This morning we want to continue our current series titled Embracing the Essentials of True Christianity as we study the scriptures together regarding understanding God's plan of the ages from beginning to end. So let me invite you to open your Bibles with me to the book of Romans, Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. A number of years ago, someone I knew was raving about an espionage show, a whodunit, will they catch them in time, TV series called 24. So one night I decided to turn on the TV, which I seldom do, and watch this highly acclaimed TV series. So I began viewing Season 4, Episode 16. And as I watched, I had really no idea what the episode was about, let alone the series. I didn't know the plot, I didn't know the flow of events, I didn't know who the main and minor characters were, I didn't know what had transpired in the earlier series or episodes. In fact, I didn't even know who the main character was, namely Jack Bauer. Frankly, I was confused. Yes, I picked up a few ideas of what was going on as I watched, but I really understood very little. And dear friends, I am convinced that this is what transpires when many people read the Bible today. They don't know the plot, they don't know the flow of events, they don't know who the main and minor characters are, they don't know how the Bible begins, nor how it ends, nor the context of what they are reading. And I'm convinced that this is not only true of the unsaved, but it's also true of many of the redeemed. Yet this is how many people read or study the Bible. And when this is the case, they cannot really grasp what Romans chapter 8, verse 18 and following are stating. When we read, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Really, what's that all about? For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. And what is that all about? For the creation was subjected to futility, really. Not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope. What hope? Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Really, when will that happen? For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. What is that referring to? Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. Really, when does that occur? For we were saved in this hope. What hope? But hope that is seen is not hope, for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. What are we waiting for? You see, I am just thoroughly convinced as we look at a passage like this. Now Paul here was assuming these Romans knew some things about the past, something about the present, and something about the future. And if you notice closely with me in this passage, you will notice a number of words that are repeated or emphasized. We've got this word revealed here in verse 18. In us, which is probably better translated, as is in most translations, to us. The glory which shall be revealed to us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing, there it is again, of the sons of God. And notice the word creation here. Notice it here. Notice it even in the next, in verse 22, there it is again. In fact, the word creation is found four times in this passage referring to God's natural creation, which we oftentimes call nature. And then we see also that word hope there in verse 20, and then it's repeated several times. Verse 24, there it is. One, two, three times. And in verse 24, and again in verse 25. In fact, there's one more there. In fact, there's six times here. It's talking about hope. And we know that hope in the Bible is always referring to some guaranteed blessing that is yet future. It's not that it's iffy. It's just by virtue of the fact that it's future, we have to wait in hope for it to happen. And then we see here again the word redemption. the redemption of our body, which is again referring to a future time of glorification in which all the effects of sin and decay and disease will be gone and we will have new glorified bodies to go along with our redeemed souls in order to live with the Lord forever and ever and ever as a consummate person. But again, to understand this passage, you would need to know some things about the past. You would need to know some things about the present. You would need to know some things about the future. And while we experience many sufferings in this lifetime due to several causes, which we previously observed, with God having several divine purposes in mind, which we've already studied, Yet there's coming a day when we'll be rid of the effects of sin, and so will the creation we live in. But again, Paul is assuming they know some things, which I am convinced we cannot assume today. And you know, as your pastor teacher, I want you to know the plan of God for the ages. I want you to understand the purposes of God over time. I want you to have big picture kind of thinking. I want you to understand the Bible with a historical flow from beginning to end, and the context of what you are reading when you're reading the Bible. For without knowing the big picture of the Bible, Without understanding God's plan and purposes for the ages, you will never really understand the past, the present, or the future from God's point of view. So let me ask you, what is the purpose of God in His plan for the ages? Many would say, well, it's the salvation of man. Well, that's true, but there's more. For what about the angels? What about the universe? What about Israel? What about the Gentiles? What about the church? What about God's plan for the heavens and the earth? What is God's purpose for you? And you know, we touched on this earlier in this series when we looked at the purpose of your Christian life. But you must understand that the purpose of God and His plan of the ages is to glorify His sovereignty and grace in creation and redemption, ultimately expressed in the establishment of His kingdom in the heavens and the earth through Jesus Christ. Now let me repeat that. The purpose of God in His plan of the ages is this, to glorify His sovereignty. In other words, for people to see that God alone is God. But also to glorify His grace, His undeserved favor, His undeserved kindness. And where will this be expressed? In creation and redemption. ultimately expressed in the establishment of His Kingdom in the heavens and the earth, and this is all accomplished through Jesus Christ. You see, God's plan is not first and foremost about you or me, or even the heavens and the earth, or the angels. It's about instead