|
The
New Life in Christ
Course
1, Lesson 2 |
Dear Friend,
Have you ever wondered how the earth, the sun, the
moon, and the stars came into being? God created
them! These things did not come into being by
themselves. The very first verse in the Bible says,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth.” GENESIS 1:1
This
verse tells us that God is the great Creator – the
One who created the heavens and the earth. The Bible
does not tell us when this took place, but it does
tell us how God created the heavens and the earth.
He created them by His word! The Bible says,
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made;
and all the
host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He
spoke, and it
was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”
PSALM 33:6-9
God spoke, and the sun, the moon and the earth came
into being. Not only did God create all things, but
also He controls them by His mighty power. The Bible
says that He upholds “all things by the word
of His power.” HEBREWS 1:3
How do we know these things? We know them by faith
in God’s word. In His holy book, the Bible, God
says,
“I have made the earth, and created man upon it:
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and all their host have I commanded.” ISAIAH
45:12
Because God is the Creator of all things, He is
worthy of all praise, honor, and worship. The Bible
says,
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power: for thou has created all things.
And for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
REVELATION 4:11
God Created the Angels
The Bible tells us that God created all angels. The
word “angel” means “messenger”. Angels were
spirit-beings that God created to be His messengers
or servants. The Bible says,
“Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in
strength, that do His commandments….” PSALM
103:20
Though angels are very beautiful and very powerful
creatures, they are not to be worshiped, for they
are only created beings. Only God, the Creator, is
to be worshiped.
God’s Most Wonderful Creation
What
is God’s most wonderful creation? It is man! This is
true because man was created “in the image of God.”
When God created man, He said,
“Let us make man in our (Father, Son, Holy
Spirit) image, after our likeness….” GENESIS
1:26
God created man for His own glory. He wanted man to
be in His own image and after His own likeness. It
is not said in the Bible that any other creature was
created in the image of God. This is true only of
man. The Bible says,
“So God created man in His own image, in the
image of God
created He him; male and female created He them.”
GENESIS 1:27
God
made the first man out of the dust of the ground.
His name was Adam. God made a beautiful wife for
Adam. Her name was Eve.
Man did not come from lower forms of animal life
like monkeys. God created Him! God made man
different from all the animals. Man has a soul that
will live forever. Man also has a spirit.
What
is the spirit? The spirit is that part of man, which
can know God and accept Him. God wanted man to be
able to know Him, to worship Him, and to accept Him.
Man was created in such a way that God could live in
him. God is Spirit and, because man has a spirit,
God’s Spirit can live in man’s spirit.
God’s Relationship to Man
When God created Man, he put in him a deep inner
need to feel that he was worth something. Man needs
a reason for living, a purpose in life. Man also
needs to be loved by someone who is important to
him. Without these needs being met, man feels that
he is not worth anything and that life is not worth
living.
How
were these needs met? They were met by God Himself.
In the beginning man had wonderful fellowship with
his Creator. They were perfect friends. Because man
was in a right relationship with his Creator, his
inner needs were met. He was happy and satisfied.
Let us think for a moment about this relationship
between God, the Creator, and the man and woman He
created. God has chosen to love and provide for each
of us.
What about our responsibilities to our Creator?
Should we love our Creator? Yes, we should! Should
we worship our Creator? Yes, we should! Should we
obey our great Creator? Yes, we certainly should!
We
are in a right relationship with our Creator-God
when we love, worship, and obey Him. This is what we
were created for, and this is the way it was with
Adam and Eve in the beginning. God placed Adam and
Eve in the Garden of Eden. God prepared this garden
especially for them. In it was everything Adam and
Eve needed. The trees were filled with good things
to eat. A river of pure water flowed through the
garden. Best of all, they had fellowship with their
Creator. Each evening God came down to walk and talk
with them. Adam and Eve were very happy. But one day
something happened which changed all this. Sin came
into the world!
How Sin Came into the World
When God created the world, He made everything
beautiful and good. But now many things are not
beautiful and not good. There is sickness and death.
There is hatred and fighting. There are selfish and
wicked people. Sin has spoiled God’s wonderful
world. How did sin get into the world? How did sin
get into our hearts? The Bible tells us how this
happened. First, some of the angels rebelled against
God; then man rebelled against God. Let us think
about these two rebellions.
1. The rebellion of the angels
When
God created the angels, He placed one angel over all
the other angels. His name was Lucifer. He was the
most beautiful, the most powerful, and the wisest of
all the angels in heaven.
It seems that, for some time after he was created,
this mighty angel loved God and obeyed Him
perfectly. But a time came when Lucifer chose to
rebel against God. Because he was so beautiful and
powerful, Lucifer’s heart was lifted up with pride.
