The Christian Mind

Bro Koay Kheng Hin

Today I'm going to talk about an interesting topic called The Christian Mind. I've actually planned this topic some time back because it was actually for another preaching engagement but I changed topic so I'm talking about this today.

It is going to be more teaching than preaching. As a charismatic church we are often talking more about the move of the Holy Spirit than about the Christian who thinks.

Today, there are few what I called Christians thinkers. Men like Martin Luther King, St Augustine, John Wesley, John Calvin to whom we owe a lot of what we learn today.

Many think that Christianity begins when we accepted the Lord. But there is a treasure of biblical insights and experience that we can receive from men in the past that have been imparted to us. Today there are few Christian thinkers. But all of us are called to be thinking Christians.

I speak today not because we are in an age of critical thinking but it has all the time been through the age of history that people think. Not because the young are asking questions or the world is challenging our Christian thinkers.

My dad said "Ah Hin, I bless you because your faith is such that you are destined to follow Christ." He believed in destiny but for us it's like predestination. But it's his second statement that caught me. He said belief is good but don't be fanatical. Don't have a blind faith. It struck me. At that time I didn't really appreciate what he said. But along the way I think back about what my dad told me, I do believe there is such a thing called blind faith. It is blind faith that creates cult and also perverted gospels.

So today I'm gong to be talking about the Christian Mind. To be a thinking Christian.

I want to ask, every morning when you wake up what do you think of? Some people wake up thinking of your wife. Or their children. Some think about how they will enjoy themselves that morning. For most people, I would say a lot will be thinking about more dollars than devotion. More on investment than insights. More money than maturity.

Prosperity rather than the presence of God is your focus. Probably thinking of your investment which God blesses you with and you may thank God but you'll be thinking of your investment.

What is the meaning of Christian maturity? If you ask people most may have a vague idea. I would say most people think of it chronologically. Like I've been a Christian 40 years so I'm mature. Or I serve the Lord many years, 20 to 30 years so I've done more than others so that's maturity. Or you're the church secretary so you think position is Christian maturity. But how does the Bible look at Christian maturity?

Ephesians 4:11-15

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

We need to see the context of Ephesians. What was on Paul's mind? The Spirit of God comes upon the church and the focus was on unity. The Bible teaches not uniformity but unity. But there is potential in diversity in that unity. Unity was one heart, one soul one mind for the glory of Christ. Uniformity is like when everybody sounds and looks like one another. We are not called to uniformity.

In that diversity of apostles, teachers and Pastor's etc all is called to be in unity with one purpose to prepare God's people for the work of ministry.

This is the context of what Paul was working on. But the crux of my message is the word mature. In our Christian life, this is not for those who is involved in ministry alone but for all of us. We are to become mature.

What is maturity? It is the fullness of the measure of Christ. But what is the fullness of Christ? Run down 10 verses.

Ephesians 4:21-24

21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

One important measure of the fullness of Christ is like God in true righteousness and holiness. That's what maturity has got to do it the fullness of Christ. For a person to be like God, he needs to have his kind renewed. And Paul actually repeats this in Romans 12.

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

To offer your life and be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Christian maturity is true righteousness and holiness. But it's not what we will focus on. I want to flash back thousands of years. Some people asked me when was Adam created? Some say a few thousand years. Some said 100,000 years based on evolutionists. We did not come from ape and that we are created by God in his image.

When the serpent came and when he tempted Eve the serpent ask Eve a question. If God really commanded Eve not to partake of the fruit, Eve had to think and the serpent told half truths and she got confused. In that disorientation of Eve, the devil struck. It was what the devil told Eve, you will be like God. It was too good to miss.

It was true in a way. Paul says here you will be like God. But in true righteousness and holiness was what God said. And one of it to true righteousness and holiness is to have perfect obedience to him. To obey his commandments in its fullness. And the devil said you will know what is good and evil. You don't need God to tell you what is right and wrong. Instead of obeying God you can set your own standard. That was what the devil offered Eve and she fell.

The spiritual battlefield was the mind. And the serpent's modus operandi was to confuse Eve. The rattlesnake rattles not to warn the prey but to confuse the prey.

