IT WAS VERY GOOD
Genesis 1:26-2:3 Lesson 2
Key Verse: 1:31a
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
1. Read verses 26 and 27 again. After having made the world, an
environment that could sustain life and made all other living
creatures, what did God decide to do? What do these 2 verses teach
us about God and his plan for mankind? (See Ps 139:13-16; Ps
8:1-9)
2. Man was created on the same day as the animals. What
characteristics does he share with them? Read verse 27 again. What
does it mean that God created mankind in his own image? What are
some of the God-like attributes we can find in man?
3. How did God bless man and woman? (28) What was the work he had
created them to do, and how did he commission them to do it? How
does this command establish creation order and give meaning and
direction to mankind?
4. What does it mean to "subdue" and "rule over"? (compare 2:15) How
does this command open the door for study and exploration of the
world and for all kinds of useful work?
5. Think about the fact that God created man for mission. How can you
know your Creator and find the work he created you to do? What
should be our main mission in a fallen world?
6. Read verses 29-30. (Compare with Matthew 6:33.) How did God
provide for the physical needs of mankind doing God's work? How
should man respond to God's gracious gift? (Ps 104:14,27, 31,33)
What would the world be like if men and animals did not have to
struggle to survive? (Isaiah 11:6-9)
7. Read verse 31. How many times is the phrase "God saw that it was
good" (or its equivalent) repeated in chapter 1? What does verse
31 teach us about God and the world he created? About myself?
What difference does it make for me to know that God created me
for a good purpose? (Eph 2:10)
8. Read 2:1-3. What did God do on the seventh day? Why did he bless
the seventh day and make it holy? (See Mk 2:27) How do men without
God seek rest? How can we find real rest? (Mt 11:28-29)
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IT WAS VERY GOOD
Genesis 1:26-2:3 Lesson 2
Key Verse: 1:31
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning--the sixth day."
In lesson 1 we learned that God created the heavens and the earth (Ge 1:1).
We learned that our lives are not an accident, but that we are created by
God according to his sovereignty and purpose. In lesson 2 we want to learn
about the human beings whom God created.
First, man has two natures. In five days God created the world and all
material things, as well as the lower forms of life. On the sixth day he
created animals and man. Man and animals were created on the same day. So
man has an animal nature. But also, man was created in God's image. So men
are different from animals. Men have an animal nature, and at the same time
they have God's image in them. Men have an artistic, creative, God-nature.
Second, man's position. Because he was created in God's image (1:26,27),
man is in a position just under God. Only when man keeps his position can
he be a true man. Only when man has the image of God can he be happy,
because he can grow in the image of God. One political leader was known as
a man of no image. Then this gentle politician decided to make his image
tough. As a result, he became a mass-murderer next to Hitler. When men and
women don't grow in the image of God, they fall down to the level of
animals, and become like animals. They become like living dead men. When
mankind slips from his position and falls down to the level of animals,
then he becomes like an animal. He becomes flesh (6:3). When man fails to
keep his position and falls to the level of animals, God is very sorry
(6:5-8). Man is originally "Adam." "Adam" means dust or clay. Man is a lump
of clay---he is weak. For him to keep his position as a man before God is
very difficult, as difficult as for a small sailboat to keep its course as
it crosses the ocean. But man is the lord of all creation. It is his sacred
duty to keep his position as a human being.
Look at verses 26 and 27 again. "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." When God made mankind, he made them in his own image. Verse 26
refers to God as using the plural, "our image." This is just a Hebrew
expression. There are two important meanings which can be found in the fact
that man is created in the image of God (i) We human beings resemble God.
"Image" here refers to God's attributes. God is holy; there is something
holy about us. God is love; there is also godly love in us. God is
almighty; man's possibilities are limitless. A lion has great strength, but
because he is only an animal, he uses all his great strength in catching
his prey. (ii) Man grows in the image of God. He is the lord of creation.
He rules over all things. God made man in his own image so that he might
rule over the whole world. The hope of God's children is to become more and
more like God, to grow more and more in his image.
Third, man is mission. Read verses 26-28 again. God had a purpose in
creating man in his image. He wanted man to rule over, to have dominion
over all other created things. "To rule over" the world means that God has
appointed man to be the steward of the world, to oversee and care for all
creation. Men cannot be selfish. One young man received very much help from
others during his time of need. But when he made some money he used it all
up on himself. Such a man is not a steward; he is a selfish man. A selfish
man is an animal man. He is like a father tiger who, all by himself, before
the eyes of his hungry tiger cubs, eats up the prey the mother tiger
hunted. It is a great blessing to be given the task of being the steward of
the world that God has created (28). And this is the mission that God has
given to us human beings. So at his birth, a man enters the world for a
definite purpose in God.