He decided that he should be God! He rebelled
against God. He said in his heart,
“I WILL ascend (go up) into heaven,
I WILL exalt (lift up) my throne above the stars of
God:
I WILL sit also upon the mount of the congregation…
I WILL ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I WILL be like the most High (God).” ISAIAH 14:
13, 14
What was Lucifer’s great sin? It was the sin of
rebellion against God. Lucifer’s heart attitude was,
“I will not obey God! I will do what I want to do!”
No longer was Lucifer content or satisfied to be the
highest angel under God. He wanted to take God’s
place and be worshiped as God. What a terrible thing
it is for a created being to rebel against the great
Creator! God saw what was in Lucifer’s heart and He
brought him down from his high position. His name
was changed from Lucifer, which means
“light-bearer”, to Satan, which means “adversary” or
“enemy.” Satan is the enemy of God and our enemy as
well. Satan was the first angel to rebel against
God, but many other angels followed
him
in his rebellion. These angels who followed Satan
are called “fallen angels,” while those who remained
true to God are called “holy angels.” Satan and his
fallen angels were thrown out of heaven.Satan, along
with the angels that followed him, set up a kingdom
against God. Ever since Satan’s rebellion, there
have been two spiritual kingdoms in the world – the
kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God. Satan’s
kingdom is the kingdom of darkness; God’s kingdom is
the kingdom of light. Satan’s kingdom is the kingdom
of rebellion; God’s kingdom is the kingdom of
obedience. Satan’s kingdom is the kingdom of hate,
lies, revenge, and wickedness; God’s kingdom is the
kingdom of love, truth, forgiveness, and
righteousness. Between these two kingdoms there is
constant warfare.
God
is the Almighty God, and He will not permit this
rebellion against Him to go on forever. One day
Satan, his fallen angels, and those people who have
followed him will be cast into the lake of fire,
where they will be
punished forever and ever. But right now, God is
giving people the opportunity to choose whom they
will follow – God or Satan.
2. The rebellion of man
When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the
Garden of Eden, He told them that they could eat of
every tree in the garden except one –
“The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
GENESIS 2: 17
God commanded them not to eat of this tree and
warned them that, if they disobeyed Him, they would
surely die spiritually. God said,
“…in the day that you eat thereof you shall
surely die.” GENESIS 2:17
One day, Satan, in the form of a serpent, or snake,
came into the garden. His purpose was to deceive, or
trick, Eve. Satan told Eve that she would not die if
she ate the fruit that God had said not to eat. He
told her that she and her husband could become as
gods by eating this fruit. Eve believed Satan’s lie.
She took the fruit and ate it.
When
Adam returned, Eve offered the fruit to him. No
doubt, she told him what the serpent had said about
how they would become as gods by eating the
fruit.Adam had to make a choice. He knew what God
had said. God had plainly told him that eating the
fruit would result in death. Adam was not deceived,
or tricked, by what Satan had told Eve. He knew
better! But Adam took the fruit and ate it!
What was Adam’s great sin? It was the sin of
rebellion against God. Adam knew what God had
commanded; yet he chose to rebel against God. His
heart attitude was, “I will do what I want to do!”
The sin of rebellion was followed by an act of
disobedience. Adam took that fruit and ate it. Adam
had followed Satan in his rebellion against God. The
spirit part of Adam and Eve died the very day they
disobeyed God. We
will learn more about this in our next lesson.
Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden
Adam and Eve had disobeyed God. A righteous God
could not overlook their sin. He could not pretend
that nothing had happened, or that He did not know
about it.
God called Adam and Eve before Him and judged them
for their sin. They would have to leave the
beautiful Garden of Eden forever.
No longer would they have perfect fellowship with
their Creator. Sin had come between them and God. No
longer would they be able to eat from the beautiful
trees in the garden. Now, Adam would have to work
hard to get food. Eve would be under Adam’s
leadership and would bear children in sorrow and
pain. Even the ground would be cursed because of
their sin. Of all the things that happened to Adam
and Eve as a result of their disobedience the worst
was this: They were
separated from God.
But God still loved Adam and Eve and on that same
day He made a wonderful promise to them. He promised
them that one day He would send a Savior (One Who
saves). That Savior would be God’s own Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He would die for the sins of all
people who would come to Him for forgiveness.
DISCOVERED TRUTH
Sin came into the world because of man’s
disobedience.
Romans 6: 12
“Let not sin therefore reign (rule) in your mortal
body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.”
“Áí bighâ nohwits’í datsaahíí doo nchô’íí bich’î’,
bi£ ch’í’nótííh hela’, égédaanoht’eeyúgo nchô’íí
nohwebik’eh dolee£, nohwits’í nchô’go hédaat’iiníí
doo bikísk’eh édaanoht’ee da le’.” ( Romans 6:12
Western Apache)
Copyright 8 2001 The Mailbox Club7 International
Inc.
All rights reserved
Used by permission
