6th - 10th Lesson 4

I have a confession to make. One of my “pet peeves” is hearing a gospel presentation that begins with the Fall!(Gen.3:1-6): You are a sinner and are separated from God instead of starting with the beginning of this magnificent Story: Creation! You are made in the image of God. You were created by Him and for Him. If you don’t understand the grand purpose for which you were created, there’s no way you can understand just how horrible and tragic “The Fall” really was! If you don’t understand the tragedy of Adam and Eve turning away from the Person and the place they were made for, then you can’t understand the significance of God Himself leaving heaven to “rescue the ones He loves.” Starting in Genesis 3 is like beginning a movie halfway through! You don’t get the full picture! From Genesis 1 and 2, we learn that God created all there is by the explosive power of His Word and all that He created was pronounced “good”. Because “God’s words are the source of all that is good,…God’s words can and must be trusted. The Bible began with God speaking all things into existence—including the serpent (who enters the scene in Genesis 3). And now the serpent that was created by the word of God has questioned the authority of the One whose word created him! With this subtle question, he usurped the clearly communicated word of God.” He still uses this tactic today! “Did God really say?” As this scene progressed, Satan goes from distorting God’s Word to flat out denying it in verse 4 by saying, “You surely shall not die!” “What happened in the garden is replayed in our own lives every single day. Often when we are tempted, we wonder, Did God really say? Our answer to that question is illustrative of whom we really trust and whom we really worship. When Adam and Eve questioned, belittled, and disobeyed God’s word, they went from being awestruck worshipers of God to being brazen idolaters worshiping themselves. “ “God placed Adam into a lush garden with endless possibilities to worship and obey and only one prohibition. God drove Jesus into the wilderness where He had no food, water, or shelter. And there Jesus came face to face with that crafty serpent who used the same game plan—to get Jesus to question, belittle, and disobey God’s Word. How did Jesus respond? By affirming His trust in God’s Word. By uplifting the true intent of God’s Word. By obeying God’s Word. There in the wilderness, Jesus succeeded where Adam and Eve had failed. Jesus perfectly fulfilled God’s purpose for us—He worshiped and obeyed the Father by trusting His Word. And when Jesus laid down His life as an atoning sacrifice for us on the cross, His perfect worship and obedience were made available to us. “ Hallelujah! What a Savior! Quote for Discussion Discuss this quote together. “The Bible is the inevitable outcome of God's continuous speech. It is the infallible declaration of His mind for us put into our familiar human words.” –A.W. Tozer 1. Think about the incredible mercy of God in that He chose to reveal Himself to us in the form of words. He did not have to do that. He chose to do that because of His great love for us. How often do we discuss Scripture as a family? 2. How can we focus family discussions on God's Word? 3. How can we trust God's Word together as a family? 4. Questions for Discussion • What are some examples of times in your life when you were forced to answer the question “Did God really say?” How did you respond to the temptation to distrust God? • Notice Satan launched his attack by focusing on the one restriction. Do you tend to think of God’s Word as very restrictive? Is He just a kill-joy? “God’s word had not restricted Adam and Eve uncaringly; rather, His command offered amazingly abundant choices. In the garden, the man and woman had endless opportunities for obeying God by eating the fruit from any of the other trees. There was only one solitary possibility for disobedience. But it was at the point of the restriction that the serpent made his crafty attack.” • How does Satan use this same tactic with you today? (Parents, perhaps you’d like to share too!) Have a great week! Carl and Anita Couch