the glory of God. The glory of God. Now you might be thinking, well, where do we find this in the scriptures? Listen to this. First of all, we observe that creation declares the glory of God. Psalm 19 verse 1, the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows its handiwork. And that is why Romans 3 verse 20 says, for the invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Not only does creation declare the glory of God, but number two, all of human history is designed to bring glory to God. We see this in Romans chapter 11 verses 33 through 36, where Paul at the end of this section says, oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to him, and it shall be repaid to him? Now watch this. For of him, this speaks of source, or origin. And through him, this speaks of means. And to him, this speaks of goal. are not some things, all things, to whom in reference to Him, namely God. Be glory forever and ever. Amen. You see as we think of The source, the means, and the goal of all things, ultimately, it is to bring honor and glory to God. You see, history has a beginning and has an end. It's not circular. It's really linear. It has a direction to it. It's not like I thought growing up, and I loved history. In fact, had I not gotten saved, I always thought I'd be a coach and a history teacher. Probably have gone through AA three times with four divorces, but that's where I would have been. And I just saw one event after another. I never thought there was any divine design to it all. Until I got saved. And I began to realize God has a plan from eternity past to eternity future. And in doing so, man was created as we will see in the image of God and there was innocence for a period of time until man chose to sin and then there was the curse and death. Which then entered us into the dispensation of conscience, which man operated out of his conscience and miserably failed so that God had to destroy the then known world with a flood. And then he instituted human government. for the first time. But that miserably failed as well and ultimately had to judge it at the Tower of Babel through the confusion of the languages. And now he moves from dealing with the Gentiles for some 2,000 years to especially having a plan for a chosen people on earth called Israel in which he gives them some divine promises or covenants That would be fulfilled if they were in the land, but they left the land, stayed out of the land, and eventually got involved in Egyptian bondage. And then after God delivered them through the Red Sea, through a mighty hand of His amazing grace, He gives them the law there on Mount Sinai, which they miserably failed, though initially they said, all that you say we will do, which was an incredible remark of human achievement in spite of tremendous human failure. And we know that Israel, under the law, miserably failed. In fact, God sent the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, to fulfill His plan. And as far as a promised kingdom on earth, they rejected their Messiah. And instead, He was crucified on the cross. And there on the cross, He died for our sins in order to provide salvation for us. He died on that cross and after he cried out, it is finished, gave up his spirit. We know the temple veil was ripped from top to bottom and that the dispensation of grace began. The church would begin a few days later and in doing so, we are living presently in the church age. We know the next event on God's prophetic timetable is the rapture of the church. This will be followed by the seven years of tribulation on the earth once the peace treaty is signed by Israel with the Antichrist heading up the European Union as it were. And we know that Jesus Christ then at the end of the tribulation will come back in all his second coming glory in order to set up his eternal kingdom with the first phase being a thousand years. We call that the millennium. We know at the end of the millennium that there are many people who rebel against the Lord and in doing so Satan is loosed once again during that period of time and leads an army upon Israel, and Jerusalem in particular, which God defeats. And then there's going to be the Great White Throne Judgment. Not only is Satan cast, as it were, into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever and ever, Revelation 20 verse 10, but all who are not found written in the book of life are also cast into the lake of fire. Not because they had to, but because they rejected Jesus Christ as Savior. And as a result, the eternal state then begins in which there will be a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And this is a glimpse of God's plan of the ages and these seven dispensations. And by the way, a dispensation is not an age, though dispensations are related to ages, nor are they different ways of salvation. As dispensationalists are falsely accused of teaching, there's only been one way of salvation. It has always been by grace. It has always been through faith. It's always been in the Lord. And it's always been apart from law, ritual, and works. These dispensations are divine economies. They are God's house rules. There are different ways of fulfilling His will within periods of time. And with each new dispensation came new responsibility and new revelation and new tests for mankind to fulfill. And yet in every one And each dispensation begins with God's blessing and it ends with God's judgment. So do you realize that human history is really his history? His story. And every dispensation reveals that man under all conditions is a flop and a failure spiritually in self-rule and self-dependence. apart from the grace of God through Jesus Christ. In fact, go with me to the book of Ephesians, chapter 2. For after explaining how man is spiritually dead, how they are children, of wrath by nature. We read in verse four, but God. But God did something about it. But God intervened. But God who is rich in mercy, and that's what we needed, because of his great love, which is unconditional, with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, just like the song we sang, Just As I Am. made us alive spiritually together with Christ in relationship to Him, by grace you have been saved, done deal. And raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, which is our new identification or position. Why did God do it? that in the ages to come, notice there are ages that are coming, that in the ages to come he