This week I received two calls. First, a friend of mine called me because he woke up in the morning and felt dizzy. He said he was scared to move because he was dizzy. He was afraid he gets dizzy, and can black out and then gets a stroke. It's in the mind. The half truth is he is dizzy but the half lie is that dizzy doesn't mean he will black out and black out does not mean he will get a stroke. It is fear. That is how people can get into a depression.

Second call was about a friend getting treatment. The person don't know whether to get chemo or not. It is all in the mind where the battlefield is.

Paul says you have to transform yourself through the renewing of your mind. What does Paul say?

Ephesians 4:13-14

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

We need teaching for our mind to be renewed. You can look at Colossians 1:28. When you say teaching it is in the word of God. And it is the role of the pastor and teacher to teach as mentioned by Paul.

Knowledge alone is not enough. There are people who has been reading the Bible like a literature. In school we have Bible knowledge class. I realised I have to teach the Bible like a literature book in order for the students to get A. Then thinking of it, I thought the Bible should never be taught like a literature book so I stopped.

Some people treat the Bible like a literature book. They know in detail all the facts. And us Christians may not know as much. The Bible is also not a philosophical book. So I want to put to you that teaching the Bible is to know it's a spiritual book. It cannot be about the facts without the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:16

For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:13

These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

It's about spiritual truth. Not human wisdom but spiritual insights. The Bible is supposed to be read prayerfully, submissively and humbly.

Immerse yourself in the word and you'll be able to see things like God sees.

The other aspect is this.

2 Peter 1:21

for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

You must understand we believe in the inspiration of the Bible but how many of you understand what that inspiration of the Holy Spirit means?

Some say possibly Paul went into a trance and wrote the Bible. That's not it. Another is Paul look up and God gave him the words. That dictation. Ours is that while Paul wrote he was inspired with a spiritual insight that came from the Holy Spirit. Our believe and it's the position of the church is that the Holy Spirit was hovering over Paul as he wrote. The Holy Spirit was guiding every thought and every word of Paul but it was Paul that wrote. That's why the way Paul wrote and Peter is different. They were guided but it is them that wrote.

Someone put it very well. If you studied the Bible philosophically, you will have an objective view of the word. It is the word without the spirit and you will become judgemental. On the other hand if you say no need of the Bible and that God can speak to you, you become fanatical. That's what my father said to me, don't have blind faith.

The Christian Mind is a mind that needs to be taught and you need to study. But at the same time you need the Holy Spirit to give you the insight. So that the word of God in your head becomes the word of God in your experience.

John Wesley said the word of God can only be understood if you put on the spectacles of faith. That happened to me. My spiritual eyes were opened.

Another one is Jonathan Edwards. He was considered one of America's leading philosophers. He was the seed to the great awakening in America and he recorded this in his journal. He saw thousands and thousands came to the Lord. He was one of the few that had the balance of the word of God and the spirit of God. He preached one of the greatest sermon - sinners in the hands of an angry God. It takes someone like Jonathan Edwards to preach something like that. It was neither judgemental yet it carried so much spiritual truth.

What exactly is true righteousness and holiness? In the OT it's how you conform to the word of God.

Romans 13:9-10

9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

But Paul is saying on true righteousness and holiness is not about what you do. It cannot be discerned from your conduct but by your motivation.

Matthew 22:37-40

37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

For the Pharisees it was about keeping the letter of the law but Jesus broke that understanding. Jesus says true righteousness and holiness is expressed or sourced from loving God with all your heart, soul and mind. To love God with all his mind. Only then can he love his neighbour like himself.

Spiritual maturity is that agape love of God, so do you agape God and do you love your neighbour as yourself? When you study the word of God, it must produce in you a greater love for your neighbour or there is something wrong with your Bible study. A spiritually mature mind will love not just himself but others as himself.

When we talk about love we think of husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend. But love is a many splendored thing because it is love of the mind and heart. The agape love of God begins in the mind and not the heart. Go and think about it. Agape love is a love by choice. It does not flow from the heart. It starts from the mind. My feelings and the choice to love are different things.

The Christian Mind can only be renewed by the teaching of God's word and must not just be words in the head and the word of God experienced in your life. Only Christians can do what the world says is impossible because with God all things are possible. Only the children of God can say even though I don't like you I can love.

I encourage all of you to be thinking Christians and grow in maturity.

Rev Gideon Lee

The Chinese New Year is good for getting together. Just like the church. This morning I'm going to preach on a Chinese New Year message. I'm going to talk about China. How God's plan includes China. China was mentioned in the bible. 

