THE CREATION STORY THE SOURCE OF LIFE GENESIS 2:4-7 JANUARY 15, 2017
THE SOURCE OF LIFE GENESIS 2:4-7
JANUARY 15, 2017
P R E PA R AT I O N >
Spend the week reading through and studying Genesis 2:4-7. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation. > Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group. >
Pray for our staff, the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the study.
HIGHLIGHTS BIBLICAL EMPHASIS: Life and worth come from God’s Spirit for all of humankind.
TEACHING AIM: Without a connection to God’s Spirit, we cease to be the people God created us to be.
GOSPEL CONNECTION: John 14:15-21
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TEACHING PLAN
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INTRODUCTION As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going.
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How do our relationships with other people add value to our lives?
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ho is one person whose friendship has W benefited you in a way that has been important to you?
ADDITIONAL INTRODUCTION OPTION Discuss the following quote from Billy Graham: “Our relationship must be right with God before it can be right with man.” Do you agree or disagree?
A life without relationships is not much of a life and stands in direct contrast to the purpose for which we were created. Last week we primarily looked at the calling God has placed on our lives, but that calling proceeds from a relationship with God. While the creation account of Genesis 1 addresses the big picture, Genesis 2 is much more personal and focuses on the relationship we were made to enjoy with God through His life-giving Spirit.
U N D E R S TA N D I N G Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic. > Have a volunteer read Genesis 2:4-7. This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens— 5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground— 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.
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What does a right relationship with God look like? What does a right relationship with others look like?
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°°Have you ever heard the same story from two different people? How does the story change when you hear another perspective?
Notes: °°These verses communicate information that we have already received, but they are included with purpose. What do we get in these verses that we wouldn’t have if we only read the creation accounts of the last two weeks?
Sometimes when you get into a disagreement with a friend or your spouse, it is helpful to hear their interpretation of events. Their perspective can help round out yours. While we don’t learn anything really new, we see the truth of Genesis 2 from a different perspective—one that is more personal and intimate. Whereas in Genesis 1, God “made” and “created,” in Genesis 2 we see that God “formed” man. °°What is the difference between the term “formed” and the terms “created” or “made”? Which term is more personal? Why?
The differences between Genesis 1 and 2 are differences of language and approach. While “made” and “created” evoke somewhat of distance between us and God, “formed” shows a deeper level of involvement. In the language of the Old Testament, this is the word that would be used for a potter shaping a piece of pottery. The creation of man came from the direct and relational work of God. We received life from His breath.
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°°What does the creation of man demonstrate about the type of relationship that God desired to have with mankind?
°°From where did mankind get his sense of life and purpose? What is significant about the word “breathed” in verse 7?
As verse 7 continues, the language of intimacy continues. “Breathed” takes this even further. Man was given life from God’s own breath, while God told all other created beings to begin existing. Imagine the act of giving another person CPR: You are giving them your very breath to fill their lungs and make them breathe. This is a close picture to what God did for mankind. As God worked through His Spirit, He gave us the breath of life. And through God’s Spirit, we are re-born in the image of God. > Have a volunteer read John 14:15-21. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” 15
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Notes:
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°°Did you grow up going to church? If so, how often was the Holy Spirit and His work talked about?
Notes: °°Describe the setting of these verses. Where is Jesus in His earthly ministry? What is about to happen? How does that add greater significance to this moment?
°°Jesus promised His disciples the Holy Spirit would come to them. What titles did Jesus give the Holy Spirit here? What do these titles teach us about Him?
Imagine you were about to leave your best friends, but you had one night left to spend with them. What would you tell them? On the night before He was to be crucified, Jesus told His friends about the Holy Spirit. Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Helper” and the “Spirit of Truth.” The moment we become followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit indwells our hearts and makes us new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). After that point, for the rest of our lives we are guided by the Spirit of God, who reveals the truth of God to us. °°How does the Holy Spirit, who breathed life into us in Genesis, continue to apply the life of Christ to us after we’ve been born again?
°°What are you learning from the Holy Spirit right now? What do we miss if we ignore Him?
Francis Chan wrote a book about the Holy Spirit called Forgotten God that was thus titled because of 6 The Source of Life | Calvary Tuscaloosa
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the tendency we have to treat the Holy Spirit as kind of a “junior God” who is not co-equal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was present at creation and gives life to all God chooses. Having a relationship with God means having a deep and growing connection with the Holy Spirit. When we miss this connection, we miss the relationship we were intended for.
A P P L I C AT I O N Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives.
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What are you doing to grow in your relationship with God?
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What role does the Holy Spirit play in your life? What role does He play in your relationships with other people in this group? How does He create and grow Christian community?
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How can you be sure that you are not limiting the Holy Spirit’s work in your life (cf. Eph. 4:30)?
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Who do you know who has not been re-born through the Holy Spirit? How can you use your God-given relationship with them to help them see the relationship you enjoy with God, so that they can enjoy Him, too?
