Revision as of 21:13, 26 February 2019

Objectives

Opening

• According to Genesis 4:22, what knowledge did mankind now possess after The Fall?
  • Man now had knowledge of good and evil. Note: The verse states "man has become like on of Us, to know good and evil." God is omniscient and so knows everything. Man now knew good and evil but instead of knowing good and evil in a holy omniscient way, man knew good and evil through experience. The knowledge of good and evil is passed down to each of us today.

In each dispensation God works to demonstrate his goodness and man's need for God. Before The Fall, God demonstrated that even without a sin nature, man was still capable of sinning and in need of God. After The Fall, God gave man the opportunity to knowingly choose good instead of evil. In other words, in The Fall, man was given a conscience. Someone might ask the question, is a conscience enough for man to choose good?

• According to Genesis 6:5, what was the result of man's dependence on conscience?
  • In Genesis 6:5 we see man totally failing. Conscience was not enough.

• In Genesis 6:3 and 6 we see something that might look like God is changing. Does God change? How can we explain these verses?
  • We know that God is unchanging so these verses cannot possibly mean that God is Himself changing. Instead the word that the KJV translates as repented could also mean was sorry. The ESV says regretted. I think it might even be good to think about this as mourned or bing mournful. When someone close to you dies you can be sorry as you mourn. What we must realize is that the God of the universe mourns sin. John 11:35 is a great picture of the mourning that is appropriate in a fallen world. So what has changed about God? Nothing, God has allowed man, to fail in the dispensation of conscience demonstrating that we need God.

As an aside, God had everything He needed in the trinity. We see God’s sorrow over man’s inability to do good even with a conscience in Genesis 6:6. God mourns man’s sin. Not only does God not need us, but He is mournful about our need. I think sometimes it is easy for us to get a hero complex and while it is ridiculous, our hero complex can be so great that we need other people’s problems to solve so we can feel complete. But God does not need this, He is genuinely mournful of our sin problem.

Main Body

The Flood

• According to Genesis 6:7, 8, and 13, how did God plan to teach mankind that He was merciful yet just?
  • God used a flood to demonstrate that sin has severe consequences that God, as a just bing, cannot overlook. However, As noted in Genesis 6:8 God also taught that He is unchanging and still provides grace.

It is possible to draw too many parallels, but at the same time God inspired scripture and the presence of parallels over the course of millennia is a strong defense for scripture. At the conclusion of the dispensation of innocence we saw God kill and animal to provide a covering for Adam, a foreshadowing of the savior. Now in Genesis 7:4 I think we see another foreshadowing or parallel.

• Look at Genesis 7:4, how long was Noah in the Ark before judgement came?
  • Seven days

• I believe that the greatest judgement of sin the world has ever seen occurred on the day God flooded the Earth. However, there is a greater judgement coming. When will God again judge sin on a global scale?
  • At the conclusion of the tribulation before entering the millennium.

So picture this, Noah and family (those who God will be saving) are removed from the world 7 days before judgement comes. God has sealed up the righteous remnant for 7 days prior to judgement. The rest of the world had 7 days to repent. This I not itself proof of a pre-tribulation rapture but rather a foreshadowing or parallel. God will seal-up the Church prior to His judgement and then provide seven years for the rest of the world to repent. Only this time, some actually will.

• Who survived the flood?
  • The only people to survive the flood were Noah and his family.

The Noahic Covenant

• What command is given in Genesis 8:15-19?
  • Noah was to leave the ark.

• What actions does Noah take in Genesis 8:20?
  • Noah, in an act of worship, thanksgiving, and obedience offers a sacrifice to God.

Recall, a covenant is:

1. A chosen relationship between 2 parties in which one or both parties make binding promises to one another.
2. A Covenant can be conditional or unconditional - in contrast to a contract which is voided when one party breaks its side of the deal.

• What promises dos God make in Genesis 8:21-22? Are these conditional or unconditional promises?
  • No additional curses added to the ground.
  • Continued provision of a habitable plant as long as the Earth remain (Note: there is an implication here that the Earth is not permanent).
  • These are unconditional promises.

• What commands are given in Genesis 9:1-7?
  • Replenish the Earth
  • Exercise dominion
  • Refrain from eating blood
  • Uphold Justice

• According to Genesis 9:8-9, who were the parties to this covenant?
  • God, Noah, and all of Noah's decedents.

• According to Genesis 9:12-17, how did God ratify the covenant?
  • By placing his bow in the sky. I think we can probably accept that the act of placing the bow in the sky is actually a demonstration by God that H is no longer going to fight against humanity.

The Dispensation of Human Government

Conclusion

References

1. ↑ Geisler, Norman L. Systematic theology: In one volume. Bethany House, 2011. pg 797