might show, he might put on display what? The exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Do you realize that in the ages to come, those who have been saved by God's amazing grace will be put on display to glorify God for who He is and what He has done? Because remember, the ultimate purpose of human history is the glory of God in creation and redemption. And His sovereignty is glorified and His grace is magnified. Furthermore, God's plan of the ages reveals that God is sovereign over Satan, creation, the angels, man, the Gentiles, and Israel, all to the glory of God. In fact, I remind you in Daniel 4 verse 17 of these words. This decision is by the decree of the watchers and the sentence by the word of the holy ones in order that the living may know what? That the most high, term for his sovereignty, rules in the kingdom of men. And since you are part of the living, do you understand and believe that the most high rules in the kingdom of men? You don't. I don't. President Obama doesn't. It's God who rules in the kingdom of men. He is sovereign. He is on the throne. And he is working out his plan and purposes over the ages to display his sovereignty and to magnify his grace. And so we've seen that creation declares the glory of God. All of human history is designed to bring glory to God. And thirdly, the salvation of sinners brings glory to God. And that was the context of Ephesians 2. In fact, look at verse 8 and 9 with me. For by grace you have been saved. How? Through faith. Faith in Christ. And that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we, we've been saved by grace, are His workmanship. We have been created in Christ Jesus, for what purpose? Good works. Which God prepared beforehand, as He has a plan not only for the ages, but for your life. That we should walk in. You know, as I think of the glory of God put on display through the salvation of sinners, you know, I'm also reminded of 1 Timothy 1, 15 through 17, where Paul says, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to do what? To save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason, I obtained mercy. That in me first, Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him. That's how you're saved. By putting your faith in who? Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and rose again. And as a result, you get everlasting life. Which is a relationship with Him that will last forever. And then he says, and he breaks out in this doxology, he's not even through the first chapter of 1 Timothy, and he says, as I think of the grace of God, as I think of God calling me not only to salvation, but calling me as an apostle, I break out in absolute praise now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, to God, who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul understood the purpose of God for the plan of the ages, and he saw the purpose of God in his life. And that through being saved, God was received the glory. But notice the idea, the king reminds us of sovereignty, and mercy, and long-suffering and everlasting life remind us of grace. And aren't you glad that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners like you and me? And God's crimson thread of personal redemption certainly is woven throughout all of the Old and the New Testament. But that's not all. For not only does creation declare the glory of God, not only does all of human history bring glory to God, not only does the salvation of sinners bring glory to God, but did you realize that one day all the nations on earth will one day bring glory to God? In fact, Psalm 86 verse 9 says all nations Whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O LORD, and shall glorify your name." Now notice, all nations, one day, shall, future tense, shall, future tense, glorify your name. And this will occur in the future kingdom on earth yet to come. Isn't it incredible? Egypt one day will bring glory to God. The countries that now are Muslim will one day bring glory to God. The European nations that have had no place for God for decades, one day will bring glory to God. And Israel, who presently is in rank unbelief, will one day bring glory to God right here on earth. And not only will God be glorified on the earth, but He'll also be glorified in heaven. For in Revelation chapter 4, we observe the resurrected, raptured, and rewarded churches represented by the 24 elders worshiping God with the crowns they received after the judgment seat of Christ. And what do we read? We read that the 24 elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne. And what do they do? They worship Him. who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns before the throne and they say, you are worthy, O Lord and God, to receive what? Glory and honor and power. For you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being. Notice, you are worthy. See, bringing glory to God isn't giving him something he's not deserving of. He's worthy of this. Now if I could use an illustration for a moment in light of the football game today between the Vikings and the Packers. Whoever wins that game, you know what? People are going to say, we won! And I'm thinking, you weren't even on the field. You didn't even get off the couch. But they will have identified with their team, or they're going to say, we lost. And they will identify their team. And as their winning team goes off, they're going to be giving fives and doing whatever. And they're giving praise, and they're giving glory to the winning team that's due their name, unless the referees really blew it. And you know, if we're willing to do that, if we're willing to get that excited, if we're willing to get that enthusiastic about some football game, how much more should we be when it comes to bringing glory to God? Now I have shared before, and I really do believe this, that Vikings fans get over losses a lot quicker than Packer fans. In fact, my son told me they did a little work review somewhere. Someone did a study about productivity on Mondays after Packer losses and how down it is. We're so, after four Super Bowl losses, man, we roll off that pretty quick. Keep moving on. But this is going to happen in Revelation chapter 4, in the future in heaven. And not only that, in Revelation chapter 5, John gets this opportunity to see what's going to transpire in the future. And he's waiting for someone who's worthy to come take the title deed of the earth, and in doing so reclaim this planet for God. And in doing so, finally one is found. He is the Lamb who was slain. