SUPPLEMENTAL SCRIPTURES
- Genesis 5:1-2
What a person believes about his origin greatly affects his entire philosophy of life. If a man were convinced that he does not have an eternal soul, then it would seem to him that he would have no responsibility to God for the way he lives his life. But a person’s disbelief in the Bible does not release that one from his responsibility to God. As Christians, we believe that the most important decision a man can make is the one that will affect the eternal destiny of his soul. It is imperative that we arm ourselves against those who would erode this basic belief-that man was created by God in His own image and possesses a never-dying soul. We can do this by studying the Bible, God’s divine Word, with simplicity of faith.
QUESTIONS
- When the initial part of the Creation was completed and the earth was in readiness, God performed His last creative act-He made man. Why did God make man? See Isaiah 43:7 and Revelation 4:11.
- How was man’s physical body created? What factor made the creation of man unique or different from all the creative acts which had already taken place?
- Man is distinguished from all other living creatures in that he alone possesses a living soul. How and why was man given a soul?
- Genesis 1:26-27 states that man was created in God’s image and likeness. What does this mean to you?
- Causing a deep sleep to come upon Adam, God took one of Adam’s ribs and from it created a woman. Then He brought the woman to Adam for a helpmate. Why did God feel man needed a helpmate?
- Read Psalm 8:4-8. What place was man given in God’s creation?
- What is meant by the word dominion, in Genesis 1:28?
- How will the Christian look at God’s creations differently than the non-Christian?
THEME THOUGHTS
It is not difficult to go through the Bible and compile an extensive list of first events from which we can learn valuable lessons. Most people are interested in how or when something started and who started it. This quarter will focus on beginnings. The first two lessons deal with the beginning of everything—Creation and the first man. The next two are about the first sin and the first plan of escape from God’s judgment for sin. The next lesson is about the people who built the first “skyscraper” and the pitfalls of trying to be independent from God. Four Bible characters will be studied: the first Hebrew, Abraham; the first leader, Moses; Israel’s first priest, Aaron; and the first king of Israel, Saul. There also will be a lesson on God’s first written Law. The point of studying these lessons is to help us get a better understanding of some of the firsts in Bible history and, more importantly, to learn that, since the beginning of our world, each of these has played an important part in Gods plan for our lives. We want to grow spiritually from what we have learned.