Senior Class Notes – June 2, 2024 – Toonigh Baptist Church

Summer 2024 Session 1 unit 1 – God’s Promise of Fruitfulness; Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-17; 3:16-19, PSG 13-23 CSB.

June 2, 2024

The Point: God called humanity to rule over His creation.

Inspirational verses: “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.” (Genesis 2:19).

Genesis 1:26 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.

God’s use of plural pronouns (us . . . our . . . our) to refer to Himself has raised many questions (3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8). At least five different suggestions have been put forward to explain them:¹⁶

They may be references to the Trinity.
To God and His angels.
To God and creation.
To God’s majesty as expressed by a literary device known as the “the plural of majesty.”
Or a polytheistic view of God.

Since the Bible teaches elsewhere that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29; 1Cor. 8:4), the fifth option is not tenable. The two Hebrew words translated as image and likeness are often understood as having the same meaning. But some interpreters suggest that “image” refers to the ability to reason, with “likeness” referring to the spiritual dimension. What exactly is the “image” of God? Since the Bible teaches that God is a Spirit “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24), many commentators believe it refers to the non-material aspects of a person – our moral sensibilities, intellectual abilities, will, and emotions. Based on God’s commands in Genesis 1:28, others have suggested that it consists of the role humans are to play on earth – their rulership over the planet and its resources, and secondarily the physical, mental, and spiritual abilities that enable them to fulfill that role. The New Testament teaches that Christians will someday bear the image of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:49; 1 John 3:2).¹⁶ The idea that humanity is created in God’s image has far-reaching implications: A relationship can exist between God and humanity, and men and women can reflect God’s nature. As part of that reflection, people rule over nature. The idea of ruling carries with it the connotation of responsible management rather than dictatorial control of exploitation.¹⁷

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

The creation of humanity is the crowning event of Chapter 1, as shown by the fact that “created” is repeated three times. The verb “created” (Hebrew bará) is the same one used in Genesis 1:1, referring to a kind of creative activity that only God can do. The term “man” (Hebrew adam) is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible to refer to humanity in general, not just males (Genesis 7:21); all people, both male and female, are created in the image of God (cp. James 3:9). People are the only beings that are created in the image of God (Genesis 9:3-6). The Bible never lumps people into the category of animals. Instead, it separates the creation of people from all other beings and attributes the most privileged roles in creation to humans alone.¹⁶ This verse is in the form of poetry. While some translations use the word man, this is a reference to all humanity, not simply to Adam. God created humanity, both male and female.¹⁷ God created man in His own image and likeness. Thus we “resemble” God in certain ways. Yet humans are also very different from God because we are created creatures and He is the uncreated creator. Theologians have explored our “resemblance” to God by comparing various aspects of God’s nature to that of human beings:¹⁹

As his image bearers, we represent God as His vice-regents on the earth. This involves divinely delegated authority to rule the earth and all other creatures as God’s faithful stewards, including stewardship of the earth’s resources.¹⁹
Humanity also reflects God’s image in relationships, especially marriage and in larger groupings of human community (for example: a nation, the church). The antecedent for the pronoun us in verse 26 is not specified, but many Christians and some Jews believe God was speaking to himself. If we are God’s “copy beings,” then it follows that human community reflects a divine community in the very being and nature of God, which would hint at God’s triunity (Father, Son, Spirit).¹⁹
God’s image in humans has also been distinguished from animals in terms of resembling God in human capacities for reason, morality, language, love and commitment, and creativity (for example in art, music, and poetry).¹⁹

Genesis 1:28 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.

In this the longest of the five blessings found in the account of creation, God gave humanity five different commands. Implicit in the first three commands is God’s blessing on the institutions of marriage and the family. The word replenish does not mean to do something that has been done before, but to fill the earth for the first time. The final two commands, to subdue the earth and have dominion over the animal kingdom, express God’s blessing on the use of the planet’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Of course, only the wise use of these resources permits people to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth. A similar command to the survivors of the flood is shorter, having only the first three verbs in it “And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Genesis 9:1).¹⁶ God’s blessing is a central theme in Genesis. Blessed denotes all that fosters human fertility and assists in achieving dominion. Interpreters have generally recognized “Be fruitful, and multiply” as commands to Adam and Eve (and later to Noah; see 9:1) as the heads of the human race, not simply as individuals. That is, God has not charged every human being with begetting children.¹⁷ God gave people the power to reproduce themselves. This mandate should also be seen as a blessing and gift from God. The mandate carries an unspoken promise that God will enable us to fulfill that which He commands (Compare Genesis 9:1).¹⁹