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. And then what do we hear? Not only the angels and the seraphim, but the resurrected raptured church. What are they singing to the Lord Jesus Christ? Revelation 5 verse 9, and they sang a new song. The church sang a new song saying, you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seal for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have been made as kings and priests to our God and we shall reign on the earth. Why? Because one day Christ will reign on the earth and we'll reign with him. Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, so there's angels, and living creatures, there they are, and the elders representative of the church, and the number of them was ten thousand times, ten thousands and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, every creature and such as are in the scene, all that are in them I heard saying, blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb forever and ever. And the four living creatures said, amen. And the 24 elders fell down and what did they do again? They worshiped him who lives forever and ever. What an awesome and amazing scene in heaven. And every created thing was saying, blessing, honor, glory, dominion to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And our hearts should be saying, Amen. This is a scene of great worship. This is a scene of great praise. This is a scene of great glory to God. But as I think of that, what does it mean to glorify God? Let's define our term here. It means to attribute or ascribe to God what He deserves because of who He is and what He has done. This isn't God having some egomaniac, egocentric arrogance. No, this is just people recognizing, as it were, angels recognizing who He is and what He's done, and giving Him the honor, do His name, and it's do it. And that's why Psalm 29 verses 1 and 2 in the New American Standard says, Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name. Worship the Lord in holy array. And remember, the glory is due to His name. And His name represents, again, who He is and represents what He is. So in giving glory to God, you're not giving Him something He doesn't deserve. You're simply recognizing what He deserves. And even what glory you give to Him pales in comparison to what He really deserves. And thus, it's important that you get into your cranium the truth that we exist for God. God doesn't exist for us. He's not some utilitarian genie or butler running around seeking to just pop out of the bottle at the appropriate time and do what we want him to do. No, we exist for Him. He doesn't exist for us. And that's why it's been said the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Through fellowship with Him. And that's with all this tremendous emphasis on the glory of God. It should not surprise us to read in Isaiah 42 verse 8, I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, neither any praise to graven images. So let me repeat again. The purpose of God in His plan of the ages is to glorify His sovereignty, seeing God for who He is. He is God. And His grace, His undeserved kindness and favor and blessing in creation and redemption, ultimately expressed in the establishment of His kingdom and the heavens and the earth through Jesus. But if God is glorified in creation and redemption, this begs the question, creation of what? A redemption of who? And there's not just one answer for this. For when you carefully study and rightly divide the Word of Truth, you begin to realize that the purpose of God and human history all center around bringing glory to Him. But in doing so, it involves creation first. The creation of what? Well, the creation of the world, Genesis 1. The creation of the nations, Genesis 10. The creation of Israel, Genesis 11 or 12 and following. And ultimately, the creation of the church as well. As we think of redemption, we think there's going to be redemption for the church involving at the time of the rapture of the church. There will one day be the restoration of Israel. One day there will be the judgment of the nations. One day there's gonna be redemption of all of creation. In God's plan of the ages, we will see ends like but even better than how it began. But unlike those who teach Reformed or Covenant theology and who see the purpose of human history being simply the salvation of man to the glory of God, though that's true, That's a part of it. A comprehensive biblical view is much bigger and more extensive than just the salvation of man. For as we think of the plan of God for him to bring glory, you need to factor in also that God has a plan for the universe. You have to factor in that God has a plan for the salvation of individual men. You also have to factor in God has a plan for Israel. You gotta factor in God has a plan for the church. You gotta factor in God has a plan for the angels. In fact, God even has a plan for the demons. And the chief of the demons, or the chief of the rebellious angels, namely Satan himself. And so the salvation of man is part of that. But it's not all of that. And it's all designed to bring glory to God. So what can you learn from this? Let me give you three lessons before we move on. Number one, that human history has a plan and purpose by divine design. It's not out of control. Nothing takes the Lord by surprise. He is still on the throne. He is still working out His will over time. And in His sovereignty, He does allow evil to run its course while He still is in control ultimately. But one day evil will end as we will see. He has a plan and a purpose by divine design. Furthermore, we learn from this that the ultimate purpose of human history is the glory of God, not man. It's the glory of God, not man. And you need to remember that. You know, that's really one of the problems with even child-centered homes in which the kids are front and center, and as a result, they think the world rotates around them. They don't see that a mature view recognizes that they're just a piece of the puzzle. It's not all about that. And the same is true when it comes to sinful man who is prone to think this world centers all around their plan, and their objective, and their glory, and their dream, and their whatever. No, dear friends. It's about the glory of God. The third lesson we learn is that the purpose of life is much bigger