Romans 1:18-23

God's Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

In the book of Romans, it says God has revealed himself. The bible says it has been made very plain to man. Through creation. When man look at the stars in the skies they wondered who created the stars above. God has made himself plain and did not hide himself. That everyone will know who God is. But instead of giving God glory, or ascribing all these to God they ascribed it to someone else. 

A complete lunar year is 60 years of 5 cycles each. The Chinese calendar is quite complicated. And each year is represented by an animal. So 12 animals are represented. And this year is the year of the goat. But as Christians we know and understand that this is not the year of the goat. This is the year of the Lord's favour. We tell our children you are born in the year of the dog or rat. And we tell them that if they are born in the year of the rat they will have the attribute of the rat. So everyone wants to be born in the year of the dragon. This is all man made. 

We need to ascribe the glory back to God. Sometimes my children ask me what year am I born in. What animal year they asked. I tell them according to the Chinese calendar she is born in the year of the dog but you are not a dog. You are a human being and you are born in the year of the Lord. We should not be bound by these tradition if they are not aligned with the bible. 

The CNY is not only celebrated in China only but also celebrated all over like Mongolia, Japan and Korea. They say it's even celebrated in Iran. There are Chinese is every continent or part of the world.  

Some people mentioned that this year the firecrackers are not so much. So I joked that it's because of the GST. What was the legend behind the firecrackers. There's the story about "nien", a ferocious dragon. They believed that this dragon would come during CNY and would eat people. And they believed that only wearing red can chase away this dragon and also to have firecrackers to frighten it away. 

The old Chinese people has this concept of the dragon symbolising evil. But satan cannot be scared off by the colour red. Except the red can be symbolised by the blood of Jesus. 

If you look back at China's history, it went through four religious stages. 

The Light was Revealed

The first was a China of one God. If you look at verses 18-20, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. 

At the Tower of Babel God confounded the people and they spoke different language and they moved to different parts of the world. Some moved to China. The original religion of China was monotheism. The believe in one God called "Shangti", or the God of heaven. This was way before Buddhism came to China. Or Confucianism. That there was only one supreme God. 

The Light was Rejected

Secondly, China became the land of many Gods. Over time they believed in many Gods. What happened to China was familiar to other countries in the world. Look at America. They were founded by the pilgrims. They were believers who were persecuted who migrated to America. And they have thanksgiving to give thanks to God. But today, they have forgotten that. Some called it turkey day because they must have turkeys. 

This also happened to many other countries. Many other Gods and cults came in. That's what verses 21-23 says Romans 1:21-23 Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

The Light was Removed 

Then the third stage, China became a nation of no God. How many of you remember Mao Tze Tong. He called Christian missionaries as spiritual aggressors. And the next ten year he persecuted and chased all the missionaries out of China. Even until today, there are Christians who are persecuted in China. Now they worshipped no God. He closed the door of China from the world and communism ruled the day. 

The Light has Returned

Now China has entered into its fourth stage. Now the light has returned. 

Jeremiah 16:19

19 O Lord, my strength and my fortress,

My refuge in the day of affliction,

The Gentiles shall come to You

From the ends of the earth and say,

“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,

Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”

Isaiah 49:12

12 Surely these shall come from afar;

Look! Those from the north and the west,

And these from the land of Sinim.

According to Strong's concordance and Hudson Taylor, the word Sinim refers to China specifically. God is saying the Gentiles including those in China would come back to him. That the Chinese will come back to the one true God. And this is what is happening in China. They say there are 1,000 people coming to God every hour in China. Great revival is happening in China. Many are getting saved. 

We hear of many many miracles happening to many Christians in China. Can you imagine how many is added to the Kingdom of God in a day? 24,000 people becoming a Christian everyday. If it happens in China it can also happen here in Malaysia. A time will come where people will know the one true God. As we celebrate CNY, we need to know we have a part to play in God's plan. 

I believe God wants to do that for our country. Start with us and then our relative. I pray we will be a bright and shining light for all our relatives. I shared about some traditions do not aligned with the word of God. We need to make sure we stand on the right side. Is there anything wrong with wearing red? No. But for us it's like any other colour. It's okay to give ang pows right? But it should not be we become covetous like to go to many houses just to collect ang pows. 

