God's Design for the Human Race


[WOTS]
10/10/2017




God's Design for the Human Race



                         神為人類之設計



      創世紀 Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15-25



Worldwide Outreach Teaching School



www.WorldwideOTS.org



        Dr.
Meiman Lai Saidi



 



Preface: God
created humankind to reflect His image in the world.



            Reading
Genesis.1:26, in the text
that would help us to understand that the relationship between God and humanity is so important; God made a way that He would be
revealed in His creation: through humans. God intended to bless His
creation through men and women who embody the goodness of God. (Ge.1:27); God
blessing humankind in three ways: [1] To be fruitful
[v. 28], [2] To rule over earth's creatures [v. 28], and [3] To have God's
provision of food [v. 29].



            God put human beings on
this planet to take care of his creation – to "tend and watch over it" (Genesis
2:15). (Stephen M. Miller, the Complete Guide to
the Bible [Uhrichsville, Ohio: Barbour Publishing,
2007], 13)



            God delegated some of
his authority to the human race, he expected us to take responsibility for the
environment and the other creatures that share out planet.



We must not be careless about how we take care of it.  We are part of God's creation, and he is
pleased with how he made us. If at times you feel worthless or of little value,
remember that God made you for a good reason. You are valuable to him. (Commentary
of N.I.V.P.8)



 



Scripture Reading創世紀 Genesis
1:26-31:















  1. Then God said,
    "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule
    over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock,
    over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the
    ground."
  2. So God created man
    in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female
    he created them.
  3. God blessed them
    and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
    earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of
    the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
  4. Then God said,
    "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole
    earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be
    yours for food.

30. 
And to all the beasts of the earth and
all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the
ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green
plant for food." And it was so.  


31.   
God saw
all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was                                                       
morning--the sixth day
  1. 　神說、我們要照著我們的形像、按著我們的樣式造人、使他們管理海裡的魚、空中的鳥、地上的牲畜、和全地、並地上所爬的一切昆蟲。
  2. 　神就照著自己的形像造人、乃是照著他的形像造男造女。
  3. 　神就賜福給他們、又對他們說、要生養眾多、遍�'a面、治理這地．也要管理海裡的魚、空中的鳥．和地上各樣行動的活物。
  4. 　神說、看哪、我將遍地上一切結種子的菜蔬、和一切樹上所結有核的果子、全賜給你們作食物。
  5. 至於地上的走獸、和空中的飛鳥、並各樣爬在地上有生命的物、我將青草賜給他們作食物．事就這樣成了。
  6. 神看著一切所造的都甚好．有晚上、有早晨、是第六日。              




 


 









 






 A. God Created Us: [The words "image"
and "likeness" (1:26) are synonyms in both
Hebrew and English. Joseph Coleson writes, "Both terms mean that God
created [Adam] like God, or reflecting God, as a mirror reflects the image
of the one looking into it, as a child is the likeness of the parent"


God created humans in His
likeness and in so doing placed His image on earth as a living, visible
representation of His presence. It was His intention to bless all of His
creation through men and women who embody the goodness of God.  God created humankind as the
centerpiece of His new creation.


Male and female (1:27).


They
were created by God, in the image of God (1:27).
God's treatment of the two suggests a divine impartiality. They were
partners when embracing God's blessing and when fulfilling His commission.


Blessed by God (1:28-30).


After blessing the couple He had created, God gave
them instructions for living.

A. 上帝創造我們: 一章26節 "[形像"和"樣式"在希伯來文英文是同義(1:26) 。Joseph Coleson寫到: 上帝創造亞當像上帝, 或說反射上帝出來, 像是一幅鏡子, 如同小孩像其父母親 (New Beacon Bible
Commentary: Genesis 1-11 [Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City,
2012], 67).                          上帝創造人類像上帝在地球上代表祂之同在。也是祂的目的要經人類祝福所有祂的創造物。


所以, 上帝創造人類乃是祂新創造一切的中心


 


男人和女人 (1:27).


都是神以其形象造的. 神對二者是公平、無私的。二者�"斵◥滲牯皏h完成祂的目標。


上帝祝福 (1:28-30). 二者被上帝創造和祝福後。上帝就給他們生活指導。


 


 


 




 



B. God
Created with Freedom: Genesis 1:2:15-17















  1. The LORD God took
    the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of
    it.
  2. And the LORD God commanded the man,
    "You are free to eat from any tree in the gar    den;
  3. but you must not eat
    from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of
    it you will surely die."

15, 耶和華　神將那人安置在伊甸園、使他修理看守。


 


16.  耶和華　神吩咐他說、園中各樣樹上的果子、你可以隨意喫


 


17.  只是分別善惡樹上的果子、你不可喫、因為你喫的日子必定死。  


 



 


 









 





 




V.15, is
one of the reason's that God put human beings on this planet. He want us to "tend
and watch over it" 神將那人安置在地球上、乃是要我們修理和看守。



V.16-17,
God gave Adam responsibility for the garden and told him not to eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil; God gave him a choice, and thus the
possibility of choosing wrongly. God still gives us choices, and we, too,
often chooses wrongly. These wrong choices may cause us pain, but they can help
us learn and grow and make better choices in the future. Living with the
consequences of our choices teaches us to think and choose more carefully (Commentary
of NIV, p.9).