than you. It's much bigger than you. You know, after I was saved by the grace of God at age 18, I began to realize for the first time in my life that I had a purpose for existence that was bigger than me. And like Paul, I wanted to say, Philippians 1.21, for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Will the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in your life? Will He be glorified in your death? Will He be glorified by your thoughts, by your words, by your actions, by your motives? Will you let Him direct you? Will you let Him use you to fulfill the objective for not only where you were created, but redeemed, ultimately to bring honor and glory to Him? In his book, What on Earth is God Doing?, Dr. Reynolds Showers writes some excellent comments to frame up our study today. He says, In eternity past, God determined to have the kingdom over which he could rule as sovereign king. Since it is impossible to have a kingdom without subjects, and since nothing else existed to serve him, God created the subjects over which he was to rule. The personal created subjects were of two major kinds. First, God created angelic subjects. These angels were spirit beings, not possessing bodies of flesh and bone, but they did possess intellect and the ability to communicate. Dr. Showers goes on to state, the second major kind of subject created by God's kingdom, or for God's kingdom, was the human being. As much as God had created the earth to be part of his domain, he intended to have on it a kind of subject that would administer his rule over everything else on the planet. Just as some kings divide their kingdoms into provinces, place a subject as governor over each province, and hold each governor responsible to administer his province well on behalf of the king, so God created man, placed him as governor over the earth, and held him responsible to administer the earth well on behalf of God. Now with this in mind, Let's start plotting our way through the seven dispensations, through the ages, so as to understand some of those key events and key figures in God's plan of the ages from beginning to end. And to do so, turn now with me to Genesis chapter 1. Don't worry, this will be a multiple study mini-series here, okay? Genesis chapter 1. In which we're going to look at, number one, the dispensation of innocence. Of innocence. And how did that begin and how does the Bible begin? Genesis 1 verse 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is a summary statement that will then be explained in chapters 1 and 2. And the word for God, in this case, is the word Elohim. It emphasizes His power, and by the word, Him, is plural, as we will see, as God is a triunity. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And in the beginning, which means there was a beginning, things didn't always exist, Elohim created, they did not evolve, the heavens and the earth. This verse alone destroys atheism, agnosticism, evolution, pantheism, panentheism, and on and on we can go. And it sets up for us a creator-creature distinction that God wants us to recognize from the beginning that we are ultimately accountable to Him. There is not this nobody times nothing equals everything kind of thinking here. Now as you work your way through Genesis chapter 1, we see how God fulfilled this. As verse 2 and following explains the how and many details in big picture terms. And in doing so we see that God created the heavens and the earth and all that is therein in six days. Six literal 24 hour days. He created the earth, space, time, and light. He created the atmosphere. He created dry lands on day three and plants. He created the sun, moon, and stars, which means there is a light source for the universe beyond the sun. He created sea and flying creatures on day six, land animals, and ultimately the crown of his creation was man. And he did this in six literal 24-hour days. Now, I know there are those who try to wed evolution and God somehow into this account in what we would call theistic evolution. But frankly, that view doesn't do justice to a proper understanding of the Bible, or of science for that matter. It's like this guy here. God called the light day and the darkness he called night. So the evening and the morning were the first... Well, we can't have day. We'll just cross that out. Day can't be a regular day. Millions of years is true. Why? Because that's what the text says? No. But because I have to impose that meaning on the text, which is called eisegesis. It's when you put your own thoughts into the Bible instead of drawing out from the Bible what it's saying. And yet the word day here is the regular word in the Hebrew for day. And according to language and context, that's exactly what it means. You see, there are four areas of epistemology. We learn things through rationalism, faith in human reason, or empiricism, faith in human experience, touch, taste, and so forth, or mysticism, faith in human intuition, and then there is revelation, faith in the special revelation from God. And as Psalm 118 says, it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. And you know what's interesting is to utilize the scientific method, you need someone to observe what's transpired. It needs to be able to be tested as it were. And yet we're told that we are to embrace evolution that can't be observed, nor can it really be tested. And yet, according to the divine account, God was present, God observed what happened. In fact, what do we read in this passage? God saw, God saw, God saw, God saw, God saw! That everything He had made, and He said it was very good. And He's given us the divine revelation of that reality. It's interesting, that word day, outside of Genesis 1, the word day plus a number, the sixth day, the seventh day, the first day, the second, 410 times in plural singular, always means an ordinary day. The phrase evening and morning together without the word day is found 38 times, and it always means an ordinary day. The word phrase evening and morning with the word day is found 23 times, And it always means an ordinary day. And the phrase night with day is found 52 times. And it always means an ordinary day. Which means in order to conclude anything but a day, you have to impose your own thoughts on the text. Because that's not what language means. And that's not what the Bible is saying. It's like this guy here this morning will be reading the creation story from the book of Genesis