People - God’s Handiwork

7/29/2019 People - Gods Handiwork

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Easy Reading Edition October 1319

READ FOR THIS WEEKS LESSON: Genesis 1:27; Genesis 1:26; Mark12:1317; Genesis 2:1925; Acts 17:26; Romans 5:1219.

MEMORY VERSE: I want you to realize that the Lord is God. He made us,and we belong to him (Psalm 100:3, NIrV).KEY (IMPORTANT) THOUGHT: God created people in His own image. Sinspoiled that image. Gods plan is to restore (bring back) that image in us.

A NINETEENTH-CENTURY THINKER, ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, WASTHINKING deeply about what it means to be a human being (a person) Heaccidently bumped into someone on the street The person whom he hit angrilydemanded, Who do you think you are?

Who am I? Schopenhauer responded I wish I knewWho am I? Who are we as humans? What are we doing here? How did we get

here, and why?These are very old questions that humans still debate today Butthe Bible answers them all That is because there is a very strong connectionbetween humans and Creation No other Bible doctrine (teaching) is as impor-tant to our understanding of humans and Creation This is because it focuses

(puts our attention) on our beginningand how we came to beEvolution2 is not like Creation at all It argues that our lives have no purpose

(reason) (In other words, we are here by chance alone) But the Bible teachesthat we were created by God Evolution and Creation are two very differentteachings Both give opposite ideas about how life started on earth and aboutwho we as humans are

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People: Gods Handiwork1

1 handiworkthe product or thing that someone makes2 evolutiona theory that the differences between modern plants and animals were caused by changes that

happened by a natural process over a very long time


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Lesson 3 PEOPLE: GODS HANDIWORK

CREATION AND HUMANBEGINNINGS (Genesis 1:27)

What does Genesis 1:27 tell usabout our beginnings that is so dif-ferent from other views of humanbeginnings, such as evolution?

It is not possible to miss the pointthat God created humans with a realpurpose in mind The Bible leavesno room for any idea of chance Wewere given a real purpose in life anda special nature (who someone is)right from the start

Being made in the image of Godmeans being made for a real andclear purpose This point is importantbecause some thinkers have arguedthat humans have to create their ownmeaning, their own purpose This isbecause, they argue, we come with-out any meaning or purpose for our-selves For example, if evolution weretrue, one could argue that there is nopurpose to life because we came intolife by accident But the Bible teachesthat we were carefully planned, madein the image of God and created tobring glory (praise and honor) to Him

Beginnings deal with history.Read Jude 14; Romans 5:1221;and 1 Corinthians 15:2022. Howdo these verses help us to under-stand that Adam was a real personwho lived on earth, according toGenesis 1, 2? Why is it importantto understand Adam as a historicalperson?

It is amazing how many Bible think-ers do not believe that Adam was real

They say that Adam is a myth (fable),a symbol for all people on earth, butnot a real person One can hold thosebeliefs only through greatly (really)twisting the verses themselves, bothin the Old and New Testaments

Think about the fact that you weremade in the image of God. Whatshould that tell you about your ownbuilt-in self-worth, no matter whatfaults and weaknesses you have?

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THE IMAGE OF GOD: PART 1(Genesis 1:26)

As we saw yesterday, Adam andEve were real people, not symbols(word-pictures) or myths They wereflesh and blood, made in the imageof God Clearly, being made in theimage of God is something good andsomething special And it is something

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Those who believe Adam is a myth are

twisting Scripture.

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that makes us valuable But, whatdoes it really mean?

Read Genesis 1:26 carefully. Godsays that human beings are to bemade in His image. What happensas a result of that? And how doesthat help us to understand themeaning of the image of God?

Genesis 1:26 is Gods statementof intention God creates humanity inHis image and then commands him todo something Being created in Godsimage appears to be necessary fora certain kind of work For example,humanity is to have dominion [con-trol] over the rest of what God cre-ated So, the image of God pointsto the physical, mental, social, andspiritual gifts that people need to bestserve Gods purpose Dominion overthe rest of Creation certainly requiresrespect, care, and good stewardship(management) People are to work ina special way with other living things,such as animals This should showhow God works with humans them-selves Being made in the image ofGod also means that humans are torepresent God in the world

What a responsibility!

