2012 GSBSM Summer Bible Study

Session 2

What We Studied Last Week… General vs. Special Revelation

• Our task must not remain on a belief that God merely exists, but must come to know God who fulfilled his promise in Christ Jesus.

• However, we know that through “common grace”, God allowed people to know that the Creator God exists (Romans 1:18-20).

The Bible is divinely inspired, and the Holy Spirit is its author.• Our task must be to understand the Scriptures in entirety as

God’s revelation, and resist the temptation of leaving out certain portions as incredulous.

The main objective of the Bible is to introduce us to Jesus. Through the person and work of Christ, we are redeemed from our fallen state, and gain true, eternal life in the kingdom of God.• Living with ‘Kingdom Perspective’: Kingdom of God is

where God reigns by his authority, not just a distant future world we go after we die… “It is already here and now, but not yet completed.”

• What is the meaning of the finished work of Christ for our present lives?

“Faith consists not in ignorance, but in knowledge - knowledge not of God merely,

but of the divine will.”

“ 믿음의 근거는 지식이지 경건한 무지가 아니다”- John Calvin (Institutes of Christian Religion III.2.2)

The God Who Made Everything (Genesis 1-2)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Genesis 1 – Summary of God’s Creative Work

Day 1: Let there be light (v.3)

Day 2: Let there be an expanse, to separate the waters (v.6-8)

Day 3: Let the waters be gathered together / dry land / vegetation / fruits (v.9-13)

Day 4: Let there be “lights” in the sky: stars, sun, moon (v.14-19)

Day 5: Let there be “living creatures of sea and sky”: birds, fish (v.20-23)

Day 6: Let there be “living creatures to the earth”: livestock, animals, human beings (Adam & Eve) (v.24-31)

Day 7: God rested from his work, and made the seventh day holy (v.31)

We see the following patterns in God’s creation work: Announcement: “And God said”

Commandment: “Let there be”

Report: “And it was so”

Evaluation: “God saw that it was good”

Genesis 1 – Exposition (v.1-2)“In the beginning…” (v.1)

Not the beginning of time; rather an inauguration of God’s creation work. It however implies there is beginning and end in God’s history.

Indicates that God’s existence is eternal, and before God created the universe, only God existed.

“Created the heavens and the earth…” (v.1) Ex nihilo – Created things out of nothing (cf. Hebrews 11:3)

“Heavens and earth” indicate all things, as in “skies and land” (Isaiah 44:24, Revelation 21:1).

“The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface…” (v.2)

Indicates the condition of the earth before God made it good.

Not the same as “chaos” turning into “cosmos”, as insisted by naturalist (such as Carl Sagan). Namely, chaos did not exist prior to God’s creation.

“The Spirit of God was hovering…” (v.2) Indicates the third person in the Trinity of God.

Genesis 1 – Exposition (v.3-5)“And God said…” (v.3)

The powerful work of God began when God spoke his word (cf. Isaiah 55:11; Psalm 33:6-9)

God’s word brought light and life into the world, which was “formless, empty and dark” (cf. Jeremiah 4:23).

God’s word is what creates and sustains life… including that of ours.

Between verses 1 and 3, it is possible much time had elapsed, leaving open the possibility of a young vs. old earth. Again, “in the beginning” does not indicate a point in time.

“And God saw that the light was good…” (v.4) The measure of “good” comes ultimately from God, and not

from other sources. As we look into ourselves, are we “good” in the sight of God (coram Deo)?

Our pursuit of happiness, or “good”, ends in God, for his approval, acceptance and love for us. This is why we worship him (“worth”+ “ship”).

This “light” is not the sun/moon/stars… it is God’s light as blessing (John 1:3-5).

26 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.”

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. ” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning —the sixth day.

2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 1 & Science There is more ambiguity in the claims of science than

scientists recognize. Big Bang Theory: For this theory to work there must have

been a “singularity”, which is basically highly condensed material that came from somewhere… where did that come from?

Intelligent Design Theory: Many scientists believe in “irreducible complexity”, which means that nature and human beings are so complex, making the chance mutation implausible. This suggests the need for a “designer” (e.g., watchmaker analogy). This sounds convincing, but it infers a God of gaps.

New atheism is based on the assumption of philosophical materialism: all that exists is matter, energy, space and time.