and then refute it with the latest findings from secular science and then back that up with quoting theologians that don't believe the Bible anyway. You'll probably never hear a preacher say this, but that's what he's going to be doing. And so many do. You know, like this guy here, he's reading his Bible and says, I don't see millions of years in the Bible. This other guy says, I do. Because he's reading the Bible through the lens of science falsely so called. And you know it's really interesting because if you don't think origins affects you, think again. If God created you, And there is a creature-creation distinction that absolutes come from God. He's the one who sets the rules. But if you are the descendant of the evolutionary process, then everything is relative morality, you set the rules. And frankly, I'm convinced underneath it all, that's the real issue. Underneath it all, sinful man, by virtue of having a sinful nature, wants to be his own God and wants to write his own Bible and doesn't want anyone telling him what to do. And evolution accommodates that sinfulness. And thus, what you think about origins certainly becomes the lens by which you view many things in life. Is this really what the Bible teaches? It's not according to the book of Genesis or throughout the scriptures, not even from the lips of the Lord Jesus. And we see at the end of Genesis 1 and verse 26, we read these words. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. But notice several things. First of all, Elohim said, let us, plural, God is a Trinity. Make man in our image. And you see, that's an image of personality. It's not a physical image, for God is a spirit and a spirit hath not flesh and bones, we're told. It's an image of mentality. It's an image of volition. It's an image of emotion. It's an image of personhood. And the reason for this is because all of that would be needed in order for man to have a relationship with God. So what happens, verse 27? So God created man in his own image. And the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them. And by the way, notice God is described as a he. Not a she or an it. And God is the one who determined the differences in the sexes or gender, male and female. He's the one who distinguished this. This is not the product of random chance and accident, nor is it the product of human manipulation. And isn't it amazing how Satan's attack in our day is on all kinds of levels, including this very issue of the distinct difference between a man and a woman. And then what did he say, verse 28? And God blessed them and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion. And by the way, this has never been rescinded. Man was designed by God to have the scepter of the earth and to administer God's rule on this earth. And what is the conclusion after the six days of creation? Look at verse 31. So the evening and the morning were the first day. Now I ask you, if man was the product of the evolutionary process, how could everything have been very good? How could death and decay have been very good? It wasn't. It wasn't very good, but it was when God created it. You see, if there was death before sin, because sin doesn't happen until chapter 3, we have all kinds of problems with the biblical text. And now you're going to have to do theological, hermeneutical gymnastics to try to make all this work. Now, sometimes people will say, and you will hear this in your college classrooms from some agnostic who doesn't know the first thing they're talking about. They will say, well, there is a discrepancy between Genesis chapters 1 and chapters 2. There's a contradiction. You can't believe it. I'll say, well, why is that? Well, in Genesis 1, the word Elohim is used for God, and in Genesis 2, the word Yahweh is used. How do we resolve a problem like that? Can't God have more than one description or name? For you see, Genesis chapters 1 and 2 fit beautifully together. Genesis 1 is the big picture! with the emphasis on Elohim, because He is the powerful God. But in Genesis chapter 2, God now starts filling in some of the details with an emphasis on His relationship with man, and He's going to use the word Yahweh or Jehovah, because that is the word that's used of God relationally as the strong, faithful, promise-keeping God. So in Genesis chapter 2, we get some details beginning in verse 7. Let me call your attention there. And the Lord God did what? He formed man out of the dust of the ground. This is how He created man, referred to in Genesis 1, explained to in Genesis 2. And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, the human spirit, and man became a living being. Notice we see in this verse that man has a material part. We call that the body. We see also he has an immaterial part, the soul and the spirit. And you see, as we think of the human spirit, I am convinced from the study of scripture that animals have souls. They just don't have human souls. In fact, you'd swear they have sin nature sometimes. Think of your dog for a moment. But what they do not have is a human spirit with, therefore, no tendency towards worship. But unlike the rest of creation, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a human being. Now why did God do this? Because He wanted to have a relationship with man. He wanted to have fellowship with man and thus allow man to bring the glory due God's name. And you know, as you think of relationship, that's why God created man. He wants to have a relationship with us. It's pretty incredible when you think about it. So what did he do? Where did he place man? Genesis chapter two, verse 15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him, singular, in the Garden of Eden to tend it and keep it. So he put him in the Garden of Eden. which is a beautiful and perfect place in every way. No death, no suffering, no decay, no disease, no sin. But because He did not want a robot who would involuntarily serve Him and love Him and trust Him, He gave Him not only volition, He gave Him a task. And the Lord God commanded the man, notice commanded, tells us creator, creature, distinction, God has every right to call the shots. And he commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat. What a display of grace. But 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." And we're told that phrase, you shall surely die, in the Hebrew carries the idea, you shall surely die, you shall surely die. Or dying, you will