Bible Red Thread 2: Man in God’s Plan

Bible Red Thread 2: Man in God’s Plan

Is it possible to understand the meaning and purpose of life without having read the first 2 chapters of Genesis?

In the beginning, the Bible begins with the book of Genesis, which literally means “in the beginning.” This book presents the beginnings: of time, of space, of life, of the world around us, of the human being, of the couple and of the family, of work, and of the mandate of humanity. In short, it shows everything we need to know about where we came from and helps us understand where we are going. Let’s get to know the two main actors in the history of the universe.

The Initiator of All Things: First, the Creator, we discover Him as a person out of time, out of space, existing before all creation. He is the originator of all things. He is an ingenious Spirit capable of imagining a world of incredible complexity, associated with an all-powerful Word. God can thus create something out of nothing: the mineral, vegetable and animal worlds, organize them and interweave them in a harmonious and perfect way. God, after having created the universe and then the earth develops nature, and arranges it in a harmonious garden to finally place man and woman therein.

Man, the jewel of creation: Second, the creature, observe how the text gradually ends up on the human being. It arises from the union of the two extremes of creation: on the one hand, the perfection of the image of God and on the other hand, the dust of the earth, to which the divine creative breath gives life. Humanity is created male and female, different and complementary. Everything is made for them, a bit like an exceptional jewel for which we design a special case! God persevered to the end of His creative act, which He wanted to be pedagogically progressive. And when He evaluates his work, He rates it as something good, even very good.

God is responsible and He doesn’t abandon His work. The Creator shows His love for His creation by wishing them well three times. Also, God manifests His love and His trust towards humanity by delegating to him the complete management of this unique heritage. The man and the woman are thus responsible for exercising their responsibility over creation, naming all the animals, multiplying to fill the earth, cultivating their environment and guarding the creation. Created with immense potential, in the image of their Creator, human beings are encouraged to enhance this priceless heritage, in a relationship of trust and dependence with their Creator.

There’s freedom in being dependent on God. In the perfect world God created, He nevertheless plants in the middle of the garden the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He thus manifests His authority as Creator, to which He asks humanity to submit, as a sign of trust and love. This tree represents the means for humanity to use its freedom given by God. Man must be able to choose to keep absolute trust in his Creator and live by obeying him to carry out his delegated mission. To do this, God takes the risk. However, humanity breaks this confidence and dares the path of independence which leads to death, even if it means jeopardizing the delegation received from the Creator.

A choice based on trust The Bible affirms that the human being is the fruit of the creative will of God. The Bible also affirms that God wishes to maintain a relationship of trust and intimacy with His creature. Proposing to carry out a universal project, the Creator nevertheless leaves man the choice to remain in this dependence while encouraging him to use his freedom by remembering who God is, and what He has already done for him (Man). However, what choice will humanity make?

Thought for the day The earth does not revolve around me and, at the same time, I occupy the most beautiful place and the greatest responsibilities of creation with my equals. How can I carry out this ambitious project that God entrusts to me?

Related Links / Notes

Bible Study: Red Thread through the Bible

Study Notes are translated from the original French and available in the online magazine  TaJeunesse (literlly “Your Youth”). The orginal texts are magazine articles. The texts provided here follow that form and include some of the images from the magazine, and help provide a deep understanding of the main themes of the Bible.

Services at the church AB Renens-Lausanne as well as some of the bible studies are streamed on the channel  YouTube église AB Renens-Lausanne.  Also visit the You Tube channel of the Swiss Action Biblique Youth Groups (JAB Suisse Romande.

Bible verses in the study link to the ASV bible. In addition to the Darby Bible , other versions of the Bible are also available on our website (KJV, Basic English )

The King James Version is available as an audio bible Podcast which can be accessed below.