousness. With our souls we know the world within and around us and we have self-consciousness. With our spirits we know the world above us and we have we have God-consciousness. This is what makes man unique above all other creatures, because God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of [lives]. Man became a living soul, a man made of body, soul, and spirit.
I want to give you a wonderful verse that has been a source of encouragement and amazement and instruction to me. Proverbs 20:27 "The spirit of man is the [candle] of the LORD" When you do a word study on this verse you find that it literally means, "The spirit of man is the [lamp] of the Lord..." Well, what is the difference between a candle and a lamp? A candle burns itself up, it consumes itself as it burns.
I heard about a man who went to the doctor and was examined and the doctor said, "The only thing wrong with you is that you are burning the candle at both ends." The man said, "Well Doctor, if that's the case, I didn't come for a lecture, I came for more wax."
That is what many of us do sometimes, we just burn the candle at both ends, and we just burn ourselves up like a candle. A candle burns itself up; it consumes itself as it burns. A lamp burns oil, it doesn't consume itself, it consumes the fuel that is put into it. That is the figure that God uses, "The spirit of man is the [lamp] of the Lord..." In Biblical times they didn't have electric lights and so they burned oil. In the Bible oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God. We are supposed to know things and understand things spiritually, because "The spirit of man is the [lamp] of the Lord..." When God's Spirit comes into our Spirit, there is oil in the [lamp]. When there is oil in the [lamp], there is light in the man. It is God's Spirit, [the oil], in the human spirit, [the lamp], that illuminates the man. That is the reason the Bible says in 1 Cor. 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” That means that you will never figure God out. You might as well put away your calculator, put away your slide-rules, and your scales, and put away all of your formulas, because you will never figure God out. You can’t even Google and figure God out!
Can a man find out God by reasoning? NO! The only way you will know God is for God to light the [lamp], "...the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." "The spirit of man is the [lamp] of the Lord..." That lamp runs on the fuel of the Holy Spirit. When God's Spirit comes into the Human spirit, and it is ignited, there is life in the life. Folks, that is the way you are supposed to know God. When God, the Holy Spirit, speaks to the Human spirit, then you know things you could never know any other way. These things are not contrary to reason, they are simply beyond reason. It is with our spirit that we know God. That's the reason we must have a Spiritual re-birth to know God. You will never find God through the physical body. You will never find God through the soul - mind, emotion, and will. You will only find God in the Spirit. When Adam sinned, he died. He didn't die physically right away. He didn't die soulishly right away. He did died spiritually right away.
Speaking of Jesus, the second Adam, the Bible says in John 1:4 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” When Adam sinned, the Lord went out! When the Lord went out, the life went out. When the life went out, the light went out. Sin blows out the lamp, and now man is in death and depravity, and darkness.
That's the way we are by nature, minus the Lord, minus the life, minus the light. Nevertheless, when we are saved, when we are born again, God's Spirit moves into the Human spirit. The oil is in the lamp, and then by a spark of grace it is lit, and we know, and we can see. That's the reason Jesus told Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven." Man is blind and he cannot see and he cannot know. However, when God the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart, that's when the lights come on all over your soul.
Why did God make us any way? One of the major reasons God created us was so that we might bring glory to Him. I want you to notice how that happens when we FUNCTION WITH A PURPOSE. Here is a man who has received Christ as his personal Savior. Because he has, God the Holy Spirit has come into him. Salvation is not getting man out of earth and into heaven. Salvation is getting God out of heaven into man. Oh, we'll go to heaven, but that's just a fringe benefit. Therefore, a man repents of his sin, invites Christ into his life, God the Holy Spirit comes into man's spirit and then there is oil in the lamp, the spark of grace ignites it, the light is turned on, and he now knows the things of God as it is revealed to him in the Word of God. He knows them clear-sightedly as the Holy Spirit speaks to him day by day "for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Now, the human spirit, illumined by the Holy Spirit, now speaks to the human soul - the mind, emotion and will. The mind organizes these things, the emotion feels these things, and the will acts upon these things, but only under the decision of the human spirit and the direction of the Holy Spirit. When the mind, emotion, and will is energized by the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit in the human spirit gives direction to the body. Then the body moves out into the world and people see the body function in a Christ-like way. That's the reason Jesus said in Mat 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”. That will never happen until you FUNCTION WITH PURPOSE. That will never happen until you get back to what God created you to be when God formed you out of the dust of the ground and breathed into your nostrils the breath of life and you became a living soul.
A man was leaving the old country, coming to this new country. He wanted to consolidate his wealth, so rather than putting it into stocks and bonds or currency, he sold everything he had and bought a very valuable diamond. He got on board the ship and was making his way as an immigrant to the new world.
On a certain day he took the stone out of his little pouch, and he was looking at it on the deck of the ship. It would glimmer and shine in the brilliant sun light and other people would come around and admire it.
On another day he decided to take it out because he just enjoyed the admiration of the people. This time he held it near the edge of the deck. Someone said, "Don't hold that diamond so close to the edge because you might drop it and it will roll over board.” He said, "No, I won't do that" and he was enjoying the excitement and the attention so much.
On another day, he was even more foolish and he held that diamond right out over the edge of the ship, right over the water and looked at it as it sparkled. The people watching him gave a gasp and told him he had better be careful.
Nevertheless, that simply made him more bold and daring and he took that diamond and tossed it into the air and caught it and watched the crowd gasp. Then he took it and tossed it again and again and caught it each time.
Then as he tossed it again, the ship hit a wave and he missed it and down it went to the bottom of the deep blue sea. The only thing that man had was gone forever.
Some of you may say, "I don't believe that story. I don't believe any man would be that foolish." Well, I agree with you, I don't believe any man would be that foolish. Nevertheless, do you know what I believe? I believe I know some people who are more foolish than that. Man's soul is worth more than all the diamonds in this world, yet I know some people who are gambling with their destiny. They are playing fast and loose with their soul! Jesus said "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
If you will trust the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as your personal Savior, then you'll be born again, and for the first time in your life, the lamp will be lit in your soul and you can know things that you have never known before. Then, you will be able to FUNCTION WITH A PURPOSE.
DO YOU NEED SOME HELP?
To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE.” Please send me an email and let me know about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decisions you make in your Christian life for Jesus. Please send me your questions, comments, or responses and let me know if the Bible Studies are helping you. <rfdenning1951@gmail.com>
ALWAYS REMEMBER!
The support of your local Church ministry and the ministry of your Pastor should be the first priority of your Christian life and your service to the Lord. Be faithful to prayerfully prepare and attend Sunday School and Worship Service this Sunday and participate in worship as your Pastor preaches the Word. Do not forget to give the Lord at least your TITHE through your local church from your gross income – that is your first fruits. Any other other giving is an offering to a ministry unto the Lord. Honor the Lord in all you do and with all that you have. Always remember that everything you have and all you are belongs to the Lord. It is on loan to you – so manage it well! There will be an audit one day! Make sure the Books Balance!