“Unmoved Mover”: Developed by Aristotle, this notion suggests that for everything to exist, there must have been an unmoved mover who put everything (i.e., creation) in motion in the first place.

In short, God is not a mere inference, the end of argument, or the conclusion after we have had the indisputable evidence.

“Irreducible Minimum”… about God Francis Schaeffer’s argument: “What is the least that Genesis 1 and

the following chapters must be saying for the rest of the Bible to make any sense?” Source: “Genesis in Space and Time: The Flow of Biblical History”

God’s Existence: God simply is. The Bible does not begin with a set of theological arguments to prove the existence of God. He is not the object whom we evaluate; rather, God is the one who evaluates everything.

God is a Creator God: God made everything that is non-God. God has no cause; he just is and has always been.

God is a Talking God: God speaks to his people, and so he is not some abstract object like unmoved mover. God is a personal “he”, not impersonal “it”.

Everything God Makes is Good: In God’s original creation, there is no hint of death, decay, malice, hate, arrogance, or destruction.

God Rests: God comes to an end of his creative work, and he rests. Not that he was tired from working, but that he designated the seventh day as “holy”.

“Irreducible Minimum” … about Human Beings We Are Made in the Image of God: Although humans share

many features with other creatures, we are not like them in the sense that human beings alone are made in the image of God. We are God’s image-bearers, reflecting God.

Communicable vs. Incommunicable Attributes of God

• We are made in the image of God, not that we are the image of God. Therefore, there are some attributes we share with God vs. the ones that belong to God alone.

Human Beings Were Made Male and Female: In Genesis 2, we see an expansion of the creation of human beings in detail. Male and female humans were made equally in the image of God while insisting female was made as a “helper”.

• God blessed Adam and Eve to “be fruitful… and rule over” God’s creation (1:28).

The Man and His Wife Were Innocent: “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (v.25). We have much to be ashamed of; there is much we need to hide…

Human Beings Speak to God: God has instilled in us an innate ability to know him, and to communicate with him.

“Irreducible Minimum” … about Human Beings• We Are Made in the Image of God: Although human share

many features with other creatures, we are not like them in the sense that human beings alone are made in the image of God. We are God’s image-bearers, reflecting God.

• Communicable vs. Incommunicable Attributes of God

• We are made in the image of God, not that we are the image of God. Therefore, there are some attributes we share with God vs. the ones that belong to God alone.

• Human Beings Were Made Male and Female: In Genesis 2, we see an expansion of the creation of human beings in detail. Male and female humans were made equally in the image of God while insisting female was made as a helper.

• God blessed Adam and Eve to “be fruitful… and rule over” God’s creation (1:28).

• The Man and His Wife Were Innocent: “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame” (v.25). We have much to be ashamed of; there is much we need to hide…

What’s in it for me?• Believing in God’s creative work, power and biblical

history emphasizes the fact that we are made by God, belong to God, exist for God, and will return to God.

• Life has purpose, meaning and ultimately, joy in knowing God and sharing more and more of his godly character in everyday life.

• Not believing in the doctrine of creation would lead us to a belief that we came from no one, we exist for nothing, and we will go nowhere when we die…

• This is the essence of nihilism, which in that life has no purpose and value (cf. Friedrich Nietzsche).

• Renowned atheist Bertrand Russell famously said:

“…only on the firm foundation of the unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation be safely built”

Source: “A Free Man’s Worship”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 ~ 1900) Bertrand Russell (1872 ~1970)

Richard Dawkins (1941 ~)

What’s in it for me? (con’t)

Richard Dawkins in his interview said the following when he was asked if his atheistic, nihilistic and materialistic view of the world made him depressed:

“I don’t feel depressed about it. But if somebody does, that’s their problem. Maybe the logic is deeply

pessimistic, the universe is bleak, cold and empty. But so what?”

Source: “Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence” Henry F. Schaefer III

Without God and his purpose in life, perhaps the only alternative is to die. In fact, many without God in their lives fill the void inside with “self-medication”: sex, food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, entertainment, video games, pornography… which may help them feel relieved from purposeless, God-less life.

However, we believe in God who created the heavens and earth with his will and purpose based on his plan. Our God interacts with us and intervenes in our lives, personally. This was accomplished in the person and the work of Jesus Christ, and will be fulfilled in his kingdom!

Q & A

Next Week:The God Who Is Merciful

(Genesis 3)