God Welcomes Man to His Kingdom
Lesson Aim: To show how the way God created mankind and the universe is compatible with our role in His kingdom.
Introduction
If you had the power to create, what would you create? How would you design your creation? What you created would probably depend upon your desire for your creation. The purpose of your creation would surely determine the design. God desires children for His kingdom. The way He created us is compatible with His purpose. Please review Lesson Two, Part One, entitled, “The Truth About Mankind.” In this lesson we want to show how God, man and the universe interact in order to give God the desired fruit from His creation.
Lesson
It is suggested by some psychologists all people have certain drives “built in.” They are instinctive. If this is true God created us this way; consequently, our needs determined the way God created the universe. Mankind is the central being on earth (Psalms 8:1-9). The universe and everything about it has been created for us. The first three chapters of Genesis reveal how God created the universe in such a way that the five inherited drives spoken of in previous lessons can be satisfied. For instance, the basic needs for our food and security were arranged in the following Genesis account of creation.
And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen. 2:8, 9
Another need of mankind is our social need. We want to belong and enjoy affiliation with others of our kind. We desire social acceptance. God’s way of meeting this need included Himself and people whom He created. The social circle included God and mankind. He created us in His likeness according to the following scripture.
And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them. Gen. 1:27
God created mankind, both male and female. The sex drive He gave to each gender is a strong innate drive that offers intense pleasure. It also serves to expedite God’s plan for more children by the law of procreation (Gen. 9:1). The sex drive is a part of God’s unique way of forming a home for the offspring it may produce. His plan is marriage first and then sex satisfaction. Sex helps make a marriage. It has more value than reproduction in that it helps make two into one unit (I Cor. 7:1-5). Sex alone does not make two into one in a healthy way, but sex in marriage develops a unique affiliation that cannot be attained in any other manner. A married couple cannot truly become one without a good sex relationship. Consider I Cor. 6:16 along with Gen. 2:24.
God also created within His first man and woman a need to achieve. Adam and Eve’s “desire to know,” without due respect for God’s command, let Satan tempt them to sin. It should be noted that the desire to achieve, that is to know, do and be, is not a product of sin. This desire was a part of Adam and Eve’s nature before they fell. They were placed in the highest role of God’s creation. They were in charge (Gen. 1:29, 30). This role should have been enough to satisfy their need to achieve; however, since they also had the freedom of choice they broke God’s covenant to achieve what Satan offered.
What got Adam and Eve in trouble was their freedom of choice, plus their desire to achieve. Although they desired to achieve they did not make the proper choice to satisfy this desire. The devil appealed to their desire for a higher level of life they could manage while living in their physical bodies. God knew the “living soul” He created could not properly use the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:7; 3:5, 22).
Adam and Eve over-achieved and became sinners. They fell from favor and fellowship with God. He then made His first move to help them out of their dilemma. In fact, the remainder of the Bible is the story of how God continued to provide a “way out” for mankind. The way out for man involves a way out of our will and into the will of God. The kingdom of God is where God’s will is obeyed. Although Adam and Eve sinned, God did not give up on His plan to have sons in His kingdom. He did manipulate the laws of nature to draw mankind back to Himself. Life in the physical body became hard for mankind born in the nature of Adam. The innate needs God created in each individual still sought satisfaction but God made the path to satisfaction painful (Gen. 3:16-19; Rom. 8:18-25).
God’s grace was first manifested to mankind when He started the process of physical death by removing Adam and Eve from the tree of life (Gen. 3:22-24). Physical death is one of the blessings of God but only after the fact that we would have to contend with the knowledge of good and evil. God did not give us this knowledge because He knew we could not handle it while in our physical bodies. Now, we know it.
From our study of the first three chapters of Genesis we learn of God’s plan of creation. We see God’s kingdom on earth in the Garden of Eden. We also learn about the nature of God and man. For instance, in the Genesis account of creation we see God’s power, love, sovereignty, wisdom and absoluteness. His willingness for man’s own “right of choice” still prevailed (Gen. 1:1, 28, 31; 2:16, 17, 19). Our Bible study can be greatly enhanced in value if we will give attention to the nature of God and people. This can be done by a study of the God-man encounters in the Bible. We can learn about the nature of both parties by observing their behavior in specific confrontations. Let us consider one such encounter.
Adam’s first reaction after he disobeyed God was fear (Gen. 3:10). Next Adam displayed a basic part of fallen man’s nature. When we are put in a “bad light,” that is, when something threatens our self-image, we are prone to use some form of a defense mechanism. In this case Adam used rationalization. He rationalized he would not have sinned if it had not been for Eve (Gen. 3:12). God’s reaction was to discipline them by physical hardship (Gen. 3:14-19). God does not arbitrarily change. He has never stopped using this type of discipline. Most of us still earn our living by the sweat of our brow. Thus we learn something about our Heavenly Father from such encounters.