Read Mark 12:1317. How dothese verses help us to under-stand what it means to be made inGods image?

Jesus useful advice seems to be, Give your money to Caesar Ithas his image on it So it belongsto him But give yourselves to God

You bear his image, and you belongto him Adapted from Millard J

Erickson, Christian Theology [Studyof Who God Is] (Michigan: BakerBook House, 1998), page 515

How can we make this advice use-ful in our lives? We can show thatwe have Gods image in our love,faithfulness, and loyalty to Him and inour treatment of others Again, beingmade in the image of God is some-thing shown by our actions

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THE IMAGE OF GOD: PART 2(Genesis 2:19, 20)

Whatever else it means to be madein the image of God, it also showsthat we were made to be in relation-ships What are those relationships?And how should we act in them?

Read Genesis 2:19, 20. What doesit tell us right away about peoplesrelationship to the world?

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Being made in the image of God points

to the many gifts God gives us to serveHim.


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Notice the freedom given to Adamhere Adam is to name the creatures

that God created God does not do thenaming Himself He leaves that work toAdam The verse suggests that God isgoing to accept whatever names Adamgives to the living things

Read Genesis 2:2025. How dothese verses show more about therelationships of those who weremade in Gods image?

A lot has been written over manyhundreds of years about the meaningof these verses What is fascinatinghere is the closeness between Adamand Eve Adam is created out of theground and Eve out of Adam (some-thing that helps to separate her fromevery other earthly living thing) Tobe made in Gods image certainlymeans close and loving relationships(something that surely shows therelationship in the Godhead itself)

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Now study Genesis 1:27 togetherwith Genesis 3:20 and Acts 17:26.

How do these verses show unity(oneness) between the first pair(Adam and Eve) and all humanbeings that would ever live? Whatdoes the unity of people have tosay about political and ethical3issues such as justice and rac-ism?

A SPOILED IMAGE(Romans 5:1219)

One of the many great problems

for those who believe in evolution isaccepting the Bible story of the Fall Inthe Bible, the world and people wereperfect when created Only through sindid suffering and death enter the worldBoth of these ideas disagree with evo-lutionary teaching Evolution teachesthat suffering and death are part of theprocess (method) of creation itself

Imagine what it would say aboutGods character (who God is) if Hecreated us in the way that evolutionteaches This would mean that Goduses violence, selfishness, and con-trol of the strong over the weak inorder to create a perfect and unself-ish person, who then falls into a stateof violence, selfishness, and a desirefor control over the weak Then this isa kind of condition from which the per-son would have to be saved or else heor she would face final punishment

Think, too, of what evolution does

3 ethicaldealing with what is right and wrong in society

Eve is created out of Adam to show how

close a husband and wife are meant tobe.

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to the plan of salvation Supposethe Lord had chosen to be born as

a human, who was really an evolved(slowly developed) ape So as anevolved ape, He would have cometo remove death, the last enemy(1 Corinthians 15:26) But how candeath be the enemy when it wasone of Gods chosen methods forcreating humans? The Lord wouldhave needed to go through manydead cavemen and other groups ofevolved apes before He could finallyget one creature (man) into His ownimage So, Jesus comes to save peo-ple from the very method God used tocreate people in the first place? Thewhole idea is very foolish and doesnot follow the Bible!

Read Romans 5:1219 and Colos-sians 3:10. How do these verseshelp us to understand what sinhas done to people? How does thetheme of the great controversy (war)fit into this whole picture? Read1 John 3:8.

Sin has touched all parts of humanlife, and even the earth itself EllenG White talks about three cursesthat have rested on the world Thefirst curse resulted from Adams fallThe next curse happened after Cainsmurder of Abel The third curse fol-lowed the damage caused by theFlood Bible thinkers also talk abouttotal depravity This means that everypart of a human beings life has beendamaged by sin As we look around at

the world, and even at ourselves, it isnot hard to see that, is it?

Some believe that violence, suf-fering, and death were all part ofhow God created people. Othersbelieve that violence, suffering, anddeath were all part of how Satantries to destroy people whom Godhas created. Think about the dif-ferences in the character of Godthat these two opposing viewspresent.