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Notes:
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P R AY Thank God for giving us the breath of life and the gift of the Holy Spirit, who brings us new life. Pray that we would honor this new life by seeking to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
MEMORIZE 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 2:7
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Notes:
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GENESIS 2:4-7 2:4. The phrase this is the account of translates the Hebrew word toledot, which will occur ten more times in the Book of Genesis. Although scholars Notes: are divided on the exact function of this expression (some believe these are colophons or summary conclusions to the preceding section), it seems most reasonable to see it functioning as a heading over what follows. Genesis 1:1-2:3 is an introductory section with all remaining sections of Genesis having a toledot heading. Taking toledot in this manner introduces the reader to 26 what became of creation (the heavens and the earth when they were created) as developed in Genesis 2:4-4:26. Genesis 1:1-2:3 was a general account of all creation . Here in Genesis 2:4-25 we have a topical account of creation as it relates to mankind. The expression Lord God uses two different names for the Creator. As noted in Genesis 1:1, Elohim (God) in Scripture is both a generic term for god (or gods since it is plural in form) and the proper name God. The name Lord (or Yahweh) usually denotes deity in personal relationship (see Exod. 3:15). Now that the focus is primarily on Adam and Eve, this name appropriately accompanies the more generic “God.” It will be used eleven times in twenty-two verses as the Lord relates to humankind. When is the translation of the Hebrew word yom, normally rendered “day.” 2:5-6. “When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens” (v. 4b) and no shrub of the field had yet appeared describes the global conditions before man’s creation . The NIV tries to show that the material of verses 5 and 6 are like a parenthetical comment that serves as a flashback to the conditions before Genesis 1:26 by its use of the dash at the end of verses 4 and 6. There was no agriculture 9 The Source of Life | Calvary Tuscaloosa
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at this time because there was no one to tend the fields. Note the statement, for the Lord God had not Notes: sent rain on the earth... but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground . Some scholars have speculated from these statements that there was a “vapor canopy” that covered the earth until the time of the flood in Noah’s day. Such a canopy and the resulting benefits of reducing destructive rays and distributing heat are credited with allowing antediluvian man (man before the flood) to live longer and allowing vegetation to grow throughout the earth. While such speculation does provide answers to some questions about early man and the earth, it must be noted that this is a theory and not a required biblical belief. In addition, such a theory is based upon the condition that is described when as yet there was no man to work the ground (v. 5). What was needed was a created being powerful and authoritative enough to act as God’s steward. 2:7. This verse says that God formed the man from the dust of the ground. The Hebrew verb for “formed” is commonly used of the work of a potter with clay (e.g., Job 33:6; Isa. 45:9; Jer. 18:6). It conveys the idea of molding and shaping with careful, loving care. It is a new word for Genesis. The Hebrew words used in the first account to describe the creation of man 27 and animals include “make” ( asah) and “create” ( bara) (Gen. 1:26-27). Here God acts as the potter taking clay or soil and forming man. The dust of the ground shows that the physical part of man was made from the elements common to this world. In one sense it reflects man’s lowly, common origin. But man was not merely of this earth. He is a combination of dust and divinity. Genesis 2:7 goes on to say that the Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. 10 The Source of Life | Calvary Tuscaloosa
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It was God who gave man a life unique to mankind. Animals had life too, but man had a portion of deity within him because he was made “in the image of God .” Notes: JOHN 14:15-21 14:15-18. How do people know that they are Christians? How do you and I gain confidence that we are born again by the regenerating power of God’s Holy Spirit? The world cannot know because the world cannot accept the Holy Spirit. But the disciples were told that the Holy Spirit lives with you and will be in you. Pentecost was still in their future, so at the present time the Holy Spirit was constantly with them. But after Pentecost, he would actually be in them and in every other believer since that day. Consequently, they were identifiable (as we are) as God’s children, not orphans. What did Jesus mean by the promise at the end of verse 18: I will come to you? Some interpreters suggest this refers to the resurrection while others see another promise of the second coming. But in the context of these verses, it surely means the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus lives in us through the person and power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in us to identify his children. The doctrine of the indwelling Holy Spirit does not rest completely on this passage, but verse 17 is of great significance. Not only that, but this indwelling will be endless—the new Counselor will be with you forever. No orphans in the family of God, no abandoned people with no place to turn. The Holy Spirit will be a constant presence of Jesus with all believers.
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14:19-21. How well we remember the song that states, “Because he lives I can face tomorrow; because he lives all fears are gone.” Perhaps the idea for the lyrics had its birth in John 14:19. When did Notes: the disciples (later called the apostles) realize that Jesus was in the Father and that they dwelt in him? Did they have to wait for the second coming for that? Of course not. The reference to that day must refer to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. That frightened, hesitant group of believers huddled in an upper room knew the power of the Holy Spirit broke forth upon them because it literally blasted them around the city, around the country and around their world. But notice again the emphasis on behavior. A person does not show that the Holy Spirit lives in him by bizarre behavior or belief, but by knowing and obeying the commands of the Lord Jesus. How desperately we need balance in the church. Making too much of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit leads to mysticism; making too little of him leads to legalism. Only the balance can lead to unity. How like sinful human beings to divide the church over the Holy Spirit, sent by God to unite us. As we might expect, interpreters have debated the meaning of the words on that day, although the context seems to point to the resurrection.
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