Genesis Bible Study, Chapters 1 - 3

I have always been amazed at how the first 3 chapters of Genesis can convey in such a compact and simplistic form, the truths that we find expanded upon in the rest of the entirety of scripture.  In only 3 chapters, using 2,168 words, we learn about:

1. The evidence of God's goodness as seen through His creation
2. The uniqueness of man with respect to the rest of creation - created in His image & likeness
3. The law of the created world - two trees God placed in the garden, one that sustains or restores life, and the other that separates us from it  
4. Man's perfect helper (woman) and together, their initial created state of innocence 
5. How indefensible man is when he doesn't stand in faith upon God's loving & direct law.
6. The widespread consequences of sin, those that man brought on himself & those resulting from God's judgment
7. Man's attempt to right the wrongful actions toward God
8. The pursuit of God towards man in his broken and sinful state (his offer to provide a better and perfect covering, a covering that when received in faith, restores No...  ESTABLISHES the unconditionality of His love towards us)          

I pray that your journey through these three chapters bless you as much as they have blessed me!

Click here for a downloadable pdf copy of the slides below

 Genesis 1:1-19

Genesis 1:20-31

Genesis 2:1-17

The Garden of Eden

Genesis 2:18-25

Genesis 3:1-13

Genesis 3:14-16

Genesis 3:17-24

Tunics of Skin (Salvation)
God demonstrates, through the sacrifice of an animal, what He has already told man in that "sin brings about death".   I think for the new testament believer, the emotional power of this event is lost on us.  To know that God loves us so much that He would take the innocence of His own creation, place our sin upon it and allow it to take the punishment that we deserve - death.  It's one thing to read about God's atonement for man, through Christ, but yet an all together different thing to be witness of it, in person, year after year as we read about it in the old testament.   Perhaps we have grown numb to the stinging reality and consequences of our sin. 

For Adam and Eve, they had a decision to make.  Having witnessed firsthand, their death taken on by another, they could either remain in hiding denying their sin or receive the Lord's provision.  In order to receive the new covering, they would have had to remove the old one and stand completely naked before the Lord exposing all that they were ashamed of.  Even without recorded words detailing the circumstances, the shear act itself spoke volumes.  It was a declaration of; I admit that I can not, but You can, I will no longer hide what you can see anyway, I'll become completely vulnerable and expose all that I have withheld from you in shame.

Finally, standing in repentance, having turned away from their sinful behavior, they accept in faith the Lord's finished work and take on the righteousness of His covering.  A baptism of sorts signifying the dying of the old man and the birth of the new.

Have you ever stood completely naked before the Lord, having admitted your sin and trusted in Christ's finished work on the cross for forgiveness and salvation?  If not, why not do it today?

Amen!     

Ephesians 1:1-14

(Click image to see in high resolution)

Before the foundation of the world, God did "chose" and He did "predestine" certain things to be so.  Are these words used in connection with certain individuals being chosen or predetermined for salvation and all others being damned to hell?  A study of the text reveals this is not the case, not even close.  Instead, it's a beautiful text full of the promises and blessings that God decided ahead of time, that by Christ's actions, would be true of the one who trusts in the Lord, to those that are "in Christ".