Genesis: Free... Free fallin'

Genesis 2:1-24 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
These are the generations

of the heavens and the earth when they were created,

in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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." Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The nature of temptation and sin

The serpent is crafty and has evil intent. Revelation 20:2 alludes to the serpent as Satan. Yet he was created and became evil by choice. And more importantly, he is not God's equal.

How does temptation work?
   Questioning God's word
   Questioning God's character
   Doubt the reality of consequences and judgement
   Twisting of God's word
   Prioritizing pragmatic values over God's word
   Delighting in Aesthetic Appearance and Sensual Desires over God's word
(Matthew 4:1-11 is another example)

The consequences of sin

Sin turns everything upside down. The serpent, representing creation, tells the woman what to do. The woman leads her husband into sin. Man is absent from guarding and leading his wife. The original hierarchy of creation is flipped.

Layers of brokenness
   Man's relationship with God
   Man's relationship with himself
   Man's relationship with others
   Man's relationship with nature

The nature of God

A pursuer of sinners: seeker of the astray
A promise keeper: He promises redemption in His curse on the woman
A prodigal God: covering sin, guilt, and shame with a sacrifice (wastefully extravagant)

Genesis: Made for relationship

Genesis 2:18-25 ESV

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,

"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Made for relationships

Consider creation up to this point. Everything is good. But then God says that Adam's alone-ness was NOT good. Adam goes through all the animals... Not one was suitable. So we can say this verse was to show the first feeling of loneliness. Not good. There is an innate need for relationship within us. This is from our creation in the image of God. God is himself a community, relating between the Trinity. Man is meant to live as a community with relationships. It is part of what makes us human. We want to be vulnerable, accepted, and loved faithfully. Not only in marriage, but also our friendships.

Mangling of relationships

We hurt others. Rejection, self-centered, not sharing and hiding ourselves, etc. That is what we do and what is done to us.

We are meant to be in relationship with God first.  When our relationship with God is broken, our relationships with others break down. As we will see next week, Adam and Eve reject God going into shame and divisiveness. One generation later, the culmination of broken relationship in the murder of Abel by Cain.

Mending relationships

Jesus died to repair relationships. Both our relationship with God and with others. He empowers us in our friendships and in our marriages. God is always with us. So in all these things God is with us. That is our Jesus. We move towards others as Jesus moved heaven and earth to be with us. So those of us who have seen and understand, can move towards others. We can be vulnerable because all our sins and weaknesses are covered by the blood and righteousness of Christ. We no longer have to care about what others think of us. We can be accepting. Considering that we are all sinners before God, we can accept others. Their struggles, their sins. We can forgive and be with them. Through all things.

Even when others are not loving in this way, we are still called to love this way. Persist in living this way, and we may have a softening effect on others. The other person may mature and emulate our way of loving others.

Maturing and modeling effect of relationship

We were created for relationship. When we entered into relationship with God, we have also entered into relationship with all others joined with Christ. All other christians! This is not voluntary.

It is through deep relational investment that you mature and grow. (Hebrews 3:12-13) Sin deceives. This deception hardens us. We have sins not yet uncovered. These deep relationships uncover our blind spots.

"intentional intrusive, Christ-centered, grace-driven, and redemptive relationship" - Paul Tripp

We are to mirror Christ, each in a different way with different spiritual gifts. Not a single person on mission, but teams of people working to reflect the glory of God. This will attract non-christians. A group that loves radically, shares intimately, accepts fully is different from the world.

John 13:35

Genesis: The Beginning of Everything

Genesis 1:1-2:3 ESV

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens." So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Why are we covering genesis?

Scripture is one large overarching story spanning all the books of the bible. Genesis gives some principles that are foundational.

Components of a Worldview

A Theory of Origins
An Explanation of the source of evil and suffering
Instill Hope by offering a vision of how to fix what is wrong

what is the christian worldview?
Creation, the fall, and the gospel.

We are told that there are people who are reasonable and then there are those who have "faith" blindly ignoring reason and science. This is not true. We don't need to blindly believe.

This passage had been debated long before evolution became a theory. Before Darwin, christians debated how to interpret these beginning passages. There are multiple ways to understand them.

One that appeals to me is this interpretation. This passage of genesis can be viewed through the lens of the author's intent and the genre of this writing. This writing has the marks of poetry: Repetition of ideas and parallelism. So genesis 1 is not a historical account, it is poetic verse. Genesis 2 is more like a historical account. To say that genesis should be a historic account is like trying to say that a picasso should accurately describe anatomy. It was never intended to do so. So it is here.

Application

Creation is good, but God is ultimate.

Matter is good. So are spiritual things. This world is meant to be enjoyed. Food is good. Nature is good. Sex is good. But there is more than just materialism. There is more than just created things. There is still God.

Creation is ordered and purposeful.

God created things in an orderly way. God is not simply an inspector, he enjoys it. God rested from his work to enjoy his creation. God delights in man and all of creation.

The word is the agent that God uses to create and redeem.

God's word has creative power. It redeems and brings things into order. Just like creation. It brings order and fullness of life. The word is not only in the pages of the bible, it came in the person of Jesus. The word became flesh and died to redeem us.

The reason for god - keller
Total truth - nancy percy

Your labor is not in vain

1 Corinthians 15:14-32, 56-58 ESV

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? Why are we in danger every hour? I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Rev. Dan Whang

Paul is presenting the evidence for the essential resurrection of Christ. This is central to those who believe  in the hope that is found in Jesus. All our prayers, ministry, and lives would be in vain. The resurrection is real and it powers our entire lives.

Application

We can live our lives recklessly.

In christ, we have final victory. No matter what happens, when jesus returns God will restore all things.