We all know that it is God who bless us. That's why I try not to use Gong Xi Fa Cai. A better word will be to bless others with peace or health. Our believe and our trust is not in these things. It's in God. We need to ascribe greatness to our God. 

It's not because if we put "Fook" at our house it'll be more blessed. No. It is because God bless us. We must not let these superstitions control us. We are a child of God and we know since the beginning of time it is God that bless us. So we must be different and shine for Jesus. 

Good tradition like visiting people we must do. Also the tradition that we must settle all our debts before CNY. By the way I don't believe we should be in debts, not talking about the bank. Like lion dance and firecrackers we should not be doing. Firecrackers also cannot meh? But we know the government also ban firecrackers so it's illegal. In Singapore they have banned firecrackers. 

It is the blood of Christ that sets us free. Amen. 

Doctrines of the Bible Module 6 - Man and Sin: The creation of Man Lesson 1

Module 6 Man and Sin

Gen 1:26-27

Then God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him; Male and female he created them. As a disciple of Christ, we need to focus upon growth in spiritual maturity. One basic area of christian growth is this particular area of growing in our knowledge of man as created by God, his nature and constitution; his Fall, the entrance and transmission of sin into the human race.

This knowledge refers to both our intellectual understanding and our personal experience of the full implications of being man in both his fallen and his redeemed state. Christian maturity can only be attained through this two-fold growth. Faith needs to transform both the head and the heart.

Module 6

Lesson 1 The creation of man

Lesson 2 The nature of man

Lesson 3 The constitution of man

Lesson 4 The origin of the soul

Lesson 5 The Fall

Lesson 6 The nature of sin

Lesson 7 The transmission of sin

Lesson 8 The consequences of sin

Lesson 1 The Creation of Man

A. The origin and unity of mankind by creation

1.  The human race began in a single first man, male, who was brought into existence by creative acts of God. (Gen 2:7 the Lord formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.)

2. There is an organic unity of the human race in an original, single, human, male specimen out of whom all others, including the first female, were formed. (Gen 2:22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of man, and he brought her to the man.)

The keyword is organic unity. 

3. The human race is an organic unity by natural generation from a single pair who in turn began in the single male from whom the female was taken. (Gen 5:3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image, and he named him Seth.)

B. The original capacities of mankind in the un-fallen state

1. Mankind was created with the capacity for dominion over the whole earth. (Gen 1:26 ....and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over all the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground')

God's original intention was for them to rule or have dominion over all the earth. 

2. Mankind has inherent powers to achieve the divinely given mission to populate, subdue and rule the earth.

3. Mankind was created in a state of maturity." (Gen 2:15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.)

Adam was created as a full grown man.  In God there is no chicken egg situation. God made the chicken first. 

4. Mankind was created in a state of perfect adaptation to the environment in which they were placed.

5. Primal mankind was endowed with full capacity for reflective thought and thereby the creative powers necessary for the divinely given mission on earth.

6. Mankind initially had a language and was able to use it. (Gen 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die")

7. Capacity for reflective (rational) thought combined with rational use of verbal symbols enabled man to name the animals of Eden. (Gen 2:20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.)

8. Mankind was created as moral beings. (Gen 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.)

9. Mankind has an innate sense of goodness, beauty and truth. (Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it....)

10. Mankind is totally different from the rest of creation. (Gen 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.....)

Questions

1. "Science has proven that man evolved from apes. Therefore, the belief that man was created by God is factually wrong. " We know that this statement is false. How would you then respond to the statement, giving your reasons?

Evolution is a theory not a fact. 