die. Dying spiritually, you're gonna die physically. But underscore volition here. God's given man a choice, because He wants a volitional, non-robotic relationship of love. But it also underscores human responsibility. We are responsible for our choices. You say, but what about the creation of the woman? She hasn't been mentioned in chapter 2 yet. You're right. So let's explain the details, verse 18. And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. And so we see here that God is going to create a woman because it's not good for man to be alone. In other words, the number one need in the human race, even before the need of salvation due to sin, as sin has not yet occurred in the account, is the need for man to have a companion to share life with. And for that companion to be man's helper in fulfilling the will of God together. And so what did God do? Well, we know that verse 19, out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air. and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. By the way, you know what this indicates? That Adam was extremely intellectual. Again, because of evolutionary glasses, people think early man will... dumber than dumb, and grabs women by the hair and drags them into the cave, you know? I mean, where did we ever get that thought from? Not from the Bible. In fact, it's funny. Most parents can't even think of names for their own kids. Well, they don't name all the animals. Can you imagine what creativity, what imagination, what appropriateness was needed to name certain animals? We can't even hardly read all of them, let alone think of them. And what else do we read? Verse 20, verse 21, And you know, we're told in the Hebrew that there's just a tremendous expression here of great enthusiasm and excitement. It's not, oh, who is she? Do I have to really relate to her? No. This is like, you know, after naming those animals and seeing male, female, male, female, male, female, no, she's come to walk, no. Whoa, this is exciting. She is now bone of my bone, flesh of my, she's like me, but different than me. I'm noticing a few features I don't have. And I like it. Verse 24. Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed. Everything was right, innocent, good. But again, notice here. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, a woman, And they shall become one flesh. And that is the most basic definition of marriage. One man for one woman for a lifetime. Committed to each other in a relationship we call marriage. And again, isn't it amazing how the divine institution of marriage is under attack in our day? The confusion of sexes and genders and roles and so forth and so forth is clearly satanic. No wonder Genesis is the most attacked book of the entire Bible. Because if you can confuse someone in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, you can confuse them about almost everything. Because it is there we see the beginning of almost everything. So here it is, this wonderful situation. What went wrong? Well, we know you must factor in a very beautiful angel God created, who is the head of the angelic choir, as it were. His name is Lucifer, the Shining One, and he chooses to rebel against God. Ezekiel 28 tells us pride filled his heart. Isaiah 14 tells us five times he said, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will. That is a problem. When you want to take over for God, pride was Satan or Lucifer's downfall. And thus this angelic conflict now has begun in heaven between God and His angels and Satan and His angels as one third of the angels followed Satan and as a result this battle then moves to planet earth. So what do we read in Genesis 3 verse 1 now? Notice the first thing he does is seek to plant doubt regarding the truthfulness of the word of God. Has Satan's attacks really changed? Verse two, and the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. She adds to the word of God. But do keep in mind in chapter two, she was not present when God said this. If you read closely, only Adam was there at that time. Now, I don't think Adam communicated it wrong, but for some reason, she adds to the Word of God, which by the way, people still like to do today, right? They like to add their own thoughts to the Word of God. Verse four, and the serpent, who is Satan in disguise, said to the woman, you will not surely die. Total denial of the truth at this point. For God, Elohim, knows that in the day you eat of, It, your eyes will be opened and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil. It's kind of interesting, the King James Version, it translated it God's plural. Because it is the plural name for a singular God. God unit as it were. Knowing good and evil. What he did not tell them was this. You will know good and evil. The problem with that, though, is you will know it experientially, where God knows it intrinsically without ever experiencing the evil. And there's a big difference. Do you really want to know something's sin by experiencing it? Won't you rather just take God as it were to know it's sin? The experience of it is far greater in its consequences. So what happens, verse six, so when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desired it will make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. Now that is the violation right there. She also gave to her husband with her, Casper milk toast at this point, and he ate, which again violated the word of God as well. You see, Eve believed Satan's lie instead of God's truth, and Adam failed as the head of the human race, and as a result, sin has now entered. And because of that, death. Spiritual death immediately separated from their Creator by way of a right relationship. Physical death process now would begin. Now disease will enter, decay will enter, death will enter over all of creation. And we see later in Genesis 3, beginning in verse 14 and following, that God is going to pronounce a curse upon the serpent and Satan, upon women, upon the earth, and upon man as well. And thus we live in a creation that is under the curse. And that's what Romans 8 is talking about, how the creation was subjected to futility, not willily, not because the trees and the animals chose this, oh no, but because of Adam's sin and the ramifications it had. So was there any hope for fallen man? Was there any means of salvation or redemption? Was there any hope for all of creation, which has now been put under a curse? Well, we see the first