Paul lived his life in danger and trials. He placed all his hope in the final resurrection. He accepted a hard and painful ministry because he was convinced of Jesus' resurrection.

The safe and calculated life is contrary to the resurrection.

For those who are promised eternal reward, holding tightly to things of the world looks nonsensical.

Be immovable.

Do not be discouraged by setbacks.
Do not stop striving in ministry.

Fruitful friends of the conquering King

John 15:1-17 ESV

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.  These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

Rev. Dr. Ed Gross

We are not called to plant churches. We are called to make disciples. Churches, we have. Disciplers, we have few. To be a disciple in the first century, there is a set of requirements. We are called to the same things as modern-day christians. We are called to teach people to obey christ.

It is not enough to hear and understand the words of Christ. We are to make it true in our lives. That is what we are to do.

True obedience comes from a heart of love. Obedience is not love. It comes from love. If we love God, then we will obey.

After obedience to God, Christ brings us into intimate friendship with Christ. The order matters. We are friends by our obedience in christ.

Do all this and we will have fruit. Rabbis would teach and then release disciples to become rabbis themselves. Rabbis then make more disciples. This is fruit. Fruit that remains attached to the vine.

Watch what you do for the weak

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 ESV

Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Today's topic is on Christian freedom. Drinking, smoking, and clubbing. Paul is addressing the eating of foods sacrificed to idols. Corinth was multi-theistic and multi-demonistic. People believed that demons could enter the body through food. So people believed that sacrificing this meat to idols purged it from demonic presence. It was sold in the market. Much like organic foods in the modern day. Some believers were stumbled by this food; others were not stumbled.

There are differences between people in knowledge of faith.

There is a difference between people when it comes to theological knowledge. There were people in the Corinthian church who understood. But even though they were right, they had a proud attitude towards those who don't know. They were puffed up. In this, they were in the wrong. It is not simply a matter of possessing knowledge of God. There is more  to it than just theology. It must impact our lives. Knowing God means having theology that changes us.

There is a difference between POSSESSING KNOWLEDGE of the gospel and being POSSESSED BY KNOWLEDGE of the gospel.

The one who loves is the one who knows God.

There is a difference between christians in terms  of conscience.

While idols are nothing, there are people who worshiped these idols. They had weak consciences. The subjective truth in their mind is that idols are real. For these, the food was wrong to eat. Our conscience is based on our beliefs. So for those who have certain beliefs, doing things that are not sins (as delineated by the bible) causes them to stumble.

Guilting and pressuring those with weak conscience to do things that make them guilty IS a sin. We should avoid any actions that may stumble them. In our knowledge of other's  consciences, we are called to abstain from those things.

In addition, there are areas where a christian is weak. For these areas, the conscience is a good and right warning. They should abstain for their own good. This is not a weak conscience; it is a weakness that is to be respected.

When we ignore other's conscience and their weaknesses, we do three things:

We defile their conscience.

This teaches them to ignore their conscience...and disables their ability to avoid spiritual danger.

We stumble their faith.

We are tearing them down. Impeding their spiritual growth.

We sin against Christ.

Mark 9:42 ESV

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea."

There must be a difference in our choices and actions depending on who we are with.

For those who can handle alcohol maturely, grabbing a couple beers is okay. But for those who struggle with alcoholism, we should not drink with them or bring them into the bar.

Romans 14: if we don't have a clear conscience about something, then we shouldn't do it. Because all that we do should come from faith.

Can I?
Is it explicitly forbidden in scripture?

Should I?
Does it glorify God? (1 Cor 10:31)
Is it beneficial to me? (1Cor 10:23)
Is it beneficial to others? (1 Cor 8, Romans 14)

The driving force behind all this:

Philippians 2:4-8 ESV

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Church matters: sexuality

1 Corinthians 6:9-20 ESV

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two will become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The world's view on sex has caused much damage, pain, and suffering. The church can some much light and restoration here.

God's design for sex

Paul was fighting this idea called dualism.  It saw the body and spirit as separate. This thinking meant that the body was seen as unimportant. Sex was just like eating; an appetite to be sated. Others saw sex as dirty and marriage something to be avoided.

Paul advocates neither of these. He told Christians that their body matters. It was not to be denigrated. It was the temple. In addition, we get a resurrection body.  Jesus was resurrected  with a body, with scars. He even ate fish. This implies the body is  neither bad or unspiritual. It is to be used for God.

By God's design, the only proper context  for sex, and any form of sexual contact is in marriage, between a man and a woman. Both sex and marriage serve as an illustration of the Gospel.

Sex illustrates the Gospel these ways:
For procreation (bearing fruit)
To communicate exclusive love (to give everything to another, no other)
For bonding (intimacy and union)

Distortion of sex

The culture tells us to just go with what feels right. To be true to ourselves. Waiting for sex sounds old-fashioned. Marriage, so outdated.

Our desires can be twisted. Pedophiles illustrate this.  Wanting sex with young children is wrong regardless of what we desire.

In addition,  we are free in Christ. We need not worry about dietary restrictions. But we cannot do what we wish without consequences. We find ourselves enslaved by our twisted desires. This is idolatry. We have placed our twisted sexual desires above God. Idols promise but cannot deliver. So the desires increase, but the fulfillment is not to be found.

Dealing with sex as a church

Sex and any sexual contact is reserved for marriage.

We are to treat those we date as a brother and sister in Christ.

When we dress consider how we might be stumbling others.

Be open about our sexual struggle; don't stigmatize those who have persistent sexual struggles.

Homosexuality is not something exclusive. It is listed along with adultery, thievery, greed, and idolatry. These lifestyles can disqualify you from the kingdom. Not the desire, but the consistent lifestyle of living this way. Fighting  these desires is hard and sometimes lifelong. But we win in Christ, for we have been sanctified, justified and raised in Him.