Unresolved Problems Concerning The Theory Of Macro-evolution

1. Evolutionary theory assumes that mutations are helpful and constructive while the general observation of life is that mutations are often harmful and destructive.
2. Mutation of genes cannot account for the origin of new genes that are needed for new species of life to form.
3. For a new organ to form, a great number of multiple mutations need to occur at the same time. This cannot occur on a random platform. Random mutations are often single mutations that are limited to small variations in the characteristics of the life form. Evolutionary theory cannot explain how full organs develop all at once in a new life form,
4. There is an absence of transitional life forms in the fossil record. This observation is a clear refutation of evolutionary theory.
5. In a particular fossil record (Cambrian explosion), There is a sudden appearance of many new animal forms without transitional fossils or common ancestors. This record points strongly to a creation perspective rather than an evolutionary explanation.
6. Simple life forms are found above more complex life forms in the fossil record. This observation is totally at odds with the conclusions of the evolutionary theory.
7. The theory of evolution assumes that similar structures in different life forms point to common ancestry. However genetic studies have shown that similar structures can be produced by different genes which debunks the link of common ancestry.
8. One assumption of the theory is that the presence of pseudo-genes (junk DNA) in different life forms point to common ancestry. These genes are thought to be fossils which no longer have any useful function. However further research has led to the discovery of functions that are linked to these so-called junk DNA. The linking of "junk DNA" to common ancestry is no longer valid.
9. The whole theory of evolution based on random mutations to produce more complex life forms is against the Second Law of Thermodynamics which states that all systems left alone tends towards disorder rather than more order.
10. There is finally the problem of how inanimate chemicals can acquire life on its own. No reasonable explanation has thus far been offered for this problem of the origin of life.

Therefore, based on observations of processes in present life forms, the fossil record, genetic research and the laws of science, the theory of evolution and its assumptions is more speculation than fact.

Creation is more factual than evolution. 

2. Try to make a list of the differences between a man and an animal. 

1. Religious - longs for God (faith)

2. Moral - demands of duty (conscience)

3. Intellectual - joy in understanding (desire for knowledge)

4. Aesthetics - delight in beauty

5. Immortality - live for eternity

6. Self-conscious - awareness of 'I'

------------------------

Word and Spirit

Word without the Spirit, you will dry up. 

Spirit without the Word, you will blow up. 

Spirit and the Word, you will grow up. 

A bible study is not just understanding, but it is about understanding with the conviction of te Holy Spirit to transform you in some way. 

A man with conviction is very difficult to shake. But conviction is about the heart, not the head. To make you convinced in your head and convicted in your heart. 

What does convicted means. Take heaven for example. I am someone am who is interested in heaven. When you are convicted in your heart it is by the conviction and revelation of te Holy Spirit. I know heaven is real not because I have been to heaven but I am convicted by the Holy Spirit in his word that heaven is real. To be convinced in your head that there is a heaven you must know that we are beings that have reason. Rational faculty. We need coherence. Something that we believe that makes sense. 

We will not be able to understand everything not because it is unreasonable but because it is beyond reason but not against reason. It is mystery that belongs to God. This conviction will make you stand firm in God. 

In the creation of man the greatest challenge is the theory of evolution. And the younger generation may ask you this. 

There are three ways to answer this. Insist that the bible is correct. Or you try to explain and the young person may end up thinking the theory of evolution is more reasonable. Or the third way, you will have to do some work. That's why we are here. 

The fall of man there is a probationary test like in Adam and Eve failing the test and the consequences is until now. 

This is a proxy battle where Adam and Eve wrestled with Satan. It was a spiritual battle where man lost the kingship over this world. 

Do we commit sinful acts because we are sinful or do we become sinful because we commit sinful acts? We need to think a little.  It is very difficult to answer because it is related to this question, do infants that die go to hell? 

These are some of the questions you have to handle and these are some of the things we will work through. 

Are we condemned because we commit sinful act or are we condemned because we have a sinful nature?

Is it fair for God to judge me for Adam's sin when I don't even know him? 

These are hard questions. I may not have the complete answers but we will work at what the church have been believing and how we can make sense of it. 

There is only one consequence of sin that is stated in the bible. 

Death. 

Genesis 2:16-17

And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

We believe that death is abnormal. Buddhist believe that death and life is normal. But for Christians death is not normal. Man was created for eternity. 

When we talk of sin there is 3 stages. 

Adam in his unfallen state - able not to sin. 

After Adam, man in the fallen state - not able not to sin

Future state for believers - able not to sin

I want to work on:

Genesis 2:7

the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:8

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:15

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 

A book was written that Eden was at Southern Iraq. 

Man was formed outside if Eden. You may asking there is a difference?

When I was in school, in our biology book man is put as an animal, of a higher order. The book also assume that the theory of evolution is a fact. And in the book the early men were very kesian, living in caves. 

The bible records that the first man and woman had a good life. Not like these cave men that were described in the biology books. 

