Let's look to the Lord in prayer before we begin. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we want to thank Thee for this time where we can once again come and study Thy Word. As we consider the doctrine of man, I pray that Thou would be gracious to teach us out of Thy Word. This I pray with thanksgiving in Jesus' name. Amen. Genesis chapter one, verse 26 to 27. Genesis chapter 1, it's 26 to 27. Let us read together these two verses, verse 26 of Genesis chapter 1. And God said, let us make men in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. Male and female created he them." So what did God say here? That God is will make man in his image or in their image. We saw last week that God exists as one God in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And God also, The Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit meet man. Now, you consider the Chinese character for creation, the word Zhao. God meet man out of the dust of the ground, and he blows into his nostrils, and man became a living soul. That's Zhao, okay? All right. This, we want us to know, all right, that it is God who make man, And this you will see in Genesis 2, verse 7. Genesis 2, verse 7. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils And man became a living soul. That's how we come into existence. God made us from the dust of the ground. And from there, God breathed his spirit or life into us. So we are not existing through the evolution from the ape family. We are not monkeys in our origin. But God made us. We are special in a sight of God, in that God gives to us Intellect, we are able to appreciate his creation more than the lower beings, the animals. The animal cannot appreciate God's creation. Beauty, who appreciates the peacock for its beauty? It is man. God made these creatures that man may be able to appreciate. The peacock can't appreciate its own beauty in the sense that the other animals in the animal world could not comprehend. as we do. We can appreciate, we can describe it. God gives to us a mind that we are told that is in the image of God. So we are very special. That's why when Christianity came to be taught, the truth came to be taught, God cost or the people can understand because they are made in the image of God. So when you tell them about themselves, who they really are, they can understand because this is who they really are. And the most important thing for man is to know who he is. that he's special in the sight of God. So Genesis 1.26 says that we are made in the likeness of God. We are made in the likeness of God. And the Lord tells us that we are special. God breathed life into us, and that's how we became a living soul. And that was what happened to man in God's paradise. So when God created the universe, we said, the focus of the universe was the earth. When God created the universe, the focus of the universe was the earth. Today, you see men making telescopes just in the last one year. Big telescope came up all over the world in order to listen for aliens. Will they find aliens? The Bible tells us no. This is where life is. God created the earth. Life comes from here. From the earth, the focus of the creation was man. God made everything, the water, the mountains, the animals, the plants, or the plants first, then the animals, the sea creatures, the birds. Then finally, the Bible says he made man. So you see how God created, God created in a very wonderful manner. He has us in view when he meet us. He has our well-being in view. He made the most habitable earth to put us in. And he also tells us that we are to have dominion over his creation. What do you mean by dominion? Dominion means to rule. God made the populated world for men to have dominion, for him to enjoy. That's why God gave Adam the privilege of naming all the animals in the animal world. Before the fall, his intellect, the intellect of men, is marvelous. The Lord wants us to know that man, after he was created by God, fell into sin. Man's fall. Now this is one of the major doctrine in understanding Man, how man fell. And from there you would be able to understand what's going on in life, the life around us. Because of man's fall, all right? How did man fall? Genesis chapter three tells us. Genesis chapter three. Okay, it says here that The serpent, or Satan, verse one, was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. Now, before this, the Lord had said that all his creation was very good. He created the physical world, he also created on the second day the spiritual world, the angels, All right, and the Bible tells us that in between this time, before you see the serpent, Satan, Satan or Lucifer, the archangel, fell. So sin did not begin with man's fall on earth at the Garden of Eden, but sin began in heaven. When Adam and Eve fell, the text, or when Satan or Lucifer fell, Isaiah chapter 14. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter 14, then we come back to Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12. Okay, Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12. All right, 12 to 15. How sin began. Sin began in heaven. Verse 12 says, and how art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thy heart, right, by five thoughts. Lucifer, the archangel, the most beautiful of gods created, ministering spirits fell. Five thoughts. What did he think? Verse 13, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mound of the congregation in the sights of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. Five thoughts. And what happened in verse 15? You see, thou shalt be brought down to hell to the sites of the pit. So sin began in heaven when the most beautiful of God's angel fell. Because of what? Pride. He thinks that his beauty came of his own. He forgot his creator, the one who made him. And so pride is the oldest sin. And Satan manifests himself here in chapter three as the serpent. Chapter three as the serpent. Chapter three, verse one. Now we see how Satan, the fallen angel, came as the serpent. