What is the criteria for success in life? For many, it would be happiness. To be successful would be to be happy in life. And many would say it would involve getting rich and buying everything that the heart desires.
Should Christians find enjoyment in this world? Shouldn't Christians be anti-pleasure so that they can focus on God? For example, since sex seems to be linked to 'dirty stuff' like prostitution and pornography, shouldn't Christians abstain from it? Since materialism is idolatry, isn't better not to buy luxury goods?
2. The Good Creation
a. "Very good"... "not good"
In Genesis 1:31, God declares all that He had made very good. Yet in Genesis 2:18, He says 'not good'. It is 'not good for man to be alone'.
How can there be a shift? Is God fickle-minded?
Genesis 2 is not chronologically after Genesis 1. That is, Genesis 2:4-25 is another perspective of the same account of creation, focusing in particular on the creation of man that was mentioned in Genesis 1:26-29. Genesis 2:4-25 is like a soccer action replay of Genesis 1:26-29 from a different angle.
Is this angle discussing the science of the creation of man, i.e was it the 12th rib or the 9th rib that God used to fashion the woman? Did God use the marrow or the bony part?
What is this new angle on creation?
b. Man
The topic sentence spells it out for us.
v4 - "These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created"
v5-6 - Man was at the centre of the creation, when there were no plants yet. (This does not contradict the 1st chapter - see previous talk about why the account is laid out in '6 days'.)
Man is a key factor in the growth of creation.
v7 - Man is made from the ground.
v15 - He was created to work the ground. There is a strong link between man and land.
(Note: v7 - God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life - many people think that this is why man is different from animals. It is true that man is different from the animals, but it is easier to elicit this point from elsewhere.)
c. Garden of Eden
v8 - Man is a gardener. He is the gardener of the garden city that is Eden.
v9 It is a good garden. Everything was pleasant to sight and good for food.
v10 - In the garden, God is the good provider. There is a tree of life in the midst of the garden.
v10-14 - from Eden, God's goodness flows to the rest of the world. God is a good creator. The benefits spread out to the rest of the world.
d. Work
v15 - Man is created to work. It is good work. Work is part and parcel of why we are created. God has made us people to work.
e. Command
v16-17 - Many people complain that God should not have put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. He put it there almost as if He was setting man up to fall.
But the account does not present God negatively. In fact, the warning of God is part of His goodness. He warned us to protect us.
f. Relationship
v18 - This is where God says it is 'not good' for the first time in the creation account. It is 'not good' for man to be alone.
It is relationship that makes life pleasant. Relationships are key to goodness in life.
However, there is a little catch here. So far, everytime we have seen the word 'man' we assume the writer is talking about humanity in general. However, we must be careful to note that Genesis is really directly referring to Adam first and foremost. We must see that the 'not good' here first and foremost is said because Adam was alone. God deems that Adam needs a helper.
v19-20 - Adam exercises his authority over creation but is unable to find a helper suitable for him. There is a great waiting, a great tension.
v21-23 - The tension builds up like a crescendo to finally hit a climax in verse 23 - 'This at last!"
g. Sex
So close is the relationship that the husband-wife relationship is close than that between parents and children. Marriage is part of the goodness of God's creation. 2 become 1 flesh, not 1 team, nor 1 unit. In God's eyes, sex is part of God's good gift to mankind.
3. The Good God
God is not a kill-joy God.
a. For our good
He is the generous Creator, the generous Provider. He warns us about what is dangerous!
There are thus 3 wrong responses we can adopt in our lives.
b. Forbidding
Firstly, forbidding ourselves and others to enjoy the world. The world is seen as somewhat evil. This is known as asceticism.
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving..." (1 Tim 4:1-4)
It is actually the teaching of demons to say that God's creation is evil and should be abstained from!
c. Worshipping
On the other hand, we must be careful not to worship the creation. It is easy to start saying that the created stuff is good, but not God. It is also easy to stop thanking God for His good creation, patting ourselves on our backs instead. The 5Cs - cash, country club, credit card, car, condominium - can easily become idols. A good litmus test to see whether we are worshipping the creation is to ask ourselves, if the thing we are enjoying is taken away from us, will we still remain secure, trusting that God is the good provider and give thanks to God? Or will we feel that our lives are shattered?
"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." (1 Tim 6:17)
d. Distorting
We can also easily distort many of the good things God has given us. For example, we were created to work to care for the world and provide for ourselves. Yet, for many of us, work has become an idol, the thing that gives us motivation to wake up everyday, and the thing that defines who we are and our status in society. It has then become distorted.
Another way we often distort God's good creation is in the area of sex. God created sex to be carried out between a man and a woman within marriage. Yet, today, we have abused sex and distorted it in every way and every form. We often say that God's rules are restricting and kill-joy.
Yet real freedom is really found in following how God intended His good gifts to be used. God is the One who holds the instruction manual - not following it will only bring about much frustration and pain!
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