promise of salvation or redemption in the midst of these curses in verse 15. It says, and I will put enmity between you and the woman. And between your seed, the woman will have a seed. Your seed Satan and her seed, the woman, have a descendant. He shall bruise your head and you, the serpent Satan, shall bruise his heel. Now I've said before, if you've ever had a bruised heel and Achilles blow out, you know it's painful. But it doesn't kill you. But if you get your head crushed, it's over. And what is being predicted here is one day Satan, who has now become the god of this world and has wrenched, as it were, the scepter of the world from Adam, would be crushed. And the means to that very crushing would be the bruising of a heel called the death of Jesus Christ. And it's like a bruising of a heel because on the third day he rose again. And as a result of them sinning against the Lord, we now have this, that which was very good becoming no longer very good, and we now see the promise of a Redeemer. And the promise of Genesis 3.15 involves the promise of a coming Savior or Redeemer who would not only provide eternal salvation by God's grace for mankind through His crushing work, but who would as a result save the earth from the curse and recapture the planet from Satan for God. And you know one day this earth will be changed, the curse will be reversed, And in the meantime, personal salvation is being made available to fallen man through the seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus Christ. But keep in mind a very basic axiom that's always true in God's plan. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. And the value of faith always depends upon the reliability of your object of faith. And faith in God and his word is never misplaced faith. And that's why salvation is always simply by faith. In Jesus Christ, the Lord alone. So look with me at verse 20. And Adam called his wife's name Eve. Why? Because she was the mother of all living. Wait a second, she hasn't had any children yet. You're right. But Adam believed the promise of God that through the seed of a woman a Redeemer would come. And that's what you have to do. You have to take God at His word. You have to believe His promises of God and His provision. So what happens, verse 21, and also for Adam and his wife, the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. In order to give them coats of skin, he would have to have killed an innocent animal to do that. This is a picture of salvation as the coats of skins God provided, a covering through the death of a substitutionary sacrifice. Which was much better than the fig leaves they put on earlier. And you know, man to this day is putting on fig leaves to try to cover their shame and their sin through their own efforts and works. And no wonder God had to provide something to get the job done. And he did. And again, this is all a picture of grace. It's all a picture of salvation through the death of a substituting sacrifice. It's all a picture of the fact they were willing to take God at his word. And God, as a result, blessed them with salvation as it were because of that. I am thoroughly convinced that when we die and go to be with the Lord in heaven, we will meet one day Adam and Eve. The question is, will we meet? The question is, have you ever been saved by the grace of God? Have you ever taken God at His word? Have you ever put your faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of that coming Redeemer who came? His name is the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and rose again to save you by His grace. Would you please quit trusting in your own fig leaves? and put your faith in the only Savior God ever provided, the Lord Jesus Christ. And in doing so, God will save you by His grace, and in doing so, He will receive the glory due His name. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this tremendous passage of Scripture, these verses we have been looking at, this plan, this panorama of the ages we've been considering, And though we didn't get very far today, we've seen some basic things that we must remember. And I want to thank you that you are still on the throne. I want to thank you. Though by virtue of Satan's sins and the angels' sins, and now as a result, Adam and Eve's sin, and Adam in particular as the federal head of the human race, We know that our world is under a curse. We know that there is sin. We know there is death. We know there is suffering. And we know, according to Your Word, that one day that'll all be over. And that You are offering to us now a full and free and forever salvation from the very penalty and punishment of our own sin even. Because Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for us on that cross. as our substitute, as a sacrifice. He shed his blood and he paid for our sins. He rose again to give us now as a free gift, forgiveness, acceptance with you. Eternal salvation, eternal life. And all you ask is that we, like Adam and Eve, would accept your gift. That we would take you at your word. We would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And if anyone is here today who has never trusted in Christ as their Savior, I pray that today that would be true. And for those of us who have been redeemed, may we remember today that life is not about us. Your plan is not, first of all, about us. It's about bringing honor and glory to you. The glory due your name. We pray and ask it in Jesus' name. And amen. I'm not sure if we're going to pick this up Wednesday night or after I return from El Salvador, but we will. And as we bring our service to a close, I invite you to take your hymnals number 360 But remember, all of the plan of the ages was going to glorify the sovereignty and the grace of God. So let's end our service by singing number 360, Wonderful Grace of Jesus. We're going to sing just stanza one, and let's stand as we sing. Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin! How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall its praise begin? Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free, for the wonderful grace of Jesus, reach out with me. Wonderful the massless grace of Jesus! Deeper than the mighty Roman sea! Higher than the mountains! Sparkling like a fountain! All sufficient grace for Him in need! Prouder than the storm of my transgression, Greater far than all my sin's shame, O magnified and precious King of Jesus, praise His name!