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field." The word there means clever, cunning, right? "...which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of the tree of the garden?" What did God say to Adam and Eve? God said to them, that out of all the tree that is in the garden, you shall eat. But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, because in the day that thou eatest, you shall die. The Hebrew phrase there is to die, You shall die. You shall surely die. That's the emphasis. There is no escape for man if he were to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now what is this tree of the knowledge of good and evil? I want to submit to you that it is the tendency for men to judge. to judge. And man's judgment is always not God's judgment. God's judgment is here. Man's judgment is here. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil enable man to judge. What did he do? He judged. And he failed. You see, in how many years of human history? 6,000 years, man fallen without God, without the knowledge of God. don't know how to judge. But when God revealed himself, he revealed himself in his laws. That's where men learn how to judge. If you read the laws of God, you'll be able to know the mind of God. Then you know what is true judgment. And so the Lord tells us that we, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, It's that tree that men shall not eat, because the day that you eat, you shall surely die. To die, you shall die. And Satan came, and Satan tempted. Now, you said I've learned it before. But I said to you that we must learn it again, because this is such a crucial, point in the life of the redeemed man, what God had done to save us. What did Satan say to the woman? Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of the tree, of every tree of the garden? The woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Now what did Satan, what did the woman say? God said, don't eat, right? Eat, you will die, surely die. But what did the woman say? Well, if you eat of the fruit, God said, you shall not eat, Neither shall ye touch. Did God say not to touch? No. God said don't eat. And what did the serpent say in verse 4? Ye shall not surely die. Now that is in direct opposition to the commandment of God. For God know that in the day that ye eat, your eyes will be opened and ye shall be as gods. Now the word there is the word Elohim, God, but little gods. You would be a little god, in other words. You make a god of yourself, in other words. You think that you know what is good and evil, and you learn to judge. You'll be like a little god, knowing good and evil. And the woman said, the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree to be desired to make one wise. So what did she say it will do to her? It will give her wisdom, but God said it will kill you. So why did she eat? She was enticed. Somehow the word of God did not take root in her heart. And a woman saw the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise. And she took out the fruit, and did eat, and gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them were opened, and they were, what? They knew that they were naked. Before then, did they feel ashamed because they were naked? No. Now they were ashamed. They knew because they fell and God opened their eyes. Sin entered their heart. And that's when they realized that they were naked. Sin causes. Shame. And that's where they sew fake leaves together, they said, to hide themselves. It's a curse. They try to hide their own nakedness. And it's so sad, isn't it? And they hide from the presence of God. Because of sin, so sin causes shame and fear in our hearts. And God said, where art thou? Verse nine. And he said, I heard thy voice because I was afraid. You see, sin causes fear. And sin causes what? Shame! They were naked. They realized they were naked. And he said, who told you thou art naked or thou was naked? Has thou eaten of the tree which I command thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, the woman whom thou gave us to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. So it's a woman's fault. But Adam is the head. God made Adam first. The Eve was made out of the rib of Adam as a companion, as a helpmate to Adam, to be his partner, to appreciate God, to worship God, to give glory to God. So the serpent, he said, beguiled me. The word there means deceived. And one of the most important thing that we can learn as a child of God is to know the truth, so that we may know what is falsehood. So the serpent beguiled Satan, or beguiled Eve and Adam, and they did eat. And God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed of all cattle above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, Now, this is very significant. This is the first gift, or the first giving of the gospel. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. The woman's seed and the serpent's seed. or Satan's seed. Now this is the battle that is going on in human history. Woman's seed signifying Jesus Christ. Now you heard of the seed of man. We all come from the seed of man, fallen man. But the woman's seed, have you heard of it? No. It is telling us of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin, the woman's seed conceived of the Holy Ghost, never before. That's why, you know, the doctrine of salvation, the understanding of Christ begins with his virgin birth, that he is the woman's seed, Never before the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent." Now this is what God is predicting what Christ will do when He come upon earth, when He is hung upon the cross. Jesus was crucified. His heel was bruised. the head of Satan, it is said here, will be dealt a fatal blow. So this is the gospel that is being given here. The seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent. So Jesus, on the cross, defeated Satan. And there would be that perennial battle between the woman seed and the serpent seed. So there are two people on earth that Satan hates. The Jews and the Christians. Because we are the seed of the woman of Christ by faith. And what did God do? God caused an animal to be killed Verse 21, Genesis 3, unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin and clothe them. What does it mean here? Well, God is saying here, alluding to the Christ, the woman's seed that will come, the Lamb of God that will take away the sins of men. All right? Unto Adam that he make coats of skin. So the word for reconciliation with God is this word righteousness. Righteousness, the word E. And the word E is always with a lamb over me. The lamb is Christ. the animal that was killed, the blood shed, and the skin was used as a covering, the lamb over me, to give me