To work and take care of it could mean to guard and upkeep the garden. We believed that Adam had the intellect to make tools. Adam was not a tabula rasa (blank page) when he was created. God already endorsed him with knowledge. 

A one day old infant has a lot of things in his mind. He is not a blank page. That's why a four year old can be a music maestro and 6 year old a chess master just like Adam who was not a blank page. 

Mankind had a language unlike what was depicted of cave men. Adam can converse with God. Even Eve can converse with the devil. Adam was the quiet one. 

When you read the bible you must first know:

1. Type eg narrative, poetic, revelatory etc

2. Literal - grammatical

3. Symbolical/allegorical

The whole of Genesis is a narrative so everything in there happened literally. There was no break in the first five books of the bible. In the case of Eve first taking the fruit, Adam was in authority and is as guilty. 

Adam had the intellect to name animals. The first record of the word guilt in Gen 3:8 which is related to morality. 

Women are more attracted to beauty and intuitive sense of the subjective and is more observant. Like in Gen 3:6. 

Gen 1:1-25, if you look at the whole creation story, you will see that creation was fashioned by God for man. 

I like these two words:

The personal - self

The corporate - community - family

The work of God is always both. Some young believers only see the self and not the community and they cannot grow. 

Man is not just the pinnacle of God's creation. But all of creation was made for man and that is how much God love us. The greatest gift of God is of course Jesus. The breath of God in Adam was God's gift to Adam. 

We are ruling over the earth today not the way God intended. We are abusing it instead. 

Man was fashioned by God for him. 

Once you hold this key, the whole bible becomes coherent to you. We find our life and purpose in him. 

This short Statement by the Westminster Shorter Catechism is the best. 

What is the chief end of man?

Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 

Many churches today in the preaching you'll find a certain trend. 

Genesis 3:21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

The verses preceding this was all judgement and curses. Yet at the end of it you see a father's heart, God clothed them. This is grace and love. God wants communion and fellowship and this far surpasses the pleasures of the world. The whole focus of everything is God. As precious as we are he is the focus not us. 

Have you heard of Christians who say this. I want to be a convert not a disciple. It is because it's easy to be a convert and go to heaven but not a disciple which is hard. But he missed the point. Jesus is our Lord and saviour. It is more than just going to heaven. 

Many Christians just want what God can give them and not God himself. They have missed the point. 

Apart from all our circumstances which he is interested in, the most precious gift is enjoying his presence here and not just the afterlife. 

Difference between man and animal

1. The brute is conscious, but man is self-conscious... The brute does not objectify self... does not distinguish itself its sensations... has percepts [but not] apperception, i.e. perception accompanied by reference of it to the self.
2. The brute has only percepts; man has also concepts... [no] power of abstraction... of deriving abstract ideas from particular things or... experiences.
3. The brute has no language... why... not? Because they have nothing to say, i.e. have no general ideas which words might express.
4. The brute forms no judgments, e.g. that this is like that... Hence no sense of the ridiculous [humor], and no laughter.
5. The brute has no reasoning... that this follows from that... a feeling that the sequence is necessary. Association of ideas [events] without judgment is the typical process of the brute mind. 
6. The brute has no general ideas or intuitions as of space, time substance, cause. The physical in man, on the contrary is only an aid to the spiritual.
7. The brute has determination but not self-determination [that is, it is wholly determined by heredity and environment] Even [Thomas] Huxley   has said that taking mind into account, there is between man and the highest beasts an 'enormous gulf,' a 'divergence immeasurable' and 'practically infinite.'
8. The brute has no conscience and no religious nature.

Animal life parallels human life at many points, but it is in another plane. Something guides the lower animals But it is not thought; something restrains them, but it is not judgment; they are provident without prudence; they are active without industry, they are skillful without practice... wise without knowledge... deceptive without guilt. When they are joyful, they sing or they play [or appear to]; when they are distressed, they moan or they cry... and yet I do not suppose they experience the emotion of joy or sorrow, or anger or love as we do, because these feelings in them do not involve reflection, memory, and what we call the higher nature.

