Creation, Fall, Redemption Plan
This week, we will be exploring who God is, who we are, and what it looks like to have a relationship with God in a fallen world. These truths will help you grow in your understanding of how sin corrupted God’s good creation and how that affects our relationship with him. Since the beginning, God has been at work to establish his Kingdom here on earth, and despite the brokenness of humanity, God’s Redemption Plan will prevail.
- What part of the Bible are we covering?
- Genesis
- Scripture to read this week:
- Genesis 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 & 17
Creation and Fall
Read Genesis 1:1. According to this verse, who is God? (Refer back to teaching from Sunday as well.)
Throughout the creation story, we see that God is powerful and the ultimate authority of all creation. The creation account is an overflow of God’s goodness. On each day of creation, God says that what he has made is good.
- Read Genesis 1:27. According to this verse, who are we?
- Read Genesis 3. Describe in your own words what happens in this chapter.
After sin entered the world, judgment followed. This was God’s appropriate response to sin. Because God is good, he must deal with evil.This is what we refer to as God’s justice.
As a result of judgment, everyone will receive either condemnation or salvation.
- Condemnation: the punishment that is appropriate for sin
- Salvation: offered by God for those who trust in him; God delivering his people from the punishment that they deserve
Condemnation and death are what we deserve because of sin, but God offers us a way out through salvation. God’s Redemption Plan was set in place from the moment judgment was given. Left on our own, we are ruled by our sinful nature. Once sin entered the world, that’s exactly what happened. In Genesis 4, Cain kills his brother Abel. In Genesis 6, the world is so evil that the Lord says he is sorry he ever made man. On our own, we cannot save ourselves. We need God to intervene.
The Redemption Plan
God’s Redemption Plan is built on the idea of covenants. Covenants are binding agreements that God uses to enter into a partnership with humanity, call them to live rightly and to represent him to the world, and to restore his people to himself.
Adam and Eve’s original covenant with God—to enjoy and rule the earth as long as they were faithful to God—was broken by sin. Over time, it becomes clear that humanity cannot keep covenants with God on their own. Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenants, and he establishes a new covenant that is better, based solely on his faithfulness and not the work of humans.
- Noahic (Genesis 8:20–9:17): God makes an unconditional covenant never to flood the earth again, despite human corruption. He invites humans to partner with him in filling and ruling his world. The rainbow reminds generations of his faithfulness through this covenant.
- Abrahamic (Genesis 12, 15, and 17): A covenant is made between God and Abraham. If Abraham will trust God, then God will bless him with a large family that would inherit the land of Canaan and ultimately bring blessing to the earth.
- Mosaic (Deuteronomy 28): After Israel is freed from slavery in Egypt, God gives them a list of laws at Mt. Sinai, promising blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience. Revisiting his covenant with Abraham, God promises to bring blessing to all the nations through Israel.
- Davidic (2 Samuel 7): Israel desires a king to rule over them. When David becomes king, he wants to build a temple for God. In response, God establishes a covenant with David, promising to make his name great and for his reign to last through future generations.
- The New Covenant: This covenant is an unconditional and everlasting one for God’s people. It is sealed through Jesus and promises the forgiveness of sin and eternal life for all of God’s people. Through this covenant, God’s people are redeemed through the blood of Christ.
Noahic Covenant
- Read Genesis 6:9–22. Who is Noah? Why is God willing to save Noah and his family?
- Read Genesis 9:12–17. What is the covenant that God makes with Noah after the flood?
While God promises to take care of the earth and his people, as Noah’s family grows and populates the earth, we see a cycle begin in Genesis 11 that will continue as God’s Redemption Plan and our sinfulness co-exist.
Abrahamic Covenant
- Read Genesis 12:1–9. God commands Abraham to move away from what is comfortable and the people he loves to a foreign land that God would lead him to. What blessings does God promise Abraham in the future?
- Read Genesis 17:1–8. What is the covenant that God makes with Abraham? What does God ask of Abraham in return?
Abraham (the patriarch of our faith) > Isaac (the promised son) > Jacob (deceiver whom God chose to bless because he was faithful to his covenant to Abraham) > Joseph (God blesses with talent and power to stay faithful to the covenant he made with Abraham)
Big Picture:
- God’s goodness is revealed through creation.
- Sin has corrupted God’s creation.
- God has a plan to use his covenant faithfulness to establish his Kingdom.
Questions
- Why was it necessary for God to put a Redemption Plan in place?
- What does God’s Redemption Plan tell us about how he views us?
- How do we see God’s faithfulness in this part of Scripture despite the brokenness of humanity?
- How does God’s faithfulness give you hope?