Alright, well we began looking last week at this question 17, how did God create man? And we looked last week at how he created man, male and female. Let's just read our question and the full answer this morning and we'll pick back up there in Genesis chapter 1. So how did God create man? After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, and the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls, made them after his own image in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it, and dominion over the creatures, yet subject to fall." Now it's very important as we come to God's Word, we want to believe all that it teaches and every Word of God is true and tested more than silver refined in the furnace. This Word is not only true, but it all has a practical application. Often we struggle to see those, with certain passages of scripture, certain teachings, but we know that God has given this word that we might be equipped, ready for every good work as we read in 2 Timothy chapter 3. It's not difficult for us to see some at least of the very practical implications of this doctrine in terms of how God made man. We read in Genesis chapter 1 how God created man in his own image, and we'll read those verses again in verse 28 and 29. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. And God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. We see that God created man, male and female, in His image as the crown of His creation, the very final act of creation at the close of this sixth day. God created man. He placed man as His image-bearer. over the created order as a regent, as one who would represent God to the creation and undertake to care for the creation as God's representative for His glory, to have dominion over all things. And so the very purpose of man is found in this declaration of his creation. One of the practical implications of a rejection of a biblical doctrine of creation, particularly the creation of man is, without accepting this truth as God reveals it to us, It removes so much. It removes one thing is what is the purpose of man? What is our purpose in life? Why do we have life? Why are we here? Well, God answers that question for us in his statement that he created us. He tells us why he created us. There is a purpose to our creation. It was to represent him and to have dominion over the creation, to care for it, and to honor him in doing so. So again, it should be no surprise to us with the rejection of the doctrine of creation Yet there has come, with just a rushing intensity, this vacuum of any sense of purpose in life. The drug epidemic is nothing more than an escape from the misery of a sinful life. And very much at the center of that often is any lack, any sense of purpose or meaning. Of course, the redeeming work of Jesus is required for us to have this purpose restored. And there's also that aspect of, well, any sinner, even if they acknowledge they're created apart from the work of Jesus, they're not able to attain this purpose. They will be living a life that is self-oriented and self-imploding. But we see that God created man, male and female. Now, the Scriptures very clearly teach us how God created man. Now, it doesn't answer every question perhaps, but it does make a very important statement that tells us how God did not create man. And this is something that even those who would say how important it is to have a belief in God, and even would say it's so important to recognize that the moral order of God in this world, there are so many, perhaps even a majority of people who would agree on that who would yet say, well, We think it's very possible that perhaps God used an evolutionary process. Why can't we just acknowledge that? Of course, it's important to note the reason why would they feel led to say something like that? They have believed the lies and the claims of a so-called scientific community that has made it academically embarrassing to dispute that. But the fact remains, true science will always agree with God's Word. There's much evidence being offered more and more every day by creation scientists, in terms of that being their starting point, showing just instance after instance of how this world gives evidence that it was created even as God has revealed in the Scriptures. But this matter of God creating man of the dust of the ground, look at Genesis chapter 2. Man does not descend from some lesser ancestor. He's not the great grandchild in an evolutionary process from the gorillas. In Genesis chapter 2 verse 5, when no bush of the field was yet in the land, and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land, and was watering the whole face of the ground. Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living creature. It's so important because man is of a different order than the created animal kingdom. What are some of the differences? Well, perhaps the greatest difference is this matter of God breathing into his nostrils the breath of life, giving him an eternal soul, which we'll look at passages that bear that out. But man is created in the image of God, the animals are not. man is given a soul, a spirit. He's a spiritual being, not just a being made of matter. The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground. And so how does an evolutionary process arrive at that? Animals do not have such a spiritual being. They do not have a reasonable, living, immortal soul as we'll look at these passages teaching us. This is what man is. Animals never are made in the image of God. This is what sets us apart. as unique those that God has loved. So first of all, an evolutionary process does not accomplish or answer or aid in any way, but it in fact is just a rejection of the very clear revelation of God. Another implication of rejecting the Scripture, saying, well, this just must be very figurative, metaphorical, poetic language, and so we really can't learn the truth of how we came to be from this except to say that somehow God was involved. and we'll look to evolutionary science claims as how this process all came to be. One of the most destructive implications of accepting an evolutionary creative process is when God created man, he made him as he wished him to be. He formed him as he wished him to be, as his image bearer, and called him very good. And so, what's the difference between that and an evolutionary process? Well, an evolutionary process opens the door. How does one make the statement that man came into existence through an evolutionary process, but now that process has stopped? That's an irrational statement. That's completely arbitrary. And what our culture has certainly done with this concept of an evolutionary origin of man is to say that man continues involving. Man continues evolving. And there is no good claim against that once you've rejected the creation record of the scriptures. If man came into being through evolution, there is no good ground to say he does not continue evolving. And again, this is what's led to the modern transgender movement. They appeal to this very concept that, well, sure, we can agree on how it used to be. That doesn't mean anything. We've moved beyond that. Also, this is a great segue into the next point, and that is that God's moral government is defined in and instituted in