RESTORATION4 (Romans 8:29)

The results of sin have been ter-rible on earth But there is still hopeThe Bible speaks about the renewaland restoration of the image of Godin us

Study carefully Romans 8:29;2 Corinthians 3:18; and Ephesians4:23, 24. What hope is offered inthese verses?

The Bible clearly holds up the hopefor us to be remade in Gods imageBut none of this is the result of ourown works The Bible points to Christas the basis (foundation) of hope forour renewal Whatever changes aremade in our lives, our hope of salva-tion must depend always on whatChrist has done for us The offer ofsalvation is based on His righteous-ness (holy life), not our own

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4 restorationthe process by which everything on the earth is made new again and made even better thanit was before


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How is 2 Corinthians 5:17 con-nected with the re-creation of

humans in Gods image? Doesbeing a new person put that per-son beyond the reach of sin and itsresults on the human experience?What does your own experiencetell you about the answer?

The Bible tells us that we needto be always watchful in the spiri-tual war with Satan It is the warbetween the flesh and the spirit(Galatians 5:16, 17) Those who arebeing renewed in Gods image findthis spiritual war very real in thehuman experience So they acceptthe challenge in the strength of theLord (Ephesians 6:1013) If we, too,choose to be remade in the imageof God, then we place ourselves onthe side of God in the great contro-versy Ellen G White writes aboutthose who have experienced therenewing power of Christ She says,Because this experience is his,the Christian must not sit back andbe comfortable with what has beendone for him He who has deter-mined to enter the spiritual kingdomwill feel all the attacks of Satanagainst his sinful nature [who some-one is] Each day he must renewhis dedication to God Each dayhe must do battle with evil His oldhabits will try to control him Againstthese he is to be always on guardHe needs to work hard in Christsstrength for victoryAdapted fromThe Acts of the Apostles [Teachersand Leaders], pages 476, 477

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ADDITIONAL STUDY: Read Ellen GWhite, The Creation, pages 4451, inPatriarchs [Leaders and Forefathers]and Prophets [Special Messengers]

In the beginning, man was createdin the image of God He was in perfectunity [oneness] with the nature and thelaw of God The principles [importantrules] of righteousness were writtenupon his heart But sin separated himfrom his God He no longer showedGods image His heart was at warwith the principles of Gods law Thesinful mind is at war with God It doesnot obey Gods law It cant [cannot](Romans 8:7, NIrV) But God lovedthe world so much that he gave hisone and only Son (John 3:16, NIrV)In this way man might be restoredto God Through Christ, man can berestored to unity with his God Mansheart must be renewed by Godsgrace5 He must have a new life from

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Jesus is the hope for our renewal.

5 graceGods gift of forgiveness and mercy that He gives us to take away our sins


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above This change is the new birthWithout being born again, Jesus says,

no one can see Gods kingdom (John3:3, NIrV)Adapted from Ellen GWhite, The Great Controversy, page467

The true goal of education is torestore the image of God in the soulIn the beginning God created man inHis own likeness God gave man anoble character [who someone is]His mind was well balanced All ofmans powers were in unity with GodBut mans Fall and its results havespoiled these gifts Sin has spoiledand almost removed the image ofGod in man So God developed theplan of salvation to restore His imageto man And a life of probation [test-ing] was given to manAdaptedfrom Ellen G White, Patriarchs andProphets, page 595

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

How does the teaching of evolu-tion fit into the theme of the great con-

troversy? How has Satan used thisdoctrine (teaching) to destroy faith in

the Bible?

Go through the New TestamentLook up all the verses that talk aboutAdam How clear is it that the NewTestament writers all believed thatAdam was a real person? Why is thatso important to our understanding ofwho we are, how we got into our situ-ation, and the hope that we have inJesus?

Think more about the idea ofbeing restored into Gods image Howdoes God plan for us to understandrenewal, especially as we becomesick, grow old, and die?

Two of the most important teach-ings in physicsquantum theory6and general relativity7do not agreewith each other What should thattell us about how careful we must bewhen accepting what science tellsus?

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6 quantum theorya theory in physics that is based on the idea that energy (such as light) is made of small,separate units

7 general relativitya theory in physics that considers mass and energy to be equal, and states that a mov-ing object will experience changes in mass, size, and time, that are related to its speed and are not noticeableexcept at speeds approaching that of light

People - God’s Handiwork

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