Another encounter was God’s rejection of Cain’s offering. It reveals how people desire God’s acceptance, even though we are not always willing to obey Him to get this coveted blessing. Anger was the emotional reaction from Cain. Patience and counseling was displayed by God (Gen. 4:1-7). Cain’s anger was manifested in his violent behavior against those of near equal status. In this case it was Abel, his brother. Cain sought to eliminate competition (Gen. 4:8). This defense mechanism is called displacement. Cain projected on others the hostilities he felt toward himself. When confronted with his new self as a murderer, Cain lied (Gen. 4:9). Most of our defense mechanisms are a form of lying. We lie to protect ourselves from unacceptable views of ourselves. Since we were created for the glorious role of children of God, we cannot, with dignity, accept a lesser role. God reacted to Cain’s sin with discipline by physical hardship. He separated Cain from the people of God and yet protection was provided (Gen. 4:11-15).
The degradation of Cain’s personality can be charted from self-willed to anger, which led to murder, then to lying and fear. God’s attitude was discipline, separation and then protection for Cain’s future as a person. It can be clearly seen that God was attempting to bring Cain’s will and activity into His own will without taking away Cain’s volition.
God has never redesigned mankind, even though we got the knowledge He did not want us to possess. Today, if we move out of the sphere of God’s will, He seeks to bring us back by making it harder for us to find satisfaction for our basic and higher needs. In this way, we can learn to depend on Him. God’s kingdom is where His will is being maintained. Satan’s kingdom functions outside of God’s will.
The sex drive, along with the knowledge of good and evil, became a great tool for the devil to attack God’s people. God’s law of marriage was disregarded and morality “hit the bottom” in the days of Noah (Gen. 6:1-5). God’s spirit strove with people until every intent of their hearts became evil. Although we read that God was sorry He made man, this apparently does not include righteous people (Gen. 6:5-8; Jas. 4:5). Noah “became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” Heb. 11:7.
Before the flood, people with corrupted “selves” filled the earth with violence. God moved in His wrath to eliminate this hopeless generation; however, a warning of impending doom came forth from God’s love and faithfulness (Gen. 6:3, 13; 7:23). The God-man relationship can again be studied from the story of the flood during Noah’s time. God, the suzerain, made covenants with the people, the vassals. He is the guide and power. God gave the people a choice. He always gives us a choice of accepting or rejecting His covenants (Gen. 6:18, 22).
After Adam and Eve sinned all of their offspring, numbering over seven billion living beings today, have the knowledge of good and evil. Consequently, all people become sinners at maturity (Rom. 5:12). Still God desires mankind’s fellowship. He commanded Adam’s offspring to make offerings for the atonement of their sins. Burnt animals offered by a righteous man appeased God (Gen. 8:20; I Sam. 15:22). Noah’s offering evoked God’s covenant that presently maintains our seasons and it will continue to do so until the final destruction of the earth. Consider the following promise.
And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself, ‘I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.’ Gen. 8:21, 22
The foregoing promise of protection may have also set the course for the exaltation of the seed of Abraham. After the flood the people again became infatuated with idol worship but God did not destroy the evil people. However, He did separate the faithful from the evil by initiating His first great separation plan (Gen. 12:1-3). The Israelite nation was established by this plan. This will be our next lesson.
God created Adam and Eve the way He did because He wanted children. God created the universe the way He did because of the way He created them. God changed the natural laws to discipline them in order to bring them back within the sphere of His will. He has continued to use this same program in all generations since the fall of Adam. In cases where this failed with people and nations, God separated Himself from the sinners but He still let the natural universe serve its purpose. His desire is for their return before it is too late (II Pet. 3:8, 9). The Apostle Paul made the following statement to the idol worshippers at Lystra.
And in the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways; and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. Acts 14:16, 17
The humanists look at the world and mankind without the plan and purpose of our Creator. Until they understand why God created us they will neither see God’s wisdom in His creation, nor understand the way He serves us. They will continue to view the world realm as chaotic and heap more coals of fire upon it.
The Genesis narrative reveals God as a sovereign and absolute power; however, a loving Person. In the beginning years God sought to maintain His kingdom on earth through the heads of the family. When things went wrong He pursued the avenues necessary to have children in His eternal kingdom. This was done according to the way He designed mankind. He disciplined people by physical hardship and initiated the separation plan. God hoped they would make their will His will.
The nature of God has not changed and neither has the nature of people. The way God created us is the way He works with us. People still want God’s approval but most people do not want to accept His rule. When we become angry, because we fail in our self-willed pursuits, God still disciplines us in order to strengthen our character (Heb. 12:5, 6). The stronger our character develops the more we are able to bring our will under God’s will. Christians accept His discipline like children do from their parents. Jesus taught us to pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:10.
Questions for Discussion
- Explain the lesson aim.
- How would you have created mankind and the universe if you were in God’s position?
- After reading the first three chapters of Genesis, why might we think people have an inherent nature?
- Give two reasons for the sex drive.
- Identify the drive that first got Adam and Eve in trouble.
- Name the blessing bestowed upon mankind when God removed Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
- How can we enhance our Bible study?
- What do people usually do when our self-image is threatened?
- What does God use to discipline people in His attempt to bring us back to His will?
- How did Cain show people desire God’s acceptance?
- Chart the course of Cain’s degradation of personality.
- To what point of degradation did God strive with mankind before He destroyed all but eight people?
- Explain how God’s covenants in Gen. 8:21, 22 may have set the stage for the nation of Israel.
- When will the humanists see something other than chaos in creation?
- What does Acts 14:16, 17 suggest about God’s method of dealing with man?
