The Strand Study Bible

GENESIS GENESIS creature (Lucifer) had disrupted ( Ezk 28:12 ). Man was not placed upon this earth to be tested, just to see if he would do wrong. That would be contrary to the character of God. Man, in accordance to the nature of God, was placed upon earth with a purpose–that purpose being to assist God in setting things right, via his obedience, for a previous creation that had fallen. Had Adam obeyed God in the Garden concerning the forbidden tree, the angels, who did not follow Lucifer in his rebellion, would have gotten their universe back 6,000 years ago. God doesn’t need us; God wants us, thus He delights in us ( SOS 1:16 - point #1). He created us to assist Him in His quest to salvage what had been disrupted through sin, and the more we obey Him the more we assist Him, for to assist Him is to obey Him. We don’t have to serve God. We get to serve God ( Rev 12:12 )! NOTE – Now before you go off disagreeing with God and His decision to design creatures with the freedom to choose, that He knew would fall, remember, God is the source from which all our reasoning comes. C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity notes: You could not be right and He (God) wrong any more than a stream can rise higher than its own source. When you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on. 10 What needs to be remembered is that God has showed us two great truths about Himself when He created free-willed creatures: 1. God showed us His heart What a magnificent Creator to chance creating a creature with the ability to choose, thus risking rejection by His very own creation. What an amazing heart God must have! 2. God showed us His power What a mighty God to know the beginning from the end, and still allow free-willed creatures to choose. What an awsome God we have! According to James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” Meaning: God is good all the time, whether man’s puny and stunted mind can comprehend it or not (Rom 2:4). Don’t blame God for not taking Him at His Word. He told man from the beginning that He would establish “whom He is” by the fact that He would always keep His word. The difference between all other gods and the God of the Bible is that the God of the Bible bases His entire reputation on His Word, not His name ( Psa 138:2 ). So stop questioning God’s decision to create free-willed creatures that He knew would fail. They didn’t have to fail. Two-thirds of the angels that chose not to sin are proof of that. Sadly, man has misinterpreted God’s purpose for man as well (See NOTE under Deut 5:29 ). 2:17c There are some who feel that this verse is the first prophecy in the Bible, but it is not. The phrase “ thou shalt surely die ” was a pronouncement (declaration), not a prophecy (divination). The first prophecy in the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15. NOTE - This is the first time “death” ( die ) is mentioned in the Scriptures. There are three different deaths mentioned in the Bible (although only two deaths are referred to by name - Rev 20:14a ): 1. Physical death (which is the separation of the spirit from the body – Gen 5:5 and Lk 12:4) 2. Spiritual death (which is the separation of the individual from God – Lk 12:5 and Eph 2:1,5) Man was designed by God to be composed of three parts: Body; Soul; and Spirit ( I Thess 5:23 ). Because of sin, the spirit in man died, and thus needed to be recreated via the new birth (through God’s Word -I Pet 1:23) The doctrine of the new birth ( I Jn 3:9a & Eph 2:1,5 and Colo 2:13) is as old as the Garden of Eden ( Jn 3:7,10 ). 3. Eternal death (which is the final estate of the lost in the lake of fire due to his rejection of Jesus – Mt 25:46 and Rev 20:14-15) 2:18a Woman was created for two reasons: This word ( helpmeet ) comes from a Hebrew word meaning, “ to protect or aid .” This same word is used of God aiding and protecting Israel (Exo 18:4, Deut 33:7,26,29, Psa 33:20 & 70:5 & 115:9-11 & 121:1-2 & 124:8 & 146:5 and Hos 13:9). Thus, the underlying purpose behind woman’s creation was to point man back to the One who desires to “aid and protect” him. God designed man to have needs; a need for companionship and a need to be completed . Man was never created to be independent and self-sufficient. If man had been created “complete,” he wouldn’t have needed God. Because the woman was designed to “meet a need,” not be “needy,” she is the superior creation ( Gen 3:16 ). She is superior both mentally and intellectually ( I Pet 3:7b ), seeing she was designed to “complete” an incomplete creation. Needy women are the result of one of two things: (1) men failing to appreciate their superior design ; or (2) woman failing to focus on what God thinks of them . Whenever a man fails to appreciate his superior design, the woman needs to look up, not around. NOTE – According to Genesis 2:21-23, the helpmeet God created for man came from a finished product. Whereas man was made from scratch (the dirt of the ground), woman was made from man (a finished creation). Women were not only “created” better than men, they were “designed” better than men as well. Why? Because they were designed to complete an incomplete creation. There are four unique aspects about a woman’s design that every man should learn to “openly” appreciate: 1. Her assets (Gen 2:18) Because a woman was designed to complete that which was incomplete, a woman is man’s “better half,” not “other half.” Men would do well to learn to “openly” appreciate this unique aspect of a woman. 2. Her intelligence and her beauty ( Gen 3:1a ) Interestingly enough, Satan went after the woman, not the man. Satan knew, because of the woman’s superior design, that she would be more vulnerable to his subtle bidding of deception than would the man. Therefore Satan appealed to Eve’s strengths in order to get to her (I Tim 2:9-14 and I Pet 3:3-4). Men who fail to “openly” appreciate the intelligence and beauty of their wives will find in time, that if they don’t do it, someone else will. A woman’s intelligence and beauty should be appreciated, not exploited. Men who exploit a woman’s intelligence and/or herbeauty are acting like Satan (and will be treated like Satan 58 1. Man needed a “companion” ( alone ) 2. Man needed a “completer” ( helpmeet )