What elements did God establish for human marriage?
(Genesis 1-4; Ex. 20:8-11; John 1:1-4; Rom. 5:12; Rev. 14:6-7;) Blog May 17-23, 2020
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: The Bible tells the story of the mighty acts of God in dealing with humanity. Its prophecies tell how God will act in the future and how we should prepare and respond. The Holy Spirit inspired holy men to portray God’s thoughts in human language. For us the Bible is necessary, has absolute authority, is entirely sufficient, and essentially clear, showing us how to live in this life and how to enter into the next. If we read the Bible in context, regarding its grammar, and comparing Scripture with Scripture, the Holy Spirit will teach us its meaning. It is God’s infallible Word to mankind
Time (Genesis 1:1-2:3; Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:27-28; Rev. 14:6-7)
1. What four basic elements of life are shown in Genesis 1:1? Time (beginning), energy (created), space (heavens), & matter (earth).
2. In Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 the phrase “In the beginning” refers to what time? To the time when God set about to make this earth habitable.
3. What factors prove that the days of creation were 24-hour periods, just as our days are today? The fact that the term day is used in the singular; the fact that they were composed of one evening & one morning; the fact that the fourth Commandment written by the finger of God commands rest on the seventh day of a seven-day week; the use of cardinal numbers to introduce the last six days of creation week showing a consecutive sequence of days with no gaps; & the fact that the word Moses used for day is the same Hebrew word used throughout the Old Testament for a 24-hour day.
4. How does the fact in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that God will transform humanity instantly at the re-creation in just one moment of time overturn the idea of billions of years needed for the first creation, as theistic evolution teaches? It shows that God does not require long periods of time to accomplish tremendous feats.
5. If the days of creation week were not literal 24-hour days from where does the world get a seven-day week? There is no other explanation for a seven-day week than the literal seven 24-hour days of creation.
6. What part of creation determines months and years? The sun & moon which with our solar system were created on the fourth day of creation (the stars in other solar systems were created at different times).
7. What portion of time did God set apart as special. The seventh day (Saturday) for on it he ceased from labor, rested, blest it, & set it apart as holy (the same three acts are repeated in the fourth commandment).
8. If God is omnipotent why did he rest on and sanctify the seventh day? Because the Sabbath (the seventh day) was made for man as a special time to have communion with & worship his Creator.
9. If God did not “make” light on the first day but rather said “let there be light” then what must that light be? It must be Jesus, who declared himself “the light of the world.”
10. From verses 1, 2, 3, 26, & 27 of Genesis 1 what must we conclude about God? That the Godhead is made up of three persons: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.
11. According to John 1:1-3 and Hebrews 1:1–2 who was the agent of creation? It was Jesus who also later redeemed fallen humanity on the cross & was the agent for the creation of other worlds.
12. If God made man in his image and likeness what does that tell us about God? That there is interpersonal fellowship & communion in the Godhead; that God has a work of dominion to do; that God makes children, that the Godhead accomplishes its goals by united, harmonious effort; that God has a physical form that functions with power to think & to do.
13. How do we know that God created “the heavens and the earth” out of nothing in six literal days? We know this only by faith in the Bible record as Hebrews 11:3 states (a seven-day week testifies to this truth).
14. Considering the method God used to create our solar system, the earth, & all its plant and animal life without pre-existing matter, what powerful aspect of God should we continually remember and reverence? The power of God’s spoken word.
Mankind (Gen. 1:26-3:25; Matt. 15:19; 19:5; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; 10:5; 1 Cor. 15:22; Heb. 9:22)
15. What aspects of the creation of mankind demonstrate that this was the highpoint of all created life. Mankind was not spoken into existence but rather Adam was personally formed by God out of the earth & Eve was created from one of Adam’s ribs; each sex was created by a different means; this was the final act of creation; they were given dominion over all the rest of the earths created beings (even over the plants that they were to dress & keep); & they are the only creatures made in God’s image & likeness.
16. In what ways are human beings like God? They are a family (including more than one person), they have the ability to think (conceive) & to do (produce), they have a sovereign work to do (keep the garden & rule over the animals), & their physical form is like God’s
17. What two elements make a living soul? The breath of God & formed dirt.
18. What covenant did God make with Adam in the beginning? A covenant of “obey and live” or “disobey and die” – that of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
19. Besides the seventh-day Sabbath what other divine institution was established at creation? Marriage, which is a picture of the marriage to take place between Christ & his church in the last days.
20. What elements did God sovereignly establish for human marriage? One male & one female, equality between the sexes, leave parent’s home, cleave to one another, reproduce like offspring, mutual helpers, & become one flesh.
21. Who spoke the words recorded in Genesis 2:24? God, himself did.
22. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit whose sin brought guilt and a sinful nature to all mankind? Adam’s sin (not Eve’s) brought both condemnation & corruption to the human race for he was our Federal Head with whom God make the covenant.
23. When God sacrificed an animal in order to cloth naked Adam and Eve what does that tell us? That there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood & no covering for sinners in order to stand in God’s sight but the life of the Lamb of God – the promised “Seed of the woman”.
24. What do the sacrifices and lives of Cain and Abel tell us about the results of Adam’s sin? That everyone needs a blood sacrifice to present to God for from the very start we are all guilty (condemned to eternal death) & totally depraved (every part of our nature is corrupt).