righteousness. How can I be right with God? Through Christ, the Lamb of God. So, here you see, it's described for us the fall of man. How man fell. Man was made by God and then fell. Paradise lost. Before man fell. The Bible says that as long as he does not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he shall not die. So what did man have to do in order to keep his peace with God? He has to make sure that he does not disobey the clear commandment of God. not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And when he would partake, the Bible says that he would die. When man partook of it, man died. God's word to man was fulfilled. Not only did he die a physical death by his partaking, but also spiritual death. So God in the garden made a promise, a covenant, what we call. Berith. With Adam and Eve. What we call the covenant of works. that they are not to do this, this one act of disobedience, partake of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as he doesn't take, he will live, and he will continue to live on. Death does not come upon him. But as soon as he eats, death will come upon him. And so, Is there a remedy for fallen men? Well, only by what we call God's unmerited favor, God's grace. So then kicks in what we call the covenant of grace. God's unmerited favor, and that's what is described in Genesis 3.15 and Genesis 3.21. Unto Adam did God make coats of skin and clothe them. So this righteousness that came, as we said today in our study, We said in Romans chapter 10, remember, during our message, Romans chapter 10, verse 10, or verse 4, for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Christ is the end of obeying the law. Christ obeyed the law for us. When we could not obey, after we fall, You can't do that which is right. You can't attain to God's righteousness. That's why when Christ came, He had to preach in the Sermon on the Mount. What did He preach to them? He tells them the standard of God's law. It's here, and they were here. A law of the heart. not of the law of the externals. So God's standard and man's standard. So for the heart. So God provided a way out, all right? By reaching out to man. What did he do? Well, he made a coat of skin. to cover them, to cover their shame. This is a precursor of the Christ to come. When He came, what did He do? He died on the cross for us. He was the Lamb of God whose blood was shed for the remission of our sins. kicks in after man's fall, the covenant of grace. What does it mean? That after man fell, we realize that we cannot save ourselves. God is the one who reached out to Adam. When he was fearful, when he was naked, when he was shameful, God came to him in the garden. and God saved him. So, when man died, for Adam, in the book of Genesis is described in chapter four and chapter five, the line of Adam and the line of Cain. The line of Adam, all who believe in Christ, who receive that righteousness, Looking forward to that Christ, when you die, you die the physical death, but you don't die the spiritual death. That clothing that God made for Adam and Eve to take away their nakedness was symbolic of the spiritual rebirth that was given to Adam and Eve. So by the act of that clothing, symbolic of what? Well, symbolic of the Christ to come in a future time, in the fullness of time. God sent forth his son, Christ entered human history, came in the flesh, live the perfect life in order to die as the lamb to give us that righteousness that we may be right with God. So this is what we call the covenant of grace. So your coming to church is not you coming, but God by his irresistible grace draw you to him. So that you can hear the gospel, and that you would believe, and that you will be saved. So God draws us to him. That is grace, unmerited favor, nothing that we can boast of. It's all of God. Nothing that you can do to earn, in a sense, your salvation. God was the one who clothed Adam. God is the one who gave him. that righteousness. And so the study of God and the study of man must lead us to humbleness of heart, contrition of heart, brokenness of heart, to know that we cannot save ourselves, that we need God. And when we come to God through Christ, By believing on what He has done for us on the cross, we are saved. That's the doctrine of salvation. Righteousness imputed upon us by God, through Christ, nothing that we could have earned. And this salvation is what God wants us to share. unmerited favor for mankind. And even our sharing is not of ourselves. It's from God. See, what we are declaring to you is not our own words, but are the very words of God, the doctrines of God, and the doctrines of man. So if we have understood who God is, it must make us fall in worship. And if we know who we are, we will consider ourselves filthy, dirty sinners. Cannot save ourselves. And that must be our spiritual disposition. Jesus says, blessed are the poor in spirit. That is the first criteria to enter God's kingdom and to prosper in it. And it has always been like that. Blessed are the poor in spirit. And blessed are they that mourn. Mourn for what? For their sins. And we realize that we all need to mourn for our sins. because we are sinners through and through. We need God. Unless He touched us by His grace to save us, we are still in our sins. No peace, no joy, miserable life. So may God help us, having understood who we are. May we be grateful. May we be truly appreciative. of what God has done and what God did to draw us to him, the establishment of the local church, the pillar and the ground of truth. This is the only place in the world that the truth is taught to you. And we are thankful that God has established this church, that we may be partaker of eternal blessings. Let us pray. Father, we want to thank Thee for Thy Word. Thank Thee for showing us who we are, sinners saved by grace. Lord, we thank Thee for the work of grace that is wrought in our hearts through Jesus Christ. the righteousness that is of Christ, that is appropriated by faith in what Jesus Christ had done. Lord, give us faith, faith to believe what Jesus Christ had done. He is indeed the woman's seed that has bruised the head of the serpent. And Satan has no more power. Death has lost its sting. Hallelujah. May Thou grant to us the grace to live a happy, joyful life. May Thou be with us for this week ahead. This I pray with thanksgiving in Jesus' name. Amen.