his creation of this world. These are his claims being exerted. He continually, through the Scriptures, will appeal to the claims of creation. in asserting his government. He is the God of heaven and earth. He's the God who created all of this, and so therefore there is a claim of moral authority. Not only that, but if God had created Adam and given him a purpose, well, if if Adam is brought into being in some evolutionary process, what also might follow? Well, in that form, long ago, sure, we'll give you that was his purpose, but just like he, through mankind, evolves and changes, that purpose would have to change as well. Because you can't hang on to one as a static if you're acknowledging that man himself in his very being is an evolving process. And so it destroys the moral government of God in a practical sense. You might have conversations with people who will even acknowledge, well sure, God does say such and such was sin. God says sure, we'll give you that. God says homosexuality was sin in the Bible. But with this evolutionary concept of mankind, they don't feel at all bound by that or compelled to acknowledge that God himself says his word does not change, it is like he is. No, they are leaning on this evolutionary understanding of mankind to have an evolving moral order. as well as an evolving metaphysical order, and ethics and metaphysics are always tied. And again, there is no philosophical standpoint to argue with that unless we're standing upon the good foundation of God's Word. And so we've seen the church lose and yield ground to the claims of unbelief because the church was not consistent and faithful and committed to the authority of God's Word. So it's not a small thing, it's not a small thing, and that is what we'll leave as just a note of how important this is. God tells us he formed the body of man of the dust of the ground. and the woman of the rib of the man," in Genesis 2, 22. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." We see in the creation of woman the perfection of mankind, the perfection of the image of God in man. God made them male and female. Adam wasn't complete without Eve. God brings Adam to realize this himself. He has him count and name the animals, and then he realizes that they all have a pair. But there's no helper found for me. I also need such a helper. So he came to a sense of that want, and that's what led to the Lord God causing a deep sleep to fall upon the man. And as he slept, he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man, he made into a woman and brought her to the man. This also is the foundation for a Christian view of men and women, that both in the image of God are equal in the sight of God. And it's no accident, it's not just a mere coincidence, that Christian Western culture has elevated woman in civilization to a place of honor and respect. That has always followed a Christian understanding of mankind with the advance of Christian culture and the outworkings of the Christian gospel. When you go outside of that Christian civilization, you see women being denigrated and treated as something of a lesser order. And at the heart of that is the dynamic, just the power dynamic, that is the moral system, if you can call it that, of an evolutionary concept. If the survival of the fittest is the order of the day, then life becomes a religion of power. And that is all. That's all you have. You have force and power to exert your will upon this world according to your own wishes. That's all that you have left. And in a world where power is the only currency with any value, or the ultimate value, then the stronger of the two sexes is given a higher position even in terms of personhood. And we've seen that play out in pagan religion and society time after time. So, God created man. He made man, male and female, formed the body of the man of the dust of the ground, of the woman of the rib of the man, endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls. Now, we read that in Genesis chapter 2, then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life And the man became a living creature. It's the same word, a living soul. That was what God made man, a living soul. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. This is that Hebrew term that it is spirit. The spirit of life, the breath of life, the very spirit of God animates man. in Job chapter 35. Job chapter 35, here's Elihu responding to Job, and of course many things he says are true, despite the conclusions often being off mark. But here in Job chapter 35, he is pointing to the greatness of God and the sinfulness of man, and that this is the explanation for suffering in the world. Well, to a great degree, he's not wrong. But notice what he says in making his argument in verse 9, because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out, they call for help because of the arm of the mighty. But Nun says, where is God my maker who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens? See here, Elihu's observation, there is a marked distinction between man and the other creatures that God himself has taught us more than the beasts of the earth and made us wiser than the birds of the heavens. Look at Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiastes chapter 12. Here's another reference to this matter of the spirit that God gave. in his creation of man as a living soul. In Ecclesiastes 12, this is the famous picture of age advancing upon us and the plea to remember Also your creator in the days of your youth before the evil days come and the years drawn near of which you will say I have no pleasure in them and then there's that very poignant colorful picture of what age entails for the children of men all of our faculties and members are diminished and in well, it ends in death. We just begin in, well, let's just keep reading. In verse 2, before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, and see this imagery of failing eyesight, in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, And the strong men are bent, that the legs shake and your back is bent over. The grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed. You're losing your teeth, you can't see as well. Verse four, and the doors on the street are shut when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low. You're losing your hearing, and yet even with diminished hearing, you're awakened by sounds that are even very faint to your old ears. In verse 5, they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way. The almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along, and desire fails. Because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. Before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher, all is vanity. And so we see that man is not just dust. We experience that in our own lives. We have evidence of that in many ways, but here the Word of God reminds us that when the dust returns to the earth as it was, the Spirit returns to God who gave it. Let's also turn to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10. Man has been given an immortal soul, a soul that survives past the decay and the death of his outward form. In Matthew 10, verse 26, Jesus is teaching His disciples not to fear even these very esteemed rulers with all of their connections