Genesis 1:31
“And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Genesis 2:1 to 3
“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them, And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made: and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.”

“And He RESTED on the SEVENTH day.” “And God blessed the SEVENTH day and sanctified it.”

God rested. The Hebrew word translated “rested” is “shabath.” From this word comes the other Hebrew word “shabbath” translated “sabbath.” There are several Hebrew words translated “rest”; but the word in Genesis 2:2 is “shabbath”. God “sabbathed” on the seventh day. God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. In the Bible the words “seven” and “seventh” occur 549 times.

When God had finished His six days of work He saw everything He had created was very good. He finished His creative work. It was perfect. So He rested in a finished, perfect work.

But God’s rest was soon broken. Something happened to His perfect work. We read in Romans 5:12 that sin entered into the world. Sin and rest do not go together.

We might speak of man as the climax of God’s perfect creation.

THE FIRST DAY—Light—Day and Night. (Genesis 1:4 and 5)

THE SECOND DAY—The Firmament—Dividing the Waters—Heaven. (Genesis 1:7 and 8)

THE THIRD DAY—The Land—Earth—Grass—Herbs—Plants—and Trees. (Genesis 1:9 to 13)

THE FOURTH DAY—Lights in the Firmament for signs—Seasons—Days—Years— Two Great Lights and The Stars. (Genesis 1:14 to 18)

THE FIFTH DAY—The Fish and Creatures of the Sea and the Winged Fowls of the Air. (Genesis 1:20 to 23)

THE SIXTH DAY—The Cattle—Creeping things Beasts of the Earth—Adam. (Genesis 1:24 and 25 and 27)

THE SEVENTH DAY—God Rested on the Seventh Day. (Genesis 2:3)

In Genesis 1:12 and 21 and 24 and 25, we learn that in the vegetable kingdom and in the animal kingdom God’s law is “after its kind.” Plants cannot be changed to fish, fowl or beast. Fish, fowl and beast each propagate and reproduce “after its kind.”

Man was originally created in the image and likeness of the eternal, living, personal Creator. Man did not evolve from some lower order of life. Every theory of evolution has been disproved. At the present time there is not one scientific proof of any evolutionary hypothesis that is being taught in our schools. Improvement of the species is not an evolutionary change of species.

Methods of planting corn may change, but the seed corn is the only seed that will bring forth corn.

Carefully note God’s warnings:

I Timothy 6:20
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.”

Colossians 2:8
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

THE SECOND MAN BEFORE THE FIRST MAN

In our first two lessons we learned from the Bible that Adam was the first man and that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Second Man, the last Adam, the Lord from heaven. And we learned that all things were made by the One called “the Second Man from heaven.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ created the first man Adam. At the time of Adam’s creation Christ was in the form of God.

“CHRIST JESUS WHO BEING IN THE FORM OF GOD.”
Philippians 2:6

The first two men born into the world were Cain and Abel. About them we shall study in another lesson. Of course, Cain was the first man born of woman. Adam was not born of woman. He had no mother. Adam was created by “Elohim” (God). Eve was created by God; but she came out of Adam. More than 4000 years after Adam and Eve were created and placed in the Garden of Eden, the Holy Spirit wrote these words

THE WOMAN FROM THE MAN

I Corinthians 11:8 and 9
“For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman: but the woman for the man.”

I Timothy 2:12 to 14
“But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

Ephesians 5:23
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church: and He is the Saviour of the body.”

ADAM AND EVE CREATED

We turn to the very first two chapters of the Bible for the Divine record of the Creation of Adam and Eve.

Genesis 1:26 to 31
“And God said, Let us make man 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. “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Genesis 2:7 and 8
“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden and there He put the man whom He had formed.”

Genesis 2:18 to 25
“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof: And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast Of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

Thus we learn that the first man was created in the image and likeness of God. Adam was created on the sixth creation day. Then note what followed:

Genesis 2:2 and 3
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which He had made: and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.”

HOW SIN ENTERED THE WORLD

THE CURSE PRONOUNCED—THE CURE PROMISED

The Third Chapter of Genesis

1. “Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field:

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

We have here recorded the beginning of sin and death on earth. In our, next lesson we shall study the beginning of sin in heaven.

Romans 5:12 to 14
“Whereby as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him That was to come.”

Romans 3:22 and 23
“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:18 to 21
“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One many shall be made righteousness. Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I Corinthians 15:21 to 23
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive . . . They that are Christ’s at His coming.”

Eve preferred Satan’s lie to God’s truth. Millions are today rejecting God’s truth and believing Satan’s lie. God has warned men in this matter:

II Thessalonians 2:8 to 11
“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.”

It is strange how men believe that they can get into God’s heaven with many sins when God banished Adam and Eve from an earthly paradise because of one act of disobedience. Let us read:

Romans 8:19 to 24
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope; Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for ?”

Here we learn that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” And we read in I John 5:19, “the whole world lieth in the evil one.” The translation is “lieth in the lap of the devil.”

But note the good news of :

Romans 16:20
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”

When God pronounced His judgment upon Adam and Eve, He promised (in Genesis 3:14 and 15) the Redeemer, the Seed of the woman. Then God sacrificed His creatures and provided a covering for the nakedness of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve had tried to cover their nakedness with aprons made of fig leaves.