No one is happy until he finds the purpose of his life in God. Man has
a definite mission for which God created him. There is something that God
has given him to do in this world. We can almost say that man = mission and
mission = man. Each one of us has a mission which God has given him. If one
would fulfil his mission he must work. So the person who doesn't like to
work is giving up his divine right as a human being. David's greatness did
not lie in the fact that he was a king or that he had great ability. He was
great because he served the will of God in his own generation (Ac 13:36).
Paul's greatness does not lie in his great scholarship or in his zeal. He
was great because he obeyed the world mission commission given him by God;
he gave his life to fulfill his mission (Ac 20:24). Many say that Abraham
Lincoln's greatness lies in his honest character. But in reality, He was
great because he received from the Bible God's mission to protect human
rights, and he fulfilled that mission.
In our times, men and women of mission look like strange people. But
God sees them as great. No matter what we are called to do, we must not let
what other people think of us influence us too much. We must seek to
accomplish the mission that has been given us by God.
Fourth, man has the Sabbath (2:1-3). God worked hard for six days and God
blessed the seventh day and made it holy. On that day, God rested. God gave
the Sabbath day to man as a day of rest. The Sabbath is a holy day. "Holy"
means "set apart" or "different." God set the Sabbath day apart from all
the rest of his creation and gave it to man as a day of fellowship with
God. If there is no rest through fellowship with God, man withers. The word
"Sabbath" means "rest." On the Sabbath we must stop doing worldly things
and go to God for a new filling of spiritual strength, love and joy. We can
receive God's love and strength from him by studying the Bible and praying
and by serving god and God's sheep. People of our times have forgotten the
law of the Sabbath. As a result, the people of our times are overflowing
with tiredness---even though they have so many long week-ends and holidays.
But Christians must keep the Sabbath holy and on that day have deep
fellowship with God. We must prepare to enter the eternal Sabbath rest that
God has prepared for us.
Fifth, God was happy to see man (31). Look at verse 31. "God saw all that
he had made and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was
morning---the sixth day." On the first five days of creation God made all
things. On the sixth day he made man. He created the heavens and the earth
and all things, and after each day's work, "God saw that it was good." But
when he finished creating man on the sixth day, "God saw all that he and
made, and it was very good." The adverb "very" is added. There are two
meanings that we can find here. In the first place, God is saying that of
all his created things, man is the creature in which he has special joy. In
the second place, God thinks that each of us is the best, and very good.
When we consider this, we realize that we exist because God created us. In
God's creation, there are all kinds of people. Each person thinks that he
or she is the best one or the worst one. One lady thought that she was too
tall and slim. But after studying the Bible she realized that although she
does not have Arabian beauty, she has North American beauty. Since then,
she has studied the Bible harder and she was convinced that she was the
most beautiful woman in the world.
One finds his own individuality as he comes to know God personally and
experiences God's life. He finds his individuality in God's word of truth.
There are many people who have very good human backgrounds and good human
circumstances, but who have never become individualized. Unless one finds
himself in God and lives before the eyes of God he cannot form his own
individuality. So they have no individual personality. They do not know who
they are. They cannot be true to themselves because they have no inner
integrity. In the end, they do not know how to live or why they live. They
do not know why they work so hard. But their most serious problem is that
they do not know who they are. It is because they do not know the truth of
God who created mankind and said, "It was very good." Some people try to
find themselves---their own individuality---in their human background and
conditions. One American woman's meaning of life was her kind husband. One
day he died in a car accident. She sought meaning in her career as the
director of the auditing department in city hall. But she was dismissed
when the administration changed. She was empty and her life was without
meaning. Then she found herself in God.
Verse 31 says, "It is very good." Human conditions cannot be the
problem. God made everyone an individual, with his own special
characteristics and qualities. He made each person for a purpose, so there
is no one whom we could do without. The one who, to us, seems
ordinary-looking may have a heart like beautiful satin. When one young man
was in college, he lived for three years with his aunt. She was a rather
ordinary looking woman in her outward appearance, but her heart was as
beautiful as fine silk. Her beauty came from her faith in Jesus. In God's
sight there was meaning and purpose for small Israel as well as for the
large and powerful Roman Empire.
One does not need to worry about what others think of him. Each one
must think rather, what do I think of myself before God? Most importantly,
what does God think of me? God created me and was very pleased. We must
receive this truth in our hearts. We must realize that out of the 5 billion
people in the world, God made each of us with a special nature and
character and gave a special meaning to each life. It's a wonderful thing
to discover one's self. When I believe that God made me and was very
pleased, then new possibilities appear for amazing and wonderful
self-discovery and great self-fulfillment. I began to find the real joy of
being human.
In this lesson we learn that God the Creator appointed man to be the
steward of the whole world. When God made each of us he said, "It was very
good."