and power in terms of standing fast for the Lord Jesus. He's warning them of the coming persecution. And, clearly, they are seeing him out of favor with these who, as we will come to read, would exert their earthly authority and power to seize him and unjustly murder him in a farce of a judicial trial. But, in verse 24, Jesus says, "...a disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house, be Elisabeth." How much more will they malign those of his household? So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light. What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father, but even the hairs of your head are all numbered? Fear not, therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. And so in that whole passage, what are we seeing laid out in these instructions? That there is a life beyond the physical mortal life of this world, which is so marked by sin. There is a life beyond that. We see that in this reference to the judgment that is beyond the grave. Don't fear the one who can just simply put your body in the grave, but fear the one who will bring judgment, eternal judgment, upon body and soul in hell. We also see the reference in the positive. For those who acknowledge him in this life, Jesus will acknowledge before my father who is in heaven that we will ascend into heaven itself and stand there with the Lord Jesus and be acknowledged if we have acknowledged him. Likewise, there will be a day of judgment when those who have denied Jesus before men, he will deny before my father who is in heaven. so there is this immortal quality to the souls of the children of men. They do not merely cease to exist upon their death. In Luke chapter 23 verse 43, Jesus, and this is the scene of His crucifixion, He is being railed at by these thieves hanging beside Him, goading Him to show His power and save them as well as Himself. But then we see this change of heart has come upon the one by the work of God's Spirit, but the other rebuked him in verse 40 saying, do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. so that thief was not delivered in the sense that he had previously been joining with his fellow thief, mocking and and goading the Lord Jesus, railing at him, save us, if you're who they say you are, save us. Well in an amazing way, God by His Spirit came down and did save this thief, not by delivering him from off of the cross, but by giving Him the eyes to see the Lord Jesus, even though He's nailed on the cross beside Him, to recognize this is the Messiah, this is the Son of God. This cross is not the end of Him. He asked a dying man to save Him. Jesus, remember me. when you come into your kingdom." That is remarkable faith that only God could give. And Jesus said to him, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Now, the thief's body would be broken and had breathed its last. He would be taken off of that cross as Jesus was before the Passover Sabbath. buried, and his body remained in that tomb and is still awaiting the resurrection day. But Jesus speaking to that man said, you, you will be with me in paradise. So that man is more than just his body that would very shortly be cold and buried in a tomb, but his soul, the spiritual aspect of his being, would continue on and be with Jesus in a personal existence such that Jesus would say, you will be with me. paradise. He would have consciousness, he would recognize Jesus and the paradise that he was in. And so God has given man, endued them with living, reasonable, and immortal souls made them after his own image, and that's where we will probably have to pick up next week, because we have a little explication of what it means to be made in the image of God here, particularly in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, having the law of God written in their hearts, and power to fulfill it, and dominion over the creatures, yet subject to fall." So we'll look at the second half of that answer next week, Lord willing. But it truly is, not just in general terms, that itself is important, that if we can't trust the plain language of the Word of God to tell us the truth about how God created man and woman and this world, it does beg the question, well, what gives us any assurance that we can trust any of the rest of it? terms of the second Adam, and it is the thread that, if pulled upon, unravels the whole of Scripture. If there is no first creation, why would we believe the Scriptures in speaking of the second creation? If there is no Adam as the first covenant head of mankind, well, how can we read Romans chapter 5 and have any confidence that the second Adam would be the covenant head of a new mankind. And it just goes on and on and on. But the preconditions for human understanding, for how we think of ourselves, how we think of God, a basis upon which we can build our lives, are all found here in this doctrine of creation. And if rejected, the foundation is gone and the whole house certainly crumbles. And so we give thanks to the Lord for giving us Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2 and for teaching us so that we might know where we came from and how important we are that we would be made the crown of His creation. and then redeemed by his own Son. We're not intrinsically important, but God has honored us and gifted us with such honor as he has shown here in the creation and in the redemption of man. And so it all should lead to our worship of God, our love and adoration, devotion to Him. And we'll keep studying these remaining passages in terms of how God constituted man and equipped him and what that means for the dealings of man in this world and of God in this world, particularly how the sovereignty of God manifested, is true in the very creation of man, the will of man, this matter of him being subject to fall. We'll look at that and see how God is sovereign over all things in a way that upholds the freedom of the will of man. And so let's close with prayer and we'll look forward to finishing that Lord willing next week. Father, we give you thanks for being our creator. We thank you that all things have come from your hand. We thank you that heaven and earth, things visible and invisible, the material and spiritual universe that we live in is the work of your hand. We thank you, Lord, that you are a part and unique from this world that you have made. the work of your hands. We thank you that you are not subject to the limitations that we are. We thank you that you are the great I Am, the one whose word upholds the universe. And so we pray that you would renew our love for you, our trust in you, our joy in who you are, our sense of purpose in your creation of man to accomplish your will, and that we would understand that purpose in our own personal lives, being renewed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, may we understand what it means to serve you and to labor in your kingdom, that we would see this entire world bring glory to you. We thank you, Lord, for the grace of the gospel, that we are renewed and restored to this through the work of Jesus. And may our faith and hope be in him alone for our own salvation and for this world being the place you intended it to be, as you have promised it will. And we thank you for hearing us as we pray in Jesus' name, amen.