 



C. God Created for Relationship: Genesis 2:18-25



  



      18, the LORD God said, "It
is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper    suitable for him."  18, 耶和華　神說、那人獨居不好、我要為他造一個配偶幫助他。



 















  1. Now the LORD God
    had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the
    birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name
    them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its
    name.
  2. So
    the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all
    the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
  3. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and
    while he was sleeping, he took one of the man''s ribs and closed up the
    place with flesh.
  4. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of
    the man, and he brought her to the man.
  5. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my
    flesh; she shall be called ''woman, '' for she was taken out of
    man."
  6. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
    united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
  7. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Commentary from NIV:


 

19, 耶和華　神用土所造成的野地各樣走獸、和空中各樣飛鳥、都帶到那人面前看他叫甚麼．那人怎樣叫各樣的活物、那就是他的名字。


 20. 那人便給一切牲畜、和空中飛鳥、野地走獸都起了名．只是那人沒有遇見配偶幫助他。


21, 耶和華　神使他沉睡、他就睡了．於是取下他的一條肋骨、又把肉合起來。


22.耶和華　神就用那人身上所取的肋骨、造成一個女人、領他到那人跟前。


23. 那人說、這是我骨中的骨、肉中的  
肉、可以稱他為女人、因為他是從男人身上取出來的。                           


24. 因此、人要離開父母、與妻子連合、二人成為一體。25, 當時夫妻二人、赤身露體、並不羞恥。


 



 


 









 





 




God's creative work was not complete until He made woman. He could have
made her from the dust of the ground, as he made man. God chose, however, to
make her from the man's flesh and bone. In so doing, he illustrated for us that
in marriage man and woman symbolically become one flesh. This is a mystical
union of the couple's hearts and lives.  



            Throughout the Bible,
God treats this special partnership seriously. If you are married or planning
to be married, are you willing to keep the commitment that makes the two of you
one? The goal in marriage should be more than friendship; it should be oneness.



            God forms and equips
man and women for various tasks, but all these tasks lead to the same goal-honoring
God. Man gives life to woman; woman gives life to the world. Each role carries
exclusive privileges; there is no room for thinking that one sex is superior to
the other. (2:21-23)



            God gave marriage as a
gift to Adam and Eve. They were created perfect for each other. Marriage was
not just for convenience, nor was it brought about by any culture. It was
instituted by God and has three basic aspects: 1) the man leaves his parents
and, in a public act, promises himself to his wife; 2) the man and woman are
joined together by taking responsibility for each other's welfare and by loving
the mate above all others; 3) the two become one flesh in the intimacy and commitment
of sexual union that is reserved for marriage. Strong marriages include all
three of these aspects. (v.24)



            V. 25, about "naked", have
you ever noticed how a little child can run naked through a room full of
strangers without embarrassment? He is not aware of his nakedness, just as Adam
and Eve were not embarrassed in their innocence. But after Adam and Eve sinned,
shame and awkwardness followed, creating barriers, between themselves and God.
We often experience these same barriers in marriage. Ideally a husband and wife
have no barriers, feeling no embarrassment in exposing themselves to each other
or to God. But, like Adam and Eve (3:7), we put on fig leaves (barriers)
because we have areas we don't want our spouse, or God, to know about. Then we
hide, just as Adam and Eve hid from God; in marriage, lack of spiritual, emotional,
and intellectual intimacy. In the same way, when we fail to expose our secret
thoughts to God, we break our lines of communication with him.



 



CONCLUSIONS: 結論



God created Eve to satisfy Adam's deep-felt need for companionship. The
Scriptures tell us that when God introduced the first man to the first
woman.  Adam spoke his first recorded
words: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh這是我骨中的骨、肉中的   肉" (2:23)" This was
an impassioned exclamation celebrating his new companion and recognizing that
she was connected to him.



 



Here God initiates family life: "That is why a man leaves his father and
mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh這就是人為何要離開父母、與妻子連合、二人成為一體。2:24"
Becoming "one flesh" is a reference to the enduring commitment of the marriage
union. However, it also refers to the physical intimacy that is reserved for
marriage. (Bill Manning, Former Adult Faith Connections editor."



 



QUESTIONS:



  1. Why is it important for us to care for
    the world God created?     (Caring
    for God's creation is an honor."    )
  2. Is there anyone you know who
    might benefit from knowing God take special care in his/her creation?      What have you learned here that
    you can share with that person?
  3. In what ways do you participate with
    God in the ongoing care and creation of this world?









 






 

 



 


 









 





 




 









 





 




GOD AND GOD
ALONE



Words and
music by PHILL McHUGH



Arranged by
TOM FETIKE & THOMAS GRASSI



 



God and God
alone -- Created all these things we call our own.



From the
mighty to the small, is God's and God's alone.



 



God and God
alone reveals the truth of all we call unknown.



And all the
best and worst of man won't change the Master's plan



It's God's
and God's alone



 



 God and God alone is fit to take the universe's
throne



Let everything
that lives reserve its truest praise



For God and
God alone



 



God and God
alone will be the joy of our eternal home.



God and God
alone (2x) is fit to take the universe's throne.



Let
everything that lives reserve its truest praise



For God and
God a lone



 



God and God
alone is fit to take the universe's throne.



Let
everything that lives reserve its truest praise



For God and
God a lone --------



Give praise
to God! ----



God and God
alone! --------