Doctrines of the Bible Module 2B - God’s Originating Work: Creation Lesson 1

Lesson 1 God’s Originating Work: Creation

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)

A. God created the universe out of nothing

1. Biblical Evidence for Creation out of Nothing

(Gen 1:1) The phrase “the heavens and the earth “ includes the entire universe.
(Ps 33:6,9) The heavens came into existence by the word of God. God spoke and it came to be.
(John 1:3) The phrase “all things” means the entire universe.
(Col 1:16) All parts of the universe, both visible and invisible things, were created by God.
(Acts 4:24) God “made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.”
(Rom 4:17) God calls things into being out of nothing by his word.
(Heb 11:3) God created the universe by his word out of nothing.

2. The Creation of the Spiritual Universe

The creation of the entire universe includes the creation of an unseen spiritual realm of existence.
(Neh 9:6) The multitudes of heaven refers to angels and other heavenly creatures.
(Col 1:16) The creation of invisible heavenly beings is explicitly affirmed.
(Rev !0:6) God created “the heavens and all that is in them.”

3. The Direct Creation of Adam and Eve

God created Adam and Eve in a direct, personal way.
(Gen 2:7) God “formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life…”.
(Gen 2:22) “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man….”.

4. The Creation of Time

When God created the universe He also created time. Before the creation of the world, God has an existence without the passage of time. God’s eternity refers to an altogether different kind of existence from ours.
(Job 36:26) We cannot comprehend God’s timelessness
(Ps 90:2) God has existed “from everlasting to everlasting…”.
(John 8;58) “I am” expresses the eternity of his being
(Rev 1:8) God is the beginning and the end. He is timeless and eternal.

5. Creation is the work of the Triune God

God the Father spoke the creative words to bring the universe into being. God the Son, he eternal Word of God, carried out the decrees. The Holy Spirit completes and gives life to God’s creation.
(Gen 1:1) God created the “…the heavens and the earth….”.
(1 Cor 8:6) Paul is including both the Father and the Son in the act of creation
(John 1:3) It is through the Son that all things were made
(Gen 1:2) The Holy Spirit was active in creation
(Ps 104:30) The Holy Spirit is mentioned in creation

B. Creation is distinct from God yet always dependent on God

God is distinct from his creation. He is not part of it, for he has made it and rules over it. At the same time God is also very much involved in his creation, for it is continually dependent on him for its existence.
(Job 12:10) The life of every living thing, including man depends on God
(Acts 17:25,28) God “….gives all men life and breath and everything else…”.
(Heb 1:3) Christ is continually ”…..sustaining all things by his powerful word.”

C. God created the universe to show his glory

The entire creation is intended to show God’s glory.
(Is 43:7) God created his people for his glory
(Ps 19:1-2) “The heavens declare the glory of God….’. The inanimate objects of creation, the stars and sun and moon and sky testify to God’s greatness.

D. The universe God created was very good

The fact that the universe created by God is good is affirmed by God at the end of each stage of creation as recorded in Gen 1 (v. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)

E. Summary of the creation account in Genesis 1

(v. 2-5) The first stage of creation: the formation of light. This must be primarily the light of the sun and the other heavenly bodies. Sunlight is generally a requirement for the development of plant life and animal life.
(v.6-8) The second stage of creation; The formation of an “expanse’ that separated between moisture in suspension in the sky and moisture condensed enough to remain on the earth’s surface.
(v.9-13) The third stage of creation: the receding of the waters of the oceans, seas and lakes to a lower altitude than the masses of land that emerged above them and thus were allowed to become dry. Once dry land appeared, it became possible for plant life and trees to spring up from the earth’s surface.
(v.14-19) The fourth stage of creation; God parted the cloud cover enough for direct sunlight to fall on the earth and for accurate observation of the movements of the sun, moon and stars to take place. V.16 should not be understood as indicating the creation of the heavenly bodies for the first time during this fourth stage, rather it informs us that the sun, moon and stars created on the first stage of creation as the source of light had been placed in their appointed places by God to function as indicators of time (signs, seasons, days, years) to observers on earth.
(v.20-23) The fifth stage of creation: God fully developed marine life, freshwater life and introduced flying creatures(insects, lizards or winged birds).
(v.24-26) The sixth stage of creation: God brought forth all the land animals “according to its kind” culminating in the creation of man.

Conclusion

God is the Creator of everything that exist.

Review questions

1. How would you answer someone who tells you that man descended from ape-like ancestors through a process of macro-evolution?
2. “The Genesis account in the Bible states that God created the universe in six days. However, scientific data shows that the universe is billions of years old.” Discuss this statement.