Living in the Gap (2)
Notes
Transcript
1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
Part 1: Created in Perfection
Part 1: Created in Perfection
Understanding Creation
Understanding Creation
++The Purpose of Faith (Hebrews 11:3)
++The Perfection of God (2 Samuel 22:31)
++The Work of the Spirit (Gen 1:2)
++God’s assessment His work (Gen 1:31)
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
He called it very good
He called it very good
We were made in perfection
++To connect with God
++To connect to our world
++To connect in relationship
The Impact of sin was separation
++From God
++From our world
++From one another
Now we live in the gap
Now we live in the gap
Ultimately, however, sinless perfection was demanded, for Israel would not be forgiven of their sins apart from offering sacrifices that atoned for their sin. The very structure of the Mosaic covenant, then, implies that God requires perfection.
Thomas Schreiner
How do we navigate life in the gap?
How do we go from guilt to grace?
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Part 2:The Good Life
Part 2:The Good Life
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
God created a perfect world for us.
God created a perfect world for us.
17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
God created us to fit in a perfect world
God created us to fit in a perfect world
7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
The First Family
++Was Unique
++Unlike Anything Created
It started with a Man
++Created from the dust
++Formed by the hand of God
++Gifted with knowledge
What God Did
What God Did
8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Lord God
++Prepared a place for man
++Put the man in the place provided
++Provided for the man’s comfort and food
The man was given authority
++General authority- _Dominion_
++Specific authority- _Responsibility_
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
The Man had been given
++A place to be
++A job to do
God put him in the Garden
++To tend to it
++To keep it
The word translated in this text Tend is to til, toil, work, serve, to urge to work, make serve
To Keep is to watch over, guard
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Each thing created
++Built upon an established foundation
++Added another dimension to creation
It is not Good
It is not Good
Something can be
++Complete but not good
++Functional but no rewarding
++Provide but not meet the need
There was nothing to build upon the Man
There was nothing to build upon the Man
God Decided
++A companion would help him
++A helper like him would build upon him
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing, And obtains favor from the Lord.
20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
Too Complete
Too Complete
What do you give to someone that has everything?
He was
++Connected to God
++Content in his assignment
21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
Something is missing
Something is missing
God sometimes will take away to build upon.
God sometimes will take away to build upon.
To build upon the complete
++He was given rest
++He was made incomplete
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Made differently
Made differently
Made by the same God
++Man from the dust of the ground
++Women from the rib of the man
++For a unique connection
23 And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
The Perfect Marriage
The Perfect Marriage
They were created by God
++For relationship with God
++For Stewardship of the world
++Connection to each other
The man was given the ability to choose
The man was given the ability to choose
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Choice is necessary
++For free will to exist
++For God’s image to be reflected
Choice did not come in isolation
Choice did not come in isolation
With each choice
++There are natural outcomes
++Benefits and opportunities
++Consequences and liabilities
Many of the challenges we face in life are simply the results of our choices.
Many of the challenges we face in life are simply the results of our choices.
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
The choices had lasting effects
The choices had lasting effects
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Death is Separation (Gen 3:6-7)
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
They were aware
++Of the reality of God
++Of the world around them
++Of one another
Now they had a new awareness of themselves
Now they had a new awareness of themselves
Sin brought death
++Separation from God
++Separation from the world
++Separation from each other
9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
I was afraid
I was afraid
How do we respond to fear?
How do we respond to fear?
Some speak of two responses to fear?
++a Fight mode
++a Flight mode
The default mode of fear is flight
The default mode of fear is flight
Flight is to
++Hide from
++To run away
++To avoid
To change the default we must remember.
To change the default we must remember.
5 when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.
We must remember
++The promise of God
++The provision of God
++The goodness of God
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
F-E-A-R
++Forgetting
++Everything
++And
++Running
F-A-I-T-H
++Forgiving
++All
++In
++Trusting
++Him
The good life is a life of faith over fear
The good life is a life of faith over fear