Genesis 1:29 And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Here the word meat means food. After the flood in Noah’s day, God issued additional dietary guidelines that expanded humanity’s permitted food sources beyond herbs (plants) and trees to include meats, that is, “flesh” (Gen. 9:3-4).¹⁶ God also provided food (meat) for humanity. People are to have as food the seed and fruit of plants. God’s original intent was for humans to thrive on a vegetarian diet. But after the fall and the flood, people were given permission to eat literal meat (see 9:3).¹⁹

Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

God also provided food for the animals and birds in the form of every green herb.¹⁹ Here again the word meat simply means food. The Bible does not address the issue of diet for carnivorous and insect-eating animals.¹⁶

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

The seriousness of God’s order is reflected in the fact that it is introduced by a two-verb phrase in Hebrew: commanded . . . saying. This formula was used frequently to express royal decrees (1 Sam. 18:22; 2 Sam. 18:5). God gave Adam both freedom and limits, the freedoms vastly outnumbered the limitations. After all, Adam could eat freely from every tree of the garden except one.¹⁶ Two trees are given special mention in the Garden of Eden: The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9). Humans could live as long as they continued to eat from the tree of life, but God forbade eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, under pain of death.¹⁹ God did not command them to stay away from this tree because the tree was intrinsically bad. This tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was like the rest of creation – perfect and without error. Instead, the issue at stake was whether Adam and Eve would love God and express that love through obedience.¹⁷

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The only limit God placed on Adam was eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which apparently imparted divine wisdom (Gen. 3:22). Eating the forbidden fruit represented Adam’s rejection of God as the source of divine wisdom and his choice to pursue wisdom apart from God. God’s penalty for disobedience was stated especially forcefully in the original language, with a two-verb construction “dying you shall die” [thou shalt surely die]. Death would certainly come to Adam and all humanity after him; but the death that God warned about would be more than physical (Gen. 3:19). Besides severing the cord of life, sin would shatter the harmonious relationship that existed between Adam and his environment (Gen. 3:17-18), his wife (Gen. 3:16), and God.¹⁶ The reality, as Francis Schaetter clearly states in his book Genesis in Space and time, was that Adam did not face a choice between good and evil, but a choice of whether or not he would love God and stay within the bounds that God had established. In choosing to eat from the tree, Adam chose to disobey God and to seek a life outside of God. It is in this act of disobedience that Adam chose evil. The heart behind this act is the same heart that is passed to every generation. The consequence of Adam’s choice was that he and Eve would be separated from union with God. and thus they became spiritually dead and started the process of physical death. These consequences were also passed from generation to generation.

Genesis 3:16 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.

Even though the woman had been deceived into eating the forbidden fruit, she was still held accountable for her act. Notably, however, the word “cursed” is not contained in God’s words to her. To the serpent He said “thou art cursed above all cattle.” (Gen. 3:14). Two penalties were imposed; both struck at the heart of a woman’s roles in life. More than would have been the case had sin not entered creation, bearing children would add to the sum of sorrow in the universe [God said He would multiply, not originate, woman’s labor pains]. Marriage would also be marred; though the woman’s desire would be for her husband, sin would mar God’s plan for marriage and create tormenting inequality and subjugation. The latter is a description of the ravaging effect of sin on a husband-wife relationship, not a prescription for abusing one’s wife. The New Testament teaches that marriage should reflect the relationship of Christ with the church (Eph. 5:24-25) and be characterized by a husband’s understanding of and respect for his wife (1 Peter 3:7).¹⁶ The woman will experience suffering in having children and in her desire for her husband.¹⁷

Genesis 3:17 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;

Because Adam listened to his wife’s voice in preference to what God commanded (2:17), a curse would strike at the heart of a fundamental relationship in his life as well. Adam’s relationship with the ground would now be forever damaged by sin. All the days of his life he would experience sorrow (compare the woman’s labor pains, v. 3:16) as he worked to bring forth the fruit of the earth.¹⁶ Adam will suffer in his attempts to control his domain. The very dust he came from will force him to struggle to survive. Man’s natural or original relationship to the ground – to rule over it – is reversed, instead of submitting to him, it now resists and eventually swallows him.¹⁷

Genesis 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Prior to the first couple’s sins God is only recorded as having put trees in the garden (2:8-9); now there would also be thorns and thistles. Prior to sin, humanity had only to reach up to get food; now they would have to bend their backs to gather plants of the field.¹⁶

Genesis 3:19 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.

The simple plucking of fruit in order to eat food (lit. “bread”) would now be replaced by backbreaking labor and the sweat of man’s face. Working daily in the soil, Adam would be continually reminded that he was dust and that he would return to dust.¹⁶ Work itself was not the punishment for sin. Rather, the difficult, frustrating, and unremitting toil that comes from dealing with an unresponsive environment became the lot of humanity. The unrelieved nature of this kind of labor led ultimately to the grave, re-emphasizing human mortality.³

References: Summer 2024, June 2, 2024 – August 25, 2024

(CWB) – Commentary on the Whole Bible by Matthew Henry – Marshall, Morgan & Scott, Ltd. Copyright © 1960. Copyright 1961 by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan. 49506
(CWB#2) – Commentary practical and explanatory on the Whole Bible by Rev. Robert Jamieson, Rev. A.R. Fausset, Rev. David Brown by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan. 49506
(ESVSB) – The English Standard Version Study Bible, Personal size. Copyright © 2008 by Crossway. Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway.
(ETB) – Explore The Book by J Sidlow Baxter. Copyright © 1960 by J. Sidlow Baxter. Published 1960 by Zondervan Publishing House – Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(HISB) – The Holman Illustrated Study Bible – The Holman Illustrated Study Bible Copyright © 2006 by Holman Bible Publishers. The Holman Christian Standard Bible Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers.
(HRTB) He Reads Truth Bible Copyright © 2019 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Based on the Christian Standard Bible Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
(IMO) – On occasion, with the prayerful guidance of the Holy Spirit, I will make comments of my own, based on my understanding of the events. I will indicate such times with – In My O
(KJBC) – The King James Bible Commentary, Copyright © 1999 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. ©1983 by Old-Time Gospel Hour. Scripture quotations are from the Open Bible, King James version, © 1975 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(KJSB) – The King James Study Bible, (previously published as The Liberty Annotated Study Bible and as The Annotated Study Bible, King James Version) © 1988 by Liberty University.
(LESB) Life Essentials Study Bible Copyright © 2019 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Based on the Christian Standard Bible Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
(NCBD) – The Nelson’s Compact Bible Dictionary Copyright © 2004 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. with Scripture Quotations from the New King James Version of the Bible Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(NIDNTT) – The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology Copyright © 1967, 1969, 1971 by Theologisher Verlag Rolf Brockhaus, Wuppertal. English Language edition Volume 1 Copyright © 1975, 1986, The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.A. and The Paternoster Press, Ltd. Exeter, Devon, U.K.
(NIVBTSB) – The New International Version Biblical Theology Study Bible Copyright © 2018 by The Zondervan Corporation. Text from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. previously published as The New International Version Zondervan Study Bible.
(NIVCBSB) – The New International Version Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Copyright © 2016 by The Zondervan Corporation text from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. published by the Zondervan Corporation.
(NIVJSB) – The New International Version Jeremiah Study Bible, Copyright © 2016 by David Jeremiah, Inc. Using the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan.
(NIVLASB) – The New International Version Life Application Study Bible, Hardcover Edition. Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton Il. 60189. Hardcover editions are published by Tyndale house.
(NIVMEB) – The New International Version Ministry Essentials Bible, Copyright © 2014 by Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC. Based on The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
(NIVSB) – The New International Version Study Bible Copyright © 1985 by the Zondervan Corporation text from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the New York International Bible Society.®
(NIVSB #2) – The New International Version Study Bible Copyright © 1985, 1995, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2020 by Zondervan Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546, USA. text from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.®
(NIVZSB) – The New International Version Zondervan Study Bible Copyright © 2015 by the Zondervan Corporation. Text from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
(NKJVBGTCB) – The New King James Version Billy Graham Training Center Bible © 2004 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. with Scripture Quotations from the New King James Version of the Bible Copyright © 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(NKJVSB) – Holman Study Bible, New King James Version Edition Copyright © 2013 by Holman Bible Publishers Nashville, Tn. Text from the New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
(QNBD) – Quick Notes Bible Dictionary based on text from the King James Version of the Bible and cross referenced with the NIV and NRSV Bibles. Copyright © 1998 by George W. Knight and Rayburn W. Ray.
(SEC) – Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Dictionaries of the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Testament words. Copyright © 1890 by James Strong. Based on the King James Version of the Bible.
(TATA) – The Acts of The Apostles by Charles Caldwell Ryrie Copyright © 1961 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago.
(TDNT) – Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(THBC) – Today’s Handbook of Bible Characters Copyright © 1979 by E.M. Blaiklock, published by Bethany House Publishers.
(TMEB) – The Ministry Essential Bible © 2014 by Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC P.O. Box 3473 Peabody, Massachusetts 01961-3473.
(TZPEB) – The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, copyright © 1975, 1976 by the Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
(WIKI) Wikipedia – internet source.