150621 God Created Man

Genesis 4:25-26 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.” ²⁶ To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

We live in a time of transition. Old ways seem to be constantly under attack. Some people today object to using the term “man” to refer to the human race in general. It is claimed that such use is not being sensitive to women. Those who object would prefer that we only use “gender-neutral” words. However we need to remember that the practice of using the term “man” to refer to male human beings, and the human race in general, is a practice that originated with God himself. If it’s good enough for Jehovah God it should be good enough for us. Well, today is “Father’s Day” and men are obviously singled out because physically a woman cannot become a father. Sadly, today many women have to fill the father role since there is no man in the family. In the beginning God established a family that soon became dysfunctional. Through the generations God has continued to use families.

As we think about the way society is organized it would seem that civil government should have been established early on. The evidence tells us instead that the family was God’s choice for social structure. In the beginning he created man in his own image and placed him in the Garden of Eden. As time went by man was allowed to look on all the created order and see that the animals were male and female. I believe Adam saw procreation occur and that he understood how the animals complemented each other.  Adam did not have a partner to share his life.

God caused Adam to pass into a deep sleep and took out of his side some part of him that he then made into a woman. He brought her to Adam. The Bible tells us what Adam said. “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.” Over the years I’ve come to believe that this might not be exactly the first words he used. They are simply the words that are recorded for us. I believe before he said this poetic statement he first said, “Wow!” Then, as time went by, Adam and Eve fell into sin by rebelling against God’s command and were cast out of the garden and began to scratch a living out of the ground.

In the normal course of events Eve conceived and Cain was born. Then a little later, Eve conceived again and Abel was born. The two grew up together and a great animosity rose between them. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but did not accept Cain’s. Then, in jealousy, Cain killed Abel and was driven away from Adam and Eve. Later, Eve conceived again and Seth was born.

When Seth was born he replaced Able. Look again at Verse 25. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him.”

It is sad to imagine that Adam and Eve, our first parents, had to deal with one son killing another and then going away so they were left with an empty nest. 130 years later the third son was born and Eve saw him as filling the empty nest. Once again, they were not just a couple, they were a family. Another hundred and five years passed before Seth’s son, Enosh, was born. Apparently the…

New generations awakened a need. Verse 26 tells us,To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.

I have always wondered about that statement, “At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” I’m not so sure that it means that man had not called on the name of the Lord before that I believe instead it means that this new baby, and others that might have been birthed in the second and third generation caused these parents to wonder what to do. They knew what happened to the second-generation! They knew Cain had killed Abel and was driven out of the presence of God. Now, they had to wonder “How do we prevent this from happening again?” They did not have a parenting class to attend! Young couples today often think they are on their own in raising children but these early generations were definitely on their own. As time went by…

When mankind grew more evil God saved a family! Turn with me to Genesis 6:11-12. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. Hundreds of years have passed and man had turned away from God and became “corrupt” and violent. However there was one family that was not part of this corrupt violent society. It was the family of Noah! Noah walked with God and had three sons and all four men had wives. Rather than destroy all life on earth, which is what could have happened, God chose to deliver this one godly family. Let’s look at Verse 18. God said, But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

For the second time, God narrowed the covenant relationship to one man and his offspring. Yes, Noah had found favor in the eyes of the Lord! This resulted in there being human life on earth. But very quickly their descendants began to, once again, rebel against God. So God confused their languages and scattered them across the face of the earth. As government began to be established and human society was better organized…

God continued to work through families. Turn with me to Genesis 12:1-3. Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Once again, there seems to have been very few, perhaps only one man, that God chose, who continued faith on earth. The Bible tells us that Abraham “believed God” and it was counted to him as righteousness. He didn’t just believe in God — he “believed God”! And then…

At the right time God the Son came in a family. Turn with me to the New Testament account found in Galatians 4:4-7. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

“When the fullness of time had come,” seems to be saying “at the right time” Jesus came into the world. We certainly don’t have time to go over all of the factors that fit into “the right time”. Suffice it to say that there was one government scattered across the whole Mediterranean basin for ease of travel. There was a common language used by most people for ease of communication. And there were Jewish settlements all over the Mediterranean basin making the Bible available for the new missionaries that would follow Jesus.

God did not just appear on earth in human flesh he came into a young woman named Mary and was conceived as a human child. It is amazing to me that this was always God’s plan!

We do know from other places in the Bible that all of this was well thought out by God before the creation of the world. Adam’s rebellion was no surprise to him and the continued struggles of the human family were well known to God before he created man!

God had, and has, millions upon millions of angels to worship and obey him. Even with that he created man in his own image. God is absolutely sufficient in himself. He did not create us because he was lonely or because he needed fellowship with other persons — God did not need us for any reason!

Nevertheless, God created us for his own glory. God speaks of his sons and daughters from the ends of the earth as those “whom I created for my glory” (Isaiah 43:7; Ephesians 1:11-12) “therefore, we are to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, p440

These truths teach us that our lives are meaningful! We were created to glorify God and are important, for his own purposes, to God himself.

So, at the right time God not only “sent his Son” but he also determined to redeem a people for himself! God came to set us free from our bondage to our flesh and with that freedom allow us to be adopted as sons into his family. All of history unfolded…

In order for us to come into God’s family. Turn with me to John 1:12-13. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

After thousands of years of developing history God intervened in the chaos of human life to live among his own people. John tells us that he came to his own place and his own people did not accept him. Not only did they not accept him they determined to crucify him. And when they did this they were doing the will of the Father! 700 years before Christ Isaiah tells us that when the Messiah came he would bear our griefs and be stricken by God so that he could bring us peace and healing. “The Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” And also “it was the will of the Lord to crush him;” (Isaiah 53:4-10)

God has always honored families and when he brought Jesus into the world he not only brought him into a family but also, through him, he brought us into his family!

I praise God that we have been allowed to be a part of his family. He extends an invitation to all who will listen to come and join with us. The family was God’s first unit of society. The story of mankind, beginning in the Garden of Eden, is a story of family relationships. We must work at the establishment of solid families. Families need to be led by godly men and should be havens of strength and peace. I praise God for the men who have been brought into this congregation. Now is the time for men to stand and be counted. The best blessing that could come to our families on Father’s Day is for the fathers to “Man Up”! Have you been received into God’s family? This can be the day your life is made complete.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.