The Creation of Man
In our last topic, we saw that we want to help our physical and spiritual children understand what those verses said about the creation of the animals and mankind. In this topic, we will see some additional details about the creation of man, which will be the focus of the last part of this topic.
Genesis 2:1-3 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” In these verses, we see that God finished the creation of the heavens and the earth, and everything that went with the creation was complete.
We see that God, as the Creator, said that His work was completed in six days. Today, we have many people who try to deny their sin by denying that the Creator made the heavens and the earth. Romans 1:20-23 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Here, we see that such denials will not change the truth of the Creator and His creation. That is why Romans 1:24-25 adds, “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” God said that such people actually worship themselves and their works.
Once God had finished His creation, we see that He rested from all of the work He had done. However, God did not rest because He was tired. Instead, He rested to give mankind an example. Mark 2:27 says, “And He said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.’” Here, we see that the Sabbath was made for man because man needs rest from his work. Exodus 20:11 says, “For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” Then, in Deuteronomy 5:14b-15 says, “That your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.” God used the slavery of Israel in Egypt to teach Israel that they were to let their servants rest, as well as using the day to rest themselves.
God also blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day. The Old Testament Sabbath was just a shadow of the eternal rest we will experience. That is why Colossians 2:16-17 says, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Here, we see that the Sabbaths and all of the other special days in the Old Testament were just a shadow pointing to the future. The writer of Hebrews explained that God made the seventh day to show the need to enter into a spiritual rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
That spiritual rest makes it possible for us to come boldly into the presence of God through Christ. Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Here, we see that we are able to enjoy fellowship with God while we are on the earth because we can enter into His presence at any time with boldness. We celebrate this rest with a new day rather than the original Sabbath. We celebrate on the first day of the week to remember the day Christ rose from the dead since His death and resurrection is what makes possible this spiritual rest. This rest becomes eternal at the moment we enter into the presence of the Lord in heaven.
Genesis 2:4-6 goes on to explain, “This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.” The word translated “history” means the course of history of the creation of the heavens and the earth. The first two days of creation put the heavens and the earth in place. Then, on the third day, God separated the waters from the dry land. Since the evening and the morning were the third day, this meant that this separation happened at the start of the evening, so God had already provided a daily source of moisture for the plants before any plants were brought into existence on the morning of the third day.
We see that before the flood, there was not any rain. The change from day to evening each day caused cooler temperatures. During the evening, a mist formed, which watered the whole face of the ground. This mist began happening before any of the herbs of the field or the plants had grown, three days before man was created. God revealed supernaturally that this is how He prepared for the time when plant life began on the third day on earth prior to the creation of mankind. This mist is still one way that part of the moisture for the plants is provided in many parts of the world. Psalm 19:1 reminds us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” God provided the moisture needed even before there was rain from the heavens.
We go on to read more details about the way Adam was formed. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Most of the creation, including all of the animals, was formed by Christ speaking the word. However, here, we see that the Lord worked in a very unique way to create Adam. We see that Adam was formed from the dust of the ground. In fact, the word translated “Adam” means red dirt or human being. Here, we see that God took special care in the creation of the first man, just as God has taken special care in the creation of every person since. Psalm 139:13-15 says, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” These verses show that God still works in the development of every person to make them His own special creation.
We also see that God gave Adam life in a very unique way as we read that the Lord God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Elihu spoke for every person who receives life when he said, in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” This verse points out the fact that the breath of life in every person is from the Almighty. God formed the body from the dirt, but the breath of life came from the very nostrils of God. He is the One who gives the breath of life, so He is the only One who has the authority to take away the breath of life from a person. That is why God later told Noah, in Genesis 9:6, “‘Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.’” Here, we see that God did delegate the responsibility to mankind to take the life of one who was guilty of murder.
We see that when God breathed the breath of life into Adam, he became a living being. For Adam, this meant that He received both physical life and spiritual life. The fact that Adam was given both physical and spiritual life becomes very important when Genesis 2:16-17 says, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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.’” Here, we see that God told Adam that he would surely die the day he disobeyed. The word “die” means to experience separation. There are three kinds of death (separation) mentioned in the Bible. Spiritual death is the separation of man from God. Physical death is the separation of the body from the soul and spirit. The second death is described in Revelation 20:14-15, where we read, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” This is eternal separation from God.
We will see that Adam and Eve immediately experienced spiritual death when they sinned in Genesis 3. That is why Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Here, we see that there are eternal consequences facing all who do not come to God in repentance. This is why we want to help our physical and spiritual children learn to explain that Christ came to give life. In John 10:10b, Christ said, “‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’” This is the good news that every person on earth needs the opportunity to hear. May the Lord richly bless you as you help your children learn to share this good news.