It is interesting to study the symbolic garments of the Bible. Isaiah 64:6. Isaiah 61:10. Exodus 28:2. Genesis 37:3. Luke 15:22. Luke 23:11. Matthew 22:12. Revelation 19:8 and 13.

Now note:

I John 2:16 and 17
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

We learn in Genesis 3:6, that Satan made the three-fold appeal to Eve: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life.

The first question of the Bible was asked by Satan and the second one by God. Satan asked, “hath God said?” Genesis 3:1. God asked, “Adam, where art thou?” Genesis 3:9. Satan is still causing men to question, doubt and reject the sayings of God, in the Bible. God is still saying to the children of Adam, “Where art thou?”

The first question of Matthew is, “Where is He That is born King of the Jews?” Where is Jesus Christ?

This question was asked of a little Christian girl by an infidel man, “Where is this Christ you love?”

1. He is in the Bible.

2. He is at God’s right hand in heaven.

3. He is in my heart, the Hope of Glory. Colossians 1:27.

BY ADAM—BY CHRIST

There are about one billion, seven hundred and fifty million (1,750,000,000) people in the world. It is estimated that more than 20 billion people have been born of woman since Adam was created. Adam was not born, but concerning all others, with the exception of Enoch and Elijah, the story of every human being, up to the present time, (excluding the living 1,750,000,000) can be briefly told “he was born”, “he lived”, “he died”, “he was buried”.

This is not all of the story, for God has an answer to the question of:

Job 14:10
“But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?”

Together with this question, let us study:

Romans 14:12
“So then every one of us shall give an amount of himself to God.”

And:

John 5:28 and 29
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

RUIN BY ADAM—REDEMPTION BY CHRIST

The twenty billion people who have been born into this world have all been descendants of Adam.

The twenty billion have followed the first man Adam into sin.

Galatians 3:22
“But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin.”

Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Note these words of the Second Man, the Lord Jesus Christ:

John 8:24
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.”

And then carefully note:

II Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

In Adam all die. In Adam all men are dead in trespasses and sins. From ruin to redemption means out of Adam and in Christ.

By one man judgment and condemnation came upon all men. By one man, (Adam) came sin and death. This universal law of sin and death still prevails. The hope of Adam’s children is to become God’s children by a new creation in Christ Jesus.

IN ADAM—IN THE FLESH

John 3:6
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

Romans 8:8
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 7:18
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

Galatians 5:19 to 21
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Mark 7:20 to 23
“And He said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness, All these evil things come from within and defile the man.”

REDEMPTION IN CHRIST

Romans 5:20 and 21
“Moreover the law entered that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Sinners now live under God’s reign of grace.

Hebrews 2:9
“But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

I Peter 2:24
“Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness by whose stripes ye were healed.”

II Timothy 1:9 and 10
“Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Titus 2:11 to 14
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world: Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

We learn then that Jesus Christ became flesh to taste death and put away sin, to abolish death. Now note:

Hebrews 2:14
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

About 4000 years after Christ (Elohim) created Adam, the first man; Christ the Second Man, was born of Mary, the Seed of the woman. Eve descended from the first man, Adam.

I Corinthians 15:21 to 23
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Note the first statement in Romans 5:20: “The law entered that the offence might abound.” When did the law enter? About 1497 B. C., or about 2500 years after Adam brought sin and death into the world.

John 1:17
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

“Death reigned from Adam to Moses.” Romans 5:14. From Adam to Moses means, from the day Adam left Eden until the day that Moses, at the age of eighty years, was on Mount Sinai, receiving the ten commandments and God’s law to govern Israel.

Note Romans 3:19 and 20 and then the good news of Acts 13:38 and 39:

Romans 3:19 and 20
“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law; that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Acts 13:38 and 39
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.”

By Adam the entrance of sin.

By Moses the knowledge of sin.

By Jesus Christ the forgiveness of sin.

QUESTIONS—LESSON THREE

1. Who was the first man born of woman?

2. On what day was Adam created?

3. Which were created first, plants or animals?

4. What are the first recorded words of God in His creative work?

5. How was Adam’s body formed and from what was Eve formed?

6. What did Adam say concerning Eve because of the manner in which she was created?

7. How many creative days were there and on what day did God rest?

8. In what form was the Second Man when He created the first man?

9. What lie did Satan speak to Eve?

10. According to Romans 8:22 and I John 5:19, what happened to creation because of Adam’s sin?

11. How many human creatures hath God declared to be under sin?

12. What came as the result of sin? Is the law of sin and death universal?

13. According to Genesis 3:14 and 15, who was to come as the Seed of the woman and what would He do with Satan?

14. What judgment did God pronounce upon the ground? Upon man? Upon woman? Upon the serpent?

15. What great sacrifice was typified by the coats of skins which God provided for Adam and Eve?

16. In what three-fold manner did the serpent appeal to Eve?

17. In I John 2:16 and 17, what does God say about the world and its lusts? About those that do the will of God?

18. What came by the first man and by the Second Man?

19. In John 8:24, what did Christ say would happen to the one who believed not in His Deity?

20. What happens to the man in Christ Jesus according to II Corinthians 5:17?

For more articles by Pastor J. C. O'Hair